LogFAQs > #924055891

Okay, here is my official TAR31 review/mini, not-completely-negative (:O) rant...

Obviously, as I already pointed out, I thought this season was on the high-side of low tier, placing it at 22/31 seasons overall. That being said, "recency bias" works both ways. In this case, I can see this season going up a bit in retrospect, but that doesn't take away from its problems.

The first problem is an inherent problem that will ALWAYS come with this type of theme. Returnees vs. Newbies is the worst format on any show, period. The returnees will always dominate, and that was no exception this season. Except for Art & JJ proving that they were overrated frauds whose success in 20 was due largely to the weak field that season, and Nicole & Victor squeaking ahead of Becca & Floyd by the slimmest of margins, the TAR teams decimated the BB and Survivor teams. It wasn't even close. No BB or Survivor team ever won a leg. It doesn't exactly help that they picked mostly very strong TAR teams with a history of success, and mostly weak or old/fat Survivor and BB teams. Even though many of these new racers were successful in their original shows, Survivor or BB strength doesn't necessarily translate to TAR strength, as we've seen many times. Plenty of Survivor/BB teams have gone out early, even in all-newbie seasons. They've also gotten to the middle and to the end, and one has won. They have virtually the same rate of success as any other teams. The veterans at a particular show will always have the advantage. It's been proven time and time again on Survivor and BB, and now on TAR as well. It's frustrating to watch CBS make the same mistake over and over again. At least I can say that the concept in this case was intriguing as a one-time deal, but never again. Please.

The second problem is the cast itself. Yes, there were teams that everyone was excited for. Most TAR fans had been dying to see Colin & Christie back for years, and they made it so worth the wait. Corinne & Eliza and Janelle & Brittany delivered, and it was nice to see Rupert and Laura get a go, even if they didn't last very long. There were even some pleasant surprises. Chris and Bret were way better on TAR than on Survivor, and even Tyler and Korey managed to be not super annoying. But Becca & Floyd were disappointments, and Rachel is just all-around awful. Literally nobody asked for Art & JJ back and they ended up wasting a spot. Leo & Jamal were no different than they were in their first two seasons. Nicole & Victor were just what I expected them to be - the nice, functional MOR team that went far. That's not terrible, but also not terribly interesting. This was far from the worst cast they could have picked, but there were much better choices they could have made, especially when TAR25, 27, and 30, three excellent recent seasons with tons of viable returnees, went unrepresented.

And so the result of these problems is that, other than the finale where the team I was rooting for all along teetered between 1st and 2nd and finally pulled out the win, and the unexpectedly early placements of the NELs, the season just wasn't exciting. There was very little drama other than Rachel who was more "here we go again" than anything else. There was never a true sense for more than a minute that the three teams that ultimately made the finals were ever in jeopardy. The results after the first episode were relatively predictable, even episode-by-episode with a few exceptions (like Chris & Bret pulling of one of the biggest lead-squanders in TAR history). While it wasn't totally boring, it was definitely one of the more "meh" seasons in terms of thrills.
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darkx
Score: There goes bracket