Board 8 > Survivor/Amazing Race/Big Brother summer topic - My Cow is Broken

(+) Yeah! (+)

Inviso posted...

So that's two of the big three show this cycle, where the winner salvaged an otherwise mediocre season. Woohoo!

Was the other CBB2 or EoE?
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I loved this season of TAR, personally. Great locations, good teams, and some more challenging tasks. (Also, I personally cannot stand Rachel Reilly, so I don't get why Inviso loves her.)

BB21 so far... eh. I always "eh" BB these days tbh.
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Underleveled posted...

Inviso posted...

So that's two of the big three show this cycle, where the winner salvaged an otherwise mediocre season. Woohoo!

Was the other CBB2 or EoE?

Oh, I wasn't even including CBB2, rather I was saying EoE and TAR31 were mediocre and salvaged by good winners. I guess BB21 would be the third of the cycle.
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Underleveled posted...

Is there a difference between purple and blue? Is purple leaning-positive and blue leaning-negative?

In this instance, Blue is mixed, and Purple was a single-episode performance that was just SO transcendent that merely giving Green wouldn't be enough.
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Yeaaah the only time I have ever actually enjoyed Rachel herself was in TAR24 and even then a large part of the reason that season was so shitty was because of the clique that was focused so hard in sabotaging her which I honestly even pin at least partially on her because she honestly causes her own drama, in this case with her reputation.
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Honestly, that whole thing in 24 just made me hate everyone involved and start rooting for the Cowboys. I cut the Afghanimals some slack because I think they only went in on it so they wouldn't be U-Turned a 4th time. But everyone else looked terrible.
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S40 is finishing filming just about now, so be aware that spoilers are pretty likely to start relatively soon (real ones anyway).
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I wouldn't be surprised if there's already a bootlist, but it's not like I'm actively searching for spoilers.
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I expect the spoilers for this season to be just as rampant as HvV, maybe even worse.

YouTube comments will be especially bad.
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Underleveled posted...

I expect the spoilers for this season to be just as rampant as HvV, maybe even worse.

The thing with HvV spoilers was that for every real one, there was a fake one, too. People who want attention - the same trolls who post that the new season of Big Brother will be All-Stars every single year - will put things out claiming to know, when they don't. Some kind people will also post fake spoilers to help dilute the real ones.

Thus, some spoilers you see might be invalid.
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There were mild variations on HvV spoilers (a few people were saying it was a F2 and the jury started with Courtney), and the jury vote count was off, but once the boot list was widespread it was everywhere.

All-Stars, Samoa, HvV, Philippines, Caramoan, Cambodia, Game Changers, and Ghost Island are, as far as I know, the seasons that were spoiled top-to-bottom.
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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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Now I will admit that there were some enjoyable things about this season. The route was decent. There were some nice locations and interesting challenges (nothing exceptional though until near the very end). Like I've said, Chris & Bret were a nice little surprise who had some fun moments, and I did get a chuckle out of how utterly dead weight Bret was. Corinne & Eliza were over-the-top bitchy and I loved every second of it. But the real story, of course, was the redemption of Colin & Christie. This was a team that was so loved in season 5 for just how overwhelmingly negative they were. Colin 1.0 was the most intense person ever to run the race (a record he arguably still holds to this day), and Christie wasn't exactly miss pleasant herself. Their success in the race despite fights in almost every episode, broken oxen, and almost getting arrested over a cab bill was nothing short of unbelievable, and fans have wanted to see them come back and give it another go ever since. And the 15 years did WONDERS for them. New zen Colin & Christie worked so well not only because it showed a tremendous evolution in maturity in both of them, but because you could still see remnants of their old selves lying underneath - their passion for winning, Colin with the broken cow, and having to be calmed down by Christie in the final task. It was these two extremes combined that allowed them to pull off one of the all-time great redemption stories in reality TV history, and no doubt I'll look back on the season more fondly in the future knowing how it goes down.

Now, here's the shocker that I'm sure is going to surprise the hell out of people like eaed who seem to think I'm this big negative nancy who hates everything - this season does not have me fearful of TAR's future at all. For a ton of reasons. First and foremost, it wasn't NEARLY bad enough. If I kept faith through 24 and 28, no way in hell does this one kill it for me. Second, for the past five years, TAR has been the most consistently great of the Big 3, with 4 excellent seasons, 1 good one, 1 mediocre, and 1 terrible. I'll take that over Survivor's recent record any day. And this is off the heels of a string of unforgivably bad seasons. Right when they lost their coveted Sunday night timeslot, somehow, in the face of uncertain longevity, they started pumping out some of their best seasons ever, while coming up with creative themes and twists that were, for the most part, not intrusive to the quality of the season as a whole. Of course I know what they say about all good things, but I do believe that TAR still has a few more high quality seasons in the tank AND will know when to go out on a high note. Word on the street is that starting with Season 33 they may go back to two seasons per year, which I have mixed feelings on. I'd rather one high quality season per year than two mediocre seasons per year. I hate to say it but maybe Survivor should take a hint? Anyway, I digress. The third reason is that, unlike Survivor and BB, TAR seems to be pretty well in-tune with what their fans want. With the exception of the occasional (like, one per) baffling all-stars choice, they seem to know which seasons/teams/twists/challenges/locations their fans enjoy and want to see more of, and they learn from their mistakes. Survivor fans despised Redemption Island? Let's do the same thing several more times! I don't ever recall seeing another Family Edition of Amazing Race. Next year TAR will be back (I believe Season 32 is already filmed) with something new that will either work or not, but given their recent record, I have faith that either a good cast will save it, or they'll just bounce back next time.
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Although for the first time since the 2013-2014 season, TAR is does not top my list...

2013-14: Survivor: Cagayan > Survivor: BvW > TAR23 > TAR24
2014-15: TAR25 > Survivor: SJDS > TAR26 > Survivor: WA
2015-16: TAR27 > Survivor: KR > Survivor: Cambodia > BB18 > TAR28
2016-17: TAR29 > Survivor: MvGX > Survivor: GC > BB19
2017-18: TAR30 > Survivor: HvHvH > CBB1 > BB20 > Survivor: GI
2018-19: Survivor: DvG > CBB2 > TAR31 > Survivor: EoE

I'm still liking TAR's odds as we move into the 2019-2020 season.
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Yeah, Season 32 is filmed already and I heard that they're casting for Season 33 right now. So TAR still has some life left in it.
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Finally starting BB

Nicole is so adorkable, I love her already!

Tommy's accent took about 45 seconds to get annoying.
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Indoor voice, Sam. Turn it down about 12 notches, please.
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Underleveled posted...

Indoor voice, Sam. Turn it down about 12 notches, please.

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This is going to be last season all over again where the pretty, popular people steamroll over the oddballs and misfits while making fun of them for having the nerve to try to play the game, isn't it. -_-

That said, no individual in Gr8ful is nearly as detestable as anyone in Level 6, so it wouldn't be quite as bad, but still, ugh.
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Rankings through episode 3:

Kathryn
Nicole
Christie
Tommy
Jessica
Kemi
Ovi
Jack
Isabella
Holly
David
Michie
Sam
Cliff
Analyse
Nick
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This season has felt so...flat, thus far.
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TAR22 through episode 6...



Okay, I remember enjoying Max & Katie, I do not remember them being the low-key stars of the season.
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^tbh I should be doing a chart like that for my present TAR5 rewatch, which was sparked by Colin & Christie. But eh, I'd rather just sit back and enjoy it. Four episodes in.

Mirna is just as much of a bitch as I remembered. Cutting in line, then playing the victim? Ugh, I hate people like that. That said, Marshall and Lance haven't looked very good, either. Nor have fake Christians Brandon & Nicole, who are using their religion as a ruse to get people to trust them and immediately betraying that trust. Kami and Karli look selfish and hypocritical with how quickly they judged Chip for wanting to stay in the Race, then saying the same sorts of things were okay with Linda. Colin & Christie have looked more like their current selves than I'd remembered - Tanzania and Broken Ox have yet to happen, though. Favorite team is easily the Bowling Moms, who are iconic for a reason, followed by Chip & Kim. Most interesting, on the other hand, is Charla & Mirna. But hey, this final seven is full of memorable, complex teams - and that's a large reason why it's universally considered one of the best seasons.
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^
Yeah I am not a fan of either Charla & Mirna OR Marshall & Lance; last time I did a full rankdown (post-24) they were both in my bottom 5 of all time.
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Underleveled posted...

Yeah I am not a fan of either Charla & Mirna OR Marshall & Lance; last time I did a full rankdown (post-24) they were both in my bottom 5 of all time.

At least their rivalry is good entertainment, and Mirna is an all-time villain that gives you somebody to root against without being as over-the-top obnoxious as Rachel Reilly. Charla isn't too unlikable, however, and her desire to prove herself is something the show doesn't do as often anymore. Marshall & Lance... well, there's Lance's comment about women drivers, the condescension, and their own sense of entitlement. Brandon & Nicole are pretty unlikable also, though they'd be fine if they didn't talk about how religious they are so much. For early outs, Dennis & Erika were interesting, especially with how he wanted to atone for his rudeness at the airport. Alison & Donny were a shitshow - he was so useless, and she was such a bitch to him for it. Marsha was kind of a mean girl, ignoring Charla like that and talking in a pretentious way. And Bob & Joyce were just kind of there.
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Yeah Mirna is the one who makes me furious, much less so Charla. From what I remember I agree with you on most of those points except Alison & Donny have one really amazing moment that I'll never forget. It's in the dog-walking challenge, when Alison shrieks, "MINE KEEP HAVING SEX!" and then it literally shows two of her dogs humping.
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Underleveled posted...

It's in the dog-walking challenge, when Alison shrieks, "MINE KEEP HAVING SEX!" and then it literally shows two of her dogs humping.

^Yeah, I LEGIT laughed at that. I wonder how many puppies were in the litter...Best part of their shitshow - and honestly? It was a beautiful mess to watch unfold. How many times have we had couples break up on the Race proper? Should've been more clear that I enjoyed their shitshow given how short it was, even if they were both awful in their own way.

Currently watching episode 5... man, I miss this airport drama that this season has had in DROVES. That said, it was the most important factor for why Jim & Marsha and Bob & Joyce were eliminated - the former due to their own mistake with buying half a ticket and the latter due to getting on a later flight. I can see why they went away from it in the earlier legs due to how much it influences the outcome. That said, they could do bus depots more regularly, given how the biggest fight so far was at the one in Patagonia.
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Sometimes I fucking hate being associated with this community ("this community" being online BB/S/TAR fans, not you guys specifically):

https://www.newsweek.com/big-brother-fans-trash-houseguest-christies-boutique-reviews-that-accuse-her-racism-1447128?amp=1
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^The live feeds are the reason why I'll never go on Big Brother. The community is so toxic and any little thing you say can be misconstrued and ruin your life. People are so easily offended these days...

And Andy Herren is such a troll.
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Bella and kemi the new kiki and este
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*puke*
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I don't dislike Sam as a person but holy shit he makes Brett sound like a church mouse.
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Holy shit, I think I was just spoiled on Survivor 40's F3 just by going to Google on my phone (it knows I like Survivor so it often shows me articles and pics, especially from Reddit).
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What did christie do to get hatred towards her
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Underleveled posted...

Holy shit, I think I was just spoiled on Survivor 40's F3 just by going to Google on my phone (it knows I like Survivor so it often shows me articles and pics, especially from Reddit).

Do what i do and dont even know what reddit really is

Sorry for your loss though :(
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GTM posted...

What did christie do to get hatred towards her

I'm guessing the fact that she is a female and her bitchiness meter has even wiggled a tiny bit above 0.0 has made her public enemy no. 1 among certain factions of the fanbase.
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I don't like these noms though. Kathryn and Ovi are both people I'd like to see around for a while. I wish she had made the big move and gone for the hit on Jack.
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Damn, man. Sorry you got spoiled. Thanks for the warning, though.

Underleveled posted...

I wish she had made the big move and gone for the hit on Jack.

Nah, Jackass is the obvious target next week. No reason to put him up, especially if he still thinks she's his friend. (I don't know whether he does or doesn't, but he is an idiot, so...)
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That episode was SO much better than the first three. I feel like a bunch of people got to showcase personalities, and it was actually interesting to watch. Plus, Jack's existence as a genuinely unlikable character gives some spice to an otherwise generic storyline.
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Cliff is kinda starting to grow on me, like as a lovable doofus.
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I don't want Kathryn or Ovi to go, but if one must I'd prefer Ovi.
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That scene was fucking amazing.

Kathryn is the best character of the season already. If she goes home tonight it will be fucking tragic.
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I dig these really long obnoxious hallway interactions, love it no sarcasm
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how does everyone know someone with a birthday this week
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How many people's dads have birthdays today?!
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Edge of extinction
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So much swearing
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Fireworks are gonna be BB fights?
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wtf fish
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Lmao Sam tried to cheat
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