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spiderbraidsAfter a delay for season 34 before airing as a weekend strip, then skipping 35 at first, then having to hastily strip the first few eps of 36 to catch up with America, then airing an edited-down version of 35 after 36, we're back to the normal practice of same-day as the US broadcasts... (and apparently, still going 90 minutes per ep, even though there's no strike anymore)
But before we head into the new season... last October, I finally got around to seeing a few episodes of 34 I missed a decent chunk of the first (or even second!) time around... I don't feel like leaving loose ends, so here are some revised versions of the recaps originally written the summer before last (and on a side note, it's tone-deaf to be told to wait for the rerun, when you're already watching the rerun and don't know if there'll even be another rerun; I consider myself lucky that we got a rerun after 35 aired)
34x04
- ... the challenge is not to spill the items, and they're in open dishes rather than bags (Well, the biscotti are in bags :-)) With the windows, Miami and the cheerleaders team up (Luis: "Four heads are better than one"), and there'll always be that one contestant that wants to sample the local cuisine they're supposed to deliver... and that person is Luis :-) So anyways, the two teams, plus Abby/Will, run around town looking for the windows, as well as Jamaica, who get lost pretty quickly and start getting frustrated :-\ Eventually, Abby/Will (soon followed by Miami and cheerleaders) deliver their food... to tables set up on the same lawn where the fashion pictures are being checked :-) Rich/Dom finally get the chiseling and plastering done and head off to do fashion :-)
- Abby/Will are 3rd, and Miami and the cheerleaders effectively finish in a tie by jumping onto the mat together, but they're designated 4th and 5th, while Ballroom get 6th and Derek/Claire find themselves commenting on their gradual slide (1st, 4th, now 7th; spoiler: it gets better for them :-)) Boom-Boom do the windows and finish 8th, and it comes down to Jamaica, who are so done with this after all that chiseling and running around looking for the windows, and Rich/Dom, doing the fashion task in the evening, and getting many outfits wrong the first go, and despite Sharik's aching arms and everything, Jamaica manage to check in in 9th
34x08
- Both ballroom and military bros have no issues memorizing the text element of the words, but it's the French pronounciation that's the problem (like pronouncing "Je" as "Jay"), while Miami and the twins put down the finishing touches on their tile work by pouring in some sand in the gaps between the tiles :-) Meanwhile, on their way to French horn guy, the cheerleaders find themselves having to deal with some sort of bollards suddenly appearing in the middle of the street to block off the square (like those seen here in Street View) and having to negotiate to have them lowered to pass through :-\
- Derek and Claire arrive at the canal boat to reclaim first, and also claim themselves a trip to Bangkok (Thai cooking class! Speedboat floating market tour! Dinner cruise! Tuk-tuk at night!) Ballroom get poetry done in two, and the cheerleaders get it done in one, quipping about not wanting to kiss the adjugator due to Covid (see Abby/Will) Miami and the twins are next to arrive in that order, and military bros are disappointed to lose their first place and drop to 4th, but are at least glad to still be racing (spoiler alert: ...for now) Ballroom end up checking in 5th, narrowly edging the cheerleaders out of the race, and in their exit interview, they say the real stinger for them is that they consider themselves competitive and had hoped to make it to the final leg
Okay, now, new season :-)
Ep 1
- So it looks like Los Angeles is the permanent start city for TAR now... Phil Keoghan has some of the teams introduce themselves briefly at the start: Nick/Mike have auditioned for 7 years and thought they were being punked when they were called up, Scott/Lori are parents of 8 sons (Phil jokes that they came here because they want one more :-)), Pops/Jeff are lumberjacks, and Pops is 64 (Phil quips he'd want to look that good at 64 :-)), and Carson/Jack reveal they're D&D streamers :-) Phil also reveals there's going to be the first ever Fork in the Road, but we'll get to that when they get there :-)
- There's also the usual confessional intros, for example, Mark/Larry have been friends since they met in 1987 doing barges on the Missisippi, and they're old and broke (but they are in the same bike club :-) One of them introduces himself as a "handsome stranger" to the other teams while at LAX, which is hilarious with the country accent he speaks it in :-)) Even those who've already intro'd themselves at the start line get a package, where Scott/Lori reveals their sons range in age from 9-24, and it's basically a real life Loud House, LOL. Anyways, the 14 teams are heading to Hong Kong via Cathay to get the first clue at the Tian Tan Buddha :-)
- I'm missing most of the next 30 minutes, but anyways, by the 30 minute mark, 13 teams are on a ferry in Hong Kong, and commenting on how one of them will be eliminated, which sounded normal to someone tuning in at the 30 minute mark... but as mentioned, there are 14 this season (promos even bragged about it being the biggest cast ever :-)) The other remaining team, siblings Jackye/Lauren have to climb a bamboo structure thing as part of a Roadblock in the rain, and a good chunk of airtime is spent on the climb before cutting back to the others
- As per start line intro, Nick/Mike have been trying for 7 years to audition for TAR, and in their confessional intro package, we see an excerpt from their 4th ("and hopefully last") audition tape with them talking in front of a sign saying "Memento Mori", as they add "It doesn't matter how many noes you get... It only takes 1 yes" As Jackye/Lauren finish the Roadblock to tears and applause from the task organizers, everyone gets off the ferry and gets cabs in quick order for Lok Kwan Street Park, except for the other black team, dating nurses Courtney/Jasmin, who are struggling because they aren't reading the name right or something?
- At the Lok Kwan Street Park we have the Fork in the Road, between Dance or Sing... It's like a Detour, except with double stakes and double eliminations (exact contestant words), and obviously no switching allowed :-) One of Carson/Jack was in the Tony-award winner, Inheritance, so they're dancing... Other teams are father/daughter Ernest/Bridget, and friends Bernie/Carrigain
- Sing is at the Teahouse Xiqu Theater: Learn how to sing Cantonese opera... in full make up/costume LOL, with all lyrics written phonetically :-) Other teams head to Jao Tsung I Academy for Dance, where Phil calls lion dancing a fusion of athleticism, tradition and symbolism in a B-roll... Han and Holden know Vietnamese so they're singing, while Mark and Larry, retired firefighters, will dance, while the lumberjacks will do singing because they can't dance
- B-roll makes it look like Jasmin/Courtney finally get a cab at Nathan Road, after asking around and getting additional information from the Chinese text on the clue or something like that... They're used to getting things right first time, but this time was no good... Whatever, they're finally off to Lok Kwan... Alyssa/Josiah are doing singing, and quip that they're at any karaoke bar serving beer on a Thursday night... and later quip that no amount of beer could make that song sound good LOL. Brett/Mark are married LGBT's from Vegas, one of whom works with Cirque du Soleil :-)
- Nick/Mike are doing the dance, and after Courtney/Jasmin finally get to the Fork in the Road, they're doing dance because they think they can overtake firefighters and Nick/Mike... Johnathan/Ana is another one of the teams at the opera, and they note that they've got a tough judge. Han/Holden note that Vietnamese can help in opera and pronounciation :-) The firefighters arrive at the dancing, and in a confessional, one of them says that the last time he danced, he had a snake underneath, calling it the "chicken dance" LOL. Meanwhile, Jackye/Lauren are on a ferry alone, hoping to pull a tortoise and hare situation
- Carson/Jack are the first to complete the dance, and are heading to Hong Kong's newest park, the West Kowloon Art Park... Courtney/Jasmin show up at dancing and call it Jao Tsung ONE academy LOL. Scott/Lori are dancing, and after the first go, Scott be like "In this culture, they're looking for dainty. Lori is not dainty." The fork in the road results in good chunks of the show being presented as split screens with text labels in Chinese and English, which is a nice touch :-)
- Brett/Mark are first to finish at dance, and they've got cramps in their calves LOL, while Nick/Mike are starting to feel the heat and get snippy to each other while rehearsing their dance (Meanwhile, during the ad break, local broadcaster aired a promo for a documentary called Mission Net Zero about dealing with environmental issues in Taiwan, which is pretty weird for this channel, since they mainly air movies and procedural dramas, and a handful of reality games like TAR :-\ But if you thought that was weird, the very next week they showed live a round of a LIV golf tourney, which happened to pre-empt a scheduled rerun of that week's TAR... and I've got a programming note at the end of this week's post as well)
- Nick/Mike are 5th at dancing eventually, leaving just the firefighters and Courtney/Jasmin... Pops(/Jeff) will play the girl role at singing :-) While Alyssa/Josiah are first to finish singing, the straggling Jackye/Lauren will do the singing :-) Over at the pitstop, first to win from Dance are Carson and Jack, winning $3,000 post race, and they quip that "The other teams came with big arms, but we came with big... hopes and dreams" LOL. They're just ahead of Brett/Mark, and just as Phil is declaring them the 2nd team, the show abruptly cuts to a rejected Mark/Larry dancing attempt, before showing Courtney/Jasmine get a pass, leaving the firefighters in last
- Johnathan/Ana are 2nd to get the clue for singing, while at lion dancing, 3rd to get the clue are Ernie/Bridge and 4th are Bernie/Carrigain... Alyssa/Josiah are first place from singing, and will also get $3,000 after race, as the last three lion teams are trying to get cabs and making their way to the pit stop... At the pit stop, Nick and Mike are 5th from dancing, with Courtney and Jasmin in 6th, and it turns out to be quite a squeaker, as when the eliminated firefighters are shown approaching, the others are still being welcomed at the mat, with boom mike still visible :-) At the mat, the bearded one makes comment about how he always knows when his firefighter buddy calls on the phone, LOL. (Hey, if you only last one leg, don't expect me to tell which is which :-\)
- Now the singing teams are left, as Pops/Jeff decide to "do it the Chinese way", whatever that means, and get the clue in 3rd, followed by Han/Holden, Scott/Lori, and Melinda/Erika (mother/daughter) in that order... Melinda/Erika, despite getting lost on the way to the pit stop and seemingly putting themselves decently behind other teams, manage to get to the mat as Johnathan/Ana to Han/Holden are leaving, HUH. We only see Jackye/Lauren singing briefly before they head to the mat for their elimination, and just before their elimination, we learned in confessional that their mom had planned to go on adventures after retirement, but ended up having Parkinson's instead... Meanwhile, her kids' TAR adventure ended quickly, so I guess it runs in the family (heh) but they do want their tombstones to say "I ran TAR season 37" :-)
Ep 2
- This leg they're heading to Japan, but instead of the usual Tokyo, it's Osaka, and Phil even helps get a plug in for Expedia while promoting that there are tasks inspired by Expedia travel experiences (which we will eventually see have banners with Japanese text reading "Expedia" on them), plus the return of a TAR classic, which we'll get to in a moment :-) To pad it out to the 90 minutes, they're having contestants make their travel arrangements via specified travel agents in HK, splitting teams on to two flights, before heading to the clue pickup at a tower, where Ernie/Bridget are in 1st to get a clue to head to a building called Namba Hatch (live concert venue)...
- ...for an Intersection (that's your return of a TAR classic right there :-)), in which teams have to pair up (with mutual agreement) to complete the next task together, which happens to be a synchronized taiko drumming Roadblock, where much of the screen time is devoted to Ernest(/Bridget) and Mark(/Brett) having their number of attempts pile up... Meanwhile, Scott(/Lori) and Carrigain(/Bernie) get it in one (the only pair), and Carrigain brags about it in in confessional :-) (Task comes complete with a dramatic reveal/presentation of the next clue :-))
- I originally tuned in in time to see Detour pickup at Dotonbori Bridge, between Mochi vs Mawashi: Mochi is the "most labor-instenive way to make dessert" according to Phil, as it involves pounding rice into paste and making them into balls, and Mawashi involves wrapping a strap of heavy canvas to make the iconic sumo loincloth (on each player)... Nick and Mike are quick to pick the sumo task, because Nick likes wrestling :-)
- Johnathan/Ana and Carson/Jack also doing Sumo, and it looks like local broadcaster has put some extra censorship on the task, as their censorship pixelates the picture, whereas the show's normal censorship uses the generic blur effect... Anyways, they're wrapping a heavy canvas strip around each other, before tucking it in a specific fashion to make the loincloth... After successfully getting the wrap passed, contestants don't just take the clue from the adjucating sumo wrestler... they have to do some wrestling and push him out first... Johnathan/Ana note it's not easy since he's built like a tank, but after they eventually (are allowed to) push him out, they get a clue for Tahoto Pagoda, where the B roll has Phil talk about "Daruma" for winner's good luck (but they don't actually feature as part of the check-in)
- Jeff(/Pops) and Courtney(/Jasmin) get clue after 8 rounds of drumming, Holden(/Han) and Erika(/Belinda) at 7, while Ernest and Mark are still trying to pass after 15 attempts... Ernest is holding Mark (and Bridget) up, but he's determined to finish it whether it will take a month or two years (LOL)
- Alyssa/Josiah's first wrap is no good because they leave too long of a tail, while Carrigain reveals that she did traditional Cambodian dance, and so has an up on them :-) Scott/Lori are also doing sumo as well, and get working after watching one round of the demo, before getting their clue on the 2nd check :-) Ernie/Mike finally get the drumming clue on their 17th go, and it's clear that elimination will be between these two teams, and both are doing sumo... Alyssa/Josiah are OK on the 3rd attempt and after shoving out the wrestler, they quip "Thank you for not breaking me" :-)
- Courtney/Jasmin, Pops/Jeff, and Erika/Melinda are doing Mochi, and there's of course the prerequisite demo :-) And it turns out the lumberjack routine is perfect for pounding the mochi rice, as we're shown a B-roll of Pops/Jeff doing their lumberjacking... As the first two of those teams have their pounded rice pass muster and start making their mochi balls, the front teams are all heading to the pit stop in cabs, all driven by masked cabbies, and you can't blame them for being cautious 4 or so years after the pandemic stopped Japan from making a windfall from having spectators at the Olympics... And speaking of sports, Scott/Lori make a weird metaphor about pointing towards the outfield and hitting a fastball, and Scott is quick to admit he doesn't even play baseball, LOL.
- Pitstop has Johnathan/Ana celebrating their anniversary with a 1st place, and Phil plugging away Expedia as taking away barriers for travellers, and awarding them a 10-day guided hike of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania :-) Scott/Lori are 2nd, and that's great for them considering they were last earlier :-) Nick says in confessional, of dressing up Mike in a mawashi, "I touched parts of Mike today that I never wanna touch again", and says for something they'd been trying to get on for 7 years, "It's a lot harder than we thought it was going to be", as they're on their 8th attempt to get their mawashi correct
- Mochi: Pops/Jeff's mochi balls are too big (gotta clarify it's mochi, LOL), while Courtney and Jasmin manage to nail the mochi ball making portion of the task in one go, and note that the proper size for the mochi balls is mushroom size, to which Jeff notes that they've seen different size mushrooms :-\
- Alyssa/Josiah finish 3rd and describe the leg as "The hardest thing we've ever had to do while still having fun" :-) followed by Carson/Jack reacting in shock to be in 4th... Bernie/Carrigain get a pass on the loincloth on 8th, and we don't even get to see them try to push the wrestler; Nick/Mike pass on the 10th go, and we do get to see their shoving as they describe the sumo wrestler as an immovable object, before getting their clue in 9th, while Brett/Matt manage to pass on the first attempt to get the clue in 10th :-) The last two teams at the Detour are Han/Holden and Ernest/Bridget, quite the comedown for the latter from being first to pickup the clue at the tower, as they're alternating their checks and submissions
- After a quick pitstop check-in, with Erika/Melinda surprised to be in 5th place, Han/Holden get the clue on their 5th attempt, without showing their shoving demonstration, then back to the pit stop to show Courtney/Jasmin, Pops/Jeff, Bernie/Carrigain checking in 6th to 8th in that order at the pitstop... Ernest/Bridget are last to pass the Detour, and after Brett/Mark and Nick/Mike get 9th and 10th at the pitstop, it's down to Han/Holden and Ernest/Bridget, so of course there's the usual playing up of Han/Holden getting lost briefly, but ultimately, they're still check in ahead of Ernest/Bridget, and Bridget quips "Thank you for waiting for us" before their elimiation
Ep 3
- Next stop is Kyoto by Shinkansen :-) Most teams of course looking forward to it, especially Josiah, whose friend has ridden the legendary bullet train, and looks forward to being able to brag he's ridden the bullet train and drank 10 sakes (okay, not that last part :-)) Bernie Carrigain make a weird joke about the bullet train having "bullet train" written on it... Also the leg will have an Express Pass, and nurses compare it to the Willy Wonka golden ticket ...and I'm missing a good chunk of the next half hour so I'm in the dark about how exactly to earn it, but Johnathan/Ana earn the Express Pass (as I would learn while they were doing the Detour); I picked up as Melinda/Erika and Pops/Jeff, the only remaining parent-child teams are alliancing with each other, and going with the Fold side of the Detour, which involves folding giant origami cranes :-)
- Roadblock at Shiramine shrine is "Who's up for some kicks?" It's Japanese ball kicking in circle, known as kemari, and the locals are dressed in fancy old-fashioned Japanese dress; here's an article about the game :-) Anyways, contestants have to string together 5 consecutive successful kicks, which we'll see for at least one team is easier said than done, but more on that anon :-)
- The non-origami side of the Detour is Fling, which involves throwing spikes, stars, and darts into a target... Although there's a practice area to get the swing of things, turns out at the judging area, contestants will have to be 3 out of 3 on those 3 items (!) Carson/Jack immediately switch upon their first miss, and they acknowledge the speed in which they decide was almost comical :-D One of them has a memory of himself in bowl-cut hair reading about origami instead of hanging out with jocks LOL.
- Roadblock: Because Jasmine has already done the first two of these, Courtney is doing this one, even though Jasmine has played sports (basketball, to be fair) and Courtney hasn't; leading to Courtney struggling A LOT :-\ Meanwhile, Holden is a former soccer player, and passes on the first go (!) jumping from last to 9th (Holden: "Still got it") It feels like Bernie/Carrigain get easier kicks after Holden has passed, so it's down to just Courtney :-\
- Scott/Lori get the bird done in 1st, and are heading to the pitstop at Konkai Komyo-ji temple :-) Meanwhile, Alyssa loves cornhole, so Aly/Jo decide they will do fling... Aly/Jo say they can't half-@$$ anything, as they note that it wouldn't be TAR if the task was easy, but the pass parameters are ridiculously hard, maybe at least 2/3 on each should have sufficed? As-is I saw nobody pass this side of the task :-\
- Anyways, pitstop, where Scott/Lori manage to edge out Carson/Jack for 1st, and get $5000, which Phil Keoghan clairifies as $2500 each (Lori: "I love you 5000" :-)) Weirdly Phil declares the 1st place team as "It could be Scott and Lori"... But anyways, the next leg has a new surprise: "Driver Seat", in which the first team will decide how much work other teams will have to do to get their clue :-)
- Nurses are still at ball, while Aly/Jo are still at fling as their attempt count passes 20, and eventually we see Nick/Mike are also starting their first fling attempt on Aly/Jo's 24th... after which Aly/Jo decide to quit and head to origami, but while they're doing it, Josiah still quips to the camera: "I'm still a ninja, just letting everyone know" :-)
- Courtney finally gets past the ball task, and while riding to the next task in the cab, she talks about talking care of her mom during Covid... Jo/Ana are 3rd and they also have the Express Pass (that's how I even knew about it being on offer in the first place) Nick/Mike have a meditation break after 17 fling attempts, and one of the explains that he was assaulted by a thug, and deals with the mental aftermaith with daily meditation... still doesn't help them, as they end up quitting after 31 attempts :-\ Switching over to Fold, one of the teams quips "When in Kyoto, make giant origami cranes" :-D
- Bernie/Carrigain initially go for fling, but decide to switch after practice, so last four teams are on origami, and Han/Holden are fighting and other teams are having problems focusing on the demo because of this, as the sibs are determined not to get elimmed after his ball-kicking skills :-\ Nick/Mike are helping Han/Holden, and they "cannot thank them enough" for their help, while Nick/Mike get their crane in 8th, followed by Han/Holden, who hug the adjugators after passing cranes... no Covid qualms here :-) At the pitstop Nick/Mike are good with math to determine they're 8th, while Han/Holden are in 9th, with a reminder of the Driver Seat Choose how many work other teams need to do for next clue...
- Bernie/Carrigain get their crane done in 10th, and their check in feels so similar to elimination they're relieved to see they've also checked in in 10th, adding that it's not in either of them to give up :-) Courtney/Jasmine take in the beautiful scenery of temple before their elimination, adding that despite their early exit, "It would be crazy to stop dreaming and challenging ourselves"
Ep 4
- This week was not a great week for recapping, and not just because of the (very rare for our area) earthquake that hit Friday before the rerun... Anyways, they're in Bali, Indonesia, and I managed to tune in in time to see the teams ride ATVs to a waterfall and grab the clue from underneath, and Johnathan saying in confessional that this race fulfills his Indiana Jones fantasy (dude's even got the hat to go with it :-))
- Next up is Roadblock at a rice paddy: Who thinks they can rice to the occcasion? It's also where the Driver's Seat is, so Johnathan/Ana will assign teams different weights of rice to thresh (15, 20, or 25lbs) Of course Jo/Ana will give themselves just 15 lbs... but then they end up using the Express Pass on it, and it's much later that we see that they probably otherwise would have saved the 15 for another team :-\ Anyways, Scott/Lori, Alyssa/Josiah, Pops/Jeff and Bernie/Carrigian get 25, while Melinda/Erika get 15, which is just as well since mommy's doing this Roadblock :-) Meanwhile Brett/Mark find themselves 40 minutes out of the way because their driver put in the wrong directions (Amy/Daniel say hello, especially more fitting since they also got eliminated in Indonesia :-\)
- Scott has Lori take out her aggression on the rice, because of course there'll be teams taking out their aggression on the rice :-) Han (or "Bao Han" as Holden calls) came from a farmer family, and has a confessional about how she's worked hard not to have to be a farmer, and her parents would appreciate the task :-) Scott/Lori are first to complete the task, and are heading to the next stop... Alyssa manages to finish the task, and trips on the way out, though Josiah does quip that she's "the toughest ever woman to run the race" :-) Brett/Mark show up in last, but thankfully only need to do 20 lbs, and comment on how no one ever saw them k!lling the tasks, so no one ever thought to target them with a bigger weight, and IIRC they quip that "The rice did something horrible to you" :-)
- Next stop is Penglipuran village, where the Detour is between Penjor and Pajegan: Penjor is a big bamboo pole with decorations, while Pajegan is Balinese offering, made with flowers, fruits and "muffins" (their words), which they have to memorize, buy the goods, assemble, and carry on head to temple... Scott/Lori manage to make it to the task while Jo/Ana are still at it, and quip that they're going to treat Jo/Ana the same way they treat their children when they've done anything wrong: Ignore them :-)
- Only Nick/Mike and Han/Holden are going for Pajegan (with the sibs making up a story to memorize the goods they have to obtain) Aly/Jo are the first team not to notice the sign behind the clue box, heading towards Pajegan even though they wanted Penjor, but after Carson/Jack do notice and head in the right direction, Aly/Jo are shown running back towards the box to head in the right path :-) Back at the Roadblock, one of Brett/Mark lost his shoe during one measuring attempt, so he's doing it barefoot LOL. Eventually, the last team doing it is Bernie/Carrigain, one of the 25 lbs teams (and I should note here, Jo/Ana feel like that's more than they think they should have gotten)
- Scott/Lori are getting a little snippy doing the task, and Carson/Jack note that Scott/Lori are passionate LOL. Brett/Mark make a comment about making their experience what they want it to be, while Aly/Jo comment that crafts aren't normally their thing, "but today it's our thing"... Anyways, despite concerns about wasting the Express Pass (at least in this leg), Jo/Ana are first to get it done, then they have to put on sarongs to carry the pole over to a designated slot and plant it in... which Johnathan makes the "one small step for man" speech while doing so (LOL) before getting the clue to the pitstop at some temple :-) Meanwhile, Brett/Mark make a comment about how Zen is all about being in the moment while making their Penjor :-)
- After a brief scene of Han/Holden and Nick/Mike trying to buy the goods for the offerings, Jo/Ana are 1st at the pitstop, and getting a trip to Croatia & Montenegro (Dubrovnik! Blue Cave! Kotor!) Scott/Lori and Carson/Jack follow later and they don't think Jo/Ana made the right choice in using the Express Pass this week... Bernie/Carrigain get lost on way to the Penjor Detour because like Aly/Jo, they missed the sign (which again was behind the box) and they're even shown arguing in an after-the-fact confessional :-\ Several teams are still there when they arrive tho; that said, Aly/Jo, Mel/Erika, Pops/Jeff, and Brett/Mark are all soon on their way to plant their poles not long after :-\
- One of Nick/Mike's offerings falls apart in half on the handover (and they too have to present with sarongs), so they have to reassemble, while Han/Holden handover cleanly and get ahead, before joining the chaotic mess of several teams trying to find the pitstop :-) Mel/Erika get directions to the pitstop and take a different route from other teams... and manage to jump from 8th after the Detour to 4th at the pitstop, after those other teams end up running in circles, but they show up right afterwards in this order: Alyssa/Josiah, Han/Holden, Brett/Mark, Nick/Mike, and Pops/Jeff (all of them on the mat at the same time LOL)... which leaves Bernie/Carrigain to be eliminated, which they apologize in advance for not being graceful losers
- And on a programming note, just three weeks into the new season, local broadcaster('s owner) decided to pick up live Taiwanese pro basketball on weekend afternoons, taking away weekend reruns of TAR, by directly taking out a Saturday rerun, and also causing the Sunday rerun to be replaced with another show to accomodate the games :-\ (And that's on top of also airing LIV Golf in the second week as well)
But before we head into the new season... last October, I finally got around to seeing a few episodes of 34 I missed a decent chunk of the first (or even second!) time around... I don't feel like leaving loose ends, so here are some revised versions of the recaps originally written the summer before last (and on a side note, it's tone-deaf to be told to wait for the rerun, when you're already watching the rerun and don't know if there'll even be another rerun; I consider myself lucky that we got a rerun after 35 aired)
34x04
- ... the challenge is not to spill the items, and they're in open dishes rather than bags (Well, the biscotti are in bags :-)) With the windows, Miami and the cheerleaders team up (Luis: "Four heads are better than one"), and there'll always be that one contestant that wants to sample the local cuisine they're supposed to deliver... and that person is Luis :-) So anyways, the two teams, plus Abby/Will, run around town looking for the windows, as well as Jamaica, who get lost pretty quickly and start getting frustrated :-\ Eventually, Abby/Will (soon followed by Miami and cheerleaders) deliver their food... to tables set up on the same lawn where the fashion pictures are being checked :-) Rich/Dom finally get the chiseling and plastering done and head off to do fashion :-)
- Abby/Will are 3rd, and Miami and the cheerleaders effectively finish in a tie by jumping onto the mat together, but they're designated 4th and 5th, while Ballroom get 6th and Derek/Claire find themselves commenting on their gradual slide (1st, 4th, now 7th; spoiler: it gets better for them :-)) Boom-Boom do the windows and finish 8th, and it comes down to Jamaica, who are so done with this after all that chiseling and running around looking for the windows, and Rich/Dom, doing the fashion task in the evening, and getting many outfits wrong the first go, and despite Sharik's aching arms and everything, Jamaica manage to check in in 9th
34x08
- Both ballroom and military bros have no issues memorizing the text element of the words, but it's the French pronounciation that's the problem (like pronouncing "Je" as "Jay"), while Miami and the twins put down the finishing touches on their tile work by pouring in some sand in the gaps between the tiles :-) Meanwhile, on their way to French horn guy, the cheerleaders find themselves having to deal with some sort of bollards suddenly appearing in the middle of the street to block off the square (like those seen here in Street View) and having to negotiate to have them lowered to pass through :-\
- Derek and Claire arrive at the canal boat to reclaim first, and also claim themselves a trip to Bangkok (Thai cooking class! Speedboat floating market tour! Dinner cruise! Tuk-tuk at night!) Ballroom get poetry done in two, and the cheerleaders get it done in one, quipping about not wanting to kiss the adjugator due to Covid (see Abby/Will) Miami and the twins are next to arrive in that order, and military bros are disappointed to lose their first place and drop to 4th, but are at least glad to still be racing (spoiler alert: ...for now) Ballroom end up checking in 5th, narrowly edging the cheerleaders out of the race, and in their exit interview, they say the real stinger for them is that they consider themselves competitive and had hoped to make it to the final leg
Okay, now, new season :-)
Ep 1
- So it looks like Los Angeles is the permanent start city for TAR now... Phil Keoghan has some of the teams introduce themselves briefly at the start: Nick/Mike have auditioned for 7 years and thought they were being punked when they were called up, Scott/Lori are parents of 8 sons (Phil jokes that they came here because they want one more :-)), Pops/Jeff are lumberjacks, and Pops is 64 (Phil quips he'd want to look that good at 64 :-)), and Carson/Jack reveal they're D&D streamers :-) Phil also reveals there's going to be the first ever Fork in the Road, but we'll get to that when they get there :-)
- There's also the usual confessional intros, for example, Mark/Larry have been friends since they met in 1987 doing barges on the Missisippi, and they're old and broke (but they are in the same bike club :-) One of them introduces himself as a "handsome stranger" to the other teams while at LAX, which is hilarious with the country accent he speaks it in :-)) Even those who've already intro'd themselves at the start line get a package, where Scott/Lori reveals their sons range in age from 9-24, and it's basically a real life Loud House, LOL. Anyways, the 14 teams are heading to Hong Kong via Cathay to get the first clue at the Tian Tan Buddha :-)
- I'm missing most of the next 30 minutes, but anyways, by the 30 minute mark, 13 teams are on a ferry in Hong Kong, and commenting on how one of them will be eliminated, which sounded normal to someone tuning in at the 30 minute mark... but as mentioned, there are 14 this season (promos even bragged about it being the biggest cast ever :-)) The other remaining team, siblings Jackye/Lauren have to climb a bamboo structure thing as part of a Roadblock in the rain, and a good chunk of airtime is spent on the climb before cutting back to the others
- As per start line intro, Nick/Mike have been trying for 7 years to audition for TAR, and in their confessional intro package, we see an excerpt from their 4th ("and hopefully last") audition tape with them talking in front of a sign saying "Memento Mori", as they add "It doesn't matter how many noes you get... It only takes 1 yes" As Jackye/Lauren finish the Roadblock to tears and applause from the task organizers, everyone gets off the ferry and gets cabs in quick order for Lok Kwan Street Park, except for the other black team, dating nurses Courtney/Jasmin, who are struggling because they aren't reading the name right or something?
- At the Lok Kwan Street Park we have the Fork in the Road, between Dance or Sing... It's like a Detour, except with double stakes and double eliminations (exact contestant words), and obviously no switching allowed :-) One of Carson/Jack was in the Tony-award winner, Inheritance, so they're dancing... Other teams are father/daughter Ernest/Bridget, and friends Bernie/Carrigain
- Sing is at the Teahouse Xiqu Theater: Learn how to sing Cantonese opera... in full make up/costume LOL, with all lyrics written phonetically :-) Other teams head to Jao Tsung I Academy for Dance, where Phil calls lion dancing a fusion of athleticism, tradition and symbolism in a B-roll... Han and Holden know Vietnamese so they're singing, while Mark and Larry, retired firefighters, will dance, while the lumberjacks will do singing because they can't dance
- B-roll makes it look like Jasmin/Courtney finally get a cab at Nathan Road, after asking around and getting additional information from the Chinese text on the clue or something like that... They're used to getting things right first time, but this time was no good... Whatever, they're finally off to Lok Kwan... Alyssa/Josiah are doing singing, and quip that they're at any karaoke bar serving beer on a Thursday night... and later quip that no amount of beer could make that song sound good LOL. Brett/Mark are married LGBT's from Vegas, one of whom works with Cirque du Soleil :-)
- Nick/Mike are doing the dance, and after Courtney/Jasmin finally get to the Fork in the Road, they're doing dance because they think they can overtake firefighters and Nick/Mike... Johnathan/Ana is another one of the teams at the opera, and they note that they've got a tough judge. Han/Holden note that Vietnamese can help in opera and pronounciation :-) The firefighters arrive at the dancing, and in a confessional, one of them says that the last time he danced, he had a snake underneath, calling it the "chicken dance" LOL. Meanwhile, Jackye/Lauren are on a ferry alone, hoping to pull a tortoise and hare situation
- Carson/Jack are the first to complete the dance, and are heading to Hong Kong's newest park, the West Kowloon Art Park... Courtney/Jasmin show up at dancing and call it Jao Tsung ONE academy LOL. Scott/Lori are dancing, and after the first go, Scott be like "In this culture, they're looking for dainty. Lori is not dainty." The fork in the road results in good chunks of the show being presented as split screens with text labels in Chinese and English, which is a nice touch :-)
- Brett/Mark are first to finish at dance, and they've got cramps in their calves LOL, while Nick/Mike are starting to feel the heat and get snippy to each other while rehearsing their dance (Meanwhile, during the ad break, local broadcaster aired a promo for a documentary called Mission Net Zero about dealing with environmental issues in Taiwan, which is pretty weird for this channel, since they mainly air movies and procedural dramas, and a handful of reality games like TAR :-\ But if you thought that was weird, the very next week they showed live a round of a LIV golf tourney, which happened to pre-empt a scheduled rerun of that week's TAR... and I've got a programming note at the end of this week's post as well)
- Nick/Mike are 5th at dancing eventually, leaving just the firefighters and Courtney/Jasmin... Pops(/Jeff) will play the girl role at singing :-) While Alyssa/Josiah are first to finish singing, the straggling Jackye/Lauren will do the singing :-) Over at the pitstop, first to win from Dance are Carson and Jack, winning $3,000 post race, and they quip that "The other teams came with big arms, but we came with big... hopes and dreams" LOL. They're just ahead of Brett/Mark, and just as Phil is declaring them the 2nd team, the show abruptly cuts to a rejected Mark/Larry dancing attempt, before showing Courtney/Jasmine get a pass, leaving the firefighters in last
- Johnathan/Ana are 2nd to get the clue for singing, while at lion dancing, 3rd to get the clue are Ernie/Bridge and 4th are Bernie/Carrigain... Alyssa/Josiah are first place from singing, and will also get $3,000 after race, as the last three lion teams are trying to get cabs and making their way to the pit stop... At the pit stop, Nick and Mike are 5th from dancing, with Courtney and Jasmin in 6th, and it turns out to be quite a squeaker, as when the eliminated firefighters are shown approaching, the others are still being welcomed at the mat, with boom mike still visible :-) At the mat, the bearded one makes comment about how he always knows when his firefighter buddy calls on the phone, LOL. (Hey, if you only last one leg, don't expect me to tell which is which :-\)
- Now the singing teams are left, as Pops/Jeff decide to "do it the Chinese way", whatever that means, and get the clue in 3rd, followed by Han/Holden, Scott/Lori, and Melinda/Erika (mother/daughter) in that order... Melinda/Erika, despite getting lost on the way to the pit stop and seemingly putting themselves decently behind other teams, manage to get to the mat as Johnathan/Ana to Han/Holden are leaving, HUH. We only see Jackye/Lauren singing briefly before they head to the mat for their elimination, and just before their elimination, we learned in confessional that their mom had planned to go on adventures after retirement, but ended up having Parkinson's instead... Meanwhile, her kids' TAR adventure ended quickly, so I guess it runs in the family (heh) but they do want their tombstones to say "I ran TAR season 37" :-)
Ep 2
- This leg they're heading to Japan, but instead of the usual Tokyo, it's Osaka, and Phil even helps get a plug in for Expedia while promoting that there are tasks inspired by Expedia travel experiences (which we will eventually see have banners with Japanese text reading "Expedia" on them), plus the return of a TAR classic, which we'll get to in a moment :-) To pad it out to the 90 minutes, they're having contestants make their travel arrangements via specified travel agents in HK, splitting teams on to two flights, before heading to the clue pickup at a tower, where Ernie/Bridget are in 1st to get a clue to head to a building called Namba Hatch (live concert venue)...
- ...for an Intersection (that's your return of a TAR classic right there :-)), in which teams have to pair up (with mutual agreement) to complete the next task together, which happens to be a synchronized taiko drumming Roadblock, where much of the screen time is devoted to Ernest(/Bridget) and Mark(/Brett) having their number of attempts pile up... Meanwhile, Scott(/Lori) and Carrigain(/Bernie) get it in one (the only pair), and Carrigain brags about it in in confessional :-) (Task comes complete with a dramatic reveal/presentation of the next clue :-))
- I originally tuned in in time to see Detour pickup at Dotonbori Bridge, between Mochi vs Mawashi: Mochi is the "most labor-instenive way to make dessert" according to Phil, as it involves pounding rice into paste and making them into balls, and Mawashi involves wrapping a strap of heavy canvas to make the iconic sumo loincloth (on each player)... Nick and Mike are quick to pick the sumo task, because Nick likes wrestling :-)
- Johnathan/Ana and Carson/Jack also doing Sumo, and it looks like local broadcaster has put some extra censorship on the task, as their censorship pixelates the picture, whereas the show's normal censorship uses the generic blur effect... Anyways, they're wrapping a heavy canvas strip around each other, before tucking it in a specific fashion to make the loincloth... After successfully getting the wrap passed, contestants don't just take the clue from the adjucating sumo wrestler... they have to do some wrestling and push him out first... Johnathan/Ana note it's not easy since he's built like a tank, but after they eventually (are allowed to) push him out, they get a clue for Tahoto Pagoda, where the B roll has Phil talk about "Daruma" for winner's good luck (but they don't actually feature as part of the check-in)
- Jeff(/Pops) and Courtney(/Jasmin) get clue after 8 rounds of drumming, Holden(/Han) and Erika(/Belinda) at 7, while Ernest and Mark are still trying to pass after 15 attempts... Ernest is holding Mark (and Bridget) up, but he's determined to finish it whether it will take a month or two years (LOL)
- Alyssa/Josiah's first wrap is no good because they leave too long of a tail, while Carrigain reveals that she did traditional Cambodian dance, and so has an up on them :-) Scott/Lori are also doing sumo as well, and get working after watching one round of the demo, before getting their clue on the 2nd check :-) Ernie/Mike finally get the drumming clue on their 17th go, and it's clear that elimination will be between these two teams, and both are doing sumo... Alyssa/Josiah are OK on the 3rd attempt and after shoving out the wrestler, they quip "Thank you for not breaking me" :-)
- Courtney/Jasmin, Pops/Jeff, and Erika/Melinda are doing Mochi, and there's of course the prerequisite demo :-) And it turns out the lumberjack routine is perfect for pounding the mochi rice, as we're shown a B-roll of Pops/Jeff doing their lumberjacking... As the first two of those teams have their pounded rice pass muster and start making their mochi balls, the front teams are all heading to the pit stop in cabs, all driven by masked cabbies, and you can't blame them for being cautious 4 or so years after the pandemic stopped Japan from making a windfall from having spectators at the Olympics... And speaking of sports, Scott/Lori make a weird metaphor about pointing towards the outfield and hitting a fastball, and Scott is quick to admit he doesn't even play baseball, LOL.
- Pitstop has Johnathan/Ana celebrating their anniversary with a 1st place, and Phil plugging away Expedia as taking away barriers for travellers, and awarding them a 10-day guided hike of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania :-) Scott/Lori are 2nd, and that's great for them considering they were last earlier :-) Nick says in confessional, of dressing up Mike in a mawashi, "I touched parts of Mike today that I never wanna touch again", and says for something they'd been trying to get on for 7 years, "It's a lot harder than we thought it was going to be", as they're on their 8th attempt to get their mawashi correct
- Mochi: Pops/Jeff's mochi balls are too big (gotta clarify it's mochi, LOL), while Courtney and Jasmin manage to nail the mochi ball making portion of the task in one go, and note that the proper size for the mochi balls is mushroom size, to which Jeff notes that they've seen different size mushrooms :-\
- Alyssa/Josiah finish 3rd and describe the leg as "The hardest thing we've ever had to do while still having fun" :-) followed by Carson/Jack reacting in shock to be in 4th... Bernie/Carrigain get a pass on the loincloth on 8th, and we don't even get to see them try to push the wrestler; Nick/Mike pass on the 10th go, and we do get to see their shoving as they describe the sumo wrestler as an immovable object, before getting their clue in 9th, while Brett/Matt manage to pass on the first attempt to get the clue in 10th :-) The last two teams at the Detour are Han/Holden and Ernest/Bridget, quite the comedown for the latter from being first to pickup the clue at the tower, as they're alternating their checks and submissions
- After a quick pitstop check-in, with Erika/Melinda surprised to be in 5th place, Han/Holden get the clue on their 5th attempt, without showing their shoving demonstration, then back to the pit stop to show Courtney/Jasmin, Pops/Jeff, Bernie/Carrigain checking in 6th to 8th in that order at the pitstop... Ernest/Bridget are last to pass the Detour, and after Brett/Mark and Nick/Mike get 9th and 10th at the pitstop, it's down to Han/Holden and Ernest/Bridget, so of course there's the usual playing up of Han/Holden getting lost briefly, but ultimately, they're still check in ahead of Ernest/Bridget, and Bridget quips "Thank you for waiting for us" before their elimiation
Ep 3
- Next stop is Kyoto by Shinkansen :-) Most teams of course looking forward to it, especially Josiah, whose friend has ridden the legendary bullet train, and looks forward to being able to brag he's ridden the bullet train and drank 10 sakes (okay, not that last part :-)) Bernie Carrigain make a weird joke about the bullet train having "bullet train" written on it... Also the leg will have an Express Pass, and nurses compare it to the Willy Wonka golden ticket ...and I'm missing a good chunk of the next half hour so I'm in the dark about how exactly to earn it, but Johnathan/Ana earn the Express Pass (as I would learn while they were doing the Detour); I picked up as Melinda/Erika and Pops/Jeff, the only remaining parent-child teams are alliancing with each other, and going with the Fold side of the Detour, which involves folding giant origami cranes :-)
- Roadblock at Shiramine shrine is "Who's up for some kicks?" It's Japanese ball kicking in circle, known as kemari, and the locals are dressed in fancy old-fashioned Japanese dress; here's an article about the game :-) Anyways, contestants have to string together 5 consecutive successful kicks, which we'll see for at least one team is easier said than done, but more on that anon :-)
- The non-origami side of the Detour is Fling, which involves throwing spikes, stars, and darts into a target... Although there's a practice area to get the swing of things, turns out at the judging area, contestants will have to be 3 out of 3 on those 3 items (!) Carson/Jack immediately switch upon their first miss, and they acknowledge the speed in which they decide was almost comical :-D One of them has a memory of himself in bowl-cut hair reading about origami instead of hanging out with jocks LOL.
- Roadblock: Because Jasmine has already done the first two of these, Courtney is doing this one, even though Jasmine has played sports (basketball, to be fair) and Courtney hasn't; leading to Courtney struggling A LOT :-\ Meanwhile, Holden is a former soccer player, and passes on the first go (!) jumping from last to 9th (Holden: "Still got it") It feels like Bernie/Carrigain get easier kicks after Holden has passed, so it's down to just Courtney :-\
- Scott/Lori get the bird done in 1st, and are heading to the pitstop at Konkai Komyo-ji temple :-) Meanwhile, Alyssa loves cornhole, so Aly/Jo decide they will do fling... Aly/Jo say they can't half-@$$ anything, as they note that it wouldn't be TAR if the task was easy, but the pass parameters are ridiculously hard, maybe at least 2/3 on each should have sufficed? As-is I saw nobody pass this side of the task :-\
- Anyways, pitstop, where Scott/Lori manage to edge out Carson/Jack for 1st, and get $5000, which Phil Keoghan clairifies as $2500 each (Lori: "I love you 5000" :-)) Weirdly Phil declares the 1st place team as "It could be Scott and Lori"... But anyways, the next leg has a new surprise: "Driver Seat", in which the first team will decide how much work other teams will have to do to get their clue :-)
- Nurses are still at ball, while Aly/Jo are still at fling as their attempt count passes 20, and eventually we see Nick/Mike are also starting their first fling attempt on Aly/Jo's 24th... after which Aly/Jo decide to quit and head to origami, but while they're doing it, Josiah still quips to the camera: "I'm still a ninja, just letting everyone know" :-)
- Courtney finally gets past the ball task, and while riding to the next task in the cab, she talks about talking care of her mom during Covid... Jo/Ana are 3rd and they also have the Express Pass (that's how I even knew about it being on offer in the first place) Nick/Mike have a meditation break after 17 fling attempts, and one of the explains that he was assaulted by a thug, and deals with the mental aftermaith with daily meditation... still doesn't help them, as they end up quitting after 31 attempts :-\ Switching over to Fold, one of the teams quips "When in Kyoto, make giant origami cranes" :-D
- Bernie/Carrigain initially go for fling, but decide to switch after practice, so last four teams are on origami, and Han/Holden are fighting and other teams are having problems focusing on the demo because of this, as the sibs are determined not to get elimmed after his ball-kicking skills :-\ Nick/Mike are helping Han/Holden, and they "cannot thank them enough" for their help, while Nick/Mike get their crane in 8th, followed by Han/Holden, who hug the adjugators after passing cranes... no Covid qualms here :-) At the pitstop Nick/Mike are good with math to determine they're 8th, while Han/Holden are in 9th, with a reminder of the Driver Seat Choose how many work other teams need to do for next clue...
- Bernie/Carrigain get their crane done in 10th, and their check in feels so similar to elimination they're relieved to see they've also checked in in 10th, adding that it's not in either of them to give up :-) Courtney/Jasmine take in the beautiful scenery of temple before their elimination, adding that despite their early exit, "It would be crazy to stop dreaming and challenging ourselves"
Ep 4
- This week was not a great week for recapping, and not just because of the (very rare for our area) earthquake that hit Friday before the rerun... Anyways, they're in Bali, Indonesia, and I managed to tune in in time to see the teams ride ATVs to a waterfall and grab the clue from underneath, and Johnathan saying in confessional that this race fulfills his Indiana Jones fantasy (dude's even got the hat to go with it :-))
- Next up is Roadblock at a rice paddy: Who thinks they can rice to the occcasion? It's also where the Driver's Seat is, so Johnathan/Ana will assign teams different weights of rice to thresh (15, 20, or 25lbs) Of course Jo/Ana will give themselves just 15 lbs... but then they end up using the Express Pass on it, and it's much later that we see that they probably otherwise would have saved the 15 for another team :-\ Anyways, Scott/Lori, Alyssa/Josiah, Pops/Jeff and Bernie/Carrigian get 25, while Melinda/Erika get 15, which is just as well since mommy's doing this Roadblock :-) Meanwhile Brett/Mark find themselves 40 minutes out of the way because their driver put in the wrong directions (Amy/Daniel say hello, especially more fitting since they also got eliminated in Indonesia :-\)
- Scott has Lori take out her aggression on the rice, because of course there'll be teams taking out their aggression on the rice :-) Han (or "Bao Han" as Holden calls) came from a farmer family, and has a confessional about how she's worked hard not to have to be a farmer, and her parents would appreciate the task :-) Scott/Lori are first to complete the task, and are heading to the next stop... Alyssa manages to finish the task, and trips on the way out, though Josiah does quip that she's "the toughest ever woman to run the race" :-) Brett/Mark show up in last, but thankfully only need to do 20 lbs, and comment on how no one ever saw them k!lling the tasks, so no one ever thought to target them with a bigger weight, and IIRC they quip that "The rice did something horrible to you" :-)
- Next stop is Penglipuran village, where the Detour is between Penjor and Pajegan: Penjor is a big bamboo pole with decorations, while Pajegan is Balinese offering, made with flowers, fruits and "muffins" (their words), which they have to memorize, buy the goods, assemble, and carry on head to temple... Scott/Lori manage to make it to the task while Jo/Ana are still at it, and quip that they're going to treat Jo/Ana the same way they treat their children when they've done anything wrong: Ignore them :-)
- Only Nick/Mike and Han/Holden are going for Pajegan (with the sibs making up a story to memorize the goods they have to obtain) Aly/Jo are the first team not to notice the sign behind the clue box, heading towards Pajegan even though they wanted Penjor, but after Carson/Jack do notice and head in the right direction, Aly/Jo are shown running back towards the box to head in the right path :-) Back at the Roadblock, one of Brett/Mark lost his shoe during one measuring attempt, so he's doing it barefoot LOL. Eventually, the last team doing it is Bernie/Carrigain, one of the 25 lbs teams (and I should note here, Jo/Ana feel like that's more than they think they should have gotten)
- Scott/Lori are getting a little snippy doing the task, and Carson/Jack note that Scott/Lori are passionate LOL. Brett/Mark make a comment about making their experience what they want it to be, while Aly/Jo comment that crafts aren't normally their thing, "but today it's our thing"... Anyways, despite concerns about wasting the Express Pass (at least in this leg), Jo/Ana are first to get it done, then they have to put on sarongs to carry the pole over to a designated slot and plant it in... which Johnathan makes the "one small step for man" speech while doing so (LOL) before getting the clue to the pitstop at some temple :-) Meanwhile, Brett/Mark make a comment about how Zen is all about being in the moment while making their Penjor :-)
- After a brief scene of Han/Holden and Nick/Mike trying to buy the goods for the offerings, Jo/Ana are 1st at the pitstop, and getting a trip to Croatia & Montenegro (Dubrovnik! Blue Cave! Kotor!) Scott/Lori and Carson/Jack follow later and they don't think Jo/Ana made the right choice in using the Express Pass this week... Bernie/Carrigain get lost on way to the Penjor Detour because like Aly/Jo, they missed the sign (which again was behind the box) and they're even shown arguing in an after-the-fact confessional :-\ Several teams are still there when they arrive tho; that said, Aly/Jo, Mel/Erika, Pops/Jeff, and Brett/Mark are all soon on their way to plant their poles not long after :-\
- One of Nick/Mike's offerings falls apart in half on the handover (and they too have to present with sarongs), so they have to reassemble, while Han/Holden handover cleanly and get ahead, before joining the chaotic mess of several teams trying to find the pitstop :-) Mel/Erika get directions to the pitstop and take a different route from other teams... and manage to jump from 8th after the Detour to 4th at the pitstop, after those other teams end up running in circles, but they show up right afterwards in this order: Alyssa/Josiah, Han/Holden, Brett/Mark, Nick/Mike, and Pops/Jeff (all of them on the mat at the same time LOL)... which leaves Bernie/Carrigain to be eliminated, which they apologize in advance for not being graceful losers
- And on a programming note, just three weeks into the new season, local broadcaster('s owner) decided to pick up live Taiwanese pro basketball on weekend afternoons, taking away weekend reruns of TAR, by directly taking out a Saturday rerun, and also causing the Sunday rerun to be replaced with another show to accomodate the games :-\ (And that's on top of also airing LIV Golf in the second week as well)
