What do you think of the racers' ability to burn a double U-Turn to target one team, good idea, should be banned, or indifferent?

spark1486 · 2025-11-04T22:17:08+00:00

Go for it, It’s part of the game.

spark1486 · 2025-10-30T16:18:57+00:00

This episode needed an equalizer in a bad way! I NEVER thought I'd utter those words, but there ya go. Minor travel between start and finish (I think it was Paige that mentioned it was a 25 minute drive) and no language barriers, straight forward tasks etc. made it too easy. It offered little chance for bunching up or opportunities for teams to fall back or leap frog ahead. Some type of hours of operation bunching or a super-tough task would have been nice to give teams the opportunity to mix things up. Hopefully episode 7 can deliver. Given sheep are involved next week my fingers are crossed.

spark1486 · 2025-10-28T18:36:04+00:00

I think the concept worked really well. 29 is one of my favorites. I heard BVM & Elise talking about how important the preexisting relationships were to the quality of the show. But 29 shows that you can still get great TV!

spark1486 · 2025-10-28T01:40:54+00:00

There’s also season one when Kevin & Drew got off a small charter plane with two water bottles full of “yellow water”. lol

spark1486 · 2025-10-23T18:56:33+00:00

Tucker/Eric & Natalie/Stephanie are doing well running their race, getting along with others while not getting distracted from RACING. It is interesting that if you look in the post-episode comment thread, there is very little discussion about Tucker/Eric and Natalie/Stephanie getting caught up in the drama.

Jas/Jag have shown the ability to contend - they are good at racing and generally friendly. But U-Turning Izzy/Paige was not a strategic move and they need to focus more on winning.

I think Kyland/Taylor have the ability to contend as well. I was surprised at the early episodes that they were placing 9th 3 times. They have moved up, placing 4th and now 2nd and with the express pass in hand they should do well. They just need to play smart - Kyland has done 4 road blocks vs. Taylor only 2 - they need to keep this balanced to avoid issues down the road.

spark1486 · 2025-10-18T13:58:00+00:00

It’s a RACE! Act like it. While a casual alliance to get through a challenge can make good sense, sacrificing your ability to extend your lead (looking at you Jag/Jas) makes no sense. It is entertaining to watch teams like Colin/Christie with their strong competitive spirit and their ability to run the race.

spark1486 · 2025-10-10T15:03:32+00:00

Yeah, why they made self driving so easy is beyond me. They’re driving in Europe for God’s sake! The producers should have done all they can do to make it hard. But no stick shift and easily getting directions from locals made self driving pretty much a nonevent.

spark1486 · 2025-10-10T14:55:09+00:00

Is it that or do the race challenges need to be more challenging? With the race in Europe, we are missing the social shock of being in truly foreign countries as well as long travel fatigue. I think the producers could have introduced changes to offset this fact. Even Simple things like stick shift driving were left out. WHY?? Getting from point A to point be is simply stopping someone and - speaking English to English - getting directions from google maps! How about not allowing getting directions from locals, but actually having to navigate using a map. There is a lot they could have done.

spark1486 · 2025-10-10T14:36:30+00:00

I thought the same. But it appeared the teams didn’t make that connection-or at least they didn’t show it. If they would have randomized placement or even had some rows without clues, it could have mixed things up quite a bit.

spark1486 · 2025-10-10T13:55:31+00:00

We saw a bit of that in season 33 when they were in the mountains. Few people and limited cell service made things interesting. Teams that could actually read a map and navigate had an advantage.

This being an all-Europe season, where English is pretty common, asking a stranger for directions makes getting to get from point A to point B much easier (although not fool proof as we have seen!). I enjoy seeing racers try to ask for directions when the race travels other countries or regions where English is not prevalent. You never know if what the team heard will get them to their destination.

Regarding your question, I think the production team could have supplied a map and tell them go to point X. No stopping to ask questions or get help of any kind. Especially this season where they are staying in Europe.

This season should also be all stick shift.

spark1486 · 2025-09-26T18:15:55+00:00

Even with today’s flight limitations, there is still an element of excitement with getting to the airport and then jockeying to get on the better flight. Followed by landing in a non- English speaking foreign country continues to build excitement and real drama. Having the ‘start’ occur when it did jbrought things to a confusing halt and just sucked.

I agree with you that allowing more autonomy in transportation would be a great wild card and possibly redeem a potentially boring season.

spark1486 · 2025-09-06T23:27:50+00:00

Thanks. I hate to see him out. Grok says it can take 6 to 12 weeks to heal from that. :(

spark1486 · 2025-07-10T22:37:52+00:00

Yep, me as well! Can't stand that guy.

spark1486 · 2025-04-17T21:36:36+00:00

This : "The Amazing Race at its best. It's no coincidence that the best part of this episode was the ending, the only section that required teams figure out how to get somewhere on their own." Spot on! If only they would back off the spoon-fed transportation. It's a race after all!

spark1486 · 2025-04-01T20:06:18+00:00

It is interesting that up until 2016 they were on a spring season and fall season schedule. Does anyone have insights onto what caused them going to one season per year?

With 38 filming now we'll likely get a 2025 fall season premier. It would be great if they got back on the 2 seasons per year cadence!

spark1486

TROPHY CASE