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Thread Number: 1293
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Original Message
"Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by Seana on 03-29-06 at 01:26 AM
OK, so how many searching tasks are there usually? So far (and this is only Episode 5) we’ve had the Racers searching through:

- 1500 nesting dolls (Detour)
- field of Travelocity Gnome parts (Roadblock)
- wine bottles by breaking them over teammate's head (Detour)
- 2400 pieces of laundry (Detour)

Surely the great minds behind this program can come up with something else besides "looking through a lot of things to find the clue". Well, it’s not as if Italy has any culture or history for them to draw on when making up these Detours, right? No, of course not.


I had this all typed up and ready to post even before BJ and Tyler pointed out that they had already done a lot of searching.

Table of contents
Messages in this discussion
"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by vince3 on 03-29-06 at 03:47 AM
You forgot ransacking 3 various office buildings for hidden clues (Leg 1 Detour, Helicopter Choice)

"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by Seana on 03-29-06 at 09:47 AM
*smacks self*

You're right. I remember reminding myself to add that. This is why I thought the list needed another item. Good grief.

Also: I agree with both tvgeek and realitybites: these tasks rely too much on luck, and bring on the gross food! Anything but more searches.


"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by tvgeek401 on 03-29-06 at 03:51 AM
I was thinking the same thing last week.
I can handle one searching task, maybe two, but four (already) is excessive.

IMO, these searching tasks put too much stake on luck and not enough on racers' abilities. A good team could run into some really bad luck while a mediocre team could end up winning. Not fair.

But I suppose one could argue that three of the four were detours, so teams could have opted for the other task, but it's still not very exciting to watch.


--gotta love Tribe and his awesome siggies!
stupid glorified easter egg hunts.

"Needle in a haystack"
Posted by realitybites on 03-29-06 at 05:57 AM
I call this general group the "Needle in a haystack" searches. While a few are OK, they've definitely overdosed this time around. Much as I don't like them, at this point I'd prefer a gross food eating challenge.
"RE: Needle in a haystack"
Posted by Earl Colby Pottinger on 03-31-06 at 00:22 AM
While Italian tends to taste good - does anyone know if they still eat the same Roman food sauce today as in the past? You know the one made from rotten ungutted fish? That sounds nasty.
"RE: Needle in a haystack"
Posted by Lisa0116 on 04-04-06 at 12:50 PM
>I call this general group the
>"Needle in a haystack" searches.
> While a few are
>OK, they've definitely overdosed this
>time around. Much as
>I don't like them, at
>this point I'd prefer a
>gross food eating challenge.


Me, too!! I can never forget the caviar or the hugarian soup challenges. And what about (puke-they annoy me) Romber and the meat thing. Bring on the gross food!!!


"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by Karchita on 03-31-06 at 04:05 AM
I kinda liked the statue assembly project, and I thought the extra pieces were a nice, diabolical twist.
"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by Earl Colby Pottinger on 03-31-06 at 09:09 AM
Truely evil If R&Y had not gotten lost and the D&D been yielded (something the producers can not predict) the ending to the show would have been so tight that just those two pieces and how the assemblers react to them would make it very hard to predict who would be out or not.

We need more tasks with these kind of twists in them.

"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by Deekeryu on 04-01-06 at 01:27 AM
Wow, till you listed that, there is lots of searching tasks this time around. I didn't know there were 2400 laundry pieces. It looked a lot less.

But yeah, they need more physical, or doing stuff type tasks.

"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by cahaya on 04-20-06 at 00:31 AM
And now searching a bunch of dirt mounds for dinner, with background music provided by an obnoxious camel (Grrrrrrrrnt!).

Geez, if they're gonna have search tasks, make them before the bunching points, not just before the pit stop! It would be unfair for a leading team to get Philiminated due to sheer randomness, as BJ & Tyler almost did this week, being saved by the NE round.


An Arkie Asian creation, with Foo dog images by Bob.

"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by Cygnus X1 on 04-20-06 at 08:15 AM
Wonder what the Aiellos thought as they saw that?


I know, theirs wasn't a searching task.

"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by bullzeye on 04-20-06 at 11:25 AM
I thought of this thread as I was watching last night - yet another searching task allowing randomness to risk a strong team. Thank goodness it was a non-elimination round.
"RE: Searching Tasks Are Getting Old"
Posted by Seana on 04-20-06 at 12:29 PM
Thank goodness it was a non-elimination round.

Agreed.

I really just felt so badly for BJ. How awful to be stuck searching pile after pile and everyone else just come and go. I wondered if it was going to be a Lena/Kristy* type Philimination.

I didn't think much of the Tower-searching task. The camel thing was good, though. Every time there's a search task, I wonder what other types of things they could do in the country they're in. I have no thoughts about a local-type task for Oman, though.


*For those who don't know/can't remember, L/K were from TAR6. They had to search through rolls of hay in a field for an RB. Whoever did the task had a very hard time of it. Eventually, Phil had to come out to the field to eliminate them. They never even made it to the Mat.

"Our newest searches...."
Posted by vince3 on 04-26-06 at 11:32 PM
The sea part of the detour: 50 crawfish cages only so many had an actual crawfish. Both teams must present a crawfish to the fisherman for a clue.

At the Roadblock, Scavenger Product Placement Hunt Tour! First find Duracell flashlight and batteries. Then find the hidden tunnels. Take a tour of the tunnels until you find a clue.


Does that put our total up to 10 searches now? Or at least very close to 10?

"RE: Our newest searches...."
Posted by Earl Colby Pottinger on 04-27-06 at 02:37 AM
Yes, but on the plus sides.

1) You can open your eyes underwater and look into the cage before you reach it, it may even be possible to view the inside of more than one change at a time.

2) Unless I saw it wrong each team member must get crawfish. Not one person with all the work.

3) Were the cage close enought that diffirent members could search diffirent cages at the same time?

"RE: Our newest searches...."
Posted by byoffer on 04-27-06 at 08:56 AM
No plus side. They were still searching. There seemed to be a natural line of the cages in the water, so Eric & Jeremy, by getting there first, had the advantage of finding the closer full traps. MoJo had to swim further out to find their lobsters.

Sure, each person had to get a lobster, but that doesn't mean it wasn't another boring / lucky search challenge.

I don't like the search challenges. But they are the opposite of the bunching challenges because first come gets an advantage over those who come later.


"RE: Our newest searches...."
Posted by vince3 on 04-27-06 at 09:08 PM
LAST EDITED ON 04-27-06 AT 09:10 PM (EST)

I think ECP meant we are now over 10 searches for the race at this point.


Because 3 Vinces are better than one.