Is it just me, or is this season rather blah? In past seasons I had to check the board every day, or I'd wind up spending hours going through the posts. Now nothing seems to be happening. The only thing I remember from the last episode is the comment about not talking to "foreigners". There is no team we 'love to hate'. Even the family edition gave us more to talk about than these bunch of racers.

• RE: Blah, Blah,Max Headroom, 12:59 PM, 10-13-06
  • RE: Blah, Blah,Earl Colby Pottinger, 04:23 PM, 10-13-06
• RE: Blah, Blah,Neobie, 04:19 AM, 10-15-06
• RE: Blah, Blah,Cyndimaus, 12:07 PM, 10-15-06

Yep, this season is shaping up to be pretty boring. While some teams are more likable than others, there is no real villain team and no team who stands out as someone to root for. Is it the casting of the teams? Could be, but I'm not convinced-- more drama would be good, but it's hard to predict that until the race is underway. Is it the places the teams have gone? Don't think so, they've been as unique as in past seasons. Too much bunching? Could be, but after the endless bunchosity that was TAR6, the producers have done better on that front.

TAR seems to have developed a case of "Survivor-itis", in that it's getting hard to keep the show fresh after so many seasons. Just as Survivor has recycled challenges for several seasons, TAR is recycling ideas from past seasons and it just isn't as interesting. So-called twists such as the Philimination of Bilal and Sa'eed mid-episode or having the teams start by going west instead of east just aren't making enough difference. So what's the solution?

(It certainly isn't going to teams of four and doing a family edition, that's for sure.)

I'd start by looking back at the early seasons before TAR won multiple Emmys. The show was fresh and unique back then, so how does one recreate that? Go back to clues instead of the watered-down instructions the teams get these days. Offer more choices on detours to make the show less linear, even if it does increase production costs by having to track more possible team paths in the same episode. Bring back the Fast Forward, which has not been seen at all in TAR10. For that matter, bring back the Yield, also missing this season. There has to be something to make it better.

First, I don't find the show boring, I am enjoying it fine.

I don't need a team to hate, and if there is a team to love they usually don't win anyway.

However, improvements are possible.

After watching Treasure Hunters it is clear that someone out there know how to write clues that are not just a simple set of directions.

More choices in detours? I don't know about that, but I do like when the two tasks are close enough to encourage switching tasks, then you never know where the teams will end up.

I am not a fan of the Fast Forward, but mostly because too often the tasks was too lame. The blood drinking for example was just a gross food eating task, but both hair cutting FFs told us a lot about the people who rejected them and took them.

LAST EDITED ON 10-15-06 AT 04:20 AM (EST)

Deviants from the faith! Burn them at the torch!

I agree on the teams. Diversity good, but that's kind of down the drain now. I would actually like teams that don't follow each other as much; gives us more to watch!

Good thing they saved the season with some pretty darn good locations and tasks. You gotta hand it to them for this one.

And yes (for the twenty-billionth time), more CLUES!

I am also enjoying this season. And I agree that there could be some improvements with clues and such. I did like the "listen to the clue" this time around. Since they were in a foreign country it added more challenge to it even when racers had their taxi drivers listen to the clue. (and it was great because the way the words were spelled and pronounced was different, especially if you didn't remember about how the "X" is pronounced.

We can only hope there will be improvements in seasons to come. But I'll keep on enjoying the race. You never know what will happen next and maybe it will be different than in the past.

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