Discussion:
TAR S30 ep6: "All's Fair in Love and War" (spoilers)
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Questor
2018-02-08 19:13:22 UTC
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Warning: contains spoilers

A minimalist summary.

Teams leave Prague and fly to Harare, Zimbabwe, then taxi to the Imiri Rhino &
Wildlife Conservancy. While it's not explicitly shown, a racer's comment
indicates everyone was on the same flight, which means... a bunching point!
At the Conservancy, teams are transported to a bush camp, where they must build
their safari tent and spend the night. In another use of split screen, Phil
tells us the finish order on this task will matter as he does a leisurely
announcer stroll while a sped-up clip shows two locals demonstrating tent
assembly.

Phil wakes the teams at 4am. They are informed about the partner swap twist.
The previous task's finish order determines who gets to choose first. With six
teams, the net effect is only the first and second place teams get any choice at
all. Big Brother picks the Skiers; the Lifeguards swap with the Indy Racers,
and that left the Yalies to exchange with the EMTs.

The new teams first paddle a float boat to small islands in a lake to look for
the next clue, which directs them to continue across the water to an observation
tower and the Detour: Rhino Track or Bush Whack. In the first, they ride a
trail on horseback looking for "evidence" of poachers, which must then be
correctly placed on a map to "document" where it was found. In the second,
teams drive a 4x4, including two water crossings, to re-stock a buried water
cache.

The swapped teams split evenly on the detour. Two of the three Bush Whackers
get stuck in the mud and must use a winch to free their vehicles. Jess grouses
to Kristi when Daniel and Evan don't help them complete their Rhino Track map.
During this segment we are treated to something very rarely seen on the Amazing
Race: one of the cameramen! He can be seen sitting in the front seat holding
up a camera as Conor attempts the second water crossing.

After completing their Detour, the new teams head to the mat and Phil. There
they will be unswapped and continue racing, but only when both teams are
present. Cody's mastery of the stick shift enable him and Jen to arrive first,
but Jess and Kristi struggle with their task and finish last. First the Indy
Racers and the Lifeguards, followed by the Yalies and the EMTs, head back into
the city of Harare, and then finally Big Brother and the Skiers.

The reconstituted teams immediately confront another Detour and a double U-turn.
The Indy Racers U-turn the Yalies; the Lifeguards U-turn team Big Brother. The
Detour is a choice between Handle With Care and Just Get It There. The former
has teams delivering seven packages to businesses in the confusing, multi-story
Eastgate Mall. In the latter, teams deliver two large tires by rolling them
about half a mile through a crowded marketplace.

The Yalies get a little help from the EMTs on Handle With Care and arrive at a
park ahead of the other U-turned team, Big Brother, for the next task. But all
teams get stalled here as they attempt a singing task called "Get Down, the
Zimbab-way." Teams must learn a bit of a song in the native language of Shona
and perform it on stage in front of an audience to the satisfaction of the band
manager. Both proper pronounciation and showmanship are required.

Finally teams make their way on foot to a nearby pedestrian mall, the mat,
and ice cream cones.


finish order:

1. Lifeguards
2. Pro skiers
3. Indy Racers
4. Yalies
5. Big Brother

6. Twin EMTs -- eliminated


Next week: another two hours, and drama!

Okay, everybody sing!

E'yay yoi-yay e-yay ho-ye ba-bá.
Pasi pa-no ka'ni pa-né zee-edzó.
Karen M
2018-02-09 04:22:14 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
Okay, everybody sing!
E'yay yoi-yay e-yay ho-ye ba-bá.
Pasi pa-no ka'ni pa-né zee-edzó.
I'd be okay if this were the last singing challenge ever held on TAR.

For the love of God, please never make us suffer through another singing challenge.


Karen
Questor
2018-02-09 07:42:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by Karen M
Post by Questor
Okay, everybody sing!
E'yay yoi-yay e-yay ho-ye ba-bá.
Pasi pa-no ka'ni pa-né zee-edzó.
I'd be okay if this were the last singing challenge ever held on TAR.
For the love of God, please never make us suffer through another singing challenge.
I'm not fond of the "eat a lot of unusual food" tasks. Fortunately we haven't
seen one in a few seasons.
Karen M
2018-02-10 06:44:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
Post by Karen M
Post by Questor
Okay, everybody sing!
E'yay yoi-yay e-yay ho-ye ba-bá.
Pasi pa-no ka'ni pa-né zee-edzó.
I'd be okay if this were the last singing challenge ever held on TAR.
For the love of God, please never make us suffer through another singing challenge.
I'm not fond of the "eat a lot of unusual food" tasks. Fortunately we haven't
seen one in a few seasons.
True, but I can look away from those, or go do something in another room until the last team finishes. I can't unhear the singing.

And yes, selling stuff to the natives is painfully inappropriate on several levels.

Karen
Loren Pechtel
2018-02-09 21:59:42 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 8 Feb 2018 20:22:14 -0800 (PST), Karen M
Post by Karen M
Post by Questor
Okay, everybody sing!
E'yay yoi-yay e-yay ho-ye ba-bá.
Pasi pa-no ka'ni pa-né zee-edzó.
I'd be okay if this were the last singing challenge ever held on TAR.
For the love of God, please never make us suffer through another singing challenge.
Ugly second only to the sell-to-natives type challenges.
Brian Smith
2018-03-03 04:13:56 UTC
Permalink
Post by Karen M
Post by Questor
Okay, everybody sing!
E'yay yoi-yay e-yay ho-ye ba-bá.
Pasi pa-no ka'ni pa-né zee-edzó.
I'd be okay if this were the last singing challenge ever held on TAR.
For the love of God, please never make us suffer through another singing challenge.
Karen
The reaction of the locals made this one worthwhile. I had to laugh at some of the locals getting their phones out to record that spectacle.

--
Brian

Questor
2018-02-10 06:31:53 UTC
Permalink
Post by Questor
Warning: contains spoilers
A minimalist summary.
Teams leave Prague and fly to Harare, Zimbabwe, then taxi to the Imiri Rhino &
Wildlife Conservancy. While it's not explicitly shown, a racer's comment
indicates everyone was on the same flight, which means... a bunching point!
At the Conservancy, teams are transported to a bush camp, where they must build
their safari tent and spend the night. In another use of split screen, Phil
tells us the finish order on this task will matter as he does a leisurely
announcer stroll while a sped-up clip shows two locals demonstrating tent
assembly.
Phil wakes the teams at 4am. They are informed about the partner swap twist.
The previous task's finish order determines who gets to choose first. With six
teams, the net effect is only the first and second place teams get any choice at
all. Big Brother picks the Skiers; the Lifeguards swap with the Indy Racers,
and that left the Yalies to exchange with the EMTs.
The new teams first paddle a float boat to small islands in a lake to look for
the next clue, which directs them to continue across the water to an observation
tower and the Detour: Rhino Track or Bush Whack. In the first, they ride a
trail on horseback looking for "evidence" of poachers, which must then be
correctly placed on a map to "document" where it was found. In the second,
teams drive a 4x4, including two water crossings, to re-stock a buried water
cache.
The swapped teams split evenly on the detour. Two of the three Bush Whackers
get stuck in the mud and must use a winch to free their vehicles. Jess grouses
to Kristi when Daniel and Evan don't help them complete their Rhino Track map.
During this segment we are treated to something very rarely seen on the Amazing
Race: one of the cameramen! He can be seen sitting in the front seat holding
up a camera as Conor attempts the second water crossing.
After completing their Detour, the new teams head to the mat and Phil. There
they will be unswapped and continue racing, but only when both teams are
present. Cody's mastery of the stick shift enable him and Jen to arrive first,
but Jess and Kristi struggle with their task and finish last. First the Indy
Racers and the Lifeguards, followed by the Yalies and the EMTs, head back into
the city of Harare, and then finally Big Brother and the Skiers.
I note that the teams were split in two ways on this Detour. Three swapped
teams did one task, and three did the other. Also, each original team had one
member who went on Rhino Track, and one who did Bush Whack.

Overall, the partner swap was relatively bland. That may be expected, given it
would be almost unthinkable to eliminate one or two teams based on their swapped
performance. (But see below). The most that might happen did happen -- the
first swapped team to arrive at the mat was delayed until the last team
finished. Even so, they quickly caught up with two more teams.

Introducing the partner swap after last season's "teams of strangers" setup
suggests another possibility for The Amazing Race: racing as individuals in ad
hoc teams. Start with 22 people that form teams at the beginning. Have one or
two similar partner re-assignments during the race -- but the new teams keep
racing as such and may be eliminated. Is that too far out for the Amazing Race?
Post by Questor
The reconstituted teams immediately confront another Detour and a double U-turn.
The Indy Racers U-turn the Yalies; the Lifeguards U-turn team Big Brother. The
Detour is a choice between Handle With Care and Just Get It There. The former
has teams delivering seven packages to businesses in the confusing, multi-story
Eastgate Mall. In the latter, teams deliver two large tires by rolling them
about half a mile through a crowded marketplace.
The Yalies get a little help from the EMTs on Handle With Care and arrive at a
park ahead of the other U-turned team, Big Brother, for the next task. But all
teams get stalled here as they attempt a singing task called "Get Down, the
Zimbab-way." Teams must learn a bit of a song in the native language of Shona
and perform it on stage in front of an audience to the satisfaction of the band
manager. Both proper pronounciation and showmanship are required.
If the head-to-head challenges are seen as unfair because of their location
within the leg -- right before the pit stop, with no opportunity to catch up --
what of this singing task, also right before the pit stop? It was perhaps even
more arbitrary then a hand truck race or pétanque, depending instead on the
approval of the band manager.
Post by Questor
Finally teams make their way on foot to a nearby pedestrian mall, the mat,
and ice cream cones.
Lifeguards
Big Brother
Pro skiers
Indy Racers
Yalies
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