'The Amazing Race' on CBS HD - Page 3

Fios has Free on Demand, CBS, ABC, NBC all have their shows on there and also in HD, but for some reason Amazing Race does not show up under CBS, I wish it did. I am loving the show in HD !!

Well that particular case was different. A crazy man with a gun had shut down a hospital and they were informing people to go to a different hospital if they needed medical attention. People rarely check to see if a hospital is open before heading there.

Ahh, since this is the TAR thread I thought you were referring to the extremely urgent "local TAR auditions" alert!! they kept popping up and scrolling during the premiere Sunday . I do remember seeing an alert for that hospital incident sometime last week as well. Of course it's a little harder to complain about a something like that that actually does have a little urgency to it without feeling a bit guilty . I admit I am a little jaded by the overkill use of alerts and screen crawls. Is it really necessary to run storm closure crawls 24/7 every time there's a 1/4" of slush somewhere in the region?


ron

My 42" panny Plasma looked great! This show definately is up there with Survivor for best overall pic quality on tv! Most of this year's returns are not any I cared about to begin with so we are just along for the ride.

+1. Accurate and succinct post.

Yes, lots of the conditions I saw were worst case for digital cameras: direct sun, people in shade, and going in and out of doors while chasing people.

The Survivor crew spends weeks scouting the area they'll be shooting in (that's when they get footage of the snakes and bugs) so they know all the conditions they'll be faced with. And they have admitted they occasionally restage things.

No doubt that the shooting conditions are much more difficult. But from what I saw even the static location type shots were pretty soft. Still, as I recall the first HD season of survivor didn't look so hot either but now looks much better, so perhaps the PQ on TAR may improve with the learning curve of their crew. Although thinking back on it now...... do I remember Survivor switching cameras after the first HD season possibly?


ron

Just observing that it was soft, not complaining too much. It's not like we are talking about intentional softening, like watching "The View" or something.

Since the show is now HD, I'm assuming the same camera crew will be following the teams all over the world, instead of years past relying on local crews (if you recall, the excuse for not going HD in the past). I'm guessing there may be other benefits than HD with that, but I don't know enough about TV camera work to speculate. Are there any other advantages besides HD to having the same camera crew follow the teams around the world?

Yeah, I wasn't intending to imply that it was terrible or anything either. Overall it looked pretty decent really.

It's funny you mention the intentional softening. A year or so ago I was watching The Today Show and they had a segment where all of the hosts were sitting on their couch discussing something and then they switched to an individual closeup of Meridith Vieira and someone forgot to engage the filter or resolution reduction or whatever it is that they routinely employ on her tight shots. A few seconds into the shot all the wrinkles on her face suddenly just dissolved into a soft-focus blur as the operator realized who they had on camera and "fixed" the issue . It was kinda funny to see their catch and watch them disappear instantaneously so I had to hit record and capture it off the DVR buffer. When I showed it to some friends later they were all surprised that that kind of thing goes on.

Anyway, back to the show. Can the Cowboys recover? Who goes home tonight?


ron

There's an element named "Bismuth"?

Wasn't Travelocity bought out by Expedia several years ago?

No, never. Travelocity was an offshoot of SABRE, the AA e-reservation system customers could use on Compuserve, and then Travelocity because the first way to buy tickets online on the internet.

Maybe you remember how Expedia arrived on the scene and spanked travelocity?

Travelocity is still around but I don't know anybody who uses it these days.

I know this is hindsight, but had I seen this earlier I would have pointed out what would have saved the Cowboys and many times saves teams in these kinds of messes: the bunching point.

Notice that the Cowboys were WAY far behind but by making the next step involve those flights the next morning, the Cowboys were given plenty of time to catch up. These events are called "bunching points" as they allow teams to catch up. Considering TAR is meticulously planned, you have to think every bunching point is planned, even if it appears as if it is not (in the case of a location being closed and only open the next morning or whatever). There have been some seasons where there were a ridiculous amount of bunching points, but recently it hasn't been too bad. The criticism, of course, is that it allows teams to catch up and punishes teams that are doing well up to the bunching point. The show of course does it because it makes the eps more dramatic since you won't know automatically who is going home...but I personally hate to see teams leads evaporate because TAR decides to throw in a bunching point.

Kangaroo costumes with bouncy footwear - really?

THe `bunching points' were started after the season 3(?) debacle with the top 3 teams nowhere close to each other (a day apart). The BPs make it more entertaining while at the same time everyone gets to roll their eyes over it.

Yup, #83, immediately to the right of lead (82) in the periodic table. 57% of the active ingredient by weight of Pepto-Bismol is bismuth. I knew what those elements were (mercury was too easy) as soon as I saw them, was very pleased that Kent knew them too.

The Cowboys got saved by the bunching point, but no one expected them to be so far behind at that point.

Oh, I'm thinking of Travelscape. I logged in one day and it welcomed me as a new Expedia customer, wiping out all my travel history and preferences. This was over ten years ago. I used Travelscape for years and Expedia was a pain and slow. Maybe this is a good time to switch, especially since hotels don't seem too happy whenever they see I've booked through Expedia. They also made me a member of "Expedia Elite Plus" which has gotten me absolutely nothing except a little card.

I'm not really getting into TAR. I can't keep track of who is who (uh, the black guys, the Chinese father and daughter, the NFL cheerleaders, the cowboys, someone named Mallory, etc.). I don't know anything about the couples so I don't care who's ahead.

And the soundtrack is way over the top and never changes no matter what's on the screen. The people were hopping around in kangaroo suits but the relentless soundtrack always sounds like they're invading the Normandy coast. "BUM! BUM! BUDUM! BAH BAH! CRASH CRASH CRASH! THUMP! BRRRUMP! BAM! etc. etc. etc." It's just exhausting to listen to.

After last season where the winning move was being able to google Sancho Panza on a cabbie's cell phone and after last night's major move being able to google the location of the anchor with the inscription, I'd really like to see one season where all the teams are issued either a smart phone or an iPad and have a season that is highly dependent on googling clues and getting travel reservations online (maybe even throw in a stage where they have to do some war-driving to find a wifi hotspot) .

I wouldn't want to see this every season, but I think it would make a good change of pace for a one-off season.

Come on man, where's your sense of humor and fun? . I think doing weird and off the wall stuff occasionally is part of the draw of the show. How often does a person get the chance to bounce around streets in Australia wearing a Kangaroo costume? And the reactions of the local people to the things the contestants are doing is often some of the best stuff. I thought the kangaroo costumes were great myself.



To me TAR is much like Survivor in that the earlier EPs tend to be a little scattered and less engaging while the field gets whittled down and contestants get to know each other, and you get to know the contestants. As some teams get eliminated and the contestants get to know each other (and develop friends/enemies), and you get familiar with the remaining teams, it gets more compelling and fun.

The soundtrack definitely is over the top, but I think that's just part of the over all approach. Just like the costume segments, even though there's a very real and significant prize at the end, I think they try to keep the tone lighter and not so serious. It's big, loud, a little in your face and sometimes a bit wacky. Again like Survivor, I think trying to view it too much as a straight forward competition misses the mark and can make for some frustrated viewing. Watching it to see the interactions between the contestants under stress, and with the local people, and for the interest of the various destinations and their customs, people and scenery are really what it's about IMO.

ron

That's why I think the soundtrack has been completely wrong almost all of the time in the two episodes I've seen. The contestants are in kangaroo suits bouncing down the street which should be funny, yet the "dramatic" and completely distracting soundtrack is still playing like it's on a endless loop that can't be turned off. At least they added a "boing" sound.

Compare that to the "patriotic" music Survivor put behind Special Federal Agent Phillip's heartwarming speech about how he loves his country almost as much as he loves himself. Now that showed that the producers cared about the soundtrack.

Those boots are actually a very interesting concept for exercising. They absorb up to 80% of the impact, enabling a better muscle workout with less injury. Even the contestants that are pretty far out of physical shape were able to run a fair distance with them on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbsTB...layer_embedded

That's what I meant about not watching it so seriously. They go over the top to pump up the drama of the, "this is a race and every second counts" aspect, even at times when it's obviously not there. The editing to make the finishes faux dramatic when there's one team way behind, the "bunching" points people were talking about, the overly dramatic music. If you're analytic and you focus on that kind of stuff it will only drive you nuts . A lot of those things bugged me at first until I figured it was best to just enjoy it for the other aspects. The funny thing is, I never really even thought much about the score until you complained about it . There wasn't anything about it that even really registered with me except the little piece after the show's over and they're rolling the credits. I always kinda liked that semi-hypnotic, measured little "dun, dun, dun dun, dun, dun bit. Maybe it's because after an hour of loud, hyperactive music it's soothing and mellow


ron

I thought for sure the Chinese Father/Daughter team was done for sure. Dad did not learn his lesson the first time around. He's still treating his kid like crap. This was only the first leg and he's blaming it on lack of sleep.

Airports are the great equalizer. The Cowboys were so far behind they were toast. They are so lucky that they had to go to the airport and wait for a flight.

Speaking as an old fogey, two of the seniors did not represent us in a positive light this week. The Chinese Dad was an insufferable fool, and the actor's Dad had some kind of leg cramps or something. The only drama-free seniors this week were the Texan Dad and the Deaf guy's Mom.

I apologize for not paying attention to the contestants' names.

Doug

This is true, but that is some of the fun of the show. Some one asked why would one team help another this is the reason. When you have a strong team like The Cowboys on the ropes you should probably try to keep them there. They went from last by hours to 3rd place.

That kind of change would probably favor the stronger physical teams. One of the great equalizers of detours is that the contestants still have to get from one place to another.

They can't really do much once the race begins, to keep the Cowboys "in" the race. Everything is set up/planned before the race begins.