Surviving the Amazing Race

[Timewalker]

We have THREE CBS reality shows this fall! Big Brother is winding down, but tonight we get Season 43 of Survivor and Season 34 of The Amazing Race. On October 5 we get the premiere of a new show, The Real Love Boat.

(it just made sense to combine all of these into the same thread since they're premiering so close together and most of us will watch at least two of them)

Survivor cast information

The Amazing Race cast information

I'm looking forward to TAR, as my favorite team is already picked out: Claire and Derek. We've seen these two before, as they were on Big Brother last year - victims of the Cookout alliance. I wish them all the luck possible on TAR and will be cheering for them to get as far as possible.

I mentioned the Real Love Boat in the thread title. It's coming on October 5, and if it turns out to be something that more people than just myself would be interested in discussing, fine. If it turns out that nobody is interested in discussing it, I'll change the thread title. My attention to this was grabbed when it was mentioned that Jerry O'Connell would be the host (Sliders fans should remember him). All I know is that couples compete in tasks in various places and the ship's crew may have some input on what happens... just like in the old TV show. I honestly don't know if this show will be worth watching, but I'll give it a chance.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I haven't seen Survivor yet but watching Amazing Race live.

Derek X and Claire are dating? That's neat. Big fan of both of them, I hope they both get a chance to be in a BB all star season. Rooting for them.

I like this scramble idea, completing tasks in any order. And this no non elimination leg thing, does this just mean the season is shorter?

 

[Timewalker]

I haven't seen either of them yet. Survivor isn't on for another 45 minutes and TAR is on after that.

I take it that "no non-elimination leg" means that there won't be any reprieves for who comes in last - if you're last, you're out. Period. It shouldn't have an effect on the overall length of the season, just that nobody gets a second chance.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I haven't seen either of them yet. Survivor isn't on for another 45 minutes and TAR is on after that.

I take it that "no non-elimination leg" means that there won't be any reprieves for who comes in last - if you're last, you're out. Period. It shouldn't have an effect on the overall length of the season, just that nobody gets a second chance.

It means there is either a lot of "The leg is not over, you're still racing", or there's a maximum of 9 episodes.

Shame who got voted out first, she seemed delightful. Nobody I particularly like or dislike yet. Nobody's annoying but the cast seems kinda boring so far.

Definitely rooting for Derek and Claire. Are they the first non-insufferable Big Brother group to play?

 

[Timewalker]

It means there is either a lot of "The leg is not over, you're still racing", or there's a maximum of 9 episodes.

Shame who got voted out first, she seemed delightful. Nobody I particularly like or dislike yet. Nobody's annoying but the cast seems kinda boring so far.

Definitely rooting for Derek and Claire. Are they the first non-insufferable Big Brother group to play?

Probably.

That sawing task was probably not the safest thing to ask people to do if they had no experience with sawing. Some of them had no idea at all how to do it, and could have been injured.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I’m not sure, it seems like the saw is only sharp on the bottom side. They must have experts on that.

Am I forgetting anyone or are Jeff/Jordan and Brendan/ Rachel the only other BB teams? Derek/Claire really is the first likable one?

After Derek was chosen for both Challenge and Amazing Race it seems inevitable he shows up in the next BB all star season.

 

[Timewalker]

I’m not sure, it seems like the saw is only sharp on the bottom side. They must have experts on that.

Am I forgetting anyone or are Jeff/Jordan and Brendan/ Rachel the only other BB teams? Derek/Claire really is the first likable one?

After Derek was chosen for both Challenge and Amazing Race it seems inevitable he shows up in the next BB all star season.

There was that guy who was in the military, who brushed his teeth at people he didn't want to talk to. I don't remember his name. Both he and his female partner were two of the most unpleasant BB houseguests this side of Evil Dick and his daughter. They weren't as bad on TAR, though.

Did you catch the announcement that there's an episode on tomorrow?

And wow, Jasmine finally got a clue and figured out that Turner ate her muffin! Bets that she'll ask him about it if he ends up in the final 2?

And someone is going to be part of the Real Love Boat... I'd have thought that would have been already cast. But maybe there's an open spot reserved for whoever gets chosen from BB.

 

[the G-man]

I assume the goal of the Real Love Boat is to avoid contracting Legionaires Disease or COVID

 

[Timewalker]

I assume they have offscreen medical testing that's done regularly.

The Big Brother houseguests are required to have regular covid tests, btw, even though they were already tested before entering the house. I would guess this to be due to production constantly being in and out to set the place up for the various competitions, and all the stuff they keep getting from outside the house.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I wonder if the person who gets chosen will actually want to be in Love Boat.

 

[Timewalker]

It's another reality game show, so if it doesn't interfere with work or family, why not? I've noticed the cruise industry is trying to get back on its aquatic feet, so this is one way to popularize it again, after all the negative crap that happened due to covid.

The leasing agent for my building narrowly escaped that chaotic mess, as he'd been on holidays over in Asia and traveled through one of the early covid regions. Then I found out that my housekeeping helper and her wife had been on a cruise in the Caribbean and missed it by a couple of weeks. Or so they think. I spent a worried couple of weeks, wondering if they were carriers and might have passed it on, but thankfully that didn't happen.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It's another reality game show, so if it doesn't interfere with work or family, why not? I've noticed the cruise industry is trying to get back on its aquatic feet, so this is one way to popularize it again, after all the negative crap that happened due to covid.

The leasing agent for my building narrowly escaped that chaotic mess, as he'd been on holidays over in Asia and traveled through one of the early covid regions. Then I found out that my housekeeping helper and her wife had been on a cruise in the Caribbean and missed it by a couple of weeks. Or so they think. I spent a worried couple of weeks, wondering if they were carriers and might have passed it on, but thankfully that didn't happen.

Well for one they might not want to spend another month or two away from their families and might not be able to take even more time away from their jobs.

But even aside from that, liking competition reality shows doesn’t mean you like romance ones.

 

[Timewalker]

Is romance compulsory? I get that it makes for a good hook for viewers who like the soapish side of reality game shows, but I tend to find it just boring. And I did specify as long as it didn't interfere with jobs and family...

Of course I might have misinterpreted it and the prize is for a future sailing, not this first one.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I mean, it's not compulsory in Love Island either, but it's kinda why they want you there

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Why do they even bother calling these shows 'reality TV"? There's not a damn thing real about them. They're as scripted and pre-planned as any network drama or comedy.

 

[Timewalker]

I'm guessing they used to be not quite as scripted? It's obvious that the BB houseguests (HOH and POV-holders) are reading cue cards for their Veto and Nomination speeches when they do the ceremonies.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

"Reality TV" is a bad name for it. "Unscripted TV" would be better. Because it is very staged and influenced, but they are really playing a game and expressing themselves. Yeah, they're reading cue cards in the competitions, and they get encouraged how to talk in the diary rooms and such, but they're still making strategic decisions on their own. They're making their own choices, and the producers are deciding how to edit and frame it to tell a story.

The term "Reality TV" is a holdover from the initial marketing of it. Remember the first famous reality show was "The Real World" that tried to convince people these weird narcissistic crazies were just acting naturally.

 

[Timewalker]

Sorry, never heard of that show.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Sorry, never heard of that show.

Real World?

I've never watched it myself, but it's the original reality show. An MTV reality show where people live in a house together and yell at each other.

 

[Timewalker]

MTV was never available in my region. There are a lot of channels Americans get that Canadians don't get. For that matter, there are things available in Eastern Canada that aren't in Western Canada, and vice-versa.