TAR 1 -vs- TAR 2
The ClubHouse: Archives: TAR 1 -vs- TAR 2
Squaredsc | Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 06:20 pm     i was talking with some fellow tar watchers at work and we were comparing this season with last season. basically we think that we really aren't into this season like the 1st. maybe because the 1st one was the 1st and so new and different. we were really into all of the teams and talked about them constantly, like the guido's, frank/margarita, kevin/drew, rob/brennan, etc. and we really just don't talk about this season as much. yeah we have the evil will/tara, the lovable cha cha cha's, but it just isn't the same or as good as to me. also this season seems to be going so fast. maybe because on the 1st there was the 9/11 which pre-empted(sp) a lot of the shows. i don't know. any thoughts?? |
Hippyt | Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 07:31 pm     I agree with you about the teams. Although,Rob and Brennan were more boring than plain toast,the teams were a lot more interesting and fun to watch.And,I think it was a little harder to figure out last season,since we weren't familiar with the rules,which made it more interesting. Kinda like what has made Survivor have to start throwing in twists,once a formula becomes familiar,it can get routine. And,it is going a lot faster,9/11 did slow it up a couple of weeks,and there was no 2 hour combination. So,I guess it was probably 3 weeks longer last time(maybe 4). The one thing I do like more about this time is the locations. Some pretty great locations and a lot of beautiful scenery! I'm still not quite over the poor Indian children begging in traffic last season. I like it just as well,I think. Just wish the teams were more interesting. |
Sadiesmom | Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 08:05 pm     I disagree, I think the teams are more interesting and more cutthroat. I like season @ better than season 1. I feel less capable to compete in it, however. I keep waiting for the fist fights and the truth about blake and paige. The scenery is even more impressive than last year. I dont know how they would top it with everything going on in the world. |
Muse | Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 08:19 pm     I liked the first season better as well. With a few exceptions (Shola & Doyin, Blake & Paige, and ChaChaCha), I don't really *like* the teams this time around. Last season I liked a lot of the teams, even those that others thought were kind of bland...like Rob & Brennan might not have been that exciting, but they seemed honestly nice. I don't pick up on that with Chris & Alex (just using them since they seem to be the "best friends" counterparts) for some reason. Plus I don't see a lot of the nicer moments of the race...like I loved seeing the lawyers, frats, and Emily/Nancy bonding last season. I liked seeing the sweet moments between Davey and Margaretta. Even Frank & Margarita had times where they really seemed to get along and respect each other. Additionally, I feel like the tasks are dumbed down a little this season. I'm guessing it's because the show wanted to avoid confusion or people misinterpreting clues...but it's sort of disappointing. There's been a few good ones, but overall - I liked last season's stuff better. Anyway, I hate to complain since I really enjoy the show, even if I liked the first season better. |
Seamonkey | Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 08:45 pm     I like both seasons.. I think I'm less distracted tho, this time.. |
Webkitty | Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 09:14 pm     I like this season better. The scenery, the teams, everything. |
Sunshinemiss | Wednesday, May 01, 2002 - 09:35 pm     This season seems a bit tamer, but it may be that familiarity breeds contempt, as they say. Not better or worse in my estimation, just different. The locations ARE knockouts, but the competitions seem less of a puzzle, just stunts, and fewer opportunities to really gain an advantage (perhaps that part is for the best though)... I do agree that the personalities aren't as likeable this season- I kept thinking that they would grow on me (what an odd phrase) but it is getting near the end and it hasn't happened. I am sure they are all nice enough people (with a few exceptions) but you seem to get less of a sense of who they really are... or as they say maybe "there s no "there" there" (as in, not much TO get...) Despite all the above, I still love this show. I'm glad to hear the ratings are good enough to ensure a TAR3. |
Fruitbat | Thursday, May 02, 2002 - 04:17 am     I am not enjoying this season as much either. I think it was a fresh new concept last time and it has become ho hum already. We are watching people traveling. Last time it seemed more of a game. I often have no sense of who is ahead and by how much. |
Corriecat | Sunday, May 05, 2002 - 05:05 am     It's definitely the personalities of the people that make me like last season better than this season. I don't care for most of the teams this season the way I did last season. Last season I couldn't decide who I wanted to win because I liked so many of the teams. This season I like Danny and Oswald and the twins and the mother and daughter but of those only D&O are left. I wish we could have seen more of the mother and daughter they looked fun. I dislike Wil and Tara and the grannies and the rest are just blah - I don't care about them enough to like or dislike them. It does seem the tasks are pretty straightforward this year with less opportunity to be crafty and get ahead any way other than borrowing a cell phone. |
Weinermr | Sunday, May 05, 2002 - 10:00 am     I don't like either season better than the other. There are interesting teams in both shows, and as people have said, the locations this year are absolutely gorgeous. The one thing that bothers me about the show though are the transportation choices. It's hard for any one team to get ahead of the others, because they have so few options. The minute one team gets ahead of the others, they all meet up at the one and only flight which will get them where they have to go, and then they are all even again. I would like to see the travel opportunities to be such that if a team does all the right things they could get a half a day, a day, two days ahead of everyone else. Then it would really be a race, and not just a series of sprints to the same spot. I would like to see more long term travel choices that would allow quick and clever teams to get away from the rest of the pack and have the opportunity to leave the rest of the teams in the dust. You may say that would be "boring" if one team gets way ahead of the others. I don't think so, because any team way ahead would have an equal opportunity of running into bad luck, or bad weather, or making mistakes, that would cause them to slip behind again and rejoin the rest of the pack. Perhaps this is all too difficult logistically for the producers to work out, but for me, this would introduce an exciting element into the show which could play itself out over a longer period of time and capture our interest. |
Spygirl | Sunday, May 05, 2002 - 10:09 am     Weinermr, I'm thinking that would be a logistical nightmare for the producers because one episode is from one pitstop to the next. I'm thinking if one team got way ahead, they would arrive at and leave a pitstop before the last place people would get close to it. How would they show that, you know? But -- I do agree with you. It would be more interesting to watch from a race stance. But less interesting from a team-interaction stance. They wouldn't be butting heads as much if they were farther apart. |
Lancecrossfire | Sunday, May 05, 2002 - 02:56 pm     I like them both. I think this one is talked about less beacuse there are so many others shows to gra our attention and time than there was for the first one. I look at the nukber of posts for some of these other shows (Trading spaces for example), and figure a lot of posts that would go to AR are going to these others shows. It seems there are two different ways peole are looking at how they have interest in AR. One is the game aspect (see Weiner's post above) and the second is more about the interactions of the teams and the players themselves--their likability or the action between them. I'd like to see what Weiner suggest as well--but figure they won't do it for the drama of the show. It seems like the feeling is by the creators of these types of shows that if the winner is figured out before the very enbd, the viewership will drop. As stated though, there is always the chance of mistakes, others fuguring things out to get into the "fast track" and weather/geographical situations to bring back a person who is way ahead. |
Julieboo | Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 07:37 am     >>I keep waiting for the fist fights and the truth about blake and paige. << Sadiesmom, what do you mean "the truth about blake and paige"? Do you have some information? |
Webkitty | Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 07:47 am     Oh Sadiesmom, you've gone and done it now! LOL! Hi Julieboo!!! Go Team Smiley!  |
Julieboo | Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 08:44 am     Hi Webby. I asked nicely though, didn't I? Lord knows I could have asked that same question with a lot of sarcasm!  |
Sadiesmom | Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 06:59 pm     I do not have information about paige and blake. It just seems like no one seems to like them that raced with them except the reverends. The other players said that the Revs stayed to themself. And for some reason (could be editing) with out any particular incident, I have grown to dislike them. Perhaps it is all the money I am spending to get smiles like they have, I really have no reason to say these hateful things. |
Julieboo | Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 07:19 am     I think there were several teams who liked them. I think Mary & Peach had good things to say. I can't remember who else though. The Grannies are the only ones I can think of who didn't like them. (And Jane Clayson!) |
Car54 | Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 07:35 am     AR1 was my favorite show when it was on. I liked it for several reasons: 1. It was fairly sports like- it was a race...with the exception of the Guidos competitiveness, the show was pretty much about the teams and the race itself. Very gratifying and simple fun. 2. You could just watch the show, enjoy the competition and the sights and be done with it. There was not a lot of press and appearances and speculation about the players, so it was a simple fun hour every week. For me, this season I have lost interest for the following reasons: 1. There has been more emphasis on "strategy" and personalities a la Survivor, and it takes a lot more involvement to be engaged by the show. There is more info about the teams and more press before and after the show, so more to speculate about. 2. For me, I either want more or less of this. There is not enough promotion and hype to allow us to really speculate and spoil the show, and there is enough to make it more than just a race, so I end up being kind of unsatisfied. In other words, either just race and let me root for the players I like, or lets get really down and dirty and produce this show like Survivor with all the scoop, and leaks and secrecy so I can get really involved. Right now it is kind of in the middle and I end up just not caring much. 2. The other big thing I miss was the first season, our discussion here was really more fun for me. Everyone had a favorite team and we all really rooted for them throughout the race. And we had the Guidos to hate as a common enemy, which made the show more fun. This season I kind of quit participating here because we just didn't seem to bond as much with the teams for the long haul, and if you don't like somebody, you kind of get jumped on and you have to defend why...hey I don't like em...I am entitled! So I just quit having an opinion. It has ended up, that if I am home, I watch, but if I am busy, it is no big deal if I miss. Last season it was MUST SEE TV (sorry NBC) and this time, it just has not been as compelling for me. It is no big deal either way, but I miss the whole dynamic of the first show, and personally wish it was back. I totally understand if others like season 2 more, this is just me. Hope that is ok! |
Lurknomore | Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 07:48 am     To me the big difference can be summed up in 2 words: Kevin and Drew Remove them from the equation and you have 2 seasons of basically interesting but not to die for interesting teams with interesting but not too dramatic stategies. Add them and you have "break out the Depends" entertainment!! |
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