Race Across The World - New BBC Reality Gameshow

cwej

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So this is basically the UK doing The Amazing Race, but in some ways I actually thought it was much more interesting as contestants had to work everything out for themselves. Like EVERYTHING and so there was huge variety in the way they all got from London to Delphi.

The casting was fairly good. I couldn't believe that the poor Indian couple had such bad luck - that has never happened in 30 seasons of the Amazing Race I don't think. I hope that if they do a 2nd season, they get invited back to try again.

Loved Natalie and Shamima and really hope they win the whole thing.
 
This is actually Peking Express with some budget, not much to do with TAR.

It's not bad, but nothing special.
 
I enjoyed it (but then im a fan of The Amazing Race).. Theres been a few of these shows over the years, ITV Had one called The Race presented by Keith Duffy and then didnt Steve Jones do one called Dropzone on BBC a few years ago (i never saw that one).

This feels more like the Channel 4 gameshow 'Lost' than TAR to be honest. Apparently performed better than the normal for the 9pm Sunday slot so that's good .. hope it retains it's viewers for next week. Looking at some of the shit Studio Lambert have put out over the years, it's nice that they are creating some new non scripted reality shows (The Circle being the other one from a few months ago) that are well casted and not too trashy.

PS - It's called Race Across The World
 
I thought Episode 2 was great - really surprised by the results.. thought the two all-male teams would storm into the lead. Hoping for a Natalie and Shemima win, but was really impressed by Tony and Elaine this week. What a comeback! They must be shattered - they seem to have travelled for about 7 days non-stop.
 
Yes this was really enjoyable last night. Lots more to look at and the dynamics between the couples are getting interesting. You'd expect a father and stroppy teenage son to bicker but the older ladies seemed to get tetchy with each other quite regularly.

Am I remembering correctly that they said job leads were set up for them? They can't have just stumbled across the gallery thing.
 
Yes the leads are all set up in advance and they are able to use them if they wish to.
 
Episode 2 was a lot more engaging. I want to go to Tbilisi.

Yes it was much better this time round and i ant to go too! :o
I thought Episode 2 was great - really surprised by the results.. thought the two all-male teams would storm into the lead. Hoping for a Natalie and Shemima win, but was really impressed by Tony and Elaine this week. What a comeback! They must be shattered - they seem to have travelled for about 7 days non-stop.

Glad the cocky gits who started off in front ended behind, Tony and Elaine did sooo well shaking off the two women
 
I think they really needed to have 8 teams and do an elimination every episode. Episode 2 was by far the most interesting so far because there was the threat of elimination throughout. This one felt so pedestrian because I didn't really mind who made the checkpoint first, as it doesn't really count for anything yet.
 
Uzbekistan looked amazing. Who knew! :o
Gutted for the girls but the leads always seem to disappear next morning anyway
 
I still enjoyed this week (that time at sea looked pretty grim) but agree it felt odd that it went from the elimination last week to no jeopardy really. The two guys said they were going to carry on having their real travel experience rather than focusing on the race. I think the married couple seem to be the ones who most consistently have the competition on their minds.
 
Did anybody else start to think the elimination was just a ploy to cut the 2 miserable old women who clearly couldn't keep up? :D They obviously couldn't stand each other either.
The sadist in me would have LOVED to have seen them stranded on that boat. The edit appeared to be quite kind to the contestants, it was clearly a HORRIBLE experience.

The girls are by far the most entertaining of the groups. It seemed to hint at something not shown happening between them and their driver too - it all came across a bit odd.
The two men are a bit insufferable in the way they seem to think they are breaking new ground with every step they take :zombie: definitely a hint of the white messiah complex there.

Ranking:
1. Natalie
2. Alex

3. Shamima
4. The wife who looks like Anne Widdicombe

5. Alex's Dad (less rambling, talking down to your son and trying to be a therapist pls)
6. The better looking man with the beard and very long neck.

7. The husband who looks like Glenn Close
8. The other man.
 
Well unless something dramatic happens any tension has gone right out of this now.

I think the married couple may have been broken this week, she seemed particularly unhappy. Also not especially keen on Natalie clapping her hands and shouting at the man behind the counter in the burger place to hurry up.
 
They should have had more teams and an elimination every week. That'd put the rocket up them.

Interesting to see how they'll all make it with such little money though.

Maybe the whole thing ends on day 374, with the last surviving team - having walked through most of Thailand - running out of food and dying in a paddy field
 
Did anybody else start to think the elimination was just a ploy to cut the 2 miserable old women who clearly couldn't keep up? :D They obviously couldn't stand each other either.

I have started thinking this too.

It's bizarre to do an elimination episode and never again - and frankly it was the best episode by a country mile because there were some stakes involved. I will watch to the end but it really feels like the BBC have fucked up ANOTHER competitive reality show and turned it into a travel documentary.
 
Felt really sorry for Natalie and Shemima and the boys - they blatantly deserved to be in first place this episode... Instead I guess Alex and Darren are going to win.
 
I don't think I mind too much who wins. They've all had their ups and downs.

Darren and Alex have the least money I think though? I guess it depends if they have enough to cover the last leg, I can't imagine anyone wanting to work/dilly dally having real travel experiences on the final push.
 
That's true - they've got only 8% left for the final leg... which seems very low. If there are 6 legs they should be spending about 17% per leg (and I'd think this leg would be more expensive than say the Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan section).

Season 2 applications are underway. I'm looking for a partner...! :D
 
That's true - they've got only 8% left for the final leg... which seems very low. If there are 6 legs they should be spending about 17% per leg (and I'd think this leg would be more expensive than say the Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan section).

Season 2 applications are underway. I'm looking for a partner...! :D

Do they film in summer holidays?
 
I'd have to have a work break to do it - I mean it's one in tens of thousands chance anyway so I'd cross that bridge when I came to it...! LOL
 
Just catching up on this...I can't quite believe Alex's Dad said on camera he may resent Alex for the REST OF HIS LIFE because they didn't travel through (very) rural China (!) :D

The married couple seem to be losing their minds a bit in this ep...they weren't featured very much and when they were they seem to just be holding up bits of bread to the camera (?) and yes Natalie clapping at the guy in the takeaway was gross. Quite enjoyed the 2 men scabbling after they climbed half a Chinese rock..they should have shown more from that argument TBH.

Need to watch this week's ep, but Alex is now my firm fave...shame about his overly dramatic father.
 
I like Alex's growth through the series, but I prefer both Natalie and Shemima and Tony and Elaine as a pair to Alex and Darren.

The other 2 guys, meh.
 
Not seen the latest episode yet but my ranking is:

Alex and Darren
Tony and elaine


...


...


Natalie and shemima

...

...

Hipster cocks
 
Ha so all agreed on the worst two, fab :D
 
I don't actually actively dislike the guys though, they're just a bit dull. I hate their petty squabbling too - it's so polite. Just be a cunt to one another ffs.
 
I watched the latest episode and can barely remember anything about it aside from more horrific speeches from Alex’s Dad so that BODES WELL!

Alex to win, or the girls as a substitute. Natalie seems to have had a HORRIBLE LIFE so i wouldn’t begrudge them winning some cash at all.

I don’t understand why the programme keeps using the same pieces to camera shot before they started out each week - what they are saying was shot literally weeks ago so it quite clearly doesn’t exactly correlate with the narrative on screen :D
 
Yeah it annoys me. They obviously did one interview with them in the UK and THAT'S THAT. In the Amazing Race they do new interviews at each pitstop which makes a lot more sense.,
 
LOVED the last episode. I get the impression Tony and Elaine were actually a few hours ahead of the boys really, but they edited it well to make it more exciting. It says a lot that the best episodes by a mile were episodes 2 and 6 - the episodes where there were real stakes. I hope for Season 2 they do eliminations of some sort.

I really liked all the contestants but pleased Josh and Felix came last and didn't like their little sulk at the end of 'I'm not begging now'.
 
LOVED the last episode. I get the impression Tony and Elaine were actually a few hours ahead of the boys really, but they edited it well to make it more exciting.

When the girls signed in you could see that Tony and Elaine were three or so hours earlier. Tony must have been imagining he saw Darron and Alex when they were rushing at the end.

I really enjoyed it too. I kind of wanted the win for Alex but didn't mind the result.
 
The lighting was different when Tony and Elaine arrived which was a big giveaway.
 
Tony must have some vision if he thought he’d seen them over the bridge. It was miles away :D

Interesting Darren had said he’d had to deal with some very aggressive drunken sailors on the trip...
 
Interesting Darren had said he’d had to deal with some very aggressive drunken sailors on the trip...

Something definitely seemed weird when they got stranded on the boat for 3 days...it was probably then. I'm sure lots didn't get shown (the whole episode going from Azerbeijan felt quite odd - Natalie and Sharmima's stuntman in particular).

Alex's Dad was INSUFFERABLE in this episode, but vaguely sad they didn't win as it would have been nice for Alex who was my fave.

The supercut of Tony and Elaine in da club was VERY this :D :
 
Aww really happy for Tony And Elaine and so happy the two guys were LAST :D
 
Something definitely seemed weird when they got stranded on the boat for 3 days...it was probably then. I'm sure lots didn't get shown (the whole episode going from Azerbeijan felt quite odd - Natalie and Sharmima's stuntman in particular).

I (like to) think he flipped his chip pan lid when he realised they weren’t going to put out and chucked them out then was desperately pleaded to by the producers to keep going with them.
 
Just watched this over the last two days. I thought it was great, and agree entirely about the elimination being conjured up when it wasn't planned at first. They didn't even mention the elimination until the end of the first leg, did they? I'm not sure it added a whole level of tension though, as didn't the opening credits show most of the others clearly further along on the race? We definitely saw the girls on the Great Wall of China in them, and I think Darren in Singapore.

At the start it did remind me of when I went interrailing around Europe after my A levels, leaving Bristol early one day but still being no further than Dover the first night, sleeping on benches at the ferry port waiting for the first one the next day. And not unlike Alex, I spent the first few days moaning and crying... :D
 

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