The Amazing Race Australia

Beau Ryan's amazing race around the world, have at it

This is close to me as an Australian super fan. I never thought I’d contemplate not watching the show, but here we are. The Australian version doesn’t remotely resemble the US version anymore - instead of a competitive and enthralling race it’s full of equalisers, mundane tasks and boring contestants.

Not that different is necessarily bad - but all the differences simply prioritise a drama based show, instead of being a fly on the wall of a hard fought competition.

No U turns or fast forwards to speak of. Taxis lined up and pre-organised, provided GPS so it’s almost impossible to get lost, no incentive to research or prepare and easy to mildly challenging tasks (selling $7 worth of fruit or eating spanakopita).

Then the big ones, which all revolve around it being more scripted, rather than a real race:

• Last season 10/22 legs were non elimination. It was absurd to just watch week after week teams being saved for the sake of the series going longer.

• This season with 18 teams (again, for the sake of the series going longer), and teams sitting out 5+ legs and being allowed to come back into the race with a speed bump (that is just to do the same task you just did again, taking all of 5-10mins).

• Tom and Tyler a couple of seasons ago - four teams left and they have a vote within the teams to U turn one team. Couldn’t be more obvious they didn’t want them to win.

Not to mention the horrible casting generally, where diversity and type casting is clearly prioritised over interesting people or even people who understand how the show works.

They’ve clearly chosen their audience, and it’s not the fans of the format.

While I was making my way through every Amazing Race, I've heard of the Australian version and how season 2 was not only the best of its particular version, but also (potentially) of the franchise as a whole. In between seasons 3 and 4 of American TAR (I watched them on Hulu), I watched the first season of Amazing Race Australia and really enjoyed it (I also watched Australia vs. New Zealand, but that was a decade ago)!

When I made it to season 5 of the American version, I planned to watch that first, and then Australia 2 to get a better feel of how they stand, side by side. And I can say that both seasons are worth the hype, in terms of tasks, characters, and iconic moments.

But there's also the question of which one is better.

Locations:

TAR5: Uruguay - Argentina - Russia - Egypt - Tanzania - United Arab Emirates* - India* - New Zealand - Philippines* - Canada* - USA

TARAu2: Philippines* - India* - United Arab Emirates* - Turkey - France - Cuba - Canada* - China - Australia

*: Both versions shared these countries!

First of all, kudos to Australia for visiting Cuba; I thought it was quite fun to see what the country was like and it was worth the risk (TARAu 1 also visited Israel!). And I loved to see Vancouver through another pair of eyes; it's three hours north from where I am, but I'm never sure of its culture. Good job channel 7.

But that doesn't really compare to TAR5's route -- stretching the whole globe, it hits a bunch of new places which, in some cases, gets rarely touched again. I loved seeing Russia and Egypt (especially considering the political climate both countries are in today), and seeing the contestants explore parts of those countries.

Tasks:

For some reason, TARAu 2's tasks were more memorable for me--or at least more creative.

Going back to both Philippines legs, though they took place at different times of the season, they had several different tasks when the contestants got there:

TAR5: Decorate a jeepney, Plow/Foul (which lead to the "My ox is broken!" moment), going up an ascender before getting a clue and rappelling, kayaking towards the Pit Stop (final 4)

TARAu2: eating balut, Jig/Pig (which led to Sarah's thong getting exposed), building a raft to take them to the Pit Stop. (all 11 teams)

I don't know, but is it just me, or Channel 7 do a better job on these tasks? And that was just the beginning. (the stairwell roadblock in India, making a souffle in Paris, and solving a puzzle in Vancouver are among the standouts for me)

That said, TAR5 had good challenges of their own! The caviar roadblock was

Characters/Story Arcs:

Both seasons are quite strong in that by the time you get to the final six, there's something fleshed out about them, and they all have a story to tell. I felt like following each of their arcs, and hoping they would win out. I have one exception for a team that didn't stand out for me in both seasons; but while in season 5 it was a matter of the other five teams being better, whereas in TARAu2 I didn't like this team, and the other five were quite good.

We got a lot of rivalries in both seasons; in season 5, we have Colin and Christie vs. Charla and Mirna, Chip and Kim vs the twins...in TARAu 2, it's Paul and Steve vs the world (with a few exceptions, like Lucy and Emilia). Strangely enough, Chip/Kim vs the twins stood out to me more in season 5, in it was an on again, off again thing, though how Colin and Mirna deal with airports makes it more competitive.

Paul and Steve have an interesting presence and managed to butt heads with a few of their competitors, but their rivalry with Hadas and Inbal Michelle and Jo stood out in how tense it was. From the twins calling Paul and Steve their "good friends" (sarcastically) to trying to beat each other in everything to Jo venting at Paul in Brisbane, it's simultaneously funny and interesting to see how their dynamics worked out.

And of course, the underdog stories. I clicked with the Bowling Moms quite early; I love their enthusiasm for the game and wanted to see how they would grow together. Lucy and Emilia were interesting, as they never managed to become a powerful team, but they still held firm and went far as they possibly could (Emilia thinking of her mother on the gondola was a standout moment for me)

Winners:

Both Chip and Kim and Shane and Andrew weren't the obvious choice to win the race--both were middle-aged and were prone to making silly mistakes at times and occasionally found themselves in trouble. They epitomized slow and steady wins the race, and in a way, good over evil.

Chip and Kim were the more successful team of the two, having won three legs before the final one (two because of Chip's iron stomach!). I was endeared to them in the beginning, partially because of their personalities and how they worked together. What stood out to me was how they wanted to trigger Colin's anger to throw him off his game and benefit from it. I thought that worked like a glove, though it might also be because of the fog, haha.

Shane and Andrew started slow, and it was only when they were in Cuba did they start improving on their leg performances. As a character arc, that's great, but for some reason I didn't connect with them in comparison to the other teams. That said, they did have some sweet moments, from riding the bull to get an advantage to handing kangaroo keychains to the kids. Plus they had their alliance with Michelle and Jo.

Personal enjoyment:

For season 5, the characters hooked me in and I couldn't let myself go from them. It was a pretty epic journey, seeing how the contestants dealt with a diverse globe and its challenges throughout. For some reason, I thought it was more strategic than with TARAu2, with the contestants duking it out for an advantage of some sort. But it's still an epic season, with some of the most iconic teams to run the race.

With TARAu2, I felt like I knew the contestants more, and they had their own idiosyncrasies. Although the route wasn't as broad, the season more than made up for it in the various challenges, surprises ("driving to Australia" had me in the first half, not going to lie), and just colorful nature all along. By the time we crowned our winners, I didn't want to say goodbye to any of it.

• John & Murray first departed at 7:08am.

• Route Info: Teams make their way via taxi to Krabi International Airport and fly to Windhoek, Namibia in Africa. Teams must then search the Hosea Kutako International Airport carpark for a marked 2014 Jeep Wrangler to find their next clue.

• Teams had AU$30 for this leg.

• Emily & Jono mentioned to Sally & Tyson about the New Zealand alliance John & Murray created.

• Ashleigh: “It’s ‘Namibia’, not ‘amphibia’.

• All teams were on the same flight, flying to Windhoek, Namibia via Bangkok, Thailand and Johannesburg, South Africa.

• Route Info: Teams drive to the Na'an Kuse Wildlife Sanctuary at the Khomas Region and grab a baboon pen number. Teams must then escort two baboons along the Baboon Walk trail to receive their next clue.

• While other teams u-turned their cars, Daniel & Ryan continued driving forward.

• Murray: “It’s [baboon] getting quite excited with this one.”

• A local helped out Daniel & Ryan on finding the wildlife sanctuary.

• John & Murray decided to push Jono’s buttons even further.

• Roadblock: Who’s Got a Healthy Appetite?
  One racer must prepare 2 buckets of lion offal feed, containing ribs and animal innards as shown in the provided example. Teams then must make their way on foot to the Lion Enclosure to feed the lions before receiving their next clue.

• Tyson: “As soon as I found out, it wasn’t an eating challenge. It was anything but!”

• Ashleigh: “Jez, think about what’s at stake! Excuse the pun…”

• Jesse: “I don’t know if I’ll eat pork spare ribs ever again…”

• Jono was about to pass out, but John actually helped him back up.

• Carla & Hereni used the Express Pass.

• Route Info: Teams make their way on foot to the Clever Cubs Bush School to learn a children’s song in the San language. If the teams impress the San school children, they will receive their next clue.

• Detour: Pipe or Poo?
  Pipe: Teams make their way on foot to the Bushmen Village and use a traditional method to start a small fire. Once the tribe chief lights up the grass with his pipe, teams will receive their next clue.
  Poo: Teams make their way on foot to the Bushmen Village and take part in a children’s game known as bokdrool (poo spitting). Teams must spit springbok dung pellets across a line 8m away to receive their next clue.

• Carla: “We have a lot of experience with poo.” [Episode Title]

• Pit Stop: Teams make their way via donkey cart to the Watering Hole. The last team to check in may be eliminated.

• Carla & Hereni won 1st Place and won 500,000 Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer Points to share, which could buy a business return trip from Los Angeles, CA.

• Carla: “Mighty mums in the house!”

• Jesse: “I passed Dan from Team Jesus. He was moving fast.”

• Emily & Jono ditched their donkey cart due to the donkey crashing into the bush.

• John & Murray (2nd Place).

• Ashleigh & Jarrod (3rd Place).

• Cat & Jesse (4th Place).

• Sally & Tyson (5th Place).

• Daniel & Ryan (6th Place).

• Emily & Jono arrived in Last Place and were then eliminated.

• Next Episode: Teams fly to Saint Petersburg, Russia.