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Race Across The World - really enjoyed it!

255 replies

TwitterQueen1 · 03/03/2019 22:42

Did anyone else watch this tonight? I thought it was great! The contestants are warm, genuine and with normal ego levels. There's no pouting, posing, naked bodies.... just ordinary people racing to Singapore with little money and no internet. I'm loving the glimpses of people helping them along the way.

OP posts:
JasperRising · 09/04/2019 14:48

Have finally caught up! I am about mixed about the winners. If the programme is about the race then Elaine and Tony deserved to win because they clearly had good strategy (and they mentioned all the planning they had been doing for the last leg) but I don't think the editing really showed the story of their strategy as I still don't know how they caught up sometimes (or maybe I should pay more attention!). However, if you're watching the programme to see people grow and develop then Alex and his dad were the best story and I did want them to win. I agree that Tony and Elaine's lying did jar in comparison with the spirit of some of the other competitors - Alex looked so confused and hurt when Elaine told him Tony had just lied about the route they'd already done (why lie about that???). I noticed that Darren on twitter asked people not to be so harsh about Elaine and Tony. And they did meet up to watch one of the episodes so I suspect they get in better than the editing suggests - you would really after going through all that and having the stop overs in the same area between legs.

I noticed the nearly three hour gap between 1st and 2nd. I wasn't sure if that was because they weren't that close after all and Elaine didn't see them on the bridge or whether they were actually told downstairs that they had come second and were asked to wait while the winners were filmed signing in/drinking champagne etc.

If they do another series, I would be interested in "making of" featurettes like you get at the end of each episode of a David Attenborough documentary - this sort of programme is like a natural history doc in that there are lots of logistics and complexities behind the scenes that I think would be fascinating to know more about.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the series and want to go travelling now!

CurbsideProphet · 09/04/2019 16:43

I wondered if everyone waited until all couples had arrived at the destination, then had 36 hours together before leaving based on arrival times?

AnnaNutherThing · 09/04/2019 16:50

"The worst day of my life" clip did make us laugh.

Alex did really well, he looked about 5 years older by the end, in a good way!

polarpig · 10/04/2019 06:20

Natalie drove us all mad, she was so irritating. We were disappointed about the winners though because they didn't come across as very pleasant people. I hope they'll do another series.

Underoverunder · 10/04/2019 09:24

Alex is the greatest winner from the experiences he's gained. Something really switched on in him through China. Tony and Elaine deserved their win. They started with a disadvantage from expensive choices to little benefit by the team they replaced and they strategised carefully. It's refreshing seeing an older woman with an ambitious competitive streak!

Yes, I agree. I think Elaine is being judged harshly. She did say she felt bad for Alex after Tony had lied.

Agree it has been wonderful watching Alex go from petulent to confidently delighting in the experiences he had.

JasperRising · 10/04/2019 10:34

Tony and Elaine partying in that bar was great! And until the slightly awkward lying (which was Tony) I thought the sneaking around the bus station was funny (and probably what I would have done!). I wish it had been edited differently to show more of how they turned their last places around to win but I guess the producers were gifted Alex's transformation as a story. It seemed like Shameema got a lot out of the trip too but again it was a subtle regaining of confidence rather than a dramatic change.

ColdCrumpetsandButter · 10/04/2019 12:26

Ultimately it is a competition. Remember the couple who had to leave due to family illness? The wife sent Felix etc out of the motel so they wouldn't/couldn't hear....

Horsemad · 10/04/2019 13:52

Wonder if the couple who had to leave due to the family illness would be allowed to participate in the next one?

FatEasterBunny · 10/04/2019 22:15

@Horsemad - I hope not, she came across as very nasty. I think had she been in it all the way through, the show wouldn't have been as good as it was.

pipnchops · 11/04/2019 18:59

The couple who left early were going to really struggle with those wheeley suitcases they had! I thought the woman was mean making the men leave and then telling the hotel owner to charge them more. I like Tony and Elaine's competitiveness and their spirit. I didn't think they were nasty about it although not sure why they felt the need to lie about the route they'd already taken. I only hope that me and my DH are like that at 60. It gives me hope that we might be able to do something like that when we retire.

Horsemad · 11/04/2019 19:05

Haha yes, we laughed at their wheelie cases too! 😆

polarpig · 11/04/2019 21:37

I didn't like the ones who left either. I think she was very irresponsible to be doing it with a family member so ill.

Cottonwood · 11/04/2019 21:41

Wasn't it her mum who was ill? We laughed at the suitcases too, they wouldn't have lasted five minutes!

polarpig · 11/04/2019 21:44

I think it was her Mum, one of her parents anyway.

JasperRising · 12/04/2019 21:22

For those who are curious about the behind the scenes of the programme, Elaine and Tony have Instagram accounts which include photos showing the embedded crew in action.

CatkinToadflax · 14/04/2019 15:18

Absolutely loved it, what a fantastic series - I have binge watched it over the past week.

Darron and Alex were a delight to watch and were my winners - the way Alex grew up and their relationship mended over the 7 weeks was beautiful viewing. My two favourite “Darron ‘n’ Alex” moments were Darron accidentally taking some sort of drug during a train journey and Alex shaking with laughter at him; and in the Chinese flower market where Darron worked really hard and Alex wandered around chatting up the beautiful Chinese girls! Grin

Tony and Elaine did the savviest travelling so in that respect they deserved to win, but the lying and sneaking around didn’t exactly show them in a good light.

80sMum · 14/04/2019 16:00

I have very much enjoyed watching Race Across the World.

Someone up-thread said that what made it refreshingly different is that it featured ordinary people, not the usual reality show "look at me, I wannabe a celeb" types. In that respect, it reminded me of the first series of Big Brother. I very much hope that, if there is a second series of this race, the people selected are not a bunch of narcissists, as happened with Big Brother (which was why I never watched it again after the first episode of series 2).

Cottonwood · 14/04/2019 23:16

Totally agree '80'smum hope the makers are watching this thread!

Walney · 15/04/2019 12:50

I absolutely loved this show and gutted Darron & Alex didn't win as it was so lovely to see their relationship developing and how the trip really benefited both of them, I was quite upset that the retired couple won as it seemed like they were very competitive. I was quite glad the first couple left (even though the reason was sad) as they didn't come across as very friendly, insisting the other team leave the ticket area while they talked with the staff member.

Would be nice to see more series of this but agree, maybe won't be as good as the first as it will get more celebrity focussed and competitive.

But I mostly just loved Alex's transformation with his Dads support, I really hope this experience helped him as that was easily the best part of the show and will never be replicated.

Cocolapew · 23/04/2019 13:53

Just finished watching this last night after seeing this thread, really enjoyed it.
Alex ended upcoming across as a really nice person. He was very quick to hug people and eventually chatted away to everyone they met. Loved it when he started to take over!
Not mad on the winning team, I agree there was a bit of a nasty streak in them. But fair do's on winning after being so behind.

Thesearmsofmine · 24/04/2019 11:32

I wish I had seen this thread before. I loved watching this show, I hope the next series is as good!

Backseatonthebus · 24/04/2019 11:36

Managed to miss this but definitely want to download it to watch after reading this thread. If you enjoy seeing programmes about remote places, the Levinson Wood series are really worth watching.

Stopsnowing · 21/03/2023 09:31

Just caught up with this on I Player. Really amazing series. It was a joy to see the bond growing between Darren and Alex and Natalie and Shameema were also delightful. It was also good not to have the crew intrude and the back stories kept to a minimum.

Stopsnowing · 21/03/2023 09:32

And Alex was really genuinely pleased for the winners and very mature about it.