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Original poster

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.

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Thebatmother · 07/04/2019 21:26

I’d have loved Darron and Alex or Natalie and Shamima to have won. I really admired the girls a lot especially Natalie who has been through so much but has kept an amazing outlook on life. Their friendship is so touching as well. Tony and Elaine did so well but I just didn’t take to them especially Elaine who seemed to have quite an unpleasant streak (Tony called her sneaky but I think that’s a kind description). I agree that Darron and Alex seem to have got the most from the trip. They’ve got a relationship again and you can’t put a price on that. Really looking forward to the next series.

RogueV · 07/04/2019 21:27

Really enjoyed it too. Darron and Alex’s relationship growing was particularly good to watch. Shameema is stunning.
Glad the two lads came last.
Also shows age is not a barrier!

Horsemad · 07/04/2019 21:27

DH & I both said Baku wasn't a place we'd ever have considered visiting until we watched this programme 🙂 It looked amazing, enjoy your trip, Canoe.

purpleme12 · 07/04/2019 21:29

Aww I didn't mind Josh and Felix!
And I think Natalie and Shameema giving them the money was lovely cos it showed t the kind of people they are

Horsemad · 07/04/2019 21:31

I agree purple, if people were just a little bit kinder, imagine how nice the world could be.

Thebatmother · 07/04/2019 21:32

Vanessa I also can’t work out how the hell Tony and Elaine caught up with the others, spent a fortune on taxis, hardly seemed to do much work and yet had the highest percentage of their budget left at all times. And I totally agree that something about Josh and Felix was incredibly annoyIng. They were such stereotypical hipsters for starters which was irritating and very passive aggressive whilst maintaining they are totally there for one another etc.

Sarcelle · 07/04/2019 21:34

I bet from the outset the 2 hipsters thought they would win it. They had an air of smugness. I am happy with the result. Elaine had tenacity. It was a race after all. I liked Alex, his dad not so much. I enjoyed this series a lot.

TheMadGardener · 07/04/2019 21:43

I was happy with the result, Elaine had competitive grit and it's nice for the oldies to triumph over the youngsters. I didn't really want Josh & Felix (the passive aggressive hipsters) to win but would have been OK with any of the other teams winning. I'm glad they didn't fake it by rigging it so that all the teams arrived at the hotel in Singapore simultaneously and were racing for the lifts!

The one thing this week that seemed ridiculous and staged was when Tony and Elaine met Alex and Darren at that bus station. Alex and Darren watched Tony and Elaine get on a fast bus and then went off to hang out at the beach and discuss their relationship, before getting back in the race. Not very realistic! If Alex and Darren wanted to keep up with Tony and Elaine they would have tried to get on the same bus, or one leaving very soon afterwards!

SimonJT · 07/04/2019 21:44

Elaine did come across as a very spiteful and selfish person, that could however have been an intention with the editing.

Horsemad · 07/04/2019 21:46

DH thought it seemed odd when Tony & Elaine took a day out to rest Toby's back. He thought they'd have been doing whatever they could to keep going.

Horsemad · 07/04/2019 21:47

*Tony's not Toby!

driftingcloud · 07/04/2019 21:48

Tony and Elaine were quite unkind in unnecessary ways. Why couldn't they tell the other teams which route they had already taken?

Katinkka · 07/04/2019 21:58

Ugh. I’m so pissed off. I did not like the winners. Wanted team Bradford to win or the girls. The two blokes are bland af.

Oakmaiden · 07/04/2019 22:01

I actually thought that Alex came across as a really nice lad.

He seemed genuinely pleased for Elaine and Tony, in a way I think they would not have matched at all if it were the other way around. He also seemed to value the experience as a wonderful experience, rather than as a race they didn't win.

LaBelleSauvage123 · 07/04/2019 22:10

They made it seem really close at the end but the book showed that Elaine and Tony were 3 hours ahead of Darren and Alex. We were all pleased with the result here - the underdogs won, and I didn’t see their competitiveness as unpleasant at all - it was a race!

Samcro · 07/04/2019 22:12

I wish the father and son had won, but i felt for tony when he did his back.
Still father and son have got their relationship back.
Glad the 2 arrogant guys were last.

Original poster
TwitterQueen1 · 07/04/2019 22:21

I refer you to document x on page 2 of this thread when I mused the teams' motivations.

Darron & Alex - father / son bonding, teaching personal responsibility and confidence
Natalie & Shameera - kindness, empathy, rediscovering a sense of self
Felix & Josh - discovery, adventure, enjoying the moment
Tony & Elaine - fuck everyone else! Win at all costs

Alex seemed genuinely upset about Tony & Elaine lying about the route they took.

They weren't my favourites. Great series though.

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Original poster
TwitterQueen1 · 07/04/2019 22:22

sorry - was watching Line of Duty and attempting (badly) to present evidence...

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CurbsideProphet · 07/04/2019 22:29

I've enjoyed this so much. I was a bit disappointed that Darren and Alex or Natalie and Shameera didn't win, as they seemed to get so much out of the trip and have different experiences. Tony and Elaine seemed very focused on what everyone else was doing and sneaking about bus stations. Obviously the show was a race and will have been heavily edited, but I wonder how they will have felt watching themselves in some of the scenes.

I'm fully expecting Darren and Alex to appear in their own TV show exploring "off the beaten track" Grin

Glassier · 07/04/2019 22:31

I loved this series! I tuned in accidentally on the first episode and watched each one. It was the first TV series I’ve watched and enjoyed for years - and couldn’t place exactly why, but a PP got it in one... it’s the first series I’ve come across in a long time that featured genuine people, and none of the pretentious or overly done-up reality types.

ABC1234DEF · 07/04/2019 22:43

Tony and Elaine saved a lot of money traveling slowly through Japan whereas the rest splashed out on bullet trains

ABC1234DEF · 07/04/2019 22:43

Or China or wherever it was

Brienneoftarthiloveyou · 07/04/2019 23:02

Is that how @ABC1234DEF? We couldn't work out how they'd saved so much and were considering watching it again from the start to see how they did it.

Why didn't Alex & Darren get on the same bus / train (can't remember which it was) as Tony & Elaine near the end? Surely if they had, then they would have won?

Wrongdissection · 07/04/2019 23:03

Brilliant series. Had hoped Darren and Alex would win but what a ride they had!

Fair play to Tony & Elaine. Not sure if I’d be up to it in my 60’s.

Loved the two girls. Gorgeous natural women who had kindness oozing out of them. Loved their friendship.

Glad the hipsters got taken down a peg or two.

purpleme12 · 07/04/2019 23:05

I think Alex and Darren had less money that's why they took a different route