Race Across the World 2024 part 2!

[OutOfTheHouse]

Second thread about the BBC Series.

Caught up.

Sumatra conditions seem to take them by surprise!
I &E did really well to catch up.

Oh I see. What a pain that you can’t get iplayer. Can you use a VPN?

Fascinating to hear about the different places and see the population and traffic problems in Java ,I only knew about Krakatoa , this programme is so educational for me anyway!
Poor Betty that’s really tough when faced with diagnosis, knew there would be a back story to them all.
Eugenie was super competitive this week wasn’t keen on her taking the taxi she’s a bit it’s all about me at times , can see why the relationship with her daughter is fractured.
Wee Alfie and his lonely Christmases was so very sad , he was great playing with the children but I was shouting don't get complacent as they thought everyone was miles behind. I and E did well to catch up.
Stephen doesn’t like it when Viv keeps reminding him he lived in a Porto cabin with outside toilet when they met you could see him shutting down that convo!
Come on the boys for the win!

I'm on holiday this week so can't watch the final as it's aired! I'll have to avoid this thread (and remove it from my 'watched' threads so I don't spoiler myself!).

I always watch it after anyway as it's on too late for my liking to watch with my child

Stephen doesn’t like it when Viv keeps reminding him he lived in a Porto cabin with outside toilet when they met you could see him shutting down that convo!

Gosh I think the opposite. I think they bring it up very frequently and he is trying to explain to her that living in a Porto cabin in the UK is not, in any way, comparable to the poor living conditions they are witnessing firsthand.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b68b8612-f141-4109-a8a0-824eb99382f3?shareToken=4ada93dc634689aa05d88cc775e67ebb

An interesting background piece. Make a making of programme please.

Very interesting, thank you for the share.

I didn’t think they’d have to secure three seats including one for the production crew.

It must feel good to travel around knowing there are people looking out for any unrest all the time.

That’s interesting that only the producer travels. I presumed there’d be two people with each team - camera and sound.

there is a programme immediately after the final tomorrow at 10, which should be good

is the final tomorrow?

No it's on Wednesday. PP must have got confused

oh yes, the bank holiday has confused me

There was a long discussion about it on The Rest is Entertainment podcast a couple of weeks ago. Apparently there are two crew with each pair, and they aim to stay with them but if necessary only one will travel with them if space is lacking. They have a backup car each which is close behind - so the second crew member can get a lift! That has more first aid supplies etc, and I guess things like spare cameras, batteries, etc. And then there’s another crew which follow in slower time getting all the interesting landscape shots, wide shots of train stations, etc etc - so that the accompanying crew can concentrate on the contestants at all time. Sounds like a hell of an operation!

“It is a race and we love it when contestants start to dash for the checkpoints because it is dramatic and we are making an entertainment show but that is balanced by their desire to see the world. It’s the tension between the two that gives us our best content.”

It is interesting that most of this thread is taken up with the tension between I and E and the perceived rudeness of Stephen. The producers know we love to see how humans tick as well as see the lovely scenery and learn about new countries and cultures.

I'm fairly sure that this year the 'jobs' are easier. Previously they had to work for longer and harder than they are doing in this series.

I wonder too, if they are told that they have to travel one route or another. Sometimes they must all just want to take the fastest and most direct route to their destination but that doesn't make for good television so I presume they are told that two pairs can get their first route choice on one leg and it changes on the next leg? And obviously they are told that they must each take a certain number of scenic trips during the show for content.

This was confirmed by podcast by one of the previous contestants (about having to pick from one of e.g. 2 "general" routes and sometimes not being allowed the one you want). However IIRC it's done in the order you arrive at checkpoint, so that gives you an incentive to arrive first during the earlier legs as then you have first pick of routes etc.

However I do wonder if the boys were SO ahead by Sumatra that they were "told" to take the coastal route, the producers would have known that was slower (they scout it out ahead of time after all), just to make the last leg a bit more competitive?

otoh buses in this country often take roundabout routes so it is not surprising.

In real life of course you would get bus timetables and see when busses arrived and left and onward connections

I always think going anywhere that isn't an obvious transport hub onwards is a risky choice. Get to that place, check onward plans/times then site see..
sometimes they seem to know they need to get on a once a day ferry and other times have zero idea of what's ahead. It's inconsistent.

I'd be surprised that they could change the rules to make better tv (like not giving a choice of routes to the first place team where the rule is that they get first choice) given there is prize money at stake

This was confirmed by podcast by one of the previous contestants

Ah interesting, I thought as much.

Do you know the name of the podcast? I’d like to listen to it.

Loving the current series.

Would love the boys to win (definitely possible)

In second place, Betty and her brother (unlikely)

Just heard that Betty and James and Steve and Viv are going to be on the Scott Milks show tomorrow afternoon (although another dj covering the show?) on Radio 2.

If links to touring aren't allowed I think it was Jen and Rob on Travel Talks (I might have binged all the RATW YouTube content I could find when this series started!)