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Post by penguincatfish on Jul 24, 2016 12:15:28 GMT -5
The two-hour finale showed all three heats. The first two heats were stretched to 45 minutes each, leaving 30 minutes for the final heat. They added two new obstacles, after the 8 and 10 foot walls was a 16 foot wall with a rope hanging down to halfway, and the Giant Tire Swing, where if you miss the landing, then you need to go back and try it again. Most of the extra airtime went to Giant Tire Swing.
In the first heat, Solomon Harvey's team's run ended when a member messed up her ankle on a landing at Giant Tire Swing. It didn't matter much because Hunter McIntyre and his team of 40-somethings dominated the heat, even though one member also messed up her ankle.
In the second heat, we saw both ninja teams. Joy from team Craver/McCartney was substituted because she messed up her ankle in the previous episode. At the Lake Crossing, it was funny when Pekus/Bull got yelled at after their raft crossed over Craver/McCartney rope. Craver got kicked hard like a horse at the Giant Tire Swing. This heat was fairly close with all three teams on the Slip Wall around the same time. I was hoping we'd see both ninja teams in the championship heat, but it just wasn't meant to be. Pekus/Bull finished only 43 seconds after the winner and got wildcard.
The heats weren't any longer because winner of Heat 2 finished just over 20 minutes, and the wildcard just over 21.
In the final heat, Hunter's team chose not to substitute the ankle-injured member. Hunter practically carried the team, even pushing everyone solo through the Log Traverse. But they decided to end their run after the injured member landed in the water at the Giant Tire Swing. Team Comeback Kids won while Team Pekus/Bull was still on the Slip Wall.
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Post by penguincatfish on Jun 6, 2017 3:01:30 GMT -5
Season 2 premieres Monday right after ANW. Apolo Ohno and Kelvin Washington are announcers, while Nick Swisher and M.J. Acosta (Season 1) are course reporters. They've changed locations and the theme is a junk yard / industrial zone. They're running at night with some rough lighting. We'll have to wait to see how long the course is. I doubt they've changed the format.
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Post by arsenette on Jun 6, 2017 13:07:43 GMT -5
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Post by penguincatfish on Jun 8, 2017 12:36:15 GMT -5
It was announced back in December that Denmark's Kanal 5 ( NW Denmark and TNW Denmark) will run their own version of Spartan.
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Post by arsenette on Jun 13, 2017 10:38:44 GMT -5
Preliminary ratings are in (remember that final ratings are posted the day after fast ratings). Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge (NBC) – P 0.9 rating / 4 share 3.50 million viewers Ratings Chart:
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Post by penguincatfish on Jun 13, 2017 15:28:58 GMT -5
They changed the format! There are fewer teams this season - 24 vs 36, so the two winners and fastest runner-up of one episode will move on to the next round to face off against those from another episode. Fewer teams means they can provide a spotlight on each team, instead of ignoring half the field like last season. Attachment DeletedThe course is shorter and there are 8 obstacles, instead of 10 or 11 or 12. Compared to last season, the obstacles don't feel like throwaways to fill space, so the broadcast isn't skipping over entire obstacles. This makes it easier to keep track of progress. The finishing times are similar to last season. More time spent on obstacles and less on running, so each heat feels closer to real-time. But I do miss some of the wider shots from last season and the views of the lake. Next week, we'll see Ninjas which is Season One's Team Grit but with two more ninjas - Maggi Thorne, Kevin Bull, Lance Pekus, Meagan Martin, Michelle Warnky.
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Post by greenday61892 on Jun 13, 2017 20:40:25 GMT -5
I can't friggin wait for next week. That's an ANW dream team for me
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Post by arsenette on Jun 20, 2017 10:31:46 GMT -5
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Post by penguincatfish on Jun 20, 2017 15:59:37 GMT -5
Ninjas won their heat! Luci's team Stunt Junkies were in the same heat and finished as the fastest runner-up by two seconds, so they're also moving on to the next round!
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Post by greenday61892 on Jun 20, 2017 20:08:45 GMT -5
Holy CRAP that was close! Glad Luci was able to advance as well but GO NINJAS GO NINJAS GO!
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Post by arsenette on Jun 21, 2017 12:41:10 GMT -5
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Post by penguincatfish on Jun 26, 2017 22:53:21 GMT -5
Mathletes, the youngest team and a group of math and science nerds led by last season's Thong Man won the first heat. Nick Swisher yelling a little too excitedly about Thong Man. Attachment DeletedGrey Guard, the oldest team had most of their intro piece reused from last season. The end of the second heat was very suspenseful. I was all jacked up rooting for Wonder Women. The first ever all-women team, Wonder Women (unintentional Jessie Graff reference?), made up of 5 top level pole vaulters (another unintentional Jessie Graff reference?) fell behind on the Tire Swing, but they caught by the Slip Wall in a race for runner-up. Ultimately, they timed-out. One of the members is April Steiner Bennett (Olympian), who is 3/5 of the women moving on to Los Angeles Finals.
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Post by arsenette on Jun 27, 2017 11:36:49 GMT -5
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Post by penguincatfish on Jul 3, 2017 23:32:36 GMT -5
An interesting thing tonight in Heat 1 - Comeback Kids was Season 1 winner. Their captain last year, Ian Deyerle, is now captain of Strike A Pose, who they ran against tonight. Strike A Pose won with Comeback Kids finishing around 15-20 seconds behind. Comeback Kids was fastest runner-up so they also move on. From team Strike A Pose, Mack Roesch (THE KING OF OBSTACLES) and Jonathan Ruiz (Optician) were on ANW. Ruiz was a tester this season, according to his Instagram. Attachment DeletedWithout his paper crown, and with his almost-perm fluffing out, he looks like a regular dude. The way he supported his team tonight makes me think he should be team captain next season. There was a nice little moment toward the end of Shield Carry where he thanked the crowd. A neat new obstacle was the Puzzle Pole, where they had to push a bunch of heavy puzzle pieces together to hold up a pole in order to reach a lever to drop an I-beam to carry across the warehouse. Attachment DeletedShowtime, a group of dancers, won Heat 2. Round 2 starts next week!
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Post by arsenette on Jul 6, 2017 14:55:38 GMT -5
Dead night overall (including ANW). Final numbers and ratings chart. 10 p.m. Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge (NBC) 0.8 rating / 4 share 3.45 million viewers
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Post by penguincatfish on Jul 11, 2017 1:22:07 GMT -5
Tonight was the first night of Round 2. Based on the previous bracket... chart... thing, I originally assumed they would do Round 1 Night 1 vs. Round 1 Night 2 AND have the two winners + fastest runner-up from the same night compete in the same heat. They changed it up by taking Night 1 and Night 4. In addition to that, they arranged the heats to have a rematch of fastest runner-up + winning team from the same heat while the winner of the other heat that night is placed with the pair of teams from the other night. I guess it's to throw in some variation. Attachment Deleted--- Heat 1 was a rematch between Heart of Texas and Commanding Officers (Military Veterans). In Round 1 Night 1, Heart of Texas won by a literal foot against Commanding Officers who was fastest runner-up. Showtime (Professional Dancers) who won their heat last week, got stuck at the Spear Throw. Heart of Texas won again, while Commanding Officers finished close behind again. One member of Heart of Texas injured his shoulder a bunch of times, so that's something to keep an eye on going into Semi-Finals. Heat 2 was a rematch between last week's Strike A Pose and Comeback Kids (Season 1 Champions). In Round 1 last week, Strike A Pose won, while Comeback Kids finished 9 seconds behind as fastest runner-up. Ian Deyerle, captain of Strike A Pose was captain of Comeback Kids in Season 1. Strike A Pose has two ANW competitors - Mack Roesch (THE KING OF OBSTACLES) and Jonathan Ruiz (Optician). Little Giants (Shortest Team) who won their heat in Round 1 Night 1, caught up at the Human Ladder, took second coming out, but fell behind at the Timber Drop. For some reason, I keep thinking Liz Schlagel was on ANW. Strike A Pose won Heat 2, while Comeback Kids finished close to 4 seconds behind Commanding Officers who are moving on as fastest runner-up. Funny little moment when the half-barrel holder was stuck to their shield and Mack just power shoved it out of the way. Attachment Deleted--- Tonight's arrangement to have rematches worked well because their previous heats were all somewhat close finishes. Throwing in even more variation next week - It seems they're not doing rematches for Night 2. Based on the unexpected bracket arrangement, it looks like one of the heats next week will be stacked, with three heat winners in the same heat - Saddle Up (Cow People), Mathletes (Math Nerds), Ninjas (...Ninjas). Each of these three teams finished before any of the other teams had even reached the Slip Wall. For the other heat, not taking into account obstacle differences, Luci's team, Stunt Junkies, was about 3 minutes faster than the other fastest runner-up, Better Halves, and roughly 45-50 seconds faster than winner Kid Courage. They have a good chance of winning their heat.
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Post by arsenette on Jul 11, 2017 21:24:43 GMT -5
Ratings are in. Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge (NBC) 1.0 rating / 4 share 3.91 million viewers Ratings chart with cable numbers (and it's updated to they have final numbers and only 1 other show was adjusted down - no change to ANW).
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Post by penguincatfish on Jul 18, 2017 0:48:01 GMT -5
Tonight was Night 2 of Round 2. Heat 1 was Saddle Up (Cow People... Rodeo People... Horse People?), Mathletes (Math Nerds / Youngest Team / Led by Thong Man), and Ninjas (...Ninjas). In Round 1, each of these teams won their heat before any other team had reached the Slip Wall. I thought it was going to be a close race. It was mostly close up to the Tire Swing, then Ninjas took the lead and finished before the next team even reached the Slip Wall. A member of Mathletes dislocated her shoulder, but they finished second at 18:31.01. We didn't see the time for Ninjas, but I'd like to guess it may have been around 2 minutes faster. Heat 2 was Better Halves (Two Married Couples), Kid Courage (Parents of Special Needs Children), and Stunt Junkies (Luci's Team!). Better Halves had a slip up on the Table Tilt (2nd obstacle) and couldn't catch up. Kid Courage and Stunt Junkies were side-by-side until Kid Courage got stuck on the Tire Swing. Stunt Junkies finished just over a minute faster than Kid Courage, who finished 6 seconds behind the other runner-up, Mathletes. Luci's story was featured tonight. Roper from Saddle Up looks a little like Tom Holland (the new Spider-Man). Attachment Deleted------ The two-hour finale will air this Sunday! Attachment DeletedVery curious how they'll arrange the Heats for Semi-Finals. If it'll be the expected Round 2 Night 1 = Heat 1 and Round 2 Night 2 = Heat 2, or change it up. It would be entertaining to have Heart of Texas running against Commanding Officers for the third time in a row. In Night 1, Heart of Texas finished Heat 1 around 17 minutes, and Strike A Pose finished Heat 2 around 17 minutes as well, while fastest runner-up Commanding Officers finished just over 18 minutes. In Night 2, Ninjas finished Heat 1 somewhere around 16 minutes, and Stunt Junkies finished Heat 2 around 17 minutes, while fastest runner-up Mathletes finished in 18 and a half minutes. It's difficult to directly compare the two nights because they had different obstacles through the middle section. Barrel Roll Table Tilt Mud Humps Human Ladder / Tire Swing Timber Drop / Puzzle Pole + Beam Carry Spear Throw / Army Crawl Shield Carry Dunk Wall Slip Wall My pick for the Finals would be Ninjas and Strike A Pose, with Stunt Junkies for fastest runner-up. Heart of Texas might come close to fastest runner-up, but one of their stronger members dislocated his shoulder a bunch of times. I also just noticed the broadcast completely skipped over the Table Tilt for Round 2 Night 1 last week. It was basically, after coming down the Barrel Roll, the next shot would be them soaking wet heading into the Mud Humps. They didn't even mention it. This was the only shot of the Table Tilt that night... toward the middle on the right side... Attachment Deleted
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Post by arsenette on Jul 19, 2017 3:13:55 GMT -5
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Post by penguincatfish on Jul 24, 2017 3:10:53 GMT -5
Tonight was the Season 2 Finale! It began an hour late on Eastern/Central time because NASCAR had a weather delay so the race finished 3 hours later. [Insert NASCAR rain delay memes] Teams had to complete 10 obstacles for Semi-Finals, and 15 obstacles for Finals, which includes a new obstacle introduced tonight, Pendulum Carry. Attachment DeletedInstead of doing Round 2 Night 1 = Heat 1 and Night 2 = Heat 2, the teams were rearranged again. They basically swapped Heart of Texas and Ninjas and flipped the Heats. Attachment DeletedI thought the Heats would be close through to the very end and that we would witness an intense battle of Heart of Texas vs. Stunt Junkies, and Ninjas vs. Strike A Pose... --- Semi-Finals Heat 1 was Heart of Texas (Texas), Stunt Junkies (Luci!), and Mathletes (Thong Man). Heart of Texas replaced one of their leading members with a Marine due to a severe shoulder injury in the previous round. One of the women on Mathletes injured her shoulder the previous round, but decided to run tonight. It was close up to the Human Ladder. Heart of Texas moved on, and Stunt Junkies would have been close behind, but their last member fell in the water. Instead of trying to get one leg around the pole in the transition, it seemed like he just let both legs swing right down and dropped. He fell again near the top of the ladder. This gave Mathletes a chance to take second, but their last member struggled with the transition and also fell. One member of Mathletes had trouble going up the Timber Drop, and Thong Man slipped off, but they still managed to stay neck-and-neck with Stunt Junkies. Heart of Texas won the heat an obstacle ahead. Stunt Junkies finished second at 18:19.40 with Mathletes finishing about 8 seconds behind. Semi-Finals Heat 2 was Ninjas (...Ninjas), Strike A Pose (THE KING OF OBSTACLES), and Commanding Officers (Army). Michelle Warnky took a foot to the face on the Table Tilt, which they replayed in slow motion from different angles. The teams were close until the Timber Drop when Strike A Pose got the pole up in a record 17 and a half seconds. Ninjas got destroyed trying to get their pole up, falling behind. Strike A Pose finished the Sled Pull in one go, and later finished the Slip Wall just as Commanding Officers was starting it. We didn't see the time for Strike A Pose, but I would guess it may have been under 16 and a half minutes. Commanding Officers finished second at 18:12.73, 7 seconds faster than Stunt Junkies. --- Finals was Heart of Texas, Commanding Officers, and Strike A Pose (THE KING OF OBSTACLES). Strike A Pose rocketed through the Barrel Roll, completed the Table Tilt in a record 41 seconds, and stayed ahead through the Mad Humps. The Tire Swing was made more difficult by being placed 4 feet farther away from the landing pad. On top of that, all three teams were attempting the Tire Swing for the first time. Both women on Strike A Pose had trouble with the gap at first, which gave the other two teams a chance to pass, but they couldn't. Strike A Pose maintained a one obstacle lead over Heart of Texas through to the very end, while Heart of Texas stayed one obstacle ahead of Commanding Officers. The connection between Heart of Texas and Commanding Officers is kind of hilarious in a messed up sort of way for Commanding Officers... Round 1 Night 1 Heat 1 - Heart of Texas 1st; Commanding Officers 2nd / 3rd overall that night (fastest runner-up) Round 2 Night 1 Heat 1 - Heart of Texas 1st; Commanding Officers 2nd / 3rd overall that night (fastest runner-up) Semi-Finals Heat 1 - Heart of Texas 1st; Semi-Finals Heat 2 - Commanding Officers 2nd / 3rd overall that night (fastest runner-up) Finals - Heart of Texas 2nd; Commanding Officers 3rd Strike A Pose wins with a perfect season! Their captain, Ian Deyerle is now two-time champion captain. Would be interesting to have him try and win with a third team next season. On ANW last season, Mack Roesch failed the Jumping Spider in Vegas. He basically ran right into it without taking a pause. We learned tonight that he found out his stepfather had passed away within an hour of taking on that course. He hadn't won a competition since. I've noticed that while he appears a little intense on the course, he seems very calm and soft-spoken in his interviews. I'd say THE KING OF OBSTACLES is MVP this season. Attachment Deleted--- Overall it was a good season. Much better than Season 1. They'll probably keep the same location. Although, I wouldn't mind a change of scenery if they can maintain similar pacing and obstacle designs.
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