116 replies to this topic

[FrogsRule]

Or as Matt Roush called it, "a gussied up version of tag."

I would have been better off watching a Mentalist rerun.

[Writing Wrongs]

Yeah, it wasn't too exciting was it? I'm confused on the rules. Once they get caught and break out again, do they get to automatically resume to the stage they were at?

[LakeGal]

I watched it. Some things I liked and some I didnt. I have always disliked on TAR how the contestants can just follow each other. I did like on this show that they had to solve the clues themselves and could not be helped by just following the other teams. It was interesting that they were always announcing to the other teams what their competition was doing. I could see that the guards could manipulate the game if they so wanted to. It would be easy to let one team go and spot another. I did not like the green team lastnight. I was just happy that someone other than them won. I found myself wanting either the red or blue team to win.

[jessied112]

Well, I kind of enjoyed it. It might actually become my new summer guilty pleasure show, just like last summer's Take The Money and Run was. I was rooting for the red team the whole time, so I am glad that they won. Green team irked me at times and I stopped rooting for blue team once I saw how long it took them to get past the first stage. I know the fiance had to keep running back and forth outside to avoid the light, but when the green team got past them the first time, got captured, led back to their cell, escaped and past the blue team again and they were STILL not done, I knew they were taking way too long.

I also wonder if the guards could spot the cameramen and use that to their advantage to capture the teams. Because the guards could look over, see the cameramen and then just wait until the team emerges or they could wander over and capture them. But I guess that's part of the 'not allowed to do' rules.

I'm not sure if I like them announcing what each team is doing. On the one hand, it's annoying and it would be very discouraging to hear the other team's statuses while you're trying to get through one stage (like how they announced red team won). But on the other hand, it could potentially be good strategy for the leading team(s). It would distract the last team because it would get inside their heads and that might provide the leading team with an even bigger lead.

All in all, I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. Actually, I didn't hear about the show until yesterday so I watched the show without knowing what it was about. Sure, I'll tune in once more.

[ajra]

I know the fiance had to keep running back and forth outside to avoid the light, but when the green team got past them the first time, got captured, led back to their cell, escaped and past the blue team again and they were STILL not done, I knew they were taking way too long.

I know! Well, when the green team got captured the second time, they didn't need to stop where the blue team was, because there were only 4 gates to open (and the blue team was working on the 4th one), but geez man, how long does it take to spin 4 numbers on that lock?

Bandana dude on the green team was acting like he needed that money BAD! Like too bad, like maybe he's no longer with us because he didn't win.

What was up with the red team calling each other "babe" - they were siblings? A couple of times I couldn't tell if the guy was saying Meg or Babe, but most of the time, it definitely sounded like babe. I wasn't rooting for them because she was irritating thecrap out of me - sticking her head out, running too slowly, etc. She just seemed like a liability to him and I don't want her to have half of that money.

I also wonder if the guards could spot the cameramen and use that to their advantage to capture the teams. Because the guards could look over, see the cameramen and then just wait until the team emerges or they could wander over and capture them. But I guess that's part of the 'not allowed to do' rules.

They wouldn't be allowed to do that. It did bug me that when the green team got captured, the red team was able to walk right by them and not get captured by the guard that was escorting the green team back to stage one. I mean, if this was supposed to be a "realistic" escape scenario, that guard wouldn't just let them go because he had another escapee in custody.

I'm confused on the rules. Once they get caught and break out again, do they get to automatically resume to the stage they were at?

No, they went back to stage one to find a new key to break out of the cell. The exception was at the rec yard gates - there were only four gates to enter the combo, so it appeared to the viewer that stage was being skipped, when the blue was still stuck at the last (4th) gate. The other teams still went through the rec yard, but blew past them.

It will be interesting to see how they do this on a ship next week.

Edited by ajra, Jun 25, 2012 @ 8:25 AM.

[gregg247]

Although I was looking forward to this, I disliked the show right from the first few minutes. Casting on these shows is paramount, and the 3 teams weren't very well-chosen at all. The guy with the bandana on the Green team was the worst. He was in that cell for 5 seconds before going into "animal mode", as he put it, kicking the cell door and shaking it, as if a cell door in Alcatraz is going to tremble at his might. What a hothead.

The Red Team wasn't much better. The brother was pretty mean to his sister, grabbing her and yelling at her throughout. Although, she was either dumb or just not that into the game, because several times she was just wandering along, oblivious to the gaurds and searchlights.

The Blue Team seemed the most likable, but they were so ineffective that I didn't know what qualified them to be there. For a team that figured out that combination lock in their heads (very impressive), it sure took them a long time to use it on the lock. The Green Team passed them at the lock, went to the next stage, got caught, were returned to their cell, escaped again, and passed them at exactly the same place again!

I spent a good bit of time looking at my watch during this show, which is always a bad sign. I don't think I'll be back next week. I wish that show "Take The Money and Run" was coming back this summer. I enjoyed that show, despite its flaws.

[sp23]

I tried to watch, but switched channels about halfway through. I may try again if they put it up online, but I'm just not sure this show is for me. Too frantic or something.

[Stimpson]

Although I was looking forward to this, I disliked the show right from the first few minutes. Casting on these shows is paramount, and the 3 teams weren't very well-chosen at all.

That's what I was thinking as well. The guy on the green team seemed mentally unstable and I didn't like how the red guy manhandled his teammate once.

A comedian who did "I Love the 80's" also seems like a strange choice to host this show.

[jessied112]

You see, I didn't mind the Red Team because I know what it's like to have a love/hate relationship with a sibling, so I understood the brother (Miles?) yelling at his sister multiple times. I would do the exact same thing with my sister. I guess they reminded me of my relationship with my sister. Granted we are both women, but I could relate with them more than the other teams. I also initially disliked the Blue Team because of the girl (Brittany) saying that she needed all 100,000 dollars for her wedding. I guess personal tastes and all, but I'd think that you wouldn't need to spend all 100,000 for the wedding. 25,000 maybe and then save up the rest for a house or other things you'll need in the future. Plus, I didn't find that Blue Team communicated as well as they could have. They communicated better than Green Team, especially with one of them (Lexx?) going off and hitting walls just because his teammate pushed him back to hide from the guards.

What I want to know is if they are captured and they escape again, do they get a free pass to get to the stage they were at? I know I saw them still creeping to grab their clues but up until that point, are they allowed to just breeze to where they were caught? Because the host said that once they escape again, they can go back to where they were captured so does that mean that they can't get recaptured until then? I was a little confused on that because I saw the teams still creeping.

[Kolaka]

Casting on these shows is paramount, and the 3 teams weren't very well-chosen at all.

I agree. I was also looking forward to this but was mainly bored - fell asleep before the end. The casting wasn't good and I thought the show would be more adventuresome and less puzzle solving. The previews sure made it look that way.

I did watch the last 15 min online to see who won. The red team was obviously excited but the ending was so low key - the editing tried, but it was obvious no other team was near them and the lack of other teams cheering at the finish line (like TAR) made the whole thing so subdued IMO. Being a one episode adventure there's no way to have other teams there, I know, it's just the successful escape fell flat to me.

I will give it another episode and see how different teams and a different location work.

A comedian who did "I Love the 80's" also seems like a strange choice to host this show.

Ha - I didn't know this about Rich Eisen. He's been a successful and IMO personable host/commentator on first ESPN and now the NFL Network for years - that's where I've seen him. I thought he did an OK job here.

[peeayebee]

I didn't plan on watching this, but then I read a review that made me curious. The reviewer said that you watch this show and can't help but want to play. Maybe, but I didn't find this all that entertaining.

Although I was looking forward to this, I disliked the show right from the first few minutes. Casting on these shows is paramount, and the 3 teams weren't very well-chosen at all.

ITA. The green bandanna guy was really annoying, but at least he had a personality. The others seemed bland. I think a problem this show will have is that we don't get to know the contestants. Even on The Amazing Race it usually takes a couple of eps to get to know the racers and decide if you like them or not. And yet... these Great Escape people just didn't seem to have much potential as far as TV-friendly personalities.

I've never seen or heard of the host before, but he reminded me of Larry Miller. The show might be improved by his presence.

The red team guy reminded me of someone. I can't remember if it's a TAR contestant or an actor. I thought the red team gal didn't really get into the spirit of the game. We all know it's all fake. You're not really imprisoned, and the guards aren't going to hurt you, but she seemed to be taking things too easy. I think she was even smiling as the guard led them back to their cell at one point. I guess she balanced out the uber-competitive bandanna guy.

I may check out next week's ep unless I find something better to watch.

[blackwing]

I really enjoyed this show. I thought it was exciting and I enjoyed the puzzle aspect of the game. The wandering guards added an element of suspense and tension that I thought played out well.

I do agree about the casting, and that it could have been better. I hated green bandanna guy pretty much instantly, but that made me actively root against him. I liked the brother and sister. I could tell the engaged couple wasn't going to make it when she blamed him for her getting caught by the guard the first time. They were so woefully inept. I can't understand how they were trying to get out of the first gate and got passed by the green team, who had spent time tearing apart a cell.

I'm wondering how many detention cells there were. The red team got caught twice... they found a key in the bar of soap and a key in the mattress. Green team got caught twice too I believe and found keys in the same places. What if either of these teams had been caught a third time? Was there a third set of detention cells with a key in a different hiding spot?

Was there some rule about not looking at other people's "work"? When the green team got caught the second time and put in a cell, I saw a torn apart mattress in the cell next door which I'm assuming was the red team's second escape. I'd have gone right for that mattress. Also, when they got to the ammunitions warehouse, could they have walked by the red team's room and seen that they moved everything?

I'm looking forward to upcoming episodes. I think this show is an adrenaline rush. Since the teams change from week to week I guess it's not exactly like TAR where you really get to know the people somewhat, but it's still a rush to me. Kind of like Fear Factor or Wipeout, where you root for someone but then never see them again after the one-shot show.

[Direqh]

There's gotta be a rule against interacting with the other teams. Either that, or the teams we had were just dumb as rocks (which, from blue's general incompetence and green's inability to do math, maybe they were). Because really, green, sure you can't go through red's gate, but they didn't reset the combination on the lock before they went through it, so go there just to look at the lock and see what they entered. Also, when you've been caught and you see another team on your way to the cell, yell out "That team's over there" and get them caught too.

I'm wondering how many detention cells there were. The red team got caught twice... they found a key in the bar of soap and a key in the mattress. Green team got caught twice too I believe and found keys in the same places. What if either of these teams had been caught a third time? Was there a third set of detention cells with a key in a different hiding spot?

I got the impression that there's only one key in the cell each time they're locked in, and that in between times while the teams are out the producers slip in and hide it. It seems a bit too coincidental that all 3 of the teams would find the guitar key first, the soap key second, and then the mattress key in that order.

[54321Blastoff]

Regarding the teams getting caught and the guards, I have a feeling that the guards/actors are given instructions at each post to walk a a certain route in a certain direction at a certain pace and shine their flashlights a certain way and if they happen to see a team in doing so, to catch them and detain them. If pretend a guard's instructions are to circle a building counter clockwise at a moderate pace, I don't think that once he passes a certain spot that if he then sees/senses a team coming out of a hiding place behind him and making a break for it that he can turn around and pursue the team.. I think that he would have to keep walking forward to make the full circle around the building. This allows for the teams to have a chance to get past the guards and make it about timing. It also makes the cameraman with each team, who, let's face it, would attract the attention of any semi competent guard, not be a hindrance.

As for getting caught and going back to where they left off, I do think they are given a free pass from the guards to return to the spot where they left their things behind but I'm not positive since the teams did seem to be creeping a bit after escaping from the cells after being detained. Then again, no one got caught or seemed to have any trouble retrieving their things so perhaps, the teams were just being extra careful.

Well, I kind of enjoyed it. It might actually become my new summer guilty pleasure show, just like last summer's Take The Money and Run was.

Same. I really liked Take the Money and Run last summer and I thought the premiere of The Great Escape was enjoyable enough where I'm definitely planning on tuning in next week. I like these types of shows - they're no The Amazing Race which is my absolute favorite but as a fun, summer shows they work. I will say that I feel like this show is the type that you need to watch without looking at the clock because seeing how much time is left kind of ruins who wins based on where each team is when there is like 4 minutes left.

[biakbiak]

I thought this show was so overwhelmingly boring, I am surprised that I didn't fall asleep during it.

[Netfoot]

It seemed to me that a team had to be caught fully in the beam of the light to be apprehended. There were moments when the players were clearly visible, but not actually in the circle of the spotlight, so were allowed to pass.

Also, I think the ending was slightly anti-climatic. Once Red got on the Zodiac, there didn't seem to be any way for them to lose. Presumably all the Zodiacs were equivalent, so if you leave the dock three minutes ahead, you will arrive at Pier 3 with three minutes in hand, and all you have to do is walk over to Wosizname and say 'Gimme the cash!' A final task on the pier might have introduced the chance (or at least the appearance of a chance) that there could be a last minute shakeup.

I'll watch this again, but I really hope they have better casting in subsequent episodes. BandannaDouche is not a character I want to see re-appear in subsequent episodes. Nor anyone else similarly endowed with such high levels of prickishness and stupidity.

[FrogsRule]

For me, the show suffered from the pre-debut hype that compared it to TAR. And when it opened with TAR-like music, that expectation was enhanced. And then it was nothing like TAR.

From the previews, I had totally misunderstood the kind of competition it was going to be. I thought it would be 10 or 11 teams (TAR-like) moving from one escape to the next, being eliminated in a TAR-like fashion. Obviously I had not paid close enough attention to the previews, as I hit mute for all commercials including previews.

I think it would have been a better show had it been according to expectations. ;-) I hadn't realized till last night just how great a factor "getting to know the teams" really is in TAR's success. And Whatsisname is no Phil.

Red Team's win was underwhelming. Weren't they the team that in the very beginning, the brother said, "You look left and I'll look right," and they both looked right? And then when he sees the lockbox, he takes *more* time by jumping down and then climbing up? Shocked me that they managed to win.

[SnarklePuss]

I got the impression that there's only one key in the cell each time they're locked in, and that in between times while the teams are out the producers slip in and hide it. It seems a bit too coincidental that all 3 of the teams would find the guitar key first, the soap key second, and then the mattress key in that order.

I wonder what would have happened if one of the teams, while trying to open the lock, dropped its key outside the cell and beyond reach? If there was only one key in the cell at that time, would they be stuck there for the rest of the episode? (Or, in the case of the green team, preferably forever?)

[FrogsRule]

SnarklePuss, I thought it was terrible editing along exactly those lines. Red Team wondered what would happen if they dropped the key. "I guess we would be stuck here forever." And then no one ever dropped the key.

Why on earth would the editors leave in that comment when it had zero impact on the show? If they were trying to build suspense, it merely proves that there is way too little genuine suspense with this format.

[North of Eden]

Just watched.
I had high hopes but I was just bored.
Wayyyyyy to easy for producer manipulation with a fortuitiously place guard or a spotlight there.

Poor race design in that there was no way for someone to catch up once the first dingy is away.
Also unclear as if the car the money was in was included.

And finally who does the balding charisma free host have black mail pictures on to get this gig?

[eelpout]

Am I alone here or was there a whiff of Treasure Hunters coming off this production? From the graphics and puzzles to the music it had that feel. Grazer is behind both so there is a thread there. I half expected one of the guards to turn around and say "I'm Laird Macintosh and you've been captured!"

[PurplePastry]

Also unclear as if the car the money was in was included.

They said the prize was $100,000 so I'm pretty sure it was just the cash and the car was not included.

Well I certainly didn't hate it, which is pretty much all I ask out of summer shows. It reminded me a lot of a show from a few years ago called Cha$e (I think it was on Syfy) and I really enjoyed that show so I was pleased to see something similar. I agree with others that the casting was only so-so. I liked the blue team in their intro but they really weren't well suited for the tasks. And I was disappointed that both women didn't really seem to be into the concept. I liked the guy on the red team the most as far as the way he approached the game. He was excited and focused but not over the top like green bandana guy.

I wonder if playing a lot of video games gives people a better mindset for how to approach the tasks in this game. It would be interesting to see a team of gamers, although hopefully they'd be semi-athletic so as not to be hindered by that.

[blackwing]

I'll watch this again, but I really hope they have better casting in subsequent episodes. BandannaDouche is not a character I want to see re-appear in subsequent episodes. Nor anyone else similarly endowed with such high levels of prickishness and stupidity.

Word to that. Guy seems like a total tool. And his wah wah wah about how to Miles and his sister, $100,000 might not mean much, but for him it would have changed his life. First off, what a complete jackhole to assume that $100,000 means nothing to Miles and Megan. Why wouldn't it? Because he assumes they are rich kids that don't need money? I believe Megan is 20 years old, there's no reason to assume that she can't use $50,000. Secondly, what exactly would he do with the money? Pay off his gambling debts? Buy some more bandannas and drugs? He made it sound like he (and his family?) are going to die of starvation if they don't just hand him that money. Cry me a river.

I disagree about the complaint about there being no opportunity to change positions once they got to the zodiacs. Why should there be? There were four zones in the game and plenty of opportunity to change position there (as the teams did frequently). Once a team completes all four zones, the final "clue" should really be a "go from here to the finish". It'd be like complaining on TAR that once a team completes the final task and gets the directions to the final pit stop, that there's no opportunity for someone to pass them. At some point, there needs to be a final task, and the gas can thing was it.

I was confused about the car too. The host said to drive off in the car being $100,000 richer. I'm thinking the car is not part of the prize. But if that's the case, why bother to have a car at all? They should have just had the winning team stand there and exclaim with delight, like the winner does on Wipeout and Fear Factor. Instead, it just seems like blatant product placement to me.

Edited by blackwing, Jun 26, 2012 @ 10:09 AM.

[eelpout]

I was confused about the car too. The host said to drive off in the car being $100,000 richer. I'm thinking the car is not part of the prize. But if that's the case, why bother to have a car at all? They should have just had the winning team stand there and exclaim with delight, like the winner does on Wipeout and Fear Factor. Instead, it just seems like blatant product placement to me.

Since every other ad during airing was from Volvo, aping the game itself, this was not a surprise. They are a big sponsor of TGE. Perhaps the car originally was going to part of the prize package, but that idea changed along the way. Read somewhere that we will be seeing more of their vehicles in challenges themselves.

[Roadijeff]

My wife and I watched this the other night. Although we both enjoy TAR and Survivor, this show was boring.

It may have been a bit better if the teams had helmet cams that recorded what they were doing instead of a camerman following them. It's hard for me to imagine the guards not knowing exactly where they are when, for one, whenever they "escape" out of one level the fact is announced over loudspeakers. Then when they're hunched down behind a wall there's a cameraman standing right there out in the open where the guard can plainly see him but he's supposed to just keep walking like he doesn't know the team is nearby.

I'll give it one more episode next week in the USS Hornet before I decide whether to stop watching. I would have thought the series premiere would have been better than this.

Edited by Roadijeff, Jun 26, 2012 @ 12:41 PM.

[Netfoot]

First off, what a complete jackhole to assume that $100,000 means nothing to Miles and Megan.

I quite dislike when teams announce that they really need the money as if that should somehow make them more deserving. If, somehow, the poor guy deserves to win more than the rich guy, why do we allow the rich guy to play? Means-testing for all applicants will soon follow! Grrrr! It is also quite annoying when someone says that the money is the only reason they are playing. Really? Well, at least pretend that the spirit of the competition means something to you as well!

And what is it with some people? Green needed $100,000 so they could get married? It doesn't cost $100k to get married. It might cost $100k to have a big party afterwards, but if the bill for your wedding comes to $100k it's because you chose to spend that much, which isn't sensible if you don't have that much to spend in the first place. Lack of big bux is no excuse por not getting hitched, if you want to get hitched!

It'd be like complaining on TAR that once a team completes the final task and gets the directions to the final pit stop, that there's no opportunity for someone to pass them. At some point, there needs to be a final task, and the gas can thing was it.

Well... It isn't quite the same.

After the final task in TAR there is still one more task, which is Get to Phil. We've seen taxis stopping for gas or to fix a flat tire. We've seen foot-races in the grounds of the palace. We've seen teams searching in vain for the mat. Essentially, the first team to complete the final task in TAR does not automatically win the leg. Whereas in TGE, once Red had completed stage IV, there was no way that another team was going to come from behind and beat them to "the mat". Barring a boat-engine failure (highly unlikely, I'd say) only if there were two boats racing side-by-side for Pier 3, would there be any way for there to be a dramatic conclusion.

I hear what you say, about the actual conclusion being at the end of Stage IV, and I'm fine with that. But then to avoid an anticlimactic final 5 minutes, they needed to have Wosizname at the dock on Alcatraz, handing over the money to the winning team, and we close watching them jump into the only Zodiac and zip away into the sunrise.

Helmet cams! That sounds like it could be a first-class idea. That, and a large number of fixed-position unmanned cameras might go some way to defeat the "I'm Not Noticing That Camera Crew With The Bright Lights Lurking Over There!" syndrome with the guards.

[FrogsRule]

Netfoot, they also could have forced the teams to navigate themselves to Pier 3. Not only would that have been more TAR-like (and I keep saying that only because all the hype for the show kept emphasizing its creative links to TAR), but it would have provided honest-to-goodness suspense.

I also thought the color of the shirts could have unfairly disadvantaged some teams. But then again, it was the Red Team that I figured had the brightest-colored shirt... Goes to show. ;-)

[cousin oliver]

I grudgingly admire how the show managed to be both overly frantic and completely boring at the same time; an odd achievement but an achievement all the same.

Bad casting, overdone editing and a boring climax: that final jigsaw puzzle thingy brought shame to the word puzzle. "Go to pier three", oh and this guy will drive the boat. Here's a blanky to celebrate.

Awful.

[FrogsRule]

cousin oliver, worse yet, they didn't even have to figure out how to open the case of money (using the puzzle-key) themselves. Lazy game design.

[jessied112]

Second episode in and yeah, the contestants all suck. Again, for the second week in a row, I'm rooting for the red team, hoping the green team falls into a firey pit of stupidity (oh wait, already happened) and am indifferent toward the blue team. Seriously, how stupid was the green team? Not only did they forget their MAP, but they also forgot the FLAG. And then blue team forgot the ACCESS CODE. And didn't they also forget something else? I mean, I wasn't sure of the red team at first. They couldn't find their map for the longest time so I was rooting against them but they quickly overpowered all the other teams, got through the second stage before any other team and managed to do well in all stages so that's how I started rooting for them. All the other teams, though, were stupid and I wanted both green and blue to lose.

Arg, it's such a stupid show yet I still want to tune in for the third episode. It makes me frustrated, but I'm invested. And I get why there was only one area for patrol, but I wanted more chances for them to get caught. Like, a surveillance camera set up for them in a specific area that they would have to avoid or something. It's a small area to move around, so a surveillance camera could have been interesting. Oh well. Sadly, I'm probably in for the rest of the (most likely only) season.