Emmy loss = End of Race?

[Sonic Whammy]

I'm not about to say that this is absolute in the slightest. But while I knew it couldn't last forever, I was surprised to see that Top Chef beat out Amazing Race for the Emmy last night. And it got me to thinking about an idea that's very disturbing to a major Race fan like myself.

From what I recall from the timeline, Race won the first Emmy just after Season 4 finished, but it was having its ratings trouble. While Season 5 turned the ratings corner, there was still a reluctance at CBS to keep the show going... unless it won the Emmy again. And it did. So they popped for 2 more runs, and so such has maintained for the last 7 years.

But now the Race finally lost. Ratings are still OK, but I wonder if Moonves has still been holding to his "win and you stay in" philosophy all this time. He's never given Survivor or Big Brother that kind of threat ever that I know of (the day he even thinks of getting rid of his wife's big gig...), so it says to me that Race was always 3rd on his totem pole of reality games.

He'd better not consider chopping the totem pole down a little, that's all I have to say.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Sonic Whammy\' post=\'246556\' date=\'Aug 30 2010, 03:17 PM\']He'd better not consider chopping the totem pole down a little, that's all I have to say.[/quote]
Or else what?

(And when did Moonves ever issue that ultimatum to Race?)

[Joe Mello]

It's likely the end of Race winning Emmys, but that's all I can see from my vantage point.

[Speedy G]

Honestly, I think the show's run its course.  It's kind of devolved into a disappointing mix of boring pretty people, couples specifically chosen for their bickering, and maximizing the number of "ugly American" quotes they can extract.  The race around the world is more of a side note now.  Not to say that the game is the most important part (I've enjoyed seasons of "race around the world rappelling off things"), but everything interesting is always at someone's expense.

The last few seasons have gradually made me not care about missing an episode.  I'm now down to watching the race start, deciding that nobody is entertaining, and then removing the show from my DVR.

[rialtus]

I've gotten to the point of TiVoing the whole season, spending one weekend, and "watching" all the episodes back to back. I say "watching" because, frankly, I'm doing other things and this has turned into background noise for me now. If the Race didn't come back, it wouldn't burst my bubble much.

[weaklink75]

The ratings are still decent- it usually comes in 2nd to the Sunday Night Football game on NBC, the 18-49's are good, and CBS doesn't have much in the cupboard as far as hour-longs, so I'd think they'll get the 2 runs again this year. TAR didn't have a really good episode to use for the Emmy voting- Top Chef had a couple of great ones to pick from.

[opimus]

OMG! The Amazing Race did not win an Emmy. Everybody panic it's the end of prime time game shows as we know them. Demand a full Congressionnal investigation.

[Neumms]

Not to discredit Amazing Race, but Top Chef is a great show. It has its contrivances to be sure, but the competition and drama are far more genuine than the way Fox and NBC do things.

[SteveR]

I suppose it's for logistical reasons -- and you've read this from me before -- but how awesome would TAR look in HD?

There's so much on-the-go-ness about shooting each team -- in cabs, planes, challenges, etc.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'SteveR\' post=\'246605\' date=\'Aug 31 2010, 11:54 AM\']I suppose it's for logistical reasons[/quote]
You know, we've said that, but when there exist cameras like the Flip SlideHD that can roll 4 hours of 1280x720 (and fit in my shirt pocket!) for under $300, I gotta think that Race could upgrade to HD for what would be a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of their budget.

[Sonic Whammy]

For those that are Top Chef fans here, even though I don't watch, I applaud that they got the win. It had to have been deserved. There's been a year or two where I thought Race should have lost to Dancing, Survivor or whomever and I was surprised they still won. My only logic in this process is that it wouldn't surprise me if someone in the brass thought along those lines of "If it's not winning the Emmy anymore, it must not be good anymore."

And it does get tough to watch when you have those "celebrity" teams racing where the spot could've gone to more regular joe people. Pro poker players, Harlem Globetrotters, beauty paegant people, CBS reality stars buying another 15-minute watch... I enjoy still watching them all race, no question. But it was never about that in the beginning, and that wasn't automatically who they needed to cast to attract attention to the show.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Sonic Whammy\' post=\'246611\' date=\'Aug 31 2010, 01:04 PM\']My only logic in this process is that it wouldn't surprise me if someone in the brass thought along those lines of "If it's not winning the Emmy anymore, it must not be good anymore."[/quote]
So, wait. I still want a citation for the threat that
[quote name=\'Sonic Whammy\' post=\'246556\' date=\'Aug 30 2010, 03:17 PM\']He's never given Survivor or Big Brother[/quote]
Are you claiming definitively this actually happened or are you just guessing?

[Ian Wallis]

Honestly, I think the show's run its course. It's kind of devolved into a disappointing mix of boring pretty people, couples specifically chosen for their bickering, and maximizing the number of "ugly American" quotes they can extract. The race around the world is more of a side note now. Not to say that the game is the most important part (I've enjoyed seasons of "race around the world rappelling off things"), but everything interesting is always at someone's expense.

I understand what you're saying, but I thought shows like Survivor and Big Brother ran their courses years ago and they're still (unfortunately) on.  I hope Amazing Race stays afloat.  Out of all the reality/competition shows, this is still the best.  There's great scenery from other countries, it's interesting and producer-manipulation seems to play less of a part on this show than the other two I mentioned.

[tpirfan28]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'246609\' date=\'Aug 31 2010, 03:53 PM\'][quote name=\'SteveR\' post=\'246605\' date=\'Aug 31 2010, 11:54 AM\']I suppose it's for logistical reasons[/quote]
You know, we've said that, but when there exist cameras like the Flip SlideHD that can roll 4 hours of 1280x720 (and fit in my shirt pocket!) for under $300, I gotta think that Race could upgrade to HD for what would be a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of their budget.
[/quote]
I was going to use the "If Survivor can do it" argument, but that makes sense as well.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'246621\' date=\'Aug 31 2010, 02:57 PM\']I was going to use the "If Survivor can do it" argument, but that makes sense as well.[/quote]
I was too, but Survivor shoots in a relatively isolated area that doesn't move, whereas Race needs camera teams for 12 teams, plus the roving team that shoots mood shots and Phil's standups and what-not. Didn't think it was fair to compare the two.

(Nor do I think that a Flip camera is necessarily broadcast-quality. Just pointing out that shooting digital HD video has become really, REALLY cheap.)