Messup434
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
At least they seem to be changing a bit more than they used to. Especially considering they've also had to spend more money with the Crossroads feature.
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21/Jun/21, 7:37 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Episode 2 mini-review, includes small spoilers:
Ok so episode 2 was pretty good but Nick Kyrgios added literally nothing to the show haha. I kind of liked the guy but he mumbled when he was speaking and didn't try to sound excited at all - clearly not a TV natural. My only main problem with the episode was fast-forwarding Rob Patterson (season 2 LNS) who had a pretty close call on the Cyclone Spinner which would have been much more tense in a full run, especially in an episode with only 5 clears - the second in a row in fact! Otherwise another strong episode as we've come to expect with AuNW, much better edited and more consistent than its American counterpart.
The course was pretty good and all the crossroads obstacles were different to last week, while the rest of the course remained unchanged (other than pillar replaced by rope on Big Dipper). Results were similar too, both in terms of the number of clears and the clears being made up of veterans of the show.
I must say as well that two episodes in and AuNW has done a much better job of its "crossroads" split course than any other ninja show I've seen. As I've already mentioned I love the old vs new aspect to differentiate the sides from each other, as well as how B is the faster but 'more risky' option as the obstacles are unseen (unless you've watched ANW and therefore happen to know that the path B obstacles are clearly easier). I think this really shows how mental ninja is as well as physical - do you leap into the unknown on obstacles which are slightly easier but you don't know what to expect or do the slightly harder obstacles you've probably practised? It really adds some more depth to the course to refresh the staled 6-obstacle qualifier format (take note other ANW!)
My fear now though is we know there will be at least some repeated obstacles on the crossroads in the next two heats and I don't think the other obstacles change so I think we have seen all the heats obstacles in just the first two heats - I hope not though.
Edited by Takeshi1, 21/Jun/21, 10:10 pm
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21/Jun/21, 8:14 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
My fear is confirmed - no new obstacles in heats 3 & 4. Obstacle repetition has always been a problem on this show and they still haven't learned!
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22/Jun/21, 11:19 am
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Messup434
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
In that case, it seems like ANW has stolen a page from them!
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23/Jun/21, 7:15 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Quote:
Messup434 wrote:
In that case, it seems like ANW has stolen a page from them!
Indeed haha but hey at least ANW doesn't use the exact same course for two heats!
So I felt this was the weakest episode so far and that's not unexpected as usually shows open with two strong episodes to attract and then maintain viewers, then show weaker episodes.
We'd seen the course before in heat one - the only change was the pole rider of the big dipper being replaced by a rope (so not really a change at all!). Results were poor - low clears like the other two episodes but very few other strong runs and everyone who cleared used path A so Clockwork on path B was unattempted! Overall a pretty bland episode and I don't expect heat 4 next week to improve over this one as the field looks very weak. Hopefully some more people will attempt path B though, that's where the more exciting obstacles are!
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23/Jun/21, 9:52 pm
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Messup434
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
I like the idea of Split Decision, but it does bring up some weird situations and sort of interferes with the "Spirit of Sasuke" I've talked about (of course most international versions haven't had that spirit for awhile/ever...). Particularly here where it spans two obstacles that are typically the most crucial ones on the Qualifier.
It feels like it'll be treated as the Power Tower and Mega Wall though - once it's introduced, they just can't stand to get rid of it completely.
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24/Jun/21, 8:20 am
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Just as heat 3 did with heat 1, Heat 4 used the same course as heat 2 other than the item you grab to dismount the Big Dipper. Results were stronger this heat than in the others which I found a little strange as the calibre of competitors in each heat have been pretty evenly matched (unusually for AuNW should I add) but quite a few ninjas who you wouldn't expect did very well. Not too much to add as the editing is consistent from one episode to the next (unlike it's American counterpart!) and I've discussed this course already. But there is one interesting thing from especially the last two heats - path A seems to be used (or at least shown in broadcast to be) much more than the seemingly easier path B.
I'm going to post the (rather interesting) semis course in advance so clearly don't keep reading if you want a surprise - but there are 3 semi-finals and I only know the course for two of them (admittedly though only two obstacles change between each episode):
1) Log Runner
2) Double Dipper
3) Twin Trapeze / Double Tilt Ladder / Pipe Fitter
4) Flying Shelf Grab to Corkscrew
5) Dragon Back
6) Warped Wall (4.35m)
7) Wingnuts / Spin Cycle / Spinball Wizard
8) Spider Jump
9) Rope Climb
Edited by Takeshi1, 29/Jun/21, 7:40 pm
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28/Jun/21, 8:39 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Awful episode - course was far too tough for the field, literally 3 people got past obstacle 5 and only 6 reached obstacle 5. As the top 8 move on to the final, that made the cut-off obstacle 4! Don't think safety passes helped either as 4 of the best competitors aren't competing in the semis so they have 4 less potential clears for an already over the top course. This show needs to stop building its courses around its very narrow field of top competitors because clear counts are often too low and today was that to the extreme. Not often this year have I said the ANW episode of the day was better than the AuNW episode but that was certainly the case tonight, disappointed and as all three semis course are very similar I'm worried that all three semi-finals will be like this.
Edited by Takeshi1, 29/Jun/21, 9:43 pm
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29/Jun/21, 9:10 pm
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Messup434
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
So the semis don't have a Split decision? That's sort of interesting.
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30/Jun/21, 9:38 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Quote:
Messup434 wrote:
So the semis don't have a Split decision? That's sort of interesting.
No they got rid of the path B pools between heats and semis. Tbh I think that's a wise decision because it's a cool gimmick for the heats but would get tedious if we saw it in the rest of the season.
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30/Jun/21, 11:09 pm
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