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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Someone made me aware of this article with all the obstacles this season and looking at finals... oh dear
AuNW Obstacles Article
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1/Jul/21, 9:29 am
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Messup434
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Stage 1 feels a lot like a Stage 2/3 hybrid and Stage 2 has some stuff that would fit better in Stage 3. So probably a tough course, although Stage 3 has a lot of Stage 2 obstacles  You have to give them some points for changing things and having some all-new ideas though.
Agreed that the Split Decision is best kept to only one leg of the season... same as the Power Tower IMO.
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1/Jul/21, 6:05 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Finally got round to watching semi-final 2 after my disappointment at the first semi. This one had much the same results: 8 clears of Shelves to Corkscrew compared to 6 in semi 1, 3 Dragonback clears both nights and 3 course clears compared to 2 the previous night. This one for some reason felt more watchable than the last one - I think spreading the 3 clears throughout the episode with one quite early on helped a lot. Still not a fan of the course and looking at the finals course it doesn't look like they learned.
One more semi-final to go and I think it must have a stronger field because there's quite a few strong ninjas we haven't seen run yet. That being said effectively removing four of the best competitors for a round distorts that so there might not be as many as I think.
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1/Jul/21, 6:06 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
So I was most certainly right that the last semi-final was more stacked. Whilst in the other two any contestant who reached Dragonback (obstacle 5) advanced, in this one the cut-off was Spinball Wizard, tonight's noticeably tougher 7th obstacle, and a few people who reached it didn't make the cut. I'm not sure what the thinking was behind having one stacked semi because we could have really done with some better results in the first two. The effective removal of the 4 heats power tower winners watered down the competitor fields further. Overall, this semi-final was good, the first two were not.
Looking ahead (or rather to the present as Stage 1 of the final will already be a bit over an hour into it's broadcast) I really don't know what to expect from the final, the courses are quite frankly bizarre and not something we're used to seeing. All of the first three stages are more like Stage 3s than anything (other than the first 3 and last 2 obstacles of stage 1) and for some odd reason all 4 stages include a version of the Salmon Ladder. Considering there's two finals episodes I assume it isn't a washout but surely this can't go well either...?
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5/Jul/21, 10:16 am
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Binge watched the two finals episodes yesterday and have quite a lot to say, some good and some bad. I'll start with stage 1 which aired in the first episode and I'd like to list the obstacles in the stage alongside the stage I would put them in:
1) Snake Run - Stage 1
2) Launchpad to Trapeze (Walk The Plank) - Stage 1 or 2
3) Broken Bridge - Stage 1 or 2
4) Corkscrew - Stage 2 or 3
5) Ferris Wheels - Stage 3
6) Warped Wall - Stage 1
7) Salmon Ladder - Stage 2 - to Stair Hopper - Stage 3
8) Barrel Roll (The ANW11 version) - Stage 1 or 2
9) Underwater Escape (Water Walls) - No stage at all, it's a bad obstacle! (In all seriousness, Stage 2)
So clearly we can see there's a big problem here: half the obstacles in this stage were in the wrong stage and that meant a VERY long time limit of 5:35 - about two and a half minutes longer than the maximum I think a Stage 1 should be - and a very disjointed unentertaining course. Surprisingly we had about the right number of clears - 10 out of 28 is a pretty good clear rate. Sadly though the poor course harmed the episode a lot - I never really enjoyed the episode, even though it wasn't awful either. Pretty much all of the international shows need to realize you can't just chuck any old obstacle on a Stage 1 - it needs to be fast-paced, mainly lower-body focused and have a time limit that makes you tense every time. This stage did not do that.
So then we come onto the final part two with the remaining stages. The majority of this will talk about Stage 2 because that was the majority of the episode (all but 2 runs!). Once again I'll list the stage below:
Rolling Steel
Salmon Ladder to Unstable Bridge
I-Beam Gap
Spin Hopper
The Dungeon
CRAZY CLIFFHANGER (yes, on a STAGE 2) leading into a rope climb to finish
You can see from this that certainly the last 4 obstacles, possibly the first too, all belong on a Stage 3 not Stage 2! Cliffhanger in particular is a ridiculous choice and the again overlong for a Stage 2 time limit of 3:35 shows that (not sure why they like 35 so much  . Despite everything I've mentioned, the Stage was definitely the highlight of the finals. What we've missed for years now is a course on an international ninja show where the time limit is a factor and every run seems tense and fast-paced. This stage, mainly because of its out of place obstacles, did that. Every run was fast in order to finish and mistakes were made because of that. We also saw a few people reach the point of burnout which again we don't see often enough on these shows. There was also the added tension of "will anyone clear?" - we know Australia's habit of ending on Stage 2 but we hold out hope that their best ninjas are still to come.
Eventually Charlie Robbins pulled through but was the only person to do so on their first try. Then we saw the safety passes come into their own: Mike Snow was one of three to reach the Cliffhanger first go around and did it again, getting even further this time - all the way to the rope where he eventually burned out and timed up, the best run of the season by a country mile. Then Zak Stolz, who failed the I-Beam in his first run, had his second chance run and became the second clear in another intense run which came down to the wire as the clock ran low. So 2 ninjas advanced to Stage 3 from a Stage 2 that I was very sceptical of at first but quickly became one of the most entertaining Stage 2s of recent years, simply due to the tension caused by a tight but achievable time limit.
So now we move on to stage 3, where all the tension of the previous stage was lost in one of the most underwhelming endings to a ninja show since the era of Stage 2 wipes. The course looked half-decent on paper:
Criss-Cross Salmon Ladder to Slingshot (yes if you haven't noticed by now there was a Salmon Ladder on every stage...)
Doorknob Drop
Deja Vu
Vertical Limit
Flying Bar
Sadly though it quickly became clear it was designed to be impossible. The first slip-up came from one of the only obstacles on the course possible to complete: Charlie derailed the Salmon Ladder bar when reaching out for the Slingshot one and fell. Then it all came down to Zak who completed the SL and Slingshot and did all the hard work on Doorknob Drop but they made the dismount FAR too big to clear and despite his best efforts he failed - the only thing he could do in the course rigged to fail. The ending quickly gave the episode a sour flavour, ending the show on an impossible dismount was as you'd have thought they would expect: incredibly underwhelming. There wasn't even any need for this - the Vertical Limit two obstacles later is almost impossible without chalk anyway, let alone with a BACKWARDS reach as well as a big forwards one, he wasn't getting past their anyway but at least we'd have seen a decent run deep into the stage and not an underwhelming dismount fail. Anyway, Zak won the $100K LNS prize (as most of us assumed with his highly favourable edit throughout this season).
To summarise somewhat, the heats this year were I think the best heats they've done on AuNW with good courses and at least decent results, albeit slightly on the low side in terms of clear numbers and the cut-off point. Repetition however, something that has plagued the show throughout it's run apart from perhaps in Season 2, made the final two heats - which used courses we'd already seen - less entertaining than the first two. The semi-finals were a mess - from a bad course to bad distribution of athletes (semi 3 was by far the most stacked and had results disproportionate with the other two) and having 4 of the best athletes skipping the semis because of a power tower gimmick, watering down the field even more. The final Stage 1 had a poor course but decent results, the final Stage 2 had a course that shouldn't work but kind of did (although I won't accept a course being this brutal again next year, the renewal is the show's only excuse here) and a Stage 3 that was decent on paper but literally impossible due to physics, leading to a bad ending. It's a shame too because this show is the first ANW spin-off to use a Final Stage with more than just a rope and we didn't get anyone anywhere near it.
In future (because I assume this is getting renewed) I'd like to see:
• Faster-paced finals courses using obstacles that actually work in their respective stages
• Reducing obstacle repetition
• Not making heats and semis courses based around the ability of the top 5 in the episode, leading to all other results being a washout
• Don't promote fake stats like "nobody has won in back-to-back years anywhere in the world"
• Continue the good editing (look a positive)
• And continue the use of split decision in the heats to give them an identity that heats otherwise lack
Overall, despite my criticisms, certainly one of the best ANW spin-offs - the editing is good but the courses need work to make them more balanced and appropriate for the stage of the competition and overall skill level of the competitors.
Edited by Takeshi1, 7/Jul/21, 11:36 am
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7/Jul/21, 11:32 am
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Messup434
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
That course is so weird and choppy and the Stage One limit is INSANE! I think the variety is good (seeing things like Deja Vu and so forth making unexpected returns), but things must be kept in some kind of context. Very strange observation about the Salmon Ladder appearing in every stage.
I can't speak for Australia (mainly because I don't know anything about it  ), but we could use a washout here as I've been reading people's theories that they're going to push for someone to win this year to "replace" Drew's legacy. I want the bitter taste gone too, but to have two consecutive (regular) seasons end in a win is such a poor idea. Add to that the fact that last year had a sort of winner and the casual fan will assume that every season is supposed to end with a winner and be confused when ANW 14 actually doesn't have one. To be clear I know nothing of the results and wouldn't be talking if I did, but I could see them doing it so we'll see. But yeah, I wouldn't mind a total washout in Vegas this year with a really tough Stage Three. But out-of-context obstacles still aren't the solution to prevent it.
Also interesting they've had an All-Stars special - sticking to the more basic rounds but still glad to see they've done it and are even referencing the American records to see if they can beat them.
While they're not doing everything right, part of me wants to credit them for their creativity - something that ANW recently seems to lack, to me.
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8/Jul/21, 3:08 am
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
I agree with you that I think ANW13 will have a winner and I don't know anything about the results either.
I've watched AuNW Record Breakers now and it was great to see the return of Andrea Hah and how they made reference to "international records" (best ANW attempts) - it shows when they want to put the effort in they can get facts right! Strangely the show felt slow-paced despite the fact it was anything but.
The Super Salmon Ladder or whatever they called it (they replaced most of the original names with new worse ones) was a good way to start the show coz it showed the audience how large in scale these supersized obstacles were.
I liked the twist on Striding (or Sprinting in the case!) Steps where they had 4 contestants who each chose another contestant from the audience to race against - I thought this made it more interesting than the usually boring version we see on ANW.
The supersonic shelf grab was next (again, they changed the name and I can't remember it, I just remember it was bad) and I feel sorry for Mike Snow here because while the other four contestants had their attempts shown, he was all cut (strange decision considering he came THIRD in the main season). I liked too how they had Ashlin go for the "world record" after he had won (he didn't manage though - after all the record was set by the guy with the world's actual furthest still bar lache record).
Ferris Wheel was next - they did a men's and women's tournament but only the latter made it to air. The first two races weren't close but were still a good watch. The final was between the first woman up the Warped Wall Andrea Hah and the most recent Olivia Vivian - as you'd expect in a matchup of ninja stars it was close but Olivia came out on top.
Finally it was the (Rising) Mega Wall - I assume the rising was added because they'd already done the ANW10 onwards Mega Wall in season 3. Josh O'Sullivan and Ben Polson ended up beating the American record - the only one actually broken despite the name of the show lol - and then had an attempt at an absurdly high one that was basically vertical for nearly half the wall. Neither of them managed and I think that was more to do with the big vertical section meaning they couldn't place a high enough final push-off. Each time they did it I was scared they were going to get injured - it's a long way down!
Overall, a nice episode and good to see yet more ambition from this ANW spin-off.
Edited by Takeshi1, 8/Jul/21, 11:21 am
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8/Jul/21, 11:18 am
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Brekkie
Giving the Big Balls
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Confirmed recommissioned for next year, but sounds like it'll needlessly be revamped to try and freshen it up - so they'll probably end up killing it.
Quote:
Australian Ninja Warrior has captivated the nation and the smash-hit program will go superhuman in Season 6.In 2022, the global phenomenon will be completely reborn. The series will be supercharged with a whole new attitude and an extreme new course. Delighting and exciting fans, the series will see the transformation of the year, pushing the Ninjas into uncharted levels of punishing endurance. Everyday athletes will once again put their bodies on the line to tame the world’s most difficult obstacle course and see if they have what it takes to conquer awesome Mt Midoriyama and win the coveted Ninja title, along with a potential prize jackpot of $200,000. Australian Ninja Warrior is produced by Endemol Shine Australia for the 9Network.
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"It's a bit like water boarding. It's got water in it... and I'm bored!"
Charlie Brooker on Total Wipeout
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18/Sep/21, 11:36 pm
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Takeshi1
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
Interesting. I know that they're lowering the age limit to 16 as well. Australia's ambitious enough that the revamped course could be a Sasuke/Vegas style one perhaps? I guess we'll see!
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19/Sep/21, 10:23 am
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Messup434
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Re: Australian Ninja Warrior
That description sounds like the kiss of death, if true (see Wipeout season 7, TCT, the list goes on). Curious what it'll be though. Maybe that's just there to intrigue people and it'll really just be teens and some new "tougher" obstacles as usual?
Also, I'm confused how this is happening with Australia's current level of lockdown enforcement.
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25/Sep/21, 3:08 am
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