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American Ninja Warrior All Season Thread **spoilers**

188K views 2K replies 72 participants last post by  astrohip 
#1 · (Edited)
This is an All Season Thread for any species of Ninja Warrior.

American Ninja Warrior, Team Ninja Warrior, All Star Ninja Warrior or USA vs The World Ninja Warrior. Or any others they may come up with.

Spoilers allowed up to any episode that has aired in the US (NBC or Esquire).

American Ninja Warrior returns for its 7th season this Monday, May 25 2015, on NBC. 8E/7C each Monday.
 
#1,373 ·
Last year 10 of 24 failed at the third obstacle, Deja Vu, and 11 of 14 failed at the fifth obstacle, Wingnut Alley. This year there wasn't an obstacle that more than 2 ninjas failed. The fifth obstacle is normally super tough but Grim Sweeper only had 1 ninja fail. I'm sure they wanted more than the two that made it through last year but they way over compensated.
 
#1,375 ·
I think two things conspired this season on Stage Two: The first was the ninjas learning to handle Snap Back. The first time they saw it (OKC Finals), it defeated over half the ninjas who faced it. The producers probably thought it would have a similar effect; however by Vegas, they had learned how to handle it. And as you say, most of them made it past Snap Back.

The other was time. Not only was Wingnut Alley a ninja killer, it ate up the clock. And being the next-to-last obstacle, the ninjas were racing to get thru it. So you had the combo of time pressure + obstacle pressure = huge failure percent. Grim Sweeper was so easy as to be a joke, especially for Stage Two. Once they figured out how to handle it (which only took a ninja or two), they basically raced thru it. Time was not a big issue for most ninjas (sorry Flip).
 
#1,377 ·
Yeah... Stage 2 seemed simple for any reasonably trained ANW...

And to replace Wingnut Alley with an obstacle that hasn't proven to be a challenge was a big risk... We all know that Wingnut Alley is an ANW killer... Even the most skilled have a difficult time because some of it relies on luck... The Grim Sweeper did not have that huge risk factor of flying through the air at great distances (which adds to the "luck" factor)...
 
#1,379 ·
when the winners were announced at the end, i noticed half would have been eliminated if they'd dropped the time from 3 minutes to 2:30.

all caught up over the weekend with the finale eps thanks to vod (no commercials, thanks comcast!), can't wait for tonight!
 
#1,378 ·
With the finale only a few hours away, I just wonder...if more than one person makes it up Mount Green Mountain - er, Mount Midoriyama - will Matt and Akbar refer to all of them as "American Ninja Warriors," or just the million dollar winner? It's supposed to be all of them, but the plugs for the finale made it sound like only the winner gets the title.
 
#1,385 ·
A few comments/thoughts after watching the finale.

1. They were misleading with their wording prior to stage 4. They kept saying that if a ninja makes it up stage 4 in under 30 seconds, they win the $1mm prize. Didn't say anything about having to be the fastest if there are more than 1 that do it.

2. How did Joe rip the skins on his finger? Didn't see them go back and try to figure that out. Who knows if he would have been able to do the last obstacle of stage 3 or stage 4 if he had gotten past the cane one.

3. Bummed that Adam ran out of gas/grip at the end of cane like he did. He looked so strong up to that point.

4. Remember, if there were no safety passes Drew would not have "won".

5. Daniel is so good, it's hard to believe he struggled so much in the past. Hopefully that's behind him and we see him win.
 
#1,389 ·
[...]
2. How did Joe rip the skins on his finger? Didn't see them go back and try to figure that out. Who knows if he would have been able to do the last obstacle of stage 3 or stage 4 if he had gotten past the cane one.
On Twitter, he says he ripped his skin on the cliffhanger.

[...]
4. Remember, if there were no safety passes Drew would not have "won".
[...]
And for yet another season, no one would have won the $1M. I've seen people argue that Drew wouldn't have been as careless if he didn't have the Safety Pass but I'm not sure I buy that. I thought his first attempt at Stage 1 looked normal. He did seem more cautious on his second attempt and on Stages 2 and 3.

I don't agree with those who say his win is marked with an asterisk but it's interesting that Geoff Britten is still the only one to hit all buzzers in a season.
 
#1,386 ·
They definitely did say they had to be the first up in under 30 seconds for the money. Though they did keep saying it so maybe one of the times they did not.

I was glad to see Drew win. But seems really unfair that Daniel didn't have nearly as much time to recover. It was supposed to be an advantage to go last in Stage 3, not a disadvantage that he had to climb Stage 4 so quickly after he got tired out in Stage 3.
 
#1,388 ·
They definitely did say they had to be the first up in under 30 seconds for the money. Though they did keep saying it so maybe one of the times they did not.
Yes, at least once, maybe twice, they said (paraphrased) "climb it in under 30 seconds, and you win a million dollars". No "you have to be fastest also". I think Zuri said it also. I even blipped back to make sure I heard her correctly.

While we're on Zuri, did anyone find they used her much less this season? Especially the last couple weeks, we had almost no interviews with the ninjas.
 
#1,387 ·
Agree with your thoughts. I caught #1 also ,and was surprised they said that. Adam Rayl's fall was unexpected, so strong to that point. Same with Moravsky. The Kid needs some seasoning, he'll be back. Needs to keep his head in the game.

I'm hearing more comments online about the time gap between S3 and S4. Even Gill said it got into his head. He did NOT blame it for his failure, just that it psyched him, knowing he had so little time to rest.

I don't know that TPTB wanted Drew to win, but they certainly made sure things fell his way.

And finally, I was disappointed they spoiled that we had a winner. I guess they think that ups the ratings, but all it does is take the suspense out of watching. And now, if they DON'T spoil it next year, everyone will think they won't have a winner, and the looky-loos will turn away. They've created a monster. Honestly, I think they're idiots.
 
#1,395 ·
yes, i sat out most of this season, and what surprises when i picked up at the finale! my thoughts? i hate the safety pass, it under-minds the entire concept of the challenge. i have no clue what the speed pass is, and don't care enough to look, my thoughts are the same - any pass is a bad idea, all around - shame on the producers.

when i heard there would be a winner this season, drew was the first in my mind based on his performances in the first two rounds, and i'm happy for him, but knowing he used a pass at one point i feel the asterisk is appropriate when comparing his win to any other finishers who made/make it to the end without a pass.
 
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#1,396 ·
I realize the true answer is "because the rules say so"..

But why does the redo award not apply in stage 3 at least? I can sort of see it not applying on Mt. Midoriyama, but not completely.

At the very least, if anybody still had a redo, it should "roll over" to next season!!
 
#1,397 ·
I liked that one of them (I think it was the weatherman) showed that you DIDN'T actually have to go into the little 'hole' on the 'jump the cane down the track' event.. Everyone else I noticed seemed to hop down in that hole then back out.. one of them (like I said, I think Moravsky), finally jumped all the way OVER it in one hop.
 
#1,398 ·
It was Joe. I noticed that too. Tough break with the cane on that last placement. I do believe he would have given Drew a run for the money. He certainly would have been more refreshed than Daniel Gill was.
 
#1,407 ·
They should just do them in the very first stage to go straight to Vegas
It was kinda fun seeing the top guys go as fast as they could to get that
I agree with keeping the speed pass right to Vegas.

I am a little torn on the safety pass. I agree is (somewhat) dampens the point. But, we would not have had a winner this year without it. Kind of like we complain when no competitors hit a buzzer in a City finals. I think most veiwers want to see success. Not everyone, not even a majority, but having no one succeed gets boring.
 
#1,408 ·
Weird, I think I like the safety pass here more than for example the Golden Buzzer in AGT.. (at least during the normal rounds.. I don't remember if it was only Champions, which I'm still watching, but letting the judges have one choice, via golden buzzer, of who goes on was useful there).

Usually I don't like these kinds of bonuses, but the events are SO HARD that having a special redo doesn't bother me... except what I mentioned before -- I didn't like that it wasn't valid in 3 or 4.
 
#1,409 ·
They should just do them in the very first stage to go straight to Vegas
It was kinda fun seeing the top guys go as fast as they could to get that
Yeah, I like the speed pass. And the $10K mega warped wall. I'm undecided about the safety pass. Maybe instead of doing the whole run again later, they could just immediately go back to the beginning of the obstacle, clock running, and continue? I don't know.
 
#1,410 ·
Grant McCartney used his Ninja skills to win a unique prize

"This year we witnessed a Ninja win a million dollars. In other competitions, we've seen Ninjas win smaller sums of money, trophies, medals, Ninja holds, and even a car. We've never seen a Ninja win this though…

Thanks to ANW fans who gave them the heads-up, Grant McCartney and Nate Burkhalter found out about a local competition called "The Worlds Serious Obstacle Course". Held at Jumping World in Houston and hosted by The New 93Q, whoever had a clean run in the fastest time would win tickets to Game 2 of the World Series, featuring the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals!"

More at the link.

Smile Photograph Shirt World Product
 
#1,411 ·
I forgot to tell you guys this: A couple of weeks ago I met someone who made it onto ANW. He has a special needs son, so they filmed a whole human interest piece about him. He competed in Dallas this year. But he never made it on the show: not even in the 'while you were away' section. He said that happens to lots of people.
 
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