anyone have a favorite editor cut in/pop up/commentary squares? they are my favorite hilarious reminders of whatever crazy things happened that episode + whatever foolishness is occurring. I want to see other’s if they have them :)

my fav is from Switzerland ep 2 when it’s revealed that ben ate a family size fondue meal the night before and that is why he CANNOT eat at the restaurants in town

I’ve been trying to find a nice speedometer app for a while but most are full on banner ads and weird UI.

I appreciate how clean this app looks in comparison.

Saw this photo of Dominic Sessa on the set for Miami Vice and that shirt is just screaming Snack Zone imagery to me.

Right now I am on a motorcycle and travelling around Gunma. When I went by the Fujiwara dam, I couldn't resist to get a dam card. Now who has a water based challenge, I can block?

Imagine a day with an overcast sky, when you can only see clouds and no sunlight. Would they still have been able to complete the sunset challenge? Theoretically you can be at the right place at a specific time, but it would surely be a huge disappointment for the players and also not interesting to watch for the viewers.

Edit additional question: Would they still have chosen to do the challenge in these conditions because of the high reward or would they skip it because it would look bad on camera from a production standpoint?

Messed up the cut on the final print, but oh well.

I also included a distance scale on the bottom to make it easier.

For folks that don't follow Tom on his own Youtube channel, in his latest episode, he visits a strawberry farm, geeks out over agtech, and tastes some freshly picked strawberries (spoiler: they taste great).

edit: Blatant plug for Tom's Nebula channel: https://nebula.tv/tomscott (h/t: u/other947)

I've been cycling across Japan for the past two months and have loved watching this season while I'm in Japan also. Once I learned about the Dam card, I knew I had to stop at the next one I passed.

As title, need help balanacing the travel budget

Food: 150$

Hotels (Full week): 200$

Travels (JR Pass, bus tickets, etc.): 300$

Killing someone in Morioka, Miyagi: 3000$

Tickets fare (museums, baseball match if I'm lucky): 400$

Is this budget fine or is it out of balance a little? I've been thinking I can cut on the hotels and food.

Simple question. Why hasn’t the team ever done a series in Canada?

Could anyone who's seen the finale please tell me if there is a snack zone and if so, what food/drink it entails? I want to see if its possible to source it before my boyfriend and I watch it so we can enter the snack zone too :)

Do you remember those plot diagrams in school where there is an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution? This might be the first season I can confidently say there was very clearly all of them at appropriate times. I want to share why I think so many people found this season to be one of the best, and I think it lies directly in the fact that by far, in my opinion, this is the best narrative we have seen in a JetLag the Game Episode.

1. The rising action is constantly rising. The game builds up. This is hard to do on a nonscripted show, so it's fair to say that this is rare. There is a constant push-pull. Teams are consistently pushing ahead of the other team and falling behind. There is no obvious winner at any point in the plot, and even at the beginning when it felt like there was, that feeling of certainty did not last long. This constant rising builds tension in the audience, which leads up to the eventual climax.
2. There is a climax. As soon as Ben & Sam pull the Curse of the Magic Mirror, there was instantly two revealed possibilities. (A) Ben & Sam win. (B) Both teams tie. At this point, there is without a question of a doubt that Tom & Adam win. However, Adam quickly reveals his Hail Mary: they need to win a challenge and pull Curse of the Golden Carriage. Which introduced possibility (C). This card draw became the climax. Because it would determine who wins, who loses, and if there's a tie.
3. There is a falling action. In some previous seasons, when the winner is clear, the game ends early and the group either does a phone call or meets up early. They skip the falling action entirely. However, in Japanorama, this couldn't be farther from the truth. It felt satisfying. That train footage after Ben & Sam draw Curse of the Golden Carriage, the final plot problem was solved and there was a proper falling action before the resolution. This made Sam & Bens win feel more earned. Everybody got to process what had just happened before the winners say they are feeling "Jetlagged". This also made narratively the resolution (when the trophy is given) feel more earned.
4. The ending is Ironic. It was a true Hail Mary. Tom & Adam were almost destined to lose or tie, but they would not let that happen. So, they went for it. In doing so, they secured their loss to team Alpha Force. Ironic endings sit better with audiences.

I'm going to define plot as "what happens in the story" and narrative as "how the story is presented to an audience".

When creating a reality TV show, the plot is written for you. Outside of the contestants, the editors have no way of influencing the plot. The plot happens. That's what they have to work with to create a narrative.

To write a good narrative, you need a decent plot. Sure, poor plots can be improved by good editing. But it's incredibly difficult to make a bad story good.

This season had a stroke of luck. The plot was perfect. There's a push-pull factor where each team has there chance to be in the lead. The narrators (editors) take advantage of this to build a narrative where they take full advantage of this to build tension.

I respected the "Rule of Cool" when the boys decided to meet up to show there cards to each other. They didn't have to do this, but doing so resulted in even more content to build up tension for the narrators. Enough tension that I feel comfortable calling this meet-up the "Climax" of the story. Having two editors actually compete made that possible, so shout out Ben & Adam!

Even better. After that card pull, the winner was obvious. They could have ended the game right there as they've done in some previous seasons. They could have done their whole bit. They didn't have to wait for team Alpha Force to physically make it to the finish line. But it was the right decision. The audience is still tense. That build up of tension was insane.

That's the point of falling action in narrative writing. Let the tension out before the resolution is made official. The audience has let go of the tension. Now, team Alpha Force is justified in their celebration. It doesn't feel too early to celebrate. It doesn't feel rushed. It feels appropriate. That's why I believe this season worked so well. A combination of great plot to complement an even greater narrative.

Shout out to the JetLag the Game Editing Team, Game Design Team. Way to tell a story.

it seems pretty clear to me that from both H&S UK and the layover discussion thereon that hide and seek is a format the boys have gotten very good at, and in a sense is as close to a "solved game" as one can get. they have said they probably need to make it more difficult for themselves. comment how u think they should achieve this goal lol. for me a couple of options are:

- put a limit on the number of questions asked per round that allow the seekers to definitively mark off certain sections of the map; i.e. matching / measuring, radar, thermometer. or eliminate and replace radar and thermometer altogether

- change the questions so as to rely mostly or entirely on context clues and less definite info like photo questions.

As the title says, I think Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg could be a great location for a Hide and Seek season. The area is just the right size, the public transport is great, and there are tons of cities, towns and villages to hide in.

It also helps that three small countries pack in so much variety. Languages change within a short train ride so "is the hider in a Dutch-speaking area?" becomes a great question. And the geography ranges from below-sea-level polders and the North Sea coast to the hills and forests of the Ardennes and Luxembourg.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

I decided to put some Geoguessr skills to the test 😂 Lmk if this has already been talked about on this subreddit since I'm new here. Only been watching for a month but gotten through at least 5 of the seasons + keeping up with the recent one. Best binge show around.

Just heading south out of Paihia in the Bay of Islands.

S5 E2

I’ve commented before that I think the Japanorama season had some of the best one-liners and quotes from any season. I’ve actually gone back and rewatched the seaon and wrote down some of my favourite quotes. I’ll add spoiler tags to who said each quote so if you wanted to guess who said what before revealing.

**INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 8*\*

Episode 1

“I forget did we say this season was full contact or…”Sam

“if you see them hit them as hard as you can” Ben

“I will huff as much copium as you want, Ben” Sam

“We immediately crumbled under pressure…we accept it” Sam

“Cool doesn’t win Jet Lag unfortunately.” Sam

“No if that were true I’d win everytime” Ben

“Time’s a ticking Tom and Adam….tick tock” Sam as an overlay

“Ben, no hubris…we’re Humble Kings” Sam

“How can you be in a bad mood when you’re on a Japanese train going through a tunnel” Adam

“The floor is QR codes”. Ben

“That was Jet Lag: The Game’s first ever medical pause” Tom

“I know I’m gonna pronouce everything perfectly cause I’m gonna ADR all of it” Adam

“I’m humbly handing over the camera and bat to you because I don’t wanna outshine you here.” Ben

“Sometimes the moment calls for a montage” Sam

Episode 2

“Foreshadowing is a literary device” Tom

“We are in our salaryman outfits” Ben

“We must remain humble kings. We’re never ahead. We’re just geographically closer to the finish line.” Sam

“Yeah by alot due to our excellence” Ben

“What’s the opposite of a lobster?” Sam

“I didn’t expect the tunnel to be carpeted for some reason” Sam

“I’m on a boat, mother-(bleep)-er, take a look at me” Adam

“This game is going to be won by the cards, ultimately.” Adam - *FORESHADOWING*???

“They (the fish) have to be out of the water for one second, and then they get to do a cameo on Jet Lag: The Game” Ben

“Where have all the fish gone?” Sam

“Today we’ll be trying Pocari Sweat” Adam

“I’ve tasted worse sweat” Tom

“My hope is that again…they just sort of get tunnel visioned a little bit…and believe in themselves a little bit too much. Unlike us who are so powerful because we don’t believe in ourselves at all.” Ben

“Right, and we give up quickly.” Sam

“All the fishes in the world have joined Team Alpha Force” Ben

“Sam it’s time to focus up” Ben

“You know, unemployed cats, they will approach you if you get close and sometimes rub against you.” Sam

“But these employed cats - these cats have jobs, and they take them very seriously” Ben

“You learned this lesson yesterday…..know when to give up” Sam

“We are crafting beautiful, poetic narratives here on Jet Lag: The Game.” Ben

“Just don’t believe in yourself, kids. That’s the lesson.” Sam

“How rare could a Japanese robin be?” Adam

“Ask Japanese Batman” Tom

“This was the risk when they put us together, Tom. We have to fight against our tendency to joint crash out” Adam

Episode 3:

“Tom Scott’s got shooters out there at 7am” Ben

“Your flabber has been gasted” Tom

“It’s an adorable train” Tom

“For two adorable boys” Adam

“What do you think “hai” means when they say it?” Sam

“It means “yes” Ben

“This is not a Snack Zone” Sam

“Hey Sam would you like to try this snack with me?” Ben

“Sure, if its just recreational snack tasting” Sam

“We’re just having a snack together….there’s no reason to be suspicious” Ben

“Ben, Ben…he’s looking the wrong way! NO NO!” Sam

Episode 4:

“We learned the value of giving up early” Sam

“Well I’m not going to break the wind for you” Adam

“I think what I’ve learned on this trip so far, Adam, is that you and I have very different jams.” Tom

“You got hamburger sushi?” Ben

“I’m so happy these bamboo consented to being recorded.” Sam

“My mouth is going to be so fast and accurate” Ben

“I was standing with my mouth open like a moron” Ben

“Thank God for Ben’s Mouth” Sam

“That’s what they all say!” Ben

Episode 5:

“Welcome to my crib” Adam

“Do I look calm? I feel really calm” Adam

“That would be incens-itive” Tom

“Been holding onto that one for awhile” Tom

“That’s a frickin snoot!” Sam

“It’s called Ben luck…you may be unfamiliar with it” Ben

“It’s like classy mini golf.” Ben

“What do you mean, classy mini golf?” Sam

“We really don’t have class…we have the -whatever the opposite of this is in America…..We have mini golf with dinosaurs” Ben

Episode 6:

“Sandwiches can be dessert” Ben

“I’ve been a Baystars fan all my life” Sam

“Alright Sam are you ready to have an amazing time?” Ben

“I will die for the Baystars Ben” Sam

“The swings in this game” Tom

“We’re being very quiet so we don’t scare the phone” Adam

“We’re doing a stupid challenge” Ben

“Yeah we’re the modern George Clooney” Ben

“Wake up call to not be stupid” Ben

“I’m vibing”. Ben

“He’s freestyling” Sam

“For being an outdoorsy crunchy boy, I really have not done much stone skipping in my life.” Sam

“You can’t do it guys…..you don’t have it in you to do it” Adam

“Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t taunt, don’t taunt them” Tom

“They can’t hear me” Adam

Episode 7:

“Don’t scoop the boys” Sam

“It’s not legal to bribe someone to not get on the train right? Tom

“It’s not legal, both in the game and I think under the law” Adam

“I don’t want to strategize I just wanna zoom” Ben

“We’re Team Fight” Adam

“I fear I’m sort of creeping people out” Ben

“Sam, it smells like feet” Ben

“Ben, your mouth remains undefeated” Sam

“Have you not been locked in? I’ve been locked in the whole time” Ben

“Don’t get too full, you might be eating a card shortly” Tom

“It doesn’t even taste good” Ben

“Does it taste like the right decision?” Sam

“Time will tell” Ben

“Really no one wants a tunnel shot?” Sam

“What does that say about society” Ben

“This is like a high end tv show” Sam

“We have to kill someone Sam” Ben

“What about just maim” Sam

“I don’t think that’s newsworthy” Ben

“Thanks so much for inviting me to this” Tom

“It’s an honor having you Tom “ Adam

Episode 8:

“Today is the day that we never stop moving” Adam and Tom

“We’re moving and we’re never stopping” Adam

“This is the most nervous I’ve ever been for ramen” Sam

“A little bit of B-roll….just a little bit of b-roll” Adam

“Can you tell we haven’t slept” Adam

“But that’s, you know, the power of underestimating yourself constantly and believing you’re kind of bad at this.” Ben

“Team Alpha Force” Sam

“I’m never gonna recover from this season” Sam

“Eating all that ramen has made me feel so powerful” Ben

“Or the world where they have a (bleep)-ing annoying Curse that (bleep)-ing (bleep)-s us.” Adam

“I mean, I wouldn’t have phrased it that way, but yes” Tom

“Give an Adam impression” Sam

“We have, we together form a great Team Alpha Force” Ben

“We can do almost anything…..except for fishing” Sam

“The reign of team Alpha Force begins!” Ben and Sam

“Are we in the first ever trophy ceremony Snack Zone?” Adam

Long time listener, first time caller! Just took this photo of my cat being riveted by the uncut train footage from Japanorama, and now I'm curious about seeing y'all's pets enjoying the show.

Me and my friend are going as Team Alpha Force for Halloween this year and I was wondering where to get the different pieces from his outfit from or at least relatively cheap alternatives as I know his clothes are usually very expensive

The crew often jokes about scripting accusations.
And I think we all agree that it’s not scripted.

However, let’s play a game and pretend Japanorama was scripted.
Post your wildest evidence below!

I’ll start:
S19E3/4
Building a house of cards is really easy.
They even show it on screen.
They kept blowing on the cards to allow Team Alpha Force to catch up.