American Ninja Warrior

First, I want to mention something about last week and Jon Alexis Jr. I don't think it was rigged; that was a poor choice of words. That episode proved, though, the difference editing makes. The night it was taped, there is no doubt in my mind that Joe ran last. Alexis Jr. may be a fan favorite, but he would not be the closer. However, he had the fastest time, and, as last night also proved, the fastest time runner goes last. Obviously, Jon Alexis Jr. did well in his finals, and that is something to be said for. Usually, I don't question the editing too much, but that night it was obvious. It was also obvious this week. Again, I really doubt that 'The Kid' ran last. Joe or Daniel would have taken that spot during the taping. Speaking of 'The Kid' and Gil, it was really great to see them pass. I doubted 'The Kid' a little, but he did better than the other 19 year old, Matthew Day. I had more confidence in Day, but clearly I was wrong. I wasn't too s...

There is a lot to say about the finalists, but I will begin with the course obstacles. I still don't like that they switched out obstacles (except in Philly). The Sky Hooks were, I think, in L.A. (?), so if they are using the same obstacles just in different cities, what is the point? In L.A. it was a new obstacle altogether, but everywhere else, I think they just swapped obstacles between cities. I don't see the point in changing the Ring Jump to the Sky Hooks. At first, with L.A., I thought they wanted to help the athletes conserve energy so that more people would complete/go farther. The other cities kind of skewed that theory. Overall, I really didn't like this odd change in courses. Especially here because the Ring Jump and the Sky Hooks are fairly similar, I feel. If anything, the Sky Hooks are more difficult, so why make it harder for them? I don't think too many people fell on the Sky Hooks, and the 15 moving on all reached the Iron Maiden, which is pretty great...

So, first up: the course. I absolutely hate the fact that the front half was not changed like the other cities. It is just not fair at all. If anything, they are solidifying that Philly's Qualifying was the easiest course as well as the fact that the courses are uneven. Yes, the Lightning Bolts took out a lot of competitors, but it the course overall was a rookie killer, which is also unfair. I realize the can't change the 5th obstacle, but they didn't change anything else, so maybe the Philly course was the easiest because, if not, why wouldn't they change anything? It just doesn't make sense, and, quite frankly, is really annoying. I think, overall, I had the biggest problem with this course. First, obviously, they didn't change anything like the other 4 cities. Next, it was a rookie killer which is unfair to the rookies. The Lightning Bolts were a technical challenge. Yes, one could fall on the impact from transitions, but it definitely wasn't like Doorkn...

I should talk about the course first like with the other cities, but we have to talk about Isaac. My dad and I talk about what might really be happening behind the scenes because, as much as I love and adore this show, nothing is without fault and nothing is without the possibility of being rigged. The way I see it, there are three possibilities regarding Isaac's fall: setup, sabotage, or screwup. First, setup. It is possible that Isaac and the producers of ANW were in on his early fall. Isaac may have accepted some amount of money (less than the winnings he would receive) and sacrificed his pride and the competition for the sure-fire cash. However, this doesn't seem that likely. I would probably believe that he would take the money in some kind of sketchy deal, but what would be the point? I suppose I understand if they don't want him to win again, but what would the point of bringing him back at all? If it was for hype and drama, why wouldn't they have him advance t...