My least favorite parts of tonight’s episode were Kendra’s severe stomach problems. I don’t like vomiting. I don’t like to hear vomiting. I like even less having to see vomiting (thank God we didn’t have to SEE any vomiting!). Isn’t it amazing how riding around on an elephant can cure the stomach upset?
Sorry that Lori and Bolo are out, but I didn’t see them as final three material. Too bad. They were an interesting couple to watch.
So I assume the finale is a double-part special, with one team getting eliminated at the end of the first hour. So next week is non-elim. And someone is starting the finale sans cash.
And it’s going to be fun next week, seeing Kris and Jon tool out in the wee hours, followed by the other three teams in one clump. 
Kinda symbolic of most of the season.
From the Leaderboard :
Kris/Jon: Once again quietly kicking everyone’s ass <Maxwell Smart> …AND loving it! </MS> Anything can still happen, but my money’s on them.
Hayden/Aaron: She was all over the map this episode, from competitive and encouraging during the relay to whiny and annoying at the trees. Still, they seem to have goten their shit back together and are once more a team to be reckoned with.
Freddy/Kendra: The trouble with knocking the living conditions around the world is that the living conditions have a way of knocking back, don’t they, Kendra? Asthma last episode, nausea this episode, she’s coming apart at the seams! Still, I’m glad they’re still in it if only for Freddy’s “nancy boy” comment.
Adam/Rebecca: Team Drama Queen is becoming Team Handbasket. If I were a betting man, I’d put money on them going next. But let’s face it folks: A TAR6 episode where Adam is the worst thing on screen is a good episode.
Can I get an “Amen!” to that?!?
The ending was not a free for all. They got there, Phil told them to swim a length, then they swam a length in the exact same order as they arrived anyway. No big deal.
What would have been cool, is if the first three teams ran up to Phil, and Phil just stood there staring at them, while Adam & Rebitcha, having read the clue more carefully, jumped in the pool and got first place.
Anywhoo, the series is getting more boring by the episode. Once Adam & Rebitcha are gone, it’ll hardly be worth watching. It’s been a long time since I actually cared who won one of these shows.
About the pool: Was that not the most gratuitous thing ever? Requiring them to swim the length of the pool served absolutely no purpose, other than to get the racers–many of them very attractive people–all wet right before they hit the pit stop*. Racers often get soaked as part of a roadblock or detour, but this just seemed, as I said, gratuitous.
*I’m not complaining–just observing
Except they didn’t take their clothes off, so it really didn’t serve any good purpose.
Phil should have said, “no, no, no! Take off your clothes and get wet. That’s it! Bring in the cameras! GET NAKED, GET WET!”
But nooooo.
Yeah, that was totally pointless.
I’m getting more and more skeeved out by Adam and Rebecca’s relationship every week. They’re moving into “somewhat creepy” territory. Can he not see how phony she was being with her chipper “I love you again” act? Yikes.
Damn, Sri Lanka used to look beautiful. 
Speaking of which, doesn’t that country have a civil war going on? I thought the Race avoided areas with civil unrest…
Stupid bunching points are pissing me off. I’ve been ready for Sad-am and Rebitchica to get booted off my TV for weeks now, even longer than *&V. Adam is a combination of Jonathan & Flo now, and Rebitchica is in a class all by herself (with the emphasis on “ass”!) As it is, all the interesting teams are gone, and I’m rooting for Jon & Kris only by default. (They’re nice, but dreadfully boring.)
Re Kendra’s ailment – I was wondering the other day, how do they take care of going to the bathroom on the Race? Has any team ever lost or been put at a disadvatange because they had to pee really bad…or, like Kendra, came down with “Breeder’s Revenge”?
Or when she basically said, “well, if in order to get what I want I have to be his girlfriend, then I’ll do that.” Pretty gross.
Again, for those who hadn’t heard about this before, Rebecca tried out for TAR V and was rejected because she and her boyfriend at the time (not Adam) were, well…boring. Conveniently enough, by the time TAR VI rolled around, she and Adam-the-Drama-Queen were hooked back up again and trying out for this race.
Now, it’s fairly obvious to me that Adam sincerely believes that their love is real and enduring, so it seems to me that Rebecca has been deliberately feeding this poor guy (even with his whining and mama’s-boy stuff, he doesn’t deserve that) a line of bull about her feelings just so she could get on TAR!
Bitch. Absolute BITCH!
OMG, I was thinking the exact same thing.
I’m going to miss Bolo.
The first week of TAR6 without Johnathon. Yay!
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Avi/Joe - Um… who are you, again?
Meredith/Maria - And you?
Lena/Kristy - I seem to remember something about… haystacks.
Don/MJ - Oh yeah! Old people! Stanford! Puking in the boat!
Gus/Hera - And moseying through the tasks! And having a beer while you’re at it! Go Gus!
Johnathon/Victoria - And… Hahahahahahaha. Good riddance. Asshole.
Lori/Bolo (downgraded from Hurry!) - Oh, Bolo, ya meathead. Last week, I said, “if Bolo can keep reading a map correctly, they could go all the way.” What I should have said was “if Bolo can keep reading a clue correctly, they could go all the way.” But he couldn’t, so they didn’t. Was there ever any doubt that what might eventually do this team in would be a mental error? I feel kind of sad for Bolo – you just know Lori’s gonna piledrive him into the ground once they’re off-camera. Maybe that’s why he’s so short. At least they came in ahead of blue-hair, so it ain’t so embarrassin’.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Adam/Rebecca (downgraded from Stopping for Gas) - There’s only four teams left, and it’s time for these rankings to seperate the men from the boys. Uh, figuratively, I mean. Only, in this case… ah, forget it. Adam and Rebecca didn’t really do any worse this episode than on earlier ones – same drama, same hysterics, same grating on each other – but they are clearly the least competant of the final four. So I’m separating them from the rest of the pack. If they don’t go home in the next elim, they’ll be lucky. And if they do make it to the final three, I see them caught in some dysfunctionality vortex just off Maui while the other two teams battle it out.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Not quite enough teams to fill all the slots, so this one remains empty.
Hurry; we’re in a race! - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Freddy/Kendra (holding steady) - Head and shoulders above Adam and Rebecca, but as Bolo proved, only a single mistake at the end of the leg can cost the race. The team voted “in the final four, and most likely to screw something up, but not named Adam and Rebecca” is Freddy and Kendra. I’m reasonably sure they picked the wrong Detour again this week, but to be honest, the choice didn’t seem as clear-cut – just how long does it take to ride an elephant? It didn’t matter anyway, but I’ll note that two of the three teams picking the wrong Detour last week have been eliminated. 'Nough said.
In the Passing Lane - or, not too bad, just not top-speed.
Hayden/Aaron (holding steady) - A solid leg from this team, if you discount Hayden’s freakout on the ropes. Still and all, she did the task, so that counts for something. Something I noticed, though – this ep was like the third or fourth time where a) Hayden and Aaron couldn’t find a cab, b) they went haring off on foot anyway, c) they got passed by Kris and Jon in a cab, and d) Hayden started whining obnoxiously. Either the producers are reusing footage, or there seems to be a problem with their cab-flagging skills. Look for this to come into play in the final episode. Unless Hayden suddenly becomes completely useless again, in which case you won’t have to look at her at all.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Kris/Jon (holding steady) - A clear number one finish once again. They seem to have a knack for pulling ahead of the pack – I think only a major, major mistake would keep them out of the final three (jinx!), and so far they haven’t shown the propensity to commit one. Still the odds-on favorites.
Guest Appearance: Phil and CBS - Good for you for airing the five-second spot on tsunami relief. I suppose I expected as much, seeing as this ep was in Sri Lanka, but it’s good to see my expectations met. Hooray!
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
And if you say something resembling"Well, we just lost the entire race" especially if there remain tasks to do on that leg of the race(or if one team member blames losing the entire race on the actions other team member), you must spend 5 or 10 minutes standing close enough to see people arrive at the Pit Stop but not be allowed to go in.
It seems to me that they should have watched enough of the show (or pay attention to enough of the legs of the race) to realize that between bunching points, bad detour choices, and bad navigation that almost any error prior to the final task can be made up before the pitstop.
Couple things:
This was my favorite and least-favorite episode of the season. Without Jonathan and Victoria, my enjoyment of the show dramatically increased by several orders of magnitude - I’m rooting for nearly all of the contestants. But the bunching! Buy a bowl of rice from this store that’s sure to be closed by the time you arrive?!? C’mon, that’s just deliberate.
Hayden’s not the problem, Aaron is. I think editing is hiding how ineffectual Aaron can be. He also comes across a little spastic. In real life this guy would slightly annoy me, and on a trip I think I just might hate him. Other than the Hungarian soup, has he done anything remotely impressive? Sure, Hayden’s been a bitch, but I think Aaron has been grating on her nerves. He’s not as slow as Gus was, but he just doesn’t seem to be as *in * the race as he should be.
I disagree with Adam & Rebecca being placed in the “Flat Tire” category. Surely, they should have been put in the “Stopping for Gas” category, as they actually did have to stop for gas! (Hey, A&R! You’re at a gas station with about a dozen other tuk-tuks all gassed up. HIRE ONE OF THEM!)
Good lord did Jon fly up that mountain! Those two are people who know how to race. Comparing Jon with Aaron, and there’s absolutely no question that Aaron doesn’t turn it on when he needs to.
I really liked this episode. Sure there was some bunching, but there was a lot of racing. Did anyone else notice Adam and Rebecca did better when he finally “let his hair down”? I thought for sure the former-Hellboy was going to screw up the FIND THE POOL task. Directions and coordinating movement do not seem to be his strong suit. I would have sent Rebecca. Other than her evil, she is a pretty good racer.
A few random thoughts:
Damn. Bolo can swim!
Did Aaron sneak by the admission gate on the Lion’s Rock? I thought Hayden said he had left his ticket as well! Then, when Lori was trying to talk her way in, Aaron walks by and looks suspicious. I never saw him hand a ticket to anyone.
I loved Kris rubbing it in that Jon took his ticket. Her “details” comment and chuckle were priceless. She did get sweet points for consoling Bolo. “It’ll be ok. You guys will (Sees Jon)…GOTTA GO!”
zut- I too noticed the Kris/Jon Aaron/Hayden cab standoffs. I commented to me wife about it at the time. She said, “Of course Kris and Jon get a cab. She’s blond with big boobs!” True. So true.
*You guys collectively suck. Until last week’s thread, I had never paid attention to the “baby” thing. Now that you guys have made a big deal about it, I am bombarded by it. It’s like pointing out an odd smell that someone hadn’t noticed. They were fine until they smelled it. Then they couldn’t get away from it!
How many legs have each of the Final Four won? Kris and Jon have to have like four or five trips. I am pretty sure everyone else has won at least one.
levdrakon- It wouldn’t have mattered if Adam and Rebecca had correctly read the pool clue. They still wouldn’t have won the leg. Kris and Jon had already finished. As for the pool thing. I liked that. It was just sort of symbolic. Of what? I have NO idea!
Granted, she was already skinny, but has Hayden lost weight? She seemed even skinnier last night somehow.
Another question about the show: it takes several weeks to run it, right? Like Survivor? And when teams win individual legs, they’re rewarded with vacations.
How do the contestants with conventional jobs get this much time off work? Is there lore out on the 'Net about past Racers who cashed in their vacations because they couldn’t go, or who lost their jobs through Race-related absenteeism?
Also, does anyone know where to find an application to TAR8? I’ve looked at the CBS website without success.
Well, your comments on Aaron are reasonable, but I think Aaron’s probably a good balance to Hayden – when they get stuck, Hayden panics, and Aaron’s more laid-back style prevents them from self-immolation. Remember, for the first ten legs, the object isn’t to win so much as not lose (although Hayden and Aaron do have a pair of firsts, remember). However, when it comes to the final leg, then Aaron’s gonna have to turn it on, and if he can’t, then that’ll hurt him.
Check out the leaderboard: Adam & Rebecca have won one (using their Fast Forward), Freddie & Kendra have won one, and Kris/Jon and Hayden/Aaron have won three legs each.
Although I don’t particulrly care for her, I have no problem with Rebecca pretending to be Adam’s boyfriend. They are in a race and Adam is such an emotional child that you do whatever you can. Will he be hurt? Probably, but he is doing it more to himself.
I think the swim task would have been a great idea if it had been that one of those teams would have been eliminated, that would have made it the best elimination. But alas, it wasn’t so it was really more comical than anything.
I got a little wispy when they showed them getting on the train becuse that looks just like a train that was prominently featured in much of the tsunami coverage.
I think I have asked during several other seasons, and I don’t remember any good responses: Why do the races always travel eastward?
Some Theories
Hawaii is Pretty. The western states (Alaska, Hawaii) are more dramatic than eastern (Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Florida). This seems weak to me. I think they could find some scenic things to do in the eastern U.S.
Jet Lag. It is harder to adjust to going to sleep earlier and getting up earlier than it is to later, later. So they go east to make it harder on the teams. They get up at such crazy hours anyway, it does not seem like it would be that much easier to go West.
Roadblocks
Can someone list how many roadblocks each team member has performed?
I was guessing Adam did the roadblock last night because Rebecca has already done 6, true?
Hee hee!