Amazing Race 10/7/2012

Cafe Society
1

Really?

Fucking REALLY?!?

Riding as a passenger on the back of a motor scooter for 50 yards alongside some baby bulls is what is passing for an Amazing Race challenge these days?

I thought the whole pointless, redundant, already-been-done-8,427-times-before “Rappel off of this bridge” (in other words get lowered like a sack of potatoes by the AR support staff while passively taking in the scenery) was the nadir of bullshit “tasks” that Amazing Race could come up with, but I guess I was wrong.

I guess after winning a dozen coveted, prestigious Emmy Awards (snicker, snort) the writers are content to just phone it in any more…

2

Yeah, that was pretty bad. They should at least have to beat the bulls to get the clue.

The other challengers were better.

And kudos to the twins!

3

Ever driven a scooter on the grass? For inexperienced drivers, it would be a challenge/wipeout for sure. My bet is the original task was to go it by themselves, and insurance nixed it too late to change the challenge, hence the professional drivers and kinda dumb challenge in the end.

4

I also thought the tall one of the “Odd Couple” team (the substitute teachers) had an incredibly defeatist, sore-loser attitude (“Hey man, I’m not runnin’!”) when he thought they were in last place and looking for the Pit Stop.

His friend seemed to keep his competitive spirit up till the very end, instead of acting like a spoiled 11 year-old who is not getting his own way…

5

Another leg decided by taxis…

6

It was the only true challenge in the episode! Find and then control your taxi driver. Both of the lost teams deserved to lose. Don’t waste any more time in a cab that is lying to you and has no resources to call or find a solution. Get out and find a new cab! And even when the team is discovered missing on the flight- no one tried to figure out what flight they had taken. No one! They assembled a bunch of morons again to provide drama for viewers.

7

Actually, that would have been even worse considering there was no skill at all as is, so that would then introduce an element of complete luck.

…that we saw.

8

This leg embodied everything that is wrong with TAR. Complete bunchpoint right out of the gate, eliminating any relevance from how well you did the previous leg. Then a challenge so pathetic I got douche chills watching it. And finally, taxi luck is the only deciding factor. Terrible, terrible episode.

Props to the blondes for doing the “guy” challenge and powering through it. I was impressed.

9

So one of the tasks today was to ride (not even drive) mopeds while next to running cattle, without any specific goal? Just show up and do it? I really hope that this was due to some last-minute production snafu rather than being pre-planned, because you could hardly construct a lamer task.

I’m not sure if this episode tells us anything about he long-term chances of the teams, but now that we have two weeks of shows under our belts, let’s shake up the ratings.

Taxi Assessment:

Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Rob & Sheila (Alaskan lumberjack and fiance) - Already eliminated.
Amy & Daniel (Amputee and boyfriend) (down from “Rapido!”) - Ouch. Getting a really really bad taxi driver really really hurts. I know luck plays a big part in this Race, and it always will when you release teams into the wild, but that’s a tough and frustrating way to go.

Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Gary & Will (Balding and short) (down from “Rapido!”) - Gary & Will have the worst placement of any of the teams, and are pretty lucky that Amy & Daniel ran into trouble with their cab. But between Will’s poor performance at the Roadblock and Gary’s fatalism when walking to the Mat (as well as their obvious frustration in legging the ice), I don’t see them getting much farther.
Rob & Kelley (Bearded monster trucker and cowgirl) (holding steady) - Rob. Rob, Rob, Rob. Rob. Listen to me. If you’re on one plane and everyone else is on another, there is indeed a chance that you’re super-duper clever and have scored an airport coup. However, it’s more likely that you picked a dud; you should, at the very least, figure out when everyone else is going to arrive rather than scuttling away on your own. Remember that the goal here is not necessarily to come in first place, but rather to not come in last place.

“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Caitlin & Brittany (Blonde friends) (up from “Flat Tire”) - Caitlin & Brittany did finish near the back of the pack this week, but it turns out that all but two teams have finished near the back at least once, and this team has still performed better tham most.
Jaymes & James (Chippendale guys) (up from “Flat Tire”) - A third-place finish moves these guys up in the rankings, but I’m still suspicious of their, shall we say, decision-making abilities.
Trey & Lexi (Dating students) (holding steady) - A second-place finish looks pretty good, and I think this team might go far. In addition, I think a mini-alliance with Natalie & Nadiya is ideal for this team, because Natalie & Nadiya’s travelling experience is a welcome complement to their skills. However, I’m still not sure that they’re experienced enough to compete for the top three, so I’m leaving them here for now.
Josh & Brent (Gay farmers) (down from “Passing”) - Solid middle-of-the-road performance, and I still haven’t seen a lot from this team.

In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
James & Abba (Long-haired rockers) (holding steady) - James & Abba haven’t performed as well as either Natalie & Nadiya or Abbie & Ryan, and indeed haven’t come close to first place (other than their brief flirt with it when they got the better flight). But they haven’t really come close to last, either, and I like their attitude, so I’m sticking with them in the top three.
Natalie & Nadiya (Sri Lankan sisters) (up from “Rapido!”) - Natalie & Nadiya score a first place, and that’s enough to bump them up a notch in the standings. They were the only team to choose the fish option in the Detour; that one honestly looked like the harder option to me, but it allowed Natalie & Nadiya to beat Trey & Lexi to the mat, so Natalie & Nadiya wind up looking pretty smart. Add in that they now have the express pass, and they’re sitting pretty.
Abbie & Ryan (Dating divorcee couple) (up from “Rapido!”) - A fourth place finish today, but without much drama, and after a first-place last week.

Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one yet.

(I’m out of town next week, and may not have a chance to do the Assessment. Just so you know. If anyone cares.)

10

A real snoozer of an episode.

11

The bulls weren’t a “challenge.” It was just a spacer to spread the teams out again after they arrived in Indonesia. The same as if they’d been instructed they had to take the bus from the airport but only one team could be on any one bus.

Yes, boring TV but that is why they only showed three teams doing it.

That didn’t bother me really. I just hate episodes that come down to taxi driver quality. At least the party task did re-sort the teams.

This does build a case again the producers manipulating the non-elimination legs to save teams. You know that if they’d bend over to save any team it would be the double-amputee.

12

I had the same thought.

13

I voiced nearly all the same complaints as the rest of you.

The thinking of the producers seems to be “Let’s eliminate any penalties caused by playing the game badly (i.e. choosing a stupid flight), and make sure we have enough bunchpoints that the leg is determined by your choice of cab driver”

14

Somebody read the detour clue and it it said “May be eliminated”. I was sure hoping that the amputee’s team would get a pass since the first leg was a definite elimination. It may have come off as favoritism had that happened, but I have to root on the underdog.

15

Me too. I was so sure that, since it was the double amputee finishing last, that this would suddenly become a non-elimination leg.

There’s a non-PC pun in that sentence, somewhere.

16

I bet the producers breathed a retroactive sigh of relief when they filmed this episode pver the amputee team having been edged out of first place the first week. As in, that would have been the end of any excitement over the possibility of there being a $2 million winner this go round.

17

When you have a clueless cab driver, go anywhere public where there’s probably an Internet connection and ask to a mapping site. I bet almost any cab driver can find a hotel. I remember other teams doing this.

18

Yeah, when last week’s winner is saved by a non-elimination leg, be prepared for howls about manipulation.

19

Stupid taxi driver. I was so looking forward to seeing jokes about #5X DORRANCE TWIN BODY-POWERED PROSTHESES.

Even though they’re in the lead, the Sri Lankan twins are still annoyingly screechy. I hope they get a bad taxi driver in the next leg.

20

No No No! This will turn the screech up to 11. Although that leads to an interesting possiblity of a cab driver murdering his passengers!