Please. As if John Waters would cast either one of those posers.
Exactly :rolleyes:
The casting dudes sure had a field day, I am sure.
Maybe they both got their bodies from the same plastic surgeon, so it’s almost like they have the same one?
But speaking of which–I’ve only seen one full season, so I’m not as up on this stuff as the rest of y’all. Maybe you could answer a question for me. Both Shannifer and the brunette sisters from Miami said something about using their looks and/or flirtation skills to get ahead in the game. But from what I’ve seen, that’s not a factor in most of the challenges. I’m sure it can be helpful sometimes, but does it really make sense as an overall strategy?
It CAN help, in the actual “racing” part of the game, since it could possibly cause local males to help you instead of another team. It has worked in the past, in small amounts. Never enough to actually make a difference in the end, from my memory, but a bit. This is not Survivor, and the sexy women aren’t lying on a beach all day in a bathing suit working their wicked wiles on poor, dirty, sex-starved men. Half the time, the racers are going to be not only fully clothed, but excessively clothed (especially if they go south (as this one was filmed this Northern Hemisphere summer), far north, or into the mountains). When you’re bundled up in a parka, sex appeal doesn’t enter into it.
One of the Shannifers gave the donkey guy a kiss on the cheek when he gave them the clue, and maybe I was projecting but he seemed to kind of recoil. So much for the flirting, there.
Is Nate the one who cheated on his girlfriend?
Woot! So glad the race is back, and to make up for the tragic ending of last season, the show redeems itself by kicking the most obnoxious team in the first episode. I can’t remember the name of the other Will-and-Grace team like them that we had before, but Ari and Staella were just as annoying with as they were with their “ee’re here, we’re assholes, get used to it” shtick. Someone buy that donkey whatever it is that brings joy to his species.
And if that weren’t good enough, my second most hated team (The traditional Recovering Relationship casting) barely made it in time. Apparently crying and/or screaming GOSH at a donkey doesn’t make him walk any faster. Good to know.
I was surprisingly unannoyed at the Goths. I fully expect that to change soon. Still, a good leg from them. I liked TK (dirty-looking hair guy) and his partner (name forgotten) too. And well, about everyone else really.
L.A. again though? Haven’t we started there a few times already?
Hurrah! More Amazing Race! And uh oh, a forced task involving animals. You just know animals are bad news, as a number of teams found out. And this is all good for a brand-new (and slightly abbreviated, as I’m on a west-coast business trip and running out of time)…
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Ari & Staella - I suppose I could make a joke about “acting lie asses,” but I won’t. By next week I’ll have forgotten all about this team, and so will everyone else, so it doesn’t matter.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Marianna & Julia - This team had some bad luck this episode, so they might not deserve to be ranked quite so low, but we’ll see. They’re ranked here for the nonce, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a surge out of this team.
Jennifer & Nathan - Hopefully the donkey task will be a wakeup call for this team–seeing so many teams pass them must be disheartening. We’ll see, but I suspect intra-team conflict will sink this team sooner or later, and likely sooner.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Kate & Pat - The token gay team and the token old folks team. My rule of thumb is to always bet against the old folks, and that’s seldom a poor strategy. They’re probably OK for a couple weeks, while the truly stupid and/or incompetent teams drop away, but after that…
Ronald & Christina - Hum. An old guy and his daughter. The old guy is not Gus, but may be similar. I wonder, particularly when looking at the preview for the next ep.
“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Shana & Jennifer - I didn’t see a lot from this team, and they finished in the middle of the pack, so I’ll give them a middle-of-the-pack ranking.
Lorena & Jason - Good work getting to the airport first and snagging the first flight. Too bad there was a delay, but them’s the breaks. Also good work snagging the first ferry, but suspect navigation skills later make them drop.
Nicolas & Donald - A pretty good performance at the end, passing quite a few teams to snag a fifth place.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Rachel & TK - This team was leading near the end, but dropped a couple spots due to a wrong turn. Still, pretty good overall performace.
Kynt & Vyxsin - Solid teamwork and navigation, and this team scores a second place. Nice work overcoming the broken bike chain. I wonder a little about this team’s long-term chances, as it’s got to be exhausting to keep up the whol Goth schtick, but we’ll see later. Definitely a top-tier team.
Azaria & Hendekea - I’m liking this team. Their first place finish was due in part to luck, and they weren’t exactly dominant, but they look like they’re racing smart. Good idea calling ahead for taxis, and a solid performance in the donkey-handling.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one this week - teams have to prove worthy of being rated here, and doing well in a single ep doesn’t cut it.
Oh, one last thing – from the official recap site I see this:
Speed Bump? U-Turn? Sounds cool!
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
Another good point. It’s definitely the roofing glue fumes, I’m convinced.
I wish you’d share. I’m depressed as all get-out today.
I myself thought of Rebecca and Adam, despite Adam not being out as gay. In fact, I even said to Ari (yes, I was talking to the TV), “You, sir, are no Adam.” No, I have no idea what I meant by that, seeing as it makes being Adam sound like a good goal, but…whatever. He’s still no Adam.
It looks like it should be an interesting season. Pretty competetive all in all, and no-one looking particularly weak. Plus no team of Ken dolls to dominate, so most everybody should have a chance at a first-place finish once or twice.(Although it really was a warm-up throw_away of a roadblock, so maybe I’m jumping the gun on thinking it will be competitive)
And I’m glad the producers stopping playing around and finally admitted that people just tune in to the game to watch a bunch of asses.
You’re more generous than I, zut. As I noted earlier (#30), I had forgotten who they were by the time they finished the leg!
In other news, I’m thrilled to see the Token Minority Team ™ win the leg. I seem to recall that 2 or 3 Races ago, both Token Minority Teams ™ were eliminated on the first leg. (I still think that whoever had the bright idea of a double-elimination leg should be forced to eat four pounds of Polish sausage while past Racers yell at them to hurry the &@#$% up!)
That reminds me of one minor complaint. I wish the show (either during an episode or at least on the web page) would clarify the rules a little more clearly. If I recall, we haven’t heard whether the Flo Rule (no you can do more than six roadblocks - Zach did 9 out of their 10 in season 3) is still in effect or not. I’ve heard speculation that it is indeed still a rule, but it hasn’t come up in the last couple seasons and therefore hasn’t been mentioned during the show. Maybe it’s the sports fan in me, but I’d still like to know if the rule is there, even it no one has an issue with it.
I also kind of miss the fast forward on every leg aspect of earlier seasons. Speaking of which, if you TAR noobies have the Game Show Network channel, set your DVRs to record the old episodes, which air at some ungodly hour weeknights. The show got a rough start (season 1 is really shaky production-wise), but there are a lot of great characters and moments to catch up on. Plus, it’ll help you understand it when someone says something like “My ox is broken!” 
Oh, and the other horrible Will and Grace couple was Aaron and Arianne. Thanks TWoP. 
Which chick was the one who whined, I mean, literally, in a high pitched voice, whined, that her partner never listens to her? Was she part of the team that got philiminated?
I hope so. Because I think that voice might shatter glass, and I paid a lot for my stemware.
It is so nice to have the race back! I was pleasantly surprised by how many teams I didn’t dislike, and was even happier to have the two bottom teams be ones that I was more than happy to see go, so either one would have been just fine with me.
And what’s to dislike with animal hijinks? You’d think these idiots would realize, after this many seasons of the show, that staying calm is the best way to get the animals to do what you want! But no, they yell and scream…and the animals respond accordingly. Good donkeys!
Thus far I am surprised at how much I don’t dislike the Goths – for all their external poseurship, they’re solid racers. That was probably the most pleasant surprise. We can lose the blondes any time, though; they’re annoying in their indistinguishableness. Not to mention the delusion of that pair, as well as the sisters from Miami, in thinking that flirting is going to be an effective racing technique. That and the obligatory bickering couples are the types of teams I really wish they’d stop casting.
Best of all, for all these seasons of the race, every time they went anywhere in Asia, Papa Tiger would be able to sit there and say, “I’ve been there. It’s really pretty.” While I seethe in frustration at not being as well-traveled as he. But last night, when they went to catch the ferry to Inishmore! Finally I was able to turn the tables on him and gloat! The satisfaction that brought me was really astonishing considering how childish it is of me. 
No unfortunately. When she started in the first thought to flash across my mind was “oh god, how did Flo and Zach get back on the Race again?”
That was my thought. The first time I heard “This is the hardest thing I’ve EVER done” I said they should just wait then.
Guy? Everytime I looked at the tv I thought Ari was a chick… (Seriously, but I was distracted by a tricky bit of knitting).
She wasn’t, but my god that voice. That voice is the one that when my son tries to use it I tell him I can’t understand when he talks like that and I will listen when he can talk normally.
She obviously never learned that lesson.
Note from John Lennon to Ari: Instant karma’s gonna get you.
Nathan is certainly in the lead for the title of Biggest Jerk Since *. I suspect part of the reason they couldn’t get the donkeys moving was reluctance to actually touch the poor little beasts. If they couldn’t get 'em going by yanking on the rope, they were out of ideas.
I have to agree that the only annoying thing about the Gyths was their self-identification as such. Substitute “black” or “gay” every time they say “goth”
and see how weird it sounds. (Could make a fun drinking game, actually)
And I thought Goths wore black, not screaming neon pink.
The sad thing is, she was absolutely right. That was Jason and Lorena, who were one of the first out of the gate getting off the first ferry. They were comfortably in the first 3 cars and then they made a wrong turn, which Lorena tried to turn Jason around on, but Jason was too stubborn to listen. They made a HUGE loop around Galway Bay that they didn’t have to, and lost a LOT of time.
At that point I would be doing exactly the same thing if supervenusfreak and I were on the Race, and he decided to bull out a wrong turn decision.
I think you’re right. Team Gyth (I like the name) seems to be a mutant chimeric hybrid of Goth, punk, and fashionista. I was prepared to dislike them (since I’m highly allergic to fashion), but now I want them to last at least half the race for the visual effects. Plus I think they don’t take the Race seriously, so they just might win the whole thing!