Well, since no one else has started this thread off, I figure I’ll give it a go.
As a recap of the placements from last week:
The elderly couple of doom (FF used)
Sideshow Bob and the harpie
Ken/Gerard (FF used)
The twins (FF used)
JV and Jill
Team 911
This has to be non-elimination, so I reckon the predicitions lose a little zest. Still, there will be some interesting things to see for each team.
The elderly couple of doom (FF used) - The FF is gone, so will they start the expected slide into oblivion? Do they realize that teams will be bunched? What no levels of jerkwaddery will Ian reach?
Sideshow Bob and the harpie - They are in great shape considering they still have an FF and a couple of weak teams still in the game. Do they take a chance on a non-elim leg and save the fast forward for the next round?
Ken/Gerard (FF used) - The strongest team up to this point (in terms of map reading, taxi luck, flight booking skill). Will this continue? Will they lose out a footrace to the twins who always seem to finish nearby? How much longer will the team partnership last before one of them has to screw over the other.
The twins (FF used) - They have had only one bad leg this entire race. I reckon they are still close timewise with Gerard and Ken, so it seems like they can sponge off of them for another round.
JV and Jill - This team has yet to be truly outstanding but is still around with the FF to spare. They seem stronger than 911 or the old folks. Assuming 911 is relatively far behind they may be able to cruise for 1 or 2 legs and save the fast forward. After that they FF into the final 3 where anything can happen.
Team 911 - Does Team 911 get any kind of a time credit for their travails in the previous episode? Ar they so shaken that they screw up completely? Now that they are likely far behind, how will they race with their main strategy of tagalong being useless?
Ian and Terri will start to slide this week, but probably won’t be at the back of the pack yet. Probably next week will see them gone.
Zach & Flo are in good shape - still have the FF, and they seem fairly competent, Flo’s constant screeching aside. If they’re smart, they won’t touch the FF this round, since they’re at the top of the pack.
Ken and Gerard look to be in good shape, except there is no FF left for them. They definiately seem like the best team out there right now. They’re smart, seem to speak several languages (I think I’ve heard one or the other speak Spanish, French and possibly Portugese, and of course English). They also seem to hold their own in the physical part of the race, although in a pure foot-race or similar, I think they’re at a disadvantage.
The twins are also in a good spot. I don’t know how much of this is due to Ken and Gerard, and how much is their own doing. The two sets of brothers seem to understand the game the best anyway. They help each other out for the long haul stuff, and then when it comes to the sprints at the end, or the tasks, they go their own way.
JV and Jill - They still have the fast forward, but unless they use it at a very smart moment, to gain a huge lead, I don’t see them beating the brothers, the twins or Flo and Zach. They may outlast one of these teams, but not all three.
Team 911 - I think they’re in serious trouble if they’re far behind the brothers. It seems they don’t really have any map reading skills, which is deadly in this game. They still have the FF, but first they have to find it.
And I thought I was being smart by starting my own thread, only to find out after I had created it that Mullinator had beat me to it by a good two hours.
:smack:
I’ll redeem myself by posting the TV Guide summary:
My guess is that it’s not going to matter much because this must be a non-elimination leg. This would be the first one, right? Why so long?
Odd. It never occurred to me that this could be a non-elimination episode. And it wasn’t.
Memo to self: Never, never, never move into the community where Team 911 patrols! You would not be safe!
I loved when one said to the other (or to the audience in general) “I’m never traveling again!” Brother, you shouldn’t have been traveling this time. It’s pure dumb luck you guys lasted this long! So long. Farewell. Auf Wiedersehn!
That being said: I think in the next episode it’s Ian & Teri’s turn for doom! And that’s a good thing. I had enough of them a long time ago. That Teri really corked me when she expected the Twins to bond with them because she FINALLY did a nice thing! Foo on you!
Flo and Zach used the FF. Good. That means only John Vito and Jill have access to a FF now. And they’re good folks, so if they win because they waited to FF, that’s fine with me. Actually either of the Brothers teams or John Vito and Jill could win and I would be a happy camper.
Do we think the next episode will be next Wednesday night. . . Thanksgiving Eve? It’s still in the November Sweep (the very last night) so it just might be, but Nielsen does allow stations and networks to drop Thanksgiving Eve shows out of the average for the month. Hmmmm. Anybody know???
And just once I’d like to hear one of the teams express appreciation and wonder at the places they’re tearing through!
Ian: I am a macho, fearless, ex-marine and private dick[sub]head[/sub] and there’s a scary detour up ahead with the least whiff of possible physical danger. Terry, my wife, my love?
You do it.
He is such a wuss. Which would be fine, if he didn’t have this faux-macho demeanor.
Ian and Teri are as good as done, assuming they don’t get saved by bunching immediately before a check in point. That would obviously throw things up in the air.
JV&J are in prime position to make the final 3. If they don’t it would be an upset.
Does anyone else think Flo and Zach made a mistake using the FF this round? I suppose they didn’t know that 911 were having so many problems, but were they that far behind the other groups? And I think the twins surprised everyone by getting to the pit stop - all the other teams seem to think they can’t read a map.
What’s with Andre and Damon sleeping through everything? I seem to remember them oversleeping their departure time in a previous leg of the race, now they miss their stop on the train. The only thing that would have saved them is if this wasn’t an elimination leg. Are they having any elimination legs this time?
I’m hoping next week sees the end of Teri and Ian. He just gets more annoying every episode. I suppose that will be a non-elimination leg, keeping his annoying face around for another week.
I’m really wondering about the non-elimination legs; there are five teams left and (I think) five episodes. Assuming the final stretch has three teams in it, that leaves four (or possibly three if they spread the final stretch over two weeks) episodes to eliminate two teams. Two of those have to be elimination legs, so where do the three non-elims go?
It’s possible they are counting the first half of the final stretch as a non-elimination leg (it is, technically, but I don’t think they’ve ever called it one before).
Assuming that they are and assuming that they want the last leg before the stretch to be an elimination leg I would guess that we will see:
Leg 8 - Non-elimination
Leg 9 - Eliminate team 8
Leg 10 - Non-elimination
Leg 11 - Eliminate team 9
Leg 12/13 - Two leg final stretch
This allows shuffling of the final teams before the end.
Right now I think Ken and Gerard are in trouble. They are in last place and may have trouble catching up but could be saved if the next leg is non-elimination. I suspect that Teri and Ian will also be dropping back soon; the tasks always get more demanding as the Race proceeds and I think they won’t be able to keep up with the younger teams and don’t have the FF anymore to save them.
This puts Derek & Drew, Flo & Zach and John Vito & Jill in the final three. If it comes down to a final run like it has before I give JV&J the edge so I’m predicting the final three as:
John Vito & Jill
Derek & Drew
Flo & Zach
(Of course, I probably just insured that two of them are the next teams eliminated by posting that but oh well…)
Team 911 overslept on the train to Innsbruck and missed the stop. They were so far behind that I don’t think it would have made a difference even if they had been able to get off.
Team 911 slept through the Innsbruck stop on the train, went all the way to Salzburg and had to come back. They were already dreadfully behind. . . and this corked it! When they got to Innsbruck, they were just told to go to the Pit Stop. What an embarrassing way to end their race.
Wow, that was a great episode. Ken (or was it Gerard?)'s face when their tire blew out was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. For some reason, when he said “Carumba! What was that?” I lost it completely, and rewinded it about fifty times until it wasn’t funny anymore. I can’t figure out why I thought it was that funny–I mean, they could have been hurt, and that wouldn’t have been funny at all. But it was just his face and the “Carumba!” that cracked me up.
I’m also rooting for John Vito and Jill–they just get more likable every episode (for me at least.) Teri and Ian are evil, but we knew that. I loved Teri’s complete outrage that the twins wouldn’t give them information because she told them where their info was. I mean, I wouldn’t expect it, like she did.
How that dumb Bachelor show is rated higher than this show is completely beyond me.
Great episode, but the second in a row to have no suspense whatsoever. At least Firecop’s flight problems and general incompetence saved Ken & Gerard, who seem to be enjoying themselves much more than anybody else. Go K&G.
So JVJ are the only team still left with an FF? Hope they don’t waste it on a non-elimination leg. I’m quite sure they’ll save it for the penultimate (pre-final 3) episode though. So one of my hopes for the final 3 has a good chance of making it
tanstaafl, I think you’re right about the non-elimination legs. I’m guessing next week is the non-elim too. The strange thing is that (if I’m not mistaken), Dec.4 is a double-episode. I don’t think they’ll have two non-elims in a row, so if you’re guessing right, the elimination will be in the middle of the two hours.
Next week, looks like Teri & Ian have problems. If they’re saved by the non-elim I’ll scream. K&G were shown talking to Flo in the train, I think, so I guess they catch up again. And as it can’t be said enough, Go K&G.
The Wrong Girl, I think the funny thing about the “Curamba!” was that he actually said “Curamba!”. I mean it was a natural exclamation for him, not something he said because he thought it would be funny… Maybe it was because of the year he spent in Spain. It cracked me up too, as did his Ian impression and the Flintstones joke.
I love K&G. The best was when they rolled into the gas station with barely a shred of a tire left, and the service guy cracked up, and one of them (I can’t keep them straight), said “I think we could get one or two more kilometers out of it.”
They have the best attitude. The other teams (esp. Flo and Zach) would have freaked out if they got a flat, K&G just took it in stride and kept going.
I hope they win but I have the feeling they won’t be able to keep up in a physically demanding last leg. In that case, I hope JV & Jill win it.
I really think Zach is getting hammered on guilt by association. He seems to be a pretty good racer, but Flo and her hysterical idiocy drag him down. That said, Flo can wear that black tank top anytime she chooses. I may now have to root for them based purely on perversion.
