Amazing Race 3/8

Cafe Society
41

Rob = God!

What a kick-ass leg by the unstoppable dual!

I was really impressed by his game play, yes he bribed a security guard and bus driver, but who cares? How is that different then paying your cab driver to run a red light?

And light strand Rob acted angry, but he wasn’t really angry (compared to a say Colin), it’s all an act. Rob is having a blast! Why? Because he knows that the only way he will be knocked off the show is if he (or Amber) fails! He doesn’t have to worry about secret alliances ganging up on him and “voting him off”. Sure they may get “yeilded”, but as we have seen in the past the “Yeilds” rarely have any effect on the outcome of a leg.

Rob is there to play, and play hard. Did you see how him and Amber stacked the books? Nobody came close to doing it in one load. It’s just like the effort Rob put into the challanges on Survivor, he was 110% all the time and almost unstoppable!

I’m rooting for Rob 100%. As for next week on the preview it shows Rob snagging someone elses cab, that is pretty low, but who knows what the circumstances are. I’ll have to wait to see what happens (and I can’t hardly wait!!)

MtM

42

Detour: I don’t understand why anyone would have chosen Shop over Schlep. First of all, I would suck at running around a marketplace trying to find a bunch of ingredients, and I’ve taken several years of Spanish. And to do something where you have to spend your own money? No thanks. Again, Schlep is something over which you have more control, and to me, that’s always better strategy.

So is Rob’s strategy of paying folks off going to seriously affect their monetary situation? He did say that they were running low on cash, right?

Loved the footrace at the end! That’s what I like to see! People busting their asses to get to the Amazing Mat, and even a little emotional breakdown from one of the brothers. Good times.

43

Thank you. Honestly people, Rob is not the ebil villain that some people try to paint him as. He’s a smart ass, he’s very intelligent and he knows how to play a game. It doesn’t seem to matter if that game is Survivor or TAR, he’s getting things done.

I really don’t see that he and Amber are in any danger of getting eliminated from the race anytime soon unless something really bad goes down. They are both smart people. You guys see Rob hamming it up for the camera. Remember, this is not his first go-around living with camera crews. He’s comfortable in front of the camera. You guys talk about scheming? LOTS of TAR participants have schemed. I think what he did was “wrong” in a normal setting but in a race? I doubt there are any rules against what he’s done. I think that the ridiculous part is that everyone else in the race is so terrified of Rob and Amber. Get your butts out there and race! Half the couples in the first leg were panicking wondering where Rob and Amber were. Who CARES? If you aren’t last, it doesn’t matter where Rob and Amber are right now. They aren’t the only racers you have to beat.

As MDtM stated, Rob puts everything into a challenge. That, to me, is showing a hardworking mindset which I love in anyone.

I was prepared to hate Boston Rob from the beginning of Survivor All-Stars because of what people said about him. (I missed the Survivor he was originally on) I ended up loving him, he understands that a game is to be played and plays it with everything he has: intelligence, charm, luck, skill and wits. I’ve never heard Rob whine about anything being unfair like so many reality show contestants do. I’ve gone from fully intending to hate the guy to having a crush on him, accent and all.

And when he winked at the camera? That was hot. :smiley:

44

I think everyone was running low on cash. The express bus may have costed more - but it certainly drained their money.

45

This is entirely possible. In fact, it is probable, as she has a humongous pro-Rob bias.

46

I believe you’re absolutely correct on everyone being low on cash; I was under the impression that Rob’s been more liberal than other teams about spending their cash, but I could be wrong about that. And going back to the Detour, being low on cash is yet another reason not to Shop, particularly as a number of teams had to go back and buy more fish when they didn’t weigh in correctly.

47

It was a good episode from a pure racing logistics standpoint, but there wasn’t enough dialog. No good lines from anyone (particularly the brothers, who were great last week). Nothing but “rapido! rapido!”.

Munch: don’t try to relate the episode time with the arrival time – editing can be deceiving. We don’t know their actual arrival times until next week, when we see them leaving. (Something that I wish they’d change…why not show the clock when they hit the mat?)

48

Miss Alli is talking about Susan and Patrick, not Rob and Amber (who haven’t been scheming to get rid of other teams as far as I’ve seen). Miss Alli likes Rob and Amber.

49

True, but as close as everyone was, Romber pulled ahead quite far.

Also, who else LOVES the new plane ticket protocol? I wasn’t a big fan of the #1 determinant of the lead racer being your skills in the airport. Competing for seats on a plane is the perfect way to do it. (As such, I believe that everyone got on the third plane in the first episode was due entirely to the producers - I’m betting they bought out several extra tickets to ensure against just an occurrence. I wonder if we’ll ever get an official confirmation for that.)

50

First I wanna give a big FUCK YOU to Adelphia who failed to turn on my cable yesterday (after failing to turn it on Saturday and rescheduling without telling me) which meant I had to drive 30 miles to the nearest friend with a VCR who would let me use it between 9-10 p.m. Of course he had no TiVo and no a remote control and I got in a big fight with his cat over the seat closest to the TV, but it all worked out in the end. Ok…

I’m starting to believe Phil wasn’t lying when he said this was the best Race ever. Rarely do we see an actual footrate to the mat, where the last place team is within spitting distance of Team Second-To-Last, and it’s happened twice in a row already. Of course it was sort of anticlimatic – as soon as the Alpha Bros started making friends with Team Boobalicious, you knew one of them was going home tonight.

Team Romber still irritates the hell out of me, and what makes it worse is they’re really good racers. Atrael is right that their scheming is really no different from previous seasons, though Colin/Jonathan were far more amusing with their constant temper tantrums. (The spousal abuse, not so much.) Rob is just too…smarmy. If they win, it will mean the death of this show. I mean, what’s next? A family edition or something? :smiley:

Not much to say about the other teams, except that with one of the Blonde Chick teams gone, I can finally tell ALL the teams apart! By the second episode! A new record!

51

Precisely. She was criticizing how other teams are obsessing over R&A instead of playing their own game; they shouldn’t be trying to get R&A out, they should just worry about staying in the race itself. She also likes how R&A are enjoying the trip (and each other) instead of draining all the fun out of an enterprise that, while competitive, should actually be enjoyable.

I missed last night’s episode (have never really followed TAR), but it sounds like I may join in simply for the R&A show (I’m an unapologetic fan).

52

I know. But I believe the point is the same, regardless.

53

No, she is absolutely right. You can do small schemes to get ahead, like the door thing. But grand schemes where you try to target a particular team is absolutely pointless in this show, as compared to something like Survivor.

54

YES! I was going to mention this, but I forgot. It takes care of the huge bunching problem without making the logistics of the show totally unmanageable for the production crew, and also eliminates the heretofore inevitable ten minute snoozefest airport scheming scene every episode .

My impression so far is that the powers that be are really listening to what people are saying about the show - what they like and don’t like - and are trying to improve it. Bravo.

55

Hey, can I call Philimination or what? Goodbye Boobsey Twits, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

I think this is shaping up to be a great season because the racers are realizing much earlier on that they are in a race! It’s pretty damn often that some teams need a kick in the pants (Bowling Moms, I’m talking about you) and this year Rob is providing that impetus. 'Cos let’s face it, there are a LOT of stupid, lemming-like teams this go round.

First ep we had the four teams that started digging in the first pile of sand they saw, without checking the other pile.

This time, we’ve got teams patiently waiting in line at the bus stop, and not even bothering to ask around to find out which bus arrives first. Now, things may have changed when the ticket counter opened-- I couldn’t really tell if there was just one counter/company, or if there were multiple companies-- but Rob has demonstrated that he is actively competing just by going around and asking questions. If the other teams are dumb enough to find a seat at the back of the bus instead of sitting right up front, they deserve what they get. Romber has the experience to know they’re competing, and they’re using it. A few other teams know they’re in a race-- the Non-Blondes, Uchenna & Joyce-- but most of 'em are being idiots.

This is TAR. You can’t manoeuver to knock somebody else out of the race, no matter what you do (even if you use a Yield). But you can manoeuver to put yourself in the front of the pack, and you’ve got to do that every chance you get. Doing anything to bring the group with you is flat out dumb, as the Hillbillies learned in the first ep.

That being said, is it just me, or has this been a very long two-leg stretch? Season 6 had a really long beginning with the trip to Iceland, but this season started with a 36-hour leg, and I think this past ep was more than that. I think fatigue is already having an effect on some teams, and that’s not a good thing.

I’m not sure who will bow out next ep, but I’m hoping it was a pivotal leg for every team to wake up and start racing. Fer crissakes, the only teams that have placed in the top 5 for the first two legs are Romber and Lynn and Alex! That’s pretty weak-- the weakest since season 4, I think.

56

They just go too far. (Or for me, they take it that one further step from “clever” to “dirty,” not so far as cheating - but I definitely don’t like them.

Not helping other teams is one thing - paying the guy to not answer questions was too far. Bribing the bus driver to not open the door, was right on the line, withholding his part of the bribe (when he told the other teams he would pitch in) went too far.

I don’t like their ethics. (Or is it morals, I can never remember which is which).

I hope to some day to be in a position that an “extra million” in my account “won’t do anything.” But for me, that would take care of quite a few of my money related problems.

57

What a solid episode. I thought we were getting flimflammed by editing when it suggested the last two teams were close. As soon as this thought popped in my head, the guys eyes bugged out as they saw the girls in the other cab. NICE!

Before I begin my random thoughts, I would like to get the Rob and Amber portion of my post out of the way.

  1. I enjoyed Rob on All-Stars, but I constantly rooted for someone to take him down. But in the end, had I a vote, I would have given him the million.

  2. It was good to see Amber acknowledge that Rob is 100% the leader. He delivered her a million that should have been his.

  3. Think Amber will make Rob sign a prenup? That would be crappy.

  4. I loved his tactics. Just win, baby. Just win.

  5. Clever of Ramber to form an alliance with two other teams. They need to stay in front or have one of their two allies stay in front to keep them from getting yielded. You can only yeild a team behind you. If any of those three get there first, they drop a yield on a non-allied team.

  6. Overall, I wouldn’t have let them on the show to begin with. But since they are on the show, I want them to win.

Now, a few Rob and Amber free random thoughts:

  • People seem to hate Rob and…oops…err…I really hate Patrick. What a prick. I don’t mind camera whores. Who would go on a show who wasn’t. But he is so over the top. Reminds me of a weasel. I just want to hit in the stomach. And his mom is as annoying. I am going to enjoy that Philimination almost as much as Ass and Victoria from last season.

  • Ron is terrible. I too was stunned at his finish. And why did they give him a new partner this week? I was ranking on the “beauty queen” last week for not being very beautiful, but she looked pretty nice this week. Odd. Did Bruckheimer pull a Dick Sargent/Dick York thing on us? :slight_smile:

  • Ray seems a lot better than Ass. She seems to be kind of an idiot. Bibliocat was right. She got in the way when he had no way to see her. As far as I could tell, she was BEHIND him!

  • The Chef should have been the greeter. Admit it. He made you smile.

  • I like Alex and Lynn. They crack me up. The way they got chased out of the market. “BITCHES!” Reminded me of Kramer getting chased out of the Calzone place.

  • A few tips from a guy who lives near Mexico, but does NOT speak Spanish. Just adding “-ito” or “-oh” to the end of an English word does NOT make it Spanish! AND when you say a word that you DO know in Spanish, try not to make your voice sound like Spongebob Squarepants. You aren’t talking to children just because they don’t speak the language of Don Knotts.

*In a related matter, did “gracias” replace “baby” this week?

  • I enjoyed the shoe shine task. Kind of interesting. I’ll bet they enjoyed seeing a bunch of Ugly Americans on their hands and knees.

  • I agree with Munch. The producers are doing a much better job with the planes. It eliminates a lot of ABSOLUTE bunching. I’d prefer three flights so it remains interesting to the end (once the first Flight #2 was given, there was no drama). But it is a reasonable solution.

58

Election?

59

I think all those who post in the weekly “Nice guys don’t get laid” threads should get out their notebooks and watch Rob. He is an alpha male in full plumage.

Now, there may be a million valid reasons why someone might not like the guy, but he is displaying all the traits that the so called “Nice Guys” lack - confidence, assertiveness, being pro-active versus reactive, plus he is outgoing and engaging, he’s competitive, and he isn’t overly concerned about what others think of him.

And look - he’s all anyone in that race thinks about, and he got the hot girl.

60

I’m very firmly in the “I Hate Rob & Amber” camp, but I will grudgingly admit they are good racers. Very grudgingly, that is. Finding out which bus is fastest is just good racing strategy - just because it leaves first doesn’t mean is gets there first.

But I also agree that paying the guy not to answer questions went too far, and withholding his part of the bus driver’s bribe went way too far. Rob’s an ass.