Last week, Lake and Michelle get eliminated after Lake manages to burn off any good will that may have accumulated over the last few weeks with a single word. Meanwhile Ray and Yolanda manage to drag themselves out of last place and Team Hippie manage to come close to elimination despite their whacky-ass antics.
This week, off to the Middle East. Will Team Gonad get off on all the hot chicks in their hot veils? Will Team Hippie’s whacky-ass antics get them stoned, and not in the good way? Will Ray and Yolanda be able to keep it together long enough to stay out of last place? Will there ever be a non-elimination leg?
You have no idea how much I am hoping that one of the hot chicks under the hot veils is actually a Filipino tranny with hairy legs and even hairier pits.
This was a great episode. Glad to see some new blood in the lead, while at the same time not jacking up my Fox Reality Fantasy Team too much. I have to say, whereas all the other teams are clearly starting to develop the dread Killer Fatigue, Fran & Barry really seem to be hitting their stride. Good for them. They kicked Cancer together*, and now they’re kicking Young Schmuck Ass together.
(* = Yes, I know that technically only Fran is a cancer survivor, but with eleventy kinds of cancer running amok in my family, I know it’s something that nobody survives alone. Good for him for being so supportive … and kind of cute, even, in an old man sort of way, when he isn’t complaining about how stupid he is and/or whining about how “it” is all over. Perspective is a funny thing, innit?)
And call me crazy, call me Ishmael, call me whatever, but I think Ray & Yolanda are going to be just fine. I think they both need a nap, but I think they’re going to be just fine. I wonder if this is one of those “extended” Pit Stops … ?
I too was thrilled to see Fran & Barry take the lead, and see Team Gonad and Team Hippie (literally) eat the dust.
What I’m miffed about is that the big change of place was at the roadblock, which was 3/4 pure luck. (And 1/4 persperation – didn’t any of these people know that the most important thing to do in the desert sun is hydrate like crazy?)
And what’s this deal with the NEL taking all of Team Hippie’s possessions? I thought all they could take away was the race-provided cash. Is this a new rule for this season?
They’ve been taking away the posessions for the last few seasons at least – that’s why you’d see teams show up in 4 layers of clothing with underwear on their heads and whatnot.
But I tell you what – one of them hippies does a dead-on impression of Lake.
Of course the goddamn hippies get the NEL. Of course they do. “None of the other teams are gonna see us coming.” Yeah, they won’t, because you’ll be last and they won’t look back at you, jackasses. But hey, now that they’ve lost all their stuff that means no more fucking whacky-ass hats and props and shit.
And jeez, Ray, just because Lake’s gone that doesn’t mean you have to step into the newly-vacated “asshole” role. Ease the hell up, buddy.
I’m getting a little tired of the needle-in-haystack challenges. Two in the same leg is just overkill. These were, what, like N-I-H challenge 41 and 42 in this race so far? A little variety please.
Finally we clearly establish that the brunette Gonad is Eric and the blond Gonad is Jeremy. Now all we have to figure out is which one’s the top and which one’s the bottom. Thoughts? Opinions?
And speaking of which, if I never hear again about Tyler’s “chocolate surprises” it’ll be too soon.
I love it when they have camels. The editors always have such fun with them.
I KNEW this was going to be a non-elim – I could feel it in my bones. Thank god the weird froggy hat was confiscated in the Team Hippie purge. That item alone pushed them over the line on the annoyance scale. I think they’re beginning to suffer from serious fatigue. Did you see the slightly crazed look in Tyler’s eyes at the end?
Fran and Barry didn’t screw up, get lost or get discouraged. Good work, old people. Now, let’s see if you can keep it up.
I was surprised at Joe and Monica. They ran a good race with minimal issues. I think she’s smarter than she looks. Him, I’m not so sure about.
How did the Gonads get lost and STILL get to the mat before the Hippies? Were the Hippies that far behind? Geez.
Well, that WAS a good episode. And it’s about time we had a non-elimination round. I couldn’t have stood it if we went another week bouncing a perfectly good, amusing team! BJ and The Bear will be just fine, thank you!
I wonder what task we’ll have next week that Monica will claim will be the worst thing she’s done. . .ever!!! And will she and Joseph bone up on map-reading/driving skills before then???
Good for Frankenberry. Their travel experience is really showing now. And I liked how they tried to keep a secret of their plane reservations! (Like nobody else could find out about flights to Muscat!)
What was with that road? Once that guy started guiding them through a lake in the middle of a gravel pit, I figured that couldn’t possibly be the right way. At least they’re all lost together. Then, another river; then, poof, they’re there. Is that really SOP for getting around in Oman?
I know when they were getting directions a wadi was mentioned several times. A wadi is a seasonal riverbed…there’s only water in it for part of the year. The rest of the time it’s dry as a bone and crossing it isn’t a problem. Apparently they filmed right after the rainy season (such as it is).
The impression of Lake was awesome…highlight of the episode. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t assign more nerdy activities to Dave & Lori’s spirit other than hugging and kissing.
Great job for Fran and Berry. Nice to see them get a nice prize out of the race, I’m glad this wasn’t a “no-prize” leg. It’ll be a miracle if they’re a real factor in the $1,000,000 leg, so good for them for getting one trophy along the way. Meanwhile youngsters Ray & Yolanda are still 0 for the race, but will certainly be a factor in the last leg if their luck holds out.
Hard to believe that not one of the players apparently stopped for bottled water on the way to the road block. Thankfully they didn’t visit Oman in the height of summer. Still I think it could have been dangerous had Fran been the unlucky one instead of bearded hippie.
Yay, NEL!! I was 99% sure it would be one, but as the Hippies dragged themselves to a last-place finish, that 1% really started to chew away at me…
Way to go, Frankenberry! I don’t think a 60+ couple has ever taken first place, let alone this late in the race…
No signs of Flo Mk II from Monica this leg. Thank GOD.
Ray & Yolanda really got hit by KF this leg. I don’t think they can come back from it, so they will probably be the next team to go. (Not that I’ll miss 'em…heck, with so little screen time, I hardly even know 'em!)
I had to laugh a little bit about Yolanda’s statement on camera after getting to the Pit Stop about how she came on the race to have fun with Ray and now he’s taking all the fun out of it, or something like that. This is something you hear one of the team members express after fatigue starts to set in.
My question, though, is: how can you have watched previous seasons, tried out for the Race, gotten on the Race, and gotten this far into it and still be under the impression that the main point is to have fun? Yes, there are some elements of the Race that look fun, bt it’s a race! You’re not sightseeing with your seetie. You’re not strolling around, going to museums and taking in another culture. When you do go to a museum, you run in, find what you are looking for, and run out. When you have free time, your priorities are to hydrate, feed, and rest yourself as much as possible. The disappointment that “so-and-so is turning too competetive” always baffles me.
They’ve been mugging them like that since at least the Rob & Amber season.
I was a little disappointed that they didn’t assign more nerdy activities to Dave & Lori’s spirit other than hugging and kissing.