# Amazing Race 5/10 - "This is how you lose a million viewers." **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952 "2009-05-10T16:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/61 "2009-05-12T12:51:40Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > There was an idiotic challenge (The Meatblock) where people had to eat like 8 pounds of meat. Rob figured out that if he quit the task and could get one team to quit after him, he’d necessarily come in second-to-last (the team after him would be last). It would have been an annoying way of gaming the system if the actual task hadn’t been so unspeakably terrible. > > . I had to admire the gamesmanship of Rob though, when I saw that episode I was laughing the whole way - and so was he 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/62 "2009-05-12T13:20:18Z")
So was I. But part of that was that the task just sucked…someone screwed up and hadn’t figured out how long it took to do the task and that quitting was quicker. (They hadn’t removed the “no barfing” rule yet, so if you threw up, you’d have to eat a similar amount (or start again)) ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/63 "2009-05-12T13:23:13Z")
> [@zut](#): > > If only Jaime had immediately offered to work with Luke, or at least done so the minute Victor left, it might have been an interesting finale. On these memory tasks, it has always seemed to me that teams are restricted from helping one another. Otherwise, it would be a huge advantage for two teams to work together an crush the third team. On the memory tasks, two heads are far, far better than one. I got the sense that perhaps Tammy and Victor had already hit the mat before the powers-that-be gave permission for the two remaining teams to share information just so they could move on to the waiting throng of contestants at the finish line. Only via editing did it happen in a different sequence. I have absolutely nothing to justify my perception of the timing of events. It just seemed obvious that if the two remaining teams could share info, they’d do it immediately after Victor completed his surfboard sequence. Then it would’ve been a frantic race to the finish line – may the best taxi driver win. But that didn’t happen. It was clear that Margie/Luke and Jamie/Cara were waaaaay behind. They knew they had absolutely no chance of winning. All of you have better memories than I do. On these memory tasks, has there ever been collaboration between teams in previous seasons? ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/64 "2009-05-12T15:38:44Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I am wondering, though, just long the other teams waited before sharing the solution. I get the feeling that it was longer than it looked. My guess is that the teams just kept trying and trying and trying until some production person at the final location called a production person at the surfboard location and said the equivalent of, “Victor and Tammy are running up to the finish line now, so tell the other two teams to help each other so we can get this thing in the bag and go home.” ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/65 "2009-05-12T15:48:31Z")
Unfortunately it was cloudy at the finish line so there is no indication of the time lapse between T/V and J/C and L/M. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/66 "2009-05-12T16:34:19Z")
When Victor finished each team only had one left, so they probably all thought that they could still finish and catch up. It probably took then a while before they finally decided it was over. Notice how Margie and Cara were sitting down when they finally decided to help each other? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/67 "2009-05-12T18:09:55Z")
Was I the only one who thought Marge might have been violating a rule when she told Luke (whether he got the message I don’t know) to “check the other ones” to keep him from continually chanigng the11th surfboard? Not the greatest season ever. It’s funny because I don’t think I ever laughed so hard as when I was watching the cheese task the very first episode. So I thought it was a great start. And then it was just meh. I think the most deserving team won, though. ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/68 "2009-05-13T14:05:04Z")
I finally saw the whole finale, and I have to say, the Margie and Luke message I came away with was not so much ‘Deaf people can do anything’, but ‘50 year old mothers can kick some serious young people ass’. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/69 "2009-05-13T14:53:32Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Not the greatest season ever. It’s funny because I don’t think I ever laughed so hard as when I was watching the cheese task the very first episode. So I thought it was a great start. And then it was just meh. Gotta agree with this. The first three episodes or so were really good, with interesting tasks, points where teams had to make difficult choices, and actual competition to avoid elimination. Plus, there weren’t really any truly unpleasant and objectionable teams in the mix. Then it started to go downhill, with poorly designed tasks of the go-here-do-this variety, and teams that were never really as interesting as they could have been, and the season never seemed to recover. Alas. Note to TAR producers: In a good leg, the outcome depends as much as possible on the actions and choices of the teams, and as little as possible on random events. That means tasks should include _choices_ as much as possible, and the choices should affect the time it takes the complete the task. It also means that the effect of factors beyond the team’s control should be minimized. So: foot massage that takes every team exactly twelve minutes and thirty-four seconds to complete? Boring. Having to yell at a shopkeeper to open a random drawer to find a clue? Boring. Taking taxis everywhere? Boring. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/70 "2009-05-13T15:07:31Z")
> [@zut](#): > > I’ve always kind of thought of the Taxi Assessment as a predictive assessment (“what are the chances of this team winning a million dollars?”) rather than a reactive assessment (“how did this team fare?”). So I actually wasn’t planning on writing as assessment for this leg. Why can’t it be both; a little bit predictive, but also a chance for us all to pause and reflect on where we’ve been? We all watched the show, so we know what happened, I think of the Taxi Assessment as attempt to figure out why things happened. Was Luke’s semi-meltdown at the surfboards the result of Killer Fatigue, or were the seeds for it planted during the Chekhov incident? During Hump the Pig, did Victor cross the line between healthy encouragement and browbeating? Can anyone tell the redheads apart? The end of the Race does not mean all questions have been answered. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/71 "2009-05-13T15:42:02Z")
> [@jacquilynne](#): > > I finally saw the whole finale, and I have to say, the Margie and Luke message I came away with was not so much ‘Deaf people can do anything’, The message I got was “A Deaf person can do anything if, by “anything” you mean sit down, pout, cry and call for mommy go rescue him when faced with any remotely challenging task.” ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/72 "2009-05-13T15:49:31Z")
What incentive did Tammy and Victors cab driver have to not spoil the ending? The Amazing Race surely is mainstream enough that the cab driver would know what it is. At the very least, when he goes back to his family, guess what fare I picked up today? Certainly a $100 tip would not be enough incentive. Would TPTB have him sign a non-disclosure agreement for some amount of money? Cab drivers in India, Thailand and Beijing are far enough removed from mainstream America that TPTB don’t have to worry about them. But Hawaii is part of the US. Surely the cab drivers have heard of the Amazing Race if they haven’t seen it. Or their families or friends have heard of it and he tells about his day at the dinner table or the local watering hole. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/73 "2009-05-13T16:06:29Z")
I’ve heard that some of the recently Philiminated teams continue to participate in the last legs as decoys. I’m not quite sure how they would do that, though. I didn’t see any extra pigs or surfboards for them to use. But even without that, how does the cab driver know that was the end? I suspect the Amazing Producers put the finish in some place where they can control access. The cabbie could know that he had Amazing Contestants as passengers. He could see two other teams at the surfboard fence. If the memory task for the surfboards was only set up for three teams, he’d know Tammy & Victor were in the lead when they left. But until the episode aired, he couldn’t know they’d won. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/74 "2009-05-13T16:15:26Z")
I thin the reason the cabbie doesn’t screw them over is becuase most people are not blackmailing a-holes. I know we like to think the majority are, but the truth is he just wants his fare and if he can help them win that is fine, it is no skin off his back ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/75 "2009-05-13T16:19:46Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I thin the reason the cabbie doesn’t screw them over is becuase most people are not blackmailing a-holes. I know we like to think the majority are, but the truth is he just wants his fare and if he can help them win that is fine, it is no skin off his back I think **notfrommensa** meant “spoil the ending” as in “blab to the _Daily Planet_” rather than “spoil the ending” as in “kick Victor & Tammy out in some deserted area.” ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/76 "2009-05-13T16:36:20Z")
> [@zut](#): > > I think **notfrommensa** meant “spoil the ending” as in “blab to the _Daily Planet_” rather than “spoil the ending” as in “kick Victor & Tammy out in some deserted area.” D’oh! Yes of course. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/77 "2009-05-13T17:25:08Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > But Hawaii is part of the US. Surely the cab drivers have heard of the Amazing Race if they haven’t seen it. Or their families or friends have heard of it and he tells about his day at the dinner table or the local watering hole. I would assume that they’re not allowed to name the show as in all of the seasons I’ve seen teams talk about it, they always say “We’re in a race.” I think some people could guess what this race was, but for the most part I think they don’t much care. And they do have an Amazing Race Asia, as well, so it’s possible for it to be recognized in all kinds of countries. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/78 "2009-05-14T03:37:55Z")
Or the producers could lay out some money. Catch the final taxi drivers and offer them a REALLY good tip if no story leaks before the finale airs? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/79 "2009-05-14T05:28:30Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > So was I. But part of that was that the task just sucked…someone screwed up and hadn’t figured out how long it took to do the task and that quitting was quicker. (They hadn’t removed the “no barfing” rule yet, so if you threw up, you’d have to eat a similar amount (or start again)) When did the time penalty actually start? And weren’t some of the teams able to finish the task in a way shorter period of time than the penalty? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952/80 "2009-05-14T12:37:31Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > When did the time penalty actually start? And weren’t some of the teams able to finish the task in a way shorter period of time than the penalty? The time period started when the next team to arrive did so. Once the next team arrived, Rob convinced another team to also refuse to finish and take the penalty…since that team’s penalty wouldn’t start until the NEXT team arrived, Rob and Amber were more or less guaranteed not to be the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop on that leg. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-5-10-this-is-how-you-lose-a-million-viewers/495952.md?page=5)