If there is a playoff, which is doubtful at this point.
Adjust DVRs accordingly.
The Master!?
Doctor! Doctor! Help! The Master has regenerated again!
Looks to be about a 11-12 minute delay (maybe program 15 minutes extra to be safe).
[spoiler]Hey Carol and Brandy: Brett & Caite U-Turned you, and you got eliminated, therefore they made a good decision to U-Turn you. Quit being obnoxious whiny bitches about it. Except for the final leg, the only goal on every other round is to simply not be the last team. If one team can ensure that another team goes home, that’s not a dumb decision.
And I hate the Fast Forward. It never does anything except let the first team to read the clue automatically come in first, with no drama or suspense or anything. At least the way it used to be used during the first few years, people would compete for it, and you’d never know when it would be used.
Oh, and was anyone else expecting the cops to get a penalty for using that counting device? I thought they couldn’t bring electronic devices like that that could help them. Wasn’t there that task last season where they teams had to count gold coins and they wanted to use a calculator?[/spoiler]
[spoiler]I thought it was a mechanical counter, not electronic, by the look of it. I’ve seen similar ones used for knitting, and it seems like it would be a good thing to bring along. It seems like there’s always one detour or roadblock which involves counting.
I am definitely glad the women are gone! They brought it on themselves, and I’ve got to give the cops credit for getting another team to U-Turn them. They aren’t better looking; they’re not even all that smart. They are, however, rude, and mean, and they paid a price for it.
[/spoiler]
Nothing says, “I’m a big freaking idiot!” like insisting that the people who outplayed you are idiots.
While I am certainly not sorry to see Team Lesbian go home, I will say that after today I feel that both Brent and Catie and Team Cops are each ultimately every bit as unpleasant as the ol’ Lesbos were—The Cops lying to T.L.'s cab driver (“she said we could have the cab”) may have been a valid Race tactic, but it still struck me as a dick move anyway.
As for Brent and Catie, to me there is no doubt that it was much more important to Catie to get revenge against the Lesbians for sassing her than it would be to actually win the entire Race. She seems to have a vindictive streak a mile wide, and I am sure once the Race comes down to a test of intelligence, she will dissolve into a screaming, wailing ball of tears, shrieking how everyone is out to get her, and how life is SO unfair…
Do we really need spoiler boxes? the episode is over? at least for us right coasters. I guess I should have put open spoilers in the title.
last year a teams used home bought calculators for the gold weigh-in challenge, which proved to be a nearly impossible task without a calculator. I think calculators were provided if the teams asked, but the had to ask. A pitch counter should be on a list of necessities
I notice that Brent and Caite are wearing Under Armour clothes. Are they getting paid to wear the clothes for the brand exposure?
Yeah, I have no particular love for the lesbians, but I despise Caite with the heat of a thousand burning suns and was reaaaaaally hoping her petty U-turn would backfire on her perky little ass. Oh well, maybe the stupid will boomerang back around soon.
This episode should have been titled “White people get rhythm.” The attempts at replicating a drum beat were outperformed by several failed attempts at high-fiving.
Also, is it necessary to ask every cab driver “Can you take us there?” Dude, I’m a freaking cab driver. It’s my purpose in life to take you there.
Wow, did they ever give the lesbians the evil edit this week. I wonder it the producers are setting us up to not be incredibly annoyed when Brent & Caite turn out to have won this thing.
Don’t even say that in jest.
However, this was far and away their best leg. They did well at the drumming, got a lead (not including the Fast Forward) and didn’t make any mistakes to screw it up. If they have to get their act together, they’re doing it at the right time.
Carol & Brandy must have nailed the ice cream Detour. (Ice cream on bread, seriously?) They had to do both tasks and still got to the shipyard before Louie & Michael had left.
Fast Forwards! U-Turns! Woo!
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Dana & Adrian and Jody & Shannon and Monique & Shawne and Joe & Heidi and Jordan & Jeff and Steve & Allie - Gone until the finale.
Carol & Brandy (down from “Rapido!”) - So it turns out that last week’s foreshadowing of an impending U-Turn was not an empty threat. Although I agree with Brandy that Brent & Caite didn’t think through the U-Turn strategically, and I also agree with Brandy that Caite’s wattage is lower than the average bulb, Brandy’s argument basically boils down to: “we’re not one of the strongest teams (despite the fact we said we were a few episodes ago), so they shouldn’t have U-Turned us.” Which, unfortunately, is a fatally flawed argument. The goal of each leg is, in a nutshell: do not get eliminated. The best way to do that is to stack the deck to ensure some other team’s elimination, and from Brent & Caite’s perspective, Carol & Brandy were the best choice, as the team that was certainly behind them and least likely to overcome a U-Turn. Now, I don’t believe for a minute that Brent & Caite actually thought this through any farther than their dislike for Carol & Brandy, and I’m sure Carol & Brandy know that. But strategically? Not such a bad decision, as evidenced by the fact that Brent & Caite will be gracing our TV screens in the next epidoes, and Carol & Brandy will not.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
No one.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Brent & Caite (up from “Flat Tire”) - With only four teams left, I think it’s time to bump Brent & Caite up a category. They’re still the weakest team left, but they did score a second place this leg–their best yet–and weren’t in first only because of Dan & Jordan’s Fast Forward. Brent & Caite really did out-perform the other teams at the Detour, had no problem at the Roadblock, and basically cruised through the episode. They’ll still need a little luck to land in the top three, but only a little. Note, though, that Brent’s done five Roadblocks to Caite’s three. Presumably the “equal division of labor” rule is still in place, which means Caite has to do most of the rest. I would snarkily suggest that it’s a good thing they chose Brent to do this week’s counting Roadblock, because Caite wouldn’t be–you know–quite up to it, but the clue was worded so obscurely I’ll pass on that.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Dan & Jordan (up from “Stopping”) - Dan & Jordan wisely choose the Fast Forward, which lands them in first: only their second top-three finish. More importantly, they’ll start the next leg more relaxed, and (in contrast to Brent & Caite) skipping the Roadblock means they have a little more wiggle room with choosing who’s going to do the Roadblocks for the rest of the Race.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Louie & Michael (holding steady) - A few mistakes this episode (wandering around inside the concert hall, going after the Fast Forward, fruitlessly searching for the U-Turn location, and forgetting the clipboard at the Roadblock) make this team look like the Louie & Michael of the first three episodes. They still finish well ahead of Carol & Brandy, courtesy of Brent & Caite, but they’re going to have to do better in the finale to hope to win.
Jet & Cord (holding steady) - Jet & Cord show a remarkable propensity for falling behind the rest of the teams, then battling back to stay well clear of elimination. That’s great through most of the episodes, and it’ll serve them well in getting to the final three, but it’s less clear that it will take them to the winner’s circle. They’re still my choice to win it all, but I don’t think they’re a shoo-in.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one.
Next episode is two weeks from now.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Rating[/sub]
I like Bret and Caite a lot more than the lesbians, so I’m happy about the outcome.
At least Brent and Caite didn’t spend too much time trying to justify the U-Turn based on the lesbians as a threat. It was mentioned, but the majority of the justification seems to have been “They were mean to meeeee!” and Caite seemed to own that.
And the lesbians didn’t cover themselves in glory in their reactions to the setback, either. Their snarky snark against B&C was kind of ugly, and, assuming that Phil didn’t ask them about it and the question edited out, Brandy bringing the whole thing up at the mat (apparently spontaneously) was whinging of an uncomfortable level. Neither team really indulged in the classy this ep.
I think the definitive answer to the question of whether Carol and Brandy are bitches or just misunderstood came when right after seeing the U-Turn they started viciously sniping at each other.
Doing that is just grade-A bitchery, [Hank Hill]I tell you what[/HH].
If I were ever to go on the Race, and I wanted to garner as much audience sympathy and popularity as possible, the magic words are “joy in the experience” and “grace under fire”, with a dash of humility. The audience favorites are usually the teams that visibly appreciate the beauty and experience of the whirlwind travel they do, who roll with the punches without self-pity and self-justification, and who don’t take themselves too seriously. Now, that’s not really all that useful as is, since the audience doesn’t have jack or shit to do with who wins, but it can certainly make fan interaction post-Race more comfortable. Just ask Jonathan Baker.
Sam & Dan had a calculator and breezed through the task, once they realized that the “divide” key was really all the advanced mathematics necessary. Flight Time & Big Easy just went to the store next door and asked to borrow a calculator - the people running the task didn’t give them one.
I think you can bring anything on the race you please, as long as it’s not on a list of prohibited items (maps, PDAs, GPS, cell phones, things like that), and of course, the more you bring, the heavier your pack is. There have been enough counting challenges in the past that a half ounce mechanical counter is a good idea. And of course, as Mike & Mark found out, you’re not allowed to trade your flashlight & carabiners for cab fare.
Enough cabbies have just driven off into the wilderness that asking “Do you know where this destination is?” before you start driving is probably a wise move.
On the counting task - it was great that they had guys banging on steel during the task, as well as a loudspeaker just announcing random numbers. But I couldn’t believe that any non-counting racers were yelling encouragement to their teammates! If I was doing the task, I could probably shut out the steel and the random numbers, but if I heard my teammate say something, I’d assume it was important and actually pay attention. I was disappointed none of the counters yelled back “Would you shut the hell up so I can keep counting!”
I agree–I think it was a dumb decision: obvious targets were anyone else from a gameplay standpoint, but there’s something to be said for "There are X weeks more of this race and I’ll be damned if I want to spend it with those to horrible whiney bitches griping about every aspect of it.