Fourth episode, season eight. I must say, though, that I’m getting tired of the “go here, get next clue” type of tasks. What’s interesting are the tasks that require the teams to make choices, and thus potentially screw the choices up. Like Detours. I thought the Detour this ep was interesting, considering that a substantial proportion of the teams chose the slow blackjack option.
The Back Seat Report
"Over the River and Through the Woods…" - or, songs, happiness, and lots of familial love.
The Linzes (holding steady): Solid overall, but why on Earth did they pick the slow blackjack Detour at first? Three brawny guys and a not-so-wimpy girl, and they avoid the logs? They did bail quickly, but by that time it was questionable what strategy was best. Still, they can afford an occasional mistake like that if they remain in front, and, until the final ep, TAR is all about getting into the top three, which the Linzes have successfully done three episodes in a row.
"Daddy’s driving right now, hon." - or, a little tension and impatience, but still far from the breaking point.
The Bransens (up from “Janie”): A big jump by this team. Two firsts in a row is pretty impressive. I’m still concerned about Dad’s stamina, but the team is functioning well together, and actually seems least likely, of all these teams, to make a major mental mistake. They got lucky (literally) that their Detour choice didn’t hurt them in the long run–note that the Paolos, who sawed logs, finished the task before the Bransens.
The Godlewskis (holding steady): Not much from them, positive or negative, this episode. Still in my projected top three.
"Are we almost there yet?" - or, some whining and dissent, but no more than you’d expect.
The Paolos (up from “poopy pants”): OK; while watching the show, I had an epiphany about this team. As the season progresses, a normal team will get more and more tired and cranky, more apt to snap at each other, and then get frustrated and make big errors. But the Paolos live like that all the time. They’re used to it. So this team still sucks, but as the season progresses, look for them to appear stronger and stronger in relation to the other teams, simply because Killer Fatigue has no real effect on them. They’ve inoculated themselves. Anyway, is their second place finish in this episode a harbinger of things to come? They were helped quite a bit by the errors of other teams (getting lost, wrong Detour choice, nabbing the wrong trailer), but that’s my point: when it comes to stupid, the Paolos are in their element.
The Weavers (holding steady): The racetrack experience really wasn’t as bad as the previews suggested (quelle surprise!), but I still think that was a dirty trick to pull on the part of the producers. Shame. Anyway, the Weavers made a bad decision to take the very last departure time at the trailers, and their Detour choice was questionable (although they got lucky…or perhaps skillful, like Terminus Est suggests). All in all a half-step behind most of the rest of the teams.
"Dad… Janie’s on my side again!" - or, conflict, bad feelings, things just not going right.
No one this week.
"Dad… Jimmy made poopy-pants in the back seat." - or, near disaster, and a whole lot of clean-up required before getting back on the road.
The Gaghans (down from “Janie”): Still in last place, I fear. The Gaghans have to play smarter, and they’re not. Like the Weavers, bad decision to take the very last departure time at the trailers. On the other hand, the Detour choice was a clear demonstration of why the Gaghans have to play smarter: what should be a clear winning choice for the all-adult teams isn’t for a team with two kids. So the Gaghans are getting penalized here for dragging along pre-teens.
"ALL RIGHT, I’M TURNING THIS CAR AROUND RIGHT NOW!" - or, out of the Race and on their way home.
The Schroeders (down from “Daddy’s driving”): Wow; way to implode and do just everything wrong. Bad Colonel-finding skills, bad decision on which trailer to take, bad time to get completely lost, bad Detour choice. Stassi was right pretty much across the board, and even if she didn’t handle the familial communications all that well, she’s only, what? Sixteen? Dad is something of a dick, I think, but to his credit, he handled the whole “I’m wrong and the kid is right” thing way better than Dad Rogers did.
The Aiellos: Gone, I’m afraid.
The Rogerses: Gone, but not forgotten.
The Blacks: Gone, but…wait, who are these people?
Next week: A Fast Forward, according to CBS’s Web site. And I’m guessing the first non-elim.
[sub]Props to Mullinator.[/sub]
