A new season!
Eh. A “twist” where one team get eliminated halfway through the first episode doesn’t strike me as crazy clever. I’d rather Phil announce that two teams would be eliminated at some random Pit Stop. That would keep the racers on their toes.
But what the heck! It’s still a new season, which means it’s time for the first installment of…
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Bilal & Sa’eed - (12 this week) - Alas. We hardly knew ye. Usually the first team eliminated at least gets a full two hours in front of the cameras. Poor Bilal & Sa’eed got barely a half an hour. Which is too bad; I was looking forward to seeing this rather unique team in action. This team got unlucky with taxis and so forth. However, they didn’t push to make their own luck. I suspect that, “twist” or no, they would have been one of the first teams eliminated.
Vipul & Arti - (11 this week) - Lesson learned: Getting lost too many times can lead to horrendous results. As if we didn’t know. Another team I was rather looking forward to seeing in action, but if you can’t navigate one freaking mile, you’re going to have a hard time going entirely around the world.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
David & Mary - (10 this week) - They were on the first flight out, but kept fading back and back and back. They’re lucky Vipul & Arti crashed and burned thoroughly, else they’d clearly be on the sidelines. I’m not seeing anything out of this team that makes me think they’re good Racers, and they can’t rely on other teams’ mistakes forever, so odds are they’re out within two episodes.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Erwin & Godwin - (7 this week) - In what universe is playing with guns in an airport remotely a good idea? There’s a pretty broad line between “fun-loving” and “criminally stupid.” This team looks like a smary, savvy alpha male team on paper, but I don’t think they’re following through in practice. They’re nowhere near as smart as they think they are.
Tom & Terry - (8 this week) - A wrong Detour choice leads to a slip down the rankings. This is the oldest team, and they can’t afford anything but a perfect Race. I don’t see any drive from this team, and expect they’ll be Philiminated soon.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Lyn & Karlyn - (9 this week) - This team stayed near the front for most of the episode, but the wall climb really hurt them. I think this team has potential and drive, but they’re the least in shape of all the teams. I would expect them to either move way up or way down in the standings, depending on how the cards fall. A team to watch.
Rob & Kimberly - (5 this week) - I don’t yet have an impression of this team, other than the standard observation that Racing on TAR is a really poor way of determining the strength of one’s relationship. I suspect this team will find that out at some point. Anyway, they’re here in the middle for now, but I expect a drop in the rankings.
Kellie & Jamie - (6 this week) - Although it didn’t hurt them in the end, I though they made the wrong Detour choice. Since they were cheerleaders (and, as we know, all the tasks on the Race relate in some way to cheering), their choice was less wrong than it was for Tom & Terry, but still. A solid middle-of-the-pack performance, which truthfully was more than I expected from this team.
Peter & Sarah - (3 this week) - This team is a bundle of contradictions. They land a respectable third this week, and they made a smart gamble early in the leg to bypass the Seattle traffic (at least it looks smart after the fact). But they take a wrong turn at the Great Wall, and Peter seems a bit too supportive of Sarah–his way of being controlling, perhaps. Sarah’s not above pointing out her disablility when it’s to her advantage–and why not? The Race is clearly going to tax her on that front, and if she can get a leg up (ha!) by playing the cripple card, more power to her.
Dustin & Kandice - (4 this week) - I was actually favorably impressed by Team Miss USA on the TAR Lite “Treasure Hunters” this summer, so I expected good things from Dustin & Kandice, and they didn’t disappoint. Despite some bad luck with taxis, they came roaring back for a fourth place finish. I expect a move up the rankings next week.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Duke & Lauren - (2 this week) - This team looks reasonaby smart, competent, and stable. I haven’t seen a lot of them yet, so I may revise my opinion, but a second place finish bodes well, and they deserve a spot here at the top.
Tyler & James - (1 this week) - A first place showing for one of the alpha male teams. These guys were comfortably at the head of the pack the entire episode, and they were the first to notice the (not exactly mystifying) need for grey pavers at the Detour, so it’s hard not to rank them highly. Nonetheless, I have a suspicion that they might pull an incredibly stupid move later, so I hesitate to endorse them fully. But clearly this team is a contender.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one’s shown me this kind of Race mastery yet.
Next week: More TAR! Isn’t that enough?
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
But I’m with you here. I’m keeping track at home of the "I can’t do this"es, and Bruckheimer’s getting a letter, dammit. Oh, and I can’t tell you how much I look forward to next week. I want to propose that the Broken Ox becomes the official spokesanimal for these threads.
