I didn’t see a thread yet. I also didn’t see the episode yet; well, I missed the first 40 minutes. I turned it on just in time to see one of the teams carrying big, lighted letters and taking them to a place with even more big, lighted letters. I’ll catch it on the CBS website tomorrow.
But I had to start this thread to say that I’ve been to the Technic Museum in Berlin where they were building the model train layouts. You may all bask in my reflected coolness.
I’ve been to the Brandenburg Gate before, does that count for something?
I thought the maze was all sorts of fucked up, I’d love to do it. Wonder how long it took.
My son will be incredibly jealous. He was enchanted by the task, and we were joking that it would take him about 6 minutes to complete.
I think the trick with the train task was that they had to use ALL of the provided track, which meant they either had to figure out a layout of smooth curves or, like one team, make a short curvy section which was prone to throwing the cars off the track. And really, how simple was it not to put a tree too near the tracks. Sheesh.
The funhouse looked super cool, but I can appreciate that it was a real challenge for them to shoot it in such a way as to give us at home a real feel for it.
One girl’s letter was not illuminated when they delivered it. I was sure they would have to go back, but TPTB let it slide for some reason.
Yes, but this is Germany. Their model railroads are more complicated than most country’s real trains. There’s a German rail museum in Nuremberg. I was looking through the gift shop and picked up a catalog for one of their model companies. I thumbed through it a bit and put it back on the stack. The shopkeeper came over and made sure the catalogs were stacked perfectly evenly. Their reputation for precision is well-earned.
So was there any penalty for getting a wrong answer in the Ford Focus trivia challenge. If not then what’s the point?
Since it was multiple choice, the only penalty would be the time delay until you finally picked the right answer.
Right, they might have built in some minor time penalties into the system (i.e., if wrong answer, wait 30 second before sending question again), but somewhat better than just having them get a clue and drive off. Would have loved the trip up the autobahn from Dresden, wonder if they had the ability to drive as fast as they could (as fast as the Fusions allowed) or if they had special instructions not to exceed a certain speed (for insurance reasons).
I liked it when the gay guy with the the cute girl (Megan?) asked someone in the bar who said "“Ich bin ein Berliner”. After he was told it was JFK he said, “I figured it out!” Yeah, YOU figured it out.
I thought the Ford Fusion product placement would have been better if they’d let them use the built-in GPS. Might have ruined the experience of getting lost in Berlin, but it would have featured the car better.
Why did the cars have Michigan license plates?
Also, why were there six cars and six clues in the white room? Do they always have one extra?
3.Two acrophobia testing tasks in a row makes for no drama since we already know none of them will freak out. Plus, another lame task in which the racer is completely passive. Unless they refused to get in the harness they didn’t have to anything.
So, bored again.
I thought they were manufacturer plates, which makes blurring them out a bit odd. I’m pretty sure if you bothered to track them you’d find the cars belonged to Ford.
The last couple teams before the final leg teams continue racing instead of heading over to sequester to try and throw the public off on exactly who won or lost.
So, for example, Chuck and Wynona ran this leg, but of course we don’t see that on the show.
Yeah, I’m sure they do. But I wouldn’t have thought you could just ship a car off to Europe and start driving it around without licensing it there.
Taxi Assessment:
This was an interesting episode for the standings, because the teams hit the mat in almost exactly the reverse order that I expected them to.
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Matthew & Daniel and Idries & Jamil and John & Jessica and David & Connor and Pam & Winnie and Chuck & Wynona (already eliminated)
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
No one.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
No one.
“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Joey & Meghan (holding steady) - Joey & Meghan climb into second place, which is their best finish yet. Good job, but I still think they’re the weakest team of the five left. Not by a lot, but by enough that I’ll be a little surprised to see them in the final three.
Max & Katie (holding steady) - An excellent episode for Max & Katie, where they made all the right decisions and led from beginning to end, notching their first first-place finish. I’m still a little doubtful that they could win it all, but they’re looking much more likely to at least reach the final three.
Caroline & Jen (holding steady) - Caroline & Jen had some navigation issues, but not as severe as some other teams. This combination of luck and moderate competence lands them in third place - like both Max & Katie and Joey & Meghan, their best showing to date (although Caroline & Jen had a previous third-place).
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Mona & Beth (holding steady) - Mona & Beth had some navigation issues in this episode, a problem they’ve had before. They really need to work on that, but htey might not really have the time now, what with a Speed Bump coming up. Things are looking a bit dim for this team, what with the probable lack of bunching points in the next episode and the extra task, but I think there’s enough uncertainty (and I’m lazy enough) that I’ll keep them ranked here for now.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Anthony & Bates (holding steady) - One major mistake with the letters and some minor troubles getting here and there adds up to a near-last-place finish for Anthony & Bates. Additionally, I’m not quite sure why they decided to switch tasks - seems like finding the place is half the task, and they already knew where they needed to pick up the letters from. Still, I expect them to come back pretty easily, as they’ve got a team with a Speed Bump task behind them, and questionably-talented teams behind them.
We were wondering this as well. It must have been a very, very long walk, but still I wouldn’t see why Anthony and Bates wouldn’t have been perfectly physically capable of hoofing it back to where they came from faster than any of the other teams would.
Perhaps there were some twists and turns along the way. With all their strengths, these two guys do seem a bit challenged by mental tasks (e.g. 45 - 15 = x).
It was a shame just how many teams had to ask people in Berlin about the JFK quote. Einstein?? Really? And FDR as the source of the “tear down this wall” quote? At first, I thought it was just because I’m old and the teams generally are not. However, my 17 year old son knew the source of that quote, so there goes that idea.
I really would like to see more mentally challenging tasks. I can see how it might not make for good television, but on the other hand, some of the more memorable struggles for teams have come with challenging mental tasks.
I was offline most of the day yesterday – I was thinking that you would probably start it if you didn’t me starting it 
Or, if not you, somebody else.
I’m constantly amazed at how stupid kids are. Roosevelt???
The only good thing about this episode was the funhouse! And I agree with whoever said that they could have positioned the Ford Focus better. Weren’t they on the autobahn anyway going to Berlin? Seemed awfully slow from the camera shots.
I know – when they asked the tear-down-these-walls question, I actually yelled at the TV at the people hesitating. How could you NOT know? Well, OK, I’ll give Joey and Megan a pass on that since they probably weren’t born yet. But still…didn’t they study American history in high school?
Me too. The only problem is that the brainier the team, the more likely they’re going to be among the first eliminated.
What gets me about TAR and it’s getting worse to almost be unwatchable: there are almost no penalties for screwing up. Finish 4 hours behind everyone? Don’t worry, you’ll all be on the same plane or camping out from 5:30am to 9am with everyone else until the door/gate opens. Don’t know an answer to a question? Ask someone with no penalty for wrong answers. Don’t know where to go? Follow every one else. It has gotten so ridiculous that Kesha and Jen actually won a season by following everyone else or asking someone else for an answer. Look back on their season and try to find one task they did without help from someone else except putting together the mobile home yard on the final leg.
I know some people will claim it’s strategy but it really isn’t. Following a team and getting answers from everyone else or guessing until you accidently get the right answer is not a strategy and the more times that good racers lose to people that cheat the system the less watchable it will get.