If there were producer shenanigans, how come the blondes are out of the race?
The snowboarder dudes were in first place before the temple. After the temple, they weren’t. Instant karma!
Hopefully, Aussie Dad will also get some karma next week.
They’re in contact with someone, as Phil always knows what’s up when the teams get to the mat and if they broke any rules, I guess I just don’t see the logistics of how the producers would make a cabbie take a team for free. It reminded me of how in the past the teams would often get some local to lead them around all day instead of just telling them directions. I think it is really more often than not, just people seeing a chance to get on TV. (Or sure, they could just want to do something nice for someone else, but I am certain the cameras help.)
Anyway they ended up being eliminated, so it’s kind of a moot point now.
This used to happen all the time, but I haven’t seen it in a while; Is it now against the rules?
I can see why Producers of reality shows do the stunt and celebrity casting. Every Sunday this season I start out by wondering “Who is in this again?” Then when the opening comes on I remember, but sometimes I think “Wait, weren’t these guys on last season?”
Very forgettable cast this season.
It happened in this very episode, so I doubt it. The guy with the camera phone who took the picture of the spirit house rode with the siblings (I think it was them) and helped them get it right.
Considering the strict game show laws that expressly forbid those kinds of producer shenanigans, you really have to wonder why people constantly think it’s going on. Why would CBS threaten one of their cash cows to maybe, possibly, push along a team that was already pretty well doomed.
I’m loving the cast this season, I don’t HATE anybody. It’s a refreshing change of pace.
That said, the snowboarders got on my nerves tonight. Why would they get bad vibes from being near a Buddhist shrine and putting together the little model? Especially because what they were doing was no different than putting together a Nativity scene for Christians.
Poor form “Team Dude Where’s My Snowboard?”
It’s hard to hate someone if you can’t remember them a day or two after the show airs. I only know the name of one player, and that’s Amani. The only reason for that is that I keep thinking Amani is the name of the football player, rather than his wife.
I’m pretty sure that was their cab driver.
I’d be curious to know exactly what the instructions were around first class travel and whether it was specific to airplanes or just something that nobody ever thought of for other transportation and so didn’t think being explicit was necessary.
That said, have any teams before erroneously flown first class? What was their penalty?
I liked this leg. A couple of decent tasks, minimal bunching, the teams got jumbled around…it was a good hour of television.
Jennifer earned some points for not being an idiot about religion. So did the twins for sucking it up when they were told they’d need to walk 5 hours. The snowboarders, the dad, and Cindy all lost several for various reasons.
I don’t understand what happened to the twins money. At the end of the orphanage leg, everyone would have been reset to 0, and Zac & Lawrence had enough money to buy tickets twice, so why were they so short? I would like to see teams need to be strategic about money, but I don’t want to see them beg - I’m not sure how the show could make that work.
Jennifer also gets points for thinking of using the camera phone. Quick and better than notes.
I wouldn’t mind if they were able trade time penalties for money since I find watching them rip off cab drivers (even if they talk them into going along with it) less than fun. Don’t forget they had to stiff a cab driver in the last episode as well because they’d never converted their Indonesian money.
And apparently still hadn’t by the time they were at the bus station.
I can’t figure out how one team wound up $40 short (already bought bus tickets, but were then $40 short on paying their cab) before they even got to Bangkok, and another had enough for first-class bus tickets (that they didn’t use, so had to buy second-class, too) and taxis to the canal and Pit Stop. Everybody gave all their money to the orphanage, so they’ve only had a few legs to save up a nest egg. They did say that on the previous leg they didn’t change their Indonesian money for Thai. The only thing I can figure is that no one would take it, but couldn’t that woman at the bus station look up the conversion?
I applaud Liz & Marie for not giving up. It would have been interesting to see if they really would have walked the whole of the leg in Bangkok.[sup]*[/sup] But it was a fair elimination.
Was there even a Detour this leg?
- I have a shameful desire to see some team get utterly, hopelessly lost. I want something to happen that would throw a complete monkey wrench into the works, just to see a little bit of chaos on network TV. I want Phil in a helicopter with a GPS flying out into the wilderness to tell a team they’re in last place by three days and to just give up. I wanted Liz & Marie trekking across Bangkok until their camera crew dropped from exhaustion.
Ahem. His accent is English.
You may be right. Either way, involving the cab driver in that way would surely break the same rule that a local guide would. So I have to figure its still allowed.
I think it breaks down as…
CBS’s Credit Card (AKA Airplanes) = No First Class
Your Own Money = Unless We Say Otherwise, Go Nuts in First Class
This was a heck of a game changing episode, and consequently, this is a very changed Rickshaw Assessment…
Ox Status: Broken
- Philiminated with an extreme eyebrowing
[ul]
[li]Liz and Marie* (Team 8 of 8)* - One thing you can say for the twins is that until they had their tearjerker moment at the mat, they knew they were behind the 8 ball but were determined to try to go out with smiles. Despite three lucky breaks, transportation wise, they just could not overcome their multi-hour deficit. But it must be said that their enjoyment of their extra elephant task was one of the highlights of the leg.[/li][li]***Ron & Bill, *** ***Ethan & Jenna, ****Kaylani & Lisa[/li] ***
[/ul]
Unrolling Hay Bales in Sweden
- they’re trying but they’re just not getting it
[ul]
[li]Jeremy & Sandy - (Team 7 of 8) - The slow but steady fall apart continued, and they were sure (apparently forgetting about the twins?) they were heading for elimination. The most concerning thing about the couple is that they seem to be dispirited. If they can’t find the drive to strive, they’re done.[/li][/ul]
**Duct Taping the Bumper
**- things don’t look good, but they may eke out some improvement
[ul]
[li]***Laurence & Zac ***- (Team 6 of 8) - Despite hitting the mat at the same time as the snowboarders, our father-son team falls back in the ratings once more because they’ve stopped racing smart, and the teamwork is showing cracks. Not being forward thinking, not understanding their race rules and more than anything, Laurence’s arrogance cost them dearly in this leg.[/li][/ul]
Andale, s’il vous plait, xie xie!
- some bumbling and fumbling, but not terribly at risk yet
[ul]
[li]Bill & Cathi - (Team 2 of 8) - Like Amani and Marcus, they ran a solid leg and made a good choice of buses to Bangkok. Cathi seemed to lose a bit of time finding the underwater clue but they picked up with their forward thinking with the spirit house rebuild. Good show.[/li][li]*Ernie & Cindy *- (Team 3 of 8) - They showed some improvement in this leg, moving up in the pack, and also recovering smartly when Ernie had to go back for spirit house help. Is this where they’re finally going to gain some momentum?[/li][li]***Andy & Tommy ***- (Team 5 of 8) - Major setback for the snowboarders, after they maintained their lead through the majority of the leg. Moral of the story: never, ever, ever, ever let someone else take your clue. Never ever.[/li][/ul]
Our Driver is Awesome!
- ahead of the pack, for now
[ul]
[li]Amani & Marcus - (Team 1 of 8) - They started mid-pack but a solid, patient performance, their forethought to sketch their spirit house and their smart bus choice helped propel them right to the top this leg.[/li][li]Justin & Jennifer - (Team 4 of 8) - It seems like the bickering may finally be under control, they kept the tempers low, the teamwork high and though they were disappointed by their placement, it was largely down to transportation, not their own choices. They’re still doing well enough to stay ahead in the ratings even though they fell back in the pack.[/li][/ul]
Carried all the Heavy Stuff & Ate All the Cheese
- nothing can stop them but themselves
[ul]
[li]No one this leg! The churn begins![/li][/ul]
Props to zut, Mullinator, the Taxi Assessment, the Raj Rating and all recappers who came before!
Reality shows aren’t game shows, and as such there are no strict laws governing them. The producers are legally allowed to manipulate the game as much as they please without breaking any laws or endangering their cash cow in any way.
As far as the bus waiting for the twins, I wouldn’t rule out producer shenanigans but there’s no way said shenanigans would have been with the thought of keeping them in the race. They were gone for sure, but if that were the last bus of the night I could see the producers stepping in so that they could salvage some semblance of suspense at the end. Not much suspense when the last place team is a full day behind the second to last place team.
I was also very confused about the twins’ lack of money. I could see the bus fare being like $20 compared to the $150 cab ride so I could see how the money would work. So why didn’t the twins have the money?
I think it is. The “No Fern” rule seemed to happen at the same time as the “No paying a cab to lead you” rule–circa season 15 or so. The “race” had turned into the “Let’s find locals in cabs or on foot to give guided tours to the racers” show.
It was a shame, since the original Fern just happened organically and showed some really nice interaction between the racers and the locals.
I agree with JayJay about the sweetheart edit the snowboarders have been getting: that crap doesn’t come from nowhere. Every freakin’ other word out of their mouths was “Gawd’s will”, etc. And the “Huh. I didn’t feel any freaky vibrations from the shrine. I kinda thought I would” crack is right up there with Blake and Paige praying for the “heathens” (in their own shrine) in…China? Korea? or whichever team was worried about “voodoo spirits” from the Hawaiian priestess or the Weavers who were scared to go into Utah because Mormons live there. Total douchebaggery.
Also…I stepped out for a minute early on and when I came back, it looked like the snowboarders were showing us bible verses written on…their underwear? Please tell me I mis-saw it.
And yeah, Laurence was a total jackass tonight too. Way to go, Amazing Producers: You ruined my two favorite teams!
Overall though, decent episode although the “feed the fish” challenge and the “break open the statue” clue were both totally lame (Wouldn’t it have been nice if the statue WAS the clue and they had to figure it out?)
Maybe they stopped for food? Eating, outside of pit-stops comes from the racer’s cache of money. Also, we’ve seen racers pick up trinkets/souveneirs (although I doubt there was any place for them to do so here–unless they bought something at the elephant place), so that’s two ways they could have burned cash.
I guess I’m the first to say it - I thought feeding fish was a lame task. It made m wonder if the producers had planned something a little more awesome that fell through, so they had to pick something else.
StG
I wasn’t real impressed with this leg, it seemed that we knew what was going to happen from the start. Except for the snowboarders, who I now don’t like as much either, and the father son team it was the same all the way through. I actually liked the twins more now because they didn’t just quit. They heard five hour walk and just started walking.
I’ve been going back and forth on this season. There are some things I like, the harder clues sometimes, and then ones like last night when I didn’t see any real excitement.
I think it was written on their backpack straps.