Between the dressed-up, dancing Globetrotters and Brian and Ericka walking around in their wooden shoes, I nearly died laughing.
For those who don’t like to know what’s on next week:
When Tiffany and Maria were on the verge of giving up, I said to my husband, "It’s like that hay bale challenge where Phil had to come to them and eliminate them. Lo and behold…
That makes sense. I didn’t even think of it. Thanks.
I laughed, too. They’re great.
I had the exact same thought. 
Can I get a bit of a recap? My DVR decided that it didn’t want to record part of it. Weren’t team Zebra going back to get bikes? I could have sworn that when they read the clue later on they turned around and started walking back. Also the poker players, did they end up finishing or did they just quit?
Other then that it was a fun episode.
We’re past spoiler need, I think:
Team Zebra walked to the detour, but found someone there to lend them bikes to ride from the detour to the roadblock, where they incurred a 30-minute penalty for not riding bikes to the detour.
Poker players quit, after Phil went to them in the field, saying, “I understand this is what you want.”
My comments overall: I am so loving the 'Trotters. They are just having so damn much fun, and it’s a joy to watch them. Ditto, albeit with less gusto, for Pinky and the Brain.
Plus I don’t hate Shane (despite his spelling issues) and Blondie, so I think we may have a final three where I’m not actively rooting against anyone.
Boo to Gay Bro for telling whatsherface the answer. Stupid freakin’ move. “We can outrun them” – irrelevant. This is a race, you don’t know what’s going to happen next (what are the odds that running will be the actual next task?) so you don’t cut a big ol’ chunk of time off your competitors’ efforts.
The complete episode is up on cbs.com
Brian re-read the clue and discovered their mistake, but they didn’t go back. It was probably shorter to just take the penalty. Then they borrowed bikes from some guy to get to the Pit Stop. Not the bikes they were supposed to have, but no penalty, I guess. I wonder if they returned them.
The poker players quit. They should have ditched the Detour, gone to the Mat, and prayed for a non-elim and a big bunching point next leg to erase whatever penalty they got.
This should have been an easy leg, shouldn’t it? Drive a Mercedes, count bells, ride a bike, dance, eat fish, golf. Hell, I’d pay to go on that package tour. But when there’s six teams left, nothing is easy.
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Eric and Lisa and Garrett and Jessica and Marcy and Ron and Zev and Justin and Lance and Keri and Mika and Canaan - Gone until season’s end.
Maria and Tiffany (down from “Stopping”) - Doomed from the start. Lots of talk of mental fatigue, but there’s a physical side to the Race, too. There was no way they were getting past this leg, but went down swinging.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
No one this week.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
No one this week.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Brian and Ericka (down from “Passing Lane”) - They’re only still in it by the grace of God and Saint Brian. They’re a decent team when everything goes well, but mistakes make them desperate, and when they’re desperate they make mistakes. Their strategy from here on out should be to maintain an even keel. Drama and panic are their enemies.
Gary and Matt (holding steady) - Still just competent, but maybe they’re biding their time. They haven’t been in any danger of being eliminated. A physical task in the next leg could take out Brian & Ericka, a mental challenge would work against Sam & Dan. Now is when they need to start stepping it up. If they realize that in time, it could take them into the final three.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Sam and Dan (up from “Rapido!”) - A good leg from an inconsistent team. Physically they’re one of the teams to beat. They don’t have any enemies, and their spirits are excellent. They have a good chance to make the final three, but the last few races have ended with a memory challenge and that could keep them from winning.
Herbert and Nathaniel (holding steady) - Is this team actually getting stronger as the Race goes on? Mistakes don’t get them down. Except for eating fish, they’ve jumped into every task as if it’s something they really want to do. They seemed to lose time on this leg with the driving and navigating. The last leg always uses taxis, which bodes well for them if they can get there.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Meghan and Cheyne (holding steady) - They’re faster than the other competent team, and don’t have the weaknesses of the tortoise/hare teams. They lost their cushion from taking the Fast Forward and still finished second. Even after they stumbled a little at the golf, they figured it out quickly. A shoe-in for the final three.
[sub]Props to zut and his props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
Brian really is very patient with his wife. He did a great job of calming her down and keeping her motivated. I honestly think he’s probably the strongest single member of any team, at least mentally. The KF is setting in, but he just stayed calm and even throughout. If he can keep his wife in check, they have a dark horse shot of making the final three.
There’s apparently a rule against that. Back in S4 or 5 they went to the “World’s Largest IKEA store” and had to count bushels of stuffed animals, pots and pans and…something else. Total, there were like 2809 items. One old guy tried to just guess up the number (“2327? No? 2328?” etc) and was told that he couldn’t do that.
I don’t think counting the keys and footpedals would have been against the rules, but I think you kinda have to be smarter (and less ‘killer fatigued’) than Miss America to come up with that.
They’ve always allowed the passing of info before (although I recall that there were cases where it was strictly prohibited). Generally it’s such a bad idea to give answers away that it’s it’s own punishment–the only reason it wasn’t stupid here was that the brothers knew that the Globetrotters were behind and they wanted more teams to finish ahead of the Globetrotters–which is pretty good thinking.
I loved how the 'Trotters put the funk into the dance. They’re the most well-adjusted team I’ve seen race, I think, ever. (I’ve only been watching for a couple seasons though.)
Weird–
I don’t get the ending at all
You get a 4 hour penalty* for bailing on the task–what possible reason is there to not go to the mat? Especially since it was most likely a non-elim (note how Phil asked them “Do you want to quit the race” (and not “bail on the task”)?
It’s a mark of shame to make Phil come out so you can quit (Lena and Kristi–who did the stupid “unroll the haystacks” thing they’re going to reprise next episode–are the one exception–they were still doing the (poorly designed, idiotic, pure-luck) task (that they’re inexplicably reprising) eight hours later and presumably would have continued until they got it. Why not bail and go to the mat?
That said, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Killer Fatigue hit as many people as quickly as here–Miss America was kinda useless before, but was a total bitch this time out (But HUGE kudos to Mr. America–best handling of obvious killer fatigue–at the bell tower–I’ve ever seen. Huge, huge points for not freaking out and just giving her a few minutes to decompress.), the poker chicks were obviously mentally fried. Even the Globetrotters seemed a bit off their game in the first half (I can’t explain how, but look how PERFECTLY they did the post-bell stuff–they didn’t have that same groove earlier.)
The “sitting at the airport talking” thing was nice and reminded me of how much I miss the Eat/Sleep/Mingle segments.
Today’s eps was one of the most fun–I loved the Globetrotters getting into the Dutch dancing, I loved whichever one (Big Easy=The taller one, right?) looked right at the camera and said “I’m not talking about the fish–turn the camera somewhere else.” with a half-smile, the weird semi-nude golfing was just bizarre…
One thing I like about this season? I don’t hate anyone. I hope the casting people have FINALLY realized that the show is better without stunt casting and getting psychologically unstable (Jonathon, Myrna, that “Family Edition” team of hillbillies who thought that Mormons weren’t Americans, etc) nutsacks. I’d be satisfied with a win by any of the remaining teams.
That said, my order of “rooting” is
Pinky & The Brain (I love how well they work together)
Globetrotters (who, at any given moment, I might move up above Pinky)
The Gay Brothers
The Ken-And-Barbie couple (who, along with the gay brothers don’t have much personality)
Mr. & Miss America (mainly for him–I was really impressed with him this ep.)
There’s no-one I actively hate in the final five (although if Miss America doesn’t pull it together, she’s gonna go down in TAR history as another Flobatross). I can’t remember the last time that’s happened. Kudos casting people!
*Unless you’re team Mommily in S1, in which case you get a fucking INSANE 24 hour penalty. Not that I’m bitter or hold a grudge.
They’re up there.
The Frat Brothers and Dave & Margaretta in S1. Kenny and Gerard in S3. Kris & Jon in S6. Rob & Amber (regardless of what else you think of them, their interaction with each other was 100% well adjusted) and Uchenna and Joyce in S7
That’s about it that I can think of for teams with literally flawless interpersonal relationships. Except this season (so far)–both the Globetrotters and Pinky and the Brain who are both up for a “well-adjusted” award.
I’d add in the family group that won the Family Edition, the three brothers and one sister. The Linzes? They seemed pretty well-adjusted.
Yeah–I’d agree. I didn’t think of them, but no fighting, handling conflict intelligently (and with fart and body-function humor–so I bond with them on that). The only question (and I could never get a feel for it) was this: the female member of the team kept making “They never let me do anything” remarks-and I couldn’t tell if she was being snarky and kidding or if she was kinda upset. If she was being snarky, yeah–you’re right. 
Pinky and the Brain are well-adjusted, but boring. I did have to laugh, though, when they read the clue & learned they’d be going to Amsterdam. No, Pinky, there won’t be time to visit a hash bar.
Yay, only one more team I really do not care for left (Blandly Blond), and a really pathetic display by the poker girls. That episode may have settled once and for all the notion that poker players are “athletes”.
I am not sure if Pinky and the Brain have enough athleticism to pull it off in the end, but they never seem to go into mental breakdown mode. The Killer Fatigue always seems to claim a front-running victim in this part of the season, and Team Zebra would be the obvious candidates for total breakdown… if they were front-running. My bet ( although it may be just hope) is that at some point Meghan and Shane have to do something where they exhibit personality of some sort, and they just end up staring at each other blankly.
Erika’s comment to Brian sounded like classic abusive manipulation: “You know I have a shorter fuse than you. It’s your job to make sure I stay on an even keel”. No, lady. it’s your job to make sure you stay sane.
StG
Why are you assuming that they know where the mat is?
I’m assuming that all they have to do is say ‘We’re not going to complete this task and would like the next clue’ and the producers will give them there next clue.
I thought the ending was a little hinky too. Phil didn’t seem to give them the choice of taking a penalty and possibly being able to continue the race if this was a non-elimination leg. Why’d he ask them if they wanted to quit the race? What indicated that they wanted to quit the race? If it was an elimination leg, it seems Phil would have said, “All the other teams have checked in, making you the last team, so, I’m sorry to tell you, you have bean eliminated from the race.”
Has that happened? I don’t recall the procedure for skipping a task.