Yeah, trivia. :rolleyes:
It’s basic knowledge. I’m not a scholar of Russia or the Soviet Union. I don’t make special studies of those areas. I may have last seen a photo of Stalin or Lenin five or ten years ago. They’re rather distinctive-looking people, really.
I guess I’m probably just happy that nobody wondered where the statue of McCartney was…
And yet somehow without really studying it I’ve seen hundreds of representations of them. The giant banners with Lenin’s face and unique Russia-sized forehead on them for example that feature prominently as set dressing for any movie that takes place in the Soviet Union. As for Stalin there’s a famous photograph of him complete with distinctive mustache.
Misidentification is one thing (put Stalin next to a white haired guy in a Soviet military uniform who has a bushy mustache and I would have to think awfully hard before picking) but to have no clue what they look like is something else. While I could pick Khrushchev out of a line up of statues I would find that to be trivia even with the infamous television appearances (the shoe stands out more than the person there). Stalin and Lenin on the other hand are both significant, depicted in popular culture often, and (to put it in terms sure to anger any Russian readers) funny-looking enough to stick in the mind.
(As an apology to Russian readers please feel free to call any US president whose appearance you can remember “funny-looking”. We don’t mind.)
But, they were given the name in Cyrillic in the clue! They could have ignored all statues and just worked from the plaques!
Robot Arm, you are a very good synopsisizer.
I have to say I liked the tasks this week. Often the tasks are something like, “fall off this bridge” or “push this rock” or something equally describable in two-to-five words. The complicated tasks are more fun, especially when the teams get all confused and have to think and stuff. Thinking’s hard!
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Anita and Arthur - Keeping bees.
Anthony and Stephanie - Not getting married. Bummer.
Mark and Bill - Rolling 2d10 to cast a spell of Readthecluedammit.
Marisa and Brooke - Ineptly and slowly doing something.
Aja and Ty - Dating long-distance from opposite ends of Sequesterville.
Kelly and Christy - Helping Mark and Bill cast that spell.
Terence and Sarah - Hyperventilating about the competence of the omelet-maker in the breakfast buffet line in Sequesterville.
Toni and Dallas (down from “Passing”) - Well, this episode shows pretty convincingly the TAR truism that one single mistake can completely sink your chances. I’m pretty impressed with Toni & Dallas’s spirit, gutting it out in the face of certain elimination–but, when all’s said and done, certain elimination is what it was. It’s amusing that Dallas mixed up Lenin & Stalin (wouldn’t they make a great TAR team!), and I was convinced that he got lucky when Tina helped him, but that one bit of bad luck overshadowed everything else.
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.
Andrew and Dan (up from “Flat Tire”) - Astonishingly, this episode was actually Andrew & Dan’s best showing of the entire season. Not only did they beat the Amazing Moneybag-less Toni & Dallas, they also legitimately beat Ken & Tina, while having to perform an additional task. I think the dancing judge gave the boys an Ugly American credit and let them off easy, but still, I have to move this team up a notch in the rankings. I’ll be flabbergasted if they win it all (considering how many times the Amazing Editors have blessed them with the Horns of Woe), but I have to admit they’re turning it on at the right time.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
No one this week.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Ken and Tina (holding steady) - A legitimate contender for first place, but they’ll have to step up their game to beat Nick & Starr. They spend a little too much time snapping at each other and not quite enough time actually racing, as their not-a-trolley-bus mistake and their can’t-find-the-cluebox mistake show.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Nick and Starr (holding steady) - This team has to be the favorite to win it all. Another first place this week gives them six overall (tying guess who?), over only ten legs. And Nick really pulled his weight this week–not only did he coolly navigate the subway, but he was also the only person to get the right number (62) in the bust-counting task. This almost makes up for his naive lies-and-tricksyness strategy he keeps laying out.
Next Week: The finale!
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
Having been to Moscow and traveled the metros and trolleys, all I can say is that would have been one hell of a task. I thought I was good at making my way around subways and such, but not in Russia. I got lost a number of times, I can’t even imagine what it would be like trying to do it with the cameras following.
I thought it was a good episode though, lots of good things, and it wasn’t easy. But didn’t Dallas notice pretty much right away he had lost his bag? He should have just started running down the road waving his arms, he might have gotten it all back. I wonder if they’re still there.
I suppose there’s an understood “Rule #0” which reads something like, “Don’t do anything incredibly frickin’ stupid.” No need for seperate rules covering jumping in front of busses, losing your passports, or flying to Moscow, Idaho instead of Moscow, Russia.
At this point I kind of want Team Frat to win. They’re generally stupid, but generally able to just scrape by, and there’s really very little to dislike about them. Ken & Tina irritate me, mainly because of Tina but Ken is pretty p-whipped. And Nick/Starr irritate me too, but for reasons I have trouble putting my finger on.
Also, at one point they were all taking taxis around Moscow looking for the right park, it was raining for everyone. But wherever Team Frat was it was sunny and clear-skied. It didn’t just look like they were in a different part of the city, it looked like a different day. Unless the other 3 teams were all within a block of each other under an extremely localized raincloud, it seemed a little suspicious.
What Lenin and Stalin look like is not “basic knowledge.” Especially since they have been dead for 85 and 55 years respectively. Not to mention the fact that the Soviet Union collapsed almost two decades ago. Nick, Dallas and the Frats were toddlers.
Now, if none of them could at least recognize the basics of both man’s place in history, that would be a reason to call them stupid.
Agreed–I’d argue that they were the worst racers to make it to the top five since…um… ever.
Even Flo, for all her notoriety didn’t do too badly in the earlier legs–she just had a complete mental collapse about half-way through–but she was competent at a few things.
Dandrew haven’t gotten ANYTHING right. I don’t think they’ve done a single task competently.
I was really rooting for mom/son, but (IMO) killer fatigue bit Dallas in the butt, hard. Kudos to them for toughing it out and getting to the mat rather than sitting down and whining (Pizza Brothers).
I loved this leg though–it actually had clues as opposed to the “Go here/do this” directions we’ve become used to. Best leg in ages.
For me, it’s their smirkly, ineffective Snidely Whiplashism. They do unpleasant things for the sake of them, and then sit around congratulating themselves on how unpleasant that thing they just did was. It’s annoying.
Thank you so much! I can’t believe I didn’t add extra time to my DVR. It’s set up correctly now, with an extra hour added on.
But they sure do have White Chicklet-like teeth.
I thought it was odd when Dallas and Nick passed one another and Dallas didn’t see Nick. It’s one thing not to notice someone you’re walking by, but when that person has a backpack with the Amazing Bumpersticker on it and is being trailed by a camera crew, well, that’s just weird.
I haven’t looked at that book that Robot Arm linked to. What I really want is for one of the cameramen to write a book. That would be awesome.
I wonder what they would have done if Toni and Dallas had managed to come in second? Is there a rule about 'lose your passport and you’re out? Because otherwise I think they have have to let them be in the Final Three, which would instantly turn into the Final Two the moment the clue reads 'Fly to (anywhere)"
I noticed that they didn’t state the team’s arrival (at the last pit stop) and departure times at the top of the episode. I wonder what’s up with that?
Kudos (once again) to the Amazing Cameraman, who was able to get a shot of the Amazing Fannypack sitting on the floor of the cab without drawing Dallas’ attention to it. They always seem to get the shot.
It’s like when the racers are screaming “Where’s the clue box!” and the camera pans over to it, like “you mean that one behind you?”
BUT - they didn’t. Dallas was shown getting out of a BLACK taxi, and then the shot of the amazing fannypack on the floor was of a WHITE car. Plus the camera angle appears to be almost level with the fannypack, no way was the camera guy on the ball enough to get that shot.
At the very least the editors used the wrong shot of Dallas getting out of the taxi.
So did CBS put them up in a hotel for the weeks it would take for them to get new passports, or did they track down the cab company and get it back, or are they still there? Maybe Toni and Dallas can be the new Mehran Karimi Nasseri of Sheremeteyvo.
Yeah, but they were in Moscow. If you want to know what Lenin looks like, just go to Red Square and the dude is lying right there.
It looked like there were busts of both Lenin and Stalin, side by side and with their respective names spelled out in Russian under them, at the entrance of the park. All the racers had to do was look at those to know what the two looked like.