It could’ve been one of those “it didn’t affect the outcome, so we cut it.” Knowing how the speed bumps are, that wouldn’t surprise me.
I don’t remember Phil mentioning the Speed Bump last leg. Can anyone confirm?
I don’t remember Phil mentioning a Speed Bump either.
TAR Rule #1:
READ THE CLUE!
I, too, was wondering about the Speed Bump.
When Nat and Kat were running to the Pit Stop and the camera showed Phil saying something to the greeter and the greeter nodding sagely, my husband was providing commentary. “So, what do you think? Gay?” ::nodding:: “yup, think so.”
Funny how what caused Michael and Kevin to be eliminated was not the father’s age and ability, but the son’s inability to read a clue. (no, I still don’t know which is Kevin and which is Michael).
Yeah, I’m guessing the speed bump got cut for time, what with all the “pay for your cab” and “read the clue” drama we got tonight. Haven’t seen that much general stupid in a while on the Race. It’s really bad when Nick and Vicki aren’t the dumbest team in the running.
ETA: lorene, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I saw that particular “reason for elimination” coming a long time ago.
See, I don’t get a gay vibe from Nat and Kat at all. I think of them more as BFFs and nothing else.
Michael = father
Kevin = son
I set my DVR to record an extra hour for TAR and it still wasn’t enough time tonight. WTF?
I was a bit amused at the Pitstop interview with Chad and Stephanie: “Oh, Chad has changed SO much and treats me SO much better that he used to when the Race started.”
Just an hour before (when Stephanie couldn’t figure out that the porcelain cathedral was a clue) Chad was screaming at her “IT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE!!! HOW COULD YOU MISS THAT?!?” in his usual charming manner.
(I still love how they bought a house together after knowing each other less than 3 mollyfocking months. Stephanie is certainly no beauty queen, and can be unpleasant in her own right, but surely she deserves someone, anyone better than Chad)
Anyone else wonder why Team Tattoo has such trouble getting a cab willing to pick them up?
Did all the ink and body piercings have the cabbies of St Petersburg atremble?
(seriously, I know that some parts of Russia are pretty conservative compared to Las Vegas, but I would have thought that in a huge international city like St Petersburg that a couple of American hipsters with $$$ to burn would be a Golden Ticket for the local cab drivers.)
Since I set the DVR to record an extra hour, I missed the last few minutes. Can anyone give a summary? It cut off when Chad/Stephanie and kevin/Michael were racing to the pit stop.
I assume K/M had a penalty and lost, but I can I get a blow-by-blow?
Kevin and Michael got to the Pit Stop first but broke two rules (having their cab lead them to the Prospekt and taking the cab to the cathedral) so had two 30-minute penalties.
Chad and Stephanie got to the Pit Stop after K&M and had broken one rule (taking the cab to the cathedral), so had a 30-minute penalty, which put them in front of K&M. K&M were eliminated.
This was all after major cab-payment wrangling for K&M. Don’t know if you caught that part. The driver wanted 10,000 rubles (apparently around $300) and K&M didn’t have that much. Much begging and frantic deal-making followed. All for naught, of course.
Brooke and Claire are BFFs. Nat and Kat give me a much much stronger partnership vibe. I feel bad for them if they are a couple that they feel the need to keep it a secret.
How did they rack up such an astronomical cab fare? Are TAR cab fares always so high?
I do, too, if that is the case. I think they’d make an awesome couple. Maybe the speculation is just wishful thinking on my part.
So, wait, what happened to Nick & Vicki’s Speed Bump? I know Phil phailed to mention it at the end of the last leg, but it seems odd to drop it with no explanation. That leads me to believe the Speed Bump was dreadfully boring, either the producers cut it out or the cameramen fell asleep, and the decision was made to excise all traces of its existance, much like Stalin erasing Trotsky from official Soviet photographs.
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Ron & Tony and Andie & Jenna and Connor & Jonathan and Katie & Rachel - Already eliminated.
Michael & Kevin (down from “Flat Tire”) - I’m not surprised that Michael & Kevin are the latest Philiminated team. They’re the weakest of the group, and apparently none too bright either if they manage to screw up not just one, but two specific clue instructions. Combined with Michael’s woeful performance on the Roadblock, they can’t even beat the nearly-equally-hapless Chad & Stephanie. Thing is, just one different outcome–correctly reading one of the clues, or a better finish in the Roadblock–would have lifted them ahead of Chad & Stephanie. But instead there’s all sorts of blame to spread around, and Michael & Kevin are out of the picture.
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Nick & Vicki (holding steady) - Amazingly, Nick & Vicki are well out of the running for Dumbest Move on this leg of the race. They were given a huge break by the clearly contrived bunching at the beginning of the leg, but more importantly, they took advantage of it. They did a decent job at plate-spinning, they didn’t get lost (much) looking for the next destinations, they read the clues correctly unlike half the rest of the teams, they briefly teamed up with Nat & Kat, Nick actually found the tiny model church, they swept through the Roadblock, and Nick & Vicki finish in third, their best finish yet by a full two spots. However, their Roadblock Ratio is now terribly skewed, with Nick performing five to Vicki’s two. Plus, Nick’s getting a little grumpy again, which is never a good sign for teamwork, and I’m not all that impressed with his “let’s lie to the other teams” idea. I mean, it’s not as if they have an obligation to give other teams information, but in their position at the time, a fib has very little chance of netting them any benefit, so what’s the point? More importantly, though…just how long can this team go without doing someting dumb? They’re walking a tightrope over a sea of stupidity, and the farther out they get, the shakier the rope is.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Chad & Stephanie (holding steady) - Chad & Stephanie have been consistently finishing in the bottom half ever since scoring a third-place four legs back. Over that span, they’ve even placed behind Nick & Vicki 3/4 times. At least Nick & Vicki have the excuse that they’re not very bright. Chad & Stephanie, apparently, aren’t very good. Misreading a clue is bad; forgetting it’s a rule to pay you taxi, also bad. Stephanie’s pin bowling–bad, too. And the quality of their competition is going up as the weaker teams are eliminated. There are only six teams left, one of which is generally weaker than Chad & Stephanie, but I don’t see Chad & Stephanie competing for the cash prize at the end.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Jill & Thomas (holding steady) - Jill & Thomas double-switched on the Detour tasks. That’s almost never a good sign, as all time spent on the second task is purely wasted, but at least (as Thomas(?) pointed out) the two tasks were right next to each other, so the extra travel time was nonexistant. Still, they wasted an awful lot of time, dropping temporarily into last place. Luckily, both Michael and Stephanie were so inept at pin bowling that Jill & Thomas could easily overtake them.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Gary & Mallory (holding steady) - A decent, but not great, leg from Gary & Mallory. Surprisingly, they were rather soundly beaten by Nat & Kat at the accordions, which should have been a Mallory strength. I don’t know if that was because Gary held them back, or Mallory just isn’t as good as she thinks she is, or Nat & Kat are just that wickedly clever. Still, although they didn’t perform terribly, they were saved from being in contention for Philimination only by other team’s mistakes and ineptitude. That’s not something you can count on every week, but it’s certainly better than being the team that displays the ineptitude/errors.
Brook & Claire (holding steady) - OK, everybody knows that Rule #1 of TAR is “read the fucking clue.” Brook & Claire: initial literacy fail. However, a big round of applause for Claire, who at least paid attention to TAR Rule #1a, which is, “and then read it again, just in case.” And despite the initial error, and despite getting temporarily lost, Brook & Claire wind up landing in second place at the end of the day, because they did great on the actual tasks.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Nat & Kat (holding steady) - Wow. Superlative leg from Nat & Kat. They start by pounding through the Detour, cleverly substituting a skill thay already possess (heavy use of numbers) for one they don’t. Then a quick team-up with Nick & Vicki on a task where they can only help, Kat dominates the Roadblock, and they cruise to another first-place finish. It’s pretty obvious that Nat & Kat are the team to beat.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Rating[/sub]
Weeeeeell, I think it’s more of a combination. Sure, if they had read just one of the clues correctly, they’d’ve moved in front of Chad & Stephanie, but if Michael had done better on the Roadblock, they’d’ve made up that half-hour at that point. Remember, they arrived at the Roadblock just behind Nat & Kat, and all the other teams save Chad & Stephanie wound up passing them.
I’m not sure if you’re being tongue-in-cheek or not, but in case you’re not: Stephanie is an actual, literal beauty queen.
If I recall correctly, Michael & Kevin kept the same cab all day. They also had the cabbie wait around for what was probably a good chunk of time. That’s not as expensive as driving somewhere, but it’s not free. It’s also St. Petersburg, which I think is fairly expensive. Or, possibly, they got taken advantage of.
I’m posting this, having just seen TAR (recorded it) and not having read the rest of the thread.
This was typed up as I watched.
- While the Doctors and the Home Shopping Chicks are damned strong competitors, it’s a shame that, if they win, there’ll be an astrisk by their name saying that they were competing against a bunch of losers. For one, all the “alpha-male” types are the biggest bunch of whiney punks I’ve seen in a group on this race. The big slab of beef is like a petulant 10 year old (seriously–the “Goll-ee! Didn’t you see the kloo?”) and the guy who went to Notre Dame (did you know he went to Notre Dame?) is a huge pussy of a whiner. So’s the dumb guy.
I’d like to have seen a more balanced group rather than two solid teams and a bunch of tards.
-
Getting lied to is fair game if you’re dumb enough to ask for someone to give you an answer. Seriously kid–don’t ask someone to spoon feed you an answer especially on an elimination round.
-
I still have to say that despite all my complaints, the inter-team drama is wonderfully, refreshingly low. Now if only they could achieve this with teams of normal intellect.
-
“I wish I’d done this roadblock–it’s too hard for my frail, useless dad”. :rolleye: Man, I hate this punk.
-
This is the first confirmation in several seasons that the “Chip & Kim” rule (One guy can’t do ALL the tasks–started around season 5) is still in effect. Everyone’s suspected it, but they haven’t explicity said it in like 8 seasons. The punk kid confirmed it at the bowling thing.
-
Taxi payment drama! Yay! Especially since there are now very, VERY strict rules (seen in the season with the stunt-dwarfs who kept cheating cabbies) about screwing cabbies. It was fucking embarassing in previous seasons to see rich Americans trying to screw cabbies in like Zimbabwe.
-
Even if they had paid their cabbies, no bags=No check-in at least in the past.
Well, yeah re Brooke and Claire. If it indeed that’s true about Nat and Kat, then they’re hiding it very well. And yeah, it’s shame they feel they need to keep it a secret IF it’s true. But I honestly don’t get the anything more than BFF vibe from them :shrug:
Glad to see Michael & Kevin go, mainly because the kid is a disrespectful douchebag.
I hate clowns. They’re never funny, they’re just irritating, like a mosquito. Why would you want to be such a pest to people? I hate clowns.
With the single exception of The Clowns in S…4? S5?
They were great mainly because they were low-drama during a highly drama-charged season and mostly all they did was balance stuff…and really? Who doesn’t like watching people balance oddball stuff on their noses?