The Amazing Race - 2/1

I noticed that this thread hadn’t been started yet, so here goes.

I’m dissapointed that we won’t be able to enjoy the antics of Lori and Bolo any longer. Off to the races for Kris and Jon, the Model Alliance, and Rebecca and Adam.
Go Kris and Jon!

Whew! Close call for K & J tonight. Not that there was any real danger and we all knew it. Keep up the strength, guys.

An exemplary episode. Only one bunching point, then it’s race, race, race!

Why put a Yield in a non-philimination round?

That’s a good point, although, of course, last place is still to be avoided.

I’m looking forward to seeing Adam and Rebecca begging for money on the streets of Shanghai.

Did anyone else catch the ad for a Dr. Phil show featuring * and victima? I can’t find anything on the Dr. Phil website about it, but I swear I saw it. One of the clips was Dr. Phil looking at * and asking, “Do you think that you’re a jerk?” or somthing like that.

I’m no fan of Dr. Phil, but I think that that could be one entertaining episode. I wonder when it’s on.

Yes, I caught the Dr Phil ad, too. I don’t normally watch Dr Phil, but it might be entertaining to watch someone else yell at * for a change.

Dr Phil: “Do you think you’re a jerk?”
*: “No.”
Dr Phil: “That’s right, you’re not a jerk. You’re an *!”

It’s on Tuesday, February 15. I’m thinking it will run in the AMAZING RACE time period if next week is a 2-hour finale.

Too bad Lori and Bolo didn’t quite make it, they would have owned those bricks. :frowning:

And it looks like Adam’s pair may finally be dropping. He was almost assertive, ineffective, but kinda assertive.

I so hoped that Adam and Rebecca were going home. Damn non-elimination round.

Who was it who wanted the locals to stop laughing as they carried the bricks? I’m convinced that the tasks are always a source of great comedy for the locals. Watching these dumb Americans struggle through tasks that are a basic part of everyday life in whatever part of the world.

Best part was when Adam & Rebecca were so busy arguing, they didn’t notice that their Yield timer had run out. :slight_smile:

Imagine if Mirna from last season had to do the brick task…

A fine episode indeed. Happy that Hayden and Aaron came in first (I like K&J better, but they’re ok too), happy that Freddy and Kendra yielded Adam and Rebecca, and happy that Kris and Jon avoided the last place finish.

Did that brick task look a little dangerous to anyone else? Seems like a misstep on the board could cause some serious injury.

Can anyone explain to the TAR newbies like myself how the last episode works? Are there two philiminations left, leaving two teams to race to the finish? How many roadblocks are left? Is there a reunion hour like on Survivor et al?

I hope he asks the really probing questions…

Dr Phil: “Are you a fame whore?”
J: “YES! (sobbing)”
V: “We’ll be right back!”

The last non-elimination leg. Surprising? Not really. But we do know someone’s getting eliminated next week, so we can look forward to that bit of suspense.

Taxi Assessment

Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Avi/Joe - Still Jewish
Meredith/Maria - Still trying to start a stick.
Lena/Kristy - Still trying to roll a bale.
Don/MJ - Still sacrificial old people.
Gus/Hera - Still moseying.
Johnathon/Victoria - Still an Asshole. With a capital A.
Lori/Bolo - Still exercisin’ atrophied clue-readin’ muscles.

Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Adam/Rebecca (holding steady) - Congratulations on not being eliminated, I guess. Look, you’ve gotten lucky three weeks in a row. Would’ve gone down two weeks ago, 'cept Johnathon goofed. Would’ve gone down last week, 'cept Bolo goofed. Would’ve gone down this week, 'cept it was a non-elim. You might even skate by the next elimination, if Kendra has a barfing fit, but seriously, how can you expect to win the whole thing by getting lucky? And by the way, y’aint got a whole lot of room to criticize Freddy and Kendra on their choice of who to Yield, Einsteins.

Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Not quite enough teams to fill all the slots, so this one remains empty.

Hey, Homes! - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Freddy/Kendra (holding steady) - You Yielded the wrong people, doofuses. Sure, it didn’t really matter in the long run, but you let emotions get in the way of a good race decision – Kris and Jon are clearly a bigger threat than “the little ones”. It still surprises me that this team is doing as well as it is, what with Princess Kendra and her aversion to icky non-First World places.
Aaron and Hayden (downgraded from Passing Lane) - Uh oh! By my count, Aaron has Roadblocked out. Which means Hayden has to do both Roadblocks next week. Since a high percentage of Roadblocks seem to involve heights, and Hayden tends to freak out, things aren’t looking so good. As I’ve said before, this team will go the way Hayden goes – if she stays focused, they’re OK. If she freaks out, sayonara.

In the Passing Lane -
Kris/Jon (downgraded from Cruisin’) - Other than cab problems, a reasonably solid leg. However, Kris and Jon’s cab problems simply underscore how one small thing can make the difference between first place and third. Not so big a deal this week, but it means everything next week. Being a generally strong team doesn’t mean so much when your cabbie is lost.

Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one this ep!

[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]

From what I remember, it’s two hours - first hour has the elimination of team #4 and the second hour is an all-out race to the finish for the final three teams. Only one roadblock and then the finish line, no reunion or anything like that. The closest thing we get to a reunion is having the previously philiminated racers lined up by the finish line cheering the finishing teams on as they run in.

  • I love how KKKendra rants on the cab driver “discrimination”!

  • If you think that this may be an elimination round, I think the yield of Adam and Rebecca could be smart. It almost guarantees that you make it to the final three. Once in the final three, it sounds like there are no eliminations. So if you make that cut, you WILL cross the finish line.

  • Now say what we will about KKKendra, she is one of the best female player this season (in the running with Kris, anyway). She may be a bitch, but she plays hard. She has done her fair share of roadblocks (tough wons, too) and she doesn’t complain on hard challenges. Other than her nausea, none of her sickness has effected her ability to race (the asthma really didn’t slow them down).

  • I like that Adam noted the frustration of Kris and John. That means our opinion of them may not be in the editing. And Kris is SO cute when she says “YOU SUCK!”

*Fittingly, Adam and Rebecca SHOULD have been eliminated (or will be next leg). It isn’t luck that the other three teams are still standing. They are all three the best racers. The gap between them and the next best is substantial. And I am not sure that team is Adam and Rebecca. I’d guess it is * and Victimia.

I don’t knwo if she was raning, I think she was just saying she didn’t understand why the cabs wouldn’t take them and honestly I am befuddled why this is as well. Why wouldn’t the cabs take the teams even though they were empty?

They said something later in the show about how it was rush hour when they were having such trouble. Maybe the cabs were already committed to go somewhere and pick up someone else??

There are apparently certain streets in Shanghai where cabs are not allowed to stop during rush hour due to traffic flow.

Was anyone else confused by Phil’s concern that Adam and Rebecca might have a hard time scraping up money for the next leg of the race? They’re staying in what looks to be a pretty posh hotel. I would think Rebecca could make sure that guests coughed up enough to get them underway.

And I really think they should do away with this aspect of the non-elimination rounds. It’s so demeaning, not only to the Racers, but to the show as a whole.

I guessed it was something like that. Where I live you can’t flag down a cab. You pretty much have to call for one. Or you might get lucky and find one that has just dropped someone off at a hotel or someplace. But if they are driving down the street empty, they’re on their way to pick someone up. I wondered if that was the case there.