Whichever one is on screen at that moment annoys me the most.
The brothers are not all that bright (they’re lucky they saw Megan and Cheynne at the car, otherwise they could have been in the square for hours), plus the one of them doesn’t even seem to appreciate that he’s getting a chance to travel the world. That annoyed me.
And Ericka is her own special nightmare. I want to call the members of her family that think Brian isn’t good enough for her and ask “are you kidding me?”
Okay the instance that got me going totally against Ericka (black beauty queen) was this specific challenge. It was the hookah making challenge. All she did was stay to the side after all of the hookahs were made, but according to her they looked like they were complete and all she did on camera was pout and complain that it’s correct. Not once did she stop to think there’s something wrong, while husband was frantically trying to fix minor things. All she did was complain and bitch that it was right and not once looking at the already laid out hookahs to find the wrong position of the tubes. She was completely useless and no matter how the editor’s made it look like she did nothing, i’m pretty sure she did absolutely nothing to help. She just stood to the side and bitched over and over to the point of tearing up and ready to call it. Brian (the husband) just chugged through the constant bitching and managed to fix all the problems.
Another thing that bothered me was her constant harping that her feet hurt wearing the clogs and walking to their supposed detour challenge, not once did her mind think this shouldn’t be right and ask her hubby to re-read the clue. that’s more a team fault but the team really is Brian. She doesn’t make any real decisions and if she does it’ll be put squarely on brian’s shoulders if things go wrong.
How can you not count bells too? Walking and counting should be the easiest roadblock right? well it was near impossible for her. She had to come back down to get “help” or cheering from her husband. FFS it’s counting and walking up steps. How useless can one person be, if you cannot do that and you need a cheerleader to lift your spirits for such a simple task.
Agreed, up to a point. At the Mat, didn’t Phil say to the Brothers “you’ve made the final three”?[sup]*[/sup] And then he was coy with Brian and Ericka, asking them how they liked the Race, letting them think they were gone before saying it was a non-elim. Phil, the show isn’t about you[sup]+[/sup]; give it to 'em straight.
However, we knew there are always three non-elimination legs, right? If the last one hadn’t happened here, the next leg would have been pretty much pointless; no one eliminated, and finishing order would have been irrelevant since there is bound to be another bunching point.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! No.
That guy cracked me up. I don’t think he ever broke character the whole time except for the sandwich, maybe. Probably ate in character too.
I’m very much enjoying this season. The brothers are cute as a button, but damn someone shove a sock in Dan’s mouth. The Globetrotters are great. Brian (you’re not afraid of heights, and your lying sucks) and Erica are getting the Zach & Flo edit a bit, as did Canaan and Mika. Mehgan and Cheyne are kinda boring, but they are strong.
Phil playing coy at the end was kinda lame. The instant he didn’t say “you’ve been eliminated from the race” I knew he wasn’t going to, and the racers probably knew too. Then they have to act, like when they win the lame prize “you’ve won a matching pair of socks!” “Yay, yah!” I squirm when I know they’re acting.
What season introduced the Speed Bump? I liked the beginning seasons better, where there was a fast-forward every leg, and no Speed Bump after non-elims. It really introduced more strategy into the racing. I’m watching the 5th race currently (the one with Sharla and Mirna and the Pizza Brothers), and it mentioned something about an extra wrinkle being added if you are saved due to a non-elim, but I haven’t seen it yet.
Don Giovanni cracked me up. This episode should have been called “Ha ha ha ha…No.”
In this episode, every team was shitty to at least one other team, except Sam and Dan remained unscathed. From the blocking the scaffolding (which didn’t bother me) to the taking the taxi and abandoning the Globetrotters (also not bothersome) to the stealing of the taxi (which really did suck), these teams are starting to get cutthroat.
When Phil first announced the names of the Detour tasks, I’m like, “that’s crazy! This is a Race! Who’s gonna be dumb enough to pick a task called ‘slow’ over a task called ‘fast’?” Except, when they actually described the tasks, it turns out that “fast” really means “do it over and over and over again until you give up.” So, points for misdirection to the anonymous minimalist Detour-namer.
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 and Maria and Tiffany and Gary and Matt - Gone until season’s end.
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.
Brian and Ericka (down from “Rapido!”) - The asks on this leg demonstrated pretty clearly why Brian & Ericka are the weakest team left. Their choice to take the subway wasn’t a good decision (rule number 2 of TAR: don’t take a risk that will leave you in last place if it doesn’t pan out), they didn’t stop to figure out what a “Prada” was, Ericka is the weakest person left on the race, and their search for the tiny instrument was pretty lackadaisical. At least they were smart enough to hold their taxi at the Roadblock…for what little good it did them. In any case, they’re in large trouble next episode, what with starting well behind the other teams and having to do an extra task and being the weakest team left. If there’s no bunching point in the next episode (and even, likely, if there is one), there’ll be no suspense about who’s getting eliminated.
"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.
Sam and Dan (holding steady) - This episode nicely divided the four teams left into two camps: those that are smart enough to Google what a “Praga” is, and those who are not. Unsurprisingly, Sam & Dan fall into the later camp. And why, exactly, did they choose rafting? They obviously had no clue what they were doing; you’d think getting dumped repeatedly well short of their goal would stimulate them into changing tasks. Which it did, eventually, but not before falling well behind. I’ll be surprised if Sam & Dan don’t make it into the final three (because it will take some doing for them to fall behind Brian & Ericka), but I’ll be more surprised if the actually win. There’s just nothing in their skill set (such as it is) that the Globetrotters and/or Meghan/Cheyne can’t do better.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Herbert and Nathaniel (holding steady) - I’m pleasantly surprised that the Globetratters have turned out to be one of the smartest teams this season–not the stereotypical big dumb athlete at all. They seem to wind up trailing Meghan & Cheyne a lot, but I think they’ve got an advantage in handling the pressure of the race for a million. I predict an exciting showdown in the last ep between the Globetrotters and Meghan/Cheyne.
Meghan and Cheyne (holding steady) - This is Meghan & Cheyne’s fifth first-place finish. That’s right, they’ve won half of the legs so far, and come in second on three others. Meghan’s kind of slow, and they’re just beginning to get testy with each other, but they’re a strong overall team, and they’re used to winning. Still the favorite to win it all.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
I really didn’t like the seasons where they confiscated the racers’ possessions and had them beg for money and clothing after non-elimination rounds. I found it highly unpleasant to watch.
The speed bump isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than that.
The Speed Bump showed up in season 12. Between seasons 5 and 11 there were three or four other types of penalties levied on non-eliminated teams that, to my mind, weren’t as appropriate as the extra-task Speed Bump.
I like the speed bumps lately because they seem more like a bonus cultural experience than anything punitive or particularly time consuming.
I THINK the mugging at non-elims began with either Season 7 or Family Edition. I think prior to that they just took their money.
The muggings were a ‘punishment’ for coming in last in a non-elim leg, right? I hated that part.
Yes. I think at first they just took their money. Then they began taking everything and leaving them with just their passports (and, I assume, medication and such things). Which began the just completely distasteful spectacle of Americans begging for money and clothing in places like India and Egypt, in the middle of utter poverty. I’m SO glad they changed that.
I actually found myself hating the whine bros and the beauty queen and balless boy more than bland, blonde, and we think we’re beautiful. They are excellent racers really.
I seem to remember the Bowling Moms (I think) begging in a marketplace in India. Yes, it was really distasteful.
Quibble: Everything but the clothes they were wearing at the time. Leading to horrors like seeing the Paolo’s underwear being put on outside their clothes.
It also lead to one of the idiot faux-hippies deciding it would be “wacky” to strip to their undies (barefoot and everything) and then some idiot on another team gave him pants and flip-flops, which allowed him to enter the airport and make a flight. :rolleyes:
Here’s all the non-elim penalties:
Season 1-4: No Penalty
5-7: No Money
7-9: No Money and all possessions taken away
10-11: “Marked for Elimination” If they don’t come in first, they get a 30 minute penalty.
12+: Speed bump
OK, this doesn’t make the slightest difference to the race, and nobody’s going to care anyway, but I have to get this off my chest…
The tenor singing “Il mio tesoro” on stage is not Don Giovanni. He’s playing Don Ottavio, also a character in the opera Don Giovanni, but a far cry from the “hero” of the story. Don Giovanni – who has the baritone balls to give some lip to the stone statue of the Commendatore before it drags him down to Hell – would never sing such a wussy ass aria. Don G. may be a dick, but Don O. is a dweeb. Please keep them straight people!
You may now return to your regularly scheduled comments.
Well then, if we must insist on sharing minutiae, two years ago this month, I was in Prague (vacation/Bob Dylan concert) and I walked past the opera house that the task was held in, and instead of going in for a tour, I decided to go have several beers instead…
Or as his brother Sam keeps saying, “Shut up, Dan! Shut up, Dan! Shut up, Dan!” Probably since Dan was born. 
I would like a dollar for every time Sam has said, “Shut up, Dan!”