# The Amazing Race 4/29: "Oh My God The Teletubbies Go To War" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092 "2007-04-29T22:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/81 "2007-04-30T18:11:24Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I’m just… flabbergasted. Why on earth would you say that? He is humble and self-effacing, giving his air-headed hanger-on far more credit than she deserves. I mean, if you’re gonna take things like “We’re gonna win!” as arrogant, then you have to fault everybody. Nobody says, “We’re gonna lose,” do they? Rob talks freely in the confessionals, giving his plans away. He’ll say something like, “We’re gonna let 'em hang themselves,” but only as a matter of information. He explains exactly how he plans to give them rope. And yes, he expresses satisfaction when it works out, but why shouldn’t he? That’s nothing more than a healthy self-esteem. Don’t forget how gracious he was when they were eliminated. He didn’t whine that he didn’t play well; he gave credit to the other teams. [/QUOTE] I think some people are just biased against anyone young with a flat stomach. How this equates to being dumb and bitchy is beyond me. Rob is definately not stupid - he has a degree in psychology from Boston University, and he uses what he learned in his games, getting people to become distracted from the task at hand to focus on him. He knows that he has a reputation, and rather than playing it down, he uses it to his advantage. I don’t think Amber is dumb either, she knows exactly what is going on. The thing about Danny and Oswald that bothered me somewhat was not that they weren’t good racers - they are - but they just don’t seem to care that much about winning. They don’t ever change their approach, even when they know they’re in last place. Contrast that with the beauty queens who run like hell all the time. If Danny and Oswald don’t care about being last, I can’t care too much when they get eliminated. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/82 "2007-04-30T18:21:41Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I’m just… flabbergasted. Why on earth would you say that? He is humble and self-effacing, giving his air-headed hanger-on far more credit than she deserves. [/QUOTE] Let’s see, she’s won a million dollars, he’s never won anything. Exactly which of them is the hanger-on? Rob is an asshole. Opinion on him seems to be divided on whether people think that racing around the world for a million dollars is sufficient reason to justify being an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/83 "2007-04-30T18:30:26Z")
[QUOTE=rockle] Some of it is also carryover from their previous Race. They are not bad people, I don’t think, but in particular their interactions with Team 'Bama and _their repeated insistence on referring to Lyn and Karlyn as “da sistahs”_ was kind of really obnoxious, to me. _(Not that I think that Lyn and Karlyn were any great shakes, either – or at least not Karlyn, she of the eternal the sourpuss.)_ [/QUOTE] I agree that the “sistahs” thing was pretty tacky…although I do think Karlyn kind of started it, with her lovely attitude towards the other racers. Overall, though, I just don’t see the “bitchiness” that some folks ascribe to the BQs. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/84 "2007-04-30T18:39:18Z")
Well, I shouldn’t have called Amber air-headed. But she won the million because he gave it to her. He deliberately constructed his statements to the jury so that she would win. All the strategy of that season was his; none was hers. Other than to cling to him. As far as what I think would be appropriate in the finale, it’s not like I’m asking for the winners to be pushed aside and ignored. I’m just saying that, once the winners have been appropriately honored and dispensed with, bring Rob and Amber up to center stage. Thank them in particular for competing. Acknowledge their importance to reality television. Maybe show a brief (5 minute) retrospective of their contributions and accomplishments. Award them a separate million, not for winning, but just for who they are. Which, by the way, is not without precedent in reality TV. (Rupert.) Does that little bit seem like too much to ask? Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives for the benefit of, well, America really. Rob is our Rocky. Rocky was needed at a time when America was under the thumb of Vietnam angst. Now we have Iraq, and Robert Mariano is the inspiration for a new generation. ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/85 "2007-04-30T19:14:25Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Does that little bit seem like too much to ask? [/QUOTE] Yes. Yes, it does. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/86 "2007-04-30T19:15:57Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Well, I shouldn’t have called Amber air-headed. But she won the million because he gave it to her. He deliberately constructed his statements to the jury so that she would win. All the strategy of that season was his; none was hers. Other than to cling to him. As far as what I think would be appropriate in the finale, it’s not like I’m asking for the winners to be pushed aside and ignored. I’m just saying that, once the winners have been appropriately honored and dispensed with, bring Rob and Amber up to center stage. Thank them in particular for competing. Acknowledge their importance to reality television. Maybe show a brief (5 minute) retrospective of their contributions and accomplishments. Award them a separate million, not for winning, but just for who they are. Which, by the way, is not without precedent in reality TV. (Rupert.) Does that little bit seem like too much to ask? Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives for the benefit of, well, America really. Rob is our Rocky. Rocky was needed at a time when America was under the thumb of Vietnam angst. Now we have Iraq, and Robert Mariano is the inspiration for a new generation. [/QUOTE] I think they were already awarded that when CBS ponied up for the wedding. The good news is that they have not bred. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/87 "2007-04-30T19:18:48Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives for the benefit of, well, America really. Rob is our Rocky. Rocky was needed at a time when America was under the thumb of Vietnam angst. Now we have Iraq, and Robert Mariano is the inspiration for a new generation. [/QUOTE] (What)…the fuck? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/88 "2007-04-30T19:23:50Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives for the benefit of, well, America really. Rob is our Rocky. Rocky was needed at a time when America was under the thumb of Vietnam angst. Now we have Iraq, and Robert Mariano is the inspiration for a new generation. [/QUOTE] Mitt Romney is planning on featuring his homey Rob heavily in his campaign. Guliani tried to hire him first, but Rob wouldn’t get rid of the surgically-attached Red Sox cap he has on his head. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/89 "2007-04-30T19:28:15Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] As far as what I think would be appropriate in the finale, it’s not like I’m asking for the winners to be pushed aside and ignored. I’m just saying that, once the winners have been appropriately honored and dispensed with, bring Rob and Amber up to center stage. Thank them in particular for competing. Acknowledge their importance to reality television. Maybe show a brief (5 minute) retrospective of their contributions and accomplishments. Award them a separate million, not for winning, but just for who they are. Which, by the way, is not without precedent in reality TV. (Rupert.) **Does that little bit seem like too much to ask?** Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives for the benefit of, well, America really. Rob is our Rocky. Rocky was needed at a time when America was under the thumb of Vietnam angst. Now we have Iraq, and Robert Mariano is the inspiration for a new generation. [/QUOTE] Are you _kidding?_ Are we being whooshed? 😕 Just in case … to answer the bolded question: _Yes._ In fact, _ **HELL YES.** _ (Bolding mine, BTW.) They were under no obligation to do _anything_, period. Between the two of them, they’ve been on SEVEN REALITY SHOWS. _Seven._ Three Survivors, two Amazing Races, a wedding special, and that mess about Vegas. And that’s only SO FAR. I shudder to think what else might be in the pipeline. They’ve won $1.25mil from Survivor alone. I will at least admit that they _earned_ that money. It’s not like the need the scratch, or frankly, the additional exposure. “Awarding” them a separate million “just for who they are” would be _bullshit_, and if the producers did do it? I would _never_ watch the show again, no matter how much I love it. And I do. You can claim that Rupert didn’t “deserve” his million, or that he didn’t “earn” it, but the fact remains that some people – [quite a lot of people, actually](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_America%27s_Tribal_Council) – disagreed. Mark Burnett might have decided that Rupert should get another million, but he at least _bothered to make it official by putting it to a vote._ And FWIW, I didn’t watch this season of the Amazing Race _because_ of Rob & Amber; I watched it very much _in spite_ of them. I’m not really in any position to criticize anyone’s life choices here, since I’ve watched at least one episode of probably every reality show that’s ever aired, but one of the things that I like best about reality TV is that, once the show is over, the “stars” tend to go away. They pop up every once in a while when [they](http://www.tmz.com/2007/03/06/cops-outwit-outlast-arrest-violent-reality-star/) [get](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=1972724&page=1) [arrested](http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/survivor-thailand-winner-brian-heidik-arrested-for-shooting-puppy-4210.php), or do [something](http://grassrootsoccer.org/) [good](http://www.rupertskids.org/index.php) with themselves, or whatever, but by and large? _They don’t make a career out of turning up like a bad penny._ They go away and stay away, and new people get 15 minutes in their stead, and the circle of life is thus complete, and all that rot. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/90 "2007-04-30T19:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] As far as what I think would be appropriate in the finale, it’s not like I’m asking for the winners to be pushed aside and ignored. I’m just saying that, once the winners have been appropriately honored and dispensed with, bring Rob and Amber up to center stage. Thank them in particular for competing. Acknowledge their importance to reality television. Maybe show a brief (5 minute) retrospective of their contributions and accomplishments. Award them a separate million, not for winning, but just for who they are. [/QUOTE] You have GOT to be kidding. > [@](#): > > Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives… What lives? What did they leave behind to be on this show? This is what they do. Reality television has given them a million dollars, various other prizes, a wedding, and two trips around the world, each. If you want to talk about rewarding “contributions and accomplishments”, Boston Rob should wake up the President of CBS with breakfast in bed and a knobjob every day until they’re _both_ dead. Or maybe not; they’d probably televise it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/91 "2007-04-30T19:52:40Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Does that little bit seem like too much to ask? [/quote] Wow. Just wow. > [@](#): > > Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives for the benefit of, well, America really. Rob is our Rocky. Rocky was needed at a time when America was under the thumb of Vietnam angst. Now we have Iraq, and Robert Mariano is the inspiration for a new generation. What lives? They’re professional reality show contestants. This is their life. There’s no benefit to America at all here. And if Robert Mariano is the inspiration for this next generation, I weep for our future. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/92 "2007-04-30T20:06:32Z")
[QUOTE=zut] **Liberal** ’s dry sense of humor is sometimes mistaken for sincerity. [/QUOTE] Just quoting this for anyone who missed it upthread. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/93 "2007-04-30T20:10:34Z")
Apparently, my opinion is an unpopular one. But at least you heard me out. And so I hope for each of you that your favorite wins. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/94 "2007-04-30T20:27:25Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] As far as what I think would be appropriate in the finale, it’s not like I’m asking for the winners to be pushed aside and ignored. I’m just saying that, once the winners have been appropriately honored and dispensed with, bring Rob and Amber up to center stage. Thank them in particular for competing. Acknowledge their importance to reality television. Maybe show a brief (5 minute) retrospective of their contributions and accomplishments. Award them a separate million, not for winning, but just for who they are. Which, by the way, is not without precedent in reality TV. (Rupert.) Does that little bit seem like too much to ask? Remember, they were under no obligation to participate in this season. But they took time away from their lives for the benefit of, well, America really. Rob is our Rocky. Rocky was needed at a time when America was under the thumb of Vietnam angst. Now we have Iraq, and Robert Mariano is the inspiration for a new generation. [/QUOTE] All right. I get it. Major whoosh. Because you could not possibly be serious about this. [QUOTE=Slacker] One of the things that always amazes me about discussing this type of show on the internets is that someone out there will always have such a wildly different opinion from your own that you have to wonder if you’re watching the same program. Quiddity also finds the BQs to be “bitchy,” and I can’t fathom where that is from. Especially compared to the likes of Mirna, who has been rude to them all the way through the race [/QUOTE] . [QUOTE=Sarahfeena] I agree…they seem pretty nice. I think some people ascribe bitchiness to them because they are attractive…it’s just a stereotype. [/QUOTE] I don’t think they’re all that attractive - too horsey and toothy. But they have made witchy remarks about and to other players and they have lied constantly. They told E&D that it was D&Os idea to yield them when it was the blondes who told D&O to yield E&D. > [@](#): > > Lamar Mundane > I think some people are just biased against anyone young with a flat stomach. How this equates to being dumb and bitchy is beyond me. Rob is definately not stupid - he has a degree in psychology from Boston University, and he uses what he learned in his games, getting people to become distracted from the task at hand to focus on him. He knows that he has a reputation, and rather than playing it down, he uses it to his advantage. I don’t think Amber is dumb either, she knows exactly what is going on. I’m sorry but a man who is on his third international game show and can’t spell the name of a nation? He made a lot of boneheaded remarks about countries and people in both races and the mistakes I saw him make were stupid ones. He’s not even close to ‘brilliant’ in my books. If it was all an act, he’d have won both Amazing Races because he would have been ‘brilliant’ enough to drop the act when it counted so his ‘brilliance’ could shine through. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/95 "2007-04-30T20:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=Jelymag] I really like Danny and Oswald too, but they did not lose this leg as a result of last week. They were all on the same plane, so they were all kind of tied when they landed in Guam. Maybe if they had pulled ahead, just not by 30 minutes, I could see it as a result of last week’s leg, but they weren’t able to pull ahead at all. And they were doing the same detour as two other teams. And Oswald couldn’t get through the roadblock quickly. They lost fair and square. [/QUOTE] I don’t think anyone is suggesting that Cha Cha Cha didn’t lose fair and square (well, except for the fundamental and universal unfairness of their being Philiminated and the 67% chance of the million dollars going to a pair of total jackholes). What I said was that they had a bad leg last week and didn’t recover from it. Even if you’re on the same plane or otherwise bunched, if you don’t put a bad leg behind you you’re going to have trouble, and IMHO that’s what happened to them. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/96 "2007-04-30T20:42:07Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] All right. I get it. Major whoosh. Because you could not possibly be serious about this. [/QUOTE] […gritted teeth and curmudgeonly grunt…] ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/97 "2007-04-30T21:39:58Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] All right. I get it. Major whoosh. Because you could not possibly be serious about this. . I don’t think they’re all that attractive - too horsey and toothy. But they have made witchy remarks about and to other players and they have lied constantly. They told E&D that it was D&Os idea to yield them when it was the blondes who told D&O to yield E&D. [/QUOTE] Actually, not so much. It _was_ Danny & Oswald’s idea to sell the Yield to the blondes. The blondes choose Eric & Danielle over Schmirna, which made total strategic sense because D&E were already in last place. But when they told Eric that it was D&O’s idea, that was absolutely true. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/98 "2007-04-30T21:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=Skammer] But when they told Eric that it was D&O’s idea, that was absolutely true. [/QUOTE] But they told Team Scumbag that D&O made the choice between them and Schmirna, was wasn’t true. Not that I hold that against the BQs. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/99 "2007-04-30T23:07:23Z")
My brother who is staying with me right now just got back from the naval base on Guam and worked on the equipment used in the episode. He did note what happened to Danny and Oswald. In his words: “They got the tourist map? It’s so inaccurate they’ll be lucky not to wind up in Honolulu.” “The taxi driver is taking them for a ride. He’s going the extra long way…” So they got a bad map and then went the long way around the island. It’s a tough break but it could have happened to any of the teams. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092/100 "2007-04-30T23:21:11Z")
This is my first season as a TAR Baby, and I kept hearing about the Yield Karma in the threads. I can see the Racers bringing it up, as it justifies their own actions and self righteousness, but last night Phil was talking about it. Did that strike anyone else as odd? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-4-29-oh-my-god-the-teletubbies-go-to-war/402092.md?page=6)