Wolfian not quite sure what you mean by ePhiliminated, but if you mean being Philiminated without actually seeing Phil, yes that’s happened a couple of times at least. In season 1, the Guidos, still stuck in Alaska, got the bad news from a clue in a clue box that the race had been won in New York by Rob and Brennan (I think that’s the right names). In a subsequent season, another team similarly got the new in Hawaii that the race had been won in Arizona.
*Way * too much of the same old same old airport stuff in this series, and not nearly enough travelogue and local color. Is it just my impression, or am I just getting jaded in the 11th series of this?
It could have been worse. They could have checked back in with Joyce & Uchenna sitting in the Frankfurt airport doing nothing every 10 minutes…
You take a NIAH option if the other option completely goes against your strengths. If the choices are Pogo Sticks or Pixie Stix and you’re Charla and Mirna, you take Pixie Stix by default. You also might take it if every other team has selected the other option and you think you might be able to make up some ground.
I can kinda see why, under pressure, teams might think cookies was the faster option. It takes maybe two seconds to bite a cookie. But do a little more math and it clearly becomes the wrong choice. Figure 600 boxes with about 20 cookies per box, that’s 12,000 cookies, 6,000 per teammate, two seconds per cookie, the maximum time you’re gonna spend if you’re so unlucky as to have the very last cookie be the one will be 200 minutes, or three hours 20 minutes. Even figuring you’ll find it halfway through and you’re looking at 1.5-2 hours. There’s no way batiquing one piece of fabric is gonna take longer than that. Charla and Mirna’s wanting to do cookies really made no sense given that they just had a really difficult eating challenge and in their first Race Charla had pretty much the same task as a Roadblock, biting chocolates looking for one with a white center and wasn’t happy about it.
I’m sure other people here have commented on this, but every time Mirna and Charla start speaking to the locals in some strange accent, I want to smack them across the face. And when they started preaching to the kids that helped them with the papers tonight – “don’t take drugs and stay in school and you’ll be okay,” I just wanted to strangle them.
I’ve always despised Rob and Amber, but I’m madly in love with them compared to my white hot hatred for Mirna and Charla.
Thoughts:
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I love how Danielle basically said that the yield is stupid and does nothing but make enemies, and that it got her knocked out of the first race. It may have even been in the same sentence. She’s a smart one.
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Also, poor Danielle had to do a tough task and she’s just a lil ol’ girl. Unlike Kandice and Mirna, who had big strong manly men like Eric on their teams to help them. O wait.
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I didn’t want Uchenna and Joyce to win again, but I was sad to see them go out on such a dumb mistake. You risk the connecting flight for a 12 hour lead (maybe), not for a 20 minute lead. And when has a flight NOT been at least 10 minutes late?
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The BQs continue to rock. They’re my favorite team since Kris and Jon way back when, and they may have surpassed them with the excellent racing this leg.
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Danny and Oswald are getting the dreader Killer Fatigue, which makes me very sad. This was a good episode overall, but it just cannot be a great episode without at least one quotable quote from Oswald, and he seemed too beat down to deliver. I hope they’re back up where they belong with the BQs next week.
That’s what I was going for. Thanks.
It takes a lot of the excitement out (for the viewers) when you know “yeah, but, Uchenna and Joyce are still in Frankfurt.”
Whatever else I may say or think about Charla & Mirna, they’re good with airplanes. They blew their multiple hour lead with that stupid cookie detour, but they had a multiple hour lead for a while.
I’m working on Gettysdope this year. It’s probably going to require a lot of wheedling and whining and probably a tantrum or two, but I believe I will be there. And FWIW, I’m sure you’re just as fabulous as Oswald, but in your own Central PA kind of way. You know, in a way that involves less Cuban-ity and Miami-ness, and more scrapple and Lebanon bologna.
I think so. I didn’t say they weren’t crazy, but they’re not stupid. Not entirely, anyway.
Danny’s repeated shouts of “Hating you!” have already made their way into my vocabulary. Hell, I might go to Gettysdope for even a pale imitation. 
Last night, I did some serious thinking about how I would react if I were racing and somebody Yielded me. Sure, I might be mad, but I don’t think I’d go so far as “dirty pirate hookers.” Know why? Because it’s part of the game. I don’t start name-calling when somebody knocks my pegs back to the starting point when playing Trouble, and I think I could bear being Yielded with a little more grace and dignity than we’ve ever seen on the race.
Oh, and Danielle … your bike is broken because you clearly don’t know how to take a corner. :rolleyes:
I’m pretty sure that at least one of those was dubbed in by The Amazing Editors.
Me, I wouldn’t even get mad at all that I was Yielded, because based on all available evidence being Yielded is clearly the first step on the road to beatification and eventual bodily assumption into Heaven.
I’m not sure what exactly a pirate hooker is, but on Ace of Cakes Thursday night, Mary Alice gets an email from someone whose email adress is “piratehooker @ something .com”. It’s was pretty funny the ways she reacted. “Thanks, PirateHooker!” sarcastically.
That’s the first thing I thought of when Eric said they girls were pirate hookers. I was expecting him to say, “Thanks PirateHookers!”.
God, it’s SO true for them. And, they’ll be at my house this weekend! Nyah! 
Dirty Pirate Hooker (NSFW, text only)
As for how Eric would know what one is, I’m guessing that he learned the expression while he was having naked parties with his “roommate” and a pair of dirty filthy hippies.
Well that was an unexciting episode…
Taxi Assessment
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
John Vito & Jill and Kevin & Drew and David & Mary and Rob & Amber and Teri & Ian and Joe & Bill - Outta here.
Uchenna & Joyce - (down from “Passing Lane”) - Uchenna & Joyce forgot the baseline TAR strategy: for every leg but the final, the race isn’t about being first, it’s about not being last. If you try something risky that could either put you in first place or last place, it isn’t worth it. Especially when the choice is between gaining a half-hour or losing twelve hours. Bad, bad, bad decision, and they payed the price for it.
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.
Charla & Mirna - (holding steady) - How the Hell did Charla & Mirna hemorrhage a three hour lead? I mean, it was good work to find a quicker flight than everyone else, and they seemed to nab the right bus right away, and they were off and running hours ahead of the other teams. Did they really waste that much time eating cookies? Sheesh. I know I’ve been saying this every week for the last month, but Charla & Mirna still look likew the most vulnerable team.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Eric & Danielle - (holding steady) - Holy crap, they got awfully lucky that Danielle actually found that cookie. (Not that they were in danger of elimination or anything, but still…) I was expecting them to be there for hours. And then Danielle completely wrecked her cycle wheel (I laughed), but still beat Danny & Oswald. Still, I’m a bit suprised this team has made it as far as they have–they’re just functional enough to keep in the race.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
No one this week.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Danny & Oswald - (holding steady) - A little stress starting to take its toll this episode, but this team is still working well together. Yes a fourth place, but a fourth place behind a very good team, a very lucky team, and a very spastic team. I still think Danny & Oswald are a shoo-in for final three.
Dustin & Kandice - (holding steady) - Nice work and another first-place finish for Dustin & Kandice. They picked the right Detour option and made almost no mistakes. I suppose you could argue there was no good reason to Yield Eric & Danielle, but it’s not clear if Dustin & Kandice knew that Uchenna & Joyce were so far behind. In any case, so what? Unless they pull something awfully stupid, Dustin & Kandice look like a lock for final three.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
Was it just me or did one of the Beauty Queens run up the pit stop drive way singing, “I smell Phil!”
If so, I now have a new hero.
She DID! I was just waiting for someone to say something.
To be fair, Eric & Danielle’s attitude this episode was far from the worst reaction we’ve seen. Given the real lack of suspense in this episode, I suspect the producers tried to milk Eric & Danielle’s grousing for all it was worth.
If I bring food, can I come too?
I’m pretty sure they thought U & C were ahead of them. I remember them saying something to the effect that between D & E and the Cha Chas, D & E were a stronger team physically and if it came down to it, they would rather be up against the Chas.