The Amazing Race (TAR) 10/3/14: When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go

[EllisDee]

Starting the thread now because there was so much awesome in this episode and season that I couldn’t wait for someone else to start it.

For the season…

I’m absolutely in love with the “live” updates from Phil as racers run past him. That’s now happened in both of the first two episodes, and if they keep it up all season this is a fantastic addition.

My best guess on the “Save” is that when it is used, there is no elimination that leg. Which essentially turns the save into a variable NEL. That’s a cool wrinkle.

This was the best possible way to introduce the Express Pass, where you have the choice to go for it at the end of a leg but before finishing, risking your position. Inspired change.

I’m absolutely loving the removal of airport drama, switching instead to simply splitting teams up into two even groups, one on the first fight and the other on the second flight around an hour later. That’s the very best way to handle airports, IMO. I really hope they have made this a permanent change going forward.

For this episode…

Loved the construction of and parity between both tasks this episode. Both the marching and the pancake flipping required the exact right amount of skill/coordination for a TAR challenge. Both could be very fast, both could take you a while, and neither was a particularly better choice than the other. And both the marching and pancake flipping were enforced just right, I thought. Perfect.

The punter challenge was also perfect. Tons of opportunity for comedy, just difficult enough but not crazy hard, and plenty of chances for teams to pass each other.

Regarding the teams…

The surfers are far and away my favorite team, unsurprisingly, and it was nice to see them do so well that they got both the express pass and the first place. I may have mentioned this in last week’s thread, but I find it a bit squicky when the guy puts his arm around her and grabs onto her stump. Best I can tell this is totally irrational on my part, since he’s just grabbing her shoulder, so maybe I just need to work through that.

Anyone else grossed out when the chick who peed herself sat down in the taxi? I didn’t see her wash off in the river.

[Skammer]

I think pre-supplied air travel has been used pretty often in the past when there are a lot of teams trying to fly out of a small airport. I don’t think it’s a deliberate change.

Other than that - I enjoyed seeing the surfers do well but most of the teams just aren’t making much of an impression yet.

[notfrommensa]

I am almost forgot about Friday Night TAR. Setting DVR for all new episodes right now.

I honestly do not remember the team who got eliminated tonight from last week. There far too much crying between them and the Mom&Daughter team.

Agree with the OP about the Express Pass and Challenges tonight.

[EllisDee]

@Skammer

I think pre-supplied air travel has been used pretty often in the past when there are a lot of teams trying to fly out of a small airport. I don’t think it’s a deliberate change.

It has been used in the past, true, and not infrequently. But so far this season, both legs have had this feature, right? (Or am I misremembering last week?) And since last week started in New York City, it wasn’t an issue of a small airport with few flights. I’m hoping it’s a permanent change for all airport travel going forward.

[AncientHumanoid]

The Mommy Daughter team is getting annoying. I was hoping they were last.

The punting reminded of Romana and Doctor #4

[amarinth]

@Skammer

Other than that - I enjoyed seeing the surfers do well but most of the teams just aren’t making much of an impression yet.

Someone came into the pit stop doing a Charlie Chaplin impression. But most importantly, I don’t hate any of the teams. There’s no team I would mind winning the race. That’s a good thing.
Also, the challenges so far have been great - location specific & a chance to do well and move through quickly or do poorly and take longer. No legs have been basically just a line where whoever gets there first leaves first.

[fiddlesticks]

Worst Churchill impersonator ever!

[tsm]

@EllisDee

It has been used in the past, true, and not infrequently. But so far this season, both legs have had this feature, right? (Or am I misremembering last week?) And since last week started in New York City, it wasn’t an issue of a small airport with few flights. I’m hoping it’s a permanent change for all airport travel going forward.

Both legs have, yes, but remember that they always break the teams into two flights on the first leg so I’m not sure we have enough evidence to know if this is a permanent change. If they do it again next week, then we may know.

[zut]

Taxi Assessment:

Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
Lisa & Michelle (#MiamiRealtors) - Already eliminated.
Dennis & Isabelle (#TheDatingCouple) (down from “Stopping”) - I wasn’t too impressed with this team last week, and I guess my impression was correct. They started this episode with a bit of bum luck, getting bunched with the loser teams from the last episode rather than maintaining the four-hour penalty lead. However, they did stay tied or ahead of fully half the other teams until the punting challenge, which is where they really lost the race.

Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Michael & Scott (#TheFirefighters) (holding steady) - The punting challenge really seemed to shake up the order of the teams. Michael & Scott went into it in last place, but wound up passing fully four other teams to hit the mat in sixth. That’s good for Michael & Scott, but I’m not sure a single task indicates how awesome they are, particularly after bumbling the (easier) Pancake Detour and stumbling onto the mat last week. I’m still skeptical about their chances.
Shelley & Nici (#MomDaughter) (down from “Stopping”) - This team was not all that impressive last week, and less so this week. They did get to the “About Face” Detour quickly, and wound up passing the wrestlers, but they fell on their face at the punting, then fell apart when they thought they were going to be eliminated. Prime candidates for elimination next week.

Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Keith & Whitney (#TeamNashville) (up from “Flat Tire”) - I’m not sure that Keith & Whitney aren’t actually a lot better than this, despite their weak showing last week. They did pretty well in the Pancake Race, then powered through the punting, so they hit the mat in fourth place, ahead of all the other second-flight teams and two of the first-flight teams.

“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Maya & Amy (#SweetScientists) (holding steady) - Not a good showing for Maya & Amy, who hit the mat in eighth, just ahead of the two hapless teams, and behind two of the teams from the second flight. They’re really going to have to step up their game.
Tim & Te Jay (#CollegeSweethearts) (holding steady) - A fifth-place finish for this team, which, combined with theur second last week, makes them look pretty good on paper. I don’t quite have a feel for this team yet, though.

In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Brooke & Robbie (#TheWrestlers) (holding steady) - I considered donwngrading the wrestlers due to their poor performance on the Detour - they did drop into a last-place tie with the firefighters for a time. But they did jump ahead on the punting task, and I have a better feeling about this team than I do the firefighters. Let’s see how they do next week.
Kym & Alli (#TheCyclists) (holding steady) - A second top three finish for Kym & Alli, who look like the best of the four-armed non-DDS teams. This despite the fact that they had to punt around the route twice.

Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Adam & Bethany (#SoulSurfers) - An excellent leg for Adam & Bethany, who were ahead the entire episode, and now have an Express Pass, which allows them to take some risks later. With their Express Pass and Misti & Jim’s Save, it seems like we’ve got two of the final three set.
Misti & Jim (#TheDentists) (holding steady) - Actually a pretty good leg for Misti & Jim too, save they chose the wrong Detour leg. Second place is nothing to sneeze at, and they still look like they’ll cruise into the final three.

[lorene]

Evidently when Dennis and Isabelle said they joined Crossfit, they didn’t mean that they had then taken the additional step of actually going to Crossfit. They were gasping and groaning after a 75-second run in the pancake race. I’ve actually rarely seen a young, healthy team so out of shape.

[Terminus_Est]

New TAR rule: If you describe yourselves as “super-fans” and talk about how long watching, preparing, and training for the race, then you’re about to get Philiminated.

[Shoeless]

I’d have to go back to see which teams, but I did notice a couple of them on the punting task were poling from the front rather than from the back. I don’t know much about boats - would that make it easier or harder? It didn’t seem to bother the judge on the task, who gave them the next clue anyway.

[Justin_Bailey]

@Shoeless

I’d have to go back to see which teams, but I did notice a couple of them on the punting task were poling from the front rather than from the back. I don’t know much about boats - would that make it easier or harder? It didn’t seem to bother the judge on the task, who gave them the next clue anyway.

The punter had to punt from the long flat end. The other person had to stand in the divot that was at the “front” of the boat. But since the boats spun every which way, there really was no front and no back.

Punt (boat)

Rather different traditions have grown up in Oxford and Cambridge: in Cambridge they stand on the till and punt with the open end forward, while in Oxford they stand inside the boat and punt with the till forward. The Oxford position is closer to the orthodox. Since the rivers in both cities are narrow and often crowded, there is little opportunity for punting “at full pressure”, so these variations in stance are of little importance. Nevertheless the traditions are often strongly held; students at Oxford and Cambridge frequently believe that theirs is the only correct style, to the extent that the till end is often known as the ‘Cambridge End’, and the other as the ‘Oxford End’.

[AncientHumanoid]

At the beginning of that challenge, they said the flag person had to stand in the front of the boat, and the punter on the named flat part. Then, they came back and labeled both parts of the boat, one oxford one harvard (or something). So, I wonder if they simply allowed from the get go for directional issues, as long as they were on the right parts?

The mother daughter team simply broke down. This early in the race, to break down so outstandingly doesn’t bode well. And it wasn’t just the daughter’s crying, the mom was agonizing about not being able to run because of cramping, yada yada. They both seem like drama queens anyways.

[lorene]

@Terminus_Est

New TAR rule: If you describe yourselves as “super-fans” and talk about how long watching, preparing, and training for the race, then you’re about to get Philiminated.

Especially the mom/daughter team’s crying about how much they deserve it because they’ve been watching for 14 years! Guess what. So have I, and every one of the 24-and-counting seasons I have watched, I have done sitting on my ass in front of the TV, sometimes even with a snack or a glass of wine in my hand. Doesn’t mean I can, should or would try actually racing.

[jsc1953]

@Terminus_Est

New TAR rule: If you describe yourselves as “super-fans” and talk about how long watching, preparing, and training for the race, then you’re about to get Philiminated.

And if you describe yourself as ex-military, you’re about to get your ass chewed by a sergeant (“tear off your arm and beat you with the soggy end”)

[SpoilerVirgin]

@jsc1953

And if you describe yourself as ex-military, you’re about to get your ass chewed by a sergeant (“tear off your arm and beat you with the soggy end”)

Was I the only one wondering what would have happened if he had said that to Adam and Bethany?

[corkboard]

@Justin_Bailey

The punter had to punt from the long flat end. The other person had to stand in the divot that was at the “front” of the boat. But since the boats spun every which way, there really was no front and no back.

Punt (boat) - Wikipedia

I’m thinking I would have started out punting from the back, then when we got to that fork where you had to take a sharp right turn and the current was pushing the boats off into the other fork, let the current reorient the punt so that the back becomes the front, and just turn my body and start pulling with the pole instead of pushing.

Of course, I’m sure it’s much harder in reality than what I’m describing, with the benefit of hindsight and watching from the comfort of my family room.

[AncientHumanoid]

@jsc1953

And if you describe yourself as ex-military, you’re about to get your ass chewed by a sergeant (“tear off your arm and beat you with the soggy end”)

I was hoping someone would start prancing around, making cat claw gestures, and lilting “Ooh! Scratch your eyes out! Military fairy…”

But, alas …

[EllisDee]

@SpoilerVirgin

Was I the only one wondering what would have happened if he had said that to Adam and Bethany?

I was wondering if that was the first “no-choice” for Bethany, forced to choose the pancake run because the changing of the guards may have required two arms.