Narvik, Norway is the beginning point for this leg of the Race. Staying in the cold part of the world, the teams must go by car (to the train station), train (to Stockholm, Sweden) and plane to Saint Petersburg, Russia. Once there, they must find Vasilesvsky Ostrov Island and on the island, the Rostral Columns, and there they will find the clue box. Nat & Kat leave first, and it turns out that leaving first or last won’t be a big deal, because the train they need won’t leave until 10:26 the next morning. Time to even the playing field! We don’t get any pre-leg interviews with the teams, but we see them all boarding the train. Jill asks Thomas “have you ever slept on a train before?” and he answers “of course.” After all, the great Notre Dame University not only has gondolas but trains the students can sleep on as they travel about campus! This guy is really starting to get on my nerves with his pompous attitude. Nat & Kat share a train car with Brook & Claire, and for some reason they all start smelling each other’s dirty socks and shoes. They’s some sick puppies! Blech!
Once in Stockholm (which is absolutely beautiful from the few shots of the city we got) everyone jumps in a cab except Gary & Mallory and Chad & Stephanie, who for some reason can’t find one. Maybe it’s because they’re screaming at each other - Chad says Stephanie wasn’t ready to go when Chad said they should and all the cabs disappeared. Stephanie isn’t going to take it and yells right back. All that yelling means nothing, because all the teams are on the same flight.
In Saint Petersburg, all the teams remark on the beautiful architecture in the city. Nick & Vicki talk about how the Russians keep all their old buildings instead of “blowing them up” like they do in Las Vegas. Brook & Claire are first to the clue box, which is a Detour: Classical Music or Classic Cinema. For Classical Music, teams must go to a historic palace, find a maestro with three gramaphones and listen to three different compositions being played. They must then go into a ballroom where there are multiple people playing piano, and figure out which three are playing the same music as they heard on the gramaphones. Taking the sheet music from the top of the piano, they have to put it in a proper folder to match the gramaphone and they’ll get their clue from the Maestro. For Classic Cinema, the teams go to a film studio and the first place a movie was screened in Russia. They will have to go through mounds of film strips to find one that matches the movie playing on the screen - Sergei Eisenstein’s silent montage, “October.” If their choice matches, they will get their next clue from the director.
Brook & Claire and Michael & Kevin decide to try the Cinema, and Chad & Stephanie and Gary & Mallory will attempt Music. Thomas & Jill will go to Cinema, and Nick & Vicki and Nat & Kat (who are now in last place) will try Music. Brook & Claire’s cabbie has no idea where the studio is, and Michael & Kevin beat them there followed soon by Thomas & Jill. The teams are thinking it will be tough looking through all the film strips. Chad & Stephanie get to the Music palace and are a bit overwhelmed by all the pianos in one room and trying to pick out the music of just one. All the Music teams soon get there and rush around the room trying to find the music they need.
Brook & Claire are still in the cab, with their driver asking directions. Chad & Stephanie take their music and find out they’re wrong. Thomas manages to find some large Russian writing on a film strip and they get their clue, which is a large film reel container. There is a photo on it, which is the Palace Square (the Music teams get a record with the photo on it), and that’s where the next clue box is.
Vicki tells us that the Music task was mentally challenging (although I think putting on her socks would be mentally challenging to her!) All the teams take their music to the maestro and are told “nyet” over and over again. Brook & Claire find a piece of film strip with the Russian writing on it also, and Michael & Kevin watch yet another team leave before them. They finally find the Russian writing and are off.
Thomas & Jill get to the clue box at the Palace Square which tells them to go to the town of Alexandrovskaya. They will follow a marked road to a neighborhood store for their next clue. Gary & Mallory are the first Music team to give up and go to the Cinema, followed soon by Nick & Vicki and Nat & Kat. Chad sees everyone leaving and asks Stephanie what she wants to do, and she wants to stay and finish this task. Gary & Mallory get to the film studio and Mallory tells her dad to say a prayer (because of course, God has nothing better to do than worry about some Amazing Race teams). Nat & Kat laugh at the studio that this could be the faster task as they sift through the mounds of film strips. Chad is getting frustrated and Stephanie isn’t putting up with it, saying “I’m trying to be positive.” Thomas & Jill are stopping at what they think might be a store, and end up playing charades while asking some locals where some marked signs might be to drive to. Brook & Claire catch the red and yellow arrows and get to the store to see some little old ladies and get a Roadblock: “Who’s ready for a Russian drag race?” Phil tells us that Russian women known as Babushkas do the farmwork. One team member will have to work in the field. They’ll have to dress as a Babushka and plant a row of 50 potatoes - but! They’ll have to fertilize with a “generous helping” of cow manure.
Brook takes off after putting on her dress and scarf and following the directions, finding her potatoes and wheelbarrow to fill with manure. Kevin decides to do the Roadblock since they “needed to catch up” until he found out he had to wear a dress, and then wished his dad would have done it. He looks really cute in his dress and Babushka! He manages to find the field before Brook and the ladies speak to him in Russian as they show him what to do: first dig a hole, shovel in some manure, drop in a potato, and cover it up. Kevin is repeating the words and learning Russian as he plants, although he’s stepping on his dress as he moves. Back at the Cinema, Nick hopes that Chad & Stephanie are still having problems with the pianos - and he’s right as they once again hear “nyet” from the maestro. Chad then decides that “we’re done. We’re screwed.” when Stephanie asks if he wants to switch. Sure, why not give up, that’s the best idea! Stephanie asks if that’s what he’s doing, is quitting, and Chad says “Yeah, we’re done.” Stephanie doesn’t want to (of course) and they run off to listen to another piano. Getting it wrong once again, Stephanie asks if he wants her to just do it herself, that she wants to stay and work it out together. Chad is having problems letting Stephanie take the lead and interviews later that he had to let her direct them, and whaddaya know? With her lead they get it right! Stephanie interviews that she will teach him to let her lead now and again.
Nat finds the correct film strip and she and Kat are off. Nick complains that they got there last and they’re the first to leave - “those girls have the best luck.” Thomas & Jill finally get to the store and Jill will don the babushka and farm. The Russian ladies are remarking what a good worker Kevin is and Brook finally finds the farm to start planting. We see Kevin planting away as a Babushka shouts encouragement to him, telling Kevin “come on, come on! I love you!” in Russian and Kevin is laughing and really moving - and interviews later that “I think I fell in love a little bit.” Brook is yelling that “I stepped in poo!” and wiping her hands on the ground while the Russian ladies get a good laugh.
Mallory manages to find a film strip and she and Gary run off and yell “good luck” to Nick and Vicki. Nick & Vicki decide to go back to the pianos because “we’re not quitters.” Kevin has finished his planting and with a kiss to his Babushka gets his clue which tells him to go to the next Pit Stop at St. Isaac’s Cathedral, which is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city and took 40 years to complete. Brook finishes her planting and Jill is planting away while the Russian ladies remark that “these skinny girls can do everything.” As Brook & Claire leave in the cab, Claire complains that Brook “smells ripe.” Thomas is complimenting Jill on how fast she completed the task (even though she didn’t go to college! Imagine that!) Brook & Claire’s cab has to stop for gas as Nat & Kat show up at the store and Nat will plant the potatoes. Chad & Stephanie get there and Stephanie will do the task, and as she’s looking for “Duck’s End” and the wheelbarrows, Nat sneaks by Stephanie with her wheelbarrow full of poo. Back at Music, Nick & Vicki decide to concentrate on one song at a time and find it much easier. Nick interviews that he promised himself and Vicki that he would never blow up like he did with the hoops-in-the-field challenge again. Amazing what one can do when calm and composed, because they sailed through and got their clue.
Michael & Kevin get to St. Isaac’s and can’t find Phil and the Mat and soon after Thomas & Jill show up and run around too. Michael asks Kevin a couple of times about the park across the street but Kevin nixes the idea of looking there, but of course that’s where Phil is! Thomas & Jill take off to the park and get to the Mat in first place, winning a trip to San Paolo, Brazil. After circling the whole cathedral, Michael convinces Kevin to look in the park and they see Phil, but not before Brook & Claire get to the Mat in second place.
Back at the farm, Nat is planting away, but Stephanie can’t find the wheelbarrows and the poop. Mallory catches up and spends a bunch of time looking for the wheelbarrows and Stephanie manages to see the sign to Duck’s End and gets there. Mallory asks numerous locals who don’t speak English and quacks at them to no avail. She asks a gentleman who lifts her over his fence and she thought she was in the right spot - but it turns out that he was asking her if she wanted to hang out and drink vodka with him. Kat finishes her planting and as she runs back for the clue, she passes Mallory who asks where Duck’s End is, and Kat tells her “wrong way.” Stephanie is shoveling poo and when she’s done, she tosses the shovel up onto the pile of poop so the next person (Mallory) would have to climb onto the pile to grab the shovel. She does, and as Mallory turns to leave, her shoe sticks in the pile of poop and her foot comes out of it. She runs with her wheelbarrow yelling that she has cow poop all over her.
Stephanie runs back to Chad who tells her “good job” but adds that she looks good in the getup and “we have to take home that babushka and let you clean the house in it.” (Smack him right now!) Mallory finishes and in the cab, as she looks at her poop-stained hands, she remarks that she would chew all her nails off, cow poo and all, not to get eliminated. Nat & Kat make it to the Mat in fourth place.
Nick & Vicki finally get to the store and with the clue saying “Russian drag race” Nick decides to do the task - and remarks that it was “a race with a whole lotta drag - more queen than cars.” He’s asking the locals where Duck’s End is and all they want to do is pose for pictures with the guy in the babushka.
Gary & Mallory find the cathedral and Chad & Stephanie are right behind them. After running around the cathedral, Gary decides to check the park as Chad & Stephanie drive up and decide to go to the park first. They beat Gary & Mallory to the Mat in fifth place. Nick is planting potatoes, saying he never thought he’d be “planting potatoes in Russia wearing a woman’s dress.” Nick & Vicki tell us that they’re proud of each other as they leave the farm in the cab, and are bummed that they’ll be eliminated. However! Phil tells them that this is a non-elimination leg and they’re still in the Race. Of course, with their mental capacity, that’s enough of a Speed Bump, but let’s see how they do in the next Leg!
Here is the order of finish:
1 - Thomas & Jill
2 - Brook & Claire
3 - Michael & Kevin
4 - Nat & Kat
5 - Chad & Stephanie
6 - Gary & Mallory
7 - Nick & Vicki
Next week, the teams have to join a circus for a bit and Michael has problems throwing sticks. Sounds exciting! Can Nick & Vicki get lucky and overcome their last-place finish? Or will their brains explode and hold them back? Check in next week!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Dashing Through Norway - the Locals Don't Smile and the Vegetarian Eats a Sheep Head
Our teams begin in the Swedish Lapland, far above the arctic circle. In the summer, the sun never sets! (I spent a summer in southern Alaska, and it doesn't get very dark there either - definitely different!)
Nat & Kat will leave the Pit Stop first, and must drive themselves to Narvik, Norway to a gondola station. They’ll ride the gondola to the top of the mountain to find the clue box. As Brook & Claire leave, Brook tells us she’s hyper and energetic. (Can’t say I’ve noticed that yet.) Michael & Kevin interview that Kevin is in college now, but he’ll be moving out when he’s out of college (and Michael makes a happy face with a thumbs-up. No empty nest problems there!) As they drive, Kevin tells his dad he gave him the clue but Michael can’t find it. Thomas interviews that he expected to be with someone who has gone to college since he went to Notre Dame (uppity, isn’t he?) and we get to hear Jill stating once again that she wants to prove that she’s smart even though she didn’t go to college, she doesn’t want to be following behind. Quit talking and do it woman! I think she’s got an inferiority complex, actually. She might as well give up now and find herself a plumber or something..... Michael ends up finding the clue and sheepishly apologizes.
Brook & Claire catch up to Gary & Mallory and they drive around a roundabout a few times talking to each other and trying to figure out which way to go. I guess stopping the cars to talk didn’t make much sense. Rachel interviews that it’s a race, and she and Katie want to win - “It’s not called Amazing Friends.” They also mention that Nat has a fear of heights and they’re hoping that will mess up the doctor team on the gondolas. As they take off she sits in the corner of the gondola and cries, with Kat trying to calm her down. They get to the top and the clue is a Fast Forward (should they choose to use it). For those of you unfamiliar, a Fast Forward is a special task, and if the team completes it they can skip all other tasks and go directly to the Pit Stop. The team will have to go to a restaurant and participate in a Norwegian Christmas festival - which they won’t know is to eat an entire roasted sheep’s head. Each team member will have to eat half the head.
Brook & Claire jump on a gondola just as Nat & Kat are getting off. Gary & Mallory miss the one and by the time they get on, Michael & Kevin have arrived. The non-Fast Forward clue tells the teams to drive to the Skjombrua Bridge (which Phil doesn’t even try to pronounce - he says “this” bridge. Sissy.) Michael & Kevin ask Gary & Mallory if they’re going to do the Fast Forward, and Gary says “no” but Mallory sees that it says “Christmas ritual” and yells “I love Christmas!” Well, if it involved snowball fights or mistletoe, I’d go along too. But NOT eating a sheep’s head! Blech!
On the way to the Fast Forward, Nat asks “What if it’s an eating challenge?” That’s when we find out that Kat is a vegetarian. Uh–oh! This will be interesting! They walk into the building and see the plates along with a glass of water, and Nat says they know that’s a bad sign to see the water there. Kat’s face is one of total disgust as they peel the meat off the skeleton (I’m not too thrilled either) and they decide to cut it into little pieces and then eat it. After a toast of “tastes like money” Kat tries to just swallow it and not chew it - and doesn’t look like she’s doing very well at it. There’s a woman there playing a violin-like instrument - looks really interesting. They say that the skin is thick and slimy - ew.
Gary & Mallory have teamed up with Michael & Kevin to find the bridge, and get there before Brook & Claire. The clue is a Roadblock. One team member has to step off the bridge and rappel down to the water. Once at the end of the rope, they have to call the boat to get their next clue, then use an ascender to get the 135 feet back up. Kevin and Gary decide to do it - Kevin says the clue asks “who has strength, stamina and guts” and Michael laughs saying “I don’t have guts.” Brook & Claire show up and Brook gives Claire the Roadblock to do and tells her she’ll do great. As she’s walking to the bridge all harnessed up, Claire says “it’s giving me a wedgie.” The guide asks her what a wedgie is, and she says “it’s like when it goes up your butt.”
Back to Nat & Kat, gagging down the sheep and saying it’s crunchy Romaine lettuce, or cucumbers. Kat again reminds herself that it “tastes like a million dollars.” Back at the bridge, Kevin goes down first, but Gary quickly catches up. He tells Kevin “my **** are already gettin’ it” and we’re not shown the word, but I’m thinking his "boys" are a little squished in that harness (if Claire’s getting a wedgie without even going down, can you imagine how the men will feel?)
At the “feast” a Norwegian is standing and staring at the doctors eating the sheep. They ask “how are we doing?” and get a cold stare. Nat asks “thumbs up?” Nothing. She looks at the guy and says “you’re very inspiring.” They manage to finish and the clue tells them to go to the Pit Stop - the Ankenes Marina. Kat says she wants to go to the Pit Stop and she’ll “get sick there.”
Nick & Vicki get to the gondola and decide to try the Fast Forward. They’re gonna be pretty bummed to find out it’s already taken!
Thomas & Jill get to the bridge as Kevin starts repelling back up. Claire is down below trying to figure out how to get back up and having major problems. Gary and Kevin still haven’t made it back up and Thomas is on his way up already. Meanwhile, Nick & Vicki get to the Fast Forward and there’s a sign on the door saying “Fast Forward Taken.” Our rocket scientist Nick says “I have no idea what that means.” Vicki doesn’t either, saying she didn’t know if it was “taken for right now, or just taken, period.” (OMG these two are sooooo dumb!) They don’t know if they should wait or not, and finally decide to go back to the bridge.
Nat & Kat get to Phil and the Mat and are greeted by another Norwegian who doesn’t know how to smile. (A high school mate of mine married a guy from Norway and moved there, and they’re not all like that - some actually smile sometimes!) Phil tells them that they’re in first place and will travel to Costa Rica. The first team to make first, twice!
Katie & Rachel show up to the bridge right after Chad & Stephanie. We see Kevin in first place rapelling up, followed by Gary, Thomas and Claire. Stephanie will do the challenge and I can only imagine the wonderful encouragement she’ll get from Chad when she’s like Claire - exhausted and trying to come up. Claire tells Brook to “shut up” as Brook shouts encouragement (and Brook’s not even being obnoxious about it!)
Kevin makes it up and the clue tells them to drive to Harvika and find a remote field for their next clue. Thomas is up and Claire is crying that her arms are dead - I’d kill Brook for making me do this challenge if I were her. Brook tells her she can do it, and “all I want you to do is finish this - I don’t care when.” She is making decent headway, albeit slowly. Brook tells Claire to call on her grandmother, who passed away four days before the Race started. Brook says “you think Claire & I are spicy? This woman beat us both.” She says Claire need to find the inner strength of her grandma.
Nick & Vicki show up and Vicki is excited about doing the challenge - she says “I’m the one who has the guts in this relationship.” Chad & Stephanie show up and Chad, of course, decides he’s the one to do the challenge. “I’ve got strength.” Michael &* Kevin make it to the next clue box, and the clue is a Detour. Phil tells us that when the weather gets warmer in this part of the world (and mind you, our Teams have winter coats and gloves on. So it’s all relative!) They like to get out and have a good time, but work still needs to get done. The teams can choose from Nike or Boat. For Bike, they choose bicycles and have to pay attention to the color of their bicycle lock. They ride to a sign and memorize a code that coincides with their lock color, which is the bike combination. They ride back, use the combination to open the lock and get their next clue. In Boat, they have to go to a fishing trawler, and use a map to direct the captain to a spot on shore, get off the boat, and deliver two large cod fish and a chain saw to a cabin to get their clue.
Michael & Kevin decide to try Boat, because Kevin doesn’t want his Dad to get overtaxed doing the bike ride on the terrain. Thomas & Jill and Gary & Mallory will do Bike. Brook & Claire will do the Boats. Brook says that this is so out of their realm of wearing makeup and going to parties - and Claire laughs “can we go get a manicure while we’re here?” Brook is cracking up about the life jackets, which go up through the crotch and snap, saying she’s wearing a diaper.
We see Vicki getting close to the top, and spinning around just under the bridge (and getting me dizzy!) Katie & Rachel show up just as Vicki, then Chad get done and are hopeful they can just “blast through this one and catch up.” Katie will do the task.
Michael & Kevin get to shore and climb up the slippery incline to deliver the fish and chain saw. Kevin is carrying the fish and Michael interviews later “that is why he smells so fishy right now.” I really am liking these two, they have a super relationship. We see Gary & Mallory slipping on part of the bicycle path and falling over, deciding to walk their bikes for a bit. Thomas & Jill get to the sign after Gary & Mallory but get back and open their locks first, finding out they get to drive to the Pit Stop at the Marina.
Brook & Claire pass Michael & Kevin on their way to shore in the boat, and Brook carries the fish. She laughs that the fish slung over her shoulder were slapping their tails against her butt. We see Thomas & Jill trying to find the Marina and saying they may have missed a turn - then Michael & Kevin in the car, saying the same thing. Gary & Mallory have a better sense of direction, and get to the Mat where Phil raises his eyebrow twice at the team to let them know they’re in second place. (Cute, Phil!)
Nick & Vicki decide to try the Bike challenge, and Brook & Claire give the cabin owner a kiss on the cheek. He looks pretty happy about it too! Thomas & Jill are so lost they pass Katie & Rachel on the bridge again. Katie & Rachel are ecstatic and Thomas is pretty pissed - “we just totally ruined ourselves!” Michael & Kevin end up right behind them on the road, as Katie & Rachel take off in the other direction. Nick, who allegedly rides bikes competitively, is having major problems getting up a hill while Vicki is cruising right along. They get to the sign as Chad & Stephanie find the place to dock. Katie & Rachel decide to do the Boat. Thomas & Jill stumble upon the marina with Michael & Kevin right behind. They beat the father & son team to the Mat for third.
Brook & Claire get to the Marina in fifth place, and Brook cut her eye on the car door as she was getting out. They get to the Mat and Phil is incredulous that Brook is cut, saying she’s a tough nut “all cut up and standing here like you’re going to sell jewelry.” Katie & Rachel pass Chad & Stephanie in their boat - the producers are really highlighting this, I wonder if the volleyball girls will actually catch up and beat Chad & Stephanie. Nick & Vicki get to the Marina and Nick says “I think we’re in second, dude” as they run to the Mat. (Yeah, okay.)
Chad & Stephanie stop someone on the road to ask if he knows where the Marina is, and the poor guy is a stutterer. Could this be the break that Katie & Rachel are hoping for? It seems as if Katie & Rachel get to the Marina as Chad & Stephanie do, but the dating couple gets to the Mat first. Phil tells them they’re the last team to arrive, and they’ve been eliminated. They’re happy they did it together, but they snuffle in being told to go home.
So here’s our order of finish:
1 - Nat & Kat
2 - Gary & Mallory
3 - Thomas & Jill
4 - Michael & Kevin
5 - Brook & Claire
6 - Nick & Vicki
7 - Chad & Stephanie
8 - Katie & Rachel (Eliminated)
Next week the teams “get immersed in Russian culture - music, cinema, and babushkas!” Looks like fun!
Nat & Kat will leave the Pit Stop first, and must drive themselves to Narvik, Norway to a gondola station. They’ll ride the gondola to the top of the mountain to find the clue box. As Brook & Claire leave, Brook tells us she’s hyper and energetic. (Can’t say I’ve noticed that yet.) Michael & Kevin interview that Kevin is in college now, but he’ll be moving out when he’s out of college (and Michael makes a happy face with a thumbs-up. No empty nest problems there!) As they drive, Kevin tells his dad he gave him the clue but Michael can’t find it. Thomas interviews that he expected to be with someone who has gone to college since he went to Notre Dame (uppity, isn’t he?) and we get to hear Jill stating once again that she wants to prove that she’s smart even though she didn’t go to college, she doesn’t want to be following behind. Quit talking and do it woman! I think she’s got an inferiority complex, actually. She might as well give up now and find herself a plumber or something..... Michael ends up finding the clue and sheepishly apologizes.
Brook & Claire catch up to Gary & Mallory and they drive around a roundabout a few times talking to each other and trying to figure out which way to go. I guess stopping the cars to talk didn’t make much sense. Rachel interviews that it’s a race, and she and Katie want to win - “It’s not called Amazing Friends.” They also mention that Nat has a fear of heights and they’re hoping that will mess up the doctor team on the gondolas. As they take off she sits in the corner of the gondola and cries, with Kat trying to calm her down. They get to the top and the clue is a Fast Forward (should they choose to use it). For those of you unfamiliar, a Fast Forward is a special task, and if the team completes it they can skip all other tasks and go directly to the Pit Stop. The team will have to go to a restaurant and participate in a Norwegian Christmas festival - which they won’t know is to eat an entire roasted sheep’s head. Each team member will have to eat half the head.
Brook & Claire jump on a gondola just as Nat & Kat are getting off. Gary & Mallory miss the one and by the time they get on, Michael & Kevin have arrived. The non-Fast Forward clue tells the teams to drive to the Skjombrua Bridge (which Phil doesn’t even try to pronounce - he says “this” bridge. Sissy.) Michael & Kevin ask Gary & Mallory if they’re going to do the Fast Forward, and Gary says “no” but Mallory sees that it says “Christmas ritual” and yells “I love Christmas!” Well, if it involved snowball fights or mistletoe, I’d go along too. But NOT eating a sheep’s head! Blech!
On the way to the Fast Forward, Nat asks “What if it’s an eating challenge?” That’s when we find out that Kat is a vegetarian. Uh–oh! This will be interesting! They walk into the building and see the plates along with a glass of water, and Nat says they know that’s a bad sign to see the water there. Kat’s face is one of total disgust as they peel the meat off the skeleton (I’m not too thrilled either) and they decide to cut it into little pieces and then eat it. After a toast of “tastes like money” Kat tries to just swallow it and not chew it - and doesn’t look like she’s doing very well at it. There’s a woman there playing a violin-like instrument - looks really interesting. They say that the skin is thick and slimy - ew.
Gary & Mallory have teamed up with Michael & Kevin to find the bridge, and get there before Brook & Claire. The clue is a Roadblock. One team member has to step off the bridge and rappel down to the water. Once at the end of the rope, they have to call the boat to get their next clue, then use an ascender to get the 135 feet back up. Kevin and Gary decide to do it - Kevin says the clue asks “who has strength, stamina and guts” and Michael laughs saying “I don’t have guts.” Brook & Claire show up and Brook gives Claire the Roadblock to do and tells her she’ll do great. As she’s walking to the bridge all harnessed up, Claire says “it’s giving me a wedgie.” The guide asks her what a wedgie is, and she says “it’s like when it goes up your butt.”
Back to Nat & Kat, gagging down the sheep and saying it’s crunchy Romaine lettuce, or cucumbers. Kat again reminds herself that it “tastes like a million dollars.” Back at the bridge, Kevin goes down first, but Gary quickly catches up. He tells Kevin “my **** are already gettin’ it” and we’re not shown the word, but I’m thinking his "boys" are a little squished in that harness (if Claire’s getting a wedgie without even going down, can you imagine how the men will feel?)
At the “feast” a Norwegian is standing and staring at the doctors eating the sheep. They ask “how are we doing?” and get a cold stare. Nat asks “thumbs up?” Nothing. She looks at the guy and says “you’re very inspiring.” They manage to finish and the clue tells them to go to the Pit Stop - the Ankenes Marina. Kat says she wants to go to the Pit Stop and she’ll “get sick there.”
Nick & Vicki get to the gondola and decide to try the Fast Forward. They’re gonna be pretty bummed to find out it’s already taken!
Thomas & Jill get to the bridge as Kevin starts repelling back up. Claire is down below trying to figure out how to get back up and having major problems. Gary and Kevin still haven’t made it back up and Thomas is on his way up already. Meanwhile, Nick & Vicki get to the Fast Forward and there’s a sign on the door saying “Fast Forward Taken.” Our rocket scientist Nick says “I have no idea what that means.” Vicki doesn’t either, saying she didn’t know if it was “taken for right now, or just taken, period.” (OMG these two are sooooo dumb!) They don’t know if they should wait or not, and finally decide to go back to the bridge.
Nat & Kat get to Phil and the Mat and are greeted by another Norwegian who doesn’t know how to smile. (A high school mate of mine married a guy from Norway and moved there, and they’re not all like that - some actually smile sometimes!) Phil tells them that they’re in first place and will travel to Costa Rica. The first team to make first, twice!
Katie & Rachel show up to the bridge right after Chad & Stephanie. We see Kevin in first place rapelling up, followed by Gary, Thomas and Claire. Stephanie will do the challenge and I can only imagine the wonderful encouragement she’ll get from Chad when she’s like Claire - exhausted and trying to come up. Claire tells Brook to “shut up” as Brook shouts encouragement (and Brook’s not even being obnoxious about it!)
Kevin makes it up and the clue tells them to drive to Harvika and find a remote field for their next clue. Thomas is up and Claire is crying that her arms are dead - I’d kill Brook for making me do this challenge if I were her. Brook tells her she can do it, and “all I want you to do is finish this - I don’t care when.” She is making decent headway, albeit slowly. Brook tells Claire to call on her grandmother, who passed away four days before the Race started. Brook says “you think Claire & I are spicy? This woman beat us both.” She says Claire need to find the inner strength of her grandma.
Nick & Vicki show up and Vicki is excited about doing the challenge - she says “I’m the one who has the guts in this relationship.” Chad & Stephanie show up and Chad, of course, decides he’s the one to do the challenge. “I’ve got strength.” Michael &* Kevin make it to the next clue box, and the clue is a Detour. Phil tells us that when the weather gets warmer in this part of the world (and mind you, our Teams have winter coats and gloves on. So it’s all relative!) They like to get out and have a good time, but work still needs to get done. The teams can choose from Nike or Boat. For Bike, they choose bicycles and have to pay attention to the color of their bicycle lock. They ride to a sign and memorize a code that coincides with their lock color, which is the bike combination. They ride back, use the combination to open the lock and get their next clue. In Boat, they have to go to a fishing trawler, and use a map to direct the captain to a spot on shore, get off the boat, and deliver two large cod fish and a chain saw to a cabin to get their clue.
Michael & Kevin decide to try Boat, because Kevin doesn’t want his Dad to get overtaxed doing the bike ride on the terrain. Thomas & Jill and Gary & Mallory will do Bike. Brook & Claire will do the Boats. Brook says that this is so out of their realm of wearing makeup and going to parties - and Claire laughs “can we go get a manicure while we’re here?” Brook is cracking up about the life jackets, which go up through the crotch and snap, saying she’s wearing a diaper.
We see Vicki getting close to the top, and spinning around just under the bridge (and getting me dizzy!) Katie & Rachel show up just as Vicki, then Chad get done and are hopeful they can just “blast through this one and catch up.” Katie will do the task.
Michael & Kevin get to shore and climb up the slippery incline to deliver the fish and chain saw. Kevin is carrying the fish and Michael interviews later “that is why he smells so fishy right now.” I really am liking these two, they have a super relationship. We see Gary & Mallory slipping on part of the bicycle path and falling over, deciding to walk their bikes for a bit. Thomas & Jill get to the sign after Gary & Mallory but get back and open their locks first, finding out they get to drive to the Pit Stop at the Marina.
Brook & Claire pass Michael & Kevin on their way to shore in the boat, and Brook carries the fish. She laughs that the fish slung over her shoulder were slapping their tails against her butt. We see Thomas & Jill trying to find the Marina and saying they may have missed a turn - then Michael & Kevin in the car, saying the same thing. Gary & Mallory have a better sense of direction, and get to the Mat where Phil raises his eyebrow twice at the team to let them know they’re in second place. (Cute, Phil!)
Nick & Vicki decide to try the Bike challenge, and Brook & Claire give the cabin owner a kiss on the cheek. He looks pretty happy about it too! Thomas & Jill are so lost they pass Katie & Rachel on the bridge again. Katie & Rachel are ecstatic and Thomas is pretty pissed - “we just totally ruined ourselves!” Michael & Kevin end up right behind them on the road, as Katie & Rachel take off in the other direction. Nick, who allegedly rides bikes competitively, is having major problems getting up a hill while Vicki is cruising right along. They get to the sign as Chad & Stephanie find the place to dock. Katie & Rachel decide to do the Boat. Thomas & Jill stumble upon the marina with Michael & Kevin right behind. They beat the father & son team to the Mat for third.
Brook & Claire get to the Marina in fifth place, and Brook cut her eye on the car door as she was getting out. They get to the Mat and Phil is incredulous that Brook is cut, saying she’s a tough nut “all cut up and standing here like you’re going to sell jewelry.” Katie & Rachel pass Chad & Stephanie in their boat - the producers are really highlighting this, I wonder if the volleyball girls will actually catch up and beat Chad & Stephanie. Nick & Vicki get to the Marina and Nick says “I think we’re in second, dude” as they run to the Mat. (Yeah, okay.)
Chad & Stephanie stop someone on the road to ask if he knows where the Marina is, and the poor guy is a stutterer. Could this be the break that Katie & Rachel are hoping for? It seems as if Katie & Rachel get to the Marina as Chad & Stephanie do, but the dating couple gets to the Mat first. Phil tells them they’re the last team to arrive, and they’ve been eliminated. They’re happy they did it together, but they snuffle in being told to go home.
So here’s our order of finish:
1 - Nat & Kat
2 - Gary & Mallory
3 - Thomas & Jill
4 - Michael & Kevin
5 - Brook & Claire
6 - Nick & Vicki
7 - Chad & Stephanie
8 - Katie & Rachel (Eliminated)
Next week the teams “get immersed in Russian culture - music, cinema, and babushkas!” Looks like fun!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Race is Less Musical as the Singers, Connor & Jonathan, are Eliminated
The nine remaining teams begin in Ghana - but before they leave, they stay to paint the school (dripping paint all over from what I see). It underscores again how lucky we are in the US, and the teams work away with smiles and kisses for the kids.
Connor & Jonathan are the first team to leave the Pit Stop - and they rip open the clue to find out they’re going to the Arctic Circle. Actually, it’s Kiruna, Sweden, in Swedish Lapland. All teams have been given tickets for the same flight that flies from Ghana to Frankfurt and on to Sweden, but they’re not going to be forced to use them (making me think there are other ways to get there, and someone will try, and get stranded in some country somewhere.....). They must drive themselves to Jukkasjärvi and find the Icehotel, which is made from 10,000 tons of ice, and they’ll get their next clue there. The singers say they’ll be missing their college graduation on this Leg, and it’s a testament as to how bad they want to win it.
Gary & Mallory leave next, and Mallory screams to find out they’re going to the Arctic Circle. (She screams a lot!) Gary mentions they’ll be going from “a hundred to zero.” Chad & Stephanie leave and Stephanie asks “did I mention I hate freaking snow?” Katie & Rachel leave and Katie (I think, still can’t tell them apart) tells us she’s half Swedish but only knows a few words in Romanian, and the most mentioned is “dumb.” (Don’t think that saying “dumb” everywhere will help - nor will Romanian in Sweden!) Brook & Claire say they didn’t bring their snow boots, and Claire is bummed that they’ll have to put on more clothes (and no one will see her hot pink leopard shorts). Nick & Vicki, our resident brainiacs, get in the cab and Nick asks the cab driver if he knows where the Arctic Circle is. Michael & Kevin, leaving in last place and looking at a Speed Bump along the way, call the airport on the way and find out they can get a flight that leaves two hours earlier from Frankfurt to Kiruna. They decide to tell Gary & Mallory, because they can relate to them as a father/child team. They’ll have an hour between flights, so they hope that’s enough time to connect. Mallory sees an airport employee and asks him to check and see if they can get tickets. She laughs that they “need a girl” to help them out. Brook & Claire decide to check on an earlier flight also, and see an internet café and figure that’s where Nat & Kat are. Mallory’s “best friend” comes back and says they are all on the flight that leaves earlier. Mallory laughs that “I’m so glad I have blonde hair.” Connor & Jonathan are watching all this go on and think there’s an earlier flight and go to an information desk to find out. Nat & Kat bought tickets for the earlier flight, and decided to share that info with Brook & Claire (although how would they not - the Shopping Network gals showed up as they were buying the tickets!) Jonathan and Katie & Rachel find out that all the flights are fully booked and are nervous about some other teams getting a quicker flight. The teams that do have those tickets are preparing for a mad dash to the gate because of the one-hour window before their flight leaves. (Of course, if they miss it they can always use their original tickets - unless they had to give those up to get the new flight).
Nat & Kat make the flight, as to Gary & Mallory and Brook & Claire. We see Michael & Kevin in an elevator worried about making it on time - but the manage to get to the plane before it takes off. Gary & Mallory pass up the sign to the Icehotel, and with Michael & Kevin following them they have to turn around. Brook tells the woman standing by the clues that “my fiancé calls me an ice princess so I may have to borrow that [outfit] later. It’s very pretty.” The clues are blocks of ice with Swedish words etched in them that will lead them to Fjellborg’s Lodge - once they figure out the words. Michael & Kevin get their Speed Bump here. They have to sit on the furniture made from blocks of ice for ten minutes. Sitting for ten minutes sounds like a pretty easy thing to do - but to sit on solid ice with regular pants on? I dunno ‘bout that! Kevin is wearing soccer shorts, too! Michael laughs that he wishes they had that furniture in Ghana.
Nat & Kat ask a local what the words on their ice block say, and he tells them “it’s a camp. By a lake.” Mallory just wants to follow them (bad idea - you ALWAYS find out where you’re going before you decide to follow someone else!) Michael & Kevin get through their Speed Bump, but not before Kevin tells us that his butt is tingling. They get their block-of-ice-clue and say they should have brought gloves - “and butt pads.” A local gives them exact directions on where to drive.
Brook & Claire are following Nat & Kat on an unmarked trail through the (sparse) woods. Claire, in a sinister voice, narrates: “Four girls, traveling alone in the woods, and their car stalls ... and out come the ax murderers.” Michael & Kevin get to the clue box first (after leaving the Icehotel last) and it’s a Road Block: “Who’s feeling kind of mushy?” Dog sleds are the transportation of choice with snow eight months out of the year, but the other four months they have to stay in shape. They’ll have to mush their dogs with a summer training sled along a trail and pick up five different flags along the route. They’ll trade the flags for some pelts. For every flag they miss, they’ll have to do a penalty lap around the hunter’s camp. They then mush the dogs back to the start and exchange their pelts for the next clue. Michael takes off, yelling “good doggy” all the way. There’s a bear that jumps up next to the road - what—!!! Okay, it’s a guy in a bear suit. Cute. I’d like to think they’d find a way to keep real bears from getting that close to the contestants!
Mallory, Claire, and Kat will do the Roadblock too. As Michael gets all of his pelts the rest of the teams land in Sweden. Mallory misses the red flags but passes Kat up on the road, saying “I’ve got good dogs.” Kat’s dogs stop in the road and Claire passes her up as well. Mallory has to do a penalty lap and Claire gets her pelts with all of her flags, and kisses the hunter. I guess they’re doing a kiss count, and Claire’s was the sixth of the day. Wahoo! Germs from every part of the world!!!
The five remaining teams get to the Icehotel and some write down the words on the ice (as opposed to some other teams, who take the ice with them). Katie & Rachel ask a local, who says he can take them there. Thomas takes his ice but is having problems keeping a grip on it and uses Jill’s jacket.
Michael mushes back to the beginning and gets the clue, which tells them to drive to the Vassijaure Train Station for the next clue. All the mushers come back with mega smiles on their faces saying it was awesome.
Chad & Stephanie see all the other teams except for Jill & Thomas driving to the clue box. Katie, Connor, Stephanie and Nick race off to mush the dogs, and Jill & Thomas show up. Jill decides to do the task but they start running off in the wrong direction! We hear the familiar “zing” in the music that lets us know they’re making an AWFUL mistake. As Connor and Nick take off, laughing and urging their dogs on, Jill & Thomas keep running down a road to nowhere - but at least they’re thinking that maybe they screwed up, with Thomas asking “did we miss a sign or something?” (Yep.) If I’m them, I’m thinking about now that it shouldn’t take that long to get somewhere! They finally figure they’re off track and turn around, and Jill asks if they want to use the Express Pass. Thomas doesn’t want to make any decision yet but wants to check it out first.
Nick is hot on Connor’s trail, yelling “I’m coming, Connor!” as he catches up. Jill & Thomas get back to the dogs and off Jill goes.
Michael & Kevin get to the train station and the clue is a Detour. Phil tells us they're in a place where people can go to do extreme sports, but there are also people who follow the customs of their ancestors. They can do Sleds or Beds. For Sleds, they go to the top of the mountain and speed down a course on a tech sled. They both have to finish the course in less than a minute and 58 seconds. If they don’t make it, they have to go back to the top and try again. In Beds, they go to the camp of Sami people, descendants of Scandinavian nomads. Using the traditional tools, they must build a tent known as a ghoatti (if the internet tells me correctly). When the tent is up and the inside ready for sleeping with pelts and a fire, they’ll get their next clue. Kevin would love to do the sled, but he’s worried that his dad wouldn’t be able to do it. As they’re putting up the tent, and it’s flopping all over, the local Sami are cracking up watching them. (I think we have to have at least one set of locals laughing at a team or two every episode, or it just wouldn’t be The Amazing Race!)
Nat & Kat are next to the clue box and head off to Sleds. Back at the mush dogs, the teams finish their challenges and Nick tells the dog handler “your dogs are awesome!” They get their clues, and as Chad & Stephanie leave just before Jill & Thomas, Chad says that because of Jill & Thomas’ Express Pass, they’re running the Race as if they are in last place. After seeing what the Detour is, I wouldn’t blame them if they used the Express Pass!
Michael & Kevin are making better headway with the tent, but they tell us that they thought they’d be building a bed, not a tent. Nat & Kat get to the sled course and are loving the scenery sitting in the chair lift. They’re excited about trying the sleds, but Nat interviews that the turns were really icy and the course was fast, and pulling the brake didn’t do much. Kat misses a turn and gets tangled in a fence as Nat finishes in 1:48. Gary & Mallory start their run, and Gary takes off quickly but Mallory is kneeling on the seat and going slower. But! It looks like they make it - 1:58 on the dot. The guy tells them no, they have to BEAT the time. Back at the tent, Michael & Kevin have it up and are off to get pelts and firewood, and Kevin says his feet are frozen - he’s only wearing ankle socks. Nat & Kat make it in 1:55 on their second try. Their clue tells them to drive to the Pit Stop which is at the Norwegian Border. Brook & Claire make it in 1:48, and Gary & Mallory do 1:24 on their second try.
Chad & Stephanie decide to try the Sleds, but only Chad is excited - Stephanie wants nothing to do with it but says she’ll try for Chad. (Awwww). Nat & Kat find Phil and the Mat, and are the first team to arrive. They win a trip to Belize.
Michael & Kevin finish their hut and get their clue. Gary & Mallory then Brook & Claire get to the Mat and there are hugs all around.
Jill & Thomas are the last to the clue box at the train station and talk about using the Express Pass to just bypass the tasks and “kill everybody.” Jonathan & Connor are on the course, and Jonathan keeps falling over. Stephanie says she’s never been more scared in her life looking at the course. She ends up right behind Chad and yells at him to go faster, but ends up wobbling and tipping over. Chad yells at her to get back on. She hits a turn and flies off the sled and gets tangled in a fence. Ever the supportive one, Chad yells at her “well, don’t even try or anything!” Connor & Jonathan finish, but in 2:03 and have to try again. Stephanie crashes once again and tells Chad she can’t do it. At the bottom, Chad says Stephanie is letting her head get to her.
Jill & Thomas are attempting Beds and talking about using the Express Pass, saying it would be a shame to be eliminated and not use it. They decide it will take too much time and give the Sami their Express Pass and get the clue to go to the next Pit Stop. As Stephanie gets to the bottom of the course, she tells Chad she’s done. She doesn’t want to go again after crashing three times and the sled landing on top of her. She’s too afraid to try again. I’m looking at Chad’s face and thinking it reminds me of the old saying “if looks could kill....” She cries as they walk away and Chad thinks they’re giving up.
We see Connor & Jonathan trying again, and failing miserably, and Jonathan interviews that “saying Connor is batter at the sledding than I am is a gross understatement.” He kept going over and through the fences and was afraid he’d end up in Norway. Nick & Vicki begin the course and Vicki interviews that they’re a more physical couple than a mental one (you’ve definitely proved that!) and this challenge was more suited to them. They finish in 1:46 on the first try. Katie & Rachel are flopping all over and Rachel loses her sled down the hill, so they decide to switch tasks. After another disastrous run, Connor & Jonathan switch also.
As they get to the Beds challenge, Jonathan & Connor are happy to see the other teams, but Chad & Stephanie are soon finished. Katie & Rachel’s first check isn’t good enough, giving Connor & Jonathan some hope. Chad & Stephanie arrive at the Mat carrying their block of ice clue! Katie & Rachel get approval and drive off, and Connor & Jonathan get their clue. It looks like both teams get to the location of the Mat at the same time (and they have their block of ice also). The A Capella team sings their way to the Mat but Phil tells them they’ve been eliminated. From first to worst! They tell Phil they graduated from Princeton and graduated from the Race on the same day, and toss their baseball caps into the air. We’re treated to them singing about the Race and Phil sending them home.
1 - Nat & Kat
2 - Gary & Mallory
3 - Brook & Claire
4 - Michael & Kevin
5 - Jill & Thomas
6 - Nick & Vicki
7 - Chad & Stephanie
8 - Katie & Rachel
9 - Connor & Jonathan (eliminated)
Okay, yet another team finishes first. Are the teams that close? Do you see a clear front runner yet? Next week will only tell!
By the way, I've found a couple other "amateur" bloggers that are quite entertaining - you should check them out!
Sean - http://sfurfaro.blogspot.com/2010/10/amazing-race-recap-we-should-have.html
Josh - http://www.joshwolk.com/blogs/archive.php
Connor & Jonathan are the first team to leave the Pit Stop - and they rip open the clue to find out they’re going to the Arctic Circle. Actually, it’s Kiruna, Sweden, in Swedish Lapland. All teams have been given tickets for the same flight that flies from Ghana to Frankfurt and on to Sweden, but they’re not going to be forced to use them (making me think there are other ways to get there, and someone will try, and get stranded in some country somewhere.....). They must drive themselves to Jukkasjärvi and find the Icehotel, which is made from 10,000 tons of ice, and they’ll get their next clue there. The singers say they’ll be missing their college graduation on this Leg, and it’s a testament as to how bad they want to win it.
Gary & Mallory leave next, and Mallory screams to find out they’re going to the Arctic Circle. (She screams a lot!) Gary mentions they’ll be going from “a hundred to zero.” Chad & Stephanie leave and Stephanie asks “did I mention I hate freaking snow?” Katie & Rachel leave and Katie (I think, still can’t tell them apart) tells us she’s half Swedish but only knows a few words in Romanian, and the most mentioned is “dumb.” (Don’t think that saying “dumb” everywhere will help - nor will Romanian in Sweden!) Brook & Claire say they didn’t bring their snow boots, and Claire is bummed that they’ll have to put on more clothes (and no one will see her hot pink leopard shorts). Nick & Vicki, our resident brainiacs, get in the cab and Nick asks the cab driver if he knows where the Arctic Circle is. Michael & Kevin, leaving in last place and looking at a Speed Bump along the way, call the airport on the way and find out they can get a flight that leaves two hours earlier from Frankfurt to Kiruna. They decide to tell Gary & Mallory, because they can relate to them as a father/child team. They’ll have an hour between flights, so they hope that’s enough time to connect. Mallory sees an airport employee and asks him to check and see if they can get tickets. She laughs that they “need a girl” to help them out. Brook & Claire decide to check on an earlier flight also, and see an internet café and figure that’s where Nat & Kat are. Mallory’s “best friend” comes back and says they are all on the flight that leaves earlier. Mallory laughs that “I’m so glad I have blonde hair.” Connor & Jonathan are watching all this go on and think there’s an earlier flight and go to an information desk to find out. Nat & Kat bought tickets for the earlier flight, and decided to share that info with Brook & Claire (although how would they not - the Shopping Network gals showed up as they were buying the tickets!) Jonathan and Katie & Rachel find out that all the flights are fully booked and are nervous about some other teams getting a quicker flight. The teams that do have those tickets are preparing for a mad dash to the gate because of the one-hour window before their flight leaves. (Of course, if they miss it they can always use their original tickets - unless they had to give those up to get the new flight).
Nat & Kat make the flight, as to Gary & Mallory and Brook & Claire. We see Michael & Kevin in an elevator worried about making it on time - but the manage to get to the plane before it takes off. Gary & Mallory pass up the sign to the Icehotel, and with Michael & Kevin following them they have to turn around. Brook tells the woman standing by the clues that “my fiancé calls me an ice princess so I may have to borrow that [outfit] later. It’s very pretty.” The clues are blocks of ice with Swedish words etched in them that will lead them to Fjellborg’s Lodge - once they figure out the words. Michael & Kevin get their Speed Bump here. They have to sit on the furniture made from blocks of ice for ten minutes. Sitting for ten minutes sounds like a pretty easy thing to do - but to sit on solid ice with regular pants on? I dunno ‘bout that! Kevin is wearing soccer shorts, too! Michael laughs that he wishes they had that furniture in Ghana.
Nat & Kat ask a local what the words on their ice block say, and he tells them “it’s a camp. By a lake.” Mallory just wants to follow them (bad idea - you ALWAYS find out where you’re going before you decide to follow someone else!) Michael & Kevin get through their Speed Bump, but not before Kevin tells us that his butt is tingling. They get their block-of-ice-clue and say they should have brought gloves - “and butt pads.” A local gives them exact directions on where to drive.
Brook & Claire are following Nat & Kat on an unmarked trail through the (sparse) woods. Claire, in a sinister voice, narrates: “Four girls, traveling alone in the woods, and their car stalls ... and out come the ax murderers.” Michael & Kevin get to the clue box first (after leaving the Icehotel last) and it’s a Road Block: “Who’s feeling kind of mushy?” Dog sleds are the transportation of choice with snow eight months out of the year, but the other four months they have to stay in shape. They’ll have to mush their dogs with a summer training sled along a trail and pick up five different flags along the route. They’ll trade the flags for some pelts. For every flag they miss, they’ll have to do a penalty lap around the hunter’s camp. They then mush the dogs back to the start and exchange their pelts for the next clue. Michael takes off, yelling “good doggy” all the way. There’s a bear that jumps up next to the road - what—!!! Okay, it’s a guy in a bear suit. Cute. I’d like to think they’d find a way to keep real bears from getting that close to the contestants!
Mallory, Claire, and Kat will do the Roadblock too. As Michael gets all of his pelts the rest of the teams land in Sweden. Mallory misses the red flags but passes Kat up on the road, saying “I’ve got good dogs.” Kat’s dogs stop in the road and Claire passes her up as well. Mallory has to do a penalty lap and Claire gets her pelts with all of her flags, and kisses the hunter. I guess they’re doing a kiss count, and Claire’s was the sixth of the day. Wahoo! Germs from every part of the world!!!
The five remaining teams get to the Icehotel and some write down the words on the ice (as opposed to some other teams, who take the ice with them). Katie & Rachel ask a local, who says he can take them there. Thomas takes his ice but is having problems keeping a grip on it and uses Jill’s jacket.
Michael mushes back to the beginning and gets the clue, which tells them to drive to the Vassijaure Train Station for the next clue. All the mushers come back with mega smiles on their faces saying it was awesome.
Chad & Stephanie see all the other teams except for Jill & Thomas driving to the clue box. Katie, Connor, Stephanie and Nick race off to mush the dogs, and Jill & Thomas show up. Jill decides to do the task but they start running off in the wrong direction! We hear the familiar “zing” in the music that lets us know they’re making an AWFUL mistake. As Connor and Nick take off, laughing and urging their dogs on, Jill & Thomas keep running down a road to nowhere - but at least they’re thinking that maybe they screwed up, with Thomas asking “did we miss a sign or something?” (Yep.) If I’m them, I’m thinking about now that it shouldn’t take that long to get somewhere! They finally figure they’re off track and turn around, and Jill asks if they want to use the Express Pass. Thomas doesn’t want to make any decision yet but wants to check it out first.
Nick is hot on Connor’s trail, yelling “I’m coming, Connor!” as he catches up. Jill & Thomas get back to the dogs and off Jill goes.
Michael & Kevin get to the train station and the clue is a Detour. Phil tells us they're in a place where people can go to do extreme sports, but there are also people who follow the customs of their ancestors. They can do Sleds or Beds. For Sleds, they go to the top of the mountain and speed down a course on a tech sled. They both have to finish the course in less than a minute and 58 seconds. If they don’t make it, they have to go back to the top and try again. In Beds, they go to the camp of Sami people, descendants of Scandinavian nomads. Using the traditional tools, they must build a tent known as a ghoatti (if the internet tells me correctly). When the tent is up and the inside ready for sleeping with pelts and a fire, they’ll get their next clue. Kevin would love to do the sled, but he’s worried that his dad wouldn’t be able to do it. As they’re putting up the tent, and it’s flopping all over, the local Sami are cracking up watching them. (I think we have to have at least one set of locals laughing at a team or two every episode, or it just wouldn’t be The Amazing Race!)
Nat & Kat are next to the clue box and head off to Sleds. Back at the mush dogs, the teams finish their challenges and Nick tells the dog handler “your dogs are awesome!” They get their clues, and as Chad & Stephanie leave just before Jill & Thomas, Chad says that because of Jill & Thomas’ Express Pass, they’re running the Race as if they are in last place. After seeing what the Detour is, I wouldn’t blame them if they used the Express Pass!
Michael & Kevin are making better headway with the tent, but they tell us that they thought they’d be building a bed, not a tent. Nat & Kat get to the sled course and are loving the scenery sitting in the chair lift. They’re excited about trying the sleds, but Nat interviews that the turns were really icy and the course was fast, and pulling the brake didn’t do much. Kat misses a turn and gets tangled in a fence as Nat finishes in 1:48. Gary & Mallory start their run, and Gary takes off quickly but Mallory is kneeling on the seat and going slower. But! It looks like they make it - 1:58 on the dot. The guy tells them no, they have to BEAT the time. Back at the tent, Michael & Kevin have it up and are off to get pelts and firewood, and Kevin says his feet are frozen - he’s only wearing ankle socks. Nat & Kat make it in 1:55 on their second try. Their clue tells them to drive to the Pit Stop which is at the Norwegian Border. Brook & Claire make it in 1:48, and Gary & Mallory do 1:24 on their second try.
Chad & Stephanie decide to try the Sleds, but only Chad is excited - Stephanie wants nothing to do with it but says she’ll try for Chad. (Awwww). Nat & Kat find Phil and the Mat, and are the first team to arrive. They win a trip to Belize.
Michael & Kevin finish their hut and get their clue. Gary & Mallory then Brook & Claire get to the Mat and there are hugs all around.
Jill & Thomas are the last to the clue box at the train station and talk about using the Express Pass to just bypass the tasks and “kill everybody.” Jonathan & Connor are on the course, and Jonathan keeps falling over. Stephanie says she’s never been more scared in her life looking at the course. She ends up right behind Chad and yells at him to go faster, but ends up wobbling and tipping over. Chad yells at her to get back on. She hits a turn and flies off the sled and gets tangled in a fence. Ever the supportive one, Chad yells at her “well, don’t even try or anything!” Connor & Jonathan finish, but in 2:03 and have to try again. Stephanie crashes once again and tells Chad she can’t do it. At the bottom, Chad says Stephanie is letting her head get to her.
Jill & Thomas are attempting Beds and talking about using the Express Pass, saying it would be a shame to be eliminated and not use it. They decide it will take too much time and give the Sami their Express Pass and get the clue to go to the next Pit Stop. As Stephanie gets to the bottom of the course, she tells Chad she’s done. She doesn’t want to go again after crashing three times and the sled landing on top of her. She’s too afraid to try again. I’m looking at Chad’s face and thinking it reminds me of the old saying “if looks could kill....” She cries as they walk away and Chad thinks they’re giving up.
We see Connor & Jonathan trying again, and failing miserably, and Jonathan interviews that “saying Connor is batter at the sledding than I am is a gross understatement.” He kept going over and through the fences and was afraid he’d end up in Norway. Nick & Vicki begin the course and Vicki interviews that they’re a more physical couple than a mental one (you’ve definitely proved that!) and this challenge was more suited to them. They finish in 1:46 on the first try. Katie & Rachel are flopping all over and Rachel loses her sled down the hill, so they decide to switch tasks. After another disastrous run, Connor & Jonathan switch also.
As they get to the Beds challenge, Jonathan & Connor are happy to see the other teams, but Chad & Stephanie are soon finished. Katie & Rachel’s first check isn’t good enough, giving Connor & Jonathan some hope. Chad & Stephanie arrive at the Mat carrying their block of ice clue! Katie & Rachel get approval and drive off, and Connor & Jonathan get their clue. It looks like both teams get to the location of the Mat at the same time (and they have their block of ice also). The A Capella team sings their way to the Mat but Phil tells them they’ve been eliminated. From first to worst! They tell Phil they graduated from Princeton and graduated from the Race on the same day, and toss their baseball caps into the air. We’re treated to them singing about the Race and Phil sending them home.
1 - Nat & Kat
2 - Gary & Mallory
3 - Brook & Claire
4 - Michael & Kevin
5 - Jill & Thomas
6 - Nick & Vicki
7 - Chad & Stephanie
8 - Katie & Rachel
9 - Connor & Jonathan (eliminated)
Okay, yet another team finishes first. Are the teams that close? Do you see a clear front runner yet? Next week will only tell!
By the way, I've found a couple other "amateur" bloggers that are quite entertaining - you should check them out!
Sean - http://sfurfaro.blogspot.com/2010/10/amazing-race-recap-we-should-have.html
Josh - http://www.joshwolk.com/blogs/archive.php
Monday, October 11, 2010
A Non-Elimination Leg Saves Michael & Kevin
Leaving from the Ghana Market, Brook & Claire open the clue and find out they have to travel to Jamestown and find the Akotoku Boxing Academy for their next clue. The clue doesn’t say “boxing” but just “Akotoku Academy.” Sounds like our teams may be punching each other out!!! The clue is a Road Block: “You’ve got a rocky road ahead.” One team member must properly wrap their hands, then use the punching bag for 60 seconds and jump rope for 60 seconds. Claire says “If she has to get in the ring with one of those guys I’m afraid for the other guys.” Chad & Stephanie show up second and Stephanie tells Chad “I want you to box.” (Is she pissed at him and hopes someone knocks him out?) Katie & Rachel show up right after and Katie runs off to do the task. She and Chad try to follow the hand-wrapper (who isn’t doing it slowly or helping them at all). By this time, Brook has blasted through the challenge (she says they train at a boxing facility) and they’re off to find a Supply Depot in the Dodowa District for their next clue.
Jill & Thomas’ taxi driver has to stop for directions, and Connor & Jonathan are singing to their cabbie to “please drive faster” and “we love Sampson (the cabbie).” I imagine that would help, their singing is very good and it makes a tense situation a bit lighter - and the locals probably get a kick out of it. Nick & Vicki tell us that they are going to keep communicating because that’s the key to a good Race (sounds like they’ll be having communication problems later).
Chad and Katie are jumping rope, and Chad starts showing off and trips on his rope and has to start over, leaving Katie to get ahead of him. Chad tells us, though, that “she didn’t look as good as me doing it.” Kevin and Connor will do the boxing challenge, as will Thomas. Connor flies through the challenge and Kevin is slower because he can’t wrap his hands correctly. Mallory & Gary show up and Gary will do the challenge, as will Vicki. Where are our doctors? Nat & Kat are in the cab, after giving themselves the kiss of death by saying “a good cab driver can make up time and a bad cab driver can make you lose the Race.” They’re lost. They see Chad & Stephanie and Katie & Rachel behind them, and stop the cab to block them from going anywhere so they can ask where the boxing academy is. The teams tell them it’s behind them just to get moving again, and Nat & Kat tell their cabbie to turn around, but he refuses, saying “this way.” Again, the cabbie has to stop and ask directions. Mallory & Gary get ahead of Jill & Thomas and so do Nick & Vicki.
Brook & Claire’s cab gets held up by some yaks crossing the road and Connor & Jonathan urge their driver to pass them up on the road, getting to the supply depot first. The clue tells them to load up a wheelbarrow with supplies and take it to the Asebi D/A Primary School and deliver them to the foreman. If they deliver all the correct supplies listed on the clue, they’ll get their next clue. They have a ways to go down a pothole-filled road and Jonathan complains about the heat, but it seems they do the task quickly. The clue says “It’s time for a pop quiz.” Phil tells us it may be a challenge for the teams to figure out exactly where they are. They’ll have to go to a classroom and figure out African Geography. Connor makes the first guess on where Ghana is, and is wrong - and the kids laugh at him.
Brook & Claire read the clue: “Choose a pair of wheelbarrows and load them with construction supplies.” So what do they do? Grab ONE wheelbarrow and supplies. Back in class, after about 7 incorrect guesses, Connor finally gets Ghana right and gets their next clue. They tell the kids “Princeton is a good school, honest. There’s an African studies major.” Their clue is a Detour: Bicycle Parts or Language Arts. For Bicycle Parts, they must use a stick to roll a bicycle rim around the bumpy terrain down a soccer field and back without letting it fall. In Language Arts, teams choose a proverb with eight highlighted phrases. Each phrase has a symbol in a native visual alphabet. They must go to a large wall with symbols and find the proper symbols in the proper order to get their next clue. Connor & Jonathan will try Language Arts.
Brooke & Claire get to the foreman and find out they have to get two wheelbarrows - and they have to take all the stuff back and get the other one. Katie & Rachel get to the supply pile and argue about the wheelbarrows, with Katie reading the clue saying “choose a pair of wheelbarrows” and watching Michael & Kevin take off with one. “They only have one. Well, they’re idiots.” Brook & Claire are on their way back and don’t tell Michael & Kevin that they should have two wheelbarrows, just answering “yes” when asked if they forgot something.
And we see that Nat & Kat have definitely cursed themselves - their cab with a different driver is now overheating. He fiddles with the engine and they take off again.
As the teams near the Supply Depot, they see the teams already there walking with their wheelbarrows. Chad jokes “run ‘em over” but quickly tells the cabbie he’s just kidding. (Not really. But being the cause of a run-over-by-cab death on the Amazing Race would NOT be pretty). Michael & Kevin get to the foreman and find out the girls didn’t tell them what was wrong, and they too have to go back. Katie & Rachel missed the trowels, and have to go back to get them.
Connor & Jonathan are at the symbol wall and find their symbols in consecutive order. The student gives them their clue, which tells them to go to the Pit Stop which is the home of Awusa Ntso on a rural farm. Connor & Jonathan get to the Mat and are ecstatic to be first, and finding out that they won $5,000 each.
Brook & Claire get their clue from the foreman and go to the school, where Brook says we in America have beautiful schools, whereas the Ghana children just have a shack. Nick & Vicki get to the foreman and find out they brought two bags of cement instead of one. Nick tells Vicki “It’s fifth-grade reading.” He’s ticked. Mallory & Gary are correct and head off to the schoolhouse. On the way back, Nick is blasting Vicki, telling her she has no common sense. (That’s communicating, all right!) He says he’s pissed and he won’t get over it “until we see Phil and he tells us we’re not last.” Mallory tells us that seeing these kids makes her know “how good we have it.” Gary gets Ghana correct on the first try, and they decide to try Bicycle Parts. Mallory is having major problems getting her bicycle rim to move and Gary gets across the field right away. She complains that it’s hot and she’s watching the kids just run like it’s nothing. Another one, Mallory, asking Jesus for help on the Race (much more important than world hunger or war, of course!)
At the classes, Chad & Stephanie, Brook & Claire, Katie & Rachel and Jill & Thomas all get Ghana on the map correct on their first try. (Lucky those Princeton boys were far enough ahead, huh?) All four teams decide to try Language Arts. Brook & Claire see the eight highlighted phrases and also see eight schoolchildren playing, and decide to draw a circle around the kids - and all the other teams do it too. The kids aren't paying attention to the teams and Brook & Claire see the symbol wall and realize the kids have nothing to do with the paper. Jill & Thomas as checking the kids’ textbooks for the decoder key, walking right by the key map on the wall.
Kevin & Michael get Ghana correct on the first try and take off to do Language Arts. We see Gary finish his turn with the bicycle rim and Katie & Rachel show up to try it. Chad & Stephanie are frustrated and decide to switch tasks. Nick & Vicki tell us “we’re the dumbest people on earth” because the African map is full of country names - except for Ghana, which they can’t place correctly. Nat gets it on the first try.
Mallory & Gary get to the Mat in second place, and Gary is happy that “nothing broke down today.” Katie & Rachel, Nick & Vicki, and Chad & Stephanie are watching the kids to get the gist of the bicycle rims. Chad says that he loves kids - “everywhere you go in the world, children are amazing. They see the world in such an honest way, that nothing is bad out there.” He zips through the challenge without a problem, while Nick & Vicki are communicating - Nick by throwing the bicycle rim, complaining “This is so stupid” and telling Vicki to shut up. His tolerance level is a bit short today! Stephanie gets her two passes done, and they’re off to the Pit Stop, where they meet Phil in third place. Katie gets her two passes done, and Nick manages to get to one side of the field as Brook & Claire walk by the decoder map to switch tasks. Nat & Kat give up at the symbol wall and switch also. Katie & Rachel finish and get to Phil in fourth place. Nick is done, and Vicki is having major problems with her asthma between the heat and the running and the frustration. Nick then decided to calm down to help her out.
Back at the wall, Thomas & Jill both walk past the decoder key and go to the Bicycle Parts, as do Michael & Kevin. Funny, but now that Nick is being supportive and encouraging, Vicki manages to get through the challenge. He says later that he feels crappy for treating her that way - okay, Nick, brownie points, but don’t do it again! They get to the Mat in fifth place, with Brook & Clair right behind, and Phil tells them that tomorrow they will be going back to the school with the other teams to do some remodeling and give back to the community.
Nat & Kat finish ahead of Michael & Kevin, because Michael is out of breath and doesn’t think he can make it. Kevin is a good kid, telling his dad that even if it takes 30 minutes, he has to try to finish it. Michael is panting and saying he can’t go back. He’s having trouble breathing and getting dizzy from the heat and medics had to be called in. Michael is crying, saying “I didn’t do it” and apologizing, but Kevin tells him it’s okay. As Jill & Thomas get to the Mat, Michael decides that he’s going to show his son that they are a team and he’s going to finish what he started. In the meantime, we see Nat & Kat getting lost looking for the Pit Stop - I guess the editors are trying to make it look like a race to the Mat but I don’t see Michael & Kevin beating them...or will they? As they leave the task, Kevin asks “are you ready, dad? And he says “I’m ready to be eliminated.” There’s the dramatic music, and Nat & Kat make it ahead of Michael & Kevin. Phil tells them they’re the last team to arrive - but he doesn’t say they’re eliminated. Phil tells them they’re still in the Race because it’s a non-elimination Leg. They will have to do a Speed Bump in the next Leg, but they’re still racing!
So here’s the order of finish:
1 - Connor & Jonathan
2 - Mallory & Gary
3 - Chad & Stephanie
4 - Katie & Rachel
5 - Nick & Vicki
6 - Brook & Claire
7 - Jill & Thomas
8 - Nat & Kat
9 - Michael & Kevin (non-elimination leg)
We've now had a different team finish first for every Leg of the Race. Will any of them double up? Who's the next first-place team? Can Michael & Kevin get over the Speed Bump and stay in the Race? Find out next week!!!
Jill & Thomas’ taxi driver has to stop for directions, and Connor & Jonathan are singing to their cabbie to “please drive faster” and “we love Sampson (the cabbie).” I imagine that would help, their singing is very good and it makes a tense situation a bit lighter - and the locals probably get a kick out of it. Nick & Vicki tell us that they are going to keep communicating because that’s the key to a good Race (sounds like they’ll be having communication problems later).
Chad and Katie are jumping rope, and Chad starts showing off and trips on his rope and has to start over, leaving Katie to get ahead of him. Chad tells us, though, that “she didn’t look as good as me doing it.” Kevin and Connor will do the boxing challenge, as will Thomas. Connor flies through the challenge and Kevin is slower because he can’t wrap his hands correctly. Mallory & Gary show up and Gary will do the challenge, as will Vicki. Where are our doctors? Nat & Kat are in the cab, after giving themselves the kiss of death by saying “a good cab driver can make up time and a bad cab driver can make you lose the Race.” They’re lost. They see Chad & Stephanie and Katie & Rachel behind them, and stop the cab to block them from going anywhere so they can ask where the boxing academy is. The teams tell them it’s behind them just to get moving again, and Nat & Kat tell their cabbie to turn around, but he refuses, saying “this way.” Again, the cabbie has to stop and ask directions. Mallory & Gary get ahead of Jill & Thomas and so do Nick & Vicki.
Brook & Claire’s cab gets held up by some yaks crossing the road and Connor & Jonathan urge their driver to pass them up on the road, getting to the supply depot first. The clue tells them to load up a wheelbarrow with supplies and take it to the Asebi D/A Primary School and deliver them to the foreman. If they deliver all the correct supplies listed on the clue, they’ll get their next clue. They have a ways to go down a pothole-filled road and Jonathan complains about the heat, but it seems they do the task quickly. The clue says “It’s time for a pop quiz.” Phil tells us it may be a challenge for the teams to figure out exactly where they are. They’ll have to go to a classroom and figure out African Geography. Connor makes the first guess on where Ghana is, and is wrong - and the kids laugh at him.
Brook & Claire read the clue: “Choose a pair of wheelbarrows and load them with construction supplies.” So what do they do? Grab ONE wheelbarrow and supplies. Back in class, after about 7 incorrect guesses, Connor finally gets Ghana right and gets their next clue. They tell the kids “Princeton is a good school, honest. There’s an African studies major.” Their clue is a Detour: Bicycle Parts or Language Arts. For Bicycle Parts, they must use a stick to roll a bicycle rim around the bumpy terrain down a soccer field and back without letting it fall. In Language Arts, teams choose a proverb with eight highlighted phrases. Each phrase has a symbol in a native visual alphabet. They must go to a large wall with symbols and find the proper symbols in the proper order to get their next clue. Connor & Jonathan will try Language Arts.
Brooke & Claire get to the foreman and find out they have to get two wheelbarrows - and they have to take all the stuff back and get the other one. Katie & Rachel get to the supply pile and argue about the wheelbarrows, with Katie reading the clue saying “choose a pair of wheelbarrows” and watching Michael & Kevin take off with one. “They only have one. Well, they’re idiots.” Brook & Claire are on their way back and don’t tell Michael & Kevin that they should have two wheelbarrows, just answering “yes” when asked if they forgot something.
And we see that Nat & Kat have definitely cursed themselves - their cab with a different driver is now overheating. He fiddles with the engine and they take off again.
As the teams near the Supply Depot, they see the teams already there walking with their wheelbarrows. Chad jokes “run ‘em over” but quickly tells the cabbie he’s just kidding. (Not really. But being the cause of a run-over-by-cab death on the Amazing Race would NOT be pretty). Michael & Kevin get to the foreman and find out the girls didn’t tell them what was wrong, and they too have to go back. Katie & Rachel missed the trowels, and have to go back to get them.
Connor & Jonathan are at the symbol wall and find their symbols in consecutive order. The student gives them their clue, which tells them to go to the Pit Stop which is the home of Awusa Ntso on a rural farm. Connor & Jonathan get to the Mat and are ecstatic to be first, and finding out that they won $5,000 each.
Brook & Claire get their clue from the foreman and go to the school, where Brook says we in America have beautiful schools, whereas the Ghana children just have a shack. Nick & Vicki get to the foreman and find out they brought two bags of cement instead of one. Nick tells Vicki “It’s fifth-grade reading.” He’s ticked. Mallory & Gary are correct and head off to the schoolhouse. On the way back, Nick is blasting Vicki, telling her she has no common sense. (That’s communicating, all right!) He says he’s pissed and he won’t get over it “until we see Phil and he tells us we’re not last.” Mallory tells us that seeing these kids makes her know “how good we have it.” Gary gets Ghana correct on the first try, and they decide to try Bicycle Parts. Mallory is having major problems getting her bicycle rim to move and Gary gets across the field right away. She complains that it’s hot and she’s watching the kids just run like it’s nothing. Another one, Mallory, asking Jesus for help on the Race (much more important than world hunger or war, of course!)
At the classes, Chad & Stephanie, Brook & Claire, Katie & Rachel and Jill & Thomas all get Ghana on the map correct on their first try. (Lucky those Princeton boys were far enough ahead, huh?) All four teams decide to try Language Arts. Brook & Claire see the eight highlighted phrases and also see eight schoolchildren playing, and decide to draw a circle around the kids - and all the other teams do it too. The kids aren't paying attention to the teams and Brook & Claire see the symbol wall and realize the kids have nothing to do with the paper. Jill & Thomas as checking the kids’ textbooks for the decoder key, walking right by the key map on the wall.
Kevin & Michael get Ghana correct on the first try and take off to do Language Arts. We see Gary finish his turn with the bicycle rim and Katie & Rachel show up to try it. Chad & Stephanie are frustrated and decide to switch tasks. Nick & Vicki tell us “we’re the dumbest people on earth” because the African map is full of country names - except for Ghana, which they can’t place correctly. Nat gets it on the first try.
Mallory & Gary get to the Mat in second place, and Gary is happy that “nothing broke down today.” Katie & Rachel, Nick & Vicki, and Chad & Stephanie are watching the kids to get the gist of the bicycle rims. Chad says that he loves kids - “everywhere you go in the world, children are amazing. They see the world in such an honest way, that nothing is bad out there.” He zips through the challenge without a problem, while Nick & Vicki are communicating - Nick by throwing the bicycle rim, complaining “This is so stupid” and telling Vicki to shut up. His tolerance level is a bit short today! Stephanie gets her two passes done, and they’re off to the Pit Stop, where they meet Phil in third place. Katie gets her two passes done, and Nick manages to get to one side of the field as Brook & Claire walk by the decoder map to switch tasks. Nat & Kat give up at the symbol wall and switch also. Katie & Rachel finish and get to Phil in fourth place. Nick is done, and Vicki is having major problems with her asthma between the heat and the running and the frustration. Nick then decided to calm down to help her out.
Back at the wall, Thomas & Jill both walk past the decoder key and go to the Bicycle Parts, as do Michael & Kevin. Funny, but now that Nick is being supportive and encouraging, Vicki manages to get through the challenge. He says later that he feels crappy for treating her that way - okay, Nick, brownie points, but don’t do it again! They get to the Mat in fifth place, with Brook & Clair right behind, and Phil tells them that tomorrow they will be going back to the school with the other teams to do some remodeling and give back to the community.
Nat & Kat finish ahead of Michael & Kevin, because Michael is out of breath and doesn’t think he can make it. Kevin is a good kid, telling his dad that even if it takes 30 minutes, he has to try to finish it. Michael is panting and saying he can’t go back. He’s having trouble breathing and getting dizzy from the heat and medics had to be called in. Michael is crying, saying “I didn’t do it” and apologizing, but Kevin tells him it’s okay. As Jill & Thomas get to the Mat, Michael decides that he’s going to show his son that they are a team and he’s going to finish what he started. In the meantime, we see Nat & Kat getting lost looking for the Pit Stop - I guess the editors are trying to make it look like a race to the Mat but I don’t see Michael & Kevin beating them...or will they? As they leave the task, Kevin asks “are you ready, dad? And he says “I’m ready to be eliminated.” There’s the dramatic music, and Nat & Kat make it ahead of Michael & Kevin. Phil tells them they’re the last team to arrive - but he doesn’t say they’re eliminated. Phil tells them they’re still in the Race because it’s a non-elimination Leg. They will have to do a Speed Bump in the next Leg, but they’re still racing!
So here’s the order of finish:
1 - Connor & Jonathan
2 - Mallory & Gary
3 - Chad & Stephanie
4 - Katie & Rachel
5 - Nick & Vicki
6 - Brook & Claire
7 - Jill & Thomas
8 - Nat & Kat
9 - Michael & Kevin (non-elimination leg)
We've now had a different team finish first for every Leg of the Race. Will any of them double up? Who's the next first-place team? Can Michael & Kevin get over the Speed Bump and stay in the Race? Find out next week!!!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Ghana Makes Some Interesting Coffins!
The Pit Stop on the last Leg of the Race was in Eastnor Castle in the English countryside, a beautiful place that leaves Andie & Jenna to say they felt like princesses. Jill & Thomas and their Express Pass get to leave first, and they open their clue to find they have to fly to Accra, Ghana and go to Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, which is a monument to the “Father of Ghananian independence.” Nat & Kat leave next, telling us that if there were two boats in the ocean, Kat would be the slow and steady ocean liner and Nat would be the dinghy bouncing alongside. Connor & Jonathan open their clue right before Brook & Claire and Rachel & Katie and decide to wait for them to pool their resources. They decide to ask someone and Brook tells a tractor driver she’ll give him a big sloppy kiss if the writes down the directions to the airport - and then just gives him a peck on the cheek. Cheater!
Once at the airport, the teams are all on the same flight to Ghana. There’s a mad dash to get a taxi outside of the airport, and the teams find out that their drivers have no care for anyone on the roads - including pedestrians and other vehicles, almost hitting them. At red lights, the cabs are inundated with people begging for money and Andie can’t resist the kid’s face and gives him a coin. She says “that’s somebody’s son” and Jenna hopes it will give them good Karma.
The clue tells the teams to go to Makola Market and find the clue box across from the entrance. It’s packed with people and finding the main entrance isn’t an easy task. The clue is a Roadblock: “Who thinks they can handle some shady dealings?” Since it is so sunny, sunglasses are a hot item and one team member has to sell enough sunglasses to make 15 Cedi (Ghana money), and they’re not allowed to sell the glasses for less than 3 Cedi. Brook is ecstatic since this is right up her alley. Chad tried flirting with the women and seemed to make good headway. Brook told a customer that “you look like a gangster!” Mallory & Gary are still in their cab as the other teams get to the market, and their cab dies but they seem to get another one pretty quickly. Nick is having big problems and Brook is selling away, offering cheek kisses with her sales. Jill and Nick seem to have a lot of lookers but no buyers. Of course, Brook gets done first and the clue tells them to go to the Peace Motor Spare Parts store in the June 4th area for their next clue. Connor’s tactic is to get on his knees but it seems to work, and they leave right behind Michael & Kevin. Jill and Kat are getting nowhere but frustrated.
At the Motor Parts store, the clue is a Detour: Tune In or Check Out. For Tune In, teams have to go to an electrical supply store and pick up television antenna system. They must then find a marked house and install the antenna to the owners’ specifications. If the house gets TV reception, they get their next clue. For Check Out, they have to go to a woodworking shop that makes unique coffins (lions, cameras and soda bottles, to name a couple). They choose a coffin and then must transport it through the back streets to the showroom.
Brook & Clair decide to install an antenna and it’s ridiculous to watch - and listen to, because Brook NEVER shuts up. The home is painted a bright green inside (maybe there was a special on the color at the Ghana Home Depot?) Michael & Kevin make it to the parts store but for some reason can’t see the clue box right in front of it. Connor & Jonathan’s cabbie doesn’t know where the June 4th area is and Chad & Stephanie get ahead of them. Chad is “good with electronics” so they decide to Tune In. Michael & Kevin see them getting their equipment for the task and ask where the clue box is. Rachel & Katie decide to Check Out and load a piano coffin to deliver onto a wheeled cart.
Back at the market, Jenna does a great job and gets more than 3 Cedi per pair so she doesn’t take long. Mallory freaks out when one guy tells her he’s going to buy the whole board’s worth of glasses and makes her count each one. There were 200 pair but he just takes one in the end but pays her 15 Cedi for them. Kat is still having major problems selling. Jill feels bad about selling glasses that are scratched to someone, and later Thomas tells her “why do you care? I hope you’re not going to be too nice to people on this Race.” Nick is on his last pair and a woman tells him she wants them for free and starts walking away, with Nick saying “I think I just got jacked for some sunglasses.” She actually comes back and pays him and off he and Vicki go, leaving Nat & Kat alone in the market. Kat says she’s not going to quit her day job to become a Ghanian sunglass salesman. Rachel & Katie are weaving through traffic with their piano coffin.
Despite her constant yapping, Brook manages to tweak the antenna to make the TV come in clear (although I think the homeowner accepted the job just to get his peace and quiet back.) Their clue tells them to go to the next Pit Stop, the Kaneshie Market, one of the largest in all of west Africa. They must get through the crowds and vendors to a bridge, where Phil and the Mat will be waiting. Rachel & Katie breeze through their delivery and dash off to the Pit Stop in second place. Chad & Stephanie are in a blue-walled house and turn the TV on to nothing but snow, and Chad is sounding surprised when the owner says “no good.” Michael turns out to be adept at antenna installing and he and Kevin leave ahead of Chad & Stephanie. Jill & Thomas decide to move the coffins also and grab the camera coffin. Brook & Claire get to the market just before Rachel & Katie and it’s a mad dash to find Phil and the poor woman standing next to him with a huge basket of fish balanced on her head. Brook & Claire are team one and win a trip to Hawaii.
Finding the antenna installation too rough, Connor & Jonathan decide to switch tasks and move a coffin. We see Nat & Kat and Gary & Mallory stopping for directions and Andie & Jenna do the same. They all find out they’ve gone too far and have to turn around. Jenna looks absolutely pissed as she watches the cab driver go for directions.
Connor & Jonathan grab a fish coffin and Nat & Cat grab a lobster, tying a surgical knot to keep it on the cart. Connor & Jonathan are bashing the heck out of their fish coffin on other coffins, cars, and whatever they get close to. The remaining teams are stuck in a major traffic jam and Nat & Kat manage to convince their driver to mash his way through the lanes of cars and pull ahead of everyone. Jonathan & Connor's cabbie follows them, and Jonathan says “these taxi drivers are nuts. We’re not complaining, as long as we’re not dying.” It’s scary enough watching, I can imagine what it looks like from the passenger’s perspective! Connor says he’s proud he hasn’t soiled himself (I imagine the cabbie is too). When they get to the market, Connor & Jonathan beat the doctors Nat & Kat to the Mat.
Nick & Vicki get to Phil and it’s a race to the end for Gary & Mallory, who are paranoid that they’re last. Mallory says they’re going to have a heart attack and die on the Mat - “Has that happened before?” Phil lets them sweat a little and tells them they’re in 9th place and still in the Race. Andie & Jenna make it to the mat last and are eliminated. They interview that they’re happy to finally know each other. Andie says her gift to Jenna was giving her to a good family who made her the person she is today, and wished she could have done that herself. (This is what adoption is all about and how it’s supposed to be!)
Here is the order of finish:
1 - Brook & Claire
2 - Rachel & Katie
3 - Michael & Kevin
4 - Chad & Stephanie
5 - Jill & Thomas
6 - Connor & Jonathan
7 - Nat & Kat
8 - Nick & Vicki
9 - Gary & Mallory
10 - Andie & Jenna
Next week, they’re still in Africa and it seems Nick shows his nasty side, and Michael shows his age. Who will be the next team to go home? Do Brook & Claire make you think an all-female team has a shot to win this? Or are you hoping they don’t, because they’ll have to add another hour to the finale just for Brook’s yakking?
Once at the airport, the teams are all on the same flight to Ghana. There’s a mad dash to get a taxi outside of the airport, and the teams find out that their drivers have no care for anyone on the roads - including pedestrians and other vehicles, almost hitting them. At red lights, the cabs are inundated with people begging for money and Andie can’t resist the kid’s face and gives him a coin. She says “that’s somebody’s son” and Jenna hopes it will give them good Karma.
The clue tells the teams to go to Makola Market and find the clue box across from the entrance. It’s packed with people and finding the main entrance isn’t an easy task. The clue is a Roadblock: “Who thinks they can handle some shady dealings?” Since it is so sunny, sunglasses are a hot item and one team member has to sell enough sunglasses to make 15 Cedi (Ghana money), and they’re not allowed to sell the glasses for less than 3 Cedi. Brook is ecstatic since this is right up her alley. Chad tried flirting with the women and seemed to make good headway. Brook told a customer that “you look like a gangster!” Mallory & Gary are still in their cab as the other teams get to the market, and their cab dies but they seem to get another one pretty quickly. Nick is having big problems and Brook is selling away, offering cheek kisses with her sales. Jill and Nick seem to have a lot of lookers but no buyers. Of course, Brook gets done first and the clue tells them to go to the Peace Motor Spare Parts store in the June 4th area for their next clue. Connor’s tactic is to get on his knees but it seems to work, and they leave right behind Michael & Kevin. Jill and Kat are getting nowhere but frustrated.
At the Motor Parts store, the clue is a Detour: Tune In or Check Out. For Tune In, teams have to go to an electrical supply store and pick up television antenna system. They must then find a marked house and install the antenna to the owners’ specifications. If the house gets TV reception, they get their next clue. For Check Out, they have to go to a woodworking shop that makes unique coffins (lions, cameras and soda bottles, to name a couple). They choose a coffin and then must transport it through the back streets to the showroom.
Brook & Clair decide to install an antenna and it’s ridiculous to watch - and listen to, because Brook NEVER shuts up. The home is painted a bright green inside (maybe there was a special on the color at the Ghana Home Depot?) Michael & Kevin make it to the parts store but for some reason can’t see the clue box right in front of it. Connor & Jonathan’s cabbie doesn’t know where the June 4th area is and Chad & Stephanie get ahead of them. Chad is “good with electronics” so they decide to Tune In. Michael & Kevin see them getting their equipment for the task and ask where the clue box is. Rachel & Katie decide to Check Out and load a piano coffin to deliver onto a wheeled cart.
Back at the market, Jenna does a great job and gets more than 3 Cedi per pair so she doesn’t take long. Mallory freaks out when one guy tells her he’s going to buy the whole board’s worth of glasses and makes her count each one. There were 200 pair but he just takes one in the end but pays her 15 Cedi for them. Kat is still having major problems selling. Jill feels bad about selling glasses that are scratched to someone, and later Thomas tells her “why do you care? I hope you’re not going to be too nice to people on this Race.” Nick is on his last pair and a woman tells him she wants them for free and starts walking away, with Nick saying “I think I just got jacked for some sunglasses.” She actually comes back and pays him and off he and Vicki go, leaving Nat & Kat alone in the market. Kat says she’s not going to quit her day job to become a Ghanian sunglass salesman. Rachel & Katie are weaving through traffic with their piano coffin.
Despite her constant yapping, Brook manages to tweak the antenna to make the TV come in clear (although I think the homeowner accepted the job just to get his peace and quiet back.) Their clue tells them to go to the next Pit Stop, the Kaneshie Market, one of the largest in all of west Africa. They must get through the crowds and vendors to a bridge, where Phil and the Mat will be waiting. Rachel & Katie breeze through their delivery and dash off to the Pit Stop in second place. Chad & Stephanie are in a blue-walled house and turn the TV on to nothing but snow, and Chad is sounding surprised when the owner says “no good.” Michael turns out to be adept at antenna installing and he and Kevin leave ahead of Chad & Stephanie. Jill & Thomas decide to move the coffins also and grab the camera coffin. Brook & Claire get to the market just before Rachel & Katie and it’s a mad dash to find Phil and the poor woman standing next to him with a huge basket of fish balanced on her head. Brook & Claire are team one and win a trip to Hawaii.
Finding the antenna installation too rough, Connor & Jonathan decide to switch tasks and move a coffin. We see Nat & Kat and Gary & Mallory stopping for directions and Andie & Jenna do the same. They all find out they’ve gone too far and have to turn around. Jenna looks absolutely pissed as she watches the cab driver go for directions.
Connor & Jonathan grab a fish coffin and Nat & Cat grab a lobster, tying a surgical knot to keep it on the cart. Connor & Jonathan are bashing the heck out of their fish coffin on other coffins, cars, and whatever they get close to. The remaining teams are stuck in a major traffic jam and Nat & Kat manage to convince their driver to mash his way through the lanes of cars and pull ahead of everyone. Jonathan & Connor's cabbie follows them, and Jonathan says “these taxi drivers are nuts. We’re not complaining, as long as we’re not dying.” It’s scary enough watching, I can imagine what it looks like from the passenger’s perspective! Connor says he’s proud he hasn’t soiled himself (I imagine the cabbie is too). When they get to the market, Connor & Jonathan beat the doctors Nat & Kat to the Mat.
Nick & Vicki get to Phil and it’s a race to the end for Gary & Mallory, who are paranoid that they’re last. Mallory says they’re going to have a heart attack and die on the Mat - “Has that happened before?” Phil lets them sweat a little and tells them they’re in 9th place and still in the Race. Andie & Jenna make it to the mat last and are eliminated. They interview that they’re happy to finally know each other. Andie says her gift to Jenna was giving her to a good family who made her the person she is today, and wished she could have done that herself. (This is what adoption is all about and how it’s supposed to be!)
Here is the order of finish:
1 - Brook & Claire
2 - Rachel & Katie
3 - Michael & Kevin
4 - Chad & Stephanie
5 - Jill & Thomas
6 - Connor & Jonathan
7 - Nat & Kat
8 - Nick & Vicki
9 - Gary & Mallory
10 - Andie & Jenna
Next week, they’re still in Africa and it seems Nick shows his nasty side, and Michael shows his age. Who will be the next team to go home? Do Brook & Claire make you think an all-female team has a shot to win this? Or are you hoping they don’t, because they’ll have to add another hour to the finale just for Brook’s yakking?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The Amazing Race begins!
The Amazing Race begins in Glouster, Massachusetts - on the East Coast for the first time! Lobster boats are taking all the teams to the starting line, and we get to meet them:
Brook & Claire tell us they are great communicators and can manipulate people to get their way. Chad & Stephanie just met eight months ago and already bought a house together. Chad says he is going to propose to Stephanie on the Race. Katie & Rachel want us to know they are smart, tough, athletic. But when the time comes, “We’re gonna be some bitches.” Connor & Jonathan, the a capella singers from Princeton, say they’ll sing to make other teams like them. They offer that tenors are tough guys and manly. (Okay.) Nat & Kat as doctors, they’re used to being stressed and sleep deprived so they figure they’ll have a leg up there. Michael & Kevin say they have conflicting cultures because Dad is an immigrant and Kevin is more Americanized. Nick & Vicki are full of tattoos but say those are deceiving because they’re very athletic. Ron & Tony met while doing “The Wiz” and are best friends, and it’s Tony’s dream to run the Race. Jill & Thomas tell us Thomas is outspoken and competitive - he’s gonna be a bulldozer and there might be some good arguments with these two. Mallory & Gary tell us that hard work and being a good person can get you anywhere. Gary says “Don’t let the pot belly and gray hair fool you.” Jenna & Andie are meeting for the third time and want to feel fulfilled after the Race.
Phil welcomes the teams and tells them there is a new element in this Race. The first team to check in on the first Leg gets a prize - an Express Pass they can use any time during a challenge they don’t want to complete. The Pass will allow them to skip the task, get the clue and move on. Phil also tells them that even though two flights are waiting, first flight has room for only three teams and will land 30 minutes earlier.
So now we begin. Phil? “The world is waiting for you. Good luck...Travel safe...Go!”
They’ll be flying to London & going to Stonehenge to find the next clue. There are Mini Coopers (at least I think they are, the cars might be Smart cars. Anyway, they’re really small). The cars must have cameras in the dashboards, because there’s no room for camera guys in them for sure! There’s also no air conditioning, because all the teams are sweating bullets as they drive.
Ron & Tony tell us they can navigate well. (Hmmm, does this mean they’re gonna get lost big time?) Connor & Jonathan find out they’re on the wrong side of the city and Connor laughs “I hope we get out of America.” Ron & Tony get to the airport first. Rachel & Katie know they’re in fourth behind the best friends, Chad & Stephanie and Jill & Thomas but decide to try to go to American to get on the first flight anyway. Gary & Mallory and Brooke & Claire jump on a shuttle bus and tell the driver to take off before Nat & Kat get on the bus, which he does.
Ron & Tony get the first flight. Chad & Stephanie go through a long line instead of to the flagged counter so Jill & Thomas get ahead and get on the first flight. Chad & Stephanie are told to go to another counter and Katie & Rachel are racing to the counter, but Chad & Stephanie beat them to it. Rachel says “son of a bitch” a lot.
Ron & Tony meet up with other teams on first flight. Ron says they may have been underestimated because “we’ve got a big fat guy on the team.” Tony tells him “It’s called healthy.” All the teams on the second flight are hugging and greeting each other.
Once they get to London, everyone forgets they have to get in the “passenger side” to drive. Stephanie laughs about driving a stick on the left side. Ron & Tony stop to get a map. Chad & Stephanie end up back by the airport and Chad snips a little, and these two are gonna argue a bit too. Nick & Vicki seems lost. Andie is driving and not doing well with the clutch - she’s burning the clutch and their car smells - Connor & Jonathan are behind them and can smell it. Connor & Jonathan try to help but end up leaving them stuck in traffic. Andie was riding the clutch and ended up trying to shift into reverse instead of forward gear. Nat & Kat get to Stonehenge first.
The clue tells them to “Find the castle that is the opposite of Nor’easter,” which is Eastnor Castle. They stop and ask a local and are told it might be near Tewksbury. Chad & Stephanie use the internet and Rachel & Katie ask a local - Brook & Claire just jump in the car and go. Rachel & Katie see Nat & Kat on the road and ask if they want to find it together. Rachel is trying to drive the stick and stalls it. Ron & Tony are lost. Gary & Mallory and Connor & Jonathan get their clues together at Stonehenge and Mallory tells Jonathan “c’mon Princeton!” as they try and figure it out. They ask a local who tells them Castle Ledberry at Hedfordshire (what that has to do with Nor’easter, I haven’t a clue!) As Nick & Vicki drive up, Vicki says it’s the first she’d ever heard of Stonehenge, “and I find out it’s a bunch of rocks.”
Jill & Thomas get to the Eastnor Castle first with Nat & Kat and Brook & Claire right behind. The clue tells them to “storm the castle,” meaning they have to climb a ladder being guarded by a mob of peasants and retrieve a flag. They then have to travel across the moat in an ancient boat and give their flag to a knight in shining armor to get their next clue. (I wonder if any of the peasants are going to tell them “Your mother is a hamster, and your father smells of elderberries!” - It’s from Monty Python’s “Search for the Holy Grail” movie. If you haven’t seen it, rent it. It’s funny.) The peasants are tossing muddy water on them as they climb up the ladders. Rachel & Katie manage to get the flag first and run off.
Mallory & Gary get a flat as they stop at a gas station and Connor & Jonathan, who are following, decide to take off instead of waiting for the tire to get changed.
Brook & Claire end up sinking, as do the other teams, so they all have to go back and try again. The boats look like turtle shells and are quite wobbly. Jill is in the boat with her back to the shore and doing all the pulling to get across, and Thomas just tells her how great she’s doing. Nat & Kat are pulling the rope together with Brook & Claire bringing up the rear.
Rachel & Katie are calling Stephanie “Tinkerbell” for some reason. They’re happy to see Chad & Stephanie, knowing they’re not far behind. Ron & Tony finally get to Stonehenge and ask how many teams are ahead, and the local tells them “lots and lots.”
It’s hysterical watching Chad & Stephanie trying to get into the boat without it tipping, although Chad is getting aggravated. He’s standing and she’s sitting, and they sink - twice.
Jenna & Andie think they’re looking for Norwest Castle. Ron & Tony are having major problems navigating because of the number of roundabouts and lack of marked roads on the maps. Vicki tells us she needs “kindergarten directions.” (I think Vicki is our dumb blonde this Race - and she’s a brunette!)
Jill & Thomas get their flag to the knight first and get the next clue. The knight tells them “Welcome to the tournament” and the clue asks “who’s ready to go into battle with a knight in shining armor?” I’m wondering if they will have to joust, but no, Phil says it’s a Roadblock where they have to team up with a knight and use a medieval weapon, a balista, to shoot watermelons at a knight figure 50 feet away. It looks like a giant slingshot. Once they knock over the knight, they have to find the jester and get their next clue. Thomas decides to do it, and jumps on the horse with the knight. Claire thinks she’s got it in the bag because she grew up with horses. As Nat rides off with her knight, she says “My knight in shining armor, finally!” As they start flinging watermelons, they realize it’s not as easy as they may have thought and Claire now knows it really has nothing to do with horses.
Rachel & Katie get to the boats at the moat as Chad & Stephanie are still crossing, and Stephanie is yapping the whole time, telling Chad to go slow. Connor & Jonathan start climbing the wall at the castle and Connor tells us they’re missing their graduation to do the Race because it’s their last chance “to be kids, in a way.” As Chad & Stephanie sink yet again, we see that it’s their 12th attempt. Rachel & Katie laugh that they” just passed Tinkerbell and Pan.”
Thomas finally blasts his knight with the watermelon and gets the clue from the Jester. It tells them to find the Pit Stop, which is on the grounds of the Castle in the Eastnor Castle Meadow. Oh wow, it looks like they get to sleep in tents?! They see Phil at the Mat, and are told they are team number one. The Express Pass can be used up until the eighth leg of the Race (nice that they can’t use it close to the end, let’s keep stuff fair!) Even winning the leg of the Race, I noticed Jill doesn’t really have a happy face - she looks really dour all the time.
Rachel & Katie start navigating their boat as Nat absolutely blasts her knight and gets their next clue. Nat & Kat get to the Mat in second place. Claire manages to hit the flag next to the knight, and in her next attempt as Brook tells her to hit the knight right in the kisser, the watermelon springs back and smacks her right in the face. Claire has a headache and says she can’t see right, but Brook tells her she has to keep going - “They don’t call this The Amazing Race for nothing.” Rachel & Katie feel that Claire is brave to keep going. After two more shots she finally gets the knight, and the Jester is even impressed as Brook yells “she just got hit in the face with a watermelon!” Connor gets his knight and Rachel hits hers right after. As they run through the field, Claire keeps saying “I can’t feel my face.” Connor & Jonathan get third (after slipping and falling on his ass onto the Mat) and Brook & Claire get fourth.
We get to Kevin & Michael and their many attempts to manage the boat, and at least they’re laughing as they sink. Andie & Jenna are still on the road as are Nick & Vicki and Ron & Tony, looking for the Castle. Mallory & Gary are cracking up as they get pelted with water going up the wall. They see Kevin & Michael and Gary says “they look like a couple carnies in a dunking booth.” Mallory & Gary seem to get the boat on the first try and give Kevin & Michael an idea how to do it. Andie & Jenna finally make to the Castle as Nick & Vicki stop for directions and Ron & Tony are really getting discouraged.
Chad & Stephanie are wandering around the grounds and can’t find the Mat. Michael & Kevin finally get across, slow and steady, with Michael saying that was the best moment of the Race for he and his son. (Considering it’s only been a day.....) Nick & Vicki actually make it to the Castle and as they read the clue to “retrieve a medieval flag from the battlements” they’re dumbfounded, asking people “are you the battlement?” I really hope they stick around for comic relief! They wander around in a stupor, walking right past a flag.
As Gary rides off to defeat the knight Mallory stands watching the Jester juggle as he stands on a ball, and seems to be in awe. She seems kinda ditzy too, but nowhere near as Vicki! Can’t wait to see them in the boats - as they wander right by the boats, saying that there are no more boats left and they’ll have to go across and get one. They finally realize where the boats are and I’m bummed, they figure it out on the second try. Kevin hits his knight just after Gary does, and as Chad & Stephanie still wander around the grounds looking for the Mat, Mallory & Gary get to Phil in sixth and Michael & Kevin are right behind. Somehow, Chad & Stephanie manage to find the Mat and admit in their interview that the arguing defeats their purpose.
Jenna finally hits her knight and they get to the Mat in ninth place. Ron & Tony’s boat sinks time after time as Nick keeps slinging watermelons, and they get their clue. They get to the Mat and Phil asks them “What’s the name of this country?” Vicki answers “We’re in London, right?” Phil shakes his head and says “That’s right, we’re in the country of London.” They do correctly guess that they’re in 10th place.
Ron & Tony seem to give up but get to the Mat, and Phil hates to tell them they’ve been eliminated. They’re very sweet, saying that their friendship is worth everything. Awwww, you’re still going home, fellas.
So here’s how they all ended up:
1 - Jill & Thomas
2 - Nat & Kat
3 - Connor & Jonathan
4 - Brook & Claire
5 - Rachel & Katie
6 - Mallory & Gary
7 - Michael & Kevin
8 - Chad & Stephanie
9 - Andie & Jenna
10 - Nick & Vicki
11 - Ron & Tony (eliminated)
Well, I get my wish, and Nick & Vicki, the rocket scientists, will still be around to give us a good laugh for at least another leg of the Race. Any teams jump out at you as frontrunners? Will Nick & Vicki manage to find their way out of the country of London? We'll find out next week!
Brook & Claire tell us they are great communicators and can manipulate people to get their way. Chad & Stephanie just met eight months ago and already bought a house together. Chad says he is going to propose to Stephanie on the Race. Katie & Rachel want us to know they are smart, tough, athletic. But when the time comes, “We’re gonna be some bitches.” Connor & Jonathan, the a capella singers from Princeton, say they’ll sing to make other teams like them. They offer that tenors are tough guys and manly. (Okay.) Nat & Kat as doctors, they’re used to being stressed and sleep deprived so they figure they’ll have a leg up there. Michael & Kevin say they have conflicting cultures because Dad is an immigrant and Kevin is more Americanized. Nick & Vicki are full of tattoos but say those are deceiving because they’re very athletic. Ron & Tony met while doing “The Wiz” and are best friends, and it’s Tony’s dream to run the Race. Jill & Thomas tell us Thomas is outspoken and competitive - he’s gonna be a bulldozer and there might be some good arguments with these two. Mallory & Gary tell us that hard work and being a good person can get you anywhere. Gary says “Don’t let the pot belly and gray hair fool you.” Jenna & Andie are meeting for the third time and want to feel fulfilled after the Race.
Phil welcomes the teams and tells them there is a new element in this Race. The first team to check in on the first Leg gets a prize - an Express Pass they can use any time during a challenge they don’t want to complete. The Pass will allow them to skip the task, get the clue and move on. Phil also tells them that even though two flights are waiting, first flight has room for only three teams and will land 30 minutes earlier.
So now we begin. Phil? “The world is waiting for you. Good luck...Travel safe...Go!”
They’ll be flying to London & going to Stonehenge to find the next clue. There are Mini Coopers (at least I think they are, the cars might be Smart cars. Anyway, they’re really small). The cars must have cameras in the dashboards, because there’s no room for camera guys in them for sure! There’s also no air conditioning, because all the teams are sweating bullets as they drive.
Ron & Tony tell us they can navigate well. (Hmmm, does this mean they’re gonna get lost big time?) Connor & Jonathan find out they’re on the wrong side of the city and Connor laughs “I hope we get out of America.” Ron & Tony get to the airport first. Rachel & Katie know they’re in fourth behind the best friends, Chad & Stephanie and Jill & Thomas but decide to try to go to American to get on the first flight anyway. Gary & Mallory and Brooke & Claire jump on a shuttle bus and tell the driver to take off before Nat & Kat get on the bus, which he does.
Ron & Tony get the first flight. Chad & Stephanie go through a long line instead of to the flagged counter so Jill & Thomas get ahead and get on the first flight. Chad & Stephanie are told to go to another counter and Katie & Rachel are racing to the counter, but Chad & Stephanie beat them to it. Rachel says “son of a bitch” a lot.
Ron & Tony meet up with other teams on first flight. Ron says they may have been underestimated because “we’ve got a big fat guy on the team.” Tony tells him “It’s called healthy.” All the teams on the second flight are hugging and greeting each other.
Once they get to London, everyone forgets they have to get in the “passenger side” to drive. Stephanie laughs about driving a stick on the left side. Ron & Tony stop to get a map. Chad & Stephanie end up back by the airport and Chad snips a little, and these two are gonna argue a bit too. Nick & Vicki seems lost. Andie is driving and not doing well with the clutch - she’s burning the clutch and their car smells - Connor & Jonathan are behind them and can smell it. Connor & Jonathan try to help but end up leaving them stuck in traffic. Andie was riding the clutch and ended up trying to shift into reverse instead of forward gear. Nat & Kat get to Stonehenge first.
The clue tells them to “Find the castle that is the opposite of Nor’easter,” which is Eastnor Castle. They stop and ask a local and are told it might be near Tewksbury. Chad & Stephanie use the internet and Rachel & Katie ask a local - Brook & Claire just jump in the car and go. Rachel & Katie see Nat & Kat on the road and ask if they want to find it together. Rachel is trying to drive the stick and stalls it. Ron & Tony are lost. Gary & Mallory and Connor & Jonathan get their clues together at Stonehenge and Mallory tells Jonathan “c’mon Princeton!” as they try and figure it out. They ask a local who tells them Castle Ledberry at Hedfordshire (what that has to do with Nor’easter, I haven’t a clue!) As Nick & Vicki drive up, Vicki says it’s the first she’d ever heard of Stonehenge, “and I find out it’s a bunch of rocks.”
Jill & Thomas get to the Eastnor Castle first with Nat & Kat and Brook & Claire right behind. The clue tells them to “storm the castle,” meaning they have to climb a ladder being guarded by a mob of peasants and retrieve a flag. They then have to travel across the moat in an ancient boat and give their flag to a knight in shining armor to get their next clue. (I wonder if any of the peasants are going to tell them “Your mother is a hamster, and your father smells of elderberries!” - It’s from Monty Python’s “Search for the Holy Grail” movie. If you haven’t seen it, rent it. It’s funny.) The peasants are tossing muddy water on them as they climb up the ladders. Rachel & Katie manage to get the flag first and run off.
Mallory & Gary get a flat as they stop at a gas station and Connor & Jonathan, who are following, decide to take off instead of waiting for the tire to get changed.
Brook & Claire end up sinking, as do the other teams, so they all have to go back and try again. The boats look like turtle shells and are quite wobbly. Jill is in the boat with her back to the shore and doing all the pulling to get across, and Thomas just tells her how great she’s doing. Nat & Kat are pulling the rope together with Brook & Claire bringing up the rear.
Rachel & Katie are calling Stephanie “Tinkerbell” for some reason. They’re happy to see Chad & Stephanie, knowing they’re not far behind. Ron & Tony finally get to Stonehenge and ask how many teams are ahead, and the local tells them “lots and lots.”
It’s hysterical watching Chad & Stephanie trying to get into the boat without it tipping, although Chad is getting aggravated. He’s standing and she’s sitting, and they sink - twice.
Jenna & Andie think they’re looking for Norwest Castle. Ron & Tony are having major problems navigating because of the number of roundabouts and lack of marked roads on the maps. Vicki tells us she needs “kindergarten directions.” (I think Vicki is our dumb blonde this Race - and she’s a brunette!)
Jill & Thomas get their flag to the knight first and get the next clue. The knight tells them “Welcome to the tournament” and the clue asks “who’s ready to go into battle with a knight in shining armor?” I’m wondering if they will have to joust, but no, Phil says it’s a Roadblock where they have to team up with a knight and use a medieval weapon, a balista, to shoot watermelons at a knight figure 50 feet away. It looks like a giant slingshot. Once they knock over the knight, they have to find the jester and get their next clue. Thomas decides to do it, and jumps on the horse with the knight. Claire thinks she’s got it in the bag because she grew up with horses. As Nat rides off with her knight, she says “My knight in shining armor, finally!” As they start flinging watermelons, they realize it’s not as easy as they may have thought and Claire now knows it really has nothing to do with horses.
Rachel & Katie get to the boats at the moat as Chad & Stephanie are still crossing, and Stephanie is yapping the whole time, telling Chad to go slow. Connor & Jonathan start climbing the wall at the castle and Connor tells us they’re missing their graduation to do the Race because it’s their last chance “to be kids, in a way.” As Chad & Stephanie sink yet again, we see that it’s their 12th attempt. Rachel & Katie laugh that they” just passed Tinkerbell and Pan.”
Thomas finally blasts his knight with the watermelon and gets the clue from the Jester. It tells them to find the Pit Stop, which is on the grounds of the Castle in the Eastnor Castle Meadow. Oh wow, it looks like they get to sleep in tents?! They see Phil at the Mat, and are told they are team number one. The Express Pass can be used up until the eighth leg of the Race (nice that they can’t use it close to the end, let’s keep stuff fair!) Even winning the leg of the Race, I noticed Jill doesn’t really have a happy face - she looks really dour all the time.
Rachel & Katie start navigating their boat as Nat absolutely blasts her knight and gets their next clue. Nat & Kat get to the Mat in second place. Claire manages to hit the flag next to the knight, and in her next attempt as Brook tells her to hit the knight right in the kisser, the watermelon springs back and smacks her right in the face. Claire has a headache and says she can’t see right, but Brook tells her she has to keep going - “They don’t call this The Amazing Race for nothing.” Rachel & Katie feel that Claire is brave to keep going. After two more shots she finally gets the knight, and the Jester is even impressed as Brook yells “she just got hit in the face with a watermelon!” Connor gets his knight and Rachel hits hers right after. As they run through the field, Claire keeps saying “I can’t feel my face.” Connor & Jonathan get third (after slipping and falling on his ass onto the Mat) and Brook & Claire get fourth.
We get to Kevin & Michael and their many attempts to manage the boat, and at least they’re laughing as they sink. Andie & Jenna are still on the road as are Nick & Vicki and Ron & Tony, looking for the Castle. Mallory & Gary are cracking up as they get pelted with water going up the wall. They see Kevin & Michael and Gary says “they look like a couple carnies in a dunking booth.” Mallory & Gary seem to get the boat on the first try and give Kevin & Michael an idea how to do it. Andie & Jenna finally make to the Castle as Nick & Vicki stop for directions and Ron & Tony are really getting discouraged.
Chad & Stephanie are wandering around the grounds and can’t find the Mat. Michael & Kevin finally get across, slow and steady, with Michael saying that was the best moment of the Race for he and his son. (Considering it’s only been a day.....) Nick & Vicki actually make it to the Castle and as they read the clue to “retrieve a medieval flag from the battlements” they’re dumbfounded, asking people “are you the battlement?” I really hope they stick around for comic relief! They wander around in a stupor, walking right past a flag.
As Gary rides off to defeat the knight Mallory stands watching the Jester juggle as he stands on a ball, and seems to be in awe. She seems kinda ditzy too, but nowhere near as Vicki! Can’t wait to see them in the boats - as they wander right by the boats, saying that there are no more boats left and they’ll have to go across and get one. They finally realize where the boats are and I’m bummed, they figure it out on the second try. Kevin hits his knight just after Gary does, and as Chad & Stephanie still wander around the grounds looking for the Mat, Mallory & Gary get to Phil in sixth and Michael & Kevin are right behind. Somehow, Chad & Stephanie manage to find the Mat and admit in their interview that the arguing defeats their purpose.
Jenna finally hits her knight and they get to the Mat in ninth place. Ron & Tony’s boat sinks time after time as Nick keeps slinging watermelons, and they get their clue. They get to the Mat and Phil asks them “What’s the name of this country?” Vicki answers “We’re in London, right?” Phil shakes his head and says “That’s right, we’re in the country of London.” They do correctly guess that they’re in 10th place.
Ron & Tony seem to give up but get to the Mat, and Phil hates to tell them they’ve been eliminated. They’re very sweet, saying that their friendship is worth everything. Awwww, you’re still going home, fellas.
So here’s how they all ended up:
1 - Jill & Thomas
2 - Nat & Kat
3 - Connor & Jonathan
4 - Brook & Claire
5 - Rachel & Katie
6 - Mallory & Gary
7 - Michael & Kevin
8 - Chad & Stephanie
9 - Andie & Jenna
10 - Nick & Vicki
11 - Ron & Tony (eliminated)
Well, I get my wish, and Nick & Vicki, the rocket scientists, will still be around to give us a good laugh for at least another leg of the Race. Any teams jump out at you as frontrunners? Will Nick & Vicki manage to find their way out of the country of London? We'll find out next week!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
We Have a Winner! Brothers Dan & Jordan Get the Million
Okay, folks, tonight’s the night! One of the three remaining teams will win $1 million! Will it be airhead models Brent & Caite, cowboy brothers Jet & Cord, or brothers Dan & Jordan? Tell you what, it will be a fight to the finish, with the way things are starting out, that’s for sure!
The teams begin in Shanghai, China, and Brent & Caite lead the way from the Pit Stop. Their clue tells them to go to San Francisco, and find Battery Godfrey, a military outpost near the Golden Gate Bridge. Brent & Caite are looking forward to getting back to the States. Cord doesn’t know if he’s more excited to be in the Final Three or to be headed back to the US. At the airport, the marked counter doesn’t open until 10:45 a.m. Dan & Jordan arrive and meet up with the other two teams, and Jordan puts his backpack by Brent & Caite’s, and decides that puts them second in line for tickets. Dan & Jordan end up standing in front of Jet & Cord, and there is a bit of arguing. Quite low-key, thankfully (although if it got heated the Cowboys would definitely put Dan & Jordan out very quickly, I imagine). Jet wonders aloud how the brothers got in 6 hours after them but can get tickets ahead of them. Jet & Cord discuss “grabbing their backpack and throwing them backward” but say it could get them in trouble. Jet says “If that’s the way they want to run the Race, that’s fine with me. If they wanna drop the gloves, I’ll drop the gloves. As the Cowboys interview in line behind the Brothers, Jordan says “it’s a race, it’s a game, and there’s a million bucks at the end. You can hate the game but don’t hate the player.” The Cowboys just shake their heads and as they leave with their tickets, Jordan tells them “don’t hate” and Jet just tells them “get out of the way.” After not doing a dirty thing one time on the Race so far, (per Dan), they’re not being Mr. Nice Guy any more. It’s the Final Three, and they’re going for it. (I can’t really decide if this move was all that evil. Yes, they should have gotten their tickets in third place, and I think it was ethically nasty, but I think it was a smart move. If Jet & Cord hadn’t gotten tickets, now that would have been really evil of the Brothers. Besides, we’ll see if Karma catches up with them!) Dan got the idea to talk to a stewardess and see if they could move up to first class - and they did so rather than being in the back of the plane, they’re now getting off first. They make it out of the airport first and get a big jump on the other teams.
At Battery Godfrey, the clue is a riddle: “I was built in 1933. I’m 210 feet tall. My insides are lined with murals painted by 26 different artists. What am I?” The clue box will be at the Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill, where you can see the city in all directions. Brent & Caite, in the meantime, are getting clues that their cab driver isn’t sure where he’s going. Jet & Cord are in the same predicament, when their cabbie says “almost somewhere now here.” Jet & Cord pass Brent & Caite as they look at a map on the side of the road, and tell their driver to go to Langdon Street. Dan & Jordan’s cab driver can’t help them solve the riddle so they run along a guy riding a bike and find out it’s Coit Tower. Jordan (who up till now I assumed to be somewhat bright) says “people who ride bicycles are smart. It’s a general rule.”
Jet & Cord pass Brent & Caite to the clue box. Back in Shanghai, they bought a travel guidebook to San Francisco, and as Jet read the clue Cord remembered it was in the book. They leave and we see Brent & Caite complaining because their Asian cab driver speaks little English. (Karma will bite you in the ass every time, kids!) Jet & Cord tell their cabbie to drive fast as they pass Brent & Caite’s cab so he won’t tell them where to go. Caite whines “now we’re gonna lose because of this dumbass.” At the Coit Tower, Jordan sees something hanging off a high window and tells Dan “you’re going to have to climb it for the clue.” Not really - it’s a Roadblock, and one team member must climb the side to grab the clue using a mechanical ascender (a rope thingy). Dan gets geared up and starts inching his way up the side of the Tower.
In the meantime, Ciate is being especially obnoxious and rude, now calling their cab driver a dumbass out loud. Brent tells her to chill out, and she tells Brent she wants to punch him in the face. (If they get married and have kids, Brent should stay out of the delivery room. Caite gets a little pain and she’ll kill him!) Jet & Cord get to the Coit Tower as we see Dan struggling to get up the Tower. Cord will attempt the challenge and Dan manages to finish and get back down with the clue before Jet gets moving up. (Was anyone else getting aggravated with Jordan’s encouragement to his brother - ending every sentence with “bro”?)
The clue tells them to go to Yoda Fountain which yes, is a fountain with a statue of cute little Yoda. It’s located in front of Lucasfilm Studios. As their cab takes off, calling someone to find out where the Yoda Statue is, Jet is making short work of the climb up the tower. Brent & Caite stop and ask someone to help them solve the riddle and their driver says he knows where Coit Tower is. Dan & Jordan get to the clue at Lucasfilm and it tells them they will “join forces with a special effects company." One team member will put on a motion capture suit and go to a sound stage. The other team member will sit in front of a computer dressed in a storm trooper suit and direct them through a virtual maze. Once they decide which role they’ll take, they’re escorted into the building by armed storm troopers. Looks ominous! As Cord descends the Tower, he says “riding bulls is much easier than that!”
I guess the “director” of the maze doesn’t have to wear a storm trooper suit - bummer. That would make it a bit harder, I would think, but the storm trooper was just for show. Letdown! Jordan keeps laughing that he’s wearing a “suit with balls on it.” They can hear each other, and Dan will have to make Jordan walk around a room as Dan watches a computer screen. Jordan has an avatar on the screen and there’s a maze he has to go through with Dan’s direction. Dan mentions that he’s a sports freak and not into video games. Dan first tells Jordan to “walk toward the blue light” but Jordan sees nothing but a plain room that almost looks like a gymnasium. It doesn’t take Dan long to catch on and he has Jordan turn in a circle so he can “see” everything around him.
Jet & Cord show up and as Jet is getting suited up, Cord hears Dan talking and starts barking orders himself (without his headset on yet) - telling Jet to jump up and down, and do ballet moves. Dan is getting peeved as Cord yells louder, telling Jet (who’s not even out there yet) to “do a two-step” and “sashay.” Dan gets his composure and gets Jordan through level one. Cord is finally on the headset telling Jet “you see that blue spot” and Jet tells him he can’t see anything like that. Jet’s Avatar on the screen is wearing a black cowboy hat! Dan gets Jordan to the end, but there are words circling on the screen and Dan has to read them. Back at the Tower, Brent does the climb and takes the time to enjoy the view on the way down. Jordan moves his head and Dan realizes that when he does that, the words slow down. Jet is getting close to the end of level one, but he has to move forward and Jordan is in the way. Cord slaps the wall next to him where Dan is, telling Dan to direct Jordan out of the way. Dan swears at Cord and Cord tells him “I’m gonna have these Star Wars guys take you out, man.”
Jordan is spinning around in circles so Dan can read the words, but telling Dan he’s about to throw up. Cord tells Jet to get out of the way so he doesn’t get puked on. Jet can step up enough for Cord to get to the second level. Jordan spins a bit more and Dan finally gets what he needs and Jordan is happy he doesn’t have to spin any more. As he leaves, Dan yells out instructions as he passes Cord. The Brothers leave as they read the clue: “A long time ago, on a hill, this Polynesian haven and they called it Tonga.” They must go to a Tiki Bar called Tonga for their next clue. (And they’re in San Francisco, so the “on a hill” part isn’t any help.) As they leave the building Jet gets to the end and Cord can’t figure out how to read the words (after all the spinning by Jordan you’d think they’d have figured that part out!) Brent & Caite get to Lucasfilm and Brent immediately says “I’m the director.” Cord is looking for the “slo mo” on the computer. He’s catching the beginning of the clue as Brent & Caite get through the first level.
Dan & Jordan get to Tonga. They must take a trunk that is there to their next destination. They’re not sure where that will be because there’s no clue box, but there’s a label on the trunk that says “The Great American Music Hall.” They bump into a local who has no idea where it is.
Back at the studio, Cord finally realizes that Jordan was spinning for a reason. Brent tells Caite to spin around pretty much from the beginning. Dan & Jordan finally find someone who knows where they have to go, and are told it’s a 10-15 minute walk away. Brent & Caite finish just behind Jet & Cord, but lose any hope of catching up when Caite asks where their “money and stuff’ is. They realize they have to turn around. Dan & Jordan are getting tired carrying the trunk and start arguing about moving the trunk the wrong way and bashing their shins. Jet & Cord are running through the streets with their trunk, telling a passing woman “excuse me, Ma’am. We got kicked out.” Dan & Jordan make it to the Music Hall and Phil explains that San Francisco was the heart of the psychedelic music scene. (So, what, they’re gonna have to drop acid and try and finish the race? Get through an orgy with 10 women? And two guys? Protest at a sit-in?) To get their final clue, they’ll have to “flash back to the Age of Aquarius.” In their trunk are 11 psychedelic posters. Eight represent the teams already eliminated and three represent the non-elimination legs. They will have to put the posters in the proper order to get their clue, and Jordan is ecstatic because after watching the Amazing Race for 15 seasons, he knows there’s a memory challenge involved. He wrote down everything as they progressed through the Race. He shouts out the order of teams to Dan as Dan hangs the posters and they finish in very fast fashion. Their last clue reads: “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. To find the finish line, jump over to [blank].” As they put their posters back in the trunk, Dan figures out they need to go to Candlestick Park. They spend some time hugging before they dash off to find a taxi, which they have trouble locating.
Jet & Cord seem to be making good headway with the posters and Dan & Jordan still haven’t found a taxi. As the Cowboys finish, Dan & Jordan get a cab and what looks like right after, Jet & Cord hop in a cab. Their cabbie asks them if there’s a rodeo at Candlestick Park. Jordan sucks up saying they have the “best cab driver ever.” It looks very close, but I’m wondering exactly how close it is. Dan & Jordan emerge onto the field through the big helmet and jump on Phil at the Mat. They both talk about what an amazing experience it was, and how great it was to win. It seems like the Cowboys come running in shortly after, and find out they’re team two. They talk about traveling around the world with their brother and best friend, and “with my character and integrity intact.” A swipe at Dan & Jordan, for sure, but as it turned out it wouldn’t have made a difference, so they need to let it go. Brent & Caite show up and we see Brandy & Carol (talk about letting it go) watch them come in and Brandy doesn’t clap and Carol claps slowly. Phil asks her if there was anything Caite wanted to prove, and she says “that I’m intelligent” and we see Brandy snark something to Carol. Phil says she is the only woman to finish in the Final Three, “but there are two other women....” Caite turns to say something to Carol & Brandy and Brandy immediately jumps on her, saying “I don’t want to hear sorry. You purposely whacked us.” Carol is turning away in embarrassment. Caite tells her “maybe ya’ll should have treated people a little bit better.” Brandy tells her “if you can’t handle it....” and Ciate comes back with “I can handle it. Obviously I’m standing her and not you.” Sorry, folks, she’s a bitch (not that Brandy is any better). Jordan interviews later saying that he can now say that “hey, bro, when we’re on the same team, we’re unbeatable.”
So another season has ended, another race around the world is done. We’ll look forward to The Amazing Race 17 in the fall! Have a great summer everyone and thanks for your comments!
The teams begin in Shanghai, China, and Brent & Caite lead the way from the Pit Stop. Their clue tells them to go to San Francisco, and find Battery Godfrey, a military outpost near the Golden Gate Bridge. Brent & Caite are looking forward to getting back to the States. Cord doesn’t know if he’s more excited to be in the Final Three or to be headed back to the US. At the airport, the marked counter doesn’t open until 10:45 a.m. Dan & Jordan arrive and meet up with the other two teams, and Jordan puts his backpack by Brent & Caite’s, and decides that puts them second in line for tickets. Dan & Jordan end up standing in front of Jet & Cord, and there is a bit of arguing. Quite low-key, thankfully (although if it got heated the Cowboys would definitely put Dan & Jordan out very quickly, I imagine). Jet wonders aloud how the brothers got in 6 hours after them but can get tickets ahead of them. Jet & Cord discuss “grabbing their backpack and throwing them backward” but say it could get them in trouble. Jet says “If that’s the way they want to run the Race, that’s fine with me. If they wanna drop the gloves, I’ll drop the gloves. As the Cowboys interview in line behind the Brothers, Jordan says “it’s a race, it’s a game, and there’s a million bucks at the end. You can hate the game but don’t hate the player.” The Cowboys just shake their heads and as they leave with their tickets, Jordan tells them “don’t hate” and Jet just tells them “get out of the way.” After not doing a dirty thing one time on the Race so far, (per Dan), they’re not being Mr. Nice Guy any more. It’s the Final Three, and they’re going for it. (I can’t really decide if this move was all that evil. Yes, they should have gotten their tickets in third place, and I think it was ethically nasty, but I think it was a smart move. If Jet & Cord hadn’t gotten tickets, now that would have been really evil of the Brothers. Besides, we’ll see if Karma catches up with them!) Dan got the idea to talk to a stewardess and see if they could move up to first class - and they did so rather than being in the back of the plane, they’re now getting off first. They make it out of the airport first and get a big jump on the other teams.
At Battery Godfrey, the clue is a riddle: “I was built in 1933. I’m 210 feet tall. My insides are lined with murals painted by 26 different artists. What am I?” The clue box will be at the Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill, where you can see the city in all directions. Brent & Caite, in the meantime, are getting clues that their cab driver isn’t sure where he’s going. Jet & Cord are in the same predicament, when their cabbie says “almost somewhere now here.” Jet & Cord pass Brent & Caite as they look at a map on the side of the road, and tell their driver to go to Langdon Street. Dan & Jordan’s cab driver can’t help them solve the riddle so they run along a guy riding a bike and find out it’s Coit Tower. Jordan (who up till now I assumed to be somewhat bright) says “people who ride bicycles are smart. It’s a general rule.”
Jet & Cord pass Brent & Caite to the clue box. Back in Shanghai, they bought a travel guidebook to San Francisco, and as Jet read the clue Cord remembered it was in the book. They leave and we see Brent & Caite complaining because their Asian cab driver speaks little English. (Karma will bite you in the ass every time, kids!) Jet & Cord tell their cabbie to drive fast as they pass Brent & Caite’s cab so he won’t tell them where to go. Caite whines “now we’re gonna lose because of this dumbass.” At the Coit Tower, Jordan sees something hanging off a high window and tells Dan “you’re going to have to climb it for the clue.” Not really - it’s a Roadblock, and one team member must climb the side to grab the clue using a mechanical ascender (a rope thingy). Dan gets geared up and starts inching his way up the side of the Tower.
In the meantime, Ciate is being especially obnoxious and rude, now calling their cab driver a dumbass out loud. Brent tells her to chill out, and she tells Brent she wants to punch him in the face. (If they get married and have kids, Brent should stay out of the delivery room. Caite gets a little pain and she’ll kill him!) Jet & Cord get to the Coit Tower as we see Dan struggling to get up the Tower. Cord will attempt the challenge and Dan manages to finish and get back down with the clue before Jet gets moving up. (Was anyone else getting aggravated with Jordan’s encouragement to his brother - ending every sentence with “bro”?)
The clue tells them to go to Yoda Fountain which yes, is a fountain with a statue of cute little Yoda. It’s located in front of Lucasfilm Studios. As their cab takes off, calling someone to find out where the Yoda Statue is, Jet is making short work of the climb up the tower. Brent & Caite stop and ask someone to help them solve the riddle and their driver says he knows where Coit Tower is. Dan & Jordan get to the clue at Lucasfilm and it tells them they will “join forces with a special effects company." One team member will put on a motion capture suit and go to a sound stage. The other team member will sit in front of a computer dressed in a storm trooper suit and direct them through a virtual maze. Once they decide which role they’ll take, they’re escorted into the building by armed storm troopers. Looks ominous! As Cord descends the Tower, he says “riding bulls is much easier than that!”
I guess the “director” of the maze doesn’t have to wear a storm trooper suit - bummer. That would make it a bit harder, I would think, but the storm trooper was just for show. Letdown! Jordan keeps laughing that he’s wearing a “suit with balls on it.” They can hear each other, and Dan will have to make Jordan walk around a room as Dan watches a computer screen. Jordan has an avatar on the screen and there’s a maze he has to go through with Dan’s direction. Dan mentions that he’s a sports freak and not into video games. Dan first tells Jordan to “walk toward the blue light” but Jordan sees nothing but a plain room that almost looks like a gymnasium. It doesn’t take Dan long to catch on and he has Jordan turn in a circle so he can “see” everything around him.
Jet & Cord show up and as Jet is getting suited up, Cord hears Dan talking and starts barking orders himself (without his headset on yet) - telling Jet to jump up and down, and do ballet moves. Dan is getting peeved as Cord yells louder, telling Jet (who’s not even out there yet) to “do a two-step” and “sashay.” Dan gets his composure and gets Jordan through level one. Cord is finally on the headset telling Jet “you see that blue spot” and Jet tells him he can’t see anything like that. Jet’s Avatar on the screen is wearing a black cowboy hat! Dan gets Jordan to the end, but there are words circling on the screen and Dan has to read them. Back at the Tower, Brent does the climb and takes the time to enjoy the view on the way down. Jordan moves his head and Dan realizes that when he does that, the words slow down. Jet is getting close to the end of level one, but he has to move forward and Jordan is in the way. Cord slaps the wall next to him where Dan is, telling Dan to direct Jordan out of the way. Dan swears at Cord and Cord tells him “I’m gonna have these Star Wars guys take you out, man.”
Jordan is spinning around in circles so Dan can read the words, but telling Dan he’s about to throw up. Cord tells Jet to get out of the way so he doesn’t get puked on. Jet can step up enough for Cord to get to the second level. Jordan spins a bit more and Dan finally gets what he needs and Jordan is happy he doesn’t have to spin any more. As he leaves, Dan yells out instructions as he passes Cord. The Brothers leave as they read the clue: “A long time ago, on a hill, this Polynesian haven and they called it Tonga.” They must go to a Tiki Bar called Tonga for their next clue. (And they’re in San Francisco, so the “on a hill” part isn’t any help.) As they leave the building Jet gets to the end and Cord can’t figure out how to read the words (after all the spinning by Jordan you’d think they’d have figured that part out!) Brent & Caite get to Lucasfilm and Brent immediately says “I’m the director.” Cord is looking for the “slo mo” on the computer. He’s catching the beginning of the clue as Brent & Caite get through the first level.
Dan & Jordan get to Tonga. They must take a trunk that is there to their next destination. They’re not sure where that will be because there’s no clue box, but there’s a label on the trunk that says “The Great American Music Hall.” They bump into a local who has no idea where it is.
Back at the studio, Cord finally realizes that Jordan was spinning for a reason. Brent tells Caite to spin around pretty much from the beginning. Dan & Jordan finally find someone who knows where they have to go, and are told it’s a 10-15 minute walk away. Brent & Caite finish just behind Jet & Cord, but lose any hope of catching up when Caite asks where their “money and stuff’ is. They realize they have to turn around. Dan & Jordan are getting tired carrying the trunk and start arguing about moving the trunk the wrong way and bashing their shins. Jet & Cord are running through the streets with their trunk, telling a passing woman “excuse me, Ma’am. We got kicked out.” Dan & Jordan make it to the Music Hall and Phil explains that San Francisco was the heart of the psychedelic music scene. (So, what, they’re gonna have to drop acid and try and finish the race? Get through an orgy with 10 women? And two guys? Protest at a sit-in?) To get their final clue, they’ll have to “flash back to the Age of Aquarius.” In their trunk are 11 psychedelic posters. Eight represent the teams already eliminated and three represent the non-elimination legs. They will have to put the posters in the proper order to get their clue, and Jordan is ecstatic because after watching the Amazing Race for 15 seasons, he knows there’s a memory challenge involved. He wrote down everything as they progressed through the Race. He shouts out the order of teams to Dan as Dan hangs the posters and they finish in very fast fashion. Their last clue reads: “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. To find the finish line, jump over to [blank].” As they put their posters back in the trunk, Dan figures out they need to go to Candlestick Park. They spend some time hugging before they dash off to find a taxi, which they have trouble locating.
Jet & Cord seem to be making good headway with the posters and Dan & Jordan still haven’t found a taxi. As the Cowboys finish, Dan & Jordan get a cab and what looks like right after, Jet & Cord hop in a cab. Their cabbie asks them if there’s a rodeo at Candlestick Park. Jordan sucks up saying they have the “best cab driver ever.” It looks very close, but I’m wondering exactly how close it is. Dan & Jordan emerge onto the field through the big helmet and jump on Phil at the Mat. They both talk about what an amazing experience it was, and how great it was to win. It seems like the Cowboys come running in shortly after, and find out they’re team two. They talk about traveling around the world with their brother and best friend, and “with my character and integrity intact.” A swipe at Dan & Jordan, for sure, but as it turned out it wouldn’t have made a difference, so they need to let it go. Brent & Caite show up and we see Brandy & Carol (talk about letting it go) watch them come in and Brandy doesn’t clap and Carol claps slowly. Phil asks her if there was anything Caite wanted to prove, and she says “that I’m intelligent” and we see Brandy snark something to Carol. Phil says she is the only woman to finish in the Final Three, “but there are two other women....” Caite turns to say something to Carol & Brandy and Brandy immediately jumps on her, saying “I don’t want to hear sorry. You purposely whacked us.” Carol is turning away in embarrassment. Caite tells her “maybe ya’ll should have treated people a little bit better.” Brandy tells her “if you can’t handle it....” and Ciate comes back with “I can handle it. Obviously I’m standing her and not you.” Sorry, folks, she’s a bitch (not that Brandy is any better). Jordan interviews later saying that he can now say that “hey, bro, when we’re on the same team, we’re unbeatable.”
So another season has ended, another race around the world is done. We’ll look forward to The Amazing Race 17 in the fall! Have a great summer everyone and thanks for your comments!
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