The Amazing Race Episode 12

I will most likely not be recapping Episode 12 for TAR. To be quite honest, I have not seen the episode yet and it is not high on my priorities at the moment. I really would rather not watch my favorites be eliminated because of this new "marked for elimination" rule. I will cover the finale, though, once I watch it tomorrow or the day after.

Thank you all for reading my recaps and thank you to those who have left comments. Please leave me comments and/or email!

The Amazing Race Episode 9

Previously on TAR:
- Teams traveled from Mauritius to Madagascar.
- The Intersection was introduced in a last-ditch attempt at saving David and Mary.
- Tyler and James and Rob and Kimberly choked on the Fast Forward, coming in after the Barbies, in second and third place respectively.
- The Barbies rocked that leg.
- Bama barely moved faster than a slow crawl because they knew they would definitely beat Kentucky's half hour penalty.
- Kentucky went home.

This week:
- Apparently Madagascar is the 4th largest island. I'm not sure why I was surprised, because thinking about it now, Madagascar is pretty big compared to Crete and stuff. I'm assuming Antarctica and Australia are considered continents and not islands. Greenland's pretty big. Anyway.. unimportant.

- Clue: Go to Helsinki, Finland, log onto aol.com to get the next clue. Tickets to Paris are provided, due to the lack of flights leaving Madagascar on any given day. Teams then have to book their own travel from then on, and they do not have to keep the Paris tickets, which put them on a flight that leaves in like 16 hours.
- Beginning of the leg observations: The Barbies are awesome. Kimberly washed her hair. The Chos are stupid.. this isn't friend camp.
- The first four teams manage to figure out it's faster to go through Johannesburg. It looks like Bama won't make it, but then the TAR fairy appears after having just finished having brunch with Rob and Brennan, Flo and Zach, Chip and Kim, and Uchenna and Joyce (all winning teams who noteably had some visits from the TAR fairy). They let them on the plane five minutes after it already departed or something. They flew them up in a hovercraft and dropped them into open seats.
- Karlyn actually smiles. Make note of this. I think this is smile number 3 so far this season.
- A little bit of Cho/Bama tension. Foreshadowing.
- Hmmm I wonder who the sponsor is. Teams get to see messages from home. The best one is when they show a Chos' girlfriend and then for the other one, it's his mother and sister.. who are actually both of their mother and sister. I just thought it was funny. It was like haha you are single. No one wants to be with you right now. Maybe not exactly.. I just thought it was funny.

- The family members give the next clue, which tells them to go to the cafe manager or something. Clue: Go to the city of Tampere via train and then taxi.
- Bama totally breaks down. They're the last ones there and I have to say the children are adorable. Lyn's three children read the clue together really slowly so they can be in unison and it's cute.
- All teams get on the same train.
- Barbies and Models "flirt"? I'm not quite sure because they're both aware of how important it is to play their own strong games. I think they kind of just pretend to lead each other on. I am so glad the Barbies are not Megan & Heidi, Dani & Danielle, Heather & Eve, etc. They know that nobody comes on a race for a million dollars to find a hot guy to hook up with. They don't cling to other teams for help.. they do it themselves. And frankly, if they did decide to use other teams for help, they would be wasting time because these two are very efficient.
- The Barbies and Models get off the train first and quickly find cabs parked in front of the station. The rest of them have to go to where there's a line, or as that part of the world says it, a queue. Kim and Rob ask a couple if they could please cut in line because it's an emergency and the couple says okay. This is fine and for once this team doesn't seem like the asses. Then, Bama proceeds to do the same thing, minus the asking for permission. They rudely jump into a cab as someone else is trying to get in and say, "Thank you sir!" in an obnoxious tone. Can it, Bama. The Chos then bitch about being polite and how it's gonna cost them. No, Chos, what's gonna cost you is this inability to work by yourself, for yourself, without concerning yourself with carrying the weaker teams around.

- Barbies and Models do a pointless race to the clue box, where they both find the Detour: Swamp This or Swamp That (they have run out of catchy ideas). In Swamp This, teams have to put on skis and go trekking through the swampy mud. In Swamp That, teams have to crawl through an obstacle course, at one point where one member has to carry the other. Both teams have to climb over a fence at one point and jump into the heavy quicksand-consistency mud.
- Teams that do Swamp This: Barbies and Bama. Teams that do Swamp That: Models, Rob/Kim, Chos.

- Tyler/James narrowly edge out the Barbies a finish the challenge first. They receive the next Clue: Take a train to Turku. Then drive 74 miles to Lorja.
- The Models decide to change clothes before getting in their car, but the Barbies don't because they're not prima donnas like the boys. Also, is it just me, or did the Barbies just not get dirty at all? In the short of them in their taxi right after the challenge, they look like they just spent thirty minutes shopping.
- At one point, Rob says something to the effect that Kim was heavy, or difficult to carry. She says, "Are you calling me fat?" Best part, there's no exchange after that. Rob doesn't say no, neither of them laugh, and Kim doesn't get angry either. I thought it was hilarious.
- Barbies and Models make the train and stand there urging it to hurry up and move. Usually, this is where the TAR fairy comes along and helps the back end teams out a little. Not this time. In an excellent display, Rob and Kimberly arrive in time to see the train leaving the station. It's fantastic.
- By the way, Kimberly's freshly showered look from earlier? Gone. She looks rough once again.
- In a strange exchange, Rob and Kimberly try to go past Bama/Cho on the train to go back to their seats and Bama/Cho are standing up for some reason and Bama goes on and on about "no party train with Rob and Kim."
- The Models find the next place and go into a mine, which is a classic example of doing something reminiscent of a former contestant. In this show and some others, the episode after a contestant leaves, there's a challenge that is something he/she would have loved or exceled at. This is a David challenge.
- Barbies have to wait because they don't quite find the marked flag as quickly.
- There is Bama/Cho tension again. Foreshadowing.
- Roadblock at the bottom of the mine ride: Bike into the mine, get a block of limestone, ride back up and break it open to get the clue, which is in a vile/container.
- Rob calls Bama Frick and Frack.
- James and Kandice do the Roadblock.
- James finds the clue first: Drive to Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
- Rob tries to drive into the mine. Chos and Bama find the mine clue before Rob and Kim.
- Models get to the Olympic Stadium first but go into the stadium and cannot find the marked flag, which is on a door outside of the stadium.
- Finally they find the clue: Go to the top of the tower. They find out they have to rappel down the tower face first. Excellent. One of the models is scared.
- Rob and Kim are a trainwreck as they fail to spot the marked door yet again when it seems they've right behind Chos/Bama, who spot it quickly. Rob and Kim display major trainwreck signs.
- After numerous mentions this episode by the contestants of how they're getting close to the pitstop, of course we have a TBC. It was about time.. I assumed it was time leg since it wasn't last leg. The Models get a clue after finishing rappeling and the Barbies are in the process of getting suited up and starting the rappel. Rob and Kimberly are cut off in this episode looking like a total trainwreck.

Next week: Tank time with Dennis and Andrew. I wouldn't be surprised if they were still in there, hoping to get the fast forward that will same them from behind five hundred hours behind. I think the Chos are toast next week. There's major foreshadowing of Bama screwing over the Chos and taking the final four spot. If so, this would mean two all-female teams in the final four. Would be a TAR first. And I'm crossing my fingers for a Rob and Kim trainwreck. Nothing is funnier.

Until next time..

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The Amazing Race Episode 8

Last Week on The Amazing Race:
- Barbies came in first place!
- David and Mary started in first place, but stupidly chose to switch detours after everybody had already left, leaving them in last place.
- David and Mary were saved by a NEL again.
- The producers like David and Mary.
- Barbies and Rob/Kimberly had car trouble.
- Barbies and Alabama fought over basically nothing.
- The "Six Pack" alliance openly share information with each other and help each other in challenges. When someone not in their alliance wants to share information or help someone else, the Six Pack throws a tantrum.
- I'm getting real tired of this friends-over-race thing.

This Week on The Amazing Race:
(Apologies.. I've only seen the episode once, when it aired, on a non-rewindable TV. This is all from memory.)

Teams go from Mauritius to Madagascar.

A new twist, the Intersection, is introduced. Here's my shpiel. It's an interesting idea, but wouldn't it have been a better idea to introduce it earlier when there were more teams, thus more than three pairs of teams? I think the producers put it here in an episode after a NEL so there would be a possibility that the team marked for elimination could escape the penalty by teaming up with a possibly stronger team. I also think it's paired with a fast forward for this same reason.

I do not like that the Intersection punishes teams who arrive significantly before another team and have to wait there for the lagging team to arrive. This happened to the Barbies today. Also, the Intersection introduces the idea that teams should rely on one another. I don't like this either. Never has this show been pegged as a show where teams are encouraged to trust and befriend other teams. That's not the premise of the show. It made for good TV and the result was similar to what would have happened sans Intersection, so I guess I have no real complaints.

Interestingly, the Fast Forward was a dual-team challenge. The first pair of teams to finish the Fast Forward would earn the right to skip all remaining tasks and go directly to the pitstop. I was glad that this FF was one of the more complex FFs of the race's history. It stressed the idea that the FF is a risk and never a guaranteed win. Tonight's episode was maybe the fourth time only that a team did not finish first after taking a FF. Guidos, Dennis and Andrew, Monica and Sheree come to mind. I think it was the Supremes.. I'm not positive, but one team took a FF on the first leg when they were in the second bunch of teams, and were too far behind the first bunch that they only managed fourth place with the FF.

This week's Fast Forward had teams eat a plate of cow lips to earn the pass to the pitstop. According to my dad, Chinese people (and probably other Asians) eat this quite often and it's not at all disgusting. My dad is also known for eating "thousand year old eggs," which just look icky, but aren't that old.. and my mom is known for eating fish eyes. (She would have rocked at the first roadblock this season.) If they wanted to go on Fear Factor, they would own the eating tasks.

I really think the most disgusting part of this eating challenge was the cow mouths that were hanging all over the place and the smell of raw meat in the air from the shops around them. There isn't any disgusting puking scene a la Soupgate Season 6 when Victoria, Aaron, and Freddy all chucked all over the place. All we see is the males beefing themselves up as they're eating, high-fiving and commenting on how good they would place, and Kimberly looking miserable the entire time, gagging every once in awhile.

I know most people hate Rob and Kimberly. I mostly do, too, but they're such the token dating couple. They're a cumulation of nine previous seasons worth of arguing, Floing, and bitching. Somehow, this season, the fighting dating couple is hilarious to me. Maybe it's because all of the arguing has been done before, or maybe it's how they argue. Maybe it's because they're equally annoying. It's not one partner tearing apart the other like with Peter and Sarah or the infamous Jonathan and Victoria (who had a baby recently that they gave a horrible name). It's equal complaining, equal yelling. I think it would make a huge difference if Kimberly cried after they argued. Either she doesn't or they don't show it at all. So it's just funny how dysfunctional they are. That's how I view Rob and Kimberly.. they're hilarious.

Anyway, meanwhile, Barbies beg the Chos to work with them because they don't get along with Alabama or Kentucky. Chos whine about having to compete against their friends and alliancemates. Shut up, Chos.. this isn't summer camp.

These two pairs of teams arrive at the Detour. The choices are A.) put a fitted sheet on eight mattresses and carry them through crowded streets to make a delivery to locals, or B.) make a million handcrafted pieces of fancy paper. This episode, teams are not stupid like last episode, and choose to do the more physical task instead of the more tedious time-consuming ridiculous task.

Barbies and Chos are off before the Four Pack. Barbies are carrying four mattresses and Chos are carrying four. Chos mention one or both of them worked for a moving company. Why, then, didn't they pair one Cho brother with one Barbie? Wouldn't that be more efficient? Who knows. Either way, they do okay. They get a local to direct them, until they appear to lose the local at some point. At which time they stand around for way too long asking where their guide went. Then someone realizes they know where they're trying to deliver to and can just ask someone else which way to go. They get their clue that tells them they are no longer bound to the other team. Which means the Barbies can now fly ahead and the Cho brothers can once again be in the Back Pack.

Alabama and Kentucky are having a little more trouble. Their idea of efficient was carrying all of the mattresses at once. They manage to use two fanny packs as rope to tie the mattresses together. I don't think enough people appreciate the humor of this. Fanny Packs.. still useful, yet still unappealing. For some reason, while Barbies and Chos were able to travel along sidewalks of some sort, our unintentionally hilarious Four Pack decides to navigate through traffic, which yes, includes running cars. There are scenes where mattresses are on top of cars with people in them, or mattresses are wedged between two cars. It's great.

So Barbies are first to the Roadblock. They are really owning this leg. Dustin does the Roadblock, in which one team member must locate four vendors along the busy street who have a particular stamp that corresponds to four vehicles (plane, train, bus, car?) that are provided on a sheet of paper. Once they match the four stamps, they will have to get to the pitstop where their teammate is already waiting. I like this.

Chos get there after Dustin has already found one or two stamps. They ask if she's found the clue and she either says 'no' or ignore them. While it seems a little mean, the Barbies aren't here to play the friend game. Also, if Dustin is by herself, doesn't it seem reasonable to assume she's doing the roadblock? Just my opinion. Anyway, Godwin decides to do it.

So we see Kandice and Erwin waiting at the pitstop. We see clips of the Fast Forwarders making their way to the pitstop once they finish the cow lips. Dustin finishes getting her stamps and rushes to the pitstop as well. Then, editors actually do a good job in convincing us that the FFers make it to the pitstop before Dustin. But in actuality, Dustin runs toward the pitstop and Kandice gets excited. They go to Phil and he tells them that they're in 1st place. Yay! They proceed to get really excited and mention that a group went for the FF. Yes, Barbies, you beat the FFers.. you were that good. They win a trip for two to Hawaii.

Erwin is sitting there still and we think maybe Godwin will arrive next. Nope. It's the FFers. Tyler and James arrive in second and possibly think that Rob and Kimberly were in front of them, but either way, they're pretty happy. Then Rob and Kimberly arrive and look disappointed at having taken longer to complete one task than the Barbies were at completing two. Well, it happens.

Next, Godwin appears and the Chos are fourth.

David and Mary arrive at the roadblock first and Mary performs it. Alabama strolls in sometime later and Lyn does it. Why are Alabama strolling? Partially because this is how excited they are typically and partially because they know they can take their time and still beat David and Mary's thirty minute penalty time. So Mary finishes first and she and David step onto the mat in fifth, but have to wait out their penalty. Lyn arrives sometime after and they step onto the mat in fifth and David and Mary have to step on the mat in last place. This means goodbye David and Mary.

It was fun while it lasted, Kentucky. I will miss the Kentucky of two episodes ago, where they were genuinely excited to do everything and in less of a giving-up mood.

Next time on The Amazing Race: People jump into quicksand? People roll in barrels? (No, actually that may have been Survivor.)

Until next time..