It's Dirty Work, But Somebody's Gotta Do It
If you haven't yet seen (and you intend to see) episode 5 of The Amazing Race Series 11 – All Stars Edition (TARAS), do not read any further!
The last TARAS episode we saw here in Australia ended with Rob & Amber being the last team to reach the Pit Stop and the fourth team to be eliminated from the All Stars edition of the show. The Pit Stop was located on the Martial Glacier in Ushuaia, Argentina.
For the Roadblock, one team member had to use a large, landmine-seeking rat on a series of complicated leads and cords to find a race marker above a deactivated mine. Once their rat gave the signal that it had found something, an Apopo Mine Technician would search the area. When the Race marker was found, the team would receive their next clue.
This leg's Detour was ‘Pamper’ or ‘Porter’. In ‘Pamper’, teams had to travel half a mile to the Maputo Central Market, choose a nail polish kit, and convince people to pay them to paint their nails, which in Maputo is a job usually performed by men. Teams needed to earn at least 30 meticals, which is about one US dollar, to receive their next clue. In ‘Porter’, teams made their way two miles to Market de Janet where they would use their bare hands to fill 10 large 45-pound bags with coal and sew each of them shut. Then, teams had to carry one of the ten heavy bags to a specified address where the owner would hand them their next clue.
For the record, this was the order in which the teams reached Phil on the mat last episode, and the order in which they started this leg of the Race:
1. Oswald & Danny
2. Eric & Danielle
3. Teri & Ian
4. Joe & Bill
5. Dustin & Kandice
6. Uchenna & Joyce
7. Charla & Mirna
Note: If you're already ahead of this point in the series, please refrain from giving any spoilers in your comments. Thank you.
As always, I’ll provide my thoughts on each team in this episode, listing them in the order in which they arrived at the Pit Stop (hence the 'Spoiler Alert!').
1. Charla & Mirna
Last week: 7
This week: Up an impressive six places!
Who woulda thunk it?! I was quite surprised at how well these ladies did, although because this episode was aired as a double with the one that followed it (and the second episode was far more controversial), I have very little to say about the teams in this one. However, I did note with amusement that Charla is a big fan of TV’s Scrubs. (She was wearing a T-shirt that said, “I miss you” and appeared to feature a picture of actor Zach Braff!)
2. Dustin & Kandice
Last week: 5
This week: Up three places
When these two hiked two miles (or whatever it was) up the mountain of snow without their backpack containing the equipment they needed (and had to retrace their steps looking for it), I knew the blondes were back! Strangely, this seemed to be their only real mistake this leg (but it was enough to make them look stupid), and they were lucky enough to find the hidden beacon quickly, overtaking other teams who were having no luck in the snow.
3. Teri & Ian
Last week: 3
This week: No change
The only thing I noted about this episode for these guys was that they stupidly drove to the wrong market to do the ‘Porter’ Detour task. So they ended up doing the ‘Pamper’ one instead, which they completed very quickly and managed to overtake about five other teams. Ian’s frustration was starting to show a little more in this episode, but thankfully Teri wasn’t on the receiving end of it (too much).
4. Oswald & Danny
Last week: 1
This week: Down three places
I was surprised at how (relatively) badly these guys did at the start of this leg. They basically had a meltdown on the ice (pun intended, even though it’s a really crap one), and it looked like they may be in last place for a while. But they managed to bounce back and they had a couple of amusing moments, as usual. The first was in their pre-leg interviews, where they were both wearing a small flower behind their ear or in their scarf, making them look like they were having a great time and enjoying the Race. The second – and clearly the most amusing – was when they arrived at the mat covered in FILTHY coal dust from the ‘Porter’ detour task, threatened to hug Phil, and then chased him around the park a bit to a tune not too dissimilar to the Benny Hill theme music. We saw another joking side to Phil at this point, until the very real possibility that another team was hot on their tail forced them to properly check in and move along.
5. Joe & Bill
Last week: 4
This week: Down one place
Team Guido should be re-named team Weirdo. Their ‘argument’ with Eric wasn’t everything the ad had cracked it up to be (and I kinda agreed with Eric that they were behaving and reacting like tools), but Eric probably didn’t have to antagonise them so. Still, Eric’s a bit similar to Rob & Amber in that way – he knows that shaking up the other teams can only aid his own cause, so why not give it a try. The only thing I’ve written down in my notes is my surprise that Joe & Bill thought guys painting nails would be weird.
6. Eric & Danielle
Last week: 2
This week: Down four places
I must admit that Eric seems to know a fair bit of stuff, for a ‘COLEGE’ guy who never went to college and works as a waiter. He knew that Mozambique was in Africa, whereas Danielle (who knows how to wear clothes and that’s about it) had no idea where it was. I was impressed that he knew that, because Americans (God bless ‘em) aren’t exactly renown for their knowledge on world geography. At the end, in their footrace against Joe & Bill, his exasperated, “Dammit, Danielle!” was harsh, but in the heat of the moment (and feeling, as he must have, that she was letting him down by not running fast enough and possibly signing their elimination notice), I could understand it entirely. Maybe his annoyance is really aimed at himself for choosing to take Danielle on this Race instead of his former Race partner Jeremy (who would have been pulling his weight in this series, rather than just watching it*).
* Think about it.
7. Uchenna & Joyce - SAFE!
Last week: 6
This week: Down one place
Surprisingly, I haven’t written a single thing down about Uchenna & Joyce for this episode. They were unlucky in places, but also made rash decisions (like not getting one of the kids from the coal mine to direct them to the address they were heading to, like almost every other team before them had thought to do). Thankfully for all you U&J fans out there, this was the first no-elimination leg, so the happy couple were back in the second episode. But the new twist on the non-elimination legs was revealed to be a rather nasty one indeed! Unless they arrive at the Pit Stop in the next leg in first place (not impossible but extremely difficult), they have to wait half an hour before being checked in, which could be the difference between being safe and being eliminated. However, they no longer have all their money and possessions (excluding their passports and the clothes on their backs) confiscated. I really don’t mind Uchenna & Joyce, although viewers who didn’t see their original season with Rob & Amber (or perhaps those who did but who were cheering Rob & Amber on for the win) often don’t see what’s so charming about this pair. I think it’s their happy ability to stumble through the Race with a little less than 100% brains at work, but with such bright enthusiasm.
Last week's tips:
First Team: Eric & Danielle. (Wrong)
Last Team: Charla & Mirna. (Wrong)
Yield? No. Correct!
Fast Forward? Yes. (Wrong)
Elimination Week? No. Correct!
Biggest Argument: Joe & Bill. (Wrong) – It was Oswald & Danny on the ice.
Smartest Team: Oswald & Danny. (Wrong) – I guess it was Charla & Mirna.
Next episode's tips: (as tipped in the comments last week, once the ‘double episode’ thing was realised)
First Team: Oswald & Danny.
Last Team: Uchenna & Joyce.
Yield? Yes.
Fast Forward? No.
Elimination Week? Yes.
Biggest Argument: Teri & Ian.
Smartest Team: Uchenna & Joyce.
If you haven’t already done so, check out the review of this same episode that Javatari posted on his blog.
.
posted by BEVIS @ 8:09 AM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home