mookster

I don't get around much, so I was happy to see Paris, a place I've actually visited! And this race continually surprises me, as I didn't think I'd like the sisters or the football players, but I like them both! Leo and Alana don't bother me much and the brother and sister are pretty much ciphers. My 15-yr-old and I are rooting for Hung and Chee and wish Will and James would go home as soon as possible. The bearded brothers? Meh. They seem nice enough, but meh. VERY happy to see Victoria and Michelle leave - got nothing but negativity from them. Loved the tasks: they have the horserace game at Funland in Rehoboth Beach - only it's hillbillies heading to the outhouse with rolls of toilet paper - and I've spent hundreds of dollars on it over the years. I still love it. I would have spent all day trying to throw that ball into the clowns' mouths. And I know I'm in the minority, but I didn't enjoy the pie-throwing. I just kept thinking it was such a waste of food - ruining the pies they just created too. They could have at least used shaving cream for the pies they threw. I'm really not a killjoy - I just never thought a pie in the face was funny. PS I learned to drive a stick on a Saab with the shift on the steering column, which was much easier in my mind. The stick on the floor always seemed to get mashed up. On the column, 1st was up and toward you, 2nd was down and toward you, 3d was up and away, 4th was down and away. Easy-peasy!

So happy to have TAR back! I wish they'd break it into half-hour shows to make it last longer! I don't have any clear team preferences, although I was happy with the married couple coming in first. My main observation was why did so many people wear life vests in waist-deep water?

I must be a cold, dead fish, because this episode left me...cold. Don't get me wrong - I'm as big a sap as the next person, and I was fully ready to bawl my eyes out, but this all seemed so contrived. My 14yo loves the show, so I watch it with her, but it's getting on my last nerve. First off, they are all so freaking self-centered. Glassman relates to Shawn's situation because he lost his daughter, Claire relates to the football player because of her mom, Leah drags up her dysfunctional family. Can any of them show empathy for something they haven't personally experienced? Reznick projecting her personal crap onto every patient, co-worker, etc. is tiresome and highly unprofessional. I guess she's doing okay with her RA, so we can go back to hating her. As someone upthread mentioned, I remember why Leah annoys so much - her pixie-ish "let's do something crazy" wild spirit shtick is exhausting. She doesn't want to push him to see his father, but she's pushing a guy with sensory issues to go swimming - at night - in the winter - after drinking. Aggravating. And they better not be foreshadowing a romantic relationship... Finally, Shawn himself. As someone mentioned in other episode threads, his frequent meltdowns don't really make for a high-functioning character. I used to like seeing his brilliance in figuring out complex medical challenges, but the writers have spun off into soap opera-land, which is a lot less appealing to me. YMMV. That said, I love Melendez and Kim and Claire. I was happy to see Claire start turning around - but would she really drop her phone in her coffee? The writing on this show can be so lazy. Like when Shawn asked his mother why she stayed with his father, I thought she was going to say "I had nowhere to go," which might explain her helpless enabling. But "I love him"? And I thought the football player was a throwaway. That could have been done better with more time.

I started watching this season with my daughter because I'd heard so much about Flo, but I have to say I'm surprised at how not-bad she is through the first six episodes. I'm sure she gets worse as time goes on, but I expected much worse. I LOVE the bald brothers - they're hilarious and I'm sorry they don't win. But I can't stand allliances on this show so I hold their partnership with the Doublemint Twins (meh) against them. I couldn't stand Ian on the all-stars show and I can't believe how much worse he is here! If I hear hoo-wah one more time.... I don't know how Teri stands him. And that damn hat! I was surprised by how much I like Jon Vito and Jill. She's a bad-ass. Now I have to go back and watch Flo and Zach win....

I was eager to see Sam leave, but as soon as the new winner started leading with his chin, I knew I had to come here to see the reaction. Egad, he's annoying. Mr. M says I'm too critical, so I tried to tamp it down, but nope, I can't help it. I agree with SHD on the Rushmore kid likeness. But the first thing that leapt to mind for me was this character from The Year Without a Santa Claus. Because I'm highfalutin like that.

Not sad that Team Fun is gone, although I will miss Floyd. Becca's in-your-face personality reminds me way too much of a new in-law of mine and don't need that on my TV! One question: Just as they tossed the cheeses across the canal, could they have tossed the eggs one by one? I thought gently lofting the eggs to one's partner across the canal would have been a safer bet than landing on a sack of eggs in the water. Funny, I really liked the Afghanimals in their debut season, but now not so much. They're not particularly good racers and they were pretty obnoxious in this ep. Anyone but Afghanimals? Victor seems like a nice guy, Nicole's a little whiny. I don't watch BB, but I wouldn't be sad if they won. Tyler and Korey are fine, although their constant puns can be exhausting. I'd be ok if they won. Which leaves Colin and Christie - who'd a thunk I'd be rooting for them after their boorish behavior in their first season? But I really like both of them now. And because I'm really bad at noticing these things: Is Christie's hair really a weave? Like posters above, I'd have to have that off my neck throughout these legs, but I thought it was her real hair! No?

I am so sick of the sisters, I want to scream. Please let them leave before Rachel can secure her "record." The inane drama and incomprehensible squabble on the train wasted so much Switzerland-viewing time. And how is it that after multiple dunks in the water, Elissa's full makeup is still on? Is waterproof makeup really THAT waterproof? I kind of like Nicole and Victor, and I've never watched BB. Her fear was so quiet and genuine, and Victor seems like a nice guy. I loved how Nicole was freaking out riding on the funicular after she just bungee-jumped! I wouldn't be unhappy if they won. Colin and Christie crack me up. I loved Colin's roll out of the helicopter (at first I thought it was a cameraman), but I could've done without the prayer circle. They've got mad skillz though. Tyler and Korey are okay, but they're kind of wearing on my last nerve (okay, mostly Korey). My 14 year old daughter thinks he's hysterical, though, so what do I know? Team Fun is exhausting. I don't doubt that they were genuinely psyched to be where they were, but they're just a little enervating. I felt bad for the Afghanimals that they were penalized by the funicular wait. Seems like they should have been told that was a possibility. Who knew it would be so easy? The two guys whose names I still don't know are inoffensive -- so ANYONE but the sisters! I was confused about the aimless driving - did they have directions to the church? Who just blindly starts driving? How did the other teams manage to drive directly to the church? But I was happy to see self-driving return. Now if only they had to book their own flights. I miss that.

Thank you, Gimmick Genius! I did hear the part about assassinating and thought WTH?

What was Sarah's story? I was in another room and saw the mannerisms but missed the story.

When James missed Iowa and back burner, I thought he was deliberately throwing the game. Then when he saw his opponents didn't take advantage of this gift, he just plowed on ahead. Again, not fun to watch blowout after blowout. And the FJs do seem ridiculously easy lately.

Are they ever going to be on separate flights? Kind of takes the fun out of it. Like Becca and Floyd (more Floyd) and am getting tired of Tyler's camera-mugging. Nicole and Victor seem decent. Still can't stand Rachel and her sister. Aside from R's screeching. I find myself looking at their injected lips all the time. Kind of like the Afghanimals but their "acting" is getting tiresome too. When I heard Phil say "may," I knew it was a non-elim, and when the two guys showed up last, my 14-year-old said "okay, so they go home next week." That said, I would have failed at all the tasks - can't dance, hate touching fish and too introverted to sing in public. Which is why you will never see me on AR!

I'm so happy this show is back, even with the reality "theme." I've never seen Survivor or Big Brother (aside from the endless commercials), so I'm left with rooting for former TAR teams. Although I can't stand Rachel, remembered hating C&C and didn't remember the two who were booted last night, so that leaves me with Becca and Floyd and the Afghanimals. I remembered liking the latter - and one has a cat - so I choose them. I do remember Becca getting surly toward the end of their season and she does seem a bit OTT, so I'm okay with my choice. As for the rest of the teams, whose names I'll never learn, ugh. Can't wait for the tie-dyed guy and wife to go home. The plasticized blondes can go too. The bitchy brunettes can go. The rest all kind of blur for now. The tasks were underwhelming, and hordes of reality contestants descending on an unsuspecting foreign city shouting "English! English! Does anybody speak English?" will never cease to make me cringe.

That was a completely un-fun game. I don't actively hate James, but his mowing down of competitors is not enjoyable. Those two contestants looked so miserable throughout. And I do find a lot of the double jeopardy questions to be easy. While he does have a wide breadth of knowledge, it's not as impressive as Ken Jennings'. He's stayed silent on a few I've gotten, so that's how I know!

Everything has pretty much been said - loved Claire channeling Shaun, hated Glassman the stalker, appalled by the At Last kiss (though I do like them together), like Carly, glad Lea wasn't the object of Shaun's affections, and am beginning to think Park may make a better cop than doctor (although he missed a bunch of clues). But again, the far-fetchedness of this show makes me batty. So a doctor who was fired is allowed to roam around the hospital from which he was fired ordering tests and visiting patients? Not likely. The bar brawl, Shaun's injuries and the patient's hidden diagnosis seemed very hastily thrown together. The writing and pacing on this show is so uneven, it's hard to stay with it.

Hi, Elaine/Stavia! You were great, and I'm rooting for you too. I missed the intros, but I noticed Alex kept calling you EE-laine. Is that how you pronounce it, or was he muffing it?