S25.E04: Thinly Sliced Anchovies

[needschocolate]

Quick query:  I see some people including info with quotes -- name, posting time, etc.  How???

 

If you click on the quotation mark at the bottom right corner of the post you want to quote, a little box will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen saying "Reply to quoted post".  When you click on that, the post you are quoting will appear in the reply box.  Then the poster's name and the time will appear with the quote.  Plus, the person you quoted will get a notification that you quoted them. The best part, to me, is that you can click on the quotation marks for as many posts as you wish (no more copying and pasting quotes into Word nor having to sort through prior pages to find items you wanted to quote). The drawback is that their entire post will appear in the reply box, and you either have to erase the parts you don't intend to quote or have a really long post that includes stuff you are not responding to. 

 

From my vantage point as a viewer & frequent flier, I sure know which of them I'd rather have running the show on my plane in the case of an emergency. Hint: not the one that threw a shit fit when things didn't work out as they were supposed to.

 

Not the one going "I'd show you where the emergency exit was, but not until you lose that attitude!"

 

Nor the other one, who may become a sobbing mess, shouting, "we are all going to die" when the plane hits a little turbulence.

 

Neither of them seem to have the right personality for dealing with the public in a confined space or for dealing with an emergency.  Of course, lack of sleep and being completely out of your comfort zone can make people behave differently than they normally do (I was going to include jet lag, but, being flight attendants, they are probably better at handling jet lag than most).

[MyAimIsTrue]

Damn, I keep forgetting the show is on Friday night as I'm usually not home so thank goodness for CBS.com.

 

I was embarrassed by how many racers did not automatically know the capitals of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.  Seriously?  We're talking three fairly major world cities.

 

I need an Ida Davidsen in my life.  Maybe she can be my grandmother.

[jjj]

If you click on the quotation mark at the bottom right corner of the post you want to quote, a little box will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen saying "Reply to quoted post".  When you click on that, the post you are quoting will appear in the reply box.  Then the poster's name and the time will appear with the quote.  Plus, the person you quoted will get a notification that you quoted them. The best part, to me, is that you can click on the quotation marks for as many posts as you wish (no more copying and pasting quotes into Word nor having to sort through prior pages to find items you wanted to quote). The drawback is that their entire post will appear in the reply box, and you either have to erase the parts you don't intend to quote or have a really long post that includes stuff you are not responding to. 

How cool is this, needschocolate!    I never knew how you all did the quoting!  Also, thanks to all who mentioned the bonus clips, which I never seem to be able to find, and apparently they were delayed last week?  (Did we ever learn if that ankle was sprained or broken?) 

[cooksdelight]

I wonder if the producers decided last minute to make it a NEL based on watching the mother-daughter implode.

No, all legs of the race are pre-planned far in advance. If they felt that someone was having a mental breakdown, they'd have their medical team assess the situation and act accordingly.

[piewarmer]

I really loved the moment where Maya walked up to Ida Davidsen, raised a finger, opened her mouth to begin reciting the order...and then simply spun on her heel and walked away, realizing she was not ready yet.

 

It was a perfect false start, and something I could see myself doing repeatedly in that situation.

[djlynch]

The wrestlers are doofuses, but at least the guy is funny and having a good time.

 

I'm beginning to think that they're playing a lot dumber than they really are. They're used to being characters.

 

Also, Robbie reminds me of the kind of guy I liked to make very fun bad decisions with back in college. I'm rooting for them.

[Latverian Diplomat]

I still can't get over Brooke holding the cake up for the entire trip, when the floor of the bike was RIGHT THERE. I guess it's just... you get one idea in your mind of "must carry cake", and get stuck on that, and can't even see the other possibilities. Poor thing, though. That had to hurt.

Though there was probably a more comfortable way to do it, that might have helped them complete the challenge. One of the many issues with the cargo bike is it had no shock absorbers. Brooke's body may have been playing that role. When other racers rested the cake on the floor, it jumped around with every bump. (The cyclists still had the best idea/creative-interpretation-of-the-rules by conveying the cake partially assembled).

[jjj]

I puzzled about the number of legs and the Save now.  If they are counting on the Save being used, that adds a Save leg in terms of eliminations.  This next is important:  if they are NOT counting on the Save being used, they would have taken the Save away in the current NEL, to take it out of play.  This tells me they have counted on the Save being used, so if it is not, will they need to add an NEL to whatever is planned for future legs?    So, does the future hold two more NELs plus a Save leg, or three NELs if the Save is not used? 

 

One of the many issues with the cargo bike is it had no shock absorbers. Brooke's body may have been playing that role.

Yes, I meant to say that, also -- much easier to keep the cake intact if it is being held, rather than jolted constantly. 

Edited October 18, 2014 by jjj

[etagloh]

I wonder if the producers decided last minute to make it a NEL based on watching the mother-daughter implode. 

 

It gets speculated about a lot, but the working assumption is that NELs are set in stone for legal and logistical reasons unless external forces kick in, and isn't driven by actions on the race itself. James and Abba had a passport stolen in Russia in TAR21 and were saved by a NEL, then completed the next leg after spending a day filing police reports, making that elimination an anti-climax. If TPTB had discretion to swap NEL/elimination legs, that's the kind of situation where they'd do it.

 

 

I puzzled about the number of legs and the Save now.  If they are counting on the Save being used, that adds a Save leg in terms of eliminations.  This next is important:  if they are NOT counting on the Save being used, they would have taken the Save away in the current NEL, to take it out of play.

 

We have to assume that they're not counting on either, and have options in place for both possibilities, but now we know that it's not taken for NELs, the safest leg plan for TPTB is that it doesn't get used before the 9th leg and just expires. If it does get used in the remaining four legs (with one of them likely to be a NEL) then things get interesting, but adding an extra elimination if needed is more feasible than adding or removing another leg.

Edited October 18, 2014 by etagloh

[MyAimIsTrue]

I'm beginning to think that they're playing a lot dumber than they really are. They're used to being characters.

 

Re:  the wrestlers, that's what I'm thinking as well.  I swear I caught the smallest of smirks on Robbie's face when he asked if Sweden was a different country.

[mojoween]

I didn't think Brooke actually parked in the "handyman" spot. I thought she was speculating about it, found one that wasn't, and then pointed out one that was when they walked by it.

[greyhorse]

I thought the 7 vs 8 petals on the pot was really unfair.  Unless there was something equally as tricky on the living room set-up, which there didn't appear to be.  Couldn't believe the dentists gave up on this detail oriented task.

 

I'm still unclear if during the sandwich memorization task, if the racers had to get all four sandwiches at once during a single attempt, or if they could get two sandwiches right, then go back and get the other two right after looking at the menu.  We saw a lot of racers already have three checkboxes next to the sandwiches and then them getting the last one correct.  But not sure if they had given the three correct sandwiches before or during a previous attempt.

 

Hated the dentist plugging her ears while giving the answers.  I guess she didn't want to hear anything else because it might be distracting?  And she seemed to be bobbing her head around, I suppose she was trying to sing the ingredients?  Loved how theatric the wrestler was at giving his answers, guess it comes with his profession.

 

Shelly/Nici.  I don't know which one is which, nor do i care.  They're both immature, which is only natural since the mom was a teen mom.  I can't wait for them to go home.

 

I really don't like the Save.  As many have said, it should have been taken away once you decide to present it to Phil.  "You've used your Save so you will no longer have it for the rest of the race...but you didn't need to because it was a non-elimination leg!"  And it is pretty unclear what happens if they do use the Save for the team that checked in ahead of them, would they be eliminated then? Is there a rule as to when the Save must be used?  Because basically this keeps them in the game until whenever it's not able to be used, unless they happen to finish last twice.  I wish they would just go back to Express pass for the winners of the first leg.  The Save is a really poorly thought out new wrinkle in the game.

[merylinkid]

BTW, what the hell happened to Shelly & Nici at the airport finding the cars?   Everyone else went right outside and found their cars (or appeared to) but they were wandering around inside the garage?   How come everyone else knew to be outside and they thought it was inside?

[cooksdelight]

 

Couldn't believe the dentists gave up on this detail oriented task

 

 

Especially if he's working on my teeth.

[Vgmastr]

I'm really disappointed the Save is essentially a get out of jail free card.  It should be like the hidden Immunity Idol on Survivor, they should be forced to play it before Phil tells them what place they are in.  You play it because you think you're last but another team got lost and is behind you?  Tough luck, you lose it.  You don't think you're last so you don't play it but it turns out you are?  You go home with the Save in your pocket.  That would actually create some tension as a team struggles with the decision on whether to play it or not.

[jjj]

I'm really disappointed the Save is essentially a get out of jail free card.  It should be like the hidden Immunity Idol on Survivor, they should be forced to play it before Phil tells them what place they are in.  You play it because you think you're last but another team got lost and is behind you?  Tough luck, you lose it.  You don't think you're last so you don't play it but it turns out you are?  You go home with the Save in your pocket.  That would actually create some tension as a team struggles with the decision on whether to play it or not.

Vgmaster, that is exactly what I was thinking -- there needs to be an element of risk in deploying the Save.  Imagine in "Survivor" if someone presented the Immunity Idol, and Jeff said, "Oh, you were not voted out, so you don't need to play the Idol.  Put it back in whatever crevice you store it in."  So bland!     

[Kromm]

Unexpectedly loving Kym & Alli.  They're kind of hilarious.

[Lamb18]

Speaking of this being a roadblock episode... WHY did Bethany not do a non-physical task and leave a possible more challenging one ahead for her husband?

I think she might not have been able to manage the tray, especially if all four plates were on it. That would have been tough to balance with one hand, plus serving them.

 

Jim's eyes--maybe a touch of thyroid, that makes your eyes bug out a little. Since he is super-competitive, he may have been restraining himself so he wouldn't hurt his wife's feelings, since she probably felt bad.

 

I think Shelly and Nici would be OK in a flight emergency if they were on different planes. Nici's probably fine at work because the triggers aren't there and she's probably treated like a grownup.

[J-Man]

 

Neither of them seem to have the right personality for dealing with the public in a confined space or for dealing with an emergency.  Of course, lack of sleep and being completely out of your comfort zone can make people behave differently than they normally do (I was going to include jet lag, but, being flight attendants, they are probably better at handling jet lag than most).

If I have to choose a flight attendant from among those racing this season, I'll take Tim.

[Former Nun]

Hated the dentist plugging her ears while giving the answers.  I guess she didn't want to hear anything else because it might be distracting?  And she seemed to be bobbing her head around, I suppose she was trying to sing the ingredients?

 

 

It's probably some memorization trick she came up with in middle school and it worked for the rest of her school life.  

 

BTW, what the hell happened to Shelly & Nici at the airport finding the cars?   Everyone else went right outside and found their cars (or appeared to) but they were wandering around inside the garage?   How come everyone else knew to be outside and they thought it was inside?

 

 

Guess I expected them to be better at "airport navigation" than any of the other contestants.  WHY would  they think they could cooperate on something this stressful?  If I were their employer, I'd be looking more closely at job performance when they return.

[Former Nun]

I don't think Shelley is trying to lose and go home, if she were, she wouldn't have told Nici that she saw Phil. I think she is just a horrible person.

 

 

I picture myself trying to mother Nici for all those years--NOT easy!  Nici was just as rude to Phil...refusing to come to the technical finish line although he requested it a few times (who knows how many times he really did).  If I had to take sides on this team, I'd side with the mother.  If I were in charge, they would never have made the show.

[BigWhiteBird]

huh, three flight attendants this year, right?

Shelly and Nici totally lost me with their attitudes on this one. Off the like-list for me.

Can't believe the Dentists actually hit the like-list - damn them and their okay, we got our asses kicked attitude. Why can't the bad-guys stick to their roles! :)

During the episode, I couldn't believe anyone would chose the wedding cake one over the set-up challenge but now I realise they wouldn't know what the cake looks like before they got there. The bikers really won me over when they took the icing bag with them - brilliant move!

Love the dogs (sleeping, standing, trying to lick Phil - just want to smooch their faces), love Maya's "aah, nope, not yet" moment at the sandwich shop (and Ida's smile at it) and SurferGirl's "busy, can't talk now" moment when T&T (?) arrived (polite but to the point - and totally justified).

[Camera One]

This was a pretty tense episode, though airplane luck seemed to have a lot to do with the top and bottom teams.  It was strange how everyone ended up with different flights since some people who got to a travel/ticketing agent first received later flights than people later.

 

The bikers were very competent and I liked that they were smart in splitting their cake in two and bringing repair tools.  But they were also well ahead of everyone else based on their flight.  I liked them more this episode than the last few.

 

It seemed a little unfair that one parklet task had one common error which was not the case with the living room one.  Could Jim and Misti have switched to the other parklet type?  It wasn't smart to give up that easily considering the other task was not easy either.  

 

The restaurant task would have been more difficult with more teams there.  One of the teams was saying Maya saying the ingredients out loud was distracting, but I think the wrestler guy was memorizing his in the kitchen at the back?  

 

I have to give Misti props for being so good-natured after re-reading the clue.  It was a bit weird in the interview when she said Jim was being so supportive and his expression looked nothing but.  I don't love the team but I don't mind them.  They would have lost me if Jim started yelling at her in-show.

 

I was on the mom's side at the beginning when the daughter threw another fit in the parking garage.  I really want to like this team more since the mom is so funny.  Though sometimes, it's when she's being kinda rude like when the daughter said she'd rather do the cake, and the mom said, "That's nice.  I've chosen."  Since we knew how difficult the cake task was, the mom ended up being right, but still.  I think the daughter made an honest mistake with navigation when she didn't tell the mom to turn left/right?  So it was really unnecessary at the end for the mom to let her drive right by the Pit Stop.  These two need to apologize to one another and both need to work on being a good teammate.  Though they were pretty much screwed from the plane delay from the very start and so both were likely superstressed.

 

I did find it funny how the surfers kept saying "That was gnarly".  Especially after the restaurant task... what was so gnarly about it?

 

I'm worried about the Food Scientists navigation since they were beaten to the restaurant and later to the Pit Stop by teams that finished the tasks AFTER them.  Again, hopefully, they are taking steps to improve that weakness.

 

T&T were middling of the pack, and seemed to get through everything.  I liked that one of them breezed through the restaurant task.  The Survivor team and the Wrestlers also fared better this week than the previous ones.  I was surprised the Wrestlers managed to keep the cake intact the entire ride.  Despite the weird moaning sounds she was making.

 

The sandwich customer was so mean.  "Are you sure??"  "I'm just kidding."  LOL.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Camera One

[nottopbravo]

 

I am, begrudgingly, wiling to let Phil hand back the Save on an NEL, because the racers can't know when an NEL will pop up, but if Jim and Misti ever assume they are last on a regular leg, when there is really a team behind them, and they hand over the Save, Phil better not hand it back.  As others have said, there should be some strategy to using it.

 

I think the only strategy is to let Phil speak first--Unless you know you are in last place.  If Phil says, "You are team number...." you keep the save or if he says,"You are the last team to arrive" and then hand over the save.  

 

I doubt very much that the producers would introduce the "save" if for whatever reason it could not be used.

 

And even on a regular leg, I doubt very much (if used) that it would eliminate a team that had checked in before them.

[green]

I wonder if the producers decided last minute to make it a NEL based on watching the mother-daughter implode. If it had been a regular elimination leg and the dentists had been forced to use their save, then were eliminated later and the mother-daughter stayed....well, which would be the team you would rather watch as a viewer and have on your show as a producer? Keep the Dentist, find a way to flame out the mother/daughter, and then carry on.

Of course, I also think there was a mutually agreed elimination for the firefighters last week. I think we'll see them pop back up on a reunion/all stars/unfinished business season for a do-over.

 

Again, all non-eliminations are locked in before the race starts.  It would be a totally illegal act to change them in mid-stream.  This show isn't in the trash reality genre.  It is the reality game show that has played the most straight up of any reality show in TV history.  Is the show always perfect?  No as in they edit people in broad strokes trying to find some sort of storyline along the way though if the Racers don't give them the footage they wouldn't get painted that way.  But is it on the up-and-up?  Absolutely yes.

Edited October 18, 2014 by green

[Fukui San]

What about the scenario where Misti and Jim think they're 5th but they're actually last in an elimination leg? Does Phil prompt them for their Save? If so, they're robbing us of an Oy Vey moment.

[Netfoot]

If you click on the quotation mark at the bottom right corner of the post you want to quote, a little box will appear in the bottom right corner of your screen saying "Reply to quoted post".  When you click on that, the post you are quoting will appear in the reply box.  Then the poster's name and the time will appear with the quote.

 

OK, thanks.  (And testing it out!)

 

ETA:  Seems to work!  Thanks again.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Netfoot

[fishcakes]

Although they're good racers, my dislike for the cyclists is growing. They are huge muggers, and while I thought the dancing on the street in front of the bar last week was asinine, it was basically harmless. But this week, one of them grabbed the sandwich lady and kissed her repeatedly on the face. For as much grief as people gave the Afghanimals (heh, I accidentally typed Garanimals first) for picking people up and as much as I personally would not want to be picked up, kissing a stranger on the face is a thousand times worse.

 

Not only do I really like the dentists, I think I might love them and want them to win. (I would have thought I was going to be Team Bethany all the way because I've followed her since her accident and adore her, but I'm finding her and her husband to be pleasant but not that interesting yet.) As others have noted, the dentists don't bicker or blame, they're polite if not outright helpful to the other teams, and they're respectful of the locals. And honestly, I like Jim's crazy face. The bulging eyes, the gritted teeth, the sheer ... orangeness of it all. I like to think he was the proverbial 98-pound-weakling, but he worked on himself: gym, tan, laundry, and whitening trays. Lots and lots of whitening trays.

 

Jim's eyes--maybe a touch of thyroid, that makes your eyes bug out a little.

 

I think you might be right. I notice his eyes don't just bulge, they also point in slightly different directions, which is a classic sign of Graves Disease. If Jim does have it, I hope he's aware of it and getting treatment because untreated it can lead to severe vision impairment.

 

Also, I think he has a bit of this going on: http://youtu.be/3v98CPXNiSk?t=1m29s

 

 

[etagloh]

 

It was strange how everyone ended up with different flights since some people who got to a travel/ticketing agent first received later flights than people later.

 

Aberdeen is a hub for the offshore industries (there's a heliport there that takes workers out to oil rigs) and a lot of seats will be booked fully-refundable so they can be changed easily. There are a lot of flights, but on relatively small planes. So seats can be released at short notice and flights can fill quickly. I assume that Misti and Jim checked on arrival for anything earlier than the flight they booked twelve hours earlier, but weren't able to find anything. There are also a lot of route options: one direct flight to Copenhagen, plus lots of two-leg routes, which made it an old-school airport hustle situation.

[ChicagoCita]

Kym & Alli aced that economy drive.  They did six times better than the next best team!

I was stunned that they got .01 and so many other teams got .18.  That's a huge difference for a five or ten mile drive.  What could make that much a difference?  I could see it if other teams were driving fast like maniacs, but many of them seemed to make a conscious effort to drive in a way to conserve gas.

 

One one-hundredth of a gallon is pretty jaw-dropping.  I spent the summer driving a gas guzzling 1990s SUV that needed refueling constantly, so I'm in awe.  Nice product placement effectiveness.

 

I get a Brooke and Claire type vibe from Kym and Alli.

Edited October 18, 2014 by ChicagoCita

[Camera One]

Maybe the other teams couldn't keep a steady speed and accelerated more often?  Or maybe the Bikers went slower since they didn't have a few other teams on their tail?  Could traffic also have something to do with it, if there was more stopping and starting during later times in the day?  Or some teams stopped to ask for directions and had to restart the car?  Would any of those have added to the fuel efficiency?

Edited October 18, 2014 by Camera One

[backformore]

Jim's eyes--maybe a touch of thyroid, that makes your eyes bug out a little. Since he is super-competitive, he may have been restraining himself so he wouldn't hurt his wife's feelings, since she probably felt bad.

 

Yeah, I thought that maybe his obvious obsession with his looks had included some cosmetic procedure -  eye lift, botox injection, that along with the too-dark tan for his light eyes, gave him that look.  His eyes don't bulge as much as they open too wide. Too much white above and below the iris gives that look.   Kind of like the perpetual look of surprise that Barbara Walters has had for the past decade or so. 

[jjj]

I was stunned that they got .01 and so many other teams got .18.  

 

I think one team (Bethany?) actually had .21.  I also was amazed at the 0.01 result, and wondered if I had seen it wrong, but I see it in the recap, also!  I wondered if their battery supply had some extra charge, but I don't know when the gas usage kicks in on that model. 

[hincandenza]

I think they had the luxury- with like 2 hours on the next team- to drive slower and steadier. The cars were all fully charged I bet, but if you drove fast the car would start using gas instead of exclusively battery, which is what the bikers were probably doing to get that amazing .01 gallon number.

Although I can't recall if the side challenge was described much up front, but in retrospect, it would probably be smarter to haul ass to Sweden, take the quick 3-Capitol challenge (since it seemed to be right there and should have taken a team like a minute to do), and still come out ahead on overall time used.

If they do this again- and I like that mini-challenge- they should make it a straight up inverse time reward: the less gas you use, the less time you have to wait afterwards. Use .01, and you wait no time at all or even get a 9 minute "jump", but if you use .18 you're waiting 8 extra minutes- one for each hundredth of a gallon over the .10 "suggested mileage". It'd be interesting to see teams balance fuel efficiency with time penalties, and ponder on the fly whether it's better to go really fast then wait several minutes, or try to keep it low but drive slower.

[biakbiak]

I think she might not have been able to manage the tray, especially if all four plates were on it. That would have been tough to balance with one hand, plus serving them.

There wasnt a tray. All the racers delivered the plates two at a time, one in each hand. Don't see why Bethanny wouldn't have been allowed to do them one at a time.

[babs1226]

 Hopefully, this close call will instil some humility.  

 

He did say that this leg of the race was incredibly humbling, so perhaps we won't hear so much arrogance from him moving forward.  I noticed he had a tendency to focus too much on what everyone else was doing, which I think got in the way a bit.

[Latverian Diplomat]

Maybe the other teams couldn't keep a steady speed and accelerated more often?  Or maybe the Bikers went slower since they didn't have a few other teams on their tail?  Could traffic also have something to do with it, if there was more stopping and starting during later times in the day?  Or some teams stopped to ask for directions and had to restart the car?  Would any of those have added to the fuel efficiency?

In this case, the gas engine was the supplement and the electric engine was the main engine (the opposite of how a non plug-in hybrid works). So anytime you make the engine work hard enough that the gas engine is called on, your efficiency drops. That probably includes driving faster than a certain top speed, or accelerating too fast when it's time to accelerate. In general, electric engines handle stop and go traffic quite well. 

[babs1226]

I didn't think Brooke actually parked in the "handyman" spot. I thought she was speculating about it, found one that wasn't, and then pointed out one that was when they walked by it.

I thought the same thing.  She didn't park in one.  I think the only reason the clip made the show is because she called it a "handyman" spot.

[selkie]

Again, all non-eliminations are locked in before the race starts.  It would be a totally illegal act to change them in mid-stream.  This show isn't in the trash reality genre.  It is the reality game show that has played the most straight up of any reality show in TV history.  Is the show always perfect?  No as in they edit people in broad strokes trying to find some sort of storyline along the way though if the Racers don't give them the footage they wouldn't get painted that way.  But is it on the up-and-up?  Absolutely yes.

 

Because TAR is not filmed on a sound stage and weird things can and do happen beyond the Race's control, they do have more flexibility than the sound stage shows do when it comes to making changes on the fly in the name of safety or fairness. I can think of one Russian music or dance task where the judging apparently got massively screwed up and there was speculation that  they may have ended up with an unplanned NEL leg in the name of fairness to all the Racers, and also some speculation that they're had to move legs because of natural disaster or political unrest. (Dubai? Again?)

 

And we know for sure that the to-be-continued leg was created pretty much on the spot after Production discovered mid-race during the Mug You on the Mat era that local law didn't allow Racers to beg for money like they usually did after NEL at that time.

 

But that kind of thing is implemented to make it fairer to Racers, not favor one team over another.

[millennium]

So it's been bothering me where I know the dentist guy from ...

 

[Rick Kitchen]

Although I can't recall if the side challenge was described much up front, but in retrospect, it would probably be smarter to haul ass to Sweden, take the quick 3-Capitol challenge (since it seemed to be right there and should have taken a team like a minute to do), and still come out ahead on overall time used.

 

I was wondering about that, because it seemed like the teams didn't know what their fuel efficiency was supposed to be, we didn't see any reactions when they went over .1 gallons.

[SomeTameGazelle]

Speaking of this being a roadblock episode... WHY did Bethany not do a non-physical task and leave a possible more challenging one ahead for her husband?

 

Because despite having only one arm, she is very physically competent at most things and they know he won't necessarily be better at physical tasks? I don't recall her having any difficulty with the climbing in the first ep, for example. She did have a hard time on the cake delivery but even the cyclist team said that the delivery bikes were hard to manoeuvre.

[Camera One]

Maybe she was worried that in the waiter task, they would need to hold the tray with one hand and then use the other to serve the food without setting the tray down?  The other alternative is she lacked confidence about her memory.

[msmongolian]

I thought this was a really fun episode, despite the NEL.  I like detours and roadblocks that rely more on skill than sheer strength, and all the tasks on this Leg fell on the skill side of things.  Even the cake transport detour seemed to be more about balance (and in the cyclists' case, foresight) than physical strength.

 

So I get that none of the cakes is actually going to be eaten by anyone, what with the racers pawing all over them with their dirty hands (I sure didn't see anyone stop to wash) and dropping pieces all over their bikes, but Misti's treatment of her cake was horrifying.  Did anyone see the shot of her holding the little flags in her mouth after they started falling out?  She had both her hands on the cake to keep it from toppling, so I guess there was no other place to stick the flags?   The flags were back in place when they walked into the restaurant, which means that she stuck them back into the cake after getting her saliva all over them.  Gross!

[Rinaldo]

When Phil first announced the Save, he said that it would "turn a leg into a non-elimination leg." So nobody else would have to leave instead.

[jjj]

Or, if she had two arms, he still would have been the better choice for this task for reasons we were not shown.  I think they are showing good judgment, so have to assume they had a rationale. 

[silverpie]

I wasn't watching the time, so when Phil suddenly said it was a NEL, it totally caught me by surprise. I also don't understand how the save works. Jim handed it over because they thought they were last, right? I thought it "saved" you from doing a task so you could get to the pit stop before other people. I thought you had to use it during the race, not after you came in last. So does this mean that as long as the dentists have it they don't have to worry about coming in last?

No, that's what an Express Pass does. The Save is its more powerful big brother. (Which raises the question: does a team that uses the Save face a Speed Bump on the next leg? If so, they have to have one ready on every leg, although with a Pit Stop's worth of notice on actually setting it up--or else have a task that either is a Speed Bump, or if they don't need one it becomes a regular race task).

[aradia22]

Longtime watchers of the show, how does the airport vs. travel agency thing usually break down?

 

So I guess Phil giving the descriptions while the teams are there is just a new thing? 

 

I suppose we've answered the question about whether or not Bethany can drive.

 

How did the genius dentists not know those capitals?

 

I feel like the female wrestler doesn't get to judge the male wrestler for not knowing if Sweden and Denmark are different countries when she thought a handicapped parking spot was called a handyman.

 

I'm happy Kym and Alli were smart enough to assemble the cake just before going to the restaurant and that they brought extra icing. Professional decorators do sometimes assemble on site. I'm also glad it wasn't somehow against the rules. I'm starting to like Kym and Alli. They have fun but they're not obnoxious.

[Camera One]

So I guess Phil giving the descriptions while the teams are there is just a new thing?

 

The other new thing seems to be occasional closeups in the interviews, only showing one racer.  It's kinda weird.  I don't remember them before this season, but maybe I haven't been observant enough.

Edited October 19, 2014 by Camera One

[bigskygirl]

The cute dog at the pit shop for the win!!!