S25.E08: Hot Sexy Knights

[NutMeg]

I like all the teams left, including the Wrestlers - Brooke cracks me up as a cartoonish character, particularly when she starts complaining about things we know (as in every cartoon) will turn right for her/her team. I suspect when/if she stops complaining is when that team will/would be eliminated.

 

After seeing interaction betweem cyclists ans dentists previously, it's interesting to see that overall team dentist is liked more by other contestants than team cyclists. It's not a huge surprise, as we've seen team dentists help other teams in the past, but it's interesting that editing is showing it to us now. Methings it means cyclists will be Uturned next week.

[Kromm]

On another topic... the greasy pole run... let me say that as a male member of the human race I find that especially terrifying. How easy would it be to slip so that your crotch lands on the pole (instead of you just falling to one side or the other)? Very easily, I think.

[Netfoot]

I haven't been to Malta, but the distinct impression I get from my reading is that the roads (in the town) are twisty little passages, all alike.  Also, the Maltese motorists have a reputation for mayhem.

 

The Cyclists do have their faults, but they are one of the best-racing teams this season.  If they get voted off the island by some Double U-Turn Alliance, I will be very annoyed.  It wouldn't occur to the others that their alliance-forming and plotting might make them poor company for a good team who only want to race to the best of their ability and enjoy the journey as they go.

 

It might have been interesting to see Adam & Bethany try the flags, but it would not be good strategy on their part.  They had the EP, they were at the last possible point where it could be played, and to waste even a minute on the flags would have been counter-productive.  Wasting that minute would have jeopardized a $20K leg prize.  I know they were more than a minute ahead, but they didn't know that.  Certainly not for sure.

 

Yes, that was a shout-out to the Colossal Cave Adventure.

[Kromm]

Methings it means cyclists will be Uturned next week.

Since we had an entire episode of people telling us they intend to do this, I think the only way it won't happen is if they reach the U turn first (which I think they'd only fight to do if they become aware of this unified plot against them--which since they don't talk to the others they probably won't).

[cooksdelight]

This is a race, but social skills do come into play, I think. Be nice to your competitors if it helps you get along and not get blindsided, but once it's down to final three it's every team for themselves.

[Tara Ariano]

Broken Butts And Broken Dreams: In Malta, Amazing Racers contend with heavy glasses, dirty helmets, greasy poles, and Phil's pecs.

[etagloh]

 

Plus, putting it on the next leg seems like poor race design.  First off you have the Dentists who have the Save and can't be eliminated, so they seem like an unlikely target for U-Turning.

 

It seems like deliberately terrible race design. One of the questions asked about the Save in previous threads was whether the final U-Turn would come before or after it expires. Since the U-Turn will come first (and the ferry conversation felt almost as if teams knew that fact) the Save becomes a direct ticket to the Final 4, because there's no incentive to U-Turn a team with immunity. Having it directly afterwards, with that invulnerability finally lifted, would be much more interesting. It's allowed the dentists to participate in (and encourage) this kind of plotting even through they're a strong team that under normal circumstances would be a target. Hate it even more than I dislike the U-Turn.

[Rinaldo]

Apparently (according to Wiki anyway) there is a Maltese language that uses Sicilian/Italian and Arabic.  

There is indeed. I have been educated on this during the past year, by a Maltese member of a chat room I frequent. It is its own language, not quite like any other. The point came up in connection with the wonderful Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, of whom I am a great admirer (seriously, look him up in YouTube or somewhere, he sings like a dream). I had been trying to pronounce his surname as if it were Spanish, "Ka-YAY-hah," and was told that I was trying too hard, and it's simply "Kuh-LAY-uh."

I haven't been to Malta, but the distinct impression I get from my reading is that the roads (in the town) are twisty little passages, all alike.  

Hah! I immediately got that reference. Thanks for a chuckle.

[Latverian Diplomat]

 I'll especially hate it if the Anti-Cyclist alliance does the same nasty trick as some previous group did in an earlier race, where Team #1 U-Turns the Cyclists, and Team #2 deliberately U-Turns another team (like Team #1) who they know has already passed the U-Turn point, just so the Cyclists won't be able to U-Turn anyone.  That's a real dirty trick and I hope the producers made it illegal since the first time someone did it.

 

...

 

I'm beginning to wonder if Maya is Manic.  If you thought her little lap at the Pit Stop was crazy, you should see her in the extra footage at the Pit Stop, where she's talking and moving non-stop with almost a wild look in her eyes.  It's a little frightening!

 

I think one of the things you have to stay away from in writing rules for games and sports is intent. (Even football rules like "roughing the passer" or "intentional grounding" have technical defintions, they don't actually get into what the player "meant" to do).

 

If they want someone to be at risk to mistakenly waste a U-Turn, then they have to allow them to make that "mistake" strategically. That's why intentional walks in baseball and onside kicks in football are allowed.

 

I think Maya just may have had some stress energy to burn. She had to go at Amy's pace all leg, and then they had that persnickety polishing task that took forever. 

Edited November 22, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[Latverian Diplomat]

They might have except every team did it wrong.  They went for the easy one first which meant one person was shut out at the very start leaving one person (and from what i could tell the less capable of the pair) to try for the harder flag.  Ignore the yellow flag and both go for the red.  It didn't help that every single time they slowed when they got to the grease. 

That's very true, but I have to admit, if I were falling off near the yellow flag, the temptation to reach out and grab it would be pretty hard to resist, almost reflexive.

Edited November 22, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[etagloh]

 

I have been educated on this during the past year, by a Maltese member of a chat room I frequent. It is its own language, not quite like any other.

 

Malta's been a Mediterranean trading port and stronghold for thousands of years, fought over, conquered and settled by multiple empires, and its language reflects its history. The only big community of Maltese speakers outside of Malta is in Australia, thanks to immigration in the 50s and 60s. As with any small crossing point with its own language, the inhabitants of Malta quickly worked out that nobody from elsewhere was likely to learn Maltese.

[jww]

Did they have to actually run all the way along the pole?  Could they have run part way then straddled the pole and bumped  their way to the flags or crawled on their stomachs? I assume the pole was smooth with no splinters.

[fib]

So excited to see them go to Malta (I spent a summer there in college) - it's a beautiful little archipelago.  It's a great place to vista: everyone speaks english, the food is delicious, and the Maltese are friendly to tourists. Plus, there's even more beauty than the race depicted. There are some awesome ruins as old as stonehenge that are BEAUTiful. 

 

Yes, they are Maltese, not Italian.  They grow up speaking Maltese, which sounds like Arabic but is written in a western alphabet. Most Maltese speak italian and english perfectly… because they kinda have to if they want to watch TV :).  Though I believe both are taught or used in schools. 

 

Driving on Malta is insane. They drive on the left (english style) on tiny narrow roads with really poor signage. The day I was supposed to leave, I literally had to walk out of the capital city to catch a taxi to the airport because the whole city was a traffic jam. Fortunately, the flight crew was late too. The main problem is that the roads in the cities are not designed for cars, they were designed for foot traffic. The second issue is that they drive like other mediterranean drivers: aggressive and swerving, treating the lanes like guidelines rather than boundaries. Here's an article with more info. 

 

And now… for the race.  

Why were Amy and Maya trying to carry the trays in their backpacks? That seemed unnecessary and foolish.  No wonder they needed so many attempts!

 

I love the visual difference between Bethany in the water, gliding smoothly across the surface with her propeller feet and Robbie, Hulking his way through with short muscled strokes.  Awesome.  

 

Love that they are using ferries so much in this race - it's a fun change of pace from airport drama!

 

When are Robbie and Brooke going to learn to pay for their taxi to wait for them? Hearing them whine about the taxi situation twice in this leg made me seriously question their brainpower, which I already didn't have the strongest opinion of...

 

 

 

[Misslindsey]

So the save does not expire after a certain leg of the race? Also, didn't Misty and Jim get an extra save to give to someone? Did they have to do that before a certain leg also? I might be misremembering though. 

 

I assumed that this was the last leg Adam and Bethany could use the express pass since the talked about it at the start of the episode. I would have liked to see them try the flag task though, because I think they could possibly do it.

 

Brooke and Robbie reminds me of a less annoying version of Flo and Zach. I adored Zach, and for the most part do not mind Robbie even if he is a little dim, but Brooke drives me insane. If the race isn't going perfectly for them she gets all defeatist. She hasn't gone all Flo-like, but she is still irritating.

[Pepper Mostly]

 

I think Maya just may have had some stress energy to burn. She had to go at Amy's pace all leg, and then they had that persnickety polishing task that took forever. 

I think Maya is just a naturally high energy, exuberant person. I've found her utterly adorable since she first greeted the "beautiful sheep" in the Shetland Islands. She is so cute and fun! She was hilarious at the Swedish sandwich shop too. I think there hasn't been much attention paid to her simply because there are too many other "characters" this season that production is focusing on. Plucky one-armed girl! sparkly teeth dentists who incidentally slaughter every task without rumpling their hair! bickering wrestlers! badass New York cycling women! I watched her exhilarated run around the pit stop twice--her joy just jumped off the screen! I know that owing to Amy's injury they won't get much further but I haven't liked a team so much since Kevin and Drew, TAR original recipe. Maya is unfailingly patient and focused during tasks, and supportive of her teammate. She busts loose when the pressure is offI just love her. 

[Kromm]

never mind

Edited November 22, 2014 by Kromm

[tominboston]

 

Did they have to actually run all the way along the pole?  Could they have run part way then straddled the pole and bumped  their way to the flags or crawled on their stomachs? I assume the pole was smooth with no splinters.

 

I was thinking the same thing last night and I concluded that straddling or crawling must have been specifically forbidden. Otherwise, since there was no time limit on how long you could take to get to the flags, I'm sure everyone would have figured out that it was a lot easier to get down and hang on with two or four limbs [or, I guess, three :-) ] than to run.

 

I am anticipating not liking next week's episode. I have always hated the U-Turn since I don't think teams should be allowed to sabotage others rather than outracing them, even if it is in the rules, and I like the cyclists and want to see them in the Final 3.

[ShadowSixx]

Doesn't the Save expire after the 9th leg? I don't think they can keep it for the entire race, when it expires and it's not used I think Phil will ask for it back. I don't like the concept of The Save because we don't get to possibly see it being used. Like we said in an earlier thread, when Misti and Jim used it that one time, Phil should have taken it and said they wasted it because it's a NEL. Should be a rule that once you use it, even on a NEL you lose it.

[fishcakes]

I don't care if the cyclists get U-turned out or end up in Alaska with a note telling them the race is over and to make their own way home, so long as they they don't win. When they cancelled (or tried to cancel -- it wasn't clear if their cabbie went along with it) Brooke and Robbie's cab, they lost any moral high ground against other teams allegedly playing dirty. I'm not wild about the U-turn, but it's part of the game and within the rules, whereas interfering with another team, as the cyclists were doing, is not.

 

I was hoping Tim and Te Jay would edge out Debbie Downer and Robbie at the end, but I don't see either of those teams in the finals so I suppose it doesn't matter. If Te Jay's mom stops saying, "no, he's just your roommate!" I guess that will be as good as a win for them.

 

Did Phil's pecs move at all? I need to check the DVR.

 

Cutest moment: Amy and Maya trying to hug while wearing armor and making a loud clonking noise.

[shura]

I was thinking the same thing last night and I concluded that straddling or crawling must have been specifically forbidden. Otherwise, since there was no time limit on how long you could take to get to the flags, I'm sure everyone would have figured out that it was a lot easier to get down and hang on with two or four limbs [or, I guess, three :-) ] than to run.

 

My guess is that the pole was way too slippery to hold on to, no matter how you try to do it - running, or just hanging on it. You'd just slide right off of it (or back to the beginning of the greased part). My strategy would have been to run up to the end of the non-slippery part, building up some momentum, and then try to launch myself in a kind of dive toward the end of the pole to grab the red flag. This is all on paper, mind you :).

 

Another problem with the way the teams did it was that the first member of the team to attempt it was probably the more athletically inclined one, but he/she would naturally go for the flag that was easier to get. Which left the poorer athlete with the more demanding task.

[etagloh]

 

When they cancelled (or tried to cancel -- it wasn't clear if their cabbie went along with it) Brooke and Robbie's cab, they lost any moral high ground against other teams allegedly playing dirty.

 

Given that Brooke and Robbie were yelling at them and calling them liars about their driver calling a second cab -- which has more to do with Brooke's ongoing persecution complex about finding cabs -- I think they had ample cause to say "well, screw you" afterward; their tone of voice to the driver sounded more off-hand than serious to me. YMMV. But let's not forget that the wrestlers also tried (unsuccessfully) to buy off Tim and Te Jay's waiting driver en route to the Pit Stop, which is at least an equal cab foul.

[Kromm]

Given that Brooke and Robbie were yelling at them and calling them liars about their driver calling a second cab -- which has more to do with Brooke's ongoing persecution complex about finding cabs -- I think they had ample cause to say "well, screw you" afterward; their tone of voice to the driver sounded more off-hand than serious to me. YMMV. But let's not forget that the wrestlers also tried (unsuccessfully) to buy off Tim and Te Jay's waiting driver en route to the Pit Stop, which is at least an equal cab foul.

Yeah, I'm okay with revenge as a motive. But I agree with the other point. You only need about 2 episodes of watching those girls under your belt, IMO (and we have lots more), to see that they were kidding--mouthing off for the camera basically. Which again, I'm cool with, because coming back mocking to hostility is what I'd do myself.

[cooksdelight]

So the save does not expire after a certain leg of the race?

It expires in the 9th leg, which is next. If they don't need to use it next week, I guess they get a nice souvenir. There was only one. No double express pass this season either, thank goodness. Watching people lord that thing over others, and others begging for it, was more than I ever want to watch again.

[jjj]

Wouldn't you also get increasingly greasy, the more times you run up the pole? Seems like it would keep getting more slippery each time. And the teams that did that Detour must have been disgustingly filthy, as it would take a lot of hot water and soap to clean up. Poor taxicab seats! I would not want to be the next passenger!

[scrb]

They had a lot of time devoted to the conspiracy to U-turn.

 

So that will be a prelude to when the U-turn is used.

 

But maybe there will be a twist, it won't be the cyclists U-turned.

[Donny Ketchum]

Has there ever been a TAR season with so many women this late into the race?  7 women and 3 men, and no male/male teams.  You go, ladies!

Actually, yes.  Two different seasons did, in fact.  TAR17 had the same count by this point in the race.  Three men -- Thomas, Nick, and Chad -- and seven women -- Nat, Kat, Brook, Claire, Jill, Vicki, and Stephanie.  TAR5 had an even larger count.  Three men -- Chip, Colin, and Brandon -- and nine women -- Kim, Christie, Nicole, Linda, Karen, Kami, Karli, Charla, and Mirna.

 

And yes, by this time in each season, all of the men's teams (or, in TAR5's case, the sole men's team) were gone.

Edited November 22, 2014 by Donny Ketchum

[millennium]

I am happy that Tim and Te Jay are gone.   Their shrieky, affected personas really grated on me.    They weren't very good at the tasks either.   Maybe he would have gotten farther on the pole if he didn't run like Mrs. Howell.

 

Hate the schoolyard taint that was introduced in this episode.  "Let's double-detour the cyclists because they won't sit with us."   Sucks that the cyclists should come so far on their strength and ability and potentially be undone by the pettiness of inferior racers.   This isn't Survivor, and I don't want it to become Survivor.   "Social game" should not be an element of the Amazing Race.   From my measure of Jim the Dentist, I don't think he'll go along with it.   He's an achiever and I think he respects other achievers, even if he's competing against them.   Can't see him getting down in the mud with the wrestler witch.  Ditto for Bethany and Adam. 

 

P.S. Thanks, ElectricBoogaloo, for the behind-the-scenes look at false eyelashes. 

Edited November 22, 2014 by millennium

[jette]

KnitsWithRaceCars said:

Jim momentarily redeemed himself with me by choosing "Molar."

Me, too! Until I thought about it for a second and figured he probably chose the nickname because molars grind food - you know, like he and Misti are crushing the competition. Won't be surprised to hear that in an upcoming talking head...

[Jamoche]

I'm sure they thought a blind detour was an interesting idea on paper, but it's a complete failure when it's easier to find the task than it is to find the clue box. That's the second time they've had bad clue box placement - the first was with the U-Turn that looked right down on one of the tasks. Who should I U-Turn? Gee, I don't know, how about the team I can see still struggling to finish that option?

[ShadowSixx]

Let's hope that Brooke and Robbie get U-Turned, not so much for Robbie being turned but for Brooke so she can have a full on meltdown and not complete both tasks.

[cooksdelight]

Wouldn't you also get increasingly greasy, the more times you run up the pole?

Having witnessed many greased pole climbing events at 4th of July celebrations here in the south, the key is to cover your body parts that will be touching the greasy pole with sand. I am not sure if the peanut gallery of men who were applauding were told to go out and regrease the pole at times, but after enough attempts, you'd wipe most of it off with your body. And it appears they were told they had to do it running, on their feet, not hugging the pole. Or we'd have seen a lot of people straddling that thing for all it's worth.

[merylinkid]

The cyclists brought the complaining on themselves with their actions back in England.   Everyone else wanted downtime, they wanted to explore.   They called everyone else "sticks in the mud" for not wanting to play with them.   Now they want downtime and everyone just has to accept it.   Basically, to the cyclists whatever they are doing at that moment is cool, and everyone is not if they are not doing what the cyclists are doing.

 

And they were so not joking about cancelling the cab.   They were serious.   I wouldn't have believed they would be calling another cab either.   Although, as noted, why did Brooke and Robbie not have their cabbie wait at the detour?   If Tim and TeJay had switched a little faster they might still be in the race because they had the good sense to have their cab driver wait.    If you are having trouble finding a cab, when you do have one, you have hang on for dear life.

[tds444]

All the other teams tell their cab driver to wait as they're doing the task,and put their bags in there. It seems to me that Brooke and Robbie do not do that and therefore are looking for a new cab before AND after every task,a tactical error that they're not learning from.

 

The Dentists still having the save makes the u-turn pretty anti-climactic as the only other team it makes sense to u-turn is the cyclists. If the dentists did not have the save,then there would be an actual interesting decision to make.

 

I always thought a good twist to throw into a u-turn leg would be to make it a surprise non-elimination with enemies officially made but they won't ever do that.

[Netfoot]

I don't care if the cyclists get U-turned out or end up in Alaska with a note telling them the race is over and to make their own way home, so long as they they don't win. When they cancelled (or tried to cancel -- it wasn't clear if their cabbie went along with it) Brooke and Robbie's cab, they lost any moral high ground against other teams allegedly playing dirty.

 

Except, I'm quite certain they said that in jest, and didn't nor had any intention to cancel anybody's cab.  After all, the cab did arrive, didn't it?

 

Given that Brooke and Robbie were yelling at them and calling them liars about their driver calling a second cab [...] I think they had ample cause to say "well, screw you" afterward; their tone of voice to the driver sounded more off-hand than serious to me. YMMV.

 

My mileage says they were wising off, rather than voicing any serious intent.  Their cabbie's grin also lead me to think they were anything but serious.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if some of their more abrasive remarks made during the course of this season aren't in response to direct prompting from production, to support their race persona.  In any case, they've been racing far better than most other teams, and I for one would hate to see them voted off the island by an alliance of inferiors.  Alas, cooperative W-Turning is a mechanism that essentially allows exactly that.

 

I used to be cautiously in favour of the old Yield, which was a mechanism whereby a team could seek to save themself from elimination by delaying another team.  These days, the U- and W-Turns, latter day developments of the Yield, are used to "take out" a strong team, and this is exactly where I don't want TAR to go.  Now we also have an immunity idol (Save) as well!  TPTB seem to have forgotten -- or choose to ignore -- that TAR is as great as it is, exactly because it eschews such Survivorish bullshit.  It's a RaceAroundTheWorld, and the race should go to the fleet, not the popular!

Edited November 22, 2014 by Netfoot

[Kromm]

They had a lot of time devoted to the conspiracy to U-turn.

 

So that will be a prelude to when the U-turn is used.

 

But maybe there will be a twist, it won't be the cyclists U-turned.

That's not a twist. That's the cyclists maybe simply being in first place next episode.

Or not. But if the idea is them playing this loud this episode to make us think this is inevitable the simplest explanation is that the editors of course already knew what had happened a few days later.

[fishcakes]

Given that Brooke and Robbie were yelling at them and calling them liars about their driver calling a second cab -- which has more to do with Brooke's ongoing persecution complex about finding cabs -- I think they had ample cause to say "well, screw you" afterward; their tone of voice to the driver sounded more off-hand than serious to me. YMMV. But let's not forget that the wrestlers also tried (unsuccessfully) to buy off Tim and Te Jay's waiting driver en route to the Pit Stop, which is at least an equal cab foul.

 

Brooke and Robbie didn't yell at them. The cyclists said the cab driver was calling a cab for them and Brooke turned to the camera and said, "I don't believe them" in a normal tone of voice. She was far enough away from the cab that they likely didn't hear her. Then Robbie asked the cab driver if he was calling another cab, the driver said yes, and left.

 

As for whether Brooke and Robbie tried to steal Tim and Te Jay's cab, that wasn't that clear to me. The driver said he was waiting for someone and they offered to pay him more if he'd take them. Then the driver said he had their bags, and it was only then that Robbie seemed to realize it was Tim and Te Jay's cab rather than some random non-race person's and he gave up on that cab. Maybe they were trying to steal that cab from Tim and Te Jay, but I wouldn't say that was definitive. Even if they were, that doesn't make what Kym and Allie did okay. All four of them would be in the wrong.

 

 

Except, I'm quite certain they said that in jest, and didn't nor had any intention to cancel anybody's cab.  After all, the cab did arrive, didn't it?

 

No, I don't think it did. Brooke and Robbie were second out of the task, but fifth to get a cab. Tim and Te Jay, Jim and Misti, and Bethany and Adam all got cabs before they did.

[etagloh]

My mileage says they were wising off, rather than voicing any serious intent.  Their cabbie's grin also lead me to think they were anything but serious.

 

That was my take: I think the phrasing were 'ah, you don't need to call that other cab now' not 'you have to cancel that other cab!'. And I'm pretty sure the cab driver knew he was also being accused of skullduggery by the wrestlers. Again, they speak English in Malta.

 

 

Brooke and Robbie didn't yell at them. The cyclists said the cab driver was calling a cab for them and Brooke turned to the camera and said, "I don't believe them" in a normal tone of voice.

 

Like I said, YMMV. But they were yelling loud enough that Kym heard them and yelled back, and Brooke's stage-whispering would be audible back in Sicily.

[Kromm]

Brooke and Robbie didn't yell at them. The cyclists said the cab driver was calling a cab for them and Brooke turned to the camera and said, "I don't believe them" in a normal tone of voice. She was far enough away from the cab that they likely didn't hear her. Then Robbie asked the cab driver if he was calling another cab, the driver said yes, and left.

It's funny that we saw that sequence totally opposite, because to me it was clear the cyclists knew without any doubt what was said and were (to my ear) responding directly. I think it was said totally within their hearing, but if it wasn't, then the cabbie and/or cameraman overheard and repeated it to them. I mean think about it the accusation was that the cyclists were LYING when they said that another cab was being called. If that were true--that they were lying I mean--why would we even have to see them cancel (jokingly OR seriously)? And if they weren't lying, but didn't overhear the statement, would the sequence have been edited to suggest they HAD overheard?

[bmoore4026]

On another topic... the greasy pole run... let me say that as a male member of the human race I find that especially terrifying. How easy would it be to slip so that your crotch lands on the pole (instead of you just falling to one side or the other)? Very easily, I think.

 

But we wouldn't have America's Funniest Home Videos if we didn't have guys slipping and hurting their groinal regions.

[fishcakes]

I mean think about it the accusation was that the cyclists were LYING when they said that another cab was being called. If that were true--that they were lying I mean--why would we even have to see them cancel (jokingly OR seriously)? And if they weren't lying, but didn't overhear the statement, would the sequence have been edited to suggest they HAD overheard?

 

I don't think the cyclists were lying, but I also don't think they overheard because there really wasn't anything to overhear. It was speculated here that they overheard Brooke and if they did, then they were within their rights to cancel the cab, but I don't think the editing suggests it. The whole exchange between Robbie and the cyclists was civil -- no one was yelling or angry on any side; of course Brooke was woe-is-me-ing into the camera, but that didn't seem to be a factor. In fact, on rewatching that scene, it looks as if Allie (I think it was Allie, the shorter, rounder-faced one) may have asked the driver to call another cab because after they drove away, Kym said, "why did you do that? We don't have to help them." At that point, Allie said to the cab driver, "excuse me, you can cancel their taxi, they don't need a taxi," and Kym is talking over her saying, "it's too late, it's too late." And of course, Kym is right; they don't have to and shouldn't at this stage of the race be helping other racers, but once that's already happened, it's not really okay to undo or try to undo it because that leaves Brooke and Robbie burning time waiting for a cab they were told was coming instead of looking for another cab.

[J-Man]

I'd be interested to know how long the Speed Bump took, and if it would have made any difference in TnT's placement -- i.e., if they didn't have the Speed Bump, would they have beaten the wrestlers?

[Netfoot]

But we wouldn't have America's Funniest Home Videos if we didn't have guys slipping and hurting their groinal regions.

 

We have a team of surfers on the race.  Surfers routinely take a nice big surfboard with sharp points on each ends and skegs and things, and attach it to one ankle with a piece of bungee rubber.  Then they go fool around in the surf to see if nature will stretch that bungee to it's max then release, so the surfboard will snap back and impact where it will.  The lesson is the same for i) surfing, ii) greasy pole flag diving in Malta, and iii) teenaged girls on their first date:  Keep Your Knees Together!

[bmoore4026]

We have a team of surfers on the race.  Surfers routinely take a nice big surfboard with sharp points on each ends and skegs and things, and attach it to one ankle with a piece of bungee rubber.  Then they go fool around in the surf to see if nature will stretch that bungee to it's max then release, so the surfboard will snap back and impact where it will.  The lesson is the same for i) surfing, ii) greasy pole flag diving in Malta, and iii) teenaged girls on their first date:  Keep Your Knees Together!

 

It's official:  This has been the most phallic season yet.

[jjj]

I'd be interested to know how long the Speed Bump took, and if it would have made any difference in TnT's placement -- i.e., if they didn't have the Speed Bump, would they have beaten the wrestlers?

It was not the Speed Bump that caused them to come in last -- it was that they spent so much -- too much -- time at the first Detour.  They had to have been much farther behind the Wrestlers than the length of the Speed Bump.  Editing made it appear much closer than it was, but the Wrestlers were close to finished by the time the last team switched. 

[Quilt Fairy]

Actually, I think that the Amazing Yellow Line as been red this year, or at least it was in the previous episode. I'm not determined enough to research this to be certain though.

The Amazing Yellow Line plays well with other colors and allows them to share in the limelight when there are multiple departures and routes.  I use yellow as the default because I believe it was the first color used on TAR and was the first that was given it's own capitalization on TWoP.

 

IIRC, the pole greaser was scooting up the pole and still managed to fall off before he reached the top.

 

"Twisty little passages, all alike." Hah! I remember that! As well as "A maze of little twisty passages, all different." Geez, we're old.

Edited November 23, 2014 by Quilt Fairy

[Donny Ketchum]

It was not the Speed Bump that caused them to come in last -- it was that they spent so much -- too much -- time at the first Detour.  They had to have been much farther behind the Wrestlers than the length of the Speed Bump.  Editing made it appear much closer than it was, but the Wrestlers were close to finished by the time the last team switched. 

Yeah, I agree.  You could see Brooke & Robbie moving at quick, panicked pace to try and get to the Pit Stop first.  Tim & Te Jay were moving along very slowly, like they already knew they were last.  So I'm pretty sure their fate had been sealed well before they'd even left that Detour.

[Kromm]

But we wouldn't have America's Funniest Home Videos if we didn't have guys slipping and hurting their groinal regions.

True, but it actually seems to be one of the most dangerous tasks the show has even asked players to do, if you think about it. I mean it's hard for that kind of thing to kill someone, admittedly, but it can lead to massive pain and maybe even hospitalization pretty easily.

[tds444]

My guess is the camera crews that follow each team brief them on certain things people say. Like I was watching a bonus clip on cbs.com and Kym/Alli were aware that the other teams were calling them suspicious and loners when they were gathered together.

[Lnmop]

Well part of the problem of course is the damn Save. Is there any point to u-turning the Dentists if you know they aren't gonna be eliminated and you're just gonna piss them off, and maybe temporarily put them behind? Granted, this is likely the last U-Turn so the Dentists can't get revenge, but still there's little point.

Well, it would potentially force them to burn the "Save"...

Edited November 23, 2014 by Lnmop

[Fake Jan Brady]

The twit and wisdom of Brooke watching the Roadblock:

 

"Of course the Cyclists are the first ones to have found the clue" 

 

Brooke's conclusion: I hate them.

 

"Of course Bethany's first"

 

Brooke's conclusion: She's awesome.

 

My conclusion: Shut up, Brooke.