S26.E01: Great Way To Start A Relationship (Tokyo, Japan)

[fishcakes]

The sake Samurais were hilarious.  Did you all see the one guy make the WTF face when a racer tried to pronounce something in the next clue?

 

I adored how confused his face was, as if he wasn't sure if it was what he was hearing or just too much sake. The other moments I had to rewind a couple of times were Team Tuskegee's taxi driver interactions.

 

CJ: Do you speak English?

Driver: Speak English? ... nooooo

CJ: Yes you do.

 

and then when they asked the other driver if he knew where something was and he nodded and pointed vaguely up and to the left, followed by Lebya not understanding that the driver was asking for 100 dollars and being indignant that the guy wanted 100 yen, which is about 85 US cents.

 

Oh, and also when Lyda at the dancing task is tearfully giving her version of Churchill's Never Give In speech and Jeff is like, "uh, why are you crying?"

 

I too got the feeling that Blair and Hayley might end up together later, even though he seems less than thrilled with her right now. I agree that Hayley must have a fair amount on the ball in order to be a trauma nurse, but she's also annoying. She seems really into how she looks and was repeatedly fretting about it during the mud pit challenge and then twice she referred to herself as a "little blonde" or "not just a ditzy blonde" or some such thing. It did make me laugh though when she told Blair she was going to use their selfie camera and I assumed that meant she was going to take a picture of them together and then she just took one of herself.

[blackwing]

I thought that CJ and Lebya's taxi driver was awful.  $100 to take them there?  I don't know how far "there" was, but it seems like extortion.  He knew they were lost, and he made these goofy "do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth" I-no-speak-English faces.  But they saw him three times, just parked by the road, and I think they were three different locations.  It was as if he was following them.  Why couldn't they just find a different taxi driver?  There are hundreds.

[david gideon]

I expected to hate the 'blind date' aspect, and while I didn't love it, I found the incessant hashtags and selfies much more annoying. Man, does that get old fast.

[threebluestars]

The sake detour sounded really complicated and hard in Phil's VO compared to the dancing. I feel like the racers probably assumed it was difficult based on the description. I would always pick the most complicated sounding one since they usually turn out to be the easier tasks lol. And SO WEIRD no one at the dance switched tasks.

 

I don't mind the idea of teams made up of strangers, but I don't think it needed to revolve around dating. I think pairing up people without that expectation would hae been just as interesting. I think the blind date teams will do alright at first, but the longer into the race they go, I think it'll be harder and harder to cope with someone you don't really know.

 

Love watching Jonathan on the race. Years ago he was on Oprah discussing his anxiety as he was suffering through a major anxiety attack on her stage. To go from that to racing around the world in the face of your anxiety is really awesome. There are some bonus clips about the other racers discussing knowing who he is - Jenny in particular knew he was Jordan Knight's older brother and said she was a big fan when she was a kid.

 

Wasn't the sake master guy the wasabi guy as well?? He gets a lot of race work lol.

[Rick Kitchen]

They never specifically said anything more than about the selfies, although I think it's more than just a camera because I noticed that there was a quick shot where one of the racers had it out and was checking the screen while they were walking down the street. I got the sense that they were using it to either translate or to re-check the clue, but I don't remember enough of the context to be sure.

 

Phil said that they were going to be using FitBit to keep track of their exercise and food, that's a phone app.

[lianau]

I'm still absolutely puzzled why some of those teams at the dancing task didn't switch. I thought they weren't allowed since no one brought it up until the last couple finally mentioned the possibility of switching. Lo and behold, they were fabulous at the other task when they were forced to do it.

 

I think once you have commited yourself to a task for a while it's really hard to undo that commitment . Especially if you have other teams there doing the same thing and not changing detours . They're just doing what everyone else is doing . I'm sure had one of them switched detours the others would have followed.

 

 

 

 I think he was also the one going on and on about his high standards which made me automatically dislike him.

I think he's one of these people who don't know how high maintenance  they are and so something not working out is always the other partner's fault .

[blackwing]

I'm of the right age as well, but there's no way I would have been able to recognise Jonathan Knight.  I would know his name but apart from that, I'd have just as easily identified his partner as Jonathan Knight.  The only one I'd be able to recognise today is Donnie Wahlberg and that's only because he's on Blue Bloods.

 

I don't mind the Blind Date aspect but it will get really old if Phil keeps prodding then at every Pit Stop to ask if they're getting married yet.  "Laura and Tyler, I'm pleased to announce that you are Team Number Two!"  "YAYYYYY!"  "Now I have a few questions of my own.  Speaking of Number Two, has he taken a dump with the bathroom door open yet?  How about seeing each other tinkle, that's a little bit earlier in the dating progression?  When you check into the hotel, are you going to ask for two beds or one?  Have you done IT yet????"

 

Because really, unless Phil or the show actually asks about or shows the Teams discussing these kinds of awkward things about two people on a blind date on the Race, it's really not all that relevant to the Race.  I do wonder if the teams discuss between themselves the bed arrangement... to me it'd be a natural thing and would be one thing that sets this edition apart from prior editions.

[goodbyeglittergirl]

I'm of the right age as well, but there's no way I would have been able to recognise Jonathan Knight.  I would know his name but apart from that, I'd have just as easily identified his partner as Jonathan Knight.  The only one I'd be able to recognise today is Donnie Wahlberg and that's only because he's on Blue Bloods.

 

You would know Joey - he still looks like himself, just older. I would not have recognized Jonathan either!

 

I tried to stick with this episode but I just can't bring myself to care. The young dating couples are always my least favorite, and to have a whole season of them just makes it very blah for me. So I'm out until next race!

[AuntieDiane6]

I like the blind date aspect very intriguing.  I know several people who have the same "profile" as some of the contestants.  My sister-in-law is native Chinese from Shanghai like Jenny … and I know how many Chinese feel about African Americans.  They just consider themselves smarter than whites when they move to the states because they don't express their feelings… out loud to non-Chinese.  So for Jenny to have an A-A partner, I would love to know what her parents think.  I thought the pairing was designed to be … interesting.  It's great that they seem to have a genuine bond.

 

A young family member is a doctor and she says Blair is like a lot of the male, native US doctors she meets. It's not surprising he's condescending to nurses … many of them are the same way on the job.  So I'm glad she was right during the race.  

 

I thought that the Japanese cab driver might have been more accommodating to the white couples. Japan is pretty much a xenophobic society.  

[Lamb18]

Truthaboutluv, Hayley is a pediatric nurse -- Whitney is the fertility nurse.

[figwink]

Hayley is a pediatric ER registered nurse so she must be pretty smart and mentally strong if she can deal with injured kids in the ER.

I think her ER experience also explains her diarrhea comment after the mud course, because she's probably had to deal with diarrhea at work.

[iMonrey]

 

Also, it appears they are there for TV viewer pleasure, not racer momentos.  As someone else said, I don't need to see the selfie. I can see the video of what is happening from the nice HD cameras following them around.  I thought this especially when we saw the video tour of people learning the dance.  We were ALREADY watching that scene.  It was dumb to have it on the phone, especially since I couldn't tell what kind of phone it was, so it clearly isn't product placement that is keeping one of my favorite shows afloat.

 

I see it as a chance to have some insight into candid moments on the race, when you're standing there waiting for someone else to finish a task so you can take your turn, or waiting at an airport or riding on a train. Those little in-between moments when you really aren't doing anything. I thought I would hate it too (I abhor "selfies" as a general rule) but I got to thinking how fun the pictures would be to look at after the race is over.

[Thog]

Sorry to see the older team go out, partly because I'm not getting any younger myself so I tend to root for these couples, and partly because he looked just like Barry Bostwick.

 

The couple that has been dating for 10 years is going to get very tiresome if she keeps talking about getting married and he keeps brushing it off. I almost have to wonder if didn't agree to be "on again" only because there's no other way they could get cast for this season of the Race.

 

Love the Olympians and the lawyers. Don't really dislike anyone yet, though I'm wary of the Vegas showgirl and especially the hairdressers.

[Netfoot]

The damn selfies will get old fast, especially since at least some of the racers don't get the concept.  It's like all those assholes on YouTube who fail to register that YT (like television) is a landscape presentation, and take their videos (or selfies) in portrait orientation.

 

It occurs to me that if the progression of the blind dating couples relationships are of interest to TPTB, then they should bring back some of the ESM footage we never get to see any more.

[kris4n6]

Truthaboutluv, Hayley is a pediatric nurse -- Whitney is the fertility nurse.

 

Who is Whitney?

[truthaboutluv]

The poster is referring to Whitney, a contestant on the current season of The Bachelor, who is a fertility nurse. That's how I got confused about Hayley - the original comment was that with the voice, coupled with her being a nurse, they thought it was Whitney with another name. So I just thought she was a fertility nurse too but as I said either way, I know nursing is hard so clearly she's not an idiot.

[J-Man]

So what was the deal with having to fly from LAX to Tokyo via Taiwan? Was it just because they had to use the product-placed airline's flights, and they had no non-stops on that route?

[hendersonrocks]

Tyler and Laura:  He is gorgeous. That is all.

 

Lord have mercy, AMEN. (She bugs, already, but they can stick around just so I can look at him.)

 

I'm not a big fan of the dating-o-rama theme of the season, so I was surprised by how entertaining I found this first episode. Good on you to throw them right into the deep end, show!

 

Big fan of the blind daters who came in first, the Olympians (who seem truly lovely in spirit), and JONATHAN KNIGHT! I found him totally endearing--perhaps because my partner struggles with social anxiety, but also just because he seemed like a genuinely kind and not at all celebrity-affected soul. I'm hoping the momentum stays up and we have two really good seasons, with generally enjoyable racers, in a row.

[kris4n6]

The poster is referring to Whitney, a contestant on the current season of The Bachelor, who is a fertility nurse. That's how I got confused about Hayley - the original comment was that with the voice, coupled with her being a nurse, they thought it was Whitney with another name. So I just thought she was a fertility nurse too but as I said either way, I know nursing is hard so clearly she's not an idiot.

 

Ah, thank you!  I kept looking at the list of contestants and thinking "ok, I just don't see a Whitney on here this season...."

[needschocolate]

Hayley is a pediatric ER registered nurse so she must be pretty smart and mentally strong if she can deal with injured kids in the ER.

I think her ER experience also explains her diarrhea comment after the mud course, because she's probably had to deal with diarrhea at work.

 

Being a pediatric nurse also explains why sometimes she sounds like she is talking to a little kid - she probably uses her "happy voice" when talking to scared children.

 

The damn selfies will get old fast, especially since at least some of the racers don't get the concept.  It's like all those assholes on YouTube who fail to register that YT (like television) is a landscape presentation, and take their videos (or selfies) in portrait orientation.

 

I much prefer to watch videos in landscape, but when I uploaded a video shot in landscape to post on Facebook, it played sideways (so it still displayed as portrait).  It was a bit of a hassle to make it play correctly (thanks Magic Movie Maker - I think).  It wouldn't have taken much away from the video to record it in portrait, just wasn't the orientation I wanted to watch it in, so it certainly wasn't worth going through the trouble to make the landscape video play correctly.  

[Electruck]

I like how the lawyers are getting on, and if dating doesn't work out -- Jelani, call me!

Also enjoyed Team Amy Adams, the Olympians, and although at first I didn't like Vegas female, I was ok with her by the end, and they also seem to be working together well. Jonathan Knight seems like a very normal and quietly charming guy.

I'm bummed about losing the flight team, especially since Team Tuskegee, though likeable, were really bumbling about.

Truck Stop's explanation of their U-turn use was very good -- we have to slow someone down, they're really sweet so we're sad about it, and we'd expect to get U-turned ourselves if someone was in our shoes.

[Electruck]

I found the number of "missed celebration connections" pretty funny. Double high five! No, awkward hug with flailing arms. Hug! Wait, no, maybe he doesn't want a hug, so I'll just go reeaaalll slllooowww ... gentle barely squeezing embrace. It happened so many times!

[kris4n6]

I'm bummed about losing the flight team, especially since Team Tuskegee, though likeable, were really bumbling about.

 

 

Yeah, they seemed like nice people, but poor navigational skills annoy the crap out of me.  I would have much preferred they go home.

[gryphon]

 

Did you all see the one guy make the WTF face when a racer tried to pronounce something in the next clue?

Yes!  All of those guys were awesome.  I also loved the dancing task.  I was prepared to loathe this season because of the premise (and I'm a little jealous my partner and I didn't get chosen--dating for 5 years).  But, I am pleasantly surprised by the premier.  I'm in.  I am a little bummed pilot and attendant got eliminated--she cracked me up with her, "just tip back your seat and enjoy the ride..." speech.  

I am not a fan of the hashtags or selfies but I would love to get a selfie with Phil and his eyebrow. 

[Kromm]

This twist actually seems to have worked fairly well (so far).

There's already some delicious irony, like when the blonde nurse asks the doctor if he doesn't like blondes and he barely covers a reaction that yes, he doesn't (or at least he doesn't like HER).  He's clearly a class-A jackass, and it looks like she almost instantly got on his nerves (and he only barely covered his disdain, mostly because he knew he was being filmed).

[Kromm]

The sake Samurais were hilarious. 

From the very first moment, with the guy who introduced the sakes.

 

And the alternate, with the robotic steps thing was kind of cool too.

[threebluestars]

I feel like she is just going to wear Blair down and make him like her lol. She seems totally relentless.

[Kromm]

Reasons I'm really liking this season so far:

 

1.) NO RETURNEES!  YAY!  See?  You don't NEED them.

 

2.) A casting twist that I didn't expect to work... that did.  Good job, show.  Good job.

 

3.) Some really unexpected personality dynamics.  For example, Jackie, who I expected to annoy me to no end, turned out (at least so far) to be really awesome. Ditto for Hayley the Nurse.  Even the plum stupid team, Team Tuskegee, was at least still watchable (and to be fair to the guy on that team, unlike at least one other team he quickly realized what "vicinity" means). And I loved that Lyda rather than being a whiny wimp, just got more determined--it was a shame to see them eliminated.  We gots some good casting here.

 

4.) "Famous" people being on the race annoys almost as much as returnees, but the New Kid wasn't that bad, nor were the Olympians.  

 

5.) So far, some really good tasks.  A hilarious (probably far too easy) one, and a really tough but interesting to watch one. 

Edited February 27, 2015 by Kromm

[SVNBob]

Detour kinda sucked, to be honest. Racers should've been given the task of getting at least two "samurai" some sake, not just one. Sucked to see Jeff & Lyda get stuck on choreography, get U-Turned, then get the other task in good time.

All we heard was they had to get one. But there have been tasks that we were shown edited for time in the past, aren't there? So they may have had to do, say, 3 or 4 bottles/tables. But because even that didn't take a hell of a lot of time even comparatively, we were only told one.

We're going to be stuck on the same "Right Stuff" sound clip, aren't we?

Every time Team NewKid successfully completes a task, yes. But I'm calling it now, when they're in danger of/ are gettting their Philimination, we'll get a clip of "Please Don't Go Girl" instead.

But, IMO, using the U-Turn on a Team that you know the U-Turn is most likely to eliminate (as opposed to, as you say, the some personal animus or "alliance" bullshit) and thus save you is precisely the right way to it.

While I disagree with the concept of the U-Turn in general, as it flies in the face of what I think is one of the basic principles of the Race, "Run Your Own Race", I'll admit that this was a good and logical use of it. Personally, the only time I'd consider using the U-Turn is if I thought my team was near last, was approaching the U-Turn station, and saw another team closing in behind me. Then I'd move my ass and U-Turn the team behind me.

This instance was similar, barring only the following team closing in, so I'm ok with this one. It was a pure strategy move.

I can't necessarily rip the Teams for not bald-snarking the Detour, though. I don't think it was clear how close the Detour options were to one another. As frustrating as sticking with something that's proven itself to be very difficult is, bald-snarking is certainly not risk-free. And, the Teams were aware that there was a U-Turn ahead. After a certain point, they may each have thought there was a decent chance they'd be doing both ends of the Detour anyway, so might as well stay with it and get the synch-walk one out of the way.

I hadn't thought of that reason for not Bald Snarking. But it does make sense.

Aside from them not switching, which someone totally should have after a couple of tries when everyone else was still there, I didn't understand why they all stood around and talked and watched other teams try the dance instead of practicing along with the team doing the dance. The only ones I saw doing it were the pageant coach and his partner.

Other teams were, but I think there was another factor or two involved. Several teams were getting to the arm motion section of the dance, so they had the walk down and didn't feel the need to rehearse that anymore. But then they had to wait on their turn to come around again, and some other teams were failing in the walk. That meant the sideline teams couldn't rehearse the arms on the side.

There might also have been a break or two for the dancers to rest up, since they were constantly going. And one of those might have been when the group selfie was taken.

Anyone know what the song was that they were dancing to in the slow robot dance challenge?

I was curious about the song too, so I did some digging. Here it is:

I did some digging too. That version is actually a shortened version for a commercial for a zoo somewhere in Japan. The original video (from 5 years ago)is this one:

Note that there are fewer members to the group then, and that the leader of the group (the one doing the judging and handing out the envelopes) is the lead singer of the group too. And then there's the school kids in the video, which is what probably inspired this task in first place.

[Kromm]

Wow that video (which is awesome by the way) really makes it clear how much they dumbed down/simplified the dance for the Racers.

[Oberon]

I can't believe--well, yes I can actually -- that there are two gay male couples and no lesbians. In all the years the show has been on, I believe, there has been one lesbian couple and they were bitches from hell.

[millennium]

LOVED the sake bar.   It felt like a lost scene from Kill Bill Volume I.

 

The rest of the show, not so much.

 

The selfie bullshit ... enough said.   Obnoxious product placement.  

 

I was sorry to see Lyda and Jeff go.   CJ and Lebya, who finished before them, didn't seem to deserve it.   Or want it.   They were just sort of half-heartedly meandering for what seemed like forever.  

 

I don't get why they have two gay male couples.   Don't gay women like the Amazing Race too?   Or are they just not flamboyant enough?

 

Laura should provide some amusing moments.   She seems pretty full of herself. 

I can't believe--well, yes I can actually -- that there are two gay male couples and no lesbians. In all the years the show has been on, I believe, there has been one lesbian couple and they were bitches from hell.

 

LOL, GMTA.

[Wings]

Where did the term bald snarking come from and how does it differ from just snarking?

[Corgi-ears]

Look, I'm a judgmental bitch, so I thus far love having this new element to TAR. For example: I judge Bergen and Kurt for looking so much alike that their "date" feels weirdly incestuous to me. Or: though Hayley and Blair currently seem like the mismatched couple -- in that she is into him, and he, not so much -- I hereby predict that it will be Tyler and Laura who will snatch that title. Because girl was ready to marry (or to fuck) Tyler within five seconds, and I sense that Tyler ain't leaning that way. He is probably just a nicer guy, or more able to hide his ambivalence than Blair, who I also suspect -- Completely Unfounded Speculation Alert On My Part alert! -- secretly believes that dating a nurse is beneath him.  

[Kel Varnsen]

It occurs to me that if the progression of the blind dating couples relationships are of interest to TPTB, then they should bring back some of the ESM footage we never get to see any more.

This post got me thinking, how are they handling the sleeping arrangements for the blind date couples at the pit stops? Do they each get there own room, or do they share a room with two beds? Because aren't teams usually sequestered in their rooms once they get to the hotel or whatever, until it is time for the next leg to start. I was thinking how with 30 or so days of this, you could potentially where a blind date couple gets together, kind of falls for each other, has a little fling and then breaks up all within those 30 days. Being stuck in a room together each night after a stressful day could easily push these couples together (or at least boredom if you are only allowed to spend time with your partner). But with new couples, especially young couples, one good fight can sometimes end a relationship. Seeing the whole progression of a relationship over the course of a season could be really interesting.

[Wings]

I got a different impression of Blair.  I like him. I like him a lot.  Can you imagine how excited he was to have been chosen for this show and looking forward to a partner that he would like and maybe actually love?  He then gets teamed with a flake with a tiny voice with whom he has zero rapport.  She also admitted to being  high maintenance .

 

 He contained his disappointment and irritation with her the best he could. I think he did a good job given the facts.  I don't think he will be able to contain it through this entire race but he is trying.   It is not about him feeling better than a nurse, doctors respect them, or even better than she.  They just are a huge mismatch, huge.  She bugs me, too.  Saying the mud looked like diarrhea was childish and downright stupid.   

[Kel Varnsen]

I got a different impression of Blair.  I like him. I like him a lot.  Can you imagine how excited he was to have been chosen for this show and looking forward to a partner that he would like and maybe actually love?  He then gets teamed with a flake with a tiny voice with whom he has zero rapport.  She also admitted to being  high maintenance .

I wonder if the single racers knew in advance (and how early in advance) they would be paired with someone else for a blind date kind of situation or if it was something they learned like the day the race started.

[Wings]

I wonder if the single racers knew in advance (and how early in advance) they would be paired with someone else for a blind date kind of situation or if it was something they learned like the day the race started.

 

 

I think they knew and signed on for that possibility.  Blair mentioned, in his clip, that he is looking for love.  That was before we knew the situation but it was a tip.  

[Zahdii]

...how are they handling the sleeping arrangements for the blind date couples at the pit stops? Do they each get there own room, or do they share a room with two beds? Because aren't teams usually sequestered in their rooms once they get to the hotel or whatever, until it is time for the next leg to start.

 

The way I understand it to have happened in the past, married couples are in the same room.  Dating couples are also in the same room, unless they have a good reason to want separate rooms.  Siblings, relatives, friends would also be in the same room if the same sex, and there would be two beds; otherwise separate rooms would be provided, but adjoining rooms if available.  For the couples that were thrown together by the show, I'm sure there are separate rooms, but they could visit each other (even overnight if that's what they wanted). 

 

When the contestants want to leave their rooms they are supposed to contact Production and they're given an escort if production deems it necessary.  I've heard that when they eat, they usually have to eat as a team with an escort nearby or at their table because all the teams are usually eating at the same place and in roughly the same time frame. 

 

I remember one season where a dating couple got in a fight because the woman wouldn't go down a water slide and her boyfriend kept trying to talk her into it, to the point where he tried to force her down the slide.  I think that they were eliminated that same episode.  Anyway, one of them gave an interview later and said that because the woman was so upset, she broke up with her boyfriend, and the producers hurriedly procured another room to keep them apart.  They stayed in separate rooms for the rest of the race.

[Whimsy]

I did some digging too. That version is actually a shortened version for a commercial for a zoo somewhere in Japan. The original video (from 5 years ago)is this one:

 

I love that video.  Just reminds me of how much I miss America's Best Dance Crew.  Thanks for posting!

[Kel Varnsen]

  For the couples that were thrown together by the show, I'm sure there are separate rooms, but they could visit each other (even overnight if that's what they wanted). 

 

This is interesting. I am totally picturing a thing like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine and Puddy get back together and break up multiple times over the course of a trans-Atlantic flight. Throw in high stress racing, nice hotel rooms, long boring flights and the fact that during the pit stop you are only really allowed to spend time with your partner and I could totally see something like that happening.

[Skittl1321]

Where did the term bald snarking come from and how does it differ from just snarking?

Ken and Gerard were racers in season 3 (?).  They had a bad habit of choosing a detour, changing, and then coming back to the original detour.  They were bald and snarky guys.  Hence, bald snark.   I'm not sure if TWOP Miss Alli used it first or if it was on the forums.

 

Overtime, people have started using it to refer to changing detours at all (they did that quite a bit too).

Edited February 27, 2015 by Skittl1321

[Thog]

Can they use the U-turn more than once, or are the truck stop couple now at a disadvantage? I thought their reason for using it was solid, but I would be concerned about using it so quickly if there wasn't another chance.

 

I also thought that maybe they had to deliver more than one sake but the task was edited for time. But then one team (NKOTB, maybe?) was shown trying to take a second order, and the samurai refused to speak. So it was just one sake per table, and I don't think they had to deliver to more than one table. It still seemed like a really difficult task to me, and I was impressed that they made it look so easy.

[Boilergal]

I wonder if production put a stop to task jumping -

 

Like the lawyers they seem to have a good rapport and are thinking of the task, not should we stop and buy a Bride magazine before we get on the plane.  LOVED their Pit Stop entrance. 

 

IMHO, Hayley turned off Blair with all her dating, first date, in the future we will look back at our first date talk.    I mean seriously who talks to someone you just met 30 minutes ago like that?  By the end of leg I think he softened to her a little bit, especially after he was wrong about directions.

 

Another thing that bugged - when mixed sex couples hit the mat it was all "so are you in love yet"  but when they gay boys arrived it was, so do you like each other?   I think it is way more appropriate to ask a couple that has met within the past 24 hours if they like each other....love questions shouldn't even be asked until long after the race has ended.  Are they leading up to a final task of getting married in a Vegas Chapel by Elvis of Phil?!?!

 

ETA:  Creeper taxi driver had me laughing -

Edited February 27, 2015 by Boilergal

[Skittl1321]

Can they use the U-turn more than once, or are the truck stop couple now at a disadvantage?

You can only use a u-turn once on the race (at least previous seasons have been that way).  So the truck stop couple no longer has that.

However, from their point of view, if they didn't use it this time they were at a reasonable risk of being eliminated. I think I'd rather be disadvantaged later than not be in the race at all.  

 

Since most of the teams who hit the mat don't use the u-turn at all, I think the chance of them needing it in the future is a slim, unless it is a double u-turn and a team targets them knowing they can't u-turn someone else.

 

 

I wonder if production put a stop to task jumping -

I wonder what the incentive to that would be.

[Pepper Mostly]

While Hayley is definitely annoying and for an introvert like myself, her constant chatter would drive me crazy too, I thought Blair had a very condescending, know-it-all attitude about him. And so I loved when he almost screwed them over going the wrong way when Hayley told him it was the other direction. I loved that she was right there and that she gloated about it. 

 

 

 

 

As for Blair, after initially rolling my eyes at Hayley and her constant chatter in the car, I really came around to liking her and disliking him and agree with others about seeing exactly why he's single. The funny thing is, I think Hayley really may just be perfect for Blair. He clearly takes himself too seriously and seems to have a stick up his ass so he probably needs someone as bubbly and goofy as her. And annoying voice aside, she's clearly not dumb if she's a fertility nurse. It was my experience in college from having friends in the nursing program that they're pretty much all pretty hard. Hell thinking about it some more I actually think Hayley might be too good for Blair.

I agree wholeheartedly! At first I was all "oh here we go, dippy blonde". BUT she's an RN with specialty training, she can't be dumb. Yes, she's a chatterbox, but I put it down to nerves, she was trying to keep a conversation going and Blair was not helping. I like her, hate him so far. When she was right and he was wrong I cackled with glee. And yes, I see why he's single. Condescending, overbearing douche. Prove me wrong, Blair. But somehow I don't think you will.

 

I like how the lawyers are getting on, and if dating doesn't work out -- Jelani, call me!

Also enjoyed Team Amy Adams, the Olympians, and although at first I didn't like Vegas female, I was ok with her by the end, and they also seem to be working together well. Jonathan Knight seems like a very normal and quietly charming guy.

I'm bummed about losing the flight team, especially since Team Tuskegee, though likeable, were really bumbling about.

Truck Stop's explanation of their U-turn use was very good -- we have to slow someone down, they're really sweet so we're sad about it, and we'd expect to get U-turned ourselves if someone was in our shoes.

 

I loved the lawyers too. They both seem very rational and analytical, as well as kind--they were both making every effort to be thoughtful and considerate of the other, which warmed my cold black heart quite a bit.

 

I also loved how sweet Truck Stop Guy was to to his partner. He was so calm and soothing. Love him, and I like her too. I'm a crier under stress and really felt for her. You just know she didn't want to be The One Who Cries.

 

I was very anti this format but it was mitigated greatly by the fact that it wasn't all blind date couples, and that production seemed to really match people thoughtfully, and that everyone seems pretty generally likeable. I'm a happy fan!

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Are they leading up to a final task of getting married in a Vegas Chapel by Elvis of Phil

Now I am wondering if there are any countries that allow same sex marriage, that also allow vegas style quickie weddings. Because that would be a hilarious fast forward.

[blackwing]

I got a different impression of Blair.  I like him. I like him a lot.  Can you imagine how excited he was to have been chosen for this show and looking forward to a partner that he would like and maybe actually love?  He then gets teamed with a flake with a tiny voice with whom he has zero rapport.  She also admitted to being  high maintenance .

He contained his disappointment and irritation with her the best he could. I think he did a good job given the facts.  I don't think he will be able to contain it through this entire race but he is trying.   It is not about him feeling better than a nurse, doctors respect them, or even better than she.  They just are a huge mismatch, huge.  She bugs me, too.  Saying the mud looked like diarrhea was childish and downright stupid.

He basically signed up for a reality dating show.  What did he expect?  He's clearly had opportunities in his real life to choose his own dates, and none of them have apparently worked out.  He gets the opportunity to be on the Amazing Race and also the opportunity to be paired up with a young and attractive woman with whom he has at least some professional interests in common.  I like her a lot.  She isn't a dishrag.  She is bubbly and vivacious and she isn't afraid to say what's on her mind.  He's a doctor and she's a nurse but she didn't automatically take on a subservient role.  She was an equal partner.

 

I disagree that he did a good job of containing his disappointment and irritation.  He seems to have done an abysmal job, if so many viewers picked up on it instantly.

[auntlada]

I can't believe--well, yes I can actually -- that there are two gay male couples and no lesbians. In all the years the show has been on, I believe, there has been one lesbian couple and they were bitches from hell.

At least two lesbian teams (still not nearly the number of gay male teams). There was a team of ministers who were lesbian. As I recall, they seemed quite nice.

[Skittl1321]

 

Was he in the orginal group?

Yes, or at least he was in the group that hit it big in the 80s (no idea if there were iterations before their Teen Beat years, but I think it has always been the same 5).  All the members of that group are part of the touring group now.  It's kind of remarkable.  (I only found out they were still a thing recently because a friend went on their cruise concert thing.)

Edited February 27, 2015 by Skittl1321