S03.E11: Cabotage

[radishcake]

The final four teams race to Edmonton where they step back in time and Face Off on the ice.

*this episode is being aired on THURSDAY so that the MasterChef finale can be two hours long on Wednesday. Just a heads up!

[Machiabelly]

Man, the alpha male teams did not cover themselves with glory tonight.

[Blackie]

I still don't get why they would get $200 on the super dooper MC to go from Canada to Chile, but you get $750 to go from BC to Edmonton

 

Can we please retire the phrase "you've got this' and all variations.......pretty please

 

Sean to the taxi driver on way to curling "hurry hard" was great,  "pleasure  to beat you" even better!

 

Trip to Dubai is awesome-sauce!!    (if they can keep saying "we've got this" then i can say awesome-sauce!)

 

Edmonton river valley is beautiful on sunny day!!!!!  But I guess they couldn't say Welcome to the City Of Champions  :(

 

sad to see Simi and Ope out, I think I will cheer for Sean and Brent because they are the physical  underdog.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Blackie

[weightyghost]

God I'm so over beefy Alpha male teams cruising through this show. Not a single woman in the finale is ridiculous.

C'mon puke brothers. I am rooting for you.

[Blackie]

Hurry hard puke brothers!

[Rachel RSL]

I really wanted the wrestlers gone. While I'm not a fan of the cab stealing, it's totally fair if the cab driver agrees to it. But it really bothered me way more when the wrestlers did it. The brothers were just go-go-go focused on the race but the wrestlers were kind of whiny mean girls about it. Screaming at the cab driver? It's his fare, dude. It just really rubbed me the wrong way.

 

I was really pulling for Simi and Ope. (Sorry, all these weeks and I still don't know if I'm spelling their names correctly) His final words were absolutely beautiful.

 

Go Puke Brothers!!

[Sarahendipity]

Gas for 98.4! Most amazing thing in this episode. Was really hoping Gino and Jesse would fail at curling. Simi's last rock was so close. Cannot wait to see my hometown next week!

[xcrayon2215x]

Wow so much taxi stealing. Gino/Jesse might have been eliminated had they not stolen Simi/Ope's taxi, Brent/Sean are pretty funny guys.

[grooveshinney]

Ha! I just paid 88.9 at Costco earlier today (in Edmonton). I have to say the city looked pretty good-nice and green considering we hardly had any rain this spring.

[Artsda]

That was a lot of taxi stealing. 

 

For some reason the way the wrestlers did it with even yelling back at Simi and Opi to get away, getting out of the cab to go in the front seat and be a physical threat so they'd back away I hated compared to how Gino and Jesse did it. I don't want the wrestlers to win, I'm good with either of the other 2 teams. 

[bagatelle]

The editors tried to play us with who will get to the Pit Stop on the hill, but it was so obvious that Simi and Ope would be eliminated.

 

I'm not looking forward to the series finale next week.  It looks brutal and I don't get enjoyment out of seeing these people suffer.

[UsernameFatigue]

Obviously it was never going to happen but the wresters could have shared the cab with Simi and Ope since it was theirs they stole. Especially given all of the whining they did when the brothers took their cab. Didn't either Brent or Sean say that they called a cab for Simi and Ope after they took theirs? I really like those two.

 

I will miss Simi and Ope - what a wonderful team. I loved Simi's sense of humor. I cracked up when she told the justice of the peace that she objected to the wedding - lol.

 

I will be happy with any of the final three winning, but really hope it is Sean and Brent. Mostly I am looking forward to the final being in Whistler. I would be just fine if TARC never left Canada. I either look forward to seeing some part of the country I have never been, or revisiting some place I have been. In any case I aways enjoy those legs much more than any country the racers might travel to. If I want to see India for the gazillionth time I can watch TAR.

[Delwyn]

I still don't get why they would get $200 on the super dooper MC to go from Canada to Chile, but you get $750 to go from BC to Edmonton

It seems to me that you usually see very high dollar amounts in legs that involve an obligatory long/multiple stop taxi ride, especially in European and North American locations. I find it easy to predict if the leg will be all self-drive or walking distance when they get a very small amount of cash at the start of the leg. I don't have any inside knowledge that it's an indisputable fact, just something that I've noticed over the years.

[SnideAsides]

Yeah, the flights are paid for off-camera on a different credit card.

[shok]

I didn't enjoy tonight's show, partly because Simi and Ope were eliminated but also because the competitiveness of a couple of the teams brought out some not so nice behaviour that wasn't particularly pleasant to watch. Also, the challenges were kind of meh except for the curling. I'm not cheering for any of the teams left plus I just can't get excited about alpha males winning again. Oh well, the scenery should be nice up in Whistler.

[Fake Jan Brady]

I'm not looking forward to the series finale next week.  It looks brutal and I don't get enjoyment out of seeing these people suffer.

 

 

After tonight's episode, i'll get a lot of enjoyment watching four of these people suffer.

 

Come on, Brent & Sean; you're my only hope.

[Blackie]

were Simi and Ope the only team left that didn't win any legs therefore no  trips or gas?  :(  They worked hard and it was amazing that they made it that far considering the dad couldn't swim and was pretty out of shape.

 

I would be just fine if TARC never left Canada.

 

so would I, or at least limit it to just one trip out of Canada per season

 

For the curling challenge I was surprised that all the teams were trying to draw to the button when it is part of the game of curling to take out or hit and roll.

[Shermie]

Well, the challenge was that whoever was closest to the button wins, so obviously that's what they aim for.

Too bad that the last woman is out, not sure how to remedy that other than not casting teams with two young fit men.

I wonder now if The Puke Brothers (heh) are the winners, since the editors have made such a big deal about the rivalry between the other two teams, which would be funny if it was all for naught.

[innocuouspuff]

Closest to the button wins in real curling too, but Olympic level curlers will get fancy with it, trying to move and block opposing rocks with their own. These new curlers just didn't have that skill, getting it inside the ring was enough of a challenge.

Ugh, so mad. Nick and Matt def used their size, not only on Simi/Ope but the cab driver as well. Hope they feel like asses seeing it definitely was not their cab. Does TAR Canada not have the leave your bags in cab to mark it as yours rules as the original? No one was doing that, just counting on the kindness of strangers.

That said Simi and Ope would probably have be effed anyway at the Face Off. I hate the Face Off so much. If I wanted everything to come down to who has the bigger, younger guys I would watch pro sports. Between Face Off and super physical leg last week, it is in no way an accident we have no ladies in the finale.

And I wanted to watch Simi crush the final task. Go, Brent and Sean!

Edited September 18, 2015 by innocuouspuff

[Sarahendipity]

With the camera and sound guys, there is no way they could have shared that cab. 8 people + driver. You only see sharing sometimes from airports, where they may have vans available.

[wintrygal]

I want Sean and Brent to win, but I rarely get my way, so... still hoping tho, as they are running a good race. 

Love how the brothers thought they had an easy win when they walked into the curling club and saw Sean and Brent. 

Didn't care for all the taxi drama. 

[Rachel RSL]

I hate the Face Off so much.

THIS!!!  Me too! It's ridiculous that a leading team has to sit and wait for another team to catch up. And to stick a Face Off in the leg where they're racing to get into the finals is even more ridiculous.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Rachel RSL

[Blackie]

Well, the challenge was that whoever was closest to the button wins, so obviously that's what they aim for.

 

the alpha brothers were incensed that Simi hit their rock and rolled in like it was against the rules or something, when actually that was a smart move (not that she was actually trying to do that). 

[aemom]

As for the large stipend they got this episode, they had to go to St. Albert at one point and then back to Edmonton again. St. Albert is quite a drive NW of Edmonton, so the taxis would have been expensive.

[Shermie]

So when they ask a cab to wait for them while they go inside for a task, have they paid the cabbie for the ride so far? I assume so since, for all the cabs and racers know, the challenge could involve them going out the back door and up into a hot air balloon or something (hey, it could happen!).

They never show them paying because, well, tedious TV, but it makes me kind of schadenfreudenly want the cab stealers to be on the hook for the entire fare.

And I wonder if Uber will become relevant in TAR at some point.

Etalk always does a TARCAN ep review the day after and they talked about Nick and Matt being victimized by cab thievery, with no mention that they took a cab forcefully from Simi and Ope. They even showed the S&O footage, still with "victim" voiceover blabbing, implying that S&O also stole a cab from them. The hell, CTV? Do Nick and Matt win, and the network is trying to give them a super positive edit?

[TV Anonymous]

Yeah, the flights are paid for off-camera on a different credit card.

 

Correction, flight tickets are not paid. Air Canada gives them.

 

And I wonder if Uber will become relevant in TAR at some point.

 

Unless Uber becomes a sponsor itself, I can not see it happen, even in different editions of TAR. First, racers have to have a 'working' smartphone, not just a phone given by production for product placement. Second, racers needs to access their own account, something TAR prohibits them to do. Third, Uber remains a controversy in many cities around the world. Letting racers take Uber will be a slap in the face of taxi industry and municipal government in those places.

[innocuouspuff]

All of our alpha males lying like dogs in this recap. Gino and Jesse claiming they thought a random unclaimed cab was waiting around in a remote industrial area for no reason. Then Nick and Matt claiming they thought the second cab was obviously up for grabs because they didn't personally see Simi and Ope make the call. They figured that they were waiting around A REMOTE INDUSTRIAL AREA for half an hour, without calling. Nick's interpretation is classic bully revisionist history: "there was a little bit of debate".

Ugh, I hate bullies. And the Face Off. That 30 minutes they say Simi and Ope lost by is pretty much entirely the Face Off penalty, I think.

But! I'm ready for curling season.

[etagloh]

Ugh. So much taxi bullshit in a leg that was really ill-suited to forcing teams into cabs. I understand the reasons for avoiding self-drive (safety, other logistics) but this one would have been very different with teams in their own cars. We got to see the classic kick-down bullying dynamic, and it leaves Brent & Sean as the only F3 team worth shouting for. Simi and Ope were without a doubt the weakest team, and had been hanging on at the back for a while, but it was a sad way to go out.

I was more okay with this use of the Face Off than the previous one, because repeating skill-based tasks generally improves your chances, as you don't get physically exhausted, but I still hate the concept.

[HistoryGirl]

Ugh, so mad. Nick and Matt def used their size, not only on Simi/Ope but the cab driver as well. Hope they feel like asses seeing it definitely was not their cab. Does TAR Canada not have the leave your bags in cab to mark it as yours rules as the original? No one was doing that, just counting on the kindness of strangers.

I don't think it's a rule whether you can or can not leave your bag in the taxi. It's your gamble to take.  If you leave your bag in the car you run the risk of the cab taking off with it.  This has happened numerous times on TAR:US (most times the cab is just circling the block, but it leaves the racers in a momentary panic).  The other issue is that you might have to leave and go to another location (like how they took a shuttle to do paper/plastic).  You wouldn't want to be too far from your bags. 

 

So when they ask a cab to wait for them while they go inside for a task, have they paid the cabbie for the ride so far? I assume so since, for all the cabs and racers know, the challenge could involve them going out the back door and up into a hot air balloon or something (hey, it could happen!).

They have to settle with their cabs at all times.  If the cab agrees to wait, they've been paid for the journey up to that point. The teams might sweeten the pot by saying they'll give them "x" dollars tip if they stick around.  But the cab driver should be paid. If he/she isn't, the teams would never be able to check in at the mat. 

 

Can I say that Jon Montgomery might actually be superior to Phil Koegan? I find him delightful to watch and I always get a chuckle out of the small scenes that he has "Thanks buddy!" 

 

I can't believe that Jesse/Gino stole cabs TWICE.  That's some serious taxi karma that is going to come their way.  While it's fair game, you don't tempt the TAR Fates. It always comes back and bites you in the butt. Always. 

 

Go Team Puke Brothers! 

[innocuouspuff]

I meant rule as far as, then it's your cab and another team removing your bags to steal the taxi would now be in violation of Race regulations. I would think that if leaving the bags helped protect against theivery we would have seem someone trying it out. I'm not sure it's been done all season. But you're right, maybe there was other reasoning in play.

While it's not kayak lacrosse, I wouldn't call the curling task the opposite of a physical task. A curling stone weighs approx 19kg, that's probably more than a third of Simi's body weight. Repetition would start to weigh some Racers down. Something that truly gave no advantage to stronger guys would have to be something like a puzzle or memory game.

Edited September 19, 2015 by innocuouspuff

[Vyas]

The sole redeeming quality about this leg besides who won it was the greeter, quite possibly the most attractive homegrown* one in the show's history.

 

(Still reeling from the wrestlers' diabolus ex machina, such is the noxious influence of the neo-Fascist "VoldeMussolinis", coined by Logan "Supacoowacky" Saunders.)

 

* Alongside the Argentine and Indian beauties from earlier in the season as well as the Chinese ladies from last year.

[HistoryGirl]

I meant rule as far as, then it's your cab and another team removing your bags to steal the taxi would now be in violation of Race regulations. I would think that if leaving the bags helped protect against theivery we would have seem someone trying it out. I'm not sure it's been done all season. But you're right, maybe there was other reasoning in play.

 

I have terrible TAR memory, so I couldn't tell you which season it was and who it was that did it, but there was a team in the US version that pulled out another team's bags from the cab and put them on the ground.  And I think there was once a team that tried to bribe a cabbie to remove a team's luggage from his car.  I think it almost worked but the team returned.  I don't think there's an actual rule that you can't take another team's stuff out of the cab. I think it's all's-fair in cabotage. Especially if the cabbie is okay with it.  

[Taeolas]

Teams may not touch another Team's gear period. SO if the gear is left in a cab, then the cab is claimed by the team. Maybe if you can convince the driver to take the gear out the cab becomes 'available' but it's sketchy game play. You taking the gear out yourself is a big race no-no. 

 

Echoing the disappointment that Opie and Simi are gone. They ran such a great race considering their own limitations and their competition. Count me on the Brent and Sean team for the win.

[Shermie]

Yeah, I was pretty sure there was a rule about not touching other teams' bags, ever. Else I could see some nastier racers turning to assholery behaviour if they thought it would help them. I do wonder what the penalty would be if someone hid another team's bags or something.

Curling is physically demanding, make no mistake. It's often mocked by non-curlers as being a sport for old, out-of-shape dudes, but time and again, people I know have tried it and are flabbergasted by how sore and exhausted they are afterwards.

[UsernameFatigue]

Closest to the button wins in real curling too, but Olympic level curlers will get fancy with it, trying to move and block opposing rocks with their own.

 

That isn't Olympic level curling, it is basic curing done on every level including recreational. Strategy is an even bigger part of the game than the physical aspect. It is a wonderful sport and can be played by people from 6 or 7 to 70 and up. You can make it as strenuous or not as you like - just depends on the level of league you are playing in. I was surprised that none of the racers had played before and thought they did pretty well considering getting used to the ice takes a game or two for beginners.

[shok]

Here's an exit interview with Simi and Ope - still lovely people. http://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/television/amazing-race-canada-relationship-strong-between-father-daughter

 

Nick and Matt have been all over TARC facebook since the show making excuses for their behaviour. I think they're a little taken aback by the blowback they've gotten (well deserved blowback imo). What still bothers me about what they did is not so much the taxi stealing - that's gone on to varying degrees since TAR started - but the bullying, the way the big guys were yelling and physically blocking Simi and Ope from the car and talking to the driver. That was over the top and unacceptable and no, Jon, all is not fair in love and war and on the Amazing Race, although to give Jon the benefit of the doubt, he very likely had only heard there were some shenanigans with taxi stealing and hadn't at that point seen what actually happened.

 

Anyway, I'm glad (but not surprised) that Simi and Ope were so gracious about what happened and that overall they had a wonderful experience on the race.

[innocuouspuff]

That isn't Olympic level curling, it is basic curing done on every level including recreational. Strategy is an even bigger part of the game than the physical aspect. It is a wonderful sport and can be played by people from 6 or 7 to 70 and up. You can make it as strenuous or not as you like - just depends on the level of league you are playing in.

Oops, I was not trying to say *only* Olympic level players at all! Sorry. I love curling for the strategy, too ill to actually play though. Someone else asked about the lack of strategy, so just comparing our total newbies to practiced players that can put stones in exact locations for complicated reasons, almost 100% of the time. We weren't going to be watching something like that but I thought they did fine too.

Anyway it was intended to be a simple summary, not a dismissal of everyone not an Olympian. :)

I would never claim to be a TAR superfan but listen to a podcast where the rule has come up. I would find it very weird if TAR Canada has no rule against tampering. But maybe there's also some rule about not leaving your bags as far away as the taxi? idk.

Edited September 20, 2015 by innocuouspuff

[UsernameFatigue]

What a wonderful interview with Simi and Ope. My favourite quote was from Simi : "So many people leave Canada, they go outside to travel, but there is so much here that we have to see." I know sooooo many people who spend every holiday traveling outside of Canada, and have never left their home province to explore our beautiful country. I find many BCers (my home for the last 35 years) have no idea of the rich history of the eastern provinces, not to mention the beauty. That is one reason that I love when TARC legs are in Canada.

Edited September 20, 2015 by UsernameFatigue

[TV Anonymous]

Curling is physically demanding, make no mistake. It's often mocked by non-curlers as being a sport for old, out-of-shape dudes, but time and again, people I know have tried it and are flabbergasted by how sore and exhausted they are afterwards.

 

A bit out of topic, during Sochi Olympics there was coverage about Team Jacobs (the Canadian men curling team, the eventual Champion) and how they trained in Sault Ste-Marie. Turned out that their physical training was hardcore. Strength, weight, fitness, the whole works. The reason was with high degree of fitness they could concentrate longer as fatigue would be mitigated. The other, more practical, reason was that with more strength they could sweep harder and therefore could put less weight on the stone, resulting in more accurate throws.

Edited September 20, 2015 by TV Anonymous

[Taeolas]

With the Face Off, I wonder if the teams would have been allowed to practice while waiting. That would have given them an advantage, just in getting used to it. Of course maybe it would have been allowed, but no one thoguht to give it a shot. 

[Sarahendipity]

I thought I saw the Puke Brothers practicing sliding on the ice whole they waited, I doubt they could have thrown rocks, but getting a feel for the ice was a good idea.

[Taeolas]

Did the PetroCanada task feel out of place to anyone else? I could maybe see spending PetroPoints since they've been giving them away all season; but they gave us no view of what everyone 'bought' with their points (or even what the real total was), so it was pretty ineffective. Makes me think there was supposed to be another sponsered task that had to be swapped out. 

 

Personally, I would have done a gas pumping task, like TARUS did once (I think). Have the contestants dress in old style gas attendant uniforms and offer full service at a station until they pump XXX liters of gas (Free to whoever shows up) or something like that. 

[anhydrite]

First, I can't believe I only just discovered this board after a whole season of eagerly watching the show.

 

Yeah, I was pretty sure there was a rule about not touching other teams' bags, ever. Else I could see some nastier racers turning to assholery behaviour if they thought it would help them. I do wonder what the penalty would be if someone hid another team's bags or something.

In Unfinished Business, the Globetrotters accidentally picked up Ron and Christina's bag and instead of giving it back to them, they just left it somewhere around. Ron and Christina lost some time looking for it, and the Globes received a 30-minutes penalty. Same case for Don and Mary Jean in TAR6, who drove another team's car (with personal belongings inside), making said team lose time while looking for their car. They incurred the same penalty. Also, Mark and Michael of TAR14 also incurred a 30-minute penalty for hiding task-related equipment. I suppose tampering with another team's bags would be worth a 30-minute penalty, but I'm just guessing here.

 

Re: curling. I've played curling a couple of times in my life, and I don't remember ever placing a rock in the big target, or being anywhere near acceptable at this. So kudos to all these guys for managing to look somewhat competent. And these rocks weight a ton, so it's actually quite physical at the beginning, when you have absolutely no idea how to even stand on the ice.

 

Otherwise, a complete shame that there are no women left in the finale, especially considering that the last mixed team really got their leg stolen here. For the one time that they were actually good at the tasks, they get screwed over thrice by taxis, and both of those being by having their cab stolen. If Simi had managed to knock out that rock in the curling challenge, or if the boys didn't steal their taxi, I'm pretty sure they could have made it to the final. These guys really had the worst day ever.

 

The wrestlers were quite pleasant to watch until today. But I guess that's the Big Guy Syndrome: nice guy suddenly turns ugly and bullies his way out when it suits him (looking at you, Big Easy). I really like they fun-loving and jaunty personalities, but they really lost me in this episode. If they manage not to be so ugly next time, I might actually be rooting for them. I guess I'll have to tolerate Sean melodrama then. But at least they seem quite nice, if a bit clumsy.

 

Edit to add that whoever thought the Face Off would be a good idea should remove it immediately from the race and stick it where the sun never shines for all of eternity.

Edited September 21, 2015 by anhydrite

[innocuouspuff]

Would guess that the Petro Canada chequebook came with a request to showcase the points program specifically, maybe even down to the fact you can spend them in their stores. I don't care about the sponsored bits in general, it's like when the cashier or server has a spiel to say and if that's what they get paid to do then why be a jerk about it. Money makes the world go round and keeps the show on the air so whatever.

That said: what a pointless segment lol. Just Race-wise, nothing happened really.

[Rachel RSL]

the alpha brothers were incensed that Simi hit their rock and rolled in like it was against the rules or something, when actually that was a smart move (not that she was actually trying to do that).

I didn't get the impression that they were incensed at all. More like they were frustrated because they were like: "Watch. They're gonna hit our rock and then roll in...." and then it did. I think that was more of an "Aw, man!" moment, not a "Hey! That's not fair!" moment. 

Edited September 21, 2015 by Rachel RSL

[Kromm]

Once again Ope proved he's no good at ANYTHING.

[shok]

Once again Ope proved he's no good at ANYTHING.

 

He's a wonderful father and a good and decent man and that's worth far more than any challenge on a race (not that I agree with your fatuous claim - he did plenty).

[Kromm]

He's a wonderful father and a good and decent man and that's worth far more than any challenge on a race (not that I agree with your fatuous claim - he did plenty).

I understand your feeling that way, but I don't believe my post truly implied otherwise (that he was a bad father or a bad man).

 

I get the sense from your post that you think I've crossed some kind of line saying what I did about him, but there's a tradition here and on this board's predecessor (TWoP) towards snarky observations about reality show contestants.  I can't speak to every instance of snark on them, but I can assure you that my comment was not about him as a person. It was about his capabilities as a racer.  You can disagree of course, even with that part.

[Vyas]

He's a wonderful father and a good and decent man and that's worth far more than any challenge on a race (not that I agree with your fatuous claim - he did plenty).

 

Seconded - Gino/Jesse and now Nick/Matt are clearly his inferiors.