S27.E01: A Little Too Much Beefcake

[TheOriginalDonald]

But Rachel used to whine and cry about how everything was too hard and she didn't want to be there anymore and boo hoo self-pity. Green Hat was saying he'd screwed up and he was upset because he didn't want to leave and he was blaming himself. I think they're the opposite of each other. Also, I always thought Rachel was crying as a manipulative technique and way to get attention from her partner, and Justin was just leaking his upset, not begging for sympathy.

I'm gonna feel for ALL THOSE PEOPLE in the delivery room when Rachel gives birth #RADON

[TheOriginalDonald]

Fuck TMZ!

 

Fuck the guy who created it!

 

Fuck those two for being anywhere near my Amazing Race!

 

"Too much beefcake".  Not enough beefcake, if you ask me! 

 

I'm glad those cheerleaders beat their asses at the puzzle. 

 

Three goddamn hours and Phil had to come tell those two morons "Stop.  Just...just stop.  You're not moving on.  It's been three hours since the last check in and my feet hurt."

 

Cancer on society, those two were.  CANCER ON SOCIETY!

 

I'M MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to check in the Miscavige Institute For The Criminally Insane #TMZonTAR 

Yea this season doesn't have any beefcake or eyecandy this season. Usually they have at least one cute guy but not this season. I'm not saying the guys this season are ugly but none of them have that wow he's so cute or hot appeal.

 

Maybe our opinions will change on te green team, remember how mean we were to Jim & Misti a.k.a. Team Dentist? Then as the show progressed we seen how cool and collected they really were and they were actually a great team who didn't fold under pressure. I took everything back that I said about Team Dentist, because they really do seem like good people. Unlike Defeatist Brooke and Shelley & Nici.

#ISITSAFE????? is just as EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL as #RADON

[Merneith]

Not much to say except that I'm rooting for the Dancers. Good hustle, guys, using your time to look at your surroundings and take notes!

Also, Rio's really pretty, but I wouldn't have been jumping in that water, I don't care where the bike-rafts parked.

[selkie]

I think sometimes the "extreme circumstance" is just "we really want to get Phil on the next plane out of here."

 

 

I did like the TMZ comment about sun cancer and late into the puzzle she was covered up.  That would be me.  I wouldn't be THRILLED by the idea of my middle-aged self parading about in the white bikini, but I'd deal with it.  But that much sun exposure for so long would have me really, really antsy and desperately needing some really good sun protection.  Because my dermatologist has scared me straight.

 

 

Hanging my head in shame:  I underestimated the cousins.

Them:  We're doing volleyball.

Me:  REALLY?

Well... good volleyball players are normally really tall, aren't they?  Anyway...

 

 

It depends. For standard two person beach volleyball, you have to be reasonably tall because both players have to be decent at spiking and blocking.  For six a sdiside volleyball, you get specialist positions, and if your job is setter (the person who gets the ball to the person doing the spiking) or back row (person who digs the balls from the fringes of the court and gets it to the setter) then general athleticism is more important height.

 

And the task was not standard two person volleyball. The Brazilians had limited mobility and limited ability to control the ball compared to what you can do with your hands, and it was a winnable task without any spiking or blocking required from the Racers. If the brothers had some recreational experience playing setter or back row, then they could be accurate enough at ball movement to simply put it across the net into a location that the Brazilians would have a hard time getting it back across the net successfully.

[green]

TAR2 reply to me:

 

Mine, too!  Wil going at that ice block with a torch, pick, and chainsaw will never not be one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.  I'll also never forget when one of the grandmothers got up to the top of the stairs and put her arms out, just like the Redeemer statue.  Good times!

 

This makes me so nostalgic for the first few seasons.  GSN used to show them years ago and we'd watch them over and over again, even season 6 with HWSNBN and KKKendra!

 

I can't usually afford to buy DVDs (can't afford a BluRay machine either) of seasons but they aren't too expensive on Amazon as I recall.  And no commercials.  I have 1,2,3 and 5 and may one day get 11 (All Stars) as long as I never watch the final leg fiasco/fake team winner ever on it.

 

I get why anyone would be emotional about having made a mistake that might not only cost you first place, but also put you in last-- on the first leg, moreover. It's disappointing and humiliating and your adrenaline is through the roof. Also, I have no problem with the color green, and am not sure what color hat is acceptable to more people, but I'm not annoyed by Justin and his silent partner yet. He wasn't self-pitying, he took responsibility right away, and he's probably very aware of how the internet hordes will mock people who go out on a non-forced error, so.... Also, honestly, I like that he's not a polished mactor. Real people, real fans getting cast is always more fun for me than camera-polished people who never lose their cool because they essentially don't care about the experience and are only there to get exposure.

 

I concur 100%.  The guy was filled with guilt at his miscalculation and that he had ruined the experience of a lifetime for his future wife as well.  He had adrenaline pumping like crazy.  And he probably hadn't got any sleep at all going back to the night before the race started because who would have been able to sleep on that night.

 

I remember Bill of Team Guido (TAR1) once explained that everyone ran the race feeling equal parts pumping adrenalaine coupled with massive sleep deprivation.  Who wouldn't break down in a situation like that barring maybe professional mactors who were just in it for TV exposure to further their careers.

 

I remember being moved when Luke broke down crying at the site of children in extreme poverty.  It was quite the contrast to the pageant queen sniping that they should just stop breeding.

 

Yeah or Peach in the major poor black township of Cape Town in TAR2 when she "grew" out of the warning that woman on the train gave them of how dangerous it was there to giving away sun glasses to the kids.  I like seeing real places on TAR but it's hard to pull off for the producers I imagine as they need government co-operation to film in places and governments like to showcase the tourist parts and not the reality parts.  Especially if they hope to return to those countries in future seasons.  The nuts and bolts of what the producers have to go through and the balancing acts they have to deal with always amaze me.

Edited September 27, 2015 by green

[Ducky]

 

I will say that now I fully expect not to blank on the name of that statue when I do Sporcle (online trivia) quizzes.

 

Another Sporcler!  Yep, though I remember the monument- I still learn a lot of things from TAR that helps on Sporcle lol :)

 

 

No real favorites yet but I hope that the cheerleaders either go away or turn down their squealing/squeeking  ouch... that sound hurts when you are plugged directly into the PC (missed it last night so had to watch online today) with 'earphones'. 

 

Holding thoughts on Justin/Diana-  Its only the first leg and I can understand feeling so upset - fear of exiting first and making a mistake that cost them first... but hopefully they'll wise up and enjoy the race.

 

Really like Ernest and Jin as well as Alex and  Adam,

 

As for the slider puzzle... I'd be there all day.  Just love how people say it's easy :P... problem is many people think differently so it's harder to work it out in your mind (mine at least) I do eventually get it but it takes me a long while to work it out.  I hate when I see that on a riddle level lol.

[green]

Not much to say except that I'm rooting for the Dancers. Good hustle, guys, using your time to look at your surroundings and take notes!

Also, Rio's really pretty, but I wouldn't have been jumping in that water, I don't care where the bike-rafts parked.

 

The water bike things were back in California at Venice Beach.

[RedheadZombie]

I'm gonna feel for ALL THOSE PEOPLE in the delivery room when Rachel gives birth #RADON

 

Rachel may be a big cry baby and emotional basket case, but physically she's pretty tough.  I've seen her face plant on this show as well as Big Brother, and she popped right back up and kept going - no whining, no crying.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

When My Baby Smiles At Me, I Go To Rio (To Meet Up With Phil Keoghan)
The Amazing Race's first leg sends racers to Rio de Janeiro, where a new twist underwhelms, and a sliding puzzle overwhelms.

[bmoore4026]

TheOriginalDonald, on 26 Sept 2015 - 9:19 PM, said:

Time to check in the Miscavige Institute For The Criminally Insane #TMZonTAR 

 

..............................forgive me, I am stupid.  Could you please explain?

Edited September 27, 2015 by bmoore4026

[Whimsy]

Hey, all. Just a little note to let you all know that the cousins are not to be referred to as midgets. They share a disorder called Pseudoachondroplasia, a form of dwarfism so from this point forward we would appreciate everyone uses the right term. Thanks!

[green]

Can we just call them "semi-dwarfs" cause I can't spell long words like that.  :-)

[scrb]

I googled helicopter rides in Rio during the show.

Very expensive.

[jjj]

The most recent 2-3 episodes of each program are free to watch on cbs.com.  The Access charge kicks in when you want to watch older episodes.  Just click through all the ad banners/hype/promos and click on "Full Episodes". 

Yes, I watched the episode in beautiful HD at the cbs.com site, without a charge. It is stunning to see the show in HD! 

 

I have a complaint about the soccer/volleyball.  I do not think they ever showed the score of the other team, but just treated it as "when you get six points, you win."  At the outset, it was supposed to be earning 6 points before the professionals got to 18. (?)  The tension would have been getting to five points, and seeing that the pros already had 17, which would mean starting over.  Why not show us the score, unless they decided the teams would never win? I got the feeling the rules changed after the competition started. 

 

And about jumping off those water-bikes -- I was really concerned that someone was going to break a jaw, as they seemed to be lunging for the dock as they jumped.  Ouch, ouch, ouch! 

Edited September 27, 2015 by jjj

[Shelby]

Phil looks like he's had some work done on his face. If not plastic surgery, then some fillers or something of the like.

[Lingo]

Innertube/BonusVid Digest (Where's Lingo?!): Danielle of #TheTrackstars teased Jazmine for hating the accumulated sand under her outfit following the Starting Line Task, #TheDancers recognized 80s realness even as it takes on the form of aircraft, #TeamAL fell behind #AsianSpouses because the former lost time trying and failing to board a taxi in their bathing suits, and #TheCheerleaders being the team most likely to be mistaken for locals got lampshaded at the greeter's expense.  

 

Ha ha, is that a shout-out to me?! I appreciate being remembered! I haven't watched the online videos yet because I watched the episode live and I've been busy, plus I groaned at the thought of having to go online and endure CBS's dumb video player with all the auto-playing ads. Last year I always watched the episode online so it wasn't a big deal to watch the vids afterwards, but this year my living situation is different so it's a lot easier to watch live. So I dunno if I'll watch all the vids this year.

 

Anyway, enough about me...you guys, I think Justin's just a big sweetheart, and it kind of melts mine a little bit! If you haven't seen the actual "viral" video, you should check it out -- he's bawling his eyes out at the end of that too when he's proposing to Diana. I mean just crying like a baby, and I found it really endearing. I was worried when I read about this team and read that he's a radio personality that he'd be some big media whore douche, like a "shock jock" or something, but that's not how he comes across to me.  He's definitely the outgoing one in the pair (Diana seems like a quiet cypher) but I don't find him obnoxious or cocky. If I were in that position of being an hour behind all the other teams I'd probably be crying too! And did they actually know they'd be hang-gliding when they got the FF clue? I bet not. Reminds me of the Biker Chicks heading to the Surfing FF in Singapore last year!

 

Hey, speaking of the Biker Chicks, did you notice that they were standing right next to Rob and Brennan at the starting line? I had to rewind and pause several times to figure out it was them.

 

Hey hey, is nobody else really curious about the background of the brothers Ernest and Jin Lao? Like, what's up with those names? And did you notice that Ernest was dressed up in stereotypical American clothes (red, white and blue) while Jin Lao was dressed in something that looked Asian? When I first saw them, I figured, okay, their story for the show is going to be about how different they are because of their backgrounds, like maybe they're half-brothers, and Ernest was raised in the US, while Jin Lao was raised in China perhaps. But no, even after dressing them like that (cuz you know production made them dress like that), it wasn't even addressed on the show. What's up with that?!

[HaymakerHattie]

Production rarely dresses the racers. They're given a color ahead of time and encouraged to get gear to coordinate, and everything they pack has to be approved, but their clothes are their own. Survivor occasionally gives them clothes and makes them wear them (for instance, Cochran says that wasn't his sweater vest, and Chris Daugherty said they cut the sleeves off of one of his shirts to make his tank top) but I've never heard of an Amazing Racer being told to wear something they hadn't picked out for themselves.

I believe Jin Lao has some affinity for Chinese culture given all his Jet Li references in his bio, which probably explains the jacket. But I am 99% certain that those clothes are entirely theirs and aren't an inaccurate picture of how they'd normally dress.

[Haleth]

Can we just call them "semi-dwarfs" cause I can't spell long words like that.  :-)

How about "the cousins" to avoid any offense?  Or spelling errors. :)

Edited September 27, 2015 by Haleth

[Shelby]

I was waiting for Justin's fiancee to slap him back to his senses. Nothing cute or sweet about his bawling. He wasn't out of the race yet, and not only was he not enjoying the experience and being needlessly negative, he was ruining it for her, too. I couldn't stand to be around that self-centered, weepy guy for two minutes.

[Zahdii]

I thought that people with one of the over 200 forms of dwarfism preferred to be called Little People.

 

A person just starting to watch the show won't know they're cousins right of the bat, but that person will see that the men have some form of dwarfism (aka Little People).  It's a fact of life that most people, when meeting someone for the first time, notice visual differences first.  We notice their sex, height, weight, race, etc.  Then we notice secondary characteristics like hair and eye color, the way they dress or present themselves (confident, nervous, etc.)  Somewhere along the line we hear their voice and then notice accents, speech patterns, and the like.

There's probably a few scientific studies out there that details such things.  In the end we all classify people according to a bunch of criteria.  It's what we do with our subjective criteria that determines what happens next.  Do we explore the likenesses and the differences, or do we make snap judgements?  This is what happens when a planet has billions of individuals living on it.

Back to Amazing Race.  We can call them the Cousins Team, or the Little People Team.

Edited September 27, 2015 by Zahdii

[dgpolo]

I thought most everyone -was- calling them the cousins, I even went back in the thread to see who used the m word and I didn't see it, unless the objection was to the LP phrase? I think cousins works fine.

Anyway I noticed some slight differences in the bikinis, were they asked about styles they would wear or were they chosen for them? It seemed some women got the 'high cut' legs and some didn't. Or is that just a matter of size?

Justin's looks actually remind me of the deaf Justin that was on Project Runway a season or two ago.

I was just rewatching my season 2 dvds and the first thing I thought when I saw the helicopter ride was -at least they don't have to climb all those steps!-

It is odd how many teams have ties to the media. Maybe the next step is actual Celebrity TAR.

[Netfoot]

We can call them the Cousins Team, or the Little People Team.

 

Maybe I'll just call them the Austin-Healey Sprites.

Edited September 27, 2015 by Netfoot

[Merneith]

I thought that people with one of the over 200 forms of dwarfism preferred to be called Little People.

 

I noticed that the other racers referred to them as the Little People, so they're probably comfortable with that tag. Their names, Alex & Adam, are easy to use, too (although I'm not sure which is which, yet.)

 

 

The water bike things were back in California at Venice Beach.

 

I said I didn't care where the bikes are parked! :P

 

You're right, of course. My mistake.

[chaifan]

Rachel may be a big cry baby and emotional basket case, but physically she's pretty tough.  I've seen her face plant on this show as well as Big Brother, and she popped right back up and kept going - no whining, no crying.

 

This is what made her constant crying all the more annoying - because it was obviously (so so so obviously) fake.  No tears, just that ugly pout and whine whine whine.  In every episode, over the smallest of obstacles.  Oh, and face planting and getting back up without crying/whining doesn't make you "pretty tough", that's normal behavior for an adult. 

 

Justin may have been annoying to some, but it was at least real and not just an attention grabbing "hey look at me, pay attention to me me me" device.  He's a huge fan, and going out first would have been devastating for him.  I'm cutting him some slack for now, but also hoping it isn't a recurring theme for him.

[Hanahope]

Some gimicky teams, but frankly, almost anything is better than love-connection from last season. 

 

I'd like to know why the cheerleaders' cab dumped them when he did.

 

Perfectly fine with TMZ out first.

 

I bet that if the cheerleaders are still in the race when team Beefcake uses their Express Pass, they will pass said Pass to the cheerleaders (since Beefcake said they planned on using flirtation, and the cheerleaders are the only remaining white all female team).

 

Very impressed with Alex and Adam's volleyball skills.

 

With so many "performers" in the race, I expect to see a lot of "performing" for the camera this season.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

I'd like to know why the cheerleaders' cab dumped them when he did.

 

Maybe he got tired of their squealing, too.  :)

[innocuouspuff]

Jin's given name is apparently Jayjion, he's racing under his stage name or nickname I guess.

Team green didn't know the FF task was hang-gliding, but the editors kind of threw Justin under the bus a bit with the close-ups of the fluttering wind gauges. Juxtaposed with Justin going "weather looks fine to me!" after reading the bit about the task being weather dependent. It just seems so silly for a person who's seen every ep to assume "weather" meant rain, but I guess he had express pass tunnel vision. I hope their decision-making improves, if it doesn't they'll be toast.

Edited September 27, 2015 by innocuouspuff

[biakbiak]

Jin's given name is apparently Jayjion, he's racing under his stage name or nickname I guess.

Team green didn't know the FF task was hang-gliding, but the editors kind of threw Justin under the bus a bit with the close-ups of the fluttering wind gauges. Juxtaposed with Justin going "weather looks fine to me!" after reading the bit about the task being weather dependent. It just seems so silly for a person who's seen every ep to assume "weather" meant rain, but I guess he had express pass tunnel vision. I hope their decision-making improves, if it doesn't they'll be toast.

They did know it was hanggliding, he read the clue out loud and it said "soar across Rio on a hangglider," and one of the other teams said they were afraid of heights so didn't want to hangglide.

[innocuouspuff]

Ah, of course. Their ignorance of the wind situation makes even less sense, then!

[panthergirl13]

Every time they show women in bathing suits on TAR or any other reality show (BB, Survivor, etc.) I'm dumbstruck by how many have had breast implant surgery. It's not like getting your teeth cleaned, so the ratio of real to fake is pretty astounding. Don't get me wrong: people can do whatever they want, but to me it's so obvious, so fake-looking, often lopsided (paparazzi woman) or puckered...I don't get it.

That said, welcome back show! Agreed that CBS wouldn't have sprung for a second helicopter trip, so if one of the couples had said "What is the name of that statue...Jesus Christ, I can't remember" the guy would have said "Correct! Here's your next clue!"

[Whimsy]

Can we just call them "semi-dwarfs" cause I can't spell long words like that.  :-)

Lol. I didn't mean you guys had to use the long medical term. Just NOT midget.

 

How about "the cousins" to avoid any offense?  Or spelling errors. :)

  

I think this is the best way to refer to them.

I thought most everyone -was- calling them the cousins, I even went back in the thread to see who used the m word and I didn't see it, unless the objection was to the LP phrase? I think cousins works.

It was the "m" word and it was edited. I think little people is also ok, but I can't see why we can't refer to them by their relationship, like we do for a lot of the teams.

[djlynch]

Loved Phil having to come find TMZ.    I thought they only did that in extreme circumstances, not just because only one team left.

I think sometimes the "extreme circumstance" is just "we really want to get Phil on the next plane out of here."

It looked like the sun was about to go down, too, considering that the walkway was in pretty deep shade even though there weren't really any buildings or hills right there. I wonder if it was just that they needed to get everything packed up before dark.

[Netfoot]

Every time they show women in bathing suits on TAR or any other reality show (BB, Survivor, etc.) I'm dumbstruck by how many have had breast implant surgery.

 

Last time I went to TARCon, I was amazed at how many women (in NYC generally, not TARConners specifically) were skinny as a lizard, with massive... appendages.

 

Now, as it happens, I like a nice pair of... appendages, but why is artificial enhancement at nearly epidemic proportions?  Take it from me, a woman doesn't have to look like a dead heat in a dirigible race to be attractive!

[Vyas]

Ha ha, is that a shout-out to me?! I appreciate being remembered! I haven't watched the online videos yet because I watched the episode live and I've been busy, plus I groaned at the thought of having to go online and endure CBS's dumb video player with all the auto-playing ads. Last year I always watched the episode online so it wasn't a big deal to watch the vids afterwards, but this year my living situation is different so it's a lot easier to watch live. So I dunno if I'll watch all the vids this year.

 

You betcha that someone would give ya props for all those Insider Clip Digests of yours. :)

 

Now, about the bolded - it'll come as a pleasant surprise that instead of uploading the Bonus Clips to the official site, the channel has instead put them up on TAR's official YouTube page with ~95% less intrusion by auto-play ads:

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/AmazingRace/videos

 

(Perhaps they really did mean it when they "listened to the fans". XD)

[QuelleC]

Funny, I don't often notice augmentation but I worry, as someone mentioned back, that they shaved enough or how long a wax lasts, not that I know.  I'm sure they've all been closely measured so the costumes fit at the stops, they know they'll be swimming, etc.  I don't know about augmentation but it wouldn't be worth it to unscrew my nipples and cut off the nerve endings.  Not worth it at all.  I'll keep my sensitive, non saggy 50 yr old chest thank you very much.  Last word about TMZ, I appreciated their average looking bodies. 

Edited September 27, 2015 by QuelleC

[TheOriginalDonald]

..............................forgive me, I am stupid.  Could you please explain?

Little General Hospital inside joke http://www.soaphub.com/2015/01/25/general-hospital-takes-a-stab-at-scientology/

Every time they show women in bathing suits on TAR or any other reality show (BB, Survivor, etc.) I'm dumbstruck by how many have had breast implant surgery. It's not like getting your teeth cleaned, so the ratio of real to fake is pretty astounding. Don't get me wrong: people can do whatever they want, but to me it's so obvious, so fake-looking, often lopsided (paparazzi woman) or puckered...I don't get it.

That said, welcome back show! Agreed that CBS wouldn't have sprung for a second helicopter trip, so if one of the couples had said "What is the name of that statue...Jesus Christ, I can't remember" the guy would have said "Correct! Here's your next clue!"

Something kind of tells me Kelly and Shevonne are all-natural 

[bmoore4026]

Little General Hospital inside joke http://www.soaphub.com/2015/01/25/general-hospital-takes-a-stab-at-scientology/

 

Ah, that would explain it.  I don't watch General Hospital.  Haven't in years.

 

You know what else I don't watch?  TMZ!

[green]

Production rarely dresses the racers. They're given a color ahead of time and encouraged to get gear to coordinate, and everything they pack has to be approved, but their clothes are their own.

 

Rarely maybe but they have done it sometimes. Just ask the "NFL Wives" of TAR4.  They were told they should wear replicas of their husbands' Atlanta Falcons jerseys at the start line.  They really didn't want to so "accidently" forgot to pack them.  Production made them Fed Ex the jerseys overnight to the pre-Race sequester hotel.   They were also forced to start ever sentence in their pit-stop interviews with lines like "As wives of professional football players we" ... fill in the blanks with stuff like "were astounded that tulips grow in the Netherlands" etc etc.  As a result people were ripping them online for their endless "wives of football players" references not realizing it wasn't what they wanted to do.

 

Now I greatly respect the TAR producers in the main.  But there is stuff like this that goes on sometimes too which I really dislike.  It really dumbs down the show. 

 

And quite frankly changing into the white crap they gave them is right up there with dumbing the show down too.  Change for folk dances, not for doing puzzles.  You are The Amazing Race, not Survivor.

Edited September 28, 2015 by green

[dgpolo]

 

Production rarely dresses the racers

But they do sometimes and I think the bathing suits were given in this instance otherwise they sent all the racers to the same store and they were all told to get the same suits, otherwise there would have been the differences we've seen in season's past, color and style wise. The one dancing brother would have brought a longer pair and there would probably been more one piece suits among the women.

I know production has usually give the racers cold weather clothes, probably so they don't have to lug the heavy coats around the world.

[Eolivet]

Interesting to note the comparisons between Amazing Race and Survivor because, in addition to the slide puzzles, I feel like the show is being edited more like Survivor. Was this the first time (or has it been that long?) that they introduced several times prior to the start of the race/the song, and introduced the remaining teams afterwards? Survivor does this every year, and it always seems to be an editing clue for who to remember (for better or worse) and who you may forget soon. Based on that, I wouldn't expect any team introduced after the song to make it that far.

 

Does this mean the save is gone? I hated that thing, like I hate all saves, Tim Gunn or otherwise.

 

I also liked there only being one early flight. I think it made the other teams push harder, whereas teams that got on the "first flight" might have the tendency to coast, if they know there's another flight behind them. This kept everyone in "Race! Race! Race!" mode all the time, and I liked it. Heightened the intensity, I thought.

 

The Green team has the nicest cab driver ever. I mean, there were people who walked to the Pit Stop who presumably had money left in their pocket. I'm sort of amazed they actually asked the guy to take them there after not being able to pay to get to the beach. I'm torn between thinking their cab driver was that nice or they felt just that entitled to another free ride. Likely a mix of both.

[gymtastic]

You guys! Just getting to watch the show now...Ernest is E-knock from one of my favorite moments ever on So You Think You Can Dance!

]

He's the littler guy helping his buddy out with the dance - they didn't make the show). It took me until they were answering the question about the statue, but then it hit me. Both E-knock and Jin were on America's Best Dance Crew as well.

[Fake Jan Brady]

TMZ "reporters"? Paparazzi photographers? I'm surprised they didn't cast Perez Hilton since they were clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel for the worst of humanity.

[selkie]

Anyone else who lives in the small metro Southeast find themself going "So they were trying to connect through Atlanta in probably June right during the time of year when that airport is prone to everyday delays from bad storms? Of course there was going to be a delay at ATL then." I know someone who used to be Diamond Medallion (Delta's most frequent flyer group) and her work team did everything they could to only book flights that left before about 10 am in the summer out of ATL because they'd had so many afternoon and evening rain delays disrupt travel plans.

[blackwing]

Thrilled that TMZ is gone. They admitted they were not nice people and said in their parting words that they would continue to be not nice people. So good riddance. They were nasty. So happy I don't have to hear their acerbic comments all season.

That said, I wish Justin could have gone too. He must have the record for crying on TAR. Half the time we saw him he was crying. Dislike him, and hate his stupid green hat.

I like track stars and what I suppose is "beefcake". The taller guy seems really fit but the one with the stupid hair doesn't. But both teams are competitive and work well together. I especially liked how the track stars were thrilled to be second even though they might have been first.

I like the TV reporters too. Very calm. The guy especially had a very pleasant voice honed no doubt by training. It makes him seem very trustworthy. But I can see how they could be annoying, announcing everything like they are reporting the news.

The male doctor is a douche. I'm indifferent to the rest of the teams.

[SnideAsides]

TMZ "reporters"? Paparazzi photographers? I'm surprised they didn't cast Perez Hilton since they were clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel for the worst of humanity.

He's already ruined one reality show this year; two would be two too many.

[cooksdelight]

Anyone else who lives in the small metro Southeast find themself going "So they were trying to connect through Atlanta in probably June right during the time of year when that airport is prone to everyday delays from bad storms? Of course there was going to be a delay at ATL then." I know someone who used to be Diamond Medallion (Delta's most frequent flyer group) and her work team did everything they could to only book flights that left before about 10 am in the summer out of ATL because they'd had so many afternoon and evening rain delays disrupt travel plans.

Tell me about it. I'll take the first flight before dawn from ATL just to avoid the bad bumps and delays.

[Wootini]

A bit late, but I had to say that while I'm not yet rooting for anyone, I already know which teams I DON'T like.

 

Usually, I can't stand the blondes, but we don't actually have a team of blonde girls this year. Crazy, right? I feel like this is the first time that's ever happened! But as soon as the beefcakes showed up and the first thing out of their mouths was "We don't mind flirting to get ahead on the race," I hated them. Instantly. Because that's the kind of crap the blondes usually spit out. Okay, you're pretty. But WHAT ELSE?

 

And then they went and won the leg, which was obnoxious. I know they're going to be in it for the long haul unless they have some kind of horrible plane/taxi/etc screwup that puts them in last (but watch that leg "conveniently" be revealed to be a non-elimination leg!) but I'm really hoping they don't win. It's too obvious.

 

Not a big fan of the cheerleaders, either, but I'm hoping they can stick around long enough to see if they ever stop trying to attach giant false eyelashes before hitting the starting point of each leg. I'm not a woman, but I feel like after a certain point, I'd stop trying to cake on makeup even though I'm going to be on TV. Has she not heard of the 'natural look?' ;-)

[proserpina65]

There is no way in hell I am stuffing my hefty ass in a white bikini. NO ONE wants to see that, not even myself.

 

A friend and I speculated on whether or not, had any of the women been particularly heavy or older, production would've provided swimsuits with more coverage, like maybe tankinis.  I know the tasks are all set separately from casting, but that seems like something which could be tweaked on the fly.

Loved Phil having to come find TMZ.    I thought they only did that in extreme circumstances, not just because only one team left.

 

I assumed they do that whenever there's one team left struggling at a task and it's getting close to the time when they need Phil and the pitstop production team to move on to the next location.

[hendersonrocks]

Ugh. These racers seem hella annoying. I honestly can't remember the last time I generally disliked such a high percentage of racers from jump. 

 

I'm optimistic about the cousins - or at least the one who hates helicopter rides as much as I do - and am holding out hope for the tracksters and dancers. Everyone else, not so much. Especially you, green hat dude and your oddly silent fiancee. 

[K2DangerGirl]

Anyone who can't spell Siobhan should be eliminated.  (Just kidding.)

Hah!  First thing I thought was "Oh, her mom went to Europe in college and met someone called Siobhan and thought 'Gee, that's pretty....'".

 

I was annoyed to see paparazzi *and* TMZ on TAR so I was glad to see them gone first.  Clearly I would also be that bitchy, though.