S30.E09: The First Rule of Amazing Race Club (1) & S30.E10: The First Rule of Amazing Race Club (2)

[amazingracefan]

3 hours ago, biakbiak said:

The karma comment wasnt producer driven and it tipped me over the edge to wanting Jessica to lose and her uselessness for the rest of the two eps pushed me into hatred. I dont think Cody is a beast at all, he just looks goid compared to his partner.

It's been fashionable to talk about 'karma' for years (including on forums like this), I don't believe in it in whatever sense it's used.

[SomeTameGazelle]

21 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I went back and checked-Kristi is 36 and Jen is 30, so I find it very odd that Kristi called herself the younger annoying little sister to Jen.  

She wasn't really talking about their ages though, it was just a simile to describe her behaviour. She recognized that she was being annoying in the same way that a younger kid annoys an older sibling.

[sinycalone]

I did enjoy getting more time with each team this week....seeing their interactions, observing fuller personalities emerge, etc.  It always comes late in the Race....but it's still very welcome.

With that in mind...

Kristi is a bit of a whiner, but Jen seems to cope very well with her occasional moaning and groaning.  I really like Jen.

Cody showed some humor this week, and Jessica did very little to help her team.  Her sniping at Team Rescue (out of their earshot) at the airport was uncalled for.

Alex and Conor both demonstrated why they work well together...both can laugh at their mistakes and move on quickly after them.  I like both of them.

Evan still seemed dismissive of Henry's input most of the time...and generally very self-absorbed.  Apparently, he copes with her attitude...so who's to say they won't stay together forever, lol.

Edited February 16, 2018 by sinycalone

[Qoass]

I'm glad Team Yale gets to stay. I think we're one episode away from Evan clubbing Henry to death with a debate trophy.

[biakbiak]

13 hours ago, amazingracefan said:

It's been fashionable to talk about 'karma' for years (including on forums like this), I don't believe in it in whatever sense it's used.

So her being basic should get a prize? No she clearly believed that somehow them uturning special princess made them lose their passport.

Edited February 17, 2018 by biakbiak

[DEL901]

16 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

No.  I thought, "what the hell is that medieval torture device in that poor water buffalo's nose?".  That area is so sensitive and they not only had a metal bar through the nostrils, but some type of thick leather harness around the area.  I shudder wondering if they have to stab through the cartilage that separates one nostril from the other.  And this is why I don't like seeing animals in foreign countries.  At least the elephants didn't have a man standing by with a menacing bullhook, unlike the past challenge with elephants painting.

Humane treatment of elephants is slowly coming to Thailand.  Lek, the founder of Elephant Nature Park, is one of the leaders of the movement.  (She and her organization have been profiled by National Geographic and she was a CNN Asia "Hero"

If you are ever in Thailand and want to see the elephants, this is the place to check (or one of their affiliated parks):

https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/

 

Back on topic:  Jessica is such a mean girl at times.  Conor and whats-his-name have grown on me, but I can't picture them winning.

[aemom]

So glad that I don't have to listen to Brittany drone on about her ring anymore. Also happy that she didn't murder Lucas for losing his passport.  She was surprisingly supportive and I liked the way they treated each other over that whole debacle. 

Evan really rubs me the wrong way and Jessica is useless on this race. I also felt that Jessica was really rude about the camel repeatedly saying how dirty, smelly, and slimy it was. And then she thought it had testicles.  Ok, then.

I was amazed that anyone did the frogs. The moment I would have heard "elephants",  I would have been "sold!"

I still hope that the skiers win.

[jumper sage]

Yale screwing up the math was hilarious!

Jessica is useless and we saw that when they switched partners.

Loathed when Cody said something about him winning the million.  No you would only win 500k.

The couple who lost one of their passports - should have read Our Hearts Were Young and Gay where one of the girls has to wear a  purse type thing around her neck for her documents.

I am sick and tired of the producers making contestants eat gross stuff - it is disrespectful to the host country.

[curbcrusher]

19 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

...  I thought, "what the hell is that medieval torture device in that poor water buffalo's nose?"......

I'm don't like Yale either (In the professional wrestling type fan approach I take to rooting for teams in the Amazing Race) , and I think that ring in her nose is a real poor fashion choice, but I think calling her a water buffalo is a bit much.

[Eolivet]

17 hours ago, Happy Belly said:

I saw on Twitter tonight Cody proposed to Jessica today. The ring is gorgeous and she said YES!

So, Cody didn't feel the need to propose on national television, without a first place finish and a pre-paid honeymoon? And it didn't take nine years? I'm shocked.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, curbcrusher said:

but I think calling her a water buffalo is a bit much.

LOL!!!  

Must say, though, that I don't like the Sterling Booger either.

[green]

3 hours ago, AEMom said:

I was amazed that anyone did the frogs. The moment I would have heard "elephants",  I would have been "sold!"

 

That's why I think this detour is a brand new detour genre.  The dirty but quick vs the amazing but long.  The elephant choice was a kind of trap in other words that the Racers were hard pressed to resist.

34 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

So, Cody didn't feel the need to propose on national television, without a first place finish and a pre-paid honeymoon? And it didn't take nine years? I'm shocked.

No but Cody felt the need to purpose while Big Brother Celebrity is still running and will end only a few days after TAR ends next week.  I imagine it gets them an air time interview with Julie Chen on national TV during one of the three remaining 2-hour episodes where they usually throw in some filler with past contestants.  They were already shown in the audience on the live premiere episode of same.

And Cody?  You already won some money on BB despite doing terrible on the show.  You won what?  100K in some fan vote wasn't it?  You aren't poor any more.

[ProfCrash]

$50,000 for America’s Favorite. Not chump change but he is not rich. I would argue that $100,000 is not rich. Again, not chump change but not all that much for someone in their mid to late 20’s or early 30’s. He has a child to help provide for and many years before he retires. He didn’t make a ton in the military and it sounded like he was barely breaking even with the job that he had. Big Brother sounded like a desperate for money move, I think he actually applied for a different show and ended up on Big Brother. 

I know Sandra continued with her job at the bank after her Survivor wins. She said she invested that money because while it is a lot of cash, it cna go fast when you have kids and/or there is some type of medical emergency. 

I suspsect that most of the folks racing could use the winning money. The Basketball Players and Indy Car are probably the only ones really well off right now.  

[bioprof]

Whatever happened to each team member needs to do an equal number of roadblocks? 

For that matter, whatever happened to roadblocks?????  For the conspiracy guys, a way to insure BB goes further than it could if Jessica actually had to pull her own weight?

Seems that in this season, there are much fewer roadblocks.......all detours instead.....

[preeya]

2 hours ago, bioprof said:

Seems that in this season, there are much fewer roadblocks.......all detours instead.....

Up to this point, there have been 7 roadblocks. Distributed by all remaining teams 4 - 3.

Edited February 17, 2018 by preeya
correction

[jhlipton]

 I personally think that Bahrain / Dubai was set up to be a NEL, but after that one team got stuck in Alaska while everyone else was at the final Pit Stop, they put in a rule that if you are X hours behind, you're eliminated  Otherwise they would have had to have a camera crew in Dubai while the other crews are in Thailand.

==========================

re frogs and elephants:  we don't know for sure which took longer.  Jen and Kristi arrived at the task a lot later then Hery and Even, but seemed to speed through it -- it looked like they were close to even with BB. 

========================

I wonder how close scorpions are to shrimp.  I;m thinking that eating a scorpion would be like eating an unpeeled "peel and eat" shrimp.

[Falafel]

Caught up on the episode behind everyone else. Read through the thread and I don't have much to add...

• I did think it was out of the blue that Cody mentioned he has a daughter - had he ever mentioned her before? He sounded very non-committal about even using the money to provide to her. It was so odd to me and so disjointed with the "character" the show has assigned him.
• Evan and Team Yale have gotten a pretty crap edit. They obviously don't vibe with the other teams and they may not be likeable people in group settings like the race, but is that really such a crime? I notice in reality shows "isn't friends with other contestants" is instantly equated to "villainous asshole you should root against." It kind of drives me batty. I have no problem with Evan or Henry and I think they are probably good, thoughtful, caring people. They do have a very direct manner of talking through things that seems to work for them, though I am sure others could find it off-putting. So what, I say.
• The scorpion task was horrifying. I'm a vegetarian, and not because I have an ethical objection to eating meat, but because I find eating meat disgusting, so I'd instantly be fucked if I came across a task like that. As a side note, I felt bad for the way those frog were manhandled, but then we later learned they were going to be grilled up and eaten anyway. Yuck.
• It's a bummer Ocean Rescue lost the passport and sucked the suspense out of what could've been a competitive leg. I guess I admire that they attempted to keep going, but you just knew Phil was going to greet them in the middle of the night somewhere. I wish them well with their marriage and life together.
• I'm definitely rooting for Kristi & Jen. The race car dudes seem nice enough, but honestly I'm just not super amped by the idea of two athletic men winning the race again. They really could back-to-back breaks: going to Bahrain and knowing their way away from racing there, and then getting the taxi driver from heaven. Sorry fellas, but here's hoping the luck runs out. The thought of Big Brother winning is just... unpleasant.

[green]

3 hours ago, jhlipton said:

 I personally think that Bahrain / Dubai was set up to be a NEL, but after that one team got stuck in Alaska while everyone else was at the final Pit Stop, they put in a rule that if you are X hours behind, you're eliminated  Otherwise they would have had to have a camera crew in Dubai while the other crews are in Thailand.

 

Nay, we would would have heard from former Racers if there was such a rule.  There is no such rule since none is needed since the team would be eliminated by the last to the mat anyway whether in the first leg or the next leg.  Also the non elims are set in stone.

And the leg in Thailand is one of the most popular legs (third to last) to make a non elim throughout TAR history.  Not always but very often it is a non elim.

And the team that lost their passport would have a camera crew with them at all times and they could still handle any tasks on their own even without the stationary "task" cameras.  And a camera crew (the 2-man mobile ones with the Racers) also get eliminated along the way as the Racers are eliminated so no big deal.

They could just do the Season 2 solution too and hold teams over at the pit stop for a day which they did while awaiting for Phil to eliminate the Gutsy Grannies after their epic Rio to San Paulo to NYC to London to Cape Town "flight".  (Weird thing about that was if they hadn't hit headwinds over the Atlantic making them miss their London connection they would have arrived in Cape Town comfortably in front of two other teams including the eventual winners of Season 2).

Also the Guidos stranded in Alaska made for GREAT TV.  It was perfect.

[mertensia]

Jessica did nothing-and admitted it-in Thailand. Otherwise she's been pulling her weight. Also admiring the adorable kitties. 

There is no way I could have been that calm while scorpions crawled/sat on me. Just no.

[snarts]

Quote

Jessica did nothing-and admitted it-in Thailand. Otherwise she's been pulling her weight. Also admiring the adorable kitties. 

Agree. From my feeble memory, she's completed a few of the tougher roadblocks including the gnome chasing and the rope climb.

Cody has a recurring role on Days of of Lives so it sounds like he may have been bit by the acting bug.  

[gibasi]

4 hours ago, snarts said:

Cody has a recurring role on Days of of Lives so it sounds like he may have been bit by the acting bug.  

Recurring role?  CBS soaps will have people from their reality shows make an appearance but that is all it is.

Edited February 17, 2018 by gibasi
comments more appropriate for the Racer thread

[lexington11]

11 hours ago, Falafel said:

Caught up on the episode behind everyone else. Read through the thread and I don't have much to add...

• I did think it was out of the blue that Cody mentioned he has a daughter - had he ever mentioned her before? He sounded very non-committal about even using the money to provide to her. It was so odd to me and so disjointed with the "character" the show has assigned him.

He mentioned her to Jessica on BB, but didn't really talk about her to anyone else, because he said he really would've lost his cool if someone had used his daughter to get him to snap. And considering the people they had to live with then, can't blame Cody for that choice.

[watch2much]

my random thoughts.

I still like Cody but Jessica annoyed me to no end.  I get that some of the tasks are smelly, dirty, etc. but try not insulting a culture especially in front of their citizens.  Plus her lack of empathy for the lost passport.  I wouldn't have been sorry to see them go. would like Cody to win.

Kristi and Jen.  Jen is propelling this team.  If she and Cody were a team they'd be killing this race.  Ok for them to win for Jen's sake.

IndyCar--I have to laugh at how Connor is the one who always talks about racing while the other guy is the actual winner of races.  also, laughed when Connor couldn't hold up his end of the log, but Henry picked up a huge piece and carried it by himself.  I find Connor kind of useless.  Would not like to see them win.

I'm glad Henry and Evan made it through.  Yes, she's somewhat arrogant and seems to be prickly with Henry.  Others have pointed out possible reasons for that.  What I like about them is that they don't whine about anything.  They just jump right into the task at hand and I've never heard them complain about anything.  Hope they get to be in the final.

[LittleIggy]

8 hours ago, gibasi said:

Recurring role?  CBS soaps will have people from their reality shows make an appearance but that is all it is.

Days is NBC’s soap. 

[Ducky]

On 2/15/2018 at 4:00 PM, Bryce Lynch said:

Actually, I think it was the measurement of the foot that was off.  I think they used something like 34 centimeters instead of 134 centimeters.  Missed it by THAAAT much! :)

The 34>134 was Kristi and Jen- they were puzzled because their height was waaay off.  Henry and Evan's was 111cm >114cm so they were off by 3.

 

Good two episodes...

1.  Not sorry to see Luke and Brittney but sorry about the way they went out.  I believe this is the third...no fourth time a team has been eliminated because of  a lost passport.  After this I hope future TAR racers figure out a way to GLUE their passports to their bodies!

2.  Yes Jessica you're useless, no Jessica 99% of the time camels do not have both udders AND testicles (wonder if there are intersex camels...hmm). Yes that was a cold thing to say about karma regarding B&L.  No Cody and Jessica I do not like the "well we lost BB so we're here for redemption!".  Drives me crazy when teams- notably from TAR and Survivor- do that.

3.  I like Evan and Henry, I don't see them as some of y'all are.  They seem to work well together.  They hardly ever have screaming matches or even get upset about much- especially the U-Turn while Brittney/Luke and I think Jessica/Cody did rant more about it. I don't think Evan treats Henry poorly... if that were the case I think I'd be seeing Henry a little more uptight and tense than he is.

4.  Extreme- Kristi/Jen- better this ep though the whole back and forth about the detour was grating... THEN they ended up changing detours ANYWAY (and turns out benefited them)...

5. Indy.. they're okay- competent when they put their minds to it.

I'd like to see Yale, Skiers and Indy in final 3.  So of course.. BBers will be in it :P.

[TV Anonymous]

I have to be skeptical with the these chain of event regarding Ocean Rescue: that they were allowed to leave the airport and go to the city by themselves, that the U.S. Consulate - Dubai could issue an emergency passport in matter of hours, and that travel document could be used to travel further. I may very well be wrong, different countries have different policies, but there it is.

This must have been very embarrassing for the Yalies. Getting beaten in the Race is normal, but their claim to fame is their superior intellect. Being outperformed on measuring and calculating by athletes must have left strange taste in their mouths.

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, TV Anonymous said:

This must have been very embarrassing for the Yalies. Getting beaten in the Race is normal, but their claim to fame is their superior intellect. Being outperformed on measuring and calculating by athletes must have left strange taste in their mouths.

They were 3cm off on measuring the foot of a moving elephant.  Somehow, I think they will survive the shame.

[ProfCrash]

1 hour ago, TV Anonymous said:

I have to be skeptical with the these chain of event regarding Ocean Rescue: that they were allowed to leave the airport and go to the city by themselves, that the U.S. Consulate - Dubai could issue an emergency passport in matter of hours, and that travel document could be used to travel further. I may very well be wrong, different countries have different policies, but there it is.

This must have been very embarrassing for the Yalies. Getting beaten in the Race is normal, but their claim to fame is their superior intellect. Being outperformed on measuring and calculating by athletes must have left strange taste in their mouths.

I have no problem believing it. I have had friends lose their passports in France and they were able to get replacements in under 24 hours. The hardest part was getting copies of birth cerificates for their kids. They had to have a friend break into their house to find them and then copy them and email them the images.

If you have copies of the necessary paperwork it is not that hard to get a temporary replacement, which is what Lucas has. It would only be good for a short period of time and would probably get extra scrutiny at customs, which would cost them time on the race. I suspect that the Amazing Race staff has cpies of everything that they would need, like photocopies of passports, birth certificates and the like. 

They were a good 12 hours behind, possibly more then that. I am more curious if they had to pay the passport fee using the race money or  if the Race handled it. I suspect that race handled it knowing that there was no way for them to acach up.

[Browncoat]

2 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

This must have been very embarrassing for the Yalies. Getting beaten in the Race is normal, but their claim to fame is their superior intellect.

Having a superior intellect doesn't necessarily mean they're good at math. 

[amazingracefan]

On 2/17/2018 at 8:16 AM, Falafel said:

 

• I did think it was out of the blue that Cody mentioned he has a daughter - had he ever mentioned her before? He sounded very non-committal about even using the money to provide to her. It was so odd to me and so disjointed with the "character" the show has assigned him.
• Evan and Team Yale have gotten a pretty crap edit. They obviously don't vibe with the other teams and they may not be likeable people in group settings like the race, but is that really such a crime? I notice in reality shows "isn't friends with other contestants" is instantly equated to "villainous asshole you should root against." It kind of drives me batty. I have no problem with Evan or Henry and I think they are probably good, thoughtful, caring people. They do have a very direct manner of talking through things that seems to work for them, though I am sure others could find it off-putting. So what, I say.

I like people who just like to do things on their own too in the race too, and Cody is probably another like that. 

I'd rather have people who have more distinctive traits than being rather bland people who are just photogenic and typical comfortable suburbanites who most of the audience are probably assumed to be.  Those kind of dull people replaced the variety the show had I thought.  But it's better to have people you have to get to know and accept who they are rather than those who are just there in the background doing what you expect.

And I think people sometimes want to latch onto anything someone says if they have a propensity to want to dislike a team.  Jessica is ignorant about some facts, we know that (as does Cody I think).  Cody isn't the most eloquent person you'll meet, that was clear on Big Brother, he doesn't express himself always in a very comfortable way at times, so he may not always find it easy to get his point across well.  I don't think Evan is very self-conscious of how she acts sometimes but she doesn't mean bad either.  But that's all part of the reason why they were cast on reality shows in the first place.

As for Ocean Rescue I think all of them saw it as a competitor to the big prize gone.  People can say it's unfortunate but it was their fault, and they were all happy that it meant an easier leg than normal.

Edited February 18, 2018 by amazingracefan

[PreBabylonia]

On 15/02/2018 at 12:00 PM, blackwing said:

I agree that Henry and Evan have their own dynamic and it seems to work for them.  But I vehemently disagree that they respect each other.  It seems to me that she has very little respect for him.  She always believes she is right and that her course of action is correct.  When he dares to ask questions (who U turned us) or asks for confirmation (are you sure we are going the right way), her response is not that of a loving partner who respects him.  It is the response of a teacher scolding a 5 year old for asking stupid questions and daring to challenge her authority.  

I like seeing smart people do well on the Race too.  I just don't like this particular smart person.  There have been plenty of smart people who have done well on the race without being complete asses to their partners.  Rob and Brennan were lawyers, Nat and Kat were doctors.  Tammy and Victor, Victor was a lawyer.  There have also been smart people who weren't so kind... big bushy beard guy with the sleeve tattoos on the strangers season who claimed he had a 150 IQ and made his partner cry, etc.  Being smart doesn't make you a nice person.  I'd rather see any of the remaining teams (even Jessica and Cody because I think Cody deserves it) win instead of Evan.

From what I remember of Tammy and Victor, he was quite nasty with his sister, very bossy and controlling and dismissing her opinion constantly, until she finally called him on it. I think he actually cried at one point. He was hyper competitive while she was extremely intelligent but overshadowed by her big brother. 

On 15/02/2018 at 12:40 PM, amazingracefan said:

I'm sure Jessica was fed questions about the u-turn and how she felt now, it feels the edit is always prompted to set them up as 'villains', the producers wanted to push the rivalry so that's what you got.  It was a stupid mistake to lose vital documents but it's not the first time it's happened on the race and it does get you eliminated.  It did mean there wasn't really any suspense, you could see team BB not running around knowing they were safe even if 4th.  And the next leg always looked like a non-elimination with 2 legs to go.  Self navigation in Bahrain which was good. 

Jessica wasn't doing a TH though, she was just being nasty while the group was sitting together in the airport. At times she comes across as likeable and fun, like when she is cuddling the kitties, but she has a giant mean streak and I see it here in TAR as well as when she appeared on BB. I sincerely hope they are the next team bounced.

On 15/02/2018 at 7:17 PM, Netfoot said:

Thought FalconCam was cool, and laughed when the greeter's falcon responded to Evan's lengthy soliloquy. But still think I'd prefer Evan's company to Mr. Deehow or Ms. Testicles-Behind-the-Udder! (OMFG!)

Scorpions!  I love to eat, but I'm fairly particular what I eat.  Not sure how well I'd have done with the scorpions, but probably better than the fricasseed frog.  I would have had been better standing there with the scorpions crawling on me, but I think I'd have closed my eyes and made like a statue.  (I was putting on a pair of shorts once, when a scorpion fell out onto the floor, and scuttled away!  Not my favourite critters.)  Those scorpions drew my attention to Jessica's, uh, décolletage.  Looked like she was wearing a whalebone corset or something.  An ill-fitting one  Or uʍop ǝpısdn.  At least I hope so, because if that is her natural shape...

Didn't see the NEL coming, funnily enough... usually do.  Anyway, glad Yale is still with us.  

Evan and Henry's arrival at the amazing mat was hilarious, I haven't seen such a funny sequence before. I wonder if she normally talks that much and we haven't seen it, or if it was relief that they were still in the race. Maybe if she does go on and on normally, Henry finds it easier to dismiss the more objectionable comments coming his way. By the way, who is Mr. Deehow?

Very impressed by your "upsidedown." I have no idea how you did it!

On 16/02/2018 at 6:23 PM, ProfCrash said:

$50,000 for America’s Favorite. Not chump change but he is not rich. I would argue that $100,000 is not rich. Again, not chump change but not all that much for someone in their mid to late 20’s or early 30’s. He has a child to help provide for and many years before he retires. He didn’t make a ton in the military and it sounded like he was barely breaking even with the job that he had. Big Brother sounded like a desperate for money move, I think he actually applied for a different show and ended up on Big Brother. 

I know Sandra continued with her job at the bank after her Survivor wins. She said she invested that money because while it is a lot of cash, it cna go fast when you have kids and/or there is some type of medical emergency. 

I suspsect that most of the folks racing could use the winning money. The Basketball Players and Indy Car are probably the only ones really well off right now.  

Yeah, if you're both unemployed and Cody has to pay child support, I could see the America's Favourite prize wouldn't have gone far. I think they used it to pay for amalgamating their households. I am hoping that his recent proposal doesn't mean that they've won TAR though!

I don't think Indy Car are that well off. They seemed very happy that two of their prizes were money $5K and $7.5 each, I believe.

[Netfoot]

17 minutes ago, PreBabylonia said:

By the way, who is Mr. Deehow?

Cody.  Who read the clue and said "We have to go to the Dee-how Shipyard!"  

[Kel Varnsen]

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I have no problem believing it. I have had friends lose their passports in France and they were able to get replacements in under 24 hours. The hardest part was getting copies of birth cerificates for their kids. They had to have a friend break into their house to find them and then copy them and email them the images.

If you have copies of the necessary paperwork it is not that hard to get a temporary replacement, which is what Lucas has. It would only be good for a short period of time and would probably get extra scrutiny at customs, which would cost them time on the race. I suspect that the Amazing Race staff has cpies of everything that they would need, like photocopies of passports, birth certificates and the like. 

They were a good 12 hours behind, possibly more then that. I am more curious if they had to pay the passport fee using the race money or  if the Race handled it. I suspect that race handled it knowing that there was no way for them to acach up.

Any idea how much a same day passport would cost? Especially when printed at a consulate outside of the US. I mean just a regular Canadian passport where you wait awhile to get it costs minimum $120. Prices go up from there depending on how much faster you want it. Team Big Brother said they only had 60 bucks so I can't imagine the lifeguards having much more. Also would the temporary passport have all the attached visas and everything else you would need to continue on the race? Like if they were going to go to China on the next leg, for the most part it is not like you can just show up with your passport and be let in the country.  Or would one of those passports be the kind of thing where you would use it to get back to the US?

[rr2911]

On ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 6:00 PM, bioprof said:

Whatever happened to each team member needs to do an equal number of roadblocks? 

For that matter, whatever happened to roadblocks?????  For the conspiracy guys, a way to insure BB goes further than it could if Jessica actually had to pull her own weight?

Seems that in this season, there are much fewer roadblocks.......all detours instead.....

I've seen AR for only 4 seasons but still not knowing the difference between ROADBLOCKS and DETOURS. What is the difference?

Also, I remember that the other seasons one member of the team had to perform a task and then on the next one, the other member performed. The BB team, I haven't seen Jessica perform any.

[preeya]

34 minutes ago, rr2911 said:

I've seen AR for only 4 seasons but still not knowing the difference between ROADBLOCKS and DETOURS. What is the difference?

Also, I remember that the other seasons one member of the team had to perform a task and then on the next one, the other member performed. The BB team, I haven't seen Jessica perform any.

 

There have been 7 thus far and all teams are divided 4/3.

[Netfoot]

44 minutes ago, rr2911 said:

I've seen AR for only 4 seasons but still not knowing the difference between ROADBLOCKS and DETOURS. What is the difference?

• Detour: A choice of two tasks. Teams are free to choose either task or swap tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is generally one Detour present on each leg of the race.
• Roadblock: A task only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue about the task before fully revealing the details of the task. Later editions of the program have limits on the number of Roadblocks one team member can perform, that both team members perform the same amount. There is generally one Roadblock present on each leg of the race.
   

[ProfCrash]

1 hour ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Any idea how much a same day passport would cost? Especially when printed at a consulate outside of the US. I mean just a regular Canadian passport where you wait awhile to get it costs minimum $120. Prices go up from there depending on how much faster you want it. Team Big Brother said they only had 60 bucks so I can't imagine the lifeguards having much more. Also would the temporary passport have all the attached visas and everything else you would need to continue on the race? Like if they were going to go to China on the next leg, for the most part it is not like you can just show up with your passport and be let in the country.  Or would one of those passports be the kind of thing where you would use it to get back to the US?

No idea about the cost which is why I asked if they had to pay for it or if the show picked up the cost. My guess, and this really is pure speculation, the show paid for the replacement and was able to get the visa to ocntinue to the next country only so that they could be eleminated there. 

I don’t know all the visa rules but I know that for many countries you buy a tourist visa when you enter the country. I am not sure what countries those are and if the Amazing race requires a different visa. I suspect that it does but that they were able to get permission for the team only because they had done all the advance work and would have had the documentation. After that, all they needed to worry about was the visa for whatever country they are using for sequester. 

It did seem like he had a passport with a few pages that woould allow you to continue to travel for a while before your permenant passport came. 

47 minutes ago, rr2911 said:

Also, I remember that the other seasons one member of the team had to perform a task and then on the next one, the other member performed. The BB team, I haven't seen Jessica perform any.

Off the top of my head, Jessica completed the rope ladder climb and the gnome repel roadblock. I am sure that she has completed something else as well. She was useless with the tasks this week but she has pulled her weight plenty of other times. She and Cody make a good team. 

[lexington11]

3 hours ago, PreBabylonia said:

From what I remember of Tammy and Victor, he was quite nasty with his sister, very bossy and controlling and dismissing her opinion constantly, until she finally called him on it. I think he actually cried at one point. He was hyper competitive while she was extremely intelligent but overshadowed by her big brother. 

 

I remember that as well. Every time she wanted to contribute, he always had something very snarky to say, and felt that because he was the older sibling, he knew all. Sort of reminds me of Henry & Evan, where she's constantly calling his opinion into question. As to whether Evan's actions are due to age, debate training, or personality, I really haven't seen enough of her to make that call. And another pairing I can think of where both partners are fairly intelligent, yet didn't feel the need for one to constantly put the other one down were Brendon & Rachel. And yes, I know Rachel may not seem like brain trust material on the surface, but what initially did draw her and Brendon together were that they were both science majors in college.

[green]

2 hours ago, rr2911 said:

I've seen AR for only 4 seasons but still not knowing the difference between ROADBLOCKS and DETOURS. What is the difference?

Also, I remember that the other seasons one member of the team had to perform a task and then on the next one, the other member performed. The BB team, I haven't seen Jessica perform any.

 

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

• Detour: A choice of two tasks. Teams are free to choose either task or swap tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is generally one Detour present on each leg of the race.
• Roadblock: A task only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue about the task before fully revealing the details of the task. Later editions of the program have limits on the number of Roadblocks one team member can perform, that both team members perform the same amount. There is generally one Roadblock present on each leg of the race.
   

Excellent definition by Netfoot.  Just want to add about your last sentence that they do NOT have to alternate Roadblocks from leg to leg.  They just have to basically have it even out at the end.  There have been times someone has done say three in row but then the other partner has to step up and close the Roadblock gap before the finale ... if they get that far.

Teams that just don't automatically alternate Roadblocks do so because they try and guess from the short summary of the task what the task may be about so they can try and choose the best member for that task.  Like couples often times try to ensure the male does the heavy hauling lugging tasks.  Or the person with the big fear of heights doesn't get the bungee jump one.

In the first 5 seasons there was no rule regards how many Roadblocks one partner could do compared to the other but that season skewed the Roadblocks among most of the "couples" teams very very heavily in favor of the male member who chose to do the Roadblocks time after time. There was push back from fans about it and the producers changed the rule at that point to what it is today.  The Roadblocks either come out even (if the team survives the whole Race) or within one of each other if the number of Roadblocks turns out to be an odd number that Race.

Have to add least you get a negative view of Season 5 that it actually is one of the very VERY best Seasons of all time with one of the most entertaining casts of all time.  The Roadblock unbalance stuff was the only real negative for me that season.

Edited February 19, 2018 by green

[Swingdancefan]

On 2/15/2018 at 8:30 AM, Charlesman said:

really sick of Yale, in a race with indy car drivers and x games athletes, continuing to bring up "debate team" as the highest level of competition. Get over it

Spoken like someone who hasn't experienced a speech and debate tournament. Two weeks ago, we started at 3 pm Thursday, had four debate rounds, plus two hours of "just for fun" debate, started at 7 the next morning with 7 hours of Congress, then another round of debate and two of speech events,  back at it on Saturday morning at 8 for four more rounds of debate and six of speech. Awards started at 11 pm. Not only do you need all the speaking and analysis skills, some of the speech events can be very physical, and you're running all over campus to get to your various competition rooms. One of my team members was all-conference center on the football team and is an Academic All-American in speech and debate; another was cross country captain. They'll both tell you that speech is harder.

[SVNBob]

3 hours ago, rr2911 said:

I've seen AR for only 4 seasons but still not knowing the difference between ROADBLOCKS and DETOURS. What is the difference?

 

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

• Detour: A choice of two tasks...

Each with their own pros and cons.  (So glad I got that shirt back in the day...)

@rr2911, If you've only seen recent seasons, go back and binge watch at least one of the first few, (available on Hulu).  Phil's narration in those seasons will help crystallize the definitions and difference in your mind.

[FinnishViewer]

Have they changed the amount of money the racers have available to them at some point? It seems in these later seasons money don't seem to play much of a role any more.

[amazingracefan]

6 hours ago, PreBabylonia said:

Jessica wasn't doing a TH though, she was just being nasty while the group was sitting together in the airport. At times she comes across as likeable and fun, like when she is cuddling the kitties, but she has a giant mean streak and I see it here in TAR as well as when she appeared on BB. I sincerely hope they are the next team bounced.

TH?  You mean confessional?  They can still be asked questions at any point by the cameraman or whoever.  I think she and everyone else knows she has a role as being competitive and to have rivalries on the race.  The fact they came from Big Brother indicated the role and I've no doubt made them a target as well (though that hasn't been emphasized in the edit).  She isn't perfect, far from it, but on decent reality shows you have to accept some faults of people rather than just putting them into a cliched categories like mean girl.  I think they would have got a better edit if they had won, so I don't see them winning.

[Netfoot]

7 hours ago, green said:

Excellent definition by Netfoot.

Cut'n'pasted from Wikipedia.  (Should have attributed, I guess...)

[ByaNose]

I was listening to RHAP and they gave their guesses for the racer finishes. Rob, Jessica Leise & Mike Bloom say the Team Indy Drivers are coming in 4th. Rob & Mike Bloom have Team Extreme coming in 1st and Jessica has Team Yale coming in 1st. I'm okay with any of teams winning except Team Big Brother. I don't totally hate them but I don't want them winning either. LOL!!!

[djlynch]

I kind of wonder if the reason we didn't see a detour in Bahrain is that they made a last minute change to where teams did both of the tasks because it felt like they ended up doing a lot more than usual for a single leg, even this late in the face, (and apparently there was even another one that was cut), but I can't figure out which two would make sense together. Camel milk or that spice thing? Camels or pots?

[Bryce Lynch]

On 2/18/2018 at 1:32 AM, Ducky said:

The 34>134 was Kristi and Jen- they were puzzled because their height was waaay off.  Henry and Evan's was 111cm >114cm so they were off by 3.

 

Good two episodes...

1.  Not sorry to see Luke and Brittney but sorry about the way they went out.  I believe this is the third...no fourth time a team has been eliminated because of  a lost passport.  After this I hope future TAR racers figure out a way to GLUE their passports to their bodies!

2.  Yes Jessica you're useless, no Jessica 99% of the time camels do not have both udders AND testicles (wonder if there are intersex camels...hmm). Yes that was a cold thing to say about karma regarding B&L.  No Cody and Jessica I do not like the "well we lost BB so we're here for redemption!".  Drives me crazy when teams- notably from TAR and Survivor- do that.

3.  I like Evan and Henry, I don't see them as some of y'all are.  They seem to work well together.  They hardly ever have screaming matches or even get upset about much- especially the U-Turn while Brittney/Luke and I think Jessica/Cody did rant more about it. I don't think Evan treats Henry poorly... if that were the case I think I'd be seeing Henry a little more uptight and tense than he is.

4.  Extreme- Kristi/Jen- better this ep though the whole back and forth about the detour was grating... THEN they ended up changing detours ANYWAY (and turns out benefited them)...

5. Indy.. they're okay- competent when they put their minds to it.

I'd like to see Yale, Skiers and Indy in final 3.  So of course.. BBers will be in it :P.

Maybe someone should come up with a fanny pack with some sort of retractable passport leash inside.  

Jessica's comments about the camel were mind boggling.  But, in general, she doesn't bother me too much.  If you are going to be useless, it is at least good to be self aware about your uselessness.  

I liked Evan and Henry until Evan (Evan is the woman, right? :-) ) started talking down to Henry so much.  #FreeHenry!  It was about the same time the awful nose ring showed up.  Could there be a connection? :)

[ByaNose]

30 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Maybe someone should come up with a fanny pack with some sort of retractable passport leash inside.  

Jessica's comments about the camel were mind boggling.  But, in general, she doesn't bother me too much.  If you are going to be useless, it is at least good to be self aware about your uselessness.  

I liked Evan and Henry until Evan (Evan is the woman, right? :-) ) started talking down to Henry so much.  #FreeHenry!  It was about the same time the awful nose ring showed up.  Could there be a connection? :)

The nose ring is not a good look for her. Actually, it's not a good look for anyone but especially her. That said, they don't bug me too much. I just think it's funny that they are dating. They seem like they are so in the friends zone. They don't have to be all over each other with PDA but even their kisses on the cheeks seem so secondary. IMO! I could see them winning since the edit is showing the 3 pairs against them. It should be interesting to see if they are able to break the Top 3 gang.

[hendersonrocks]

I found this explanation helpful in understanding the dynamics between Henry and Evan and the other teams, from Jen's blog post on this episode:

Quote

 

Here’s the deal, folks. Any amount of “liking Yale less than other teams” has nothing to do with them attending an Ivy league school. As a matter of fact, it was one of the first things we talked about. My late father was a computer science professor at Yale for 32 years. As it turns out, Henry’s mom was a computer science major at Yale and knew my father. Henry and I pretty quickly connected over this, but as soon as we did, it seemed like Evan pulled back.

There was a very cerebral quality to Evan’s racing that tended to rub us the wrong way. I only know Evan in the context of this race, so I don’t know if this is how she is in real life. Everything was a strategic calculation for her, but somehow the fact that there were emotional beings executing the racing, got lost in the shuffle. When they tried to insert themselves into social play later on in the race it was too late. This wasn’t bullying, this wasn’t casting them out because they’re different, this was a race.

Do we think they’re a strong team? No doubt. Do they run the race differently than us? Yes. Do we feel more connected and aligned with some other people in the race? Absolutely. But we don’t hate Yale. And please, can we stop with “the nerds vs. the jocks” narrative? It has nothing to do with it.

 

She also shares a little bit about the task in Bahrain that was scrubbed from the episode due to Ocean Spray's passport shenanigans. 

[green]

14 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

I found this explanation helpful in understanding the dynamics between Henry and Evan and the other teams, from Jen's blog post on this episode:

She also shares a little bit about the task in Bahrain that was scrubbed from the episode due to Ocean Spray's passport shenanigans. 

Thanks for the quote from the blog.  Figured it was something like that and I hate the nerds vs jocks assumptions people always make too.

Can you summarize what the task in Bahrain that was scrubbed was maybe?