The Amazing Race, season 27: Legs 1 to 4
Oct. 24th, 2015 11:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsLegs 1-2:
1. Only got to see a few minutes of the actual premiere due to some circumstances, so... Justin/Diana ("Team Green"/superfans) got tix for a flight arriving in Rio de Janeiro half an hour ahead of everyone else at a starting line waterbiking challenge, but that advantage evaporated quickly as a result of bad weather at a hang gliding Fast Forward... However, two teams' struggles at a puzzle Detour (with the other half involving playing beach "footvolley") allowed Team Green back in, with a team of TMZ reporters (!) the first team to be eliminated, while Josh/Tanner, AKA Team Texas, won themselves an Express Pass (with a twist, which we'll explain later) All that, plus new team caption graphics :-)
2. So now that we've caught up, Team Green gets to know some of the other teams before everyone gets on the same night flight to Buenos Aires, with homeless dancers (!) Ernest/Jin making a viral-style dance clip before boarding :-) They're heading to the church where Pope Francis was baptized, and of course Google is your friend... Since the church isn't open until early morning, they're being queued in order of arrival, and the clue pick up at the church is played for respect :-)
3. First task: Detour between picking up cardboard from bins around a given area of the city (some have observed that some of that cardboard may have been planted), and transporting statue pieces to a park and reassembling them. Latter is done by just one team, news reporters Kelsey/Joey, who claim that their required attention to detail is helping them do it well :-) Meanwhile, short (as in Charla-like) cousins Alex/Adam enjoy (briefly) shutting each other in the bins :-D
4. Next stop, a dance studio... Who wants to get sideways? It's a tango Roadblock with a twist: They have to perform some of the dance on the wall using rope harnesses :-) Tanner is so stiff on the dance, Justin quips that even he would have done better than him :-D
5. Pit stop at the "Cathedral of Polo" stadium, where Team Green get themselves a vacation to Morocco, and Team Texas pulls a hamstring while trying to over while overtaking Denise/James Earl (Team Alabama/mom-son) in a footrace... Meanwhile, much time is spent on Ernest/Jin and Jazmine/Danielle's (track stars) struggle to get cabs to the pitstop, with one of the track stars running barefoot (!) The actual last place team, though, are the cousins, and not surprisingly, they're disappointed at their short (heh) run :-/
Leg 3:
1. It's a domestic leg, beginning with a bus ride to San Antonio de Areco, during which Team Texas strike a deal with the reporters to give them the Express Pass after they've used it (this year's Express Pass twist) in exchange for U-Turning Team Green... Meanwhile the dancers are last to leave the pitstop, and are also last to get on a bus...
2. First stop is a Roadblock devoted to the art of grilling in front of an open fire (Ooh!) Diana quips to Justin, regarding the wording in the clue: "I'm smoking hot, but you're doing it" :-) This requires teams to skewer and tie up their lambs and beef ribs properly, and the requirements are pretty detailed, such as how skewers are inserted or the way the bones face... During the task, there's a quip about how Americans usually do their BBQing on a grill, and Denise notes loudly that James has his rack of ribs upside down or something, and she soon realizes they'll probably be penalized for this :-/
3. Next clue pick-up: a mini festival in the main town, for a Detour between dressing up a life-size horse figure with a polo outfit and dragging it to the clue pickup, and dusting off a carriage, then dragging it to a place to pick up the horses, then riding it to the same clue pickup. Both require teams to dress appropriately for the task and (more importantly) carry either a polo mallet or buggy whip to the task... Meanwhile, Ernest/Jin get grilling, and they're quick to admit they're not meat smokers...
4. Polo poses no issues (other than the usual attention to detail), but Cindy/Rick ("Chac Attack", married dentist and doctor) only realize they've forgotten the whip for the carriage when they get to the first part of the task (Rick: "Shoot... Fudge...") and have to go get it first, while cheerleaders Tiffany/Krista get to the horse pick up before realizing they forgot theirs at the carriage pick up after dusting off the carriage and end up having to go back and get it :-/ Not much to write about the polo side, except for Team Green quipping about leading their fake horse to water and making it drink :-)
5. Pit stop is at a gaucho museum, and in spite of the pulled hamstring, Team Texas edges out Team Green for first (and a trip to Cambodia), Team Alabama drops from 5th to 6th via Roadblock penalty, and the homeless dancers are eliminated, but not before getting to dance with some local dancers at the pitstop :-) Oh, and Phil reveals that next week will have a double U-Turn :-)
Leg 4:
1. After a brief interlude with Team Texas making their deal with the reporters to U-Turn Team Green (during which one of Team Texas spits in his hand after making the deal, which is funny considering what happens next), this week's destination takes in the very first destination the show ever went to way back in 2001: Victoria Falls on the Zambia and Zimbabwe border :-) (Not that the show ever mentions that little bit of history, even with a super fan on the cast :-/) But first, contestants get to receive a traditional blessing from local villagers, which involves a woman drinking some water and then spitting it at the contestants' faces :-D
2. The Roadblock, "Who wants to rise above the Smoke That Thunders?" serves entirely to show off the waterfall scenery in high definition, while contestants look for a big red-yellow flag hung from a bridge spanning the falls from a motorized glider :-) Because Team Texas has its Express Pass and they want to use it this leg AND one of them is afraid of heights, they end up using it on this task which, as we'll see later, will turn out to be a bad idea, only a step up from Team Oy Vey's non-use of it a few seasons back... Meanwhile, the track stars manage to wander into the wrong country looking for the bridge flag on the ground, and have to backtrack :-/
3. Eventually everyone gets their clues, and here's the reason why Team Texas's Express Pass use was an utter wash: their next stop is a backpackers' lodge where, instead of their expected Detour, groups of teams get staggered into 10 minute departure intervals for the next morning :-/ The next morning, everyone gets a clue for the Detour: croquet or co-op. Co-op turns out to be the longer task because it involves painting a big wooden giraffe toy in several layers and waiting for each layer to dry before applying the next one :-/ Team Texas, Team Green and the news reporters are all playing croquet at a fancy hotel, and Green ends up finishing first... Not good for Texas' little plan :-/
4. Pitstop (and the U-Turn) is at an orphanage, and Team Green gets another leg win, in the process avoiding getting U-Turned by Texas (they choose not to U-Turn them back, but in a confessional say they'll take such an opportunity later) It appears that teams are also being asked to give their remaining race money to the orphans, a la that leg in Indonesia that eliminated Ethan/Jenna... But they're not actually stopping here for the night, because it's one of those TBC legs, and the show has the perfect place to leave us hanging: The question of who Texas will give their Pass to now :-) Whoever gets it has to use it in the next leg BTW...
Watching the next leg tonight :-)
1. Only got to see a few minutes of the actual premiere due to some circumstances, so... Justin/Diana ("Team Green"/superfans) got tix for a flight arriving in Rio de Janeiro half an hour ahead of everyone else at a starting line waterbiking challenge, but that advantage evaporated quickly as a result of bad weather at a hang gliding Fast Forward... However, two teams' struggles at a puzzle Detour (with the other half involving playing beach "footvolley") allowed Team Green back in, with a team of TMZ reporters (!) the first team to be eliminated, while Josh/Tanner, AKA Team Texas, won themselves an Express Pass (with a twist, which we'll explain later) All that, plus new team caption graphics :-)
2. So now that we've caught up, Team Green gets to know some of the other teams before everyone gets on the same night flight to Buenos Aires, with homeless dancers (!) Ernest/Jin making a viral-style dance clip before boarding :-) They're heading to the church where Pope Francis was baptized, and of course Google is your friend... Since the church isn't open until early morning, they're being queued in order of arrival, and the clue pick up at the church is played for respect :-)
3. First task: Detour between picking up cardboard from bins around a given area of the city (some have observed that some of that cardboard may have been planted), and transporting statue pieces to a park and reassembling them. Latter is done by just one team, news reporters Kelsey/Joey, who claim that their required attention to detail is helping them do it well :-) Meanwhile, short (as in Charla-like) cousins Alex/Adam enjoy (briefly) shutting each other in the bins :-D
4. Next stop, a dance studio... Who wants to get sideways? It's a tango Roadblock with a twist: They have to perform some of the dance on the wall using rope harnesses :-) Tanner is so stiff on the dance, Justin quips that even he would have done better than him :-D
5. Pit stop at the "Cathedral of Polo" stadium, where Team Green get themselves a vacation to Morocco, and Team Texas pulls a hamstring while trying to over while overtaking Denise/James Earl (Team Alabama/mom-son) in a footrace... Meanwhile, much time is spent on Ernest/Jin and Jazmine/Danielle's (track stars) struggle to get cabs to the pitstop, with one of the track stars running barefoot (!) The actual last place team, though, are the cousins, and not surprisingly, they're disappointed at their short (heh) run :-/
Leg 3:
1. It's a domestic leg, beginning with a bus ride to San Antonio de Areco, during which Team Texas strike a deal with the reporters to give them the Express Pass after they've used it (this year's Express Pass twist) in exchange for U-Turning Team Green... Meanwhile the dancers are last to leave the pitstop, and are also last to get on a bus...
2. First stop is a Roadblock devoted to the art of grilling in front of an open fire (Ooh!) Diana quips to Justin, regarding the wording in the clue: "I'm smoking hot, but you're doing it" :-) This requires teams to skewer and tie up their lambs and beef ribs properly, and the requirements are pretty detailed, such as how skewers are inserted or the way the bones face... During the task, there's a quip about how Americans usually do their BBQing on a grill, and Denise notes loudly that James has his rack of ribs upside down or something, and she soon realizes they'll probably be penalized for this :-/
3. Next clue pick-up: a mini festival in the main town, for a Detour between dressing up a life-size horse figure with a polo outfit and dragging it to the clue pickup, and dusting off a carriage, then dragging it to a place to pick up the horses, then riding it to the same clue pickup. Both require teams to dress appropriately for the task and (more importantly) carry either a polo mallet or buggy whip to the task... Meanwhile, Ernest/Jin get grilling, and they're quick to admit they're not meat smokers...
4. Polo poses no issues (other than the usual attention to detail), but Cindy/Rick ("Chac Attack", married dentist and doctor) only realize they've forgotten the whip for the carriage when they get to the first part of the task (Rick: "Shoot... Fudge...") and have to go get it first, while cheerleaders Tiffany/Krista get to the horse pick up before realizing they forgot theirs at the carriage pick up after dusting off the carriage and end up having to go back and get it :-/ Not much to write about the polo side, except for Team Green quipping about leading their fake horse to water and making it drink :-)
5. Pit stop is at a gaucho museum, and in spite of the pulled hamstring, Team Texas edges out Team Green for first (and a trip to Cambodia), Team Alabama drops from 5th to 6th via Roadblock penalty, and the homeless dancers are eliminated, but not before getting to dance with some local dancers at the pitstop :-) Oh, and Phil reveals that next week will have a double U-Turn :-)
Leg 4:
1. After a brief interlude with Team Texas making their deal with the reporters to U-Turn Team Green (during which one of Team Texas spits in his hand after making the deal, which is funny considering what happens next), this week's destination takes in the very first destination the show ever went to way back in 2001: Victoria Falls on the Zambia and Zimbabwe border :-) (Not that the show ever mentions that little bit of history, even with a super fan on the cast :-/) But first, contestants get to receive a traditional blessing from local villagers, which involves a woman drinking some water and then spitting it at the contestants' faces :-D
2. The Roadblock, "Who wants to rise above the Smoke That Thunders?" serves entirely to show off the waterfall scenery in high definition, while contestants look for a big red-yellow flag hung from a bridge spanning the falls from a motorized glider :-) Because Team Texas has its Express Pass and they want to use it this leg AND one of them is afraid of heights, they end up using it on this task which, as we'll see later, will turn out to be a bad idea, only a step up from Team Oy Vey's non-use of it a few seasons back... Meanwhile, the track stars manage to wander into the wrong country looking for the bridge flag on the ground, and have to backtrack :-/
3. Eventually everyone gets their clues, and here's the reason why Team Texas's Express Pass use was an utter wash: their next stop is a backpackers' lodge where, instead of their expected Detour, groups of teams get staggered into 10 minute departure intervals for the next morning :-/ The next morning, everyone gets a clue for the Detour: croquet or co-op. Co-op turns out to be the longer task because it involves painting a big wooden giraffe toy in several layers and waiting for each layer to dry before applying the next one :-/ Team Texas, Team Green and the news reporters are all playing croquet at a fancy hotel, and Green ends up finishing first... Not good for Texas' little plan :-/
4. Pitstop (and the U-Turn) is at an orphanage, and Team Green gets another leg win, in the process avoiding getting U-Turned by Texas (they choose not to U-Turn them back, but in a confessional say they'll take such an opportunity later) It appears that teams are also being asked to give their remaining race money to the orphans, a la that leg in Indonesia that eliminated Ethan/Jenna... But they're not actually stopping here for the night, because it's one of those TBC legs, and the show has the perfect place to leave us hanging: The question of who Texas will give their Pass to now :-) Whoever gets it has to use it in the next leg BTW...
Watching the next leg tonight :-)
