TAR15: The finale
Dec. 30th, 2009 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsMight as well get this over with... The TAR15 finale, in which we hit Vegas, baby!
1. For the finale, they're heading to Vegas and getting their next clue from an Elvis impersonator at Graceland wedding chapel. But first, we see Brian/Ericka thinking that the others will be surprised to see them in the finals instead of the Globetrotters. Sure enough, we then see Megan/Cheyne sort of expecting to see the Globetrotters (although they do admit they don't know), and then being a bit surprised when B/E show up instead.
2. Vegas, baby! Of course, we're introduced to the town with a series of fast cut shots of its famous casinos, before showing the racers frantically running through the airport to catch cabs. B/E get a cab first and hope for their lead to last. Which it doesn't, since M/C quickly overtake B/E's cab. I should note that one of the cabs has an ad for a Wayne Newton show. This will be important later.
3. M/C brag about having the best cabbie in Vegas... not that it matters at this point, since they all get to Graceland at pretty much the same time and get to listen to "Elvis" singing "Amazing Grace" (that's 2 G's, people) before getting their envelopes. We hear Ericka say "Enjoy marriage, but don't race each other" Whatever that means :-)
4. Next stop, Mandalay Bay, with a Roadblock that doesn't involve remembering previous legs o_O Instead, it's about rappelling down the side of the hotel, face first to boot. B/E get there first, and we get to see Ericka climbing down and talking about changing common perceptions on what Miss America would or wouldn't do. I think she's already proven that enough... We also get to see brothers Sam/Dan saying "Tom Cruise, step aside" while climbing down :-)
5. Next stop, the Mirage, and backstage at the Beatles-inspired Cirque du Soleil show Love, introduced with clips from the show set to Help. Task is for one contestant to propel his/her bungee-corded partner up 20 feet in the air to grab a bouquet. If you think that sounds hard, Ericka shows how hard it really is, and she ends up swapping with Brian twice. Her problem is that she's a bit short, and the other teams getting their bouquets first isn't exactly helping her morale, either.
6. Next clue: "What is the most famous hotel in Monaco?" M/C's cabbie thinks it's the Venetian, and we see Sam/Dan's cabbie following M/C's, with brothers even pronouncing Monaco as moNAco ;-) Eventually, the brothers make a cellphone call and get the right answer: The Monte Carlo. M/C get to the Venetian, and they end up asking quite a few people before they're convinced that it's the Monte Carlo. Ericka gets her bouquet with a little help from her fiancee', and he figures out the clue straight away.
7. Monte Carlo, and their next task is to count $1m in poker chips. Basically, everyone's strategy is to grab the most expensive chips first, and then move on downwards in value. We see S/D fighting over how to count chips. Eventually, M/C get it right on the first try, while the others aren't so lucky. S/D follow after a recount or two, and we'll catch up with B/E later.
8. Next stop, Suite 88 of the MGM Grand, where Mr. Las Vegas, AKA Wayne Newton, is playing piano and waiting to redirect racers to the finish line, which is at his house. We see M/C get there first, and then we see S/D blanking on Mr. Las Vegas' name, prompting Wayne to fill them in :-)
9. Wayne's house is at Casa de Shenandoah, and it's not as much "house" as a whole 50-acre ranch. With B/E's bungee and poker chip troubles (which according to a later interview, were probably also the dealer's fault), we have a tightly-edited two-horse race between M/C and S/D... and it's M/C who win the leg and the $1m. After we see S/D finish 2nd and the bigger brother talking about looking up to his younger brother, we see B/E for the first time since the poker chip counting and hear Ericka talking about how this is an opportunity for her family to see how Brian really is like. Between all that editing, I dunno... We close out with M/C talking about winning the $1m, adding of course that the experience was more valuable. Well, of course they'd say that :-)
1. For the finale, they're heading to Vegas and getting their next clue from an Elvis impersonator at Graceland wedding chapel. But first, we see Brian/Ericka thinking that the others will be surprised to see them in the finals instead of the Globetrotters. Sure enough, we then see Megan/Cheyne sort of expecting to see the Globetrotters (although they do admit they don't know), and then being a bit surprised when B/E show up instead.
2. Vegas, baby! Of course, we're introduced to the town with a series of fast cut shots of its famous casinos, before showing the racers frantically running through the airport to catch cabs. B/E get a cab first and hope for their lead to last. Which it doesn't, since M/C quickly overtake B/E's cab. I should note that one of the cabs has an ad for a Wayne Newton show. This will be important later.
3. M/C brag about having the best cabbie in Vegas... not that it matters at this point, since they all get to Graceland at pretty much the same time and get to listen to "Elvis" singing "Amazing Grace" (that's 2 G's, people) before getting their envelopes. We hear Ericka say "Enjoy marriage, but don't race each other" Whatever that means :-)
4. Next stop, Mandalay Bay, with a Roadblock that doesn't involve remembering previous legs o_O Instead, it's about rappelling down the side of the hotel, face first to boot. B/E get there first, and we get to see Ericka climbing down and talking about changing common perceptions on what Miss America would or wouldn't do. I think she's already proven that enough... We also get to see brothers Sam/Dan saying "Tom Cruise, step aside" while climbing down :-)
5. Next stop, the Mirage, and backstage at the Beatles-inspired Cirque du Soleil show Love, introduced with clips from the show set to Help. Task is for one contestant to propel his/her bungee-corded partner up 20 feet in the air to grab a bouquet. If you think that sounds hard, Ericka shows how hard it really is, and she ends up swapping with Brian twice. Her problem is that she's a bit short, and the other teams getting their bouquets first isn't exactly helping her morale, either.
6. Next clue: "What is the most famous hotel in Monaco?" M/C's cabbie thinks it's the Venetian, and we see Sam/Dan's cabbie following M/C's, with brothers even pronouncing Monaco as moNAco ;-) Eventually, the brothers make a cellphone call and get the right answer: The Monte Carlo. M/C get to the Venetian, and they end up asking quite a few people before they're convinced that it's the Monte Carlo. Ericka gets her bouquet with a little help from her fiancee', and he figures out the clue straight away.
7. Monte Carlo, and their next task is to count $1m in poker chips. Basically, everyone's strategy is to grab the most expensive chips first, and then move on downwards in value. We see S/D fighting over how to count chips. Eventually, M/C get it right on the first try, while the others aren't so lucky. S/D follow after a recount or two, and we'll catch up with B/E later.
8. Next stop, Suite 88 of the MGM Grand, where Mr. Las Vegas, AKA Wayne Newton, is playing piano and waiting to redirect racers to the finish line, which is at his house. We see M/C get there first, and then we see S/D blanking on Mr. Las Vegas' name, prompting Wayne to fill them in :-)
9. Wayne's house is at Casa de Shenandoah, and it's not as much "house" as a whole 50-acre ranch. With B/E's bungee and poker chip troubles (which according to a later interview, were probably also the dealer's fault), we have a tightly-edited two-horse race between M/C and S/D... and it's M/C who win the leg and the $1m. After we see S/D finish 2nd and the bigger brother talking about looking up to his younger brother, we see B/E for the first time since the poker chip counting and hear Ericka talking about how this is an opportunity for her family to see how Brian really is like. Between all that editing, I dunno... We close out with M/C talking about winning the $1m, adding of course that the experience was more valuable. Well, of course they'd say that :-)
