TAR US and Asia: Eps 11 and 12
Dec. 25th, 2010 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsFinishing what I started...
Asia
Ep 11:
This episode is a recap episode showing the highlights of the race so far, with a couple new scenes here and there. So here's the new stuff:
1. Michelle/Claire have trouble finding their way around during the 2nd Malaysia leg, getting a bit snippy about it.
2. Jess/Lani beg for money, and spend it on a shopping spree :-D We later see them shopping in Brisbane (buying shirts that say "Amazing" :-)), and boasting that they shopped on almost every leg. This of course bites them back later when they can only afford to hire a cabbie for half of the Korean leg, where everyone else does it for the whole leg.
3. Turns out the Richards had trouble with the cops on both Sri Lanka legs, although the first time they were only looking for directions to the pitstop.
4. The Richards trying to convince their bus driver to leave early in the Phillipines leg, even slightly breaking the fourth wall by saying that they've got it on tape :-)
5. The teams have problems driving the caravans in NZ. We see the Richards knocking over a sign at a gas station a couple times. We also see Michelle/Claire cutting off Jess/Lani doing a U-turn (the driving kind, not the TAR kind ;-) ) in the next leg.
6. Not a new scene per se as it was already shown in the actual episode, but might as well point it out here since I was only reminded of it during the recap: During the 2nd half of the Austrlia leg between the pistols and Dreamworld, there's a Roadblock involving racing a car around a circuit in a given time. The recap shows Lani absolutely flooring it, while one of the Richards is "driving like grandpa" (more or less the other guy's words) :-D
Finale:
1. Everyone gets three different flights to Singapore: Natasha/Hussein get in at midnight, Richards get in at 4am, and Michelle/Claire (despite doing some haggling with Singapore Airlines no less) end up getting a 10:35am landing. First stop is a clue pick up at a dragon on a bridge, sending them to a seafood restuarant... which doesn't open until 10am.
2. While they're waiting for the restaurant to open, we see the Richards jokingly pointing at a plane in the sky saying "That's Michelle/Claire" :-D The task is to extract 1 kilo (2.2 lb) of chili crab, and we see the Richards quip that your hands don't feel anything after you burn them on hot crab :-D
3. Next is a Detour between adding numbers while riding an extreme bungee or surfing for a total combined time of 2:00. The Richards do sums and it takes them two attempts to get it, while Natasha/Hussein fall over and over and over :-D
4. Next clue is to perform a handcuff escape trick at some theater. While the Richards and Natasha/Hussein take turns, Michelle/Claire have just landed and take their time cracking crabs and wiping his hands on the tablecloth after finishing :-D
5. Next stop, one of 4 Caltex gas stations for a limo ride to the Marina Bay Sands hotel, for a Tyrolean Zipline walking Roadblock at 55 stories height :-O This effectively decides the race, as Hussein ends up bailing from the Roadblock (with memories of falling off a similar line in Sri Lanka). Natasha (daughter) chews out Hussein (father) for not trying... you'd think the roles would be reversed :-\ Hussein reluctantly does try a bit, but ultimately decides to take the 4 hour penalty anyway. Michelle/Claire do much better at surfing than Natasha/Hussein, especially Michelle.
6. The next task is a race memory task at the hotel's swimming pool: place swimming hoops of the color corresponding to the right answer to the given questions, like which pit stop had a drummer, who was eliminated 5th, what the rice war festival in Indonesia was called etc. Meanwhile, Michelle/Claire overtake the penalized Natasha/Hussein at the Tyrolian Zipline.
7. It comes down to the swimming pool between the Richards and Michelle/Claire. Given their head-start though, Richards finish first and although they quip that they'd probably jump right off the roof to head to the pitstop :-O, it turns out to be at the observation deck, where they take the win and $100,000, with Michelle/Claire in 2nd and Natasha/Hussein 3rd.
8. It should be noted that on the re-broadcast I caught, AXN ran a station ID featuring the Richards' win... well before it had been shown in the re-broadcast :-P Granted, the episode had already been aired the previous night, but still...
America
Ep 11:
1. Next destination is Seoul, South Korea, to drive to some big red bridge on some river. We see Brooke/Claire (Team Melon) completely skip over the names, before making their reservation for a 12:25am flight at a hotel, and sipping coffee (in those track clothes of theirs) while they wait :-) Nat/Kat (doctors) and Jill/Thomas (dating) make their reservations for the same flight at the airport. We see Nat/Kat have some random guy buy them a guidebook (even writing 13-6-10 on the cover, thus giving confirmation for the datehounds out there ;-)). Nick/Vicki (also dating) are conspicuously missing their pit-stop departure time, and because of their 6 hour penalty from last leg, they end up getting a 9:30am flight :-) (It's been suspected that they didn't even leave the pitstop before the other teams' flight departure.)
2. Big red bridge, and everyone rides a raft and then a humvee to Camp Casey. For some reason, Team Melon say "Kelly Clarkson" while rafting (apparently, it's a bit of an obscure reference) and they're all "This is a regular day for us" while riding on the humvees :-D Camp Casey has a Roadblock involving finding a matching headband amongst a bunch of soldiers practicing taekwondo. The matching soldier then kicks a board to reveal the next clue. Claire does a pretend kick on what's left of their board :-D while Nat/Kat's soldier actually does a backflip kick :-O (There's also Nick/Vicki's Speed Bump there, but we'll get to it later.)
3. Next stop, the Seoul World Cup stadium for a clue pick-up: a Detour between skating a relay and carrying jars of ginseng. Everyone chooses skating. The clue also says that teams have to walk or take the subway to either Detour choice. We see Team Melon miss that little detail and take a cab (apparently while arguing which Detour to pick), and this will be important later. Skating is an absolute laugh riot, with some of the racers practically walking in their skates :-D Nat/Kat make a comment about channeling their inner Apollo Ohno :-)
4. Next clue pick-up is a riverside park under a statue of a plane, which is for the pit stop at some palace. Team Melon comes in first but gets a 30 minute penalty for taking a cab to the Detour, and Jill/Thomas get first place (along with an Argentina trip), with Nat/Kat coming in 3rd. Nick/Vicki are a total non-factor in the leg, especially after getting lost quite a few times on their way to the big red bridge :-) We see them doing their Speed Bump to clean a tank, before they're shown finally getting eliminated. Good riddance.
Finale:
1. At the start of the leg, we see Jill/Thomas being all "We don't care about history"... in any case, it should be noted that the last time two all-female teams were in the final leg, it was the All-Stars season, with the lone remaining M/F team Eric/Danielle (also, the only team amongst the starters comprised of two members from different original teams!) winning. Anyways, everyone's getting the same flight to LA and heading to a bungee swing from a crane at Long Beach Port. It's a pretty big task for Nat/Kat since Nat's afraid of heights :-) Nat/Kat comment after jumping and getting back on dry land, "I've never loved asphalt so much" :-D We also see Team Melon scream a lot on the way down... and while swinging :-D At this point, Nat/Kat are 1st, Jill/Thomas are 2nd, and Team Melon is 3rd.
2. Next is a helicopter ride to a surprise destination, which turns out to be the Rose Bowl for a Roadblock: Decorate a few small sections of a float with flowers. As one would expect, this doesn't exactly please Thomas :-D Only problem that Nat/Kat run into is forgetting to prep their roses with water tubes, and that's apparently taken care of quickly.
3. Next clue is 3 riddles: The master of Sancho Panza, where to listen to the Symphony of the Glen, and the years of Marilyn Monroe's itch. The last one is of course 7, but trying to figure out the Sancho Panza clue provides the deciding factor (and plenty of words have been said about how all the teams needed help to find out). Nat/Kat judiciously choose their cabbie, and get someone on his phone who Googles up the answer for them, telling them that it's Don Quixote. Team Melon gets to a hotel and Googles up the answer (though they also have to Google Marilyn Monroe). Jill/Thomas get a seemingly foreign cabbie who keeps pointing to his GPS saying "I have GPS" and drops them in an internet-deprived area :-D Incidentally, the 2nd clue is Griffith Park, which put together with the other clues, leads to Quixote Studios at Griffith Park, stage 7.
4. Said location is where many game shows have been taped (since this is a CBS show, said spiel is accompanied with photos from The Price is Right). Here, it's the obligatory "race memory" task, in which everyone looks at a video board with pictures of people with hats (or other headwear, like a big tub of groceries) to find the greeters from every leg. In the right order. Nat/Kat, like quite a few smart teams before them, have made notes on their journey, though the real trouble is spotting the greeter they're looking for amongst a video board with 48 squares (!) and I imagine that one wouldn't remember the native greeter unless s/he's particularly memorable (like that guy playing flutes with his nose from a season or two ago :-)) Once they're done, ready to give the clue for the finish line is no less than Bob "Newlywed Game" Eubanks. And the producers get cute by adding the game-show-like music from the game-show-like Sushi Roulette task from a few seasons back :-) Nat/Kat go first, and after Jill/Thomas' incident with the cabbie, Team Melon are next to arrive (even hugging Bob on the way in :-D)
5. Finish line is at some mansion, and Nat/Kat get 1st (of course, becoming the first [US] all-female team to win... and with diabetes to boot!), followed by Team Melon (not too shabby, considering Claire was meloned way back in leg 1), and finally Jill/Thomas. For some reason, we get an extra interview with Chad/Steph and Gary/Mallory before we get a confessional from Nat/Kat to close things out. American viewers get a promo for next season titled "Unfinished Business", which is essentially another All-Stars season, except, without the stars (in other words, not that much different from the first All-Stars season ;-D) and in HD to boot (but not where I live :-P)
Asia
Ep 11:
This episode is a recap episode showing the highlights of the race so far, with a couple new scenes here and there. So here's the new stuff:
1. Michelle/Claire have trouble finding their way around during the 2nd Malaysia leg, getting a bit snippy about it.
2. Jess/Lani beg for money, and spend it on a shopping spree :-D We later see them shopping in Brisbane (buying shirts that say "Amazing" :-)), and boasting that they shopped on almost every leg. This of course bites them back later when they can only afford to hire a cabbie for half of the Korean leg, where everyone else does it for the whole leg.
3. Turns out the Richards had trouble with the cops on both Sri Lanka legs, although the first time they were only looking for directions to the pitstop.
4. The Richards trying to convince their bus driver to leave early in the Phillipines leg, even slightly breaking the fourth wall by saying that they've got it on tape :-)
5. The teams have problems driving the caravans in NZ. We see the Richards knocking over a sign at a gas station a couple times. We also see Michelle/Claire cutting off Jess/Lani doing a U-turn (the driving kind, not the TAR kind ;-) ) in the next leg.
6. Not a new scene per se as it was already shown in the actual episode, but might as well point it out here since I was only reminded of it during the recap: During the 2nd half of the Austrlia leg between the pistols and Dreamworld, there's a Roadblock involving racing a car around a circuit in a given time. The recap shows Lani absolutely flooring it, while one of the Richards is "driving like grandpa" (more or less the other guy's words) :-D
Finale:
1. Everyone gets three different flights to Singapore: Natasha/Hussein get in at midnight, Richards get in at 4am, and Michelle/Claire (despite doing some haggling with Singapore Airlines no less) end up getting a 10:35am landing. First stop is a clue pick up at a dragon on a bridge, sending them to a seafood restuarant... which doesn't open until 10am.
2. While they're waiting for the restaurant to open, we see the Richards jokingly pointing at a plane in the sky saying "That's Michelle/Claire" :-D The task is to extract 1 kilo (2.2 lb) of chili crab, and we see the Richards quip that your hands don't feel anything after you burn them on hot crab :-D
3. Next is a Detour between adding numbers while riding an extreme bungee or surfing for a total combined time of 2:00. The Richards do sums and it takes them two attempts to get it, while Natasha/Hussein fall over and over and over :-D
4. Next clue is to perform a handcuff escape trick at some theater. While the Richards and Natasha/Hussein take turns, Michelle/Claire have just landed and take their time cracking crabs and wiping his hands on the tablecloth after finishing :-D
5. Next stop, one of 4 Caltex gas stations for a limo ride to the Marina Bay Sands hotel, for a Tyrolean Zipline walking Roadblock at 55 stories height :-O This effectively decides the race, as Hussein ends up bailing from the Roadblock (with memories of falling off a similar line in Sri Lanka). Natasha (daughter) chews out Hussein (father) for not trying... you'd think the roles would be reversed :-\ Hussein reluctantly does try a bit, but ultimately decides to take the 4 hour penalty anyway. Michelle/Claire do much better at surfing than Natasha/Hussein, especially Michelle.
6. The next task is a race memory task at the hotel's swimming pool: place swimming hoops of the color corresponding to the right answer to the given questions, like which pit stop had a drummer, who was eliminated 5th, what the rice war festival in Indonesia was called etc. Meanwhile, Michelle/Claire overtake the penalized Natasha/Hussein at the Tyrolian Zipline.
7. It comes down to the swimming pool between the Richards and Michelle/Claire. Given their head-start though, Richards finish first and although they quip that they'd probably jump right off the roof to head to the pitstop :-O, it turns out to be at the observation deck, where they take the win and $100,000, with Michelle/Claire in 2nd and Natasha/Hussein 3rd.
8. It should be noted that on the re-broadcast I caught, AXN ran a station ID featuring the Richards' win... well before it had been shown in the re-broadcast :-P Granted, the episode had already been aired the previous night, but still...
America
Ep 11:
1. Next destination is Seoul, South Korea, to drive to some big red bridge on some river. We see Brooke/Claire (Team Melon) completely skip over the names, before making their reservation for a 12:25am flight at a hotel, and sipping coffee (in those track clothes of theirs) while they wait :-) Nat/Kat (doctors) and Jill/Thomas (dating) make their reservations for the same flight at the airport. We see Nat/Kat have some random guy buy them a guidebook (even writing 13-6-10 on the cover, thus giving confirmation for the datehounds out there ;-)). Nick/Vicki (also dating) are conspicuously missing their pit-stop departure time, and because of their 6 hour penalty from last leg, they end up getting a 9:30am flight :-) (It's been suspected that they didn't even leave the pitstop before the other teams' flight departure.)
2. Big red bridge, and everyone rides a raft and then a humvee to Camp Casey. For some reason, Team Melon say "Kelly Clarkson" while rafting (apparently, it's a bit of an obscure reference) and they're all "This is a regular day for us" while riding on the humvees :-D Camp Casey has a Roadblock involving finding a matching headband amongst a bunch of soldiers practicing taekwondo. The matching soldier then kicks a board to reveal the next clue. Claire does a pretend kick on what's left of their board :-D while Nat/Kat's soldier actually does a backflip kick :-O (There's also Nick/Vicki's Speed Bump there, but we'll get to it later.)
3. Next stop, the Seoul World Cup stadium for a clue pick-up: a Detour between skating a relay and carrying jars of ginseng. Everyone chooses skating. The clue also says that teams have to walk or take the subway to either Detour choice. We see Team Melon miss that little detail and take a cab (apparently while arguing which Detour to pick), and this will be important later. Skating is an absolute laugh riot, with some of the racers practically walking in their skates :-D Nat/Kat make a comment about channeling their inner Apollo Ohno :-)
4. Next clue pick-up is a riverside park under a statue of a plane, which is for the pit stop at some palace. Team Melon comes in first but gets a 30 minute penalty for taking a cab to the Detour, and Jill/Thomas get first place (along with an Argentina trip), with Nat/Kat coming in 3rd. Nick/Vicki are a total non-factor in the leg, especially after getting lost quite a few times on their way to the big red bridge :-) We see them doing their Speed Bump to clean a tank, before they're shown finally getting eliminated. Good riddance.
Finale:
1. At the start of the leg, we see Jill/Thomas being all "We don't care about history"... in any case, it should be noted that the last time two all-female teams were in the final leg, it was the All-Stars season, with the lone remaining M/F team Eric/Danielle (also, the only team amongst the starters comprised of two members from different original teams!) winning. Anyways, everyone's getting the same flight to LA and heading to a bungee swing from a crane at Long Beach Port. It's a pretty big task for Nat/Kat since Nat's afraid of heights :-) Nat/Kat comment after jumping and getting back on dry land, "I've never loved asphalt so much" :-D We also see Team Melon scream a lot on the way down... and while swinging :-D At this point, Nat/Kat are 1st, Jill/Thomas are 2nd, and Team Melon is 3rd.
2. Next is a helicopter ride to a surprise destination, which turns out to be the Rose Bowl for a Roadblock: Decorate a few small sections of a float with flowers. As one would expect, this doesn't exactly please Thomas :-D Only problem that Nat/Kat run into is forgetting to prep their roses with water tubes, and that's apparently taken care of quickly.
3. Next clue is 3 riddles: The master of Sancho Panza, where to listen to the Symphony of the Glen, and the years of Marilyn Monroe's itch. The last one is of course 7, but trying to figure out the Sancho Panza clue provides the deciding factor (and plenty of words have been said about how all the teams needed help to find out). Nat/Kat judiciously choose their cabbie, and get someone on his phone who Googles up the answer for them, telling them that it's Don Quixote. Team Melon gets to a hotel and Googles up the answer (though they also have to Google Marilyn Monroe). Jill/Thomas get a seemingly foreign cabbie who keeps pointing to his GPS saying "I have GPS" and drops them in an internet-deprived area :-D Incidentally, the 2nd clue is Griffith Park, which put together with the other clues, leads to Quixote Studios at Griffith Park, stage 7.
4. Said location is where many game shows have been taped (since this is a CBS show, said spiel is accompanied with photos from The Price is Right). Here, it's the obligatory "race memory" task, in which everyone looks at a video board with pictures of people with hats (or other headwear, like a big tub of groceries) to find the greeters from every leg. In the right order. Nat/Kat, like quite a few smart teams before them, have made notes on their journey, though the real trouble is spotting the greeter they're looking for amongst a video board with 48 squares (!) and I imagine that one wouldn't remember the native greeter unless s/he's particularly memorable (like that guy playing flutes with his nose from a season or two ago :-)) Once they're done, ready to give the clue for the finish line is no less than Bob "Newlywed Game" Eubanks. And the producers get cute by adding the game-show-like music from the game-show-like Sushi Roulette task from a few seasons back :-) Nat/Kat go first, and after Jill/Thomas' incident with the cabbie, Team Melon are next to arrive (even hugging Bob on the way in :-D)
5. Finish line is at some mansion, and Nat/Kat get 1st (of course, becoming the first [US] all-female team to win... and with diabetes to boot!), followed by Team Melon (not too shabby, considering Claire was meloned way back in leg 1), and finally Jill/Thomas. For some reason, we get an extra interview with Chad/Steph and Gary/Mallory before we get a confessional from Nat/Kat to close things out. American viewers get a promo for next season titled "Unfinished Business", which is essentially another All-Stars season, except, without the stars (in other words, not that much different from the first All-Stars season ;-D) and in HD to boot (but not where I live :-P)
