TAR Unfinished Business: Eps 10 to 12
Jun. 2nd, 2011 03:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spiderbraidsBeen sitting on this long enough...
Ep 10:
1. Trivia: Of the final 5 teams, 3 are from Kentucky (Gary/Mallory, Goths, Kisha/Jen). Anyways, they're staying in the Zermatt area this leg, with a helicopter trip to the Matterhorn (Zev: "Named after the Disney ride" :-D) The 'Trotters make jokes about wasting time ripping open the clue envelope and having extra leg space in the helicopter :-) Goths comment about how they've glittered themselves up for this leg :-) and Zev worries if the snow will take out their eyebrows :-D Goths looking at Matterhorn from helicopter: "This is why they call it The Amazing Race" :-)
2. Detour choice between Search and Rescue. Search is quite similar to one of TAR Asia's tasks from last season, involving finding a buried dummy with a beeper (the easy part), and digging him out (the VERY hard part). Rescue involves climbing into the "Inception-like" (Zev) crevasses, and dragging up some guy to give their next clue. Goths joke about how they might look scary to anyone they're rescuing :-D :-D
3. Digging detour is so hard, both teams that do it (Zev/Justin, Gary/Mallory) end up taking out their dummies in two halves (Gary, after taking out the top half of the dummy: "He's gonna make it" :-D) Next stop is a train-ride back to Zermatt, which gives the teams at least 25 minutes on top of Zev/Justin (and the wind on Matterhorn isn't making things any easier, mind you), and then a trip to a local hotel for a Roadblock: "Who wants to make a new friend?"
4. In this case, it's to make a Travelocity gnome out of chocolate using Swiss methods, including freezing the chocolate in the snow (incidentally, it was snowing at the start of the leg, so there ought to be plenty), thus turning the show into Top Chef :-) We even get some yelling, from the 'Trotters accusing the Goths of taking their chocolate-painted gnome half. (Meanwhile, the non-Roadblock player gets to eat a bunch of chocolate :-)) After that's been taken care of, everyone then fills up their gnome mold with chocolate, swirling the mold around to get it all filled up before burying it in the snow (Flight Time swirls his hips as well :-D :-D :-D)
5. After everyone's done with their chocolate gnomes, everyone gets a regular gnome with the next clue attached, calling for them to head on foot to the Pit Stop at a local cabin. Trotters get 1st place and a trip to the Cook Islands, with Kisha/Jen in 2nd. The Goths end up taking a taxi and end up getting hit with a 30 minute penalty, allowing Gary/Mallory to finish 3rd. Which means that one of the two remaining teams I pegged to do well at the start of the season will certainly finish last. Sure enough, while the Goths are having a bit of a tiff on who wasn't reading the clue right, Zev/Justin check in in 4th, resulting in the Goths getting KevJumba'd out of the race. I should note that in her final interviews, Vyxsin's hair is looking a bit like a pink straight-haired version of this girl's 'do :-D
Ep 11:
1. For the first time in who knows how long, TAR gets a 2-hour finale, though it's really just two episodes aired back-to-back, so for convenience, I will treat it that way. Incidentally, on the original Asian TX, it was transmitted in letterbox (with a blurred zoom-in used to fill out the sides on 4:3 footage from earlier races); however, for the later rebroadcast it was cropped back down to the standard 4:3. Hmm... Anyways, next stop is Rio, for a ride on a tram to a bunch of stairs to get a "Route Info" tile.
2. Next is a samba-ing Roadblock. Zev does this task, but only in order to fulfill Roadblock equity requirements. Justin concedes he's only seen Zev dance while not sober, but since they're in the lead, that should give them plenty of time to get it right. Zev ends up being rejected several times before finishing the task in 3rd, with the 'Trotters already practicing their samba. (Incidentally, this is a task that I'd have problems with, so yeah... I can relate.)
3. Next stop is for everyone to get a Brazilian wax job. Of course Mallory's done this before, as she's a former beauty queen :-) Z/J get lost, allowing the 'Trotters to get to the waxing in 3rd. Z/J scream a lot and throw in a reference to Kelly Clarkson (a la Brooke/Claire, except that this time around it's in a more proper context), and wonder what the penalty is for knocking the waxing lady out cold :-D
4. Detour is between selling bikinis and making 100 glasses of a traditional drink. Z/J try selling bikinis, everyone else (and later, Z/J) does the bartending. Just the thing for Kisha/Jen as it turns out, as Jen used to be a bartender :-) We see Gary accidentally cutting his hand on the shaker and commenting on how bartending is dangerous :-D and the 'Trotters somehow thinking they've got 14 to go after making 76 :-D :-D
5. Pit Stop is at a museum, where G/M get 1st place and a Mediterranean cruise, while Z/J are out. Which means the teams I pegged to do well have finished 4-5-6, but considering they came in 9th their first go-round, I'd say 4th is a pretty decent placing :-)
Ep 12:
1. After everyone gets on the same flight to Miami, Gary/Mallory practically drop out of contention almost immediately out of the airport, wasting plenty of time finding a taxi, and then even more time getting directions to the Marine Stadium Marina. Marina has a Roadblock involving moving a boat on to a rock using a forklift. With guidance from an expert mind you :-) We hear the Trotters talking about how these forklifts are much larger than the ones at Wal-Mart :-D
2. Next destination, an undersea lodge. On the way, the 'Trotters decide to let their taxi go fill up during the next task (keep that in mind). In this case, another Roadblock involving "bob diving" into an undersea area filled with mini treasure boxes, mermaids, and an underwater band. We get a nice confessional from Kisha about taking swimming lessons for this go-round, accompanied with clips from the 1st part of their Beijing leg.
3. After the task, K/J get back on their cab immediately, while the 'Trotters end up meeting their cab coming back from the gas station, putting K/J in the lead. Next stop is Mile Marker 29, with a task to walk across the (shallow!) ocean to some island to pick up a clue. Clue sends them walking back across the ocean, then a speedboat ride to a trailer park. Moving on...
4. For the first time in a couple seasons, the last task before the sprint to the finish does not involve remembering what's happened on the race. Instead, it involves putting together a trailer residence according to a brochure picture. With a rather campy-looking judge, to boot :-D This ends up being the only task that all 3 teams are doing at the same time. 'Trotters refer to the strong winds blowing during the task as "Hurricane Andrew", reminding me of how my family and I moved out of the hurricane area about a month before it hit. We even get some reactions from the peanut gallery while the teams are doing the task: "When they do something stupid, we think it's funny" :-D 'Trotters (try to) throw in one last basketball metaphor, comparing this final task as sudden death (which they don't use in basketball, so yeah...)
5. Final "sprint" involves biking on the Old Seven Mile Bridge to the finish line. The racers talk as if they're actually biking 7 miles, but a little research reveals they're only biking two. It's quite windy, and we see K/J having to walk their bikes at some points. We also see the 'Trotters deciding to take in the view after conceding that K/J are too far ahead. So, after not having won a single leg since their first go-round (and having the other TAR14 teams be the first 4 teams eliminated)... Kisha/Jen take the win, making them the 2nd all girl winners (and in a row, to boot!) 'Trotters take 2nd (and even get a montage of random singing, including them rapping at the previous pit stop!), and G/M 3rd.
Ep 10:
1. Trivia: Of the final 5 teams, 3 are from Kentucky (Gary/Mallory, Goths, Kisha/Jen). Anyways, they're staying in the Zermatt area this leg, with a helicopter trip to the Matterhorn (Zev: "Named after the Disney ride" :-D) The 'Trotters make jokes about wasting time ripping open the clue envelope and having extra leg space in the helicopter :-) Goths comment about how they've glittered themselves up for this leg :-) and Zev worries if the snow will take out their eyebrows :-D Goths looking at Matterhorn from helicopter: "This is why they call it The Amazing Race" :-)
2. Detour choice between Search and Rescue. Search is quite similar to one of TAR Asia's tasks from last season, involving finding a buried dummy with a beeper (the easy part), and digging him out (the VERY hard part). Rescue involves climbing into the "Inception-like" (Zev) crevasses, and dragging up some guy to give their next clue. Goths joke about how they might look scary to anyone they're rescuing :-D :-D
3. Digging detour is so hard, both teams that do it (Zev/Justin, Gary/Mallory) end up taking out their dummies in two halves (Gary, after taking out the top half of the dummy: "He's gonna make it" :-D) Next stop is a train-ride back to Zermatt, which gives the teams at least 25 minutes on top of Zev/Justin (and the wind on Matterhorn isn't making things any easier, mind you), and then a trip to a local hotel for a Roadblock: "Who wants to make a new friend?"
4. In this case, it's to make a Travelocity gnome out of chocolate using Swiss methods, including freezing the chocolate in the snow (incidentally, it was snowing at the start of the leg, so there ought to be plenty), thus turning the show into Top Chef :-) We even get some yelling, from the 'Trotters accusing the Goths of taking their chocolate-painted gnome half. (Meanwhile, the non-Roadblock player gets to eat a bunch of chocolate :-)) After that's been taken care of, everyone then fills up their gnome mold with chocolate, swirling the mold around to get it all filled up before burying it in the snow (Flight Time swirls his hips as well :-D :-D :-D)
5. After everyone's done with their chocolate gnomes, everyone gets a regular gnome with the next clue attached, calling for them to head on foot to the Pit Stop at a local cabin. Trotters get 1st place and a trip to the Cook Islands, with Kisha/Jen in 2nd. The Goths end up taking a taxi and end up getting hit with a 30 minute penalty, allowing Gary/Mallory to finish 3rd. Which means that one of the two remaining teams I pegged to do well at the start of the season will certainly finish last. Sure enough, while the Goths are having a bit of a tiff on who wasn't reading the clue right, Zev/Justin check in in 4th, resulting in the Goths getting KevJumba'd out of the race. I should note that in her final interviews, Vyxsin's hair is looking a bit like a pink straight-haired version of this girl's 'do :-D
Ep 11:
1. For the first time in who knows how long, TAR gets a 2-hour finale, though it's really just two episodes aired back-to-back, so for convenience, I will treat it that way. Incidentally, on the original Asian TX, it was transmitted in letterbox (with a blurred zoom-in used to fill out the sides on 4:3 footage from earlier races); however, for the later rebroadcast it was cropped back down to the standard 4:3. Hmm... Anyways, next stop is Rio, for a ride on a tram to a bunch of stairs to get a "Route Info" tile.
2. Next is a samba-ing Roadblock. Zev does this task, but only in order to fulfill Roadblock equity requirements. Justin concedes he's only seen Zev dance while not sober, but since they're in the lead, that should give them plenty of time to get it right. Zev ends up being rejected several times before finishing the task in 3rd, with the 'Trotters already practicing their samba. (Incidentally, this is a task that I'd have problems with, so yeah... I can relate.)
3. Next stop is for everyone to get a Brazilian wax job. Of course Mallory's done this before, as she's a former beauty queen :-) Z/J get lost, allowing the 'Trotters to get to the waxing in 3rd. Z/J scream a lot and throw in a reference to Kelly Clarkson (a la Brooke/Claire, except that this time around it's in a more proper context), and wonder what the penalty is for knocking the waxing lady out cold :-D
4. Detour is between selling bikinis and making 100 glasses of a traditional drink. Z/J try selling bikinis, everyone else (and later, Z/J) does the bartending. Just the thing for Kisha/Jen as it turns out, as Jen used to be a bartender :-) We see Gary accidentally cutting his hand on the shaker and commenting on how bartending is dangerous :-D and the 'Trotters somehow thinking they've got 14 to go after making 76 :-D :-D
5. Pit Stop is at a museum, where G/M get 1st place and a Mediterranean cruise, while Z/J are out. Which means the teams I pegged to do well have finished 4-5-6, but considering they came in 9th their first go-round, I'd say 4th is a pretty decent placing :-)
Ep 12:
1. After everyone gets on the same flight to Miami, Gary/Mallory practically drop out of contention almost immediately out of the airport, wasting plenty of time finding a taxi, and then even more time getting directions to the Marine Stadium Marina. Marina has a Roadblock involving moving a boat on to a rock using a forklift. With guidance from an expert mind you :-) We hear the Trotters talking about how these forklifts are much larger than the ones at Wal-Mart :-D
2. Next destination, an undersea lodge. On the way, the 'Trotters decide to let their taxi go fill up during the next task (keep that in mind). In this case, another Roadblock involving "bob diving" into an undersea area filled with mini treasure boxes, mermaids, and an underwater band. We get a nice confessional from Kisha about taking swimming lessons for this go-round, accompanied with clips from the 1st part of their Beijing leg.
3. After the task, K/J get back on their cab immediately, while the 'Trotters end up meeting their cab coming back from the gas station, putting K/J in the lead. Next stop is Mile Marker 29, with a task to walk across the (shallow!) ocean to some island to pick up a clue. Clue sends them walking back across the ocean, then a speedboat ride to a trailer park. Moving on...
4. For the first time in a couple seasons, the last task before the sprint to the finish does not involve remembering what's happened on the race. Instead, it involves putting together a trailer residence according to a brochure picture. With a rather campy-looking judge, to boot :-D This ends up being the only task that all 3 teams are doing at the same time. 'Trotters refer to the strong winds blowing during the task as "Hurricane Andrew", reminding me of how my family and I moved out of the hurricane area about a month before it hit. We even get some reactions from the peanut gallery while the teams are doing the task: "When they do something stupid, we think it's funny" :-D 'Trotters (try to) throw in one last basketball metaphor, comparing this final task as sudden death (which they don't use in basketball, so yeah...)
5. Final "sprint" involves biking on the Old Seven Mile Bridge to the finish line. The racers talk as if they're actually biking 7 miles, but a little research reveals they're only biking two. It's quite windy, and we see K/J having to walk their bikes at some points. We also see the 'Trotters deciding to take in the view after conceding that K/J are too far ahead. So, after not having won a single leg since their first go-round (and having the other TAR14 teams be the first 4 teams eliminated)... Kisha/Jen take the win, making them the 2nd all girl winners (and in a row, to boot!) 'Trotters take 2nd (and even get a montage of random singing, including them rapping at the previous pit stop!), and G/M 3rd.
