IT'S NOT GOOD WHEN A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD KNOWS HOW THE EPISODE WILL END BEFORE IT STARTS: But such is the way of the too-predictably-structured Amazing Race, which as soon as it determines its final four teams ... yeah. Fienberg ably recaps it here, and I just want to note two things: (1) I do admire the ingenuity of combining Needle in a Haystack with Volume Eating as a challenge, and (2) if you didn't perform the Needle in a Haystack/Volume Eating challenge, you can't be a quitter on the teammate who did. It's time to wrap up this season, and God willing we'll get to see good racing, and not random luck, decide things.
FWIW, we haven't yet discussed next season (have we?). It will be an All-Star Season, which is filming now, and the eleven exceedingly amiable teams are listed here.
I too was very chapped by the inevitable they get to move on even though they do not deserve it (and by they I really mean Nick). I really hope this teaches a nice lesson to those that develop the legs and maybe even a rule change like the one Fienberg mentioned.
ReplyDeleteAlso I am so excited for so many of the teams that are coming back! Flight Time and Big Easy! The Cowboys! Mel and Mike White! Margie and Luke!! All in HD!! I cannot wait.
Nick & Vicki look happy in next week's previews. From this, I infer that their giant deficit will be made up early in the leg by a lack of flights or an HOO bunch. I've soured on judging individuals by the way they behave after a month of nonstop travel and physical tasks, but I can make an exception for one who basically decides to quit, and is not punished with elimination.
ReplyDeleteI so hope that Nick is ashamed of himself as he watches this. I'm so tired of hearing, "I need to treat her better." Then treat her better and stop verbally abusing her, jackass.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the teams Keather K mentioned (especially the 'Trotters and Mel/Mike!), I'm also looking forward to Jen and Kisha returning -- I'm betting that this time, they bring Depends.
ReplyDeleteI am not, however, looking forward to puking in HD with surround sound.
ReplyDeleteAha! All-Stars explains why there hasn't been an application for the next season of Race. That's a decent selection of teams. And HD, finally! Surprising that season 13 was completely unrepresented, but that really wasn't a winning cast.
ReplyDeleteAs promising as this season started out, I guess there's no way to top a watermelon in the face? Sure, Barney's movie had heart, but watermelon in the face had watermelon in the face.
I really did not need almost 20 minutes of this episode devoted to Nick being an ass to Vicki. Basically, he called her names for "quitting" (also known as having an asthma attack), then mocked her and put his feet up while she was doing a difficult task, and then finally quit on her for absolutely no reason while doing a task that didn't involve anything more taxing than keeping your eyes open. And all of this after tearfully declaring her "a blessing."
ReplyDeleteI hope she breaks up with his ass on the mat next week. She has proven herself over and over to deserve much, much better.
All-Star looks like a great group of teams - looking forward to seeing Kynt and Vyxsin again, as well as all the ones Heather mentioned above.
If Nick and Vicki make it to the final three because of the NEL, after the way Nick behaved - well, it would be a travesty (in reality show terms, anyway).
ReplyDeleteI loved the eating-needle in a haystack challenge -- but I was under the impression you couldn't even touch the food (as Feinberg suggests). You touch, you eat. If you could poke it, you could make pretty quick work of each tray of food, since the firmness is going to be completely different.
ReplyDeleteWhat Linda Holmes said.
ReplyDeleteMy general response to pop culture is "what Linda Holmes said."
ReplyDeleteHe's basically the boy Flo, isn't he? With some Jonathan sprinkled in. And you might not notice this if you're not watching it with little kids who have just discovered the joy of forbidden swearing, but he says "damn" like every fifth word.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an incredible potpurri of TAR references. It just makes me happy to see it.
ReplyDeleteI'm too new to TAR to know Flo and Jonathan, but I'm thinking that in the TAR offseason, we should rent some of the earlier seasons.
ReplyDeleteJust start with season three. How you feel about Flo and Zac will say a lot about the kind of person you are.
ReplyDeleteSadly, Netflix has only a couple of the seasons - very surprising. And not the family season, which despite my understanding that it's reviled, sounds like fun for me and the kiddo to watch together.
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