Monday, February 26, 2007

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Ep. 2 --or- "I Think I Was a Man in a Previous Life"

First, I want to apologize for not getting this posted earlier. I ran into some unforeseen technical difficulties. But, I'm back and ready to race! Er, to write about the show, anyway.

Was the first season all that long ago? I realize that it's season 11, but the show is often on twice a year. If memory serves, the first season was in 2000, but I didn't look it up. So I could be wrong.

What's my point? Well, I look at Team Guido and they look a bit older, but they're really quite the same as they were in the first season. The ChaChas (Oswald and Danny)? They haven't aged a heck of a lot. The Frat Boys? Well, one hasn't changed much (Kevin) while the other aged about 25 years since the first season. I adored them in their first run of the race, but this season it wasn't enjoyable to watch death-warmed-over Drew. Sigh. On the other hand, the ChaChas are a hoot! I think Oswaldo is cute, too.
TAR: Oswald, A Single Cha
Onto the show...
After a recap, Drew talked about having altitude sickness. That didn't seem to happen to anyone else. As an ex-skier who's been up there where the air is thin, I'd say it might have struck him so hard because he wasn't in good shape. I'm no doctor; I don't even play one on television. But I have seen altitude sickness hitting the very thin, the very heavy, and the not healthy. He also seemed to be an accident in motion for the whole first leg.

Led by Romber (Rob and Amber), the winners of the first leg, at 7:42am, teams left the Pit Stop to head for Santiago, Chile. The last team, Kevin and Drew, left at 9:44am, making for a two-hour gap betwixt first and last. That's more than we generally see, especially this early in the race. Dave and Mary were the team to leave before the Frats and they had almost an hour on them. David and Mary lost some time helping tow a stuck-in-the-mud Charla and Mirna. The Frats also got stuck in the mud, but Kevin was a human tow for them. (See, he hasn't changed.)
TAR: Rob
Okay, I have to say it. I never want to see Rob and Amber on Survivor again. I didn't care for her on the show and he's just been on it too much. But during their run of Amazing Race 7, I thought they were a strong and good team. They don't bicker a lot, don't belittle each other, and Rob usually has a trick or two up his sleeve to get ahead of the pack. He has creative thinking and although I still could take or leave Amber, I enjoy watching Rob on The Amazing Race.

I'm getting a bit tired of watching the inevitable airport scenes. Romber and the ChaChas managed to find a flight which should hit the connection to Santiago about 40 minutes before the most obvious flight. Of course, we all know that the best-laid plans of mice and Robs doesn't always make it to fruition. Due to a delay, the other teams all caught up.

Before I leave the airplane, I feel I should mention that Drew started throwing around David and Mary's bags as they put them in the first-class section and they weren't traveling first class. What's up with that? I thought it unduly harsh and it certainly turned Kentucky against the Frats. The other teams aboard seemed shocked, too. What has gone wrong with Drew, I ask? Yikes!

Once in Santiago, the teams had to drive to Codelco, a huge copper-mining company. Bingo, a Roadblock! That, of course, is a task only one member of each team can complete. This one called for attention to detail. The racers had to enter a boardroom which made me have Trump-shivers, but thankfully was different. There were alphabet letter clues all over the place and the racer had to find them, then unscramble them to spell out the clue. It was Dustin (or Kandice) who first tied in the letters with the pictures on the wall.

One such picture was labeled
Chuquicamata Mine. One by one, teams got out of there, leaving Joyce and Ian getting more frustrated by the moment, not to even mention how Uchenna was twitching and Teri trembling. Surprisingly, the first thing Mary did when she entered was to memorize the pictures on the wall as she thought they held a clue. Finally Joyce got it, tipped off Ian, then ran to try to catch up with the other teams. Ian thought he must be losing his cop-touch.

The clue led the teams to the town of Calama to the location of the driest desert in the world. Rob acted out when Eric went to a newly opened counter from the end of the first line. Although Rob said he considered it a "plan to stir the pot," Amber was not too thrilled with his behavior. She thought his scene to create problems just made him look silly. Even though they had words, they weren't outright nasty to each other. For my sake, I'd prefer they stop the "babe" bit, though. It's a pet peeve of mine with couples on the show.

The teams were faced with a Detour, this one having to do with the local economy. They could go for By Hand or By Machine. In By Hand, they had to put on and tighten a zillion lug nuts on a huge piece of construction equipment. Okay, maybe not a zillion, but certainly not four! In By Machine, they had to use a front loader to scoop and dump sand. Rob, with a background in construction, eased his way through Machine It. I noticed that the By Hand task which the majority of teams chose seemed to be the most time-consuming.

Upon completing the Detour, teams then had to drive 71 miles to and through the Valley of the Moon - a very sandy terrain with a speed limit of 40 KPH. After they finished that, they had to head to the Pit Stop which was located in the Valley of Death. (Eep.) It all sounds simple enough, right? Some teams sure had problems with it.
TAR: Mirna Drama
For "all stars" who have raced this race before, you'd think they'd not freak out like Mirna did when a local let them down. She was throwing money and jumping up and down. She reminded me of one of those rubber dolls you squeeze and the eyes and ears pop out. Although Mirna and Charla had a point about Dustin and Kandice helping pay for the "tour guide," the Beauty Queens called the drama surrounding Mirna (and Charla to a lesser extent), perfectly spot on.

Drew totally screwed up, taking a wrong turn and then keeping to the 40 KPH even when the speed limit increased. He fussed and whined. Poor Kevin was all I could think. Most of the teams seemed to take that same wrong turn, but in the end the arrival order to the Pit Stop was:
  1. Amber and Rob - They each won an off-road motorcycle.
  2. Oswald and Danny
  3. Joe and Bill
  4. Eric and Danielle
  5. Uchenna and Joyce
  6. Dustin and Kandice
  7. Teri and Ian
  8. Charla and Mirna
  9. David and Mary
  10. Kevin and Drew -- Eliminated
TAR: FratsI so wanted to love the Frat Boys again, but it's as if Drew's mind and body were in some other place other than in the race. That and the fact that his health seems shot in the past seven years (or so). As much as I hate to say it, I'm glad they were eliminated. I couldn't keep cheering them on when Drew obviously couldn't run the race.

Once again, the ChaChas provided fun lines for the night. "Who says gay men can't drive?" "I think I was a man in a previous life." You have to remember these are the two guys who went shopping in the middle of a leg because they just "had to shop." Yet, both stand up to the plate and try their hardest at the tasks.

Also, during this leg, hopefully David and Mary learned that this isn't a game of alliances. It never was. You help Charla and Mirna or the Beauty Queens, don't think they'll return the favor. Actually, I think the one most likely to return a favor to Kentucky at this point would be Rob. And, that's only because he knows he could blow away and leave them gasping in his dust.

They still haven't traveled much for two legs, but I enjoy seeing how the teams are interacting. How about you?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad to see Kevin and Drew go too. I really think that Drew was ill even before the race, his eyes were shadowed at the very beginning. I am cheering for Romber to win it all, I find them entertaining to watch and since all of the other teams seem to be against them...well I was always a sucker for the 'underdog'. Charla and Mirna just really get on my nerves, so I am hoping that they are gone soon. For an 'All-Star' season, I have not been real impressed with most of the teams thus far, hopefully things will heat up soon.
Although I am not necessarily a fan of the Beauty Queens, they are very smart and they seem to land on their feet no matter what. Although I don't have much of a memeory of Danny and Oswald on their season, I do find them funny.David and Mary just don't seem to fit on the Amazing Race, I just don't see them getting as far this season as they did last season (without their six-pack). I actually feel sorry for them. I think that Eric and Danielle make a good team although they are not jumping out at me.

Anonymous said...

Just a few observations about last night's TAR: Mary and David pulling Charla and Mirna's car out of the mud even though they didn't have to. Mary giving Charla the answer to the Roadblock clue to save their butts again. Later, Charla and Mirna passing and leaving Mary and David in the dust after happily accepting their help earlier and Mirna saying "we owe them". Then Charla's self-righteous speech (referring to the Beauty Queens), "Beauty is sometimes skindeep. It's easy to make yourself beautiful with plastic surgery, but to have a pure heart and to have morals is not easy to make up." What a laugh coming from them! Also,notice that no plane was held up (again) for Romber and the Cha-cha's ala Uchenna and Joyce back in their "winning race".

Anonymous said...

Go Rob and Amber!!! I am glad they are on this season, I missed them! I like the Cha-cha's too. Other than them I don't see a whole lot of competition out there so far for Romber. Hope they win it all!

Anonymous said...

I flipped back and forth between
TAR and the Oscars. Thanks for the recap Jackie because I was missing a few pieces.

When Drew walked away from Phil at the end to go put his "hat" on and he wrapped the bandana around his head, I thought "he looks like a chemo patient". I've been around several people going through chemo and that's exactly how they looked. Does anyone think the producers would let him run the race if he was that sick?

I remember Team Guido from season 1 but not Danny and Oswald. Didn't Team Guido finish like a day behind the winner/second place teams. I've noticed ever since then that the producers make sure they have several points in the race where the teams can bunch up.

Can't stand Mirna and Shmirna this season and couldn't stand them in their season. Charla is fake and as much as I want to like Mirna, I have to wonder why she's friends with Charla. Why can't she see that her friend is a flake?

Like Jackie, I didn't enjoy Romber when they were on their seasons of Survivor but I'm lovin them (well Rob anyway) on TAR.

I'm pulling for Uchenna and Joyce again. I loved them in their season and love them now. Did anyone else see Joyce's makeover on How Do I Look? (Style Network). It was pretty entertaining. One of her friends cut up her clothes and she was extremely upset. She ended up picking the look that Uchenna picked out for her.

Ok...I'm done until next week! It's so great to be back on Jackie's TV blog!

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:07 -- I remembered reading something a while ago about the plane incident in TAR 7. I found the two articles at Reality Blurred. The first is Uchenna says that producers didn’t interfere; Rob fuels conspiracy theories." and the second is Uchenna says gate agent “was compelled to call the pilot” because she’d lied to them. Now I don't believe everything I read on the internet, but these two stories ring true for me.

Anonymous said...

Mirna and Charla are cousins...

Drew is only 41..he looks at least 60 on this race...wonder if we will ever hear if he is/was ill.

AR started on Sept 2001.

Anonymous said...

Gate agents lie to passengers all the time...and no, they don't call pilots to rectify their lies. Once a plane is in line for take off it takes a lot...like a television station...to have it called back. Uchenna is dead wrong if she thinks a lie to her by a gate agent means that a planeload of people have to lose their place in line for takeoff and return for them. That she thinks so shows her attitude of "entitlement." The other people on that plane weren't on a television show...they were trying to get to their destination on time. Pleeeez. I think the problems in their marriage have less to do with her inability to conceive at her age than her attitude and their commitment to one another. Have they ever heard of adoption?

Anonymous said...

My bad...I meant Joyce not her husband Uchenna. Both on their own season the this one they strss their "marital difficulties" in their bio and in their "talks" to the camera. Like who cares.

Anonymous said...

From their bio of their first season..."Joyce and Uchenna desperately want children, and their numerous failed attempts has caused tension within their relationship.
Both are adventurous and ready to compete. Both have hinted that if they won the Race they would use the prize money for additional in-vitro fertilization procedures."
I agree with anon...like who cares...adopt a child or enjoy your life together...children aren't meant to save marriages.

Anonymous said...

delee -- I forgot they were cousins. I'd still tell her to chill out. She's just TOOO much for me.

For the Joyce/Uchenna bashers...what about when they reopened the door of the plane for Rob & Amber. Was that okay? Why didn't anyone make a big deal about that?

I've never dealt with infertility, but I can imagine how that could affect a woman and her relationship with her husband. Especially if he really wanted children of his own.

I like them & I like Rob/Amber...may the best team win!

Anonymous said...

Infertility happens as we age. That's why it's best not to put off trying to start a family until you're in your 40s. If a million dollars can't assist you with in vitro...and you really want to raise a family, then perhaps you should think of adoption. Just watched Oprah's program and the school she started for all her "daughters." That's one way to have a family.
As for the plane controversy, a plane that had already pushed back from the gate and was in line for takeoff was never recalled to the gate for Rob and Amber. If Joyce and Uchenna had not been able to board that plane the win would definitely gone to Rob and Amber and I presume the network preferred a race to the finish rather than just one team ambling to the finish line. It makes for more exciting television. So much for reality...in reality airlines just don't do things like that. Think of all the people sitting on planes for up to 10 hours during recent storms and not returning to the gate. I would have no problem if Joyce and Uchenna won again...but I would hope it would be a fair win this time.

Anonymous said...

I think Uchenna and Joyce are a really cute competitve and nice couple...but I too feel they got an unfair advantage. And if they win this year I hope it's a "clean" win that doesn't leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. Rob and Amber are fun to watch too but they are not invincible and I think one of the other All Stars could beat them. As the field narrows we'll see the strongest teams emerge. I'm really looking forward to this season but hope they move about a bit more. I agree with whoever said the airport scenes are getting state. Unfortunately, that is a huge factor in who wins...whoever gets the on the best flights.
As far as Joyce and Uchenna harping on their childlessness and the toll it extracts on their marriage...too much information. Keep it to yourself. Joyce is 46...it's time for her to realize it's probably not going to happen. From this year's bio..."Both have admitted that the continued inability to start a family has caused a strain on their marriage, but are looking to the Race to get their relationship back on track." I hope it works for them. Joyce looks great with her new short hair...

Anonymous said...

The airport thing is right on...they had 2 flights this week. How about AR get to a country and stay there most of the show. At least, the boardroom was held at night (?), seemed that way and they did not have to sleep on the pavement, waiting for the building to open. We do not need to see the non-racing parts.

Jackie...missed the Black D's do u know if NBC repeating it b4 next showtime????

Anonymous said...

I missed the show because of the Oscars and a "record" malfunction and was so grateful to be able to read Jackie's thorough recap. Thanks Jackie. TAR is still my fav reality show. I could have lived without the return of Charla and Mirna and Drew and Kevin, but whatever...glad to see the others. I think the Beauty Queens will give Romber a run for their money.

Anonymous said...

I think Romber can handle the BQ's... they fumble and bumble and that can be their downfall!!!!