Sunday, April 01, 2007

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Legs 7 and 8 -or- "One Really Long Show"

Now, this should be Episode 7, but I think it's both Episode 7 and 8. Yes, it was two, two, two episodes in one. It wasn't a to-be-continued bit; it was actually two separate legs of the race. If memory serves, it was the first time I've seen them do this with the exception of season premieres or finales.

We last left the teams in Zanzibar with a sixteen-hour difference between the first place (Charla and Mirna) and last place team (Joe and Bill).

For their own probably nefarious reasons, Charla and Mirna waited for Danny and Oswald, then shared a cab with them. Poor Danny and Oswald, eh? The teams had to fly to Warsaw, Poland. This time, so unlike the last leg, the show had back-up flight tickets set for the teams although they could buy other tickets if they found earlier flights.
Team ChaCha
The teams had plenty of time to try to get tickets through a travel agent and we once again saw how rude and off-putting Charla and Mirna can be under stress. I have no clue why, but Danny and Oswald just let them speak for them. Yikes! The travel agent looked very offended and it certainly didn't help them win friends and influence people. Mirna went as far as saying she was having a heart attack. And, of course, this was with the silly fake accents all along! Argh!

Dustin and Kandice (Beauty Queens) got on the first flight out while Uchenna and Joyce lucked out on a second flight. Charla/Mirna and the ChaChas were on a flight together. Eric and Danielle and Team Guido were together and missed their connection, so the last got further behind. Danielle fussed she wanted to quit and go home and a Guido exploded in fury. Oh, not at Danielle -- at watching the flight they just missed leave the tarmac. Eric thinks that Joe and Bill are just Nervous Nellies. There's an expression I haven't heard in years!

Once in Warsaw, teams had to find the Czapski Palace where a musician would be playing Chopin on a grand piano. The clue received there led to a Detour -- Perfect Pitch or Perfect Angle. (No, not Perfect Angel as Joyce called it.) In Perfect Pitch, a nod to Frederic Chopin, teams had to tune an off-key string on a grand piano to the satisfaction of a pianist. In Perfect Angle, a nod to Marie Curie, teams had to select a mannequin, lug it to an x-ray lab place, then find a clue within it by placing it at the "perfect angle." Most of the teams went for Perfect Pitch and it seemed that Uchenna and Joyce may have been the best at the task.

The best part of this part of the Poland leg for me was the fact that, for some reason, no locals would talk to or help Mirna and Charla! Yes, they were obnoxious. I know that. But it was as if the folks on the street were psychic or something! Their fake accents and desperate actions must have turned them off, I guess. Seeing as the locals were willing to speak to other teams, it had to be their behavior. Heh. I loved it! At one point it looked like Mirna was giving up. Oh, I so wish she did. But, alas.

The clue after the Detour directed teams to the Pit Stop where the last team may be eliminated. Teams were still arriving to the country as the lead teams arrived at the Pit Stop and embarked on the next leg. Here's the order of arrival at the first Pit Stop on tonight's show:
  1. Dustin and Kandice - Won a trip to Puerto Rico
  2. Danny and Oswald
  3. Uchenna and Joyce
  4. Charla and Mirna
  5. Eric and Danielle
  6. Joe and Bill - Non-elimination leg, but they are "marked for elimination." If they don't arrive in first place on the next leg, they will have a 30-minute penalty.
The next leg jumped right into motion as teams took charter buses set by arrival times to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. As I watched the reactions of the teams passing through, my own eyes welled up with tears. It put things in perspective.
Concentration Camp at Auschwitz
I saw each team relate to the horror of mans' inhumanity to man each in their own way. Both of the gay men teams were thankful they live in a time when they can be themselves. Oswald, born in communist Cuba, is grateful to be where he can be free. Uchenna and Joyce drew parallels to slavery. Mirna thought of the slaughter of Armenians by the Turks. Heck, even Eric and Danielle were somber. I thought this was one of the most touching moments I've ever seen on the show.

Ah, but there was still a race to be run. Teams had to take a taxi to the Slowacki Theater in Krakow. And, what was there? Why, it's an Intersection! I forgot they were introduced last season and wasn't expecting one. In an Intersection, two teams have to team up together to go for the next clue.
First Place Teams
The first two teams at the Intersection were Uchenna and Joyce and the ChaChas. They really lucked out. Not only did they team up together first -- no one seemed to want to be with Charla and Mirna although I think the ChaChas would have endured them -- but they had the chance to go for the Fast Forward. If they completed the Fast Forward, they could skip the remaining clues and head directly to the Pit Stop. So, they did.

The FF had them climbing two separate towers, counting stairs as they went. They decided since they knew the Beauty Queens were stuck for hours at the Intersection awaiting the lagging teams, they'd do the whole thing together instead of splitting up and sharing results. They did just fine and the teams shared first place.

Back at the Intersection, Dustin and Kandice had wanted to team up with Joe and Bill, but it was Mirna and Charla who arrived first. They hid from them for a while, but decided they had to get on with the race and teamed up with them. That left Joe/Bill and Eric/Danielle teaming up.
Eric and his kielbasa
Those teams had to be together for the Detour -- Eat It Up or Roll It Out. In Eat It Up, teams had to make a 3-inch sausage link, then each eat a 2-foot kielbasa sausage. An odd note about that is that I had kielbasa, cabbage, and onions tonight prior to the show. No, I didn't have two feet of kielbasa, though! In Roll It Up, teams had to make 20 bagels and deliver them.

The girls automatically headed to Eat It Up with Charla hesitating. She didn't think she could do it. The other group actually went for the Roll It Out, but got incredibly lost and finally went for the kielbasa after the girls were well into the task. Although I don't care for sickening food challenges, it was a hoot when Eric said, "May I introduce Miss California?" right as Dustin vomited.

Once the Detour was done, the teams were on their own once again. And, next up was a Roadblock. "Who wants to be a knight in shining armor?" One member of each team had to don a full suit of armor and lead a horse for a distance. Oh, poor Charla! She looked very unusual in her armor, kept going in circles with her horse, kept falling over...! It was funny, but it was sort of sad, too.
Team Guido
In the end at the second Pit Stop in Poland, here was the order of arrival:
  1. Uchenna/Joyce and Oswald/Danny - Only one trip for two to St. Lucia was given and the ChaChas insisted Uchenna and Joyce get it.
  2. No second place due to the first place FF Intersection tie.
  3. Dustin and Kandice
  4. Charla and Mirna
  5. Joe and Bill, but their 30-minute penalty allowed Eric and Danielle to arrive and take 5th.
  6. Joe and Bill -- Philiminated.
All in all, I really liked this episode. Although they were actually in Poland for two legs, a lot went on. I'm still cheering on my boys Oswald and Danny. Of the teams remaining, Uchenna/Joyce or Dustin/Kandice would be my second or third choices. My least favorite is still Mirna and Charla. I'm glad folks were rude to them. I know. I'm mean, aren't I? But, they could team up with Sanjaya on American Idol and Rocky on Survivor 14: Fiji in my book.

26 comments:

DriedPapercutsAndChickens said...

I was rooting for Joe and bill to make up 30min.
I am really tired of seeing Eric and Danielle bicker, or Charla yell at mirna and I do really like how appreciative Joe and Bill are...
OH WELL

Anonymous said...

Hi all!

Great TV tonight! I was interested enough that I skipped Desperate to watch the second hour.

Would have preferred to see the Guidos stay, and another team go. Preferably Shmirna. I think I will take the same approach to them as I have with S****** on AI. Ignore them until they are gone. So rude, so demeaning, just horrible. And that darn accent thing has bugged me all along, and it just keeps getting worse. But the poor little thing in the armor was just wrong.

When the Guidos arrived at the mat, the one in the armor (I can't remember who is who) looked like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz. I laughed out loud!!

This was the first time I have cried during an episode of TAR, with the exception of getting a tad emotional during the finales. I respect them for making us all take the time to acknowledge the atrocities. Very thought provoking...

I am still rooting on the Cha Chas! They just become more likable with each episode. I like the way they play the game. Work hard, play hard.

dla

Brent McKee said...

Eric & Danielle weren't the last team to leave the pit stop, it was Joe & Bill. Eric & Danielle departed at 3:15 p.m. while Joe & Bill left at 7:01 p.m.

Anonymous said...

Not that is matters but the Guidos were the last place team from last week! This show we get travel agencies instead of airports!!!!

Poor Charla, two feet of sausage, at her size that was too much food. Also leading the horse she gave it too much rein, no wonder it was all over the place. Mirna, now why would she yell at the cab drivers if she wanted them to help? Is it if you yell loud enough to someone who does not speak English well that they will understand it???? @@

Great episodes, guess this was planned for 2 hours vs the premiere episode as the teams were so spread out. For once we are seeing time lags, shows travel is not that smooth.

Auschwitz was touching...we can never forget and glad CBS allowed that side trip.

Glad you are feeling better Jackie and thank for the re cap

Anonymous said...

OOPS PS

Bachelor starts tonight!!!
He is sure one "HOT" piece of real estate. IMAO

MrsTito said...

I laughed so loud at Eric's "Ladies and Gentleman, Miss California" comment that I woke the baby up! I also laughed at poor Charla in the knights outfit, why would Mirna insist that she do that task? And what about Danielle and that sausage? Way to go girl!

P.S. I think that the Cha-Cha's giving up their trip better bring some good kharma for them. Wasn't it their answer for the steps that completed the fast forward?

Anonymous said...

Since I missed the entire first show except seeing the GUIDOs being told it was a non-elim,thank God for Jackie and her incisive recaps! I was just dismayed that they were that far behind the pack!

I thought the GUIDOs did an amazing job at closing the gap and I was so hoping that M/C would wander around the Polish countryside for days with nobody helping them,but darn,it wasn't to be! I think CHARLA is just taking all that abuse and letting everyone see what a harpy M is! Her screeching at those cab drivers was classic M!!!And then to let poor Charla don that armor and try to lead that horse,all the while with Yappy Doodle walking along berating her.....well that was another classic M stunt! I'm glad they are no longer in first place and all my support is behind the CHACHAs.As on AI,it's ANYBODY BUT C/M on TAR!

I was a little disappointed in the show for only offering one prize for first when they knew there was a good possiblity that two teams would finish together. Nice move on the CHAS part,but bad form for CBS and the show....JMO!

Anonymous said...

Mrstito - It was Uchenna and Danny who had the correct answer for the fast forward.

I loved last night's episode and would love to see Uchenna and Joyce win it again.

Sydney said...

Can someone tell me why they were waiting in the travel agencies for up to 7 hours? I didn't get why...

And I am amazed that with 2 agents in the travel place that Dustin and candice got them to hang up the phone on Uchenna, saying "we were here first."

Why not take care of the peeps on the phone AND pass Dustin and Candice to the other agent who was free, and then deal with Mirna and co as soon as you are off the phone with the callers? Not that Mirna would then tolerate that -- but the BQ's started that dastardly plot ... we all have Mirna for her rudeness, but the BQ's find a way to do similar stuff, just in a different way.

I actually would like to see them win becasue I still find their upbeat spirit to be the best, and in my opinion, they are as sharp as ROMBER of all the competitors.

Sydney said...

PS: Yes, why did the Chachas give the first place prize up so easily?

And Mirna was berating Charla the whole way tot he knights locatiuon that she did nothing so of course, she was going to have to do the knight thing. But by forcing her to do so to take her turn so to speak, Mirna shoots her own self in the foot... the physics of it just don't work out, when you are small leading something so big and have front heavy armor on you, even if your center of gravity is low to the ground. SO she made her own bed... then Ilaugh as she congratulates Charla for a job well done once they reach the mat.

Anonymous said...

Sydney - I think they showed why they were there for 7 hours, a flight suddenly opened up and they got on it. I'm assuming that was given to them as a possibility and what else did they have to do waiting for their already confirmed later flight.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else find it incredibly unfair that on a leg that one team is marked for elimination, they make them work with another team.
There would have been no way that after they were allowed to split back up, they could have overcome a 30 min penalty.
Even if team Guido would have jumped on the horse and rode to the pit stop they would have lost.

Anonymous said...

I agree Anon: 10:53 - There was no way that the Guidos could gain a 30 minute lead with Eric and Danielle tailgating them all the way. It was a smart move on Eric and Danielle's part though. What was not a smart move though was U/J and O/D going for the FF when they knew they already had several hours lead on the other teams. I think they could have done the challenges and still finished first before the other teams even started. Now they don't have the FF to fall back on if they ever need it. Does anyone know how big of a time difference is between Teams 1 and 5?

Rbennie

Anonymous said...

Sydney..they all had flights done by AR...my guess is that they were hoping seats would pop up like they did for the BQ's when someone cancelled. But I did find that strange...I would have gone to the airport and got put on standby lists, not sit in a travel agency.

MrsTito said...

Actually, I saw the intersection as a way for the Guido's to actually make up the 30 minutes. If their team would have been faster or the other team slower at the task (eating sausages), then they could have gained a lead and then had not one, but TWO teams behind them and one team right with them. Although, it did work out that way. I don't like intersections, especially this one. Maybe I'm just partial for the the BQ's, but I thought waiting around 4 hours on another team was utterly ridiculous. And did anybody else laugh when the hid from C/M?

Brent McKee said...

Actually Rbennie, the decision for Danny & Oswald and Uchenna & Joyce to take the Fast Forward was in keeping with current strategic thinking on the Race now that there aren't Fast Forwards on every leg. The idea is that teams leading the pack take the Fast Forward to prevent back markers from using it. In this case, with Joe & Bill "marked for elimination" it's doubly important because it keeps them from being able to make up time on another team. Similarly Dustin & Kandice had the right idea when they wanted to do the Intersection with Joe & Bill - even thought they eventually did it with Charla & Bitchy (sorry, Mirna) - because so long as they remained in contact with the Guidos there was no way that they could finish behind them.

Sydney said...

Anon 10:53, an EXCELLENT point!! Jackie, wonder as to your opinion on this, having watched this show from it's inception....

Anonymous said...

Actually, Oswald and Uchenna compared their tallies at the end of their climbing and realized their tallies were the same and the other two's were different altogether. They decided together that they would go for the number 348 which both of them had. And it worked! On the first show, the 1st team (C&M) left the pitstop at 4:20 am and the last team (The G's) left at 7:01 pm, a difference of 14 hours and 41 minutes. Only one non-elimination left. Hope the Cha-Cha's make it to the end and hoping C/M are gone next elimination. So..so..sick of them!!!

Jackie S. said...

Sydney - If I were on the staff, I don't think I'd have put the Intersection following a non-elimination. However, when they planned it out, they had no way of knowing what a huge time span between teams there would be. In the normal realm of timing between the teams, the Guidos surely stood a chance. This sort of span really hasn't much precedent if memory serves.

Although... wasn't it Team Guido in third place back in Season One who were still somewhere like Alaska when the final two teams crossed the finish line?

Anonymous said...

I don't know,this seemed awfully unfair to me this time,what with the huge time gap and then the intersection that made it next to impossible to be able to overcome the time penalty. Things just are not working very smoothly this time,and,I know,I know,that's how travel is sometimes...but come on,folks,these people are RACING and it would be nice if they could keep competative.

The GUIDOS were on The Early Show this morning and had nothing but nice things to say about the show and fellow racers. They said they tried to run a nicer,gentler race cause they didn't want to make enemies with these "All Stars" that would get then "yielded" or worse.
Said they had "the chance of their lives" both times and that the concentration camp made them very grateful for where and when they live. They had GUIDO with them too!
I liked them much more this time through!

DriedPapercutsAndChickens said...

I just watched the cbs elimination station with them...and I kinda got sad knowing they were eliminated JUST like before.....hours and hours behind....

Anonymous said...
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Sydney said...

Good point about using the FF needlessly Rbennie, as well as the strategy as presented by Brent.

Thanks for all who commented about the 7 hour delay. Delee -- I would have wanted to go to the airport too but maybe they felt that they could have lost any open seats during the taxi ride there?

Mrstito -- I would have hidden from C/M too!!! Also, yes, the Ms. California comment was priceless, which he said without missing a beat!

From the 7 hour waits to doing things at all hours of the night and day, to being jerked from time zone to time zone, I would be a crabby muthaf*kkah and foggy as hell. I think that's easy to forget wehn we see certain people melt down, or fight for coffee, or be dim in a seemingly easy challenge....I give them all a LOT of credit. I prefer to sit in my comfy living room and watching!

Jackie - thanks for your answer to my ? I was sorry to see Guido
s go. I am going to be so bummed to keep watchign C/M but they keep hangin in there, and doing well for all our wishing they wouldn't!

Anonymous said...

I dont think anybody dislikes C/M for one being a little person. I think some of it is humorous, but it is more for the fact they are not nice people. I wanted them to win in their first season when I started watching, but then I saw how they acted. That was enough for me not to like them.

BTW, I think U/J should have let D/O have the vacation; afterall, they won their season. Like they need the vacation.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Jackie S. said...

If you can't post show-related comments without insults aimed at me, they're removed. Simple as that. Go troll elsewhere, Jacob. I know you're out of school this week, but don't spend it here. Or, just stick to the show and leave out the insults directed at me or other commenters.