'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - Ep. 4 -or- Sometimes "Next" Means "Tonight"

Thanks to graphic artist Zoetawny, I have a new image for the TAR entries!


Well, we can't trust Phil Keoghan, we just can't. Last week I mentioned how he opened the show with "who will be eliminated tonight?" This week, it was phrased differently leading me to believe it would probably be a non-elimination leg. After all, we're due one. Ah, but not this week and it was a shocker indeed.

"Eight teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?" (See the difference?)

Rob and Amber, the first-place finishers for the first three legs we've seen so far this season, left the Pit Stop at 6:11am. The last team to arrive at that Pit Stop, Charla and Mirna, left at 8:11am, thus a perfect two hour between first and last place at the starting gate for the new leg.

The teams had to fly to Punta Arenas, Chile, then travel by taxi to find the Lord Lonsdale shipwreck. As they arrived early and had tickets for the earliest flight, Rob and Amber thought to do an online search for the site of the wreck thinking that would give them a head start.

Although the airport scene seemed a bit less than other weeks, we still had to waddle through some drama and trauma. The ChaChas (Oswald and Danny) are determined not to leave their sense of style behind. Mirna thinks she constantly has to "make up for the shortcomings" of her team and that she's the hardest working person running the race. (Can I get an eyeroll here, please?) Mirna doesn't trust the Team Guido (Joe and Bill). Well, duh. They were one of the sneakiest teams ever in their season. Why would anyone trust them? It's just common sense! Silly (and annoying) Mirna.

Although the Guidos tried to get the airport to hold the plane, they didn't make it on the first plane. But, in the end, it didn't really matter as it often doesn't matter in the grand scheme of a leg. However, Uchenna and Joyce were on the same plane as Rob and Amber. Now, Uchenna asked the stewardess to write him directions to the shipwreck. Rob claims the woman gave it to him while Uchenna insists Rob "stole" the note from her. Who's right? I just don't know. But it was Rob who ended up with the note in question and was giggling about it.

The Detour was Magellan-related as he's important to the history of the area. The teams could either Detour It or Sign It. In Detour It teams had to navigate the city by map and compass to find the Nautilus Building where they would receive the next clue. In Sign It teams had to erect a sign post with all of Magellan's stops. The cities didn't have to point the right direction, but all must be spelled right.

That was the beginning of the end for a fan favorite team or one that folks loved to hate. Either way, a team who maked this race more interesting started what would do them in at the end by choosing the wrong task. The teams who chose Navigate It seemed to sail through while the teams choosing Sign It fell further and further behind.

While Uchenna and Joyce, Rob and Amber, and later Charla and Mirna, struggled with the sign task, the ChaChas, Eric and Danielle, and Teri and Ian made it to the next point on the race. They snagged the first charter plane of three leaving three hours apart on their way to Playa Larga in Ushuiai, Argentina. Amber tried to convince Rob to go to the other task, but he was determined. Finally, Romber teamed up with the Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) to do Navigate It. Even Charla and Mirna switched to that after horribly trailing the other teams.

I have to mention how nasty Mirna's treatment of Charla was tonight. That woman is condescending, mean, evil and outright mean to her very own cousin. She creeps me out. I so want her gone.

But, back to the race at hand... Rob, continuing his streak of bad decisions, led the BQ to the wrong building, thus increasing the lead the other teams had on them. As one of the Beauty Queens later said, "Rob and Amber weren't very helpful." Amber teased Rob to admit he was upset because he wanted to come in first again. Rob sheepishly turned to the camera in the cab, "I want to be in first." Aw. They later lied to Charla and Mirna and had all the other teams laughing about it. Alas, the cousins caught up.

After the charter flight, teams had to take boats which left every 20 minutes to the Isle of Redonda or, as it's known, the end of the world. It's a longitudinal thing. After they got to that point, they faced a Roadblock at the local post office. One member of each team had to search through a huge bag of letters for one addressed to their team. The letters were from a team which had raced the race with them in their own seasons.

Blake and Paige wrote a nice note to the ChaChas. Jeremy and Dani, the previous partners of Eric and Danielle, wrote to them. Ian and Teri got a note from Flo and Zach. Frank, who hated the Guidos in their season, wrote to them. Lyn from Bama actually wrote a nice note to the BQ. Susan and Patrick wrote a nice note to Uchenna and Joyce while writing a nasty letter to Rob and Amber. Lance and Marshall wrote to Mirna and Charla.

After the teams found and read out loud their letter to their team mate, they had to find the Pit Stop on foot. It's not a big island, of course. Here's where things got worse for Rob and Amber. Why the heck was he so lackadaisical while going through the mail? He was so sure they could beat Mirna and Charla in a footrace that he didn't even seem concerned. ACK. Sure enough, Mirna and Shmirna found their letter and made it to the Pit Stop before Romber. I repeat... ACK.

Here's the order of arrival to the Pit Stop:

1. Oswald and Danny - they won a trip for two to Maui
2. Eric and Danielle
3. Teri and Ian
4. Team Guido, Joe and Bill
5. Dustin and Kandice
6. Uchennal and Joyce
7. Charla and Mirna
8. Rob and Amber -- Philiminated (sigh)

Although they showed Uchenna helping Charla and Mirna to the mat, I got the feeling that Rob and Amber weren't exactly right on top of them at the finish. I think they were a good bit behind, more than a helping hand to the mat would accomplish.

I'm going to miss Rob and Amber on the race. I've mentioned that neither thrilled me on Survivor, but I liked them as a team on The Amazing Race. I really would like to see Mirna and Charla out of the show. While Rob is entertaining, they're annoying.

Oh, well... it's back to cheering on Oswald and Danny... or even the Guidos. Heck, Teri and Ian. Anyone but Charla and Mirna, mainly due to Mirna.

'The Amazing Race 11: All Stars' - East Coast Update... OMG

The arrival at the Pit Stop:

1. Oswald and Danny'
2. Eric and Danielle
3. Teri and Ian
4. Joe and Bill
5. Dustin and Kandice
6. Uchenna and Joyce
7. Charla and Mirna
8. Rob and Amber -- ELIMINATED.

I'm in shock.

Tonight's 'Amazing Race' Blogging

The show will be starting here on the East Coast in a few minutes. Around 9 PM EDT (ick), I'll post the finish order at the Pit Stop and Philimination or not. Late tonight I'll get a full review/recap up.

It sounds like it should be a good episode just judging by the promos!

Daylight Savings Pants - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - Mar. 12-16

Did you "spring forward" an hour? If not, you're going to be an hour out of step with the rest of the world. Me? I've always thought I was more than an hour out of step, but yeah... I messed with my clocks.

After last week's repeats, can we expect a fresh Letterman week ahead of us? Well, at least the first part of the week is fresh. Here's the skinny on the guests we can expect to see:

• Monday, March 12: Chris Rock promoting his new movie I Think I Love My Wife, Sandra Oh from Grey's Anatomy, and Amy Winehouse whose new CD is Back to Black.
• Tuesday, March 13: Jeff Goldblum, Barbara McQueen, and music guest The Good, The Bad, and The Queen (they have a self-titled CD out).
• Wednesday, March 14: Richard Gere promoting The Hoax and music group Aqualung (CD is Memory Man).
• Thursday, March 15: Oh, no! Beware! Beware of the Ides of March! Hmmm... the show's website list the guests as TBA.
• Friday, March 16: Also TBA. I think what we should be aware of is March Madness

The AOL TV Listings are also showing no information for Thursday and Friday evenings, so those shows will be Mystery Pants, I guess. They should be repeats and probably on very late.

TV Newsy Bits - Friday, March 9, 2007

It's Friday, a rather boring television evening for me. So, it was out to a rather late dinner and a return home to peek about the Internet to see what TV Newsy Bits can be found.

Of course, living in NJ, all of the newspapers have abundant Antonella Barba American Idol boot news. I skimmed a few articles and thought they didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. At this point, I'd just as soon forget about her. Now, if I could only forget Sanjaya Malakar.

In other TV Newsy Bits:

• I've been seeing television commercials seeking applicants for Big Brother 8. No, I'm not applying. The application link is available on the CBS website in case you want to apply!
• Rita Verreos, the latest castoff from Survivor 14: Fiji, was interviewed by Buddy TV.
• Alex Angarita, still on the Survivor show, is in deep hot water according to this Reality TV Calendar article. An excerpt: "According to the official complaint he is accused of threat and violence against the police officers. The charges include two felony counts of resisting arrest, one felony count of battery with injury on a peace officer and one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana." And, as you might remember, he's a lawyer. It sounds like he needs one now.
• Art featured on the show Heroes, painted by character Isaac Mendez on the show, but actually painted by graphic artist Tim Sale, will be auctioned by NBC. The proceeds will be donated to the Epilepsy Foundation.
• In local news around here, the NJ town of Bloomfield has finally given in... the final episode of The Sopranos will be filmed there. They had been holding out because they didn't care for how the show depicted Italian-Americans. However, they found out that they couldn't deny the filming on content. The final scene of the show will be filmed at an ice cream shop in town.