'The Amazing Race 10' - Ep. 5 -or- "Is that a homeless cow?"

Seven teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

Finally, the teams go to another country. While I found Vietnam a wonderfully exotic and interesting place, this is supposed to be a race around the world. More than one leg in one country feels sort of like they're stagnating. At least, it does to me.

Unlike last week's rather close departure times from the Pit Stop, I noticed there was a three-hour gap between first and last place. That would be Rob/Kimberly and Dustin/Kandice, respectively. Will it matter or will the teams encounter another infamous TAR bunching point waiting for something to open or a flight or somesuch? Only time will tell.

It's off to Chennai, India! For some reason, Vietnam doesn't allow the sale of tickets at airlines and all plane tickets must be purchased from travel agents. It doesn't seem to be a show rule, but a restriction placed by the government. That's odd.
Sarah told us more about her feelings for Peter in a confessional segment. She doesn't put him on the pedestal she once did. Yes, Sarah! Dump him. He's a pompous so-and-so who treats you poorly. He's using you and he really seems like he's not a nice guy, not at all.

Tyler and James saw an addict shooting up drugs near the railroad tracks, so we heard another "so happy to be recovered" bit. The ChoBros have really hooked up with Lyn and Karlyn to develop an alliance which seems to help Lyn and Karlyn more than themselves. Peter seems to be getting creepier in each leg of the race. In addition to treating Sarah poorly and being a pompous you-know-what, he's taken to spying on the other teams to get a step ahead and mocking other teams.

So, what do the ChoBros do? They borrow a cellphone and make a totally fake phone call to make reservations so he could eavesdrop and freak out. And, that he did. Ultimately, it didn't really help the brothers out much, but it was worth it to make a fool of Peter. Even the Barbies (Dustin/Kandice), Peter's supposed allies, were turned off by his spying and no longer trust him.

The teams ended up split between three flights to Chennai. Some had to buy tickets for a connection and poor David and Mary were alone on a later flight. Again, it really didn't make a huge difference in the overall race.

Once in Chennai, the teams had to take a bus to Mallapuram. While David and Marry and the ChoBros tend to look at everything as wondrous and exciting, Rob mumbled, "From one polluted city to another." And, his lovely Kimberly declared she wanted to go to Europe. Tyler and James got lost with a lost cab driver, but most of the teams made it to the arts and crafts store where they received their next clue -- a Detour.

The Detour, a choice between two tasks which are relevant to the region or its culture, was between Wild Things or Wild Rice. In Wild Things, the teams had go tie a crocodile's snout shut, tie the crocodile to a stretcher, then transport it to a man who would give them their next clue. In Wild Rice, teams had to take colored rice powder to make designs according to speculation. Believe it or not, the crocodile choice seemed to be the easier of the two tasks. Most of the teams picked Wild Things, but David/Mary and James/Tyler struggled through Rice.

In personal bits, Mary declared she would not fight a crocodile no way, no how. Sarah told Peter she's not having fun when he told her he has to either win or just not care and that she should just have fun. She's tired of him giving up or pushing her so hard. All she really wants is a middle road and he's not giving her one. (Dump him, Sarah!) Peter and Sarah passed by their "allies" Dustin and Kandice who were stuck with a flat tire. And, tonight's Dumb Line of the Week came from Kimberly. Now, they're in India. Anyone who knows anything about India knows that the folks there often think the cow is a sacred being. They wander the streets, no one bothers them. So, Kimberly sees one and says, "Oh. Is that a homeless cow?" Even Rob thunked his head over that one. Duh.

Next up was a Roadblock -- a task which can only be completed by one member of each team. This one was a hoot! They had to go to the Karthik Driving School, take a lesson, do a road test and receive a driver's license in India. Of course, if this were happening in the USA, it would take the whole season, but we're talking India. Hand signals and a Harpo Marx horn to honk at children and animals (and only children and animals, please) were the rules of the road. Other than those, the only rule was to make it out of there alive without hitting anything, it seemed. All on the left side of the road, as per their laws.

License in hand and driving school car on the road, it was off to the Pit Stop. Here was the order of arrival:
1. Peter/Sarah - Each won a home gym for placing first in the leg.
2. Dustin/Kandice
3. Rob/Kimberly
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. Lyn/Karlyn
6. Tyler/James
7. David/Mary

This was the first of probably three non-elimination legs this season. Unlike the last few years which had the money and possessions stripped from the teams in last place, Phil Keoghan (the Philiminator) told David and Mary that they're "marked for elimination." In the next leg, they must arrive in first place or suffer a 30-minute penalty. That time penalty could very well knock them out, so first or the closest they can get to it is a must. Next week should be interesting. They're not the fastest or strongest team, but I'd like to see them hang in there.

Rob and Kimberly weren't as annoying with bickering this week, but I still wouldn't miss them if they were out of the running. I like Peter less each time I see him. The ChoBros, Erwin and Godwin, are still my favorites for the win. Of course, I'm horrible at picking the winning team so that might be bad luck for them. This week they wore LOST shirts with a picture of Phil on them and a lookout notice for a missing Kiwi. Phil is from New Zealand, thus the Kiwi. He laughed at the shirts when they got to the Pit Stop. I think Phil likes these guys, too!

'The Amazing Race 10' Pit Stop Arrival East Coast Update

Arrival order -

1. Sarah/Peter - Each won a home gym
2. Dustin/Kandice
3. Rob/Kimberly
4. Erwin/Godwin
5. Lyn/Karlyn
6. Tyler/James
7. David/Mary

This was a non-elimination leg. David and Mary are still in the race. The rules have changed - they keep their money and possessions. But, if they don't come in first at the Pit Stop in the next leg, they will receive a 30 minute penalty as they're "marked for elimination."

A full report will be posted later tonight.

Tonight's 'The Amazing Race 10' Blogging Schedule

Tonight's TAR is running about 20-25 minutes behind schedule here in the NYC area due to football. (Sigh.)

Once the show finally airs here, I'll post an East Coast Update with the Pit Stop arrival order and the Philimination or non-Philimination if it's time for one of those.

Late tonight, I'll post a recap/review of the show.

In the meantime, I watched a show about hot dogs on WNET, Channel 13, public television. They didn't even mention Jimmy Buff's (local cool Newark-style dogs with potatoes!) or Hot Dog Charlie's (my early childhood hot dogs). Sheesh!

Um. I'm kind of hungry now.

'The Bachelor' and 'Nip/Tuck' - Blog Meet Up Discussion Post

You asked for it, you got it!

Here's a place for you to talk about The Bachelor and Nip/Tuck with friends. Share links to websites, share this post link with friends, discuss the latest episode!

The link to this entry will be posted on the sidebar of the main page along with other discussion posts. Please feel free to have fun.

:-)


The official websites for these shows are at:
The Bachelor
Nip/Tuck



I don't watch the shows, but who knows? After reading your discussions, I just might have to check them out!

'Survivor 13: Cook Islands' - Ep. 5 -or- "Ankle Octopi, the Newest Fad"

16 are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

After the inevitable recap of last week, the show opened with the Raro Dudes hustling. Since JP was voted off last week, they're worried the women will come gunning for them. They're outnumbered and they're worried. And, more importantly, they're working. While they want to show how much they can actually do, the women are just taking it all in.

Over on Aitu, the gender war sort of continues. At least Cao Boi is irked about the women on his tribe doing less than the manly men. With the way he irks others, he may not be in a position to cast stones.

Treemail with its hints of challenges to come sent the castaways to meet up with Jeff. This was a rather new one for a change, not a recycled past challenge with new casting. Each tribe had to pick three pairs from their ranks. The pairs had to stand tied together as the remaining folks placed weights on the pairs of their choosing in five pound increments.

When I saw Adam and Nathan were a pair, I figured them for both the target of others and for the win. Sure enough, they were loaded up with the most weight and struggled to hold each other in the competition. The idea of wine kept Nathan going and they persevered. Since JessFlicka decided to taunt others, I chortled when she and her partner, Ozzy, went down. As Nathan would say, "Karma is a bizzle."

So, Raro won Reward - a bottle of wine, spices, and more fishing gear. They also won the opportunity to choose someone from Aitu to go to Exile Island. Now, we know it's a waste, but only Becky and Yul know for sure that the hidden Immunity Idol has already been found (by Yul). They chose to send Jonathan. He will return before the Immunity Challenge and will not be safe from Tribal Council voting should Aitu lose immunity.

After the challenge, back at the Raro camp, the guys are still hustling. Adam hustled so mightily that he somehow caught an octopus who must have thought he was a constricting snake. The octopus wrapped itself right around Adam's ankle. I can see it being the next utilitarian fashion trend -- ankle weights and, after exercise, it's dinner!

You would think that since they won something, they'd be happier. Nuh-uh! Jenny complained that Cristina is the "new JP." And, Cristina didn't help matters any when she accidentally spilled the pot of octopus (yes, ankle-octopus), then tried to blame Jenny. Actually, she just claimed that she thought Jenny was watching it, but blame enough. The girls want Cristina to be the next out.

Over at the Aitu camp, Yul wants to try to catch a chicken and the tribe is lamenting about the lack of resources there. Some want to row to a nearby island to see if they can collect coconuts and other needed supplies. Cao Boi, Ozzy, and Jessica tried to convince Sundra to join them in their quest, but she turned them down, preferring to stay behind with Yul, Becky, and Candice.

With most of the Alliance of Four (who wants to be of five), and just Jonathan missing on Exile Island, Yul tried to sway Sundra to join them. Sundra seemed a bit reluctant to commit, but said she feels more comfortable with them than with Ozzy and Cao Boi. Yul told her he didn't trust Ozzy.

Oh... the island that decided to explore? Well, it was none other than the Raro camp island! Oy! That did not go over well at all with Raro, and Adam, in particular was not a happy neighbor. Cao Boi went into a bizarre Cao Boi long tale of rats, snakes, and other animals being friends, being feared, and on and on. And, on and on some more. Perhaps it was his attempt to hypnotize the tribe to steal their spices. I don't know. He did have the nerve to ask them for just a bit and the answer was laughter, followed by an empatic no.

On Exile Island, Jonathan dug a huge trench following the clues. He decided the hidden Idol has already been found or that he's the biggest moron in the world. You're not a moron, Jonathan.

Not only did we have a fresh new Reward Challenge, the Immunity Challenge was also new fodder! The tribes had to put together three "stepping poles" each, two tribe members had to use the poles to cross to a platform with the other tribemates supporting them and moving them forward. Then, they all had to swim to a tiered platform and all had to gather at the top of a small platform.

Aitu kept up their mini-streak and was declared the winner. Raro almost won it, but every single tribe member fell off their platform, so they had to all get up there again.
So, it's the "who are we voting for" routine as Raro returned to their camp. Remember, earlier they wanted to vote Cristina off because she's bossy. It was all going that way once again until -- almost like last week -- Stephannie said something a bit dumb, this time to Nathan. They were talking about the plan to vote Cristina off when Stephannie said, "I wouldn't mind eating some mashed pototoes tonight."

That was all Nathan needed even though she's his Hiki-hood Love. He went to Adam and Brad, told them that he felt her spirit was broken and she wanted to go home. It spread. Parvati asked Stephannie and she denied she wanted to go home. She also said she wouldn't beg to stay.

Perhaps she should have begged.

At Tribal Council, the vote was unanimous with the exception of her own vote for Cristina. Stephannie is history. The other rather interesting event other than the vote was that Nathan spoke up and said how bossy Cristina was to others. That may come back to bite him or it could warn her. I guess we'll see.

At the end of the show, in the promos for next week, it appears we'll get the double-castoff I predicted due to too many on the show. Jeff said something about one from each tribe would be evicted. Of course, that doesn't leave much incentive to win Immunity, does it? Unless they don't know -- it's certainly too early to break down for individual immunity.