Flights
Since teams started leaving the Pit Stop at 6am, I’d hoped that there would finally be some level of punishment for being at the back of the pack. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be, as teams were bunched onto charters bound for the “end of the world” and thus, the only competition was for the front runners to guarantee themselves safety from elimination. Charla and Mirna were smart to check up on flights before reaching the airport. Unfortunately for them they were too far behind to have that information be of any use to them.
Detour – Navigate It or Map It
Obviously, looking for the nautical museum was a lot faster than painting and building a pole, although had Romber doublechecked their spelling they would have blitzed through this task. Even worse, Rob made a note about the spelling. It was just the start of a very long couple of days for the couple.
Roadblock
Not much to say here except that the “needle in the haystack” nature of the Roadblock was designed to negate the 20 minute advantage that teams had. This, of course, helped lead to Rob and Amber getting eliminated, but as Richard noted in his column, that wasn’t the only reason – it was just the final nail in the coffin. And as I’ve already mentioned to Mr. Mauntah, there was Jean Val de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999. And of course there were the Yankees in whatever year it was against Boston. Of course, in terms of Reality TV, perhaps the biggest surprise since, I dunno, the Aitu 4 reaching the Final Four in Survivor
The Letters
OK, so why were some of the letters from people that openly despised the All Star racers? Even worse, those two teams weren’t particularly memorable. For the record, we had:
Frank and Margarita – separated parents, 2nd place season one
Blake and Paige a.k.a. Team Smiley – siblings and perhaps the nicest team ever to participate, 3rd place season two.
Zach and *** – winners, season three. Let’s just move on.
Lance and Marshall – brothers who quit rather than head to the Pit Stop, who cares, season six.
Patrick and Susan – mother and her whiny son who is obviously repressing a crush on Rob. Again, who cares, season seven.
Jeremy and Dani – the previous partners of Eric and Danielle, season nine.
Lyn – one half of Alabama who didn’t unconditionally hate the Beauty Queens, 3rd place, season ten. Hey, if Karlyn didn’t want to write something, why not get the Chos?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention…
The quotable Phil Keoghan, who said something to the effect of “That’s a whole ‘nother reality show” in reaction to Danny and Oswald’s invitation to join them on a cruise.
Mirna, again
OK, back to my biggest problem with the Race – Mirna. Sometimes I cannot believe the crap that comes out of her mouth. She berates Charla for not doing things “correctly”, nothing is ever her fault, they only rely on themselves, and of course she “knows” when people are lying – after the fact, of course. Let’s look at things, shall we? Charla didn’t bring the passports – well, that was perhaps Charla’s fault, but those red, yellow and black fanny packs are supplied to everyone – perhaps you should both be wearing it. Mirna (carrying a wood pole) complains about Charla being slow carrying the signs and paint. Of course, when they (inadvertently) switch jobs, it goes slightly faster. But then they end up switching tasks. Finally, they follow Rob and Amber looking for the cluebox, see Rob and Amber heading back the way they came, and (of course) Romber lie about having the clue, and Mirna KEEPS HEADING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. Later, she proclaims that she knew Amber was lying all along. And to be fair, Amber is nowhere at the level of deceit that Rob plays at (part of the reason that Rob didn’t win Survivor All-Stars), but if you know someone is lying about directions, stop and turn around.
That’s not even mentioning about how they were happy that they finally managed to not finish last. Remember – this is the fourth leg and their second kick at the can. Somehow, they’ve forgotten that finishing last usually means that you’re eliminated. Mind you, it doesn’t mean that they’ve done well – they’ve finished next-to-last in the last two legs. It’s not a great recipe for WINNING the Race, but as far as avoiding Philimination goes, it works. They’re still in the game.
Unlike Rob and Amber
Well, reality’s “royal couple” are now gone. Too soon? About time? It all depends on your point of view. But you have to admit that going from three straight first place finishes to elimination is a pretty big turnaround. Does this throw the Race wide open? Not really. In my mind there were four teams that had the best chance of winning the Race. Three of them are still in it, and I’m still pulling for those three to Race to the Finish Line.
