Photos
Video
RSS'The Amazing Race': Garrett and Jessica run afowl
I have no idea why there were cop cars racing around the Los Angeles River at the start of "The Amazing Race" tonight, but there were and Phil was talking about Hollywood movies and stunts. Perhaps the point was to highlight all the "drama" we're clear to encounter with some of the racers we were introduced to tonight. I know I shouldn't judge them on first impressions, but based solely on those little snippets we got, I was rooting for the Globetrotters (and not just because I've always wanted to go to a game but never have).
Maybe the drama that was supposed to be highlighted wasn't the racers, but the instant elimination, the show's brand new bit of awesome. The first destination of the season was the Shinagawa District in Tokyo, and there were only 11 license plates from Shinagawa on a wall of license plates in the "river," so only 11 of the 12 teams would be making the trip to Japan. The "smaht" folks from Massachusetts almost left the race instantly and I wouldn't have been sad to see them go, but watching the Yoga gurus disappearing didn't bother me either. Take that chakras!
I don't know how I feel about the instant elimination thing, but I do know that the show morphing into "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" once in Japan was odd. CBS didn't have a problem with "Amazing Race" doing that? As for the game they were playing on the show, Sushi Roulette, that was awesome - you gotta keep eating until you get a wasabi bomb, which then had to be downed in under two minutes. There were even great sound effects and graphics with the whole thing. Fun, but it didn't really look that hard.
Meghan & Cheyne got one of the first wasabi bombs and made it to the shrine Pitstop first. I was all worried that Ericka & Brian, because they left the studio last, would get eliminated when there were so many other teams more deserving of a plane ticket home. The two managed to get lucky however and not lose any tourists on their way to the shrine, but the poker players weren't as fortunate. Those two - who were on my list for lying about what they were doing for a living to other teams - did lose tourists. They didn't get eliminated though because this was a non-elimination leg (or, more accurately, a non-double elimination leg).
Part two of our double-episode tonight sent the teams to Ho Chi Minh City. And I was thrilled to see that while at the airport in Japan our poker players were spotted. Here's the thing about them - they were acting like completely horrible individuals, not the non-profit do-gooders they were pretending to be. Surely their ridiculous ruse wasn't going to last all that long anyway, and now that it's gone, I'm sure all the other teams hate them more than they otherwise would have. That's some smaht thinking ladies!
Once in Vietnam, the teams had to jump on a bus and go to a village. The folks on the later bus all agreed to throw in extra money to pay for the empty seats so the bus could leave early. Smaht plan. Also a completely unnecessary one as the docks where they were all going were closed for the night by the time the first bus arrived. I hope those folks don't need that money later, that's the sort of thing that could come back and get you.
The first task in Vietnam involved throwing mud over tree roots and seemed like a pretty easy, straightforward task, but sadly not as straightforward and easy as the poker players' Speed Bump, which barely cost them any time at all. Zev & Justin did have some trouble with the tree roots, but only because they lost their clue after finishing the task.
I know Justin fell in the river, but if you're on this show, don't you make sure you know, to a certainty, every single second where that clue is? Don't you check obsessively every single step of the way?
The next stop, the Roadblock, involved duck herding, which seems to require some sort of magical ability, though I can't pinpoint what that ability might be (perhaps it's similar to the abilities required to be a nerf herder?). I do know that I wanted to give it a shot, not that I would have been successful, but if I wasn't I certainly would have feasted that night.
From duck herding we went to the Pitstop, where Gary & Matt arrived first even though Sam & Dan finished herding first. Neither Ericka nor Jessica could herd a duck worth a damn and their two teams ended up well behind all the others. The two women looked to complete the task close enough to each other that it seemed like a relatively tight race to the finish with Ericka & Brian beating out Jessica & Garrett, who became the second team to leave this season.
What do we think of the season so far? It was a fun opening night, but I'm not getting that cheese-rolling feeling yet.
Bits and pieces:
- The poker players were lying about what they did for a living. What sort of insanity is that?
- Some would call Marcy "frantic," right now I just think of her as "peppy." If I were anywhere with her it might change into "annoying," but as she's only on my screen I'm going with "peppy."
- "You can throw up later." That's the kind of woman I want standing beside me.
- Did we get two legs of the race and no Detours tonight? Things seem to be a little different this season.
The TV and Film Guy's Reviews - we like ours a l'orange.
Follow Zap2it on Twitter for all the latest TV, movie and celebrity news.
Post a comment
Zap2it Twitter Talk 
The picture of the two poker girls that was used for the Speed Bump showed them sitting at a poker table with a stack of chips in front of them. If they hadn't already been busted, that would have been a serious clue to the other racers that these girls are no good-doers.
Also, I may be one of only a few people who tuned in to the show Nashville a season or two ago, but Mika was on that show. She had just come to Nashville and was looking for her big break in the music biz and became friends with Terry Bradshaw's daughter (don't remember her name). Guess she's still looking for that big break...
I muted the sound for much of the Japanese segment with the ersatz game show. Too noisy and repetitious.
Mostly I don't get into the race until the field is narrowed down.
"...but I do know that the show morphing into 'I Survived a Japanese Game Show' once in Japan was odd."
Agreed Josh. Very odd and one of the first overtly glaring mistakes this show has ever made. I wonder if casual, curious or first time viewers—tuning in because of all the Emmy hype-found found it distracting and immediately changed channels.
Overall, TAR did not do themselves any favors this season (or cycle) by starting the fist leg in Asia. Confusing, chaotic and hectic. This seems like a leg that should have been scheduled a little later on in the race.
Only other major observation:
Perhaps it's just me, but it seems like there's not as many "instantly likable" teams this time around. The annoyances and obnoxiousness that doesn't usually rear its ugly head among the teams until episodes 4 or 5 were out very early on.
For a competition reality series that has usually taken the high road and been one of the classier shows on TV, this was a little sad to see.
Was it Brian who got the lady at the airline counter to re-assign seats so that they could get on the flight? And wasn't he also the one who had the idea of everyone chipping in $100 so that the 2nd bus would leave earlier?
Glad the ruse of the obnoxious rich poker players is over (what a slap in the face to the people who actually work with homeless), but do I think some guy actually knew who they were in an airport? My guess CBS wanted to end this ruse quickly, paid a guy $50 bucks to say who they really were loudly enough so all could hear. Plus, what the heck kind of penalty Speed Bump was making soup and delivering it? They did not finish the task and came in last and that's their penalty? Weak. What's next - shake the hands of 10 people you don't know?
Thanks for your update! We had storms in Wisconsin Sunday night and the station was knocked out right at the instant elimination end! And later went off the air here in the middle of the Vietnam leg. But this episode was too frantic and long .... There's a reason I don't watch Japanese game shows!
Cynic: Brian was not on the first bus but the second one, however it was him who asked the airline agent to change the seats...I dont like he poker players, or the supposed laywer, no one has jumped out at me yet...
I recognized Tiffany, one of the poker players, right away. I don't think it's unreasonable that someone in the airport would say, "Hey, you look familiar!". She did quite well in last year's WSOP Main Event.
Most of the teams don't come across very well yet. I'm pulling for the poker players (hot) and Globetrotters (funny).
I've watched every season from the start and I found the changes in this premiere to be quite refreshing:
The instant elimation raised the stakes from the start and made the first ten minutes far more exciting than the usual "race to the airpaort" sequence we've seen 14 times.
The Japanese Game Show was an energetic and interesting way to keep things moving. Like the best TAR tasks, this one had a great mix of skill, luck, stress, and culture. It was different than anything the'd tried before and I thought it worked.
I also thought guiding the tourists added something new to the game. They had to break the language barrier, deal with potty breaks, and make the right choice at every turn or else the tourists would slow down and get grumpy. Hilarious.
The power went out in my neighborhood halfway through the second hour so no comment on whatever happened in Vietnam.
I was glad that the poker players were busted. It is going to be sad and funny watching them flirt with the gay brothers who managed to keep their secret so far. I thought good poker players could really read people.
It was amazing how Zev, the guy with Aspberger's syndrome, managed to guide the ducks without too much trouble (unless it was good editing) while some players' flocks were all over the place. I heard that some autistic people were good with animals, and like that animal behaviorist, could probably get into their heads and think like them. But he probably just concentrated on the task at hand and did not get overwrought and frustrated like Mika. Hopefully he will keep it together for the resrt of the race.