Episode Recap: Amazing Race 10, Week 2

Episode: Can Horses Smell Fear? Original Air Date: September 24, 2006 This week's episode starts off with the teams assigned to catch a bus and then a train to Outer Mongolia. Only five of the teams will be able to catch the first bus leaving at 12:00 am. The other teams will have to wait until 2:00 am. Pretty Boys Tyler and James (models/crackheads/jerks) are the first to leave since they won the previous challenge, and of course, are able to sign up for the midnight bus. In order to confirm what big butt pimples they are, they decide to hang around the depot and rub it in to those teams who have to ride the 2:00 am bus. I don't know what it is about being a tourist that make people feel they can give up all attempts at personal dignity when it comes to the clothes they wear (I'm talking about you, fanny-pack people). But the contestants on the Amazing Race are always willing to take it to the next level. For instance, several of the teams tonight are sporting flashlights strapped to their heads, like they're a bunch of coal miners or something. Speaking of coal miners and dressing like you don't care, Kentucky couple David and Mary are the last to depart for the bus depot. Mary is wearing a matching bright green bandana, t-shirt, and capri pants ensemble. I almost expect her to ask who stole her Lucky Charms. We are treated to this week's folksy redneckism by David who says during the pre-interview, "Mary is very blunt and she's to the point. She don't care if the President was standin' right in front of her. She'd just tell him, 'You're wrong. Get out of here.' And that's just the way she is, but that's what I love about her the most." Well, who can blame him? They arrive at the depot and meet with the other teams. Later, Mary tells the camera how they've never known any Asian people before, but she 'loves [Erwin and Godwin] to death'. Then, David and Mary whisper to the camera that they've never even met any gay people before. Mary adds, referring to Tom and Terry, 'but Buddy, I like 'em!' This show is going to be a lot less entertaining when these two get eliminated. The first bus leaves and arrives at the train station, where the Doublemint Twins, beauty queens Kandice and Dustin try unsuccessfully to do some covert research in order to catch an earlier train. The second bus load arrives and those contestants discover that they will be on the same train as the others, so the playing field is even again. While Peter and Sarah are waiting outside for the bus to arrive, a crowd of local men gather around them to stare at Sarah's leg. Sarah decides to get up and perform a little show for them, dancing and running. Peter holds his hands out for donations. Unfortunately, no one seems to be in a generous mood. Maybe Sarah should've tried to Mime her way out of an invisible box or something. Later the teams make their way be train to Outer Mongolia. They then catch cabs to take them to a certain temple where they will watch a performance, then receive their assignment for their next task. Every cabbie seems to know a different route to this temple. The Cheerleaders, the Obligatory Gay Couple, and the Bickering Couple Who Have Been Dating Awhile And Who Seems To Show Up Every Season are the first to arrive. Their next task is to drive an old Russian military jeep to a place where they will switch to horseback and be led by a Mongolian guide to some meadow where they will find their next clue. The teams have a difficult time trying to find the place where they pick up the horses. David and Mary actually convince a local man to get in their jeep and take them there. I wonder how this poor guy is supposed to get home. Single Moms Lyn and Karlyn also convince someone to hop in with them and give them directions, but this guy is an American tourist who only rides with the ladies long enough for them to know where they are going. They still end up stopping and turning around at one point. Tom and Terry stop at some kind of roadside checkpoint and ask the guards for directions. Terry gets out of the car and resorts to charades, bouncing up and down in an effort to mimic riding a horse. "Horses," he says as he slaps his own butt, "Horseback riding! Right or left?" Meanwhile, everything has been going wrong for the Pretty Boys. First, their cabbie took them to the wrong temple, then their jeep gets a flat tire. They dig the jack out of the back only to find out that it's broken. Rob and Kimberly stop and offer their jack, but it is stuck and the guys are unable to pull it out. Rob and Kimberly take off as they see the Single Moms approaching from behind. Tyler and James try to wave the Single Moms down. But they slow down just long enough to yell "Peace out!" out the window, then take off. "Screw them!" Lyn says, "It's not like we're just being mean. We just wanna win." Meanwhile, the Cheerleaders' jeep stalls out on them. A local man stops to help the Pretty Boys and proceeds to do all the work in changing the tire. The guys get back underway. The Cheerleaders also manage to get underway again when their jeep starts up. Peter and his bionic girlfriend Sarah are the first to arrive where the horses are kept. Sarah switches out one bionic foot for another one more suitable for riding horses. Go, go Gadget Horse Riding Foot! The Doublemint Twins are the next to arrive. Apparently, when riding a horse in Mongolia it is important to wear one of those big, Ghengis Khan fur hats with the ear flaps. "I'm a Mongolian right now!" Kandice declares as she puts on her hat. Then, demonstrating her awareness of and sensitivity to other cultures, adds, "Bring me some barbecue, Baby!" Meanwhile, David and Mary get their jeep stuck deep in mud. David tries rocking the jeep back and forth. Mary, always the supportive spouse, yells these words of encouragement, "No, see, you're just gettin' us stuck deeper!" At this point, I would've considered laying Mary under the jeep to provide traction, but the local guy they brought with them decides to go off in search of help. Four other teams pass them while they wait. As the various teams mount their horses, it looks like Kimberly has the hardest time. "Can horses smell fear?" she asks. No, but maybe they can smell whiny crybabies, which might be why Kimberly's horse runs her under a low-hanging branch, knocking her off. "Whoa, dude," Rob says as Kimberly who is uninjured but nonetheless crying sits on the ground trying to put her shoe back on, "I don't know what to do." One of the Doublemint Twins (I've given up trying to tell them apart at this point), also manages to fall off her horse and get dragged a few feet. It's not like these horses are bucking or even going very fast. Peter and Sarah are the first to finish their horse ride and receive their instructions. The teams are presented with a Detour (choice between two tasks), "Take It Down" or "Fill 'Er Up". The "Take It Down" task involves disassembling a Mongolian tent-house, folding the canvas in a particular way and packing it on to a camel. The "Fill 'Er Up" task involves taking a cart pulled by a Mongolian animal whose name I can not spell and loaded with four large water jars to a creek where they are to fill the jars then bring them back to camp. They will then have to fill a large barrel with the water they collected. Peter and Sarah choose "Take It Down". Meanwhile, several of the other teams arrive and the Kentucky couple are still stuck in the mud. It just so happens that if a vehicle is broken down or unable to continue, a replacement is provided. Soon a replacement jeep comes along for David and Mary. No reason is given why another vehicle was not provided to the Pretty Boys or the Cheerleaders. Peter is having such a tough time figuring out how to tie a Mongolian knot, that he decides to switch tasks. Sarah starts to cry because she 'hates quitting'. The other task doesn't work out much better for them as their animal seems to have a mind of its own. It runs off with the cart. They retrieve the animal and the cart, but instead of trying to get going right away, Peter stops to give Sarah the Dr Phil treatment again. But she tells him to stop lecturing her and move on. Peter seems to cross the line from supportive to annoying a lot. The Doublemint Twins arrive back at camp and finish emptying their jars into the barrel. But the barrel isn't filled enough so they have to head back to the stream. Peter's and Sarah's animal runs off yet again. Peter is ready to give up. "That thing's got fire in its eyes. We're done." Sarah starts to cry again. Rob and Kimberly, the Bickering Couple Who Have Been Dating Awhile And Who Seems To Show Up Every Season are bringing their cart back. Rob is riding on the back, trying to keep the jars from falling off. "Stop!" he yells. "Shut up!" Kimberly yells back. "When I tell you to stop, you stop!" "Oooooh!" Kimberly replies in disgust. Finally, the Doublemint Twins finish this task and receive their instructions. They must ride their horses back to their jeeps and then travel 27 miles to the Hotel Mongolia. The hitch is, they must do it with all of the safety equipment that was originally provided to them. It just so happens that one of the Doublemint Twins left her Ghengis Khan hat, which apparently is also a helmet, back at the creek. So she has to go find it. The Braniacs have also lost one of their helmets and have to go find it. Meanwhile, Duke and Lauren finish the "Take It Down" task and get underway. Peter and Sarah, who have switched back to this task, finish shortly thereafter. "Tie it, Sarah," Pep Squad Peter cheers, "show your upper body strength." Shut up, Peter! Despite switching tasks twice, these two are now in third place. Lyn and Karlyn have also decided to switch tasks at this point. Rob is yelling at Kimberly again, "Left! No, LEFT!" "Stop yelling at me!" Braniacs Erwin and Godwin find their missing helmet, while the Doublemint Twins are still looking for theirs. Finally, one of the Mongolian guides finds it for them, and they get underway. The Single Moms and the Cheerleaders are now tied for last place. The Single Moms fell way behind when they switched tasks late in the game. The Kentucky couple was nice enough to actually give them one of their filled water cans to help them catch up. Both the Single Moms and the Cheerleaders manage to finish their task around the same time, but their jeeps won't start. It turns out these vehicles actually use a crank that is inserted at the front of the car to get started. The Cheerleaders manage to get their jeep started first and take off. Their lead is soon gone when they get lost. Peter and Sarah and the Pretty Boys arrive at the Mongolian Hotel first. Their next challenge, a Roadblock (a challenge that only one team member can do), is to shoot a flaming arrow and hit a target several yards away on the ground. Once the arrow ignites the target, they can run up the hill to the next Pit Stop. Peter is the first to hit the target. As he and Sarah run up the hill, he dons his pep squad hat again, "Come on, Sweetie, you run. All that training, you're gonna prove to everybody." For the Love of God, Peter, shut up! They are the first team to finish. Phil tells them they've won a trip to Mexico. Good for them. All of the other teams, except for the Cheerleaders arrive and finish the task. The Cheeleaders are the last to arrive and attempt the task. But it proves too tough for Kellie, and she gives up. They are eliminated. Next week - Duke and Lauren run out of money and Dustin and Kandice cut in line.

Episode Recap: Amazing Race 10, Week 1

Episode: Real Fast! Quack! Quack! Original Air Date: September 17, 2006 Seattle, famous for the Space Needle and... some other stuff I'm sure. This city is the starting point for this season's Amazing Race. Surprise, surprise - it happens to be raining in Seattle this day. As the show opens, the 12 teams are dramatically flown to their starting point by sea plane. I guess there are no major roads that lead to Seattle. It must be so remote that the only way to get there is by sea plane. As the teams leave their sea planes, we are introduced to them one by one: Sarah and Peter - Triathalon training partners who've recently started dating. She has an artificial leg and he builds artificial limbs. I wonder if they'll be carrying a "spare" with them in their backpacks. Bilal and Sa'eed - Two American Muslims from Cleveland. "In reference to the race," Bilal declares, "there's no question we will fall over and take five minutes and pray". Rob and Kimberly - Dating couple. In the pre-interview, Rob proceeds to spill his guts about his relationship with Kimberly, "Kimberly and [my] relationship is at that point where we either move forward or we don't... Kimberly wants everything her way. But I'm a human being, she can't control me. She needs to learn that." Sheesh, Rob. This is the The Amazing Race, not Dr. Phil. At least wait until you're all stressed out from the race to vent. Dustin and Kandice - Reigning beauty queens (Miss California and Miss New York, respectively). These girls are so much alike I believe they are interchangeable. They shall henceforth be known on this site as "The Doublemint Twins". David and Mary - Married couple from Kentucky. He's a coal miner. She's a homemaker. Referring to the time they met, Mary gushes, "I didn't think he'd want anything to do with me, 'cause he's so cute." I guess "cute" is a relative term. Of course, in Kentucky everything's relative, if you get my drift. Erwin and Godwin - Body-building brothers. "When look at me, they think, 'There's a meathead'. But the difference is I studied at NYU," Godwin says, then adds, "for my master's." Not be overlooked, Erwin details his educational resume then declares, "I don't think there'll be a problem the two of us can't solve." Well, at least they're not snobs about it. Of course, they neglected to mention that the reason they went into bodybuilding is probably because they would regularly get beaten up by the other kids for having names like "Erwin" and "Godwin". Duke and Lauren - Father and daughter. Duke states he loves his daughter they starts to cry as he begins to talk about the fact that she is gay. Enough with the Dr. Phil moments! Their info online says that having been estranged, these two decided to take part in The Amazing Race to 'strengthen their relationship'. I can't imagine a better place to work on one's relationship with a loved one than a highly stressful, physically demanding spectacle that will be viewed by millions of people. Vipul and Arti - Young married couple. From their brief segment, there would appear that the only interesting things about these two is that they are Indian-American and Hindu. But their online bio states that they are both well-traveled and speak several languages. This may be the team to watch. Kellie and Jamie - Cheerleaders from South Carolina. Talking about how they amuse each other, Kellie says, "You could put us in a cardboard box and we'd have fun." I don't doubt it. These two seem like they'd be entertained by flickering lights. Jamie adds, "We both have the kind of personality where we could have a conversation with a doorknob." I wonder if they'd know the difference. Tyler and James - Best friends. Both are recovering drug addicts and male models. They say they met in rehab and started modeling "together". How do two guys model together? In spite of how that sounds, this is not the Obligatory Gay Couple that shows up on every season of The Amazing Race. Lyn and Karlyn - Single moms from Birmingham. They are independent women who don't need anybody - unless there's a spider in the house that needs to be killed. Tom and Terry - Obligatory Gay Couple. The narration describes them as "boyfriends from New York". And in case we didn't get the point, the next shot is of them getting manicures. The teams gather on a hill to receive their first instructions from Phil Keoghan. Phil alludes to new twists in the game this season. The teams are told to run down the hill, pick up their backpacks, read the instructions left on their backpacks, then grab one of 12 SUV's wating for them. Their written instructions tell them to fly to Beijing, China on one of two specified flights. On their way down the hill, one of the contestants (I can't tell who) trips. Off to a great start already! Most of the teams take off at the same time, however beauty queen Kandice can't figure out how to start the car. She eventually has to turn the car over to Dustin. But she's not the only one having trouble. Coal miner David can't figure out how to get the car in gear, even though it has an automatic transmission. "I ain't use to these new vehicles here." I guess if it the car isn't outfitted with a gun rack on the back, David's going to have trouble with it. Duke and Lauren are also having trouble. But all teams eventually leave. Cut to Bilal and Sa'eed. "I'm very agressive," Bilal says, "He's somewhat a passive guy, which is good, because you need that blend." Um, wouldn't that blend be "passive-aggressive"? Cut to Lyn and Karlyn discussing China. "Remember... what they said about how people in China feel about people like us from Alabama. They like us because of Forrest Gump." David and Mary seem to be having the most trouble finding the airport. David has to stop for directions. When Mary tells him he's taking the long way, he responds by telling her to be quiet. Cut to pre-interview "In Kentucky," Mary explains, "we're used to the mans makes all the decisions and the wife just sits over and takes care of the kids. He just needs to see on this race we're gonna be 50/50." Cut back to race - "You need to start listenin' to me if you wanna win this race!" These two don't have a prayer of winning this race. However, they do manage to be the second team to the airport. The first is Sarah and Peter who avoid a traffic jam that slowed down everyone else by taking an alternate route. Meanwhile, Bilal and Sa'eed can't figure out the airport parking lot. Only the first six teams will be able to make the first flight, which is scheduled to arrive in Beijing an hour before the second. Most of the teams catch up with each other at the ticket counter. After meeting Bilal and Sa'eed, one of the cheerleaders ask the other, "So... do Muslims believe in Buddha?" You know, it might be good to learn a little bit about other countries and cultures before going on a race around the world. Irwin and Godwin start spraying everyone else in the group with water pistols, which promptly get confiscated by airport security. You can't expect these guys to know beforehand that items like toy guns would not be allowed at airports. It's not like they have Master's degrees or anything... oh, wait. Both flights eventually arrive in China. Their first task is to get to the Gold House restaurant. On the cab ride over, Lyn and Karlyn grouse about Sarah receiving special treatment at the airport and on the airplane due to her artificial leg. Because of her disability, she and Peter had been able to be seated first and then avoid the line at the Beijing airport. "It's not fair," they complain. Wah. Duke and Lauren, who are the first to arrive at the airport find out that their "Roadblock" (a task that can only be performed by one team member) is to eat all of the eyeballs found in a bowlful of fish heads. Yum! Lyn and Karlyn arrive shortly thereafter and are the first to complete the challenge. Other teams arrive and finish the challenge as well. For many of the teams, eating fish eyeballs is not as rough as figuring out chopsticks. Next, the teams must go to the Forbidden City and find the Meridian Gate and locate a kiosk where they will select one of three departure times for the next morning. As David and Mary jump into a cab, Mary instructs the driver, "Real fast! Quack! Quack!" Mandarin, Cantonese, Duck - it's all the same. Meanwhile, Kandice and Dustin find out that their driver took them to the wrong restaurant. They still manage to beat three of the other teams to the Gold House even though they have to walk around looking for it. All of the teams complete the restaurant roadblock and make their way to the Forbidden City. Lyn and Karlyn are the first to arrive. Bilal and Sa'eed are the last to arrive and find out the hard way what the first surprise in this race is - even though this is not a Pit Stop, they have been eliminated. The next morning the teams have to take a motorbike with a sidecar (driven by one of the locals) to a junction where they will then take pedi-cabs to their next destination. On the way to the motorbikes, Sarah finds out that there is a malfunction with her artifical leg - a malfunction that Peter can't fix. They plod along anyway and manage to be first to arrive at the pedi-cabs. Once at the pedi-cabs, the teams are presented with a Detour (a choice between two tasks). Either they can choose "labor", which entails paving a street with bricks and mortar, or "leisure" - taking a class in Tai Chi. The catch with the Tai Chi class is that if the contestants don't do it right the first time, they could find themselves spending hours there. All but two of the teams, the Chearleaders and the Obligatory Gay Couple, choos "Labor". Pretty boys Tyler and James are the first to finish this task. The next task is to travel to a certain point on the Great Wall and scale it with a rope to the next Pit Stop. Sarah, with her malfunctioning artificial leg, has an incredibly difficult time with this task. But she and her one-man-pep-squad, Peter, still manage to come in third on this task. The Pretty Boys come in first, winning $20,000 for winning this leg of the race, making me hate them even more. Meanwhile, the other teams are struggling to finish their Detour tasks. Rob and Kimberly and the Braniacs Erwin and Godwin finish about the same time and jump into seperate cabs. "The Great Wall," Kimberly instructs the driver, "The Great Wall of China." I'm sure the driver appreciated her clarification. He would've been really embarrassed to have taken them to another Great Wall. Vipul and Arti, who don't finish until much later, resort to charades to instruct their driver. "Big wall, " Arti says as she gestures with her arms wide open, "Big wall." I take back what I said about this team being the team to watch. Apparently no dialect of Chinese is among the "several languages" that either Vilpul or Arti speak. Of course, why would they bother to learn Chinese? Only a billion people speak it. Tom and Terry finish the Tai Chi, which involves being able to flip a tennis ball with a racket from under your bent leg, then being able to catch it on the racket. They make it to the Great Wall at the same time most of the other teams do. The cheerleaders finish a little later and arrive at the Great Wall shortly. Kentucky wife Mary is having a harder time scaling the wall than Sarah had. David tries coaching her, "Push up with your legs!" "Shut up, Dave!" she yells back. "I love you!" "Yeah, I'm sure." Mary finally manages to climb the wall. She and Dave end up in 10th place. "What?" Mary asks, "You mean we're not last?!" Vipul and Arti don't even get to the Wall until all of the other teams have already finished scaling it. They are eliminated. Next week - Trouble with horses and other animals.