I'm back!
I'll try my best to post my blog every week on the new season.
It's great to have Amazing Race back on the tube!
First of all, I am really disappointed to not see a Parent & Child team on this season, it is just really heartbreaking. I mean, Nancy & Emily (Mother & Daughter team) were a big reason why I watched the first season. I rooted for them and it was great to watch their relationship bloomed during the race. They were a big reason why I wanted to do the race with my mom in the first place. A great way to share a lifetime experience with your parent, right?
I guess it is just a big disappointment since it's in 20th season (and ten years now) and none of Parent/Child teams won a race ever. Only Parent & Child teams that came that close from winning the Amazing Race were Ronald & Christina (Season 12 - second place), my Mom & I (Season 14 - third place) and Gary & Mallory (Season 18 - 3rd place). I remember at one point in China where Mallory, Christina and I got together and talked about how one of us have to win the Amazing Race and how we need to get to the Final Three together. Apparently, India weren't too fond of Ronald & Christina and my Mom & I!!!
Hopefully, there will be a Parent & Child team on Season 21 and finally WIN the whole thing! Fingers Cross.
Ok, time for my breakdown on new teams this season.
It seems like there's a LOTS of government-type teams this season. I can see this season being so cut-throatting. I already said this before, I am not a big fan of cross-over teams so, I am not too thrilled to see Brendon & Rachel on the Race. They nearly killed each other on Big Brother. I would not be surprised if they did not make it out on the Race alive.
When Phil explained about hot air balloons, I expected there would be a penalty for a team that finishes the task last but this time, there's no penalty. I was disappointed. I mean, I know every season & rules are different. But, just imagine that, if there's no penalty for last team at the starting line on Unfinished Business then the whole race probably would have a totally different outcome. Who knows how well Amanda & Kris would have done??
I loved the roadblock twist!! Really tricky! I am sure it will keep teams on their toes for entire race when they have to chose who to perform the roadblock task. Hopefully we'll see tricky roadblock again in second episode.
To be honest, I was not too impressed with empanada task. Sure, it is tricky but simple. I think the first task in the first leg should be at least somehow brutal. Or make them eat empanadas. To make the teams work hard to earn their spots on the Race. Remember the cheese hill task on my first season? Now, that's pretty brutal and utterly exhausting! I mean, a cheese wheel could have killed poor Mel if it hits him! We were covered in mud and cow manure. The first leg on 18th season were pretty brutal as well. We had to run 1 1/2 mile to the pit stop in 100 degree weather. Compass was pretty heavy to carry as well. We were just practically dying!!!
I would have liked to see the pit stop to be like a mile away instead of right next to empanada task. Make the teams sweat their blood out!
Clowns... At the first glance, they stand no chance on this season. They're not pretty athletic like rest of teams are. I'm just baffled when Cherie cried in car. I mean, for god's sake, they have not even reached to the first task! It's just in the beginning. She need to get it together and be aware that the teams could always get lost or stumped at the challenges that give them a chance to pass them just like at empanada task. After all it is Amazing Race. Teams often makes mistakes. Nobody are perfect at racing around the world. They would be pretty lucky if they get to survive for few more legs.
My prediction for the Final Three: Nary & Jamie, Elliot & Andrew, and Dave & Rachel (Express Pass Winners - given with past history, Expass Pass Winners usually make it to the Final 3).
Let's hope the challenges on second leg going to be much tougher! :)
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monday, October 3, 2011
Watch out for the small things...
Can you say, “WOW!?”
The table sign actually determined the teams’ fate!! I actually loved it!
First of all, I do not feel bad for Ethan & Jenna and Ron & Bill. Nobody can fault them expect for themselves. They had their chance to stay in the Race. The table sign was pretty visual. It is RIGHT there on the table. How can it be hard to not miss it? I am surprised that several teams did not take one minute to check the sign out.
There were a lot of outcry fouls about how the table sign’s unfair because the table sign weren’t in the Race colors. Remember when my Mom and I had to do the tea tasting in China last season? We were not informed in advance that the tea tasting would be a challenge in India. The cups weren’t even colored yellow and red! I assumed it’s a Chinese culture somewhat. Hence, I had my tea tasting back in Season 14 and it was in China as well!! So, it did not even occurred to me that the tea tasting were going to be a Roadblock challenge when we hit India.
I never knew about the tea task. If there were a hint or something like that, I probably would have took my time to actually taste the tea tasting then I probably wouldn’t be last in the tea tasting challenge. So, do you think this is unfair? The table sign is pretty fair, I think. The teams cannot blame themselves, it’s not like the table sign were hidden. It’s in plain view. Crystal clear. I guess, the children probably distracted them from reading the sign. Who can blame the kids?!
For the teams from last night, they actually had a chance to save themselves!!! Like Kaylani and Lisa. They actually took their time to see what the table sign says. They saved themselves from being a victim of Double Elimination! It is VERY important to be aware of your surroundings. It could be a HUGE factor like..
The Surfboard Challenge?
Ok, enough about the table sign.
About time for the Amazing Race to visit Indonesia. That’s the first for Amazing Race. Wayyy overdue! I thought we might get to get to visit Indonesia last season since it’s pretty close to Australia. Instead of we had to travel pretty far to Japan...
I bet it’s culture shock for the teams when they saw the people sitting on the top of trains! It looked pretty unsafe, I don’t know how can they manage to stay on it and not fall off!
Bill & Cathi were the first one to reach the Cave and encountered the Speed Bump.
Now, their Speed Bump task had me cringe. Seriously, untie the rope knots!? A bunch of fifth graders could have done that! The task were not very interesting and not very time-consumed... Honestly, I think the Speed Bump tasks should have been time-consumed given with the team being saved from being eliminated should be not reward with so simple task. From what I remember: there were three time-consumed Speed Bumps.
Season 12: Xysin and Kynt performed Indian Yoga in Mumbai. I heard their entire story of how they had to do yoga. It’s pretty tough. At least, the task looked pretty cool from what I saw on t.v. but pretty time-consumed.
Season 14: Jodi and Christie had to paint colors on an elephant in Jaipur. A real elephant! Now, that’s pretty awesome task. There’s a chance that the elephant could have been out of control and not cooperating with J & C. Pretty risky Speed Bump.
Season 18: Gary & Mallory actually used their brains to figure the measurements for the gas. They had to take their time and make sure that the numbers were accurate so that way they would not have to screw it up and have to do it over again. I liked that task as well.
That’s what the Speed Bumps should be all about. Tough & Interesting & Time Consumed Tasks.
All I can say that Bill & Cathi got lucked out with easy Speed Bump task.
Off to spelunking in the Cave! Now, that’s pretty awesome! Big kudos to Cindy - she’s only one female from coed teams that got to do the physical task. But again, there’s a rule that every racer only could do 6 roadblocks maximum. I assume all teams are trying to rotate their Roadblock numbers. I’m glad no one got hurt in the Cave. The safety is pretty important on the Race.
The detour tasks reminded me of the dance task where my Mom and I had to dance front of the crowd in India and collect money. It made me feel really uncomfortable that we had to beg people for money especially that we were in the third world country. I felt bad for begging for money when we were racing for one million dollars. I probably would have felt better if we have gone to the orphanage and donate the money we made on the streets. Now, I’m wondering what happened to the money we made in India.. Hopefully the producers donated the money to the orphanage in Jaipur.
There were a Fast Forward in Phuket on Season 14 but no one took it because the task required the team to spend all of their money on buying toys AND donate toys to the orphanage. It’s pretty big risk of going in next leg with so little money and not knowing where we would be going next. I’d love to take that Fast Forward but we had SO much money at that point where we were trying to save it up since the cabs can be pretty pricey. We did not want to go broke like Michael & Mark did.
8 teams had to be turned back to the orphanage to give all of their money back.. I’d like to point something out. From what I heard, the teams had to run 1 and 1/2 mile to the orphanage then they had to run extra 1 1/2 mile back to the pit stop. 8 teams had to run 3 miles total. In pretty hot weather. Not easy when they had to lunge their backpacks around. That’s why it is so important to pack very few clothes as possible. It is easier to run around with light backpack, right? That’s why my Mom and I brought much smaller backpacks for our second season. It was SO much easier to run second time!
Sure, they could drop their backpacks and run. They could gamble on losing their backpacks. I mean, they’re in third world country. I am sure people on the streets would love to steal teams’ backpacks just to have something to wear nice.
Pit Stop Order:
- Andy & Tommy: They got the keen eyes for sure! They kept their cool heads under the pressure. They get along really well and wins the first place - they def. will go pretty far for sure now. Although, I’m little jealous when they won the trip to Ireland! Maybe I should trade one of our travelocity trips with them! I’d love to visit Ireland one day.
- Laurence & Zac: They got a great attitude of keep going and stayed positive when they were in the back of pack. As well, it paid off for them catching the table sign!
- Kaylani & Lisa: I liked it how Phil scared them for a minute then surprised them with good news. It is pretty much safe to say that the table sign saved their lives. If everybody else did not missed the table sign. Kaylani & Lisa would have been goners!!! They are just like cats with nine lives! Passport. Hazard. Table Sign. What’s next for Kaylani and Lisa?!
- Ernie & Cindy: Cindy..... This girl is pretty hardcore! She actually tried her hardest! She actually ran while inhaled her asthma inhaler! That’s a truly Amazing Racer! It showed how much badly she want to stay on the Race! I admire her for her efforts. By the way, did anybody caught their high-five to each other? That was pretty hilarious.
- Liz & Marie: The twins def. improved their racing performance this leg. They only one small mistake for not reading table sign. Good thing they were pretty far ahead of several teams where they weren’t in danger of Double Elimination.
- Jeremy & Sandy: They weren’t shown much this leg but overall, they did allright this leg. They got lucked out with few teams behind them at that point.
- Bill & Cathi: The Speed Bump task should have been little harder but they had a great attitude through the leg though! Def. a BIG improvement for them this leg! It paid off that they ran several marathons so running back and forth between orphanage and the pit stop were just a piece of cake for them.
- Justin & Jennifer: Man, they kept fighting. The fight at the train station were just pretty much pointless and energy-suckered. Not even worth to fight over absolutely nothing. Finishing from 3rd place to 8th place, they’re falling down the totem pole pretty fast. They need to PULL THEMSELVES together asap! That is why I do not want to do the Amazing Race with my sister!!! We would totally be like them, just bickering for over small things. Again, they got 12 hours at the pit stop to sort their problems out. Hopefully they will buckle it down and work together next leg or they’re next to go!
- Amani & Marcus: They got really lucky. They barely scrapped through and avoided the Double Elimination. I’m sure from this point onward, they will keep their eyes what’s front of them!
- Ethan & Jenna: Karma came back and bite Jenna’s butt when she commented how she’s excited to see Bill & Cathi’s still around which it stood a better chance for Ethan & Jenna to survive the Double Elimination. That’s pretty ironic. Correct me wrong but it seems like when their lives were actually at the stake for Double Elimination, Jenna did not really tried her hardest when it came down to running. If they knew they were being in danger, they just should have sacrifice their backpacks and RUN like there’s no tomorrow. I mean for God’s sake, Cindy actually ran while she inhaled her asthma inhaler! Believe me, running could make a BIG difference! One minute do a big difference so move faster. Hence, Jenna should try her hardest then she can just collapse on the mat and fall into Phil’s arms! Once again, the reality couple curse lives on. So, NO more crossover reality couples to Amazing Race please!!!! However; Ethan & Jenna could have avoided the Double Elimination as only if they read the table sign in the first place! Not to be pretty harsh but Ethan & Jenna are holding a record of being the first reality couple team out on Amazing Race ever.
- Ron & Bill: Again, they had their chance to stay on the Race only if they read the table sign! They missed one small thing and it took them out in the second leg. Being Flight Attendants does not necessarily mean that they will rock at The Amazing Race. Traveling around the world and racing around the world are not the same thing! Waaaay different!!
Hopefully Ethan & Jenna and Ron & Bill had a lots of fun at the “Elimination Station”. I certainly had a lot of fun at my “Elimination Station” last season! They probably went somewhere warm and tropical.
Now, I’m really looking forward to watch next episode! I’d love to see the teams to start the leg with no money and figure it out on their own. That def. will be a whole new ball game! It seems like the teams have to count something at the temple. It seems so difficult. My bet on Cindy & Ernie to use their Express Pass to bypass the counting task.
Now, I’m really looking forward to watch next episode! I’d love to see the teams to start the leg with no money and figure it out on their own. That def. will be a whole new ball game! It seems like the teams have to count something at the temple. It seems so difficult. My bet on Cindy & Ernie to use their Express Pass to bypass the counting task.
We will see about that pretty soon!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
I lost my passport...!
First of all, for people who says, "Oh that telephone message can't be that hard to remember!" or "How can they easily missed that giant screen of red & yellow balloons?!" It makes me want to slap their faces.
Do you have any idea how tiring the racers are at this point?? I do. It is easy for people to say stuff like that when they sits back on their big plushy chairs and watch people racing around the world on television screen. It makes me want me to throw them in the race and make them goes like, "Oh.... Wow, this is WAY harder than it looks on t.v.!"
Exhausting. Hunger. Not able to shower for couple days. Sitting in cramp space on the plane for like 14 hours. It def. took toll on racers. So, don't forget that!
That's why I'm writing a blog because I have been through The Amazing Race twice. Both race were just utterly exhausting. Even if it were only the first leg, but I know how they felt exactly. The first leg and the last leg are usually the most tiring legs ever. The racers were brand-new. They were feeling so many emotions all at once. They had no idea what to expect. They had no idea their competitors' backgrounds. The first leg is pretty nerve-wracking for everybody. Nobody wants to be the first one to go!
That's the beauty part of The Amazing Race. So many emotions stirred up at the starting leg!
It gave me goosebumps when everybody gathered up at the starting line and waiting for Phil to says, "Go!"
Closed captions wasn't working for the first ten minutes of the show so I was little lost. Kind of same way as I was at the starting line last season! It was sooo windy and cold on that day, my Mom's fingers were pretty much frozen so all I knew were: "Queensland" that we have to look for!
I take it that most of the teams weren't sure what they were supposed to look for. Lucky for the teams that they do not have to run a long distance to give the answer to Phil at the temple! So, it's easy for the teams just to run and back to get different umbrellas. Remember how far my cast had to run forth and back on a hugeeeee field in middle of the desert!?
The Couple Team Curse trend has finally broken the streak
Season 15 Car Plate Challenge: Married Couple were eliminated at the starting line.
Season 18 Paper Airplane: Engaged Couple had to perform Automatic U-Turn task and were eliminated first.
Congrats to dating & engaged couple teams for not coming in last! A female team, Kaylani and Lisa, came in last at the umbrellas challenge.
Now, I am really curious about the passport fiasco. A lot of people thinks the show cheated for "giving" the passport back to Kaylani...
Having done The Amazing Race twice. I can assure you that the production DO NOT have anything with returning the passport. There's no cheating involved at all. The guy just happened to be nice enough to pick it up and tweeted about the passport. One of uber-fans just happened to see the tweet and instructed the guy to go to LAX so he can save Kaylani and Lisa from being eliminated. The guy was nice enough to go through so much hassle for Kaylani. I can say that the guy just happened to be at right place and right time and he made a choice to save Kaylani. Sure, he could just screw Kaylani and Lisa's chance by not returning passport and turn it in to Embassy. (From what I heard, the guy who found the passport, he attended Kaylan's viewing party, that's pretty nice of Kaylani!)
Now, I have a BIG question. Why would in the world Kaylani has her passport in her backpocket where it could fall out?!!?!? Why it's not in their fanny pack!?
I always made sure to tuck my team's passports away in little pouch where it could be zipped up in our fanny pack so that way it wouldn't fall out. I would hate to pull a Justin and be eliminated.
Off to Taiwan!
First 8 teams scurried to the first route marker. I LOVED the red & yellow balloons screen! That's pretty creative!!! I'd like to point it out that Ernie & Cindy (Team Lucy Morris!) made a smart move by writing a clue down. I mean, they were in a foreign country and I can assure you that NOT everybody could speak English! I know it's a race and everybody were in a big hurry. But again, it is not a smart idea to run off with no clue and what if all cab drivers doesn't speak English?! Ernie and Cindy were pretty smart enough to write a clue down. I cannot recall if few other teams did the same thing but I know there were few teams that did not write the clue down. I know it is not easy to write Chinese words down. But, it's better to play safe to have a clue written down!
Poor Bill & Cathi... Trying to figure it out where to look for. The clue can be pretty tricky at times. I think they just analyzed the clue too much which ended up their downfall. Just try not to analyze every single word on the clue. Just try to think it as a big picture and look for red & yellow which is Amazing Race's trademark. At least, the Grandparents got a grand tour of Taipei!
The Telephone Message Task. Don't be too hard on the teams for not able to memorizing on the message right off the bat. The weather must be pretty hot in Taiwan. Plus, they were pretty tiring and hungry at that point. Also, the teams have no idea where everybody else are so I am sure all of them probably were thinking that they might be fighting for the last place... or for the first place. Lots of pressures! I applaud for everybody who were able to memorize the message especially that they were not able to write it down. Again, I was little jealous that they do not have to run the long distance to deliver the message to the messenger. Remember the flag task from last season? We had to run 1/2 mile to deliver the message to the messenger then we had to run back to get the right message! Remember Jet and Cord had to run back and forth few times! Not fun.
Smart move on Kaylani and Lisa's part for not repeat the message to the Twins especially when they had to perform a Hazard task. (I do not get it why the task have to be named Hazard when it is sort of like Speed Bump task?!) I was little surprised that Kaylani and Lisa performed the Hazard task on non-elimination leg.
I'd really like to find out to see if Cathi actually do get the message on her first try! Remember it is all editing!! If she actually got it on the first try, BIG kudos to her! For trying to make it up on the time they lost.
The boat race seemed really fun. Probably way more fun than the sailing task we had to do last season. The pole actually swung and slammed onto my head at one point! It was so painful! It probably would have been more challenging if the race is actually timing, more pressure on teams to finish the race on time!
Pit Stop Order:
1st: Ernie & Cindy - They won Express Pass! I wouldn't be surprised if they do not used Express Pass and still make it to the Final Three. (Remember, my Mom and I won the first leg and we weren't awarded Express Pass and we still made it to the Final Three) I mean, they are pretty smart and strong. Remember, they wrote a clue down. Ernie were being supportive of Cindy during the telephone task. If they keep playing that way, they'll go pretty far in the Race. Always write clue down every time if there's needed to! I would love to see Ernie & Cindy give their Express Pass to Bill & Cathi so they can keep "weak" team in the Race and knock stronger teams out. That'll be a brilliant move.
2nd: Jeremy & Sandy - Nicely job for coming in the second place! I really hope they weren't kicking themselves for not getting the Express Pass. They had a great strong start so I am sure they wouldn't need Express pass to keep themselves in the Race till 8th Leg (Express Pass is only good till 8th Leg, I think).
3rd: Justin & Jennifer - Great start for the sibling. I loved it how Jennifer went like, "Shhh! Shh! Don't let other teams know!" I would have done the same thing! But, there's no time for fighting! If they need to do well on the Race they need to listen to each other and work together well. Never underestimate the powerful siblings bond. The sibling teams won Season 13 & 14. Teams need to look out for Justin & Jennifer... They could easily sneak up and win the Race in a blink!
4th: Ethan & Jenna - I actually laughed out loud when Ethan & Jenna decided to not tell other teams that they were on Survivor. They must be kidding me. Survivor is way much popular than Amazing Race is. I wasn't surprised when the teams figured it out who they were. It is better to come clean than deny who they are because U-Turn could come and haunt them! Overall, they did pretty well for the first leg. Again, so did the reality teams (Jeff & Jordan and Rob & Amber - they did well on the first leg then next few legs, they frizzled out). So, we'll see how they do in second leg.
5th: Amani & Marcus - Kudos for Marcus not fully revealing that he used to play for NFL. Bodyguard actually sounds better but again with him being big guy isn't going to help any. The ladies probably would want to U-Turn him because there's NOOOO way that they could out-run him to the pit stop! Anyway, I liked it how they were actually enjoying and having fun instead of being so caught up in competitive mode. I can see them going pretty far in the Race as long as they weren't being U-Turned.
6th: Laurence & Zac - I liked it how they ran to the pit stop and beating Andy & Tommy. That's pretty important thing to do. Do not stroll to the pit stop. No way to know if they were in the last place. No way to know where everybody are at. It's ALWAYS safe bet to run and beat a team to the pit stop. They worked together pretty well for entire first leg. I'd like to see more of them in second leg.
7th: Andy & Tommy - Smart move on their part for not telling them that they were Olympians. I am trying to figure it out if they were just taking their time on the first leg just to downplay their strengths so that way no one would find them threatening. If I was on the Race with them, my first impression of them would have been the Hippies/Stoners! They should def. keep downplay their strengths and stay in middle of pack for next few legs. Remember how the racers ganged up on the Cowboys last season just because of their strengths solely?
8th: Ron & Bill - They weren't shown much during the first leg. They seemed not very physical or much as runners. They def. do need to step it up if they do not want to hang around in back of pack.
9th: Kaylani & Lisa - The showgirls got the most screentime! Came in the last at the starting line, losing passport, Twitter drama, performed Hazard task, and edged out two teams to the pit stop! Can you say, "Phew!" They probably were the most luckiest team ever in the first leg... Good thing it is not TBC (To Be Continued) Leg or they probably would be still frazzled going into the second leg. So, it's good that they get 12 hours break so they got the time to pull themselves together and ready to blaze through the second leg... I hope! Congrats to Kaylani & Lisa for breaking the "starting line streak".
10th: Liz & Marie - They're fun to watch but I couldn't tell them apart. I actually asked the Twins to see how could I tell them apart. They said, "Marie's the crazy one!" That's pretty funny. I guess Marie were the one that barked at Liz for not being able to remember the message. Marie, that's not helping at all! Try to bit your tongue back and encourage Liz more. I know it's not easy for the Twins especially that they were pretty far back in the pack and on the brink of the elimination. Pressures mounted up on their shoulders as they fought for their lives to be not eliminated. I'm glad to see them to survive and doesn't have to face the Speed Bump. Hopefully they could pull themselves together and be more supportive of each other in second leg.
11th: Bill & Cathi - They got VERY lucky. I mean it doesn't happened so often with two seasons in a row where the first leg as a non-elimination leg. I'll bet that all the first eliminated teams were probably cringing to see Bill & Cathi survived their first leg. I never thought this first leg would be non-elimination! My last season, the first leg were non-elimination! My jaws were dropped to the floor. Bill & Cathi caught the most lucky break ever on The Amazing Race (Along with Kaylani and Lisa!!!) Now, they just need to play smart. I mean, REALLY smart. Esp. with the double elimination in the second leg! They just need to sail through the second leg with NO mistakes. NOOO mistakes, I mean it!! They just need to do the Speed Bump quickly. I'd rather to have a "weak" team like Bill & Cathi in the finals than facing off the strong teams in the finals.
DOUBLE ELIMINATION NEXT WEEK....
Ugh. That is not how the Race works... I do not like the idea of two last teams gets eliminated next week? Now, that is pretty unfair twist. Again, that is part of the game, gotta roll with it. So much pressure and so many stakes on the line...
All I can say is do not make a single mistake and play the game perfectly. According to the preview, it seems like several teams made mistakes. Especially with Ethan and Jenna losing a clue. REALLY!? It's just like losing a passport. Well, not exactly. But, losing a clue, it's pretty much over if you do not know where to go next. Unless a team comes along and tell Ethan & Jenna where to go. If there's no one else around, they are pretty much toasted.
That's WHY my Mom and I and Jaime & Cara formed an alliance. We worked together and supported each other from the beginning to the end on our Season 14. We always shared the information. It paid off. Alliance is pretty much important asset on the Race.
For Ethan and Jenna being on Survivor... I can guarantee you that it is pretty much a final nail to their coffin. No one would want to help the Survivor Winners! Unless their clue magically appear out of nowhere. It would be pretty stupid of teams if they tell Ethan & Jenna where to go especially it's Double Elimination leg! Keep it to yourself!!!
Again, it's The Amazing Race... So many things could go wrong!
Do you have any idea how tiring the racers are at this point?? I do. It is easy for people to say stuff like that when they sits back on their big plushy chairs and watch people racing around the world on television screen. It makes me want me to throw them in the race and make them goes like, "Oh.... Wow, this is WAY harder than it looks on t.v.!"
Exhausting. Hunger. Not able to shower for couple days. Sitting in cramp space on the plane for like 14 hours. It def. took toll on racers. So, don't forget that!
That's why I'm writing a blog because I have been through The Amazing Race twice. Both race were just utterly exhausting. Even if it were only the first leg, but I know how they felt exactly. The first leg and the last leg are usually the most tiring legs ever. The racers were brand-new. They were feeling so many emotions all at once. They had no idea what to expect. They had no idea their competitors' backgrounds. The first leg is pretty nerve-wracking for everybody. Nobody wants to be the first one to go!
That's the beauty part of The Amazing Race. So many emotions stirred up at the starting leg!
It gave me goosebumps when everybody gathered up at the starting line and waiting for Phil to says, "Go!"
Closed captions wasn't working for the first ten minutes of the show so I was little lost. Kind of same way as I was at the starting line last season! It was sooo windy and cold on that day, my Mom's fingers were pretty much frozen so all I knew were: "Queensland" that we have to look for!
I take it that most of the teams weren't sure what they were supposed to look for. Lucky for the teams that they do not have to run a long distance to give the answer to Phil at the temple! So, it's easy for the teams just to run and back to get different umbrellas. Remember how far my cast had to run forth and back on a hugeeeee field in middle of the desert!?
The Couple Team Curse trend has finally broken the streak
Season 15 Car Plate Challenge: Married Couple were eliminated at the starting line.
Season 18 Paper Airplane: Engaged Couple had to perform Automatic U-Turn task and were eliminated first.
Congrats to dating & engaged couple teams for not coming in last! A female team, Kaylani and Lisa, came in last at the umbrellas challenge.
Now, I am really curious about the passport fiasco. A lot of people thinks the show cheated for "giving" the passport back to Kaylani...
Having done The Amazing Race twice. I can assure you that the production DO NOT have anything with returning the passport. There's no cheating involved at all. The guy just happened to be nice enough to pick it up and tweeted about the passport. One of uber-fans just happened to see the tweet and instructed the guy to go to LAX so he can save Kaylani and Lisa from being eliminated. The guy was nice enough to go through so much hassle for Kaylani. I can say that the guy just happened to be at right place and right time and he made a choice to save Kaylani. Sure, he could just screw Kaylani and Lisa's chance by not returning passport and turn it in to Embassy. (From what I heard, the guy who found the passport, he attended Kaylan's viewing party, that's pretty nice of Kaylani!)
Now, I have a BIG question. Why would in the world Kaylani has her passport in her backpocket where it could fall out?!!?!? Why it's not in their fanny pack!?
I always made sure to tuck my team's passports away in little pouch where it could be zipped up in our fanny pack so that way it wouldn't fall out. I would hate to pull a Justin and be eliminated.
Off to Taiwan!
First 8 teams scurried to the first route marker. I LOVED the red & yellow balloons screen! That's pretty creative!!! I'd like to point it out that Ernie & Cindy (Team Lucy Morris!) made a smart move by writing a clue down. I mean, they were in a foreign country and I can assure you that NOT everybody could speak English! I know it's a race and everybody were in a big hurry. But again, it is not a smart idea to run off with no clue and what if all cab drivers doesn't speak English?! Ernie and Cindy were pretty smart enough to write a clue down. I cannot recall if few other teams did the same thing but I know there were few teams that did not write the clue down. I know it is not easy to write Chinese words down. But, it's better to play safe to have a clue written down!
Poor Bill & Cathi... Trying to figure it out where to look for. The clue can be pretty tricky at times. I think they just analyzed the clue too much which ended up their downfall. Just try not to analyze every single word on the clue. Just try to think it as a big picture and look for red & yellow which is Amazing Race's trademark. At least, the Grandparents got a grand tour of Taipei!
The Telephone Message Task. Don't be too hard on the teams for not able to memorizing on the message right off the bat. The weather must be pretty hot in Taiwan. Plus, they were pretty tiring and hungry at that point. Also, the teams have no idea where everybody else are so I am sure all of them probably were thinking that they might be fighting for the last place... or for the first place. Lots of pressures! I applaud for everybody who were able to memorize the message especially that they were not able to write it down. Again, I was little jealous that they do not have to run the long distance to deliver the message to the messenger. Remember the flag task from last season? We had to run 1/2 mile to deliver the message to the messenger then we had to run back to get the right message! Remember Jet and Cord had to run back and forth few times! Not fun.
Smart move on Kaylani and Lisa's part for not repeat the message to the Twins especially when they had to perform a Hazard task. (I do not get it why the task have to be named Hazard when it is sort of like Speed Bump task?!) I was little surprised that Kaylani and Lisa performed the Hazard task on non-elimination leg.
I'd really like to find out to see if Cathi actually do get the message on her first try! Remember it is all editing!! If she actually got it on the first try, BIG kudos to her! For trying to make it up on the time they lost.
The boat race seemed really fun. Probably way more fun than the sailing task we had to do last season. The pole actually swung and slammed onto my head at one point! It was so painful! It probably would have been more challenging if the race is actually timing, more pressure on teams to finish the race on time!
Pit Stop Order:
1st: Ernie & Cindy - They won Express Pass! I wouldn't be surprised if they do not used Express Pass and still make it to the Final Three. (Remember, my Mom and I won the first leg and we weren't awarded Express Pass and we still made it to the Final Three) I mean, they are pretty smart and strong. Remember, they wrote a clue down. Ernie were being supportive of Cindy during the telephone task. If they keep playing that way, they'll go pretty far in the Race. Always write clue down every time if there's needed to! I would love to see Ernie & Cindy give their Express Pass to Bill & Cathi so they can keep "weak" team in the Race and knock stronger teams out. That'll be a brilliant move.
2nd: Jeremy & Sandy - Nicely job for coming in the second place! I really hope they weren't kicking themselves for not getting the Express Pass. They had a great strong start so I am sure they wouldn't need Express pass to keep themselves in the Race till 8th Leg (Express Pass is only good till 8th Leg, I think).
3rd: Justin & Jennifer - Great start for the sibling. I loved it how Jennifer went like, "Shhh! Shh! Don't let other teams know!" I would have done the same thing! But, there's no time for fighting! If they need to do well on the Race they need to listen to each other and work together well. Never underestimate the powerful siblings bond. The sibling teams won Season 13 & 14. Teams need to look out for Justin & Jennifer... They could easily sneak up and win the Race in a blink!
4th: Ethan & Jenna - I actually laughed out loud when Ethan & Jenna decided to not tell other teams that they were on Survivor. They must be kidding me. Survivor is way much popular than Amazing Race is. I wasn't surprised when the teams figured it out who they were. It is better to come clean than deny who they are because U-Turn could come and haunt them! Overall, they did pretty well for the first leg. Again, so did the reality teams (Jeff & Jordan and Rob & Amber - they did well on the first leg then next few legs, they frizzled out). So, we'll see how they do in second leg.
5th: Amani & Marcus - Kudos for Marcus not fully revealing that he used to play for NFL. Bodyguard actually sounds better but again with him being big guy isn't going to help any. The ladies probably would want to U-Turn him because there's NOOOO way that they could out-run him to the pit stop! Anyway, I liked it how they were actually enjoying and having fun instead of being so caught up in competitive mode. I can see them going pretty far in the Race as long as they weren't being U-Turned.
6th: Laurence & Zac - I liked it how they ran to the pit stop and beating Andy & Tommy. That's pretty important thing to do. Do not stroll to the pit stop. No way to know if they were in the last place. No way to know where everybody are at. It's ALWAYS safe bet to run and beat a team to the pit stop. They worked together pretty well for entire first leg. I'd like to see more of them in second leg.
7th: Andy & Tommy - Smart move on their part for not telling them that they were Olympians. I am trying to figure it out if they were just taking their time on the first leg just to downplay their strengths so that way no one would find them threatening. If I was on the Race with them, my first impression of them would have been the Hippies/Stoners! They should def. keep downplay their strengths and stay in middle of pack for next few legs. Remember how the racers ganged up on the Cowboys last season just because of their strengths solely?
8th: Ron & Bill - They weren't shown much during the first leg. They seemed not very physical or much as runners. They def. do need to step it up if they do not want to hang around in back of pack.
9th: Kaylani & Lisa - The showgirls got the most screentime! Came in the last at the starting line, losing passport, Twitter drama, performed Hazard task, and edged out two teams to the pit stop! Can you say, "Phew!" They probably were the most luckiest team ever in the first leg... Good thing it is not TBC (To Be Continued) Leg or they probably would be still frazzled going into the second leg. So, it's good that they get 12 hours break so they got the time to pull themselves together and ready to blaze through the second leg... I hope! Congrats to Kaylani & Lisa for breaking the "starting line streak".
10th: Liz & Marie - They're fun to watch but I couldn't tell them apart. I actually asked the Twins to see how could I tell them apart. They said, "Marie's the crazy one!" That's pretty funny. I guess Marie were the one that barked at Liz for not being able to remember the message. Marie, that's not helping at all! Try to bit your tongue back and encourage Liz more. I know it's not easy for the Twins especially that they were pretty far back in the pack and on the brink of the elimination. Pressures mounted up on their shoulders as they fought for their lives to be not eliminated. I'm glad to see them to survive and doesn't have to face the Speed Bump. Hopefully they could pull themselves together and be more supportive of each other in second leg.
11th: Bill & Cathi - They got VERY lucky. I mean it doesn't happened so often with two seasons in a row where the first leg as a non-elimination leg. I'll bet that all the first eliminated teams were probably cringing to see Bill & Cathi survived their first leg. I never thought this first leg would be non-elimination! My last season, the first leg were non-elimination! My jaws were dropped to the floor. Bill & Cathi caught the most lucky break ever on The Amazing Race (Along with Kaylani and Lisa!!!) Now, they just need to play smart. I mean, REALLY smart. Esp. with the double elimination in the second leg! They just need to sail through the second leg with NO mistakes. NOOO mistakes, I mean it!! They just need to do the Speed Bump quickly. I'd rather to have a "weak" team like Bill & Cathi in the finals than facing off the strong teams in the finals.
DOUBLE ELIMINATION NEXT WEEK....
Ugh. That is not how the Race works... I do not like the idea of two last teams gets eliminated next week? Now, that is pretty unfair twist. Again, that is part of the game, gotta roll with it. So much pressure and so many stakes on the line...
All I can say is do not make a single mistake and play the game perfectly. According to the preview, it seems like several teams made mistakes. Especially with Ethan and Jenna losing a clue. REALLY!? It's just like losing a passport. Well, not exactly. But, losing a clue, it's pretty much over if you do not know where to go next. Unless a team comes along and tell Ethan & Jenna where to go. If there's no one else around, they are pretty much toasted.
That's WHY my Mom and I and Jaime & Cara formed an alliance. We worked together and supported each other from the beginning to the end on our Season 14. We always shared the information. It paid off. Alliance is pretty much important asset on the Race.
For Ethan and Jenna being on Survivor... I can guarantee you that it is pretty much a final nail to their coffin. No one would want to help the Survivor Winners! Unless their clue magically appear out of nowhere. It would be pretty stupid of teams if they tell Ethan & Jenna where to go especially it's Double Elimination leg! Keep it to yourself!!!
Again, it's The Amazing Race... So many things could go wrong!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Season 19
Hi,
Now.... Season 19! I'd like to welcome the teams to Amazing Race family! I am pretty surprised to see there's so many athletes on the Race! Let's hope we'll get to see several footraces to the Pit Stops. That is one of my favorite things about Amazing Race.
Time for the new twists... Double Elimination and Hazard!! I am not a big fan of Double Elimination... Remember the one on Season 10 where they had an elimination point in the middle of the first leg and other elimination at the end of the first leg? That was a heart-breaking to see like that. But... it probably would be epic to see several teams running to the pit stop at same time in order to survive the Double Elimination. I'll feel bad for the team whoever comes in second to the last place during the Double Elimination, that seems little unfair... Again, it's part of the game. Move on to Hazard twist, it seems like it is very similar to Automatic U-Turn where we had to do the first challenge at the starting line on my second season (Unfinished Business). Whoever finishes the challenge last will receive Hazard (30 minutes penalty after check in at the pit stop).
There is one team I am really surprised to see on Amazing Race is Ethan & Jenna. First of all, it is great to see Ethan back in his great shape and all healthy! I have never met them at the reality events before. However; I have seen them in their Survivor seasons. That is probably why I am surprised to see Jenna on the Race. There's SO much running involved on the Race. It seems like Jenna is not the type of like to go out for a run. I am convinced there is some kind of curse for the reality couples from the past seasons such as Jeff & Jordan and Alison & Donny (Big Brother) - they didn't do really well on the Race. Take a look at Rob and Amber (Survivor) on their All Stars season, they went out fourth. We'll see if Ethan & Jenna can break the pattern.
The team I am going to root for is Laurence & Zac. Of course, it's the parent & child team! It is waaaaaaaay overdue for a parent and child team to win! It seems like Laurence and Zac are really close so it will def. help them out a lot on the Race for sure. Plus, it is pretty cool that Zac got to sail around the world, now he can say that he got to race around the world as well! My fingers crosses for them to make it to the Final Three and wins it all. All they need to do is not to repeat the Christina & Luke Breakdown at the final roadblock where Christina & I got stumped with the final puzzle! 3 out of past 6 seasons, Parent & Child teams made it to F3 - they'll have a real good chance of making to the Final Three.
My pre-favorite team is Ernie & Cindy (Or we could just call them Team Lucy Morris! - check their CBS bio to see why!) they seems pretty charming, funny, and so laidback. Since they are engaged, they must know each other pretty well so it'll be their big advantage on the Race. I can see them doing so extremely well on the Race. If the father & son duo do not wins, they're my second pick to win it all!
All I have to say for Amani & Marcus and Andy & Tommy - Watch out for Double U-Turns! I am pretty sure the teams will def. gunning for those two teams. As long as the two teams works their butt off hard and stay ahead of the pack, they'll be safe from being victims of U-Turns.
Ron & Bill are the second flight attendants team to be on The Amazing Race. Being a flight attendant doesn't really give them a big advantage at the airports, maybe a little. They probably will barely bumble through first few legs just like the first flight attendants team then who knows?
I wonder how long Jeremy & Sandy have been dating for... Hopefully long enough to know each other really well otherwise we might see them bickering a lot on the Race. I guess we will have to wait and see! If pattern keeps it up, Jeremy & Sandy probably will be hit with Hazard at the starting line but they will be able to overcome the penalty.
If Justin & Jennifer got their some kind of sibling rivalry between them, lets hope they would be able to put it aside and work together to win $1 million prize. Plus, BIG kudos to them for running the race together! There is NO way I would have done it with my sister! We would have squabbled 24/7!!
We have two female teams on this season: Liz & Marie and Kaylani & Lisa! Will they be able to pull it off to win the Amazing Race and to be the third female team in a row to win The Amazing Race!??! Huge pressure on their shoulders!! I can see Liz & Marie going much further than Kaylani & Lisa though. The Twins (Liz & Marie) probably got the biggest advantage out of all teams that they know each other soooo well! I'm excited to watch these two teams on the Race.
Never underestimate the oldies! I probably would pick Bill & Cathi to be the darkhorse team. They're runners and got a lot of experiences under their belts. I am sure everybody will just overlook them just because of their ages. I would looooove to see Bill & Cathi to use U-Turn to knock a strong team out! That'll be a smart move on their part...
My Prediction for Season 19 (It is NOT spoilers at all!! It's my pure guess)
Ron & Bill: 11th Place (Since it's Double Elimination - like it'll makes any difference)
Kaylani & Lisa: 11th Place (Since it's Double Elimination - like it'll makes any difference)
Ethan & Jenna: 9th Place (Reality Curse lives on)
Bill & Cathi: 8th Place
Justin & Jennifer: 7th Place
Amani & Marcus: 6th Place
Jeremy & Sandy: 5th Place (It seems like the dating teams always goes out at 5th place)
Liz & Marie: 4th Place (Hopefully there's no portable bathroom break!)
The Final Three
Laurence & Zac
Ernie & Cindy
Andy & Tommy
No way I could pick the winners. The finale leg can be just so unpredictable. It's anybody's game. Again, my whole prediction probably will be wrong! Take a look at my team, we finished 3rd in 5th leg then we went out next leg on Season 18! Before my race started on Season 14, I predicted Amanda & Kris, Preston & Jen, Kisha & Jen to be in the Final Three! I was completely wrong! That's one thing I like the most about Amazing Race is how the Race can be pretty unpredictable...
Y'all probably already know me pretty well now that I have been on two seasons of The Amazing Race. I'm well-known for the guy who slipped up at the surfboards challenge right before the Finish Line on Season 14!! That would have been pretty cool if my Mom and I won the Amazing Race despite we managed to overcome several obstacles during the Race. We were fortunately enough to do the second season of Amazing Race. Esp. that I am a huge fan of Amazing Race since the Day One! I never thought in million years that I would ever get to race around the world twice!!!
Now.... Season 19! I'd like to welcome the teams to Amazing Race family! I am pretty surprised to see there's so many athletes on the Race! Let's hope we'll get to see several footraces to the Pit Stops. That is one of my favorite things about Amazing Race.
Time for the new twists... Double Elimination and Hazard!! I am not a big fan of Double Elimination... Remember the one on Season 10 where they had an elimination point in the middle of the first leg and other elimination at the end of the first leg? That was a heart-breaking to see like that. But... it probably would be epic to see several teams running to the pit stop at same time in order to survive the Double Elimination. I'll feel bad for the team whoever comes in second to the last place during the Double Elimination, that seems little unfair... Again, it's part of the game. Move on to Hazard twist, it seems like it is very similar to Automatic U-Turn where we had to do the first challenge at the starting line on my second season (Unfinished Business). Whoever finishes the challenge last will receive Hazard (30 minutes penalty after check in at the pit stop).
There is one team I am really surprised to see on Amazing Race is Ethan & Jenna. First of all, it is great to see Ethan back in his great shape and all healthy! I have never met them at the reality events before. However; I have seen them in their Survivor seasons. That is probably why I am surprised to see Jenna on the Race. There's SO much running involved on the Race. It seems like Jenna is not the type of like to go out for a run. I am convinced there is some kind of curse for the reality couples from the past seasons such as Jeff & Jordan and Alison & Donny (Big Brother) - they didn't do really well on the Race. Take a look at Rob and Amber (Survivor) on their All Stars season, they went out fourth. We'll see if Ethan & Jenna can break the pattern.
The team I am going to root for is Laurence & Zac. Of course, it's the parent & child team! It is waaaaaaaay overdue for a parent and child team to win! It seems like Laurence and Zac are really close so it will def. help them out a lot on the Race for sure. Plus, it is pretty cool that Zac got to sail around the world, now he can say that he got to race around the world as well! My fingers crosses for them to make it to the Final Three and wins it all. All they need to do is not to repeat the Christina & Luke Breakdown at the final roadblock where Christina & I got stumped with the final puzzle! 3 out of past 6 seasons, Parent & Child teams made it to F3 - they'll have a real good chance of making to the Final Three.
My pre-favorite team is Ernie & Cindy (Or we could just call them Team Lucy Morris! - check their CBS bio to see why!) they seems pretty charming, funny, and so laidback. Since they are engaged, they must know each other pretty well so it'll be their big advantage on the Race. I can see them doing so extremely well on the Race. If the father & son duo do not wins, they're my second pick to win it all!
All I have to say for Amani & Marcus and Andy & Tommy - Watch out for Double U-Turns! I am pretty sure the teams will def. gunning for those two teams. As long as the two teams works their butt off hard and stay ahead of the pack, they'll be safe from being victims of U-Turns.
Ron & Bill are the second flight attendants team to be on The Amazing Race. Being a flight attendant doesn't really give them a big advantage at the airports, maybe a little. They probably will barely bumble through first few legs just like the first flight attendants team then who knows?
I wonder how long Jeremy & Sandy have been dating for... Hopefully long enough to know each other really well otherwise we might see them bickering a lot on the Race. I guess we will have to wait and see! If pattern keeps it up, Jeremy & Sandy probably will be hit with Hazard at the starting line but they will be able to overcome the penalty.
If Justin & Jennifer got their some kind of sibling rivalry between them, lets hope they would be able to put it aside and work together to win $1 million prize. Plus, BIG kudos to them for running the race together! There is NO way I would have done it with my sister! We would have squabbled 24/7!!
We have two female teams on this season: Liz & Marie and Kaylani & Lisa! Will they be able to pull it off to win the Amazing Race and to be the third female team in a row to win The Amazing Race!??! Huge pressure on their shoulders!! I can see Liz & Marie going much further than Kaylani & Lisa though. The Twins (Liz & Marie) probably got the biggest advantage out of all teams that they know each other soooo well! I'm excited to watch these two teams on the Race.
Never underestimate the oldies! I probably would pick Bill & Cathi to be the darkhorse team. They're runners and got a lot of experiences under their belts. I am sure everybody will just overlook them just because of their ages. I would looooove to see Bill & Cathi to use U-Turn to knock a strong team out! That'll be a smart move on their part...
My Prediction for Season 19 (It is NOT spoilers at all!! It's my pure guess)
Ron & Bill: 11th Place (Since it's Double Elimination - like it'll makes any difference)
Kaylani & Lisa: 11th Place (Since it's Double Elimination - like it'll makes any difference)
Ethan & Jenna: 9th Place (Reality Curse lives on)
Bill & Cathi: 8th Place
Justin & Jennifer: 7th Place
Amani & Marcus: 6th Place
Jeremy & Sandy: 5th Place (It seems like the dating teams always goes out at 5th place)
Liz & Marie: 4th Place (Hopefully there's no portable bathroom break!)
The Final Three
Laurence & Zac
Ernie & Cindy
Andy & Tommy
No way I could pick the winners. The finale leg can be just so unpredictable. It's anybody's game. Again, my whole prediction probably will be wrong! Take a look at my team, we finished 3rd in 5th leg then we went out next leg on Season 18! Before my race started on Season 14, I predicted Amanda & Kris, Preston & Jen, Kisha & Jen to be in the Final Three! I was completely wrong! That's one thing I like the most about Amazing Race is how the Race can be pretty unpredictable...
I can't wait for this season to start!
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