World of Big Brother Blog

So, I finally got to get back on track with watching TAR, after a bad schedule I’m going through. Only another month left, then we’ll waiting like almost forever for TAR17, though.

In this episode, the teams traveled from the island of Seychelles (which looked awesomly beautiful from the recap shown in the beginning of every episode) to  Penang, Malaysia. First, teams had to recieve their first clue from the Snake Temple. Then, in the detour teams had to either carry Joss Sticks to the top of a temple (Buddhist Tradition) or balance a large flag on their forehead, running 120 feet (Chinese Custom) in order to recieve their next clue. Then, in the speed bump, performed by Jet/Cord they had to sniff out the correct tea to serve to a guy on a swing. Then, in the roadblock, teams had to have one person smash several coconuts to find one with colored liquid, to build onto a small craft and have sent out to sea.

Here is a recap of how the teams did, in order of what they placed, and by overall opinion of them:

Jet/Cord: 1st – They started the race in last, and with a speed bump to do. All of the teams quickly made their way to the snake temple, they took a commanding lead by finding the flags at the Chinese detour and going a magnificent job, completing the detour with no problem. Then, they move onto the speed bump, which didn’t look like a huge hassel for them, completing that, and even the roadblock before any other team arrived. When they arrived to the pit stop, Phil tells them they are indeed team number one, also becoming the first Speed Bump team to reach first place in TAR’s history. I find them to be good racers at the tasks. Okay, maybe one mistake from episode seven through them off, but they did manage to pass that. So far, they’re still a pretty good team in my opinion, and I believe I may continue to root for them.

Carol/Brandy: 2nd – They left the pit stop in fifth place-which, ironically, this leg’s placing was in the reverse order of last leg’s placing. They were not thrilled to be going to  snake temple, which, I can’t complain, I wouldn’t be thrilled either. They were the leading team in going to the Buddhist temple, with Louie/Michael & Brent/Caite close by. They were second at the roadblock, thanks to a good taxi driver, and easily moved to the pit stop as team number two. Personally, they are in this rivalry with Caite/Brent, and it’s kind of annoying, there’s no real side to take. They just seem to under estimate Brent/Caite, which gets them ticked off. Also, I didn’t hear much complainting of these tasks, so, that’s a plus.

Louie/Michael: 3rd – They left the leg in fourth place, and have earned the nickname as the dads of the group, and it appears that they are on Caite/Brent’s side of the rivalry, where the other three teams show no signs of taking a side. Anyways, they raced a pretty good leg. They were the smart team for not getting out of their taxi, finishing the journey to the temple by foot. Whichever one of them completed the roadblock did so easily by finding the colored coconut liquid within two smashes. Louie/Micahael kept remaining in third from the time after the roadblock to the pit stop. They really seem like they also have a good shot of winning, which it’s unusual to see middle-aged, non-athletic dudes last this long on the race. I wouldn’t mind seeing them in thefinals, and I think they have the next best shot.

Brent/Caite: 4th – They started the leg in third, then kept a solid position in the front of the pack. They passed Carol/Brandy in the detour, which, they, especially Caite, were all hung up and extrmemly hungry for. Then, their taxi driver wasn’t very good, putting them into fourth place. Caite performed the roadblock, and I believe it was her who tried to pass off the coconut without making the craft. Brent/Caite arrived to the pit stop in fourth place, and didn’t seem very happy about it, but they said they’ll take it. Brent/Caite seem to be racing okay, and like I said, I’m not recieving enough information to be taking sides on their rivalry with Carol/Brandy, but I find myself likeing them, simply because they seem like nice people. I could also see them as candidates for the final three, with just about as much odds as maybe Dan/Jordan or Carol/Brandy.

Dan/Jordan: 5th – They started the leg in second place, and their biggest mistake was before arriving to thwe detour they decided to walk the rest of the way, avoiding their taxi being stuck in traffic, thinking they could get their faster. They completed the roadblock and detour in enough time to avoid being last, and did end up freaking out when their taxi driver stopped for gas. Hey, it’s either stop for gas now, or be staranded later. That’s probably what I’d try to think. They arrived to the pit stop in fifth place. I simply do like them and they both have good personalities, but everytime I see them, they are seen making a lot of mistakes. I’m not sure if I find them going to the final three, or getting even close to finishing top two.

Steve/Allie: 6th – They started the leg with first place, and without the bags they left with them at leg 7′s detour. At Malaysia, they were also the other team to walked from their taxi to the detour, and their other mistake was not figuring out how to do the flag detour, wasting time on their part. They arrived to the pit stop in last place, and were eliminated from the race. Steve/Allie seemed like a nice duo. I wish I saw more of them, and could’ve seemed to see them going to final three.

Right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jet/Cord & Louie/michael in the final three with any of the other three teams. I like all of the remaining teams, none of them really tick me off. I’m really hoping I get to watch next week, because it looks like Brent/Caite will do something to Carol/Brandy. Maybe U-turn them?

Six teams remain. The leg starts off in France at the location of the leg 6 pitstop.

CLUE 1: Fly over 5,000 miles to The Sychelles, search for a marked kiosk, grap a number and the next clue.

Louie/Michael are first to depart at 12.35am. We are told that due to the remote location of the destination, all teams will be travelling on the same flight. Carol/Brandy are an hour behind leaving the start at 1.28am. Steve/Allie are third to set off at 1.57am with Jet/Cord at 2.36am. Jet and Cord can’t pronounce the name of The Seychelles correctly – Saykillies, Saychiles. Dan/Jordan are 3 hours behind the leaders at 3.36am. They also can’t pronounce the destination. Bizarrely most of the team don’t seem to have heard of The Seychelles. Last to depart are Brent/Caite at 4.36am.

Even though Brent/Caite arrived at the airport 4 hours after the leaders, they are the first team to book seats on the plane and they will be closest to the front. They are first off the plane and first at the clue box, taking ticket number 1.

CLUE 2: Go by helicopter to the Island of La Digue. The first 3 helicopters leave now, the last three leave 1 hour later. Steve/Allie get ticket 2 and Dan/Jordan number 3. Louie/Michael (4), Carol/Brandy (5) and Jet/Cord (6) must wait an hour.

Carol/Brandy arrogantly say that the strongest three teams are now all delayed by 1 hour and that Brent/Caite got lucky. I think they are talking out of their arses as Brent/Caite were just smarter to book seats closest to the plane exit. Other teams had up to 4 hours advantage on them but failed to do this.

After the helicopter ride, Brent/Caite are first to the next clue.

CLUE 3 Detour:
Turtle Toddle (chosen by Steve/Allie & Carol/Brandy) – Using a banana, lure a 100 year old tortoise down a marked lawn then carry a large bunch of bananas 1.5 miles to receive the next clue
Ox Trot (chosen by Brent/Caite, Dan/Jordan, Jet/Cord & Louie/Michael) – Fill a large cart with coconuts without losing any. An ox will pull the cart to where they get their next clue.

Caite loses a coconut from the cart without noticing, They go off to the harbour. Steve/Allie complete the tortoise run and set off with the bananas. Dan/Jordan are piling up their cart. On the way to the harbour Steve/Allie overtake Brent/Caite who are having ox trouble. The trailing 3 teams arrive at the detour and Steve/Allie are first to complete the detour.

CLUE 4: Take a boat to St Pierre Island where they will be given the next clue.

Dan/Jordan overtake Brent/Caite who are still having ox troubles. Dan/Jordan are second to complete the detour. Brent/Caite are told they don’t have all their coconuts and must take their ox and cart back to the detour start. Brent is furious and says he’s quitting the race. Of course Brent doesn’t really quit and they head back for their missing coconut.

On the boat Steve/Allie realise they have forgot their backpacks. They decide to continue without them. They had their passports and documents but will have to run the rest of the race in the clothes they are wearing.

Carol/Brandy can’t get their tortoise to go in a straight line. Steve/Allie reach their next clue.

CLUE 5, Roadblock: Dive underwater and search for a submerged case of 7 bottles. Bring up a bottle and on-shore assemble a map that will lead them to the pitstop.

Steve decides to do the roadblock. Carol/Brandy give up on their tortoise and switch to the ox detour. Jordan is chosen to do the roadblock. At the detour, Jet/Cord make the same mistake as Brent/Caite and miss a coconut.

Steve/Allie arrive at the pitstop as team number 1 and each win $7,000. Dan/Jordan are team number 2.

Louie/Michael complete the detour. Carol/Brandy also make the mistake of leaving a coconut behind. Brent/Caite have now completed the detour. Jet/Cord are sent back for their coconut. Carol/Brandy are acting smugly until they are also sent back for their missing coconut.

Brent/Caite overtake Louie/Michael on the way to the roadblock and Brent decides to do the diving. Jet/Cord complete the detour and Carol/Brandy finish it in last place.

At the pitstop, Brent/Caite are team number 3, Louie/Michael are seconds behind as team number 4. Louie predicts that the final 3 will be Louie/Michael, Brent/Caite and Jet/Cord. They want Carol/Brandy to the eliminated next as they are too negative. Brent/Caite also want Carol/Brandy out next because they are rude and mean. They may all get their wish although whenever teams I dislike finish last it is always a non-elimination leg, so I’m not confident they will go.

Jet/Cord make another mistake and swim to shore leaving their bottle on the boat. At the pitstop they are told they are 5th to arrive. Phil asks how they found the pitstop, they answer that they jogged around until they found it. Phil sends them back to the boat to retrieve the bottle.

Jet/Cord can see Carol/Brandy ahead of them. Carol/Brady arrive at the pitstop and are shocked to learn they are team number 5 as they were certain they were last.

Jet/Cord are last at the pitstop but it is a non-elimination leg (as I predicted, teams I dislike that finish last don’t get eliminated).

Leg 7 was a leg of mistakes. 5 took hours too long to book the best seats on the plane. Three teams didn’t check they had all their coconuts at the detour, Steve/Allie forgot their backpacks and Jet/Cord forgot their bottle. If a team can cut out these silly mistakes they could go all the way in this race.

Leg 8 will see the teams going to Malaysia. Jet/Cord will struggle to get back in the race and a taxi leaves without them. I’ve noticed that in the previews, the producers try to leave viewers with a false impression of what will happen – so last week they made it seem like Brent quits the race when he actually didn’t. So this week they are making out that Jet/Cord will be eliminated next – I predict therefore that they won’t be the ones to go next.

My order
1) Dan/Jordan – I just find them really funny
2) Steve/Allie – A strong, solid team who are moving up my ranking
3) Brent/Caite – Entertaining to watch
4) Louie/Michael – Just an average team
5) Jet/Cord – At least this week they raced more without their stupid hats. I half expected them to dive underwater with them on.
6) Carol/Brandy – I agree with Caite, they are rude and mean.

Next week Dan should be back to guide you through leg 8.

Leg 6 starts in France at the location of the Leg 5 pitstop. Seven teams remain in the race.

CLUE 1 – Drive 37 miles to Reims, France and find the Joan of Arc statue.

Louie & Michael are the first to depart at 7.47am. Steve & Allie leave 17 minutes later at 8.04am. Third to set off are Jet & Cord at 8.13am. Dan & Jordan leave at 8.17am, Carol & Brandy at 8.39am and Brent & Caite are 2 hours behind the leaders leaving at 9.48am.

Steve & Allie find the statue first and take the lead.

CLUE 2 – Teams are given a champagne cork.

Jordan & Jeff are the last team to start the leg at 10.28am. Jordan thinks that Joan of Arc carried all the animals, but Jeff points out to her that was Noah’s Ark.

Louie/Michael and Dan/Jordan arrive at Champagne and find the next clue at the same time.

CLUE 3, Roadblock – Rappel & Search. Rappel down 100 feet into the winery and search the champagne bottles for a specially marked bottle. Slice off the cork with a sabre to receive the next clue.

Jordan is chosen for the roadblock as is Louie. Jet & Cord have gone to the wrong town.

CLUE 4 – Taittinger. Teams must figure out that they have to go to Taittinger Chateaux in La Marquetterie.

Brent & Caite are still doing clue 1 but can’t find the Joan of Arc statue. Steve completes the roadblock in third place and Brandy does it in fourth. Jordan & Jeff are still last and have just found the statue. Cord is 5th at the end of the roadblock. Louie/Michael find the Taittinger Chateux and are in the lead.

CLUE 5 – Detour, Tower or Terra.
Tower – Use exactly 680 wine glasses to build a tower 15 levels high and fill the tower with champagne without breaking any glasses (Dan/Jordan, Jordan/Jeff).
Terra – Search an area 1 square kilometre for a tiny cluster of marked grapes (Louie/Michael, Carol/Brandy, Steve/Allie, Brent/Caite & Jeff/Cord).

Dan/Jordan are told that they have gone to the wrong town. Locals at the roadblock town are sending some teams to the Taittinger office in Reims (the town where they started the leg from) rather than the Taittinger Chateux.

Brent is doing the Roadblock as is Jeff. Steve/Allie arrive at Reims to find they are in the wrong town. Steve bumps the car which delays them further. Louie/Michael complete the Terra roadblock in first place.

CLUE 6 – Go to the pitstop at L’Orrea.

Jet/Cord arrive in Reims and are told they are in the wrong town. This is the second time they have gone to the wrong town in this leg.

Dan/Jordan decide to do Tower at the detour. Carol/Brandy do Terra.

Louie/Michael arrive at the pitstop and are team number 1. The win a holiday to Mexico.

Candy/Brandy find the grapes and are off to the pitstop. Steve/Allie decide to do Terra.

Brent/Caite are heading to the detour and see Carol/Brandy. They decide to follow them not realising that Carol/Brandy have done the detour. Brent/Caite arrive at the pitstop mat but are sent back to do the detour. Carol/Brandy finish the leg as team number 2.

The Terra detour seems to be the much quicker option. Steve/Allie complete Terra and leave for the pitstop. Jordan/Jeff are at Reim which is the wrong town. Brent/Caite choose Terra at the detour. Jet/Cord arrive 6th at the detour and also choose Terra.

Steve/Allie are team number 3 at the pitstop. Jet/Cord make up ground by completing the easier detour and reach the pitstop in 4th place. Brent/Caite are arguing about if they should switch detours, which they eventually decide to do.

Dan/Jordan finish their tower but have dropped from 2nd to 5th during the detour. Brent/Caite finish their Tower but it collapses when they pour champagne in it prompting them to switch back to Terra.

Jordan/Jeff arrive at the detour and choose Tower. Dan/Jordan arrive at the pitstop and are told they are team number 5, but they are not happy. Brent/Caite find the grapes and head off to the pitstop.

Jordan/Jeff’s tower collapses before they have even finished it and they switch to Terra. Brent/Caite arrive at the pitstop as team number 6.

Jordan/Jeff are search in the dark with torches. They eventually find the grapes but are eliminated from the race when they reach the pitstop.

Six teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

My Top 1 – Dan/Jordan
My Middle 3 – Louie/Micheal, Brent/Caite & Steve/Allie
My Bottom 2 – Jet/Cord & Carol/Brandy

Hopefully Dan should be back to blog for leg 7 which will see the teams heading for the Seychelles and Brent is shown saying he has quit the race (I highly doubt if he does quit the race that they would have shown that on the preview so I’m sure he will change his mind).

I’m back, and I did get a chance to watch TAR on Sunday night, it’s just my dorm computer is not working right now, so I’m at the library.

Anyways, in this leg, teams had to go to recieve a piece of French bread, and see their clue inside the bread. Then, teams had to make their way to  field, where they had to work on a WW1-era detour, simply by either figuring out a message in morse code (In the Trenches) or go under barbed wire, through mud to recieve a message to see tied onto a pigeon (Under Fire). Then, teams had to make their way to a church where then they had to ride a bicycle four miles to the pit stop.

1st: Louie/Michael – They started the race in first place, despite having three bottom performances. They stayed in first pretty much the entire leg, and ultimately used the blind U-Turn on Joe/Heidi, saying that Joe needs to humble up some more, and not be so confident. They did indeed take another first place, but I feel the yield they used was more of a personal choice, mixed with a little bit of stategy.

2nd: Steve/Allie – They pretty much started and finished in second place. They started racing close to Joe/Heidi, up until Joe/Heidi were yielded. Other than actually racing, I believe Allie has been speaking more, but I don’t remember hearing anything from Steve. I don’t think they’re going to last, simply because of the edit they get, but they could always be the next Tyler/James or Rachel/TK.

3rd: Jet/Cord – They were moving up a spot, taking third place. They still seem like good racers, which this season seems to be lacking, so they look like this race could be for them. I deferentially see a good strong potential for them to get top three.

4th: Dan/Jordan – These guys seem to be a bit annoying, they seem to be bickering, and telling each other to shut up a lot. They raced pretty much in the middle of the pack, and stayed there. Than again, we haven’t seen much bunching-up and catching up in this leg anyways.

5th: Carol/Brandy – I can’t stand Brandy, she’s whiny, she was whiny during the whole detour. I would seriously love to do somethig like this, and it’s a bit hurtful to see someone cry over this experience. Not to mention, we hear Caite talking about them a lot, and it’s clear that Carol/Brandy and caite don’t like each other.

6th: Brent/Caite – They came straight to the pit sop s sixth to arrive, only to realize they were given a penalty, forcing them back to search  for the forgotton clueat the church they missed. They don’t seem to be very good racers, they seem to basically be living off of luck. That isn’t very impressive.

7th: Jeff/Jordan – They were pretty much in last the entire leg, and took forever to find the detour. They were decent for Big Brother, well Jeff was pretty good, but for TAR, they’re not so good. Jordan really seems to try, but not enough to actually catch up. Considering Jeff almost put the WW1 gun to his mouth, he seems frusterated with Jordan.

8th: Joe/Heidi – They were pretty much good racers, taken out just like how Amanda/Kris were in TARUS14. Thye were U-Turned, and couldn’t survive the Morse code detour, puttign them in last, and Phil eliminated them right at the detour. I could’ve seen them in top three, but the yield deferentially screwed them over.

This season hasn’t been as good as TAR14 & 15, it’s got basically on team to really want to see win, Jet/Cord. Allie/Steve are under edited, Louie/Michael turned me off, Carol/Brandy and Dan/Jordan are a bit annoying, and Brent/caite and Jeff/Jordan seem hopeless. Go Jet/Cord! tell me what you think!

Graham here again, filling in for Dan.

Leg 4 starts with leaders Jet & Cord leaving at 10.57pm.

CLUE 1 – Fly to Hamburg, Germany

Jet & Cord find out that the first flight out isn’t for another 12 hours, so all the teams are going to bunch up again. Unfortunately they don’t show us any of the other teams pitstop departure times.

Jet & Cord and Louie & Michael are the first to arrive at the next cluebox which is an intersection.

CLUE 2 – Roadblock. Teams must pair up with another team for this clue. One person from each team must do the roadblock, so 2 people from each joined team of 4 will do it. They have to perform a 150 foot bungee jump together.

Jet/Cord & Louie/Michael decide to team up and Jet & Michael do the roadblock.
Joe/Heidi & Steve/Allie team up with Joe & Allie doing the roadblock.
Dan/Jordan & Carol/Brandy team up with Dan & Brandy doing the roadblock.
Jordan/Jeff & Brent/Caite team up with Jordan & Caite doing the roadblock.

Jordan & Caite catch the wrong train to the bungee jump and go in the opposite direction. Jet & Michael are the first to jump. Jet refuses to take his stupid hat off when he’s jumping. I was hoping it would fall off mid jump, never to be seen again, but no such luck. Joe and Allie are the second to jump.

CLUE 3 – Go to the statue of Kaiser Wilhelm. Teams are no longer intersected.

I thought the intersection was pointless. It took place during a point in the race where teams were bunched together so it had no real bearing on the race at all.

Dan & Brandy jump third. Brandy is terrified. Louie & Michael arrive at CLUE 4 first which is a detour.

Soccer – Teams must kick a ball and hit 5 targets. (chosen by Jet/Cord, Steve/Allie, Joe/Heidi, Brent/Caite & Dan/Jordan)
OR
Sauer-Kraut – Teams must go to a restaurant and eat a plate of sauer-kraut, finishing it before a band finishes playing a song. If they fail they must start again with a full plate. (chosen by Louie/Michael, Carol/Brandy & Jordan/Jeff).

Caite & Jordan are the last to bungee jump. Louie & Michael easily eat the sauer-kraut and receive the next clue.

CLUE 5- Go to the Haifisch Bar and drink a (very) large glass of beer.

Joe struggles at the soccer as he hurt his knee doing the bungee jump. Steve & Allie finish the soccer and are now in second place. Joe & Heidi decide to switch to the sauer-kraut.

Louie & Michael have no problems at all drinking the beer and receive their next clue. They now have a big lead over the other teams.

CLUE 6- Proceed to the pitstop at Beatles-Platz.

Jordan & Jeff’s taxi goes the wrong way and they end up being lost. Louie & Michael are the first to arrive at the pitstop and win a $5,000 gift card each.

Steve & Allie are drinking beer. Jet & Cord are the third to complete the detour. Joe & Heidi arrive at the sauer-kraut and complete it first time. Dan & Jordan are doing good at the soccer. Carol & Brandy complete the sauer-kraut, Jet & Cord are at the beer, they say that they have never drunk beer before in their life. Steve & Allie arrive at the pitstop in second place.

Joe & Heidi finish the beer before Jet & Cord. Jordan & Jeff finally arrive at the sauer-kraut but fail miserably with about 2 thirds of the plate uneaten by the time the music finishes so they decide to switch to the soccer. Brent & Caite are doing the soccer, Caite injures her leg but they decide to stick with it rather than switching.

Joe & Heidi are team number 3 at the pitstop. Jet & Cord are struggling to finish the beer but Carol & Brandy don’t have any problems with the beer and make up some ground.

At the pitstop Jet & Cord are team #4, Carol & Brandy team #5 and Dan & Jordan are team #6.

This leaves only 2 teams left racing. Brent & Caite are drinking the beer. Well actually Brent is the one doing all the drinking and he ends up throwing up twice. Jordan & Jeff are in last place at the soccer detour.

Brent & Caite arrive at the pitstop at team number 7. They were completely shocked at they were certain they were in last place.

Jordan & Jeff are the last team to arrive but at is is a non-elimination leg they survive to race in leg 5.

I raised the subject on the forum, but I am not convinced that these non-elimination legs are planned in advance. I suspect they are decided based on who finishes last. It won’t be too much trouble to have a possible speedbump planned for every leg. After all the producers are much interested in making an entertaining show to get high ratings rather than making it fair. The Big Brother couple were saved, but was this their good luck or was there always going to be a non-elimination leg the first time they finished last?

Dan will be back blogging about Leg 5. Bye for now.

Hi everyone, this is Graham filling in for Dan on The Amazing Race 16 blog for the next few episodes.

We have 9 teams left at the start of Leg 3. Jet & Cord depart from the pitstart at 11.20pm.

Clue 1 – They must take one of 2 buses on a 6 hour journey through the Andes mountains to Argentina. At the destination they must win a game of 5 card stud, playing against a garden gnome. The buses leave at 8.30am and 8.50am, so all the teams are going to be bunched up again.

Second and third to leave are Joe & Heidi at 11.55pm and Carol & Brandy also at 11.55pm. Brent & Caite were due to leave at 1.20am but they woke up feeling sick and went to the hospital. Fourth to leave were Monique & Shawne at 1.22am, Jordan & Jeff were fifth to leave at 2.01am. Sixth Steve & Allie 2.23am, seventh Dan & Jordan at 2.25am and eighth Louie & Michael at 3.12am.

Brent and Caite return from the hosptial and eventually depart at 4.25am, about 3 hours later than they were supposed to.

I wish Jet and Cord would take off their cowboys hats, it’s really starting to annoy me now.

Clue 2/3 – Roadblock. They have to rope a target 18 feet away. This shouldn’t be a problem for the cowboys.

Clue 4 – Drive to Puente Nirihuau and search the cliffs for the next clue.

Jet and Cord are now way out in the lead with other leading teams struggling with the roadblock.

Clue 5 – Detour.
Horse Sense (done by Carol/Brandy, Jordan/Jeff, Joe/Heidi, Louie/Michael & Dan/Jordan although everyone but Jordan/Jeff switched to the other roadblock). They are given some co-ordinates and must find a bag of money buried in the ground.
Horse Power (done by Jet/Cord, Steve/Allie, Brent/Caite & Monique/Shawne although Monique/Shawne switched to the other roadblock). They had to go to a polo field, and using a wooden pony must score a goal in 9 swings or less.

Jet & Cord arrive at Horse Power and are disapointed that they are not using a real horse. They don’t have any problems and quickly finish it.

Clue 6 – Go to the pitstop in Estancia Fortin, Chacabuco.

Whilst Jet & Cord head off to the pitstop, Dan & Jordan are still back on clue 1 playing the card game. Carol & Brandy are doing the detour as are Jordan and Jeff. Joe & Heidi choose horse sense but use a compass on Joe’s watch rather than counting their steps as stated on the clue, so they have no chance of finding the buried money.

Carol & Brandy are also struggling on their detour and start arguing with each other. Brent & Caite are way back in last place on clue 1 and are driving around lost. Monique & Shawnw haven’t featured much in this leg are doing the roadblock.

Dan & Jordan are the 6th team to complete the roadblock. Carol & Brandy decide to switch detours to horse power, Joe & Heidi also switch. Jordan and Jeff didn’t understand the clue and keep taking the money bag to the wrong person. Brent & Caite finally arrive at the card game in clue 1. They should be far far behind everyone else, but luckily Shawne just can’t do the roadblock. Brent completes the roadblock quickly and overtakes Monique & Shawne. Shawne they says a prayer to God and is successful at the next attempt – although I’m sure it was just edited to look that way.

Jet & Cord arrive at the pitstop in first place and win a 10 day holiday to Argentina and Chile.

Dan & Jordan switch detours and Jordan & Jeff finally realise that they have been going to the wrong person.

Steve & Allie arrive at the pitstop in 2nd place, Carol & Brandy are 3rd, Joe & Heidi are 4th. Jordan & Jeff are the first team to complete the horse sense detour. Louie & Michael are the 4th team to switch detours. Dan & Jordan just can’t do the polo and get frustrated as all the teams behind them are catching up. They finally manage to complete it. Jordan & Jeff arrive at the pitstop in 5th place and Dan & Jordan arrive in 6th place.

Louie/Michael, Brent/Caite and Monique/Shawne are the only teams still racing and they are all together doing the same detour. Monique/Shawne struggle and make the potentially fatal mistake of switching detours.

Brent & Caite finish at the pitstop in 7th place. They are happy with that given they started the leg in hospital. Louie & Michael are 8th at the pitstop.

Monique & Shawne complete the detour but ate last to arrive at the pitstop. Phil tells them that they have been eliminated from the race.

8 teams remain. Here’s how I rate them -

My Top 3 – Dan/Jordan, Joe/Heidi and Brent/Caite
Middle 2 – Steve/Allie and Louie/Michael
Bottom 3 – Jeff/Cord, Jordan/Jeff and Carol/Brandy

The next leg involves drinking in Hamburg, Germany and all the teams have to pair up and work together. Leg 4 blog should be posted tomorrow (if I get time to watch it tonight).

TAR gave us our second episode, and it was good, just like I expected out of TAR. What teams had to do in this leg where teams had to make their way to Isla Margarits where they were given their detour: play dress up with a llama or fly like condors. Then, teams had to make their way to Bellavistas where one person had to catch items to make a kuchen, a German-Chilean cake or pie. Then teams have to make their way to gruta de la Vergen, a church as their second pit stop.

1st: Jet/Cord – This team was completely look at as genius a their second bus stop, when they did something that made Jeff/Jordan & Caite/Brent miss the bus, I completely forgot. Then, they completely the llama detour with ease and whilethey knew some teams had almost caught up to their commanding lead, they still remained at the front of the pack, and eventually got first place. If they keep racing the way they did, they’ll be pretty good, and have so much potential to get ahead.

2nd: Joe/Heidi – They decided to make an alliance with Carol/Brandy, and saved them a spot during the bus ticketing, which got the detectives mad. They raced very closely along with Carol/Brandy and were almost always in second throughout the leg. They seem to be good with strategy and are showing as much potential as Jet/Cord and if they continue they’ll be just as good.

3rd: Carol/Brandy – They were pretty much racing with Joe/Heidi, and were showing themselves to be followers. I think they got lucky they got an early bus and still need to step it up if they want to get ahead, which they’re okay for now.

4th: Brent/Caite – They were one of two teams who tried to connect to the destination through another city, but missed a bus, and got very lucky to find another one. I believe they are showing they can show a potential to race, I’m not sure how much mistakes it takes for them to, you know, get eliminated.

5th: Monique/Shawne – They were on the third bus, carrying four teams, the next  few teams, the most teams. They are pretty much still good racers, they had no blunder other tham just sticking with their first choice, and not finding better flights. Whichever one of them did the roadblock, was indeed the one who got kicked in the head by the cow, where the episode title comes from.

6th: Jeff/Jordan – They are almost, kind of, in an alliance with Caite/Brent, claiming those two teams are very much alike. I would agree with that statement, but, who knows. I believe they are okay racers, but they certainly didn’t get lucky. Like Carol/Brandy, they basically stuck with one team, calling them allies, then trailin them. They actually had a hard time finding the pit stop, which they basically had fifth, then fell to an official sixth.

7th: Steve/Allie – They are pretty much this season’s under edited team, they haven’t been shown very much. We just get glimpses of them at the tasks, but no personal story has been developed between them yet. So, there’s not much to say about them yet. I hope we see more of them, though.

8th: Dan/Jordan – They really fell behind finding either theroadblock or detour, something like that. They have proven to be bad at directions, which isn’t a good thing. They don’t look like horrible racers, and they did their tasks okay.

9th: Michael/Louie – The only thing I remember about them is that they were upset of Joe/Heidi holding spots in line. Also, they couldn’t find the roadblock, so that put them down a lot. They don’t seem like very good racers, and I wouldn’t be surprised to actually see them gone next.

10th: Jody/Shannon – They ended up being the slow team to the line, and ended up last, basically because they caught the last bus, and didn’t get a chance to catch up and pass someone. There’s not muh to say about them either, as they didn’t add much to the show either. I will probably forget these girls were ever on the race.

Not much else to say. Not clearly a favorite yet. See ya Friday. Here’s an LLNMD:

Love:

Like: Jet/Cord, Joe/Heidi, Caite/Brent, Jeff/Jordan, Monique/Shawne

Neutral: Carol/Brandy, Steve/Allie, Dan/Jordan, Louie/Michael, Jody/Shannon

Meh:

Dislike:

So, I did end up getting access to watch the premier of TAR16. YAY!!!!! *Happy Dance*. So, in the wise words of Russell, “I’m not done playin’ just yet”. I can continue to try to work with the blog, only I may not be able to watch the show every week, which is a total bummer. Anyways, TAR came on tonight, and it did indeed feature Big Brother housemates, Jeff & Jordan, Controversial Miss. Teen USA pageant girl, Caite Upton.  and along with the other teams we just met. Here is a general idea of how things went down as far as tasks and how each team performed during the race.

In the very beginning, Phil instructs to the teams they’ll have to take public transportation to their airport, where the first three teams to arrive get on the house-ahead flight. That flight ended up delayed due to mechanical errors, in which Brandy was praying for. Then, teams were given their first destination: Santaigo, Chile. Once there, teams had to complete the roadblock: Teams had one member walk a cable line the size of a football field. From there, teams had to take a goldokla-type bus called a funicular to recieve their next clue. Then, in theroute marker, teams had to carry paint, brushes, and ladders to Paseo Templeman where they had to paint a small block of paint on the wall of a house, finishing off by foot arriving to Palacio Faburizza.

1st: Jeff/Jordan – My surprise of the night: Jeff & Jordan actually got first place. Congrats to them. They were one of the three teams who got on the first flight, which got delayed, forcing them to switch tickets to the next light, the flight the other teams were on. They pretty much kept a nice run, as Jordan even kept the lead during the roadblock she completed. They were running past Caite/Brent, the team closely paced with. I was real surprised that Jordan was good. Her prayer was answered: she says she didn’t want to mess up, and I don’t think she did. They can potentially be good competitiors here, as well as they were on Big Brother. However, the sad note is this: Jordan thought the entire time she was going to China, instead of Chile.

2nd: Shawnee/Monique – I believe they were the one of the three leading teams on the delayed flight, proving that the delay didn’t even affect two of the leading teams. This team wasn’t shown as much, but Shawne did this roadblock. Along with prayer answering from and to Jordan and Brandy, they had a different religious insight: one of them were crossing the street with the ladder on them, saying “it’s like carryign a cross” and “I’m gonna be like Jesus”. They ran a solid leg and took a decent second place, moving fast on every task, I believe.

3rd: Jet/Cord – Jet/Cord were pretty much at the back of the pack the entire leg. They clearly had to have found their house to paint almost instantly, considering they were at the bottom three pack, then moving up to the top three. One thing I remember is that Shannon clearly likes them. They too were shown in bits and pieces, but didn’t add much pizzaz to the show in this episode. I love how they were like ninth to complte the roadblock that Cord completed, and then move up to third place, given there was a penalty involved.

4th: Steve/Allie – They moved along with the race easily, except I’m not sure how they got fourth, when they were seen painting the worng house, a house that probably didn’t need a paint job. They weren’t too rememberable either, as now I guess it’s hard to show eleven teams racing than it is to show less than five teams racing. I don’t know what to expect from them.

5th: Joe/Heidi – Joe came out to show a competitie spirit towards him, and I believe we’ll see more of that next episode, if I get to watch it. They seem like they could be a good team, and I don’t think they were bad this race, andthey probably ran solidly in the middle of the pack. So, they showed up at the pit stop at fifth place, just a second behind Steve/Allie. I thought for sure those two teams would be a tie.

6th: Carol/Brandy – I believe they could be one of the more competitive teams, considering we saw Brandy pray her way to wishing for a mechanical failure on a plane she ended up recieving answered and satisfied about. Then, Brandy was on the roadblock, and she didn’t start off to well, but didn’t back down, and completed the race. Then, while we saw them enough in the beginning, I don’t think we saw much of them after the roadblock, so I’m not too sure how they exactly landed into ixth place, but they did.

7th: Caite/Brent -  Caite/Brent started the race in the front of the pack, as I believe Caite was second to complete the roadblock, just minuted behind Jordan. However, they recieved a penalty after walking to a clue rather than taking the Funicular. So, they got a 30-minute penalty that landed them into seventh place. I love how Caite mentions she looks for redemption, but she kindo f didn’t do that right offthe bat, recieving a penalty. Oh well, there’s always eleven more legs to improve on.

8th: Dan/Jordan – Jordan, or who ever is the gay brother, seems like he’s kind of the manipulator. He began reminding teams of who Caitlyn, Jeff/Jordan are, and he wasmocking Caite. He could be a potential guy who ould be fun to watch. They started the race pretty stable, as hey were in the front of the pack. However, they dropped a paint brush, andfailed to find it. Honestly, I’d take a fifteen minute penalty rather than spending too much time finding a paint brush. Thye did indeed recieve a fifteen minute penalty which dropped them from a potential fourth place down to eighth place. So, basically, karma bit them.

9th: Louie/Michael – They don’t really seem like they’ll be good racers. Given we barely saw them, and they never seemed to have much luck, or showed any potential to catch up, they could probably be out pretty soon. I don’t remember anything they really did, so there’s not much to say abou them in this episode.

10th: Jody/Shannon – I was really surprised they got tenth place, I wanted to see if they could do a whole lot better than that. I would say right now they’re on the same plane as Louie & Michael, not showing much luck or much abiltiy to catch up. Not even Shannon who completed the roadblock was seen struggling, or even pulling ahead. Maybe something else put them down, or it was the fact they were last to get a bus to the town, Valparaiso.

11th: Dana/Adrian (ELIMINATED) - After failing two times to get across the cable line, Adrian really struggled with his fear of heights to notbe able to overcome this obstacle, and Phil eliminated both Dana and Adrian before arriving to the pit stop, making them the third team to never make it to a pit stop, (Bil’al/Se’eed, Eric/Lisa) even though they weren’t a part of a twist.

That’s it for this leg, hopefully, I’ll see you some other time!

The Amazing Race has finally been revealed by CBS. I personally knew the names, relationships, and personal information of the cast a while ago, I just waited for this to be revealed by CBS, who officially should be announcing everything, CBS just announces everything later than the actually cast spoilers. The Amazing Race will premier February 14th, right after Super Bowl week. This season features eleven teams, meaning we shouldn’t be starting with a twist, unless I hear otherwise. So here we go, announcing the teams.

Caite & Brent – This is a dating couple from South Carolina.  They are both models. Caite is famous for her embarrassing failure to answer her question on Miss. Teen USA’s pageant. Ironic for TAR, her Pageant question was about kids knowing world geography, something Caite knows nothing about apparently. She’s also the first ever underage contestant, excluding TAR8′s kids. She’s the fourth age exception made by CBS, requiring Reality participants to be 21 (before 2009). Michelle (BB4), Daniele Donato (BB8), and Frosti Zernow (Survivor China) were the other exceptions CBS made. Maybe if Caite becomes a star racer, she’ll convince the producers to lower the age limit to 18, just like wat Survivor did.

Carol & Brandy – This couple is a dating couple from Los Angeles, CA. They are a lesbian couple and they’re the second lesbian couple to be featured on TAR. Carol owns her own business and Brandy is an actress, but Carol and Brandy are much older than most models/actors featured on Reality TV. Both Carol and Brandy are in their forties.

Dana & Adrian – They are a married African-American couple from Arlington, Texas. Both Dana and Adrian are owners of a business.  They are one of two African-American teams, in which I believe only two other seasons (TAR1 & TAR3) has two African-American teams. They seem to be very deeply into their religious beliefs, which is cool, I always love that.

Jet & Cord – They are brothers, who are also both cowboys, aka cattle ranchers. They both reside in towns from Oklahoma. They actually look like a very smart team, and I don’t believe they fit under any rancher/cowboy stereotype, other than being Cowboys, of course.

Jody & Shannon – This duo is a grandmother & granddaughter team, making the first ever grandmother/granddaughter team TAR has had and the second grandparent/grandchild team (Nick & Don, TAR12 were first). They both have a passion for athletics and fitness, yes, Jody, who is 71, making her the new oldest contestant from TAR, still runs marathons and is a personal trainer. I usually doubt the success of female teams, and especially teams with older team mates, just because I still remember all the other winners, but I actually see a potential in this team.

Joe & Heidi – This couple is a Asian-American married couple who run and coach a sports youth program in their won, El Segundo, California. I believe they are the first Asian-American couple with a romantic relationship. I believe that a coach of spots, for kids is a good way to use those skills for The Amazing Race, so I see potential in this team as well.

Jordan & Daniel – This duo is a team of brothers, making us having two brother teams this season. They are extreme sports’ activists, or mostly I believe Daniel is, as they are fans of the New England Teams. They are both from Barrington, Rhode Island.

Jordan & Jeff – This couple is a newly dating couple from different states. Jeff is from Illinois and Jordan is from North Carolina. They met on last year’s season of Big Brother, and were Big Brother 11′s seasonal sweethearts last year. I know from last year on Big Brother that I’m sure Jeff will be a decent racer, I’m just not sure about what Jordan can do for their team on the race. I expect more from Jordan than Caite, though.Also, they are sixth & seventh racers to come from a former Reality show. Rob/Amber, Alison TAR5, Britney Rogers TAR8, Greg TAR7 were previous ones.

Louie & Michael - They are friends & detectives from Providence, Rhoda Island. Okay, it’s very unusual to expect two teams to come from the US.’s smallest state. As undercover detectives I’m sure they’ll be excellent in finding out what destination they need to get to, so that’s a plus. Other than that, we’ll see.

Monique/Shawne – They are African-American women who are moms and attorneys from different states, but went to college together. They look like they’re very independent and intelligent women, so that’s a plus for me. It’s finally nice to see another independent mom team again.

Steve & Allison – This duo are father & daughter from Encinitas, California. Steve is a baseball coach of the Cleveland Indians, who was also the winning coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008. Alison, who also goes by Allie seems to be a Phil fan, since she wants to trade places with him. Don’t worry, don’t we all want to travel the world in a Reality Show and get paid for it?

There’s the next eleven teams of Racers. I’ll be blogging about them after Feb. 14th.

Here is the next ranking of the winners & seasons of The Amazing Race:. Yes, this time, they are together, and the words being said about them are a lot less.

Winners:

1. Flo/Zach (TAR3) – He was really nice, She was really horrifically entertaining. It couldn’t get better for them.

2. Uchenna/Joyce (TAR7) – They beat Rob/Amber, that’s why I rank them so high. How much better could they be?

3. Tammy/Victor (TAR14) – A dominating, intelligent, witty team I still loved to root for and see win last season.

4. Chip/Kim (TAR5) – I remmeber liking them in seasson five, especially when they beat the other TAR5 teams.

5. Tyler/James (TAR10) – They were a good team, and I loved to see them win, except they had little competition.

6. Rachel/TK – I loved them too, and they were a nice couple who raced well, and was glad to see them win.

7. Freddy/Kendra – I liked them, and will easily defend Kendra’s comment on Africa not being a truely bad comment.

8. Nick/Starr (TAR13) – Starr was the star of the show, but Nick was bland, but they did dominate the season a whole lot.

9. Meghan/Cheyne (TAR15) – Were not my favourties, a bit bland, but did race as well as Nick/Starr.

10. Eric/Danielle (TAR11AS) – Would’ve been a beter team if it was Jeremy there, and not Danielle.

11. Rob/Brennen (TAR1) – They were a nice team, and did okay, but I wanted Frank/Margarita to win.

12. Chris/Alex (TAR2) – I clearly don’t remember them that much, so I don’t have anything else to say.

13. BJ/Tyler (TAR9) – Rewatching TAR9 last weekend, they kind of grew on me, just a tad little.

14. Linz Family (TAR8FE) – They were arrogant, especially to the Weavers, and not very good, really.

15. Reichen/Chip (TAR4) – Just winners, that I didn’t like.

Seasons:

1. TAR14 – Entertaining challenges, interesting teams that didn’t fight so much, and one of the best winners.

2. TAR11AS – One of the most competitive seasons ever made, thanks to Eric, Charla/Mirna, and Dustin/Kandice.

3. TAR12 – Had a lot of interesting, unexpecting, diverse teams make it very far that made the season very good.

4. TAR7 – They had a lot of good teams who made the race competitive, which is always a plus. Also, it was good seeing Romber lose.

5. TAR1 – It was a very good classic for a good show like TAR. It had good teams, a lot of which we’ll remember forever.

6. TAR15 – It was a good season, that had a lot of okay teams, in which it was still a good season.

7. TAR10 – It was very good, that had a nice first major plot, the 6-pack alliance and Dustin/Kandice & Tyler/James.

8. TAR5 – It had a lot of competitive spirit, and went to some amazing places like Phillipines, Egypt & Canada.

9. TAR9 – It had Hippies, Frats, and Mojo who made it very competitive, and they went to some good places, too.

10. TAR3 – It had Flo/Zach who were my all time favorites, which was just about the best memorable thing there.

11. TAR6 – It had a lot of dramatic teams, but they still went to interesting places like Norway & Iceland.

12. TAR13 – They had all the teams we wont remember, and it was stable due to Nick/Starr there.

13. TAR2 – Easily the season I hardly remember anythign from, probably since I didn’t see it all yet.

14. TAR4 – Had a good start, loved Tian/Jaree,m but fell apart due to a bad, boring ending.

15. TAR8FE – Had an okay concept, but why  again did they gang up on the Weavers?

TAR 15 ended last night, and we have our winners, Meghan & Cheyne, and they have won seven out of twelve legs this season, making it a tie for the most legs won, as they are tied with Nick & Starr of season thirteen.

In this race, teams had to make their way to the Graceland wedding chapel where an Elvis Impersonator will hand them their next clue. Then, the teams were at their roadblock: The Mandalay bay, where one member had to rappel down. At the Mirage, the teams had to harness in a bungee cord and be lifted up high enough to grab a bouquet of flowers and hand them to a hippy actress. Then, teams had to figure out their next destination was the Monte Carlo, where they had to count $1,000,000 of poker chips to recieve their next clue. Then, finally, teams had to make their way to the MGM Grand, where teams had to find Mr. Las Vagas, or Wayne Newton, to tell them their finish line spot. The finish line was in Wayne Newton’s house, or Casa De Shanandoah. Here is the recap of how the teams performed in reverse placing order:

Brian Ericka (3rd place) – Brian/Ericka started off with the best of the three taxi drivers, and Ericka completed the roadblock first, before Meghan/Cheyne or Sam/Dan. They fell behind at the Bouquet task, when Ericka couldn’t get the bouquet easily, as they got very frusterated, especially Ericka. They failed to figure out the chip counting twice, which pretty much put them in third place. I really had fun rooting for them, and enjoyed them he most throughout the race.

Sam/Dan (2nd place) – They started off with the slowest of the taxis, and were the last at the roadblock. They were going to follow Meghan/Cheyneat the wrong hotel, but easily found out they needed to go to Monte Carlo. They got the chip count wrong the first time, in which this got them second place. They really only bickered on the chip count, but not as bad, since there was no detour.

Meghan/Cheyne (1st place) – Meghan/Cheyne started on the roadblock, with Cheyne competing, andthey finish just behind Brain/Ericka. Then, after they finish the bouquet challenge, they ended up driving to the wrong hotel, in which they let Sam/Dan in first place. Then, they finished the chip counting first and arrived to the finish line first, becoming the first team to arrive, winning The Amazing Race’s 15th season. I fairly agree they were good racers, and were probably one of the best racers on the race to win, ever, simply because of their good first place finishes.

Now, we have season sixteen to look after for, in which one team we’ll always remember from that season is Jeff/Jordan from Big Brother US 11. Also, we have discovered another beauty queen, Miss Teen 2007, Caitlyn Upton, who the first underaged contestant to break the must-be-over-21 rules. TAR always has a lot of beauty queens, as it seems that is the present obsession for TAR. Check in later to see my rankings of Seasons & Winners of TAR.

TAR came on last night, and had just one episode to go. The four remaining teams all stayed in Prague, Czech Republic. In the roadblock, teams must have one person search through ringing telephones to hear the letters F R A N Z and arrange them to spell Franz, in order to recieve their next clue. Then, teams had to the Kryocentrum and spend two minutes in a Kryotherapy chamber in order to recieve their next clue. At Charles Bridge they were given their detour: build a golem (Legend) or serve beer to soccer fans (Lager). Strelecky Ostrov was the pit stop.

Meghan/Cheyne- They ran the entire race in first place, simply because there was no bunching up at all on this leg, they never left the city of Prague. They were fighting on the Golem detour, for a bit, but that’s because they have seemed to always fight or freak out on detours. They clearly got first place, again, winning 52 inch televisions. I think they have so much potential to win, but I still want Brian/Ericka to win. I’ll let them take second. However, if they do get first place, they’ll be tied with Nick/Starr (TAR13) for an amount of first place finishes.

Sam/Dan- During the race, they started with the detour, in which the one who was working on the detour, was working with either Flight Time or Big Easy on it and once Sam/Dan got the answer right, they decided not to tell the other person, despite the fact they were helping each other. This was again, another sneaky move from Sam/Dan, that they really didn’t need to start in the first place. They went through the detour screaming at each other, as usual, even worse than Meghan/Cheyne. They finished, however, and got second place.

Brian/Ericka- They started the race with a speed bump, in which they had to go to a night club and drink extremely strong liqour in order to move on. They completed it just fine. They got irritated with drunks off the streets stealing beer from them, while doing the detour, as Ericka was giving them some all-American attitude. They ended up getting third place, and the third spot in the final three. I want them to win, since they can easily come from behind, as they are good at that, and while they haven’t had first yet, I still see them as potential winners.

Flight Time/Big Easy- They struggled with the roadblock and the one competing, ended up taking a four hour penalty for not completing this roadblock. I seriously thought that was a dumb thing to do. It’s a five letter word, and you’re at the final four. Not a very good move, I’d say. They ended up choosing the detour, making it through that, and Phil tells them they’re in last place, and have been eliminated. I think they could have made it, especially if they chose the legend detour, but oh well. At least Brian/Ericka are in.

Now, I have some exciting news about the sixteenth season of TAR. It’s highly rumored that it will feature Jeff & Jordan from Big Brother 11, as a dating couple. I think this could be great, and I truly see potential in that team. Here is the information on Jeff/Jordan on TAR, and some brief descriptions of the other eleven teams: realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/the_amazing_race_16/2009_Nov_29_lax.

In this leg of The Amazing Race, teams traveled to Prague, Czech Republic where they had to find a vintage praga in order to receive their next clue, which was a detour. In the detour, teams had to either go fast and furious (kayak through water to capture a flag) or slow and steady (zip line through a rope to get their next clue). Then, teams had to figure out what the flag was saying in which they had to go to Estates Theater where in this roadblock, the teams had one person search for a tiny musical instrument and had it to an opera singer. Castle Prague was the pit stop.

1st – Meghan/Cheyne -They pretty much ran this race in first place, finishing the detour first, they worked with the Globetrotters until Cheyne wanted to snatch a taxi, in which that got the Globetrotters, and even Meghan upset. At the roadblock, Cheyne found the instrument before Sam/Dan & Flight time/Big Easy, and before Brian/Ericka arrived, so they got to Check into the pit stop. They were team number one again, but proved that Brian/Ericka is this season’s nice team.

2nd – Sam/Dan -During the detour, they failed three time to row the canoe down the man-made river, so they ended up switching detours. After the completed the detour, they stole a taxi belonging to Brian/Ericka. I personally think that’s a bit wrong, to bribe a taxi driver, especially from a foreign country. I mean, you can’t do those things here in the U.S. They got to the roadblock, where one of them found the instrument before the Globetrotters did, andfought against them as the Globetrotters finished, in a race to the pit stop. They took second place.

3rd – Flight Time/Big Easy -They started the race with a strong follow with Sam/Dan & Meghan/Cheyne, where they finished the detour second, completing it, and then getting ditched my Meghan/Cheyne. I personally think I understand their point, if you promise someone you’d help them, you should do that or not make the deal at all. They found their way out of the roadblock, and came to be team number three.

4th – Brian/Ericka -They made a mistake by taking a train instead of a taxi, putting them a bit behind. They did okay on the detour, but got their taxi stolen from Sam/Dan. Then, after the roadblock, they came into the pit stop, where Phil tells them they can continue racing, they haven’t been eliminated. I was glad they were spared from elimination, I couldn’t lose two favorites in a row, by losing them and Laura from Survivor. They are mainly the only team I want to see win, and I feel they have a chance, they’re not way too far as underdogs.

Right now, I want Sam/Dan to get eliminated. I believe their competitive spirit of intimidating teams is not very necessary in a race like this. Teams should worry about themselves, not the other teams. The Globetrotters seem OK, but they really seem to take things personal, and act like they are always innocent. Meghan/Cheyne are doing well, and I think they’re doing too well, but I really still want Brian/Ericka to beat them out.

TAR is winding down, faster than Survivor, because that still has ten left to deal with where here in TAR, we’re down to four teams. The teams were headed to Estonia, where they had to take a ferry which didn’t leave until well over 12 hours everyone left the pit stop, bunching everyone up. In Estonia, they had to make their way to a “secret” Merchant Brotherhood house where in this roadblock, one person had to use a candle, search for a marked room, with a number and receive a clue. The clue had nothing visible written on it, so they had to use the candle in order to read the clue. Then in Pikk Hermann Tower Garden, teams received their detour: sling (slingshot veggies at a moose sign to release their clue) or serve (play volleyball in a buddy bog and score five points). A wooden tower on the bog land was the pit stop.

Meghan/Cheyne - Meghan/Cheyne were pretty much in first in this leg, they were the first to the Merchant place, and Cheyne finished the roadblock first. They got extremely fortunate to breeze through the detour, choosing the volleyball, since Meghan is a volleyball player. Before any of the teams arrived to the detour set, Meghan/Cheyne arrived to the pit stop, taking first place for the fourth time. It seems things are almost going their way when it comes to getting first place. They got their second first place through the Fast Forward, which ultimately helped them get a back-to-back first place, since the Dubai legs weren’t bunching up, and they easily take first this time over a sport she plays. Whenever they are more stressed out, and freaking out more, they don’t seem to carry first place, though.

Sam/Dan - Sam/Dan first started racing very closely by Meghan/Cheyne, but at the roadblock, Sam didn’t seem to get the invisible clue first. After finishing, and looking for another taxi, they ended up sharing a bus type taxi to the detour where they couldn’t find the marked pathway. They ended up beating Brian/Ericka out on the volleyball court and during the detour, faced off with the Globetrotters. They simple took second place, just seconds behind then, the Globetrotters, they beat out.

Flight Time/Big Easy - During their time, they were simply just only ahead of Gary/Matt, as one of them ended up using a crayon to scribble their clue, not knowing they needed to hold it up to the candle. During the detour, they followed Sam/Dan & Brian/Ericka in a mater to find the marked pathway to the detour set. They squared off with Sam/Dan in a fight to the pit stop, as one of the Globetrotters supposedly tripped Sam or Dan. I honestly didn’t see the globetrotter literally trip them, because I’m pretty sure that physical violence on this race would lead to disqualification or a major penalty. The Globetrotters easily take third place.

Brian/Ericka - They started off, ok, as Ericka was the second person to finish the roadblock. What put them behind was not being able to find the marked pathway, as the same for Sam/Dan & Flight Time/Big Easy. They couldn’t outrun the Globetrotters or Sam/Dan to the muddy volleyball court, so they opted to do the sling detour. They finally finished the detour and moved into the pit stop at fourth place. If only they had another volleyball net, they could’ve maybe placed a bit higher, but oh well, they’re still there.

Gary/Matt - They started off the race with a speed bump, which was to spend time in a sauna on a bus. Now how epically creatively sweet is that!?!? Matt struggled to find a candelabra, putting them furthered behind. Then, Gary & Matt struggled to find the clue box at the Tower Garden, putting them even further back. They chose to do the sling detour, and at the pit stop, they were told by Phil they are in last place and have been eliminated. They had a teary goodbye, and really talked about their appreciation of the race, and just being together.

During this race, we can now clearly see there’s a rivalry between Flight Time/Big Easy & Sam/Dan. I would like to say that I’m neutral on this feud, as it appears that both of these teams have intimidated each other-and others. For instance, the Globetrotters have been seen psyching Mika out and aggressively behaving around Sam/Dan and Sam/Dan are saying stuff such as “Did Your fans help you get here!?” and stealing Brian/Ericka’s taxi, we’re supposed to see next episode. I think their rivalry is pointless. I mean, can’t they just be glad they have something to fight for, and can’t they just enjoy the race. I would give my clothes on my back, strip down naked then rub myself with maple syrup and roll in maple leaves (with paparazzi, of course) just to travel & see inches of the world, and not just on a TV screen or Google images, I know I would. What I’m saying, at this point of the race, is the experience of traveling the world with someone who love is clearly worth more than $1,000,000.

Love: Brian/Ericka, Meghan/Cheyne
Like:
Neutral:
Meh: Sam/Dan, Flight Time/Big Easy
Dislike:

In this episode, the teams had to make their way to Tivoli Grund Lond where they had to have one teammate ride the tallest ride to spot an arrow pointing them to their next clue. In their next clue, they had to play a theme park style ring game where they had to discover a Travelocity gnome. Then, teams had to pick one of two detours: Nobel Dynamite (blow up ground to uncover their next clue) or Viking Alphabet (Decode a message of the Viking alphabet). In the final task, teams had the roadblock where one teammate had to search for a red-yellow ribbon in order to check in to the pit stop, which was the same farm, Bogs Gard farm.

1st – Flight Time/Big Easy - They were the team who were pretty much lucky to et first, simple because while they started the race in the first flight, they couldn’t make the first train, putting them fifteen minutes behind. They easily caught up at the roadblock, easily passing Meghan/Cheyne. They lucked out, as one of them was the first to find the ribbon in the hay stack, claiming first place right on one of their birthday’s. They seem to have gotten lucky, as all of the teams were pretty much bunched up on the roadblock. I believe tat being on the first flight, putting Ericka/Brain & Gary/Mat behind got them first place. They ar, however, always getting along, making the race into some fun, and perhaps comical, and are a good team. They move up in my opinion.

2nd – Meghan/Cheyne - They were starting the race off well, getting on the first flight and the first train with only Sam/Dan on their heels. At the detour, they failed to listen together, which put them in the middle of the pack, as Meghan’s idea to do one bag of soil at a time was not really a good idea. At the roadblock, in which Meghan, who was the only woman pulling those strong, heavy hay stacks struggled to get a grip on the task, and easily freaked out a lot. However she was the second person to find the ribbon and Meghan/Cheyne became team number two. Cheyne comments on how Meghan pulled the weight in this episode, which easily shows to me that he’s easily willing to share the contributions the race is about. Other’s were practically carried to each pit stop.

3rd – Brian/Ericka - They were stuck with choosing a flight that was approx 90 minutes behind, with Gary/Matt on their tail. However, they took an easy fourth when Gary/Matt didn’t catch the train. They did well and maintained to stay out of last place at the route info and the detour. They caught up to Sam/Dan & Meghan/Cheyne at the roadblock, where Brain found the ribbon third, and Brian/Ericka became team number three. So, we know Brian does well on roadblocks, and I’m glad he did this one; otherwise we’d see Ericka freak out for sure. They ran a batter leg, and managed to stay out of last the entire time. I still like them, and I really see them in the final three.

4th – Sam/Dan - Sam/Dan pretty much ran this leg with most of the time leading everyone. They got on the first flight, got on the first train, and finished the route info and detour first before anyone else did. However, Sam struggled and ran out of luck trying to compete in the roadblock. Sam/Dan were constantly yelling at each other non-stop during the whole roadblock, which got them on each other’s nerves. Sam/Dan managed to beat out Gary/Matt and they checked into the pit stop as team number four. Sam/Dan are starting to really make me feel uncomfortable every time I watch them. I also don’t get their rivalry with the Globetrotters, I mean, saying stuff like “Did your fans help you get here?” is kind of pointless to say, if you ask me.

5th – Gary/Matt - They were placed on the last flight with Brian/Ericka, and missed the train, putting them down fifteen minutes and putting them into last pretty much the entire leg. They didn’t seem to be too well on navigating themselves from place to place, which would’ve put them further behind. They did okay on the detour, but were still behind Brain/Ericka the entire time. Gary was the last to find the red and yellow ribbon and Gary/Mat checked in to the pit stop a last place. However, they were spared from elimination and were to compete in the next leg with a speed bump. I really feel that luck wasn’t on their side, and I still feel they have an equal shot to race well against the others.

LLNMD List:
Love: Brian/Ericka, Gary/Matt, Meghan/Cheyne
Like: Flight Time/Big Easy,
Neutral: Sam/Dan
Meh:
Dislike: