World of Big Brother Blog

Tammy/Victor, Margie/Luke, and Jaime/Cara each head out to Maui, Hawaii. Once there, teams had to make their way to Beach Access 118. Once there, the teams had to season up a pig, then carry it about a mile to where it needs to be cooked. Tammy/Victor immediately arrive first, then Cara/Jaime and Luke/Margie were right behind them. Then, Margie/Luke’s method of carrying the pig easily put them ahead, making them finish the task first. Then, Tammy/Victor and Jaime/Cara, whom struggled more, were also able to finish, moving on to the next task.

In the next task, teams had to make their way to McGregor point and get on personal watercraft to go out one mile and search for a buoy with a clue. Margie/Luke led the pack, and easily found their clue before the other could arrive. Then, Cara/Jaime and Tammy/Victor found their clue closely together, but still see Margie/Luke in the lead. Yes, Cara/Jaime were still having taxi trouble, and were still screaming at taxis like they don’t know English.

In the roadblock, one person had to search through pictured surfboards and match them with pictures relating to events of the pervious legs. Margie/Luke arrive, and Luke decided to do this roadblock. Luke goes off with a great start, probably getting about eight of nine of the boards before the others arrive. Then, Tammy/Victor arrive, and Victor chose this roadblock. This is where Luke begin to get frustrated finding the last two correctly. This allowed Victor to immediately get a chance to catch up. Then, Cara/Jaime arrive and one of them choose the roadblock. It became anyone’s game, as of now.

Then, Victor finished. Victor and Tammy immediately go to the finish line, King Kamehameha Golf Club. Margie/Luke and Cara/Jaime agree to help each other out, and move on to the last one. Cara/Jaime finished, and so did Margie/Luke. However it was tool ate for them. Tammy/Victor arrived to the finish line first, and were the winners of This series of The Amazing Race. Cara/Jaime were given second, and Margie/Luke were given third.

This episode was OK, for a finale. The pig challenge was OK, and I liked the surfboard challenge, but the buoy search should’ve been replaced with a detour. I wasn’t surprised to see Tammy & Victor win, as I predicted they’d win from the start. Make sure you check up to see my ranking of the winners & ranking of the seasons.

It’s the final of The Amazing Race 14 USA on Sunday, with three teams racing to win $1,000,000.

Who do you want to win?

You can vote for your favourite team in the poll on this blog plus you can add your comments to any posts.

I’d like to say a big thanks to Dan who has done a great job with blogging The Amazing Race this season. Don’t forget to check back next week to read his review of the final.

The episode starts off with Jaime/Cara receiving their clue, telling them to go to Beihei Mall. Soon, Margie/Luke, Tammy/Victor, and Kisha/Jen received their clue next. During the electric bike ride, Tammy/Victor managed to take a lead, and made their way to the destination first, arriving to the detour. In this detour, teams had to take a restaurant order in Mandarin Chinese or dress up like characters from an opera, and put on each other’s make up. Tammy/Victor chose to do Chinese Waiter. Meanwhile, Cara/Jaime are struggling to get a taxi, and seem very frustrated, as they are now put into last place. Finally, Margie/Luke and Kisha/Jen arrive, and they chose to do the Beijing Opera detour.

During the detour, Luke and Margie got frustrated with the way Luke was doing Margie’s make up. It almost made Luke give up. Finally, after just one mistake, Tammy/Victor served their way to their next clue, and they arrive to the U-Turn. It was then decided among them they would U-Turn Kisha/Jen, with a note saying “Sorry, we can‘t outrun you“. Kisha/Jen finished the detour, and moved on to the next place, where they U-Turn was. Finally, Cara/Jaime arrive, and they chose to do the make-up detour. While Margie/Luke and Kisha/Jen are lost, Tammy/Victor are at the detour where Victor chose to eat four Chinese delicacies: starfish, grasshopper, larva, and scorpion.

Victor moved on greatly with the roadblock, and along with Tammy, moved on to the Pit Stop, Niao Chao. Cara/Jaime also moved on with the detour, only again to continue to get lost in the streets of China. Finally, Margie/Luke make it all the way to the U-Turn, only to see Kisha/Jen yielded. Then, Kisha/Jen arrive, and realize they must go do the other detour, since they have been yielded. Meanwhile, Tammy/Victor arrive to the pit stop, and hear they are team number one, winning a trip for two to the Galapagos Islands. Margie/Luke are at the roadblock, where Margie is completing it. Meanwhile, Cara/Jaime are still lost, and are still frustrated. Then, Kisha/Jen are struggling with the Waiter detour, since they really don’t know Mandarin.

Margie/Luke finish the roadblock, and when hey arrive to the pit stop, they hear they are team number two. Next, Cara/Jaime finally arrive to the U-Turn, and receive their next clue. Kisha/Jen are right behind them. Kisha/Jen and Cara/Jaime anticipate the roadblock, as when they finally finish, Kisha/Jen lead the way. However, Kisha/Jen lose their lead, as Jen takes a washroom break. This led Cara/Jaime to the pit stop, coming in as team number three. Kisha/Jen were eliminated.

Come see the finale, as we’ll probably see Jaime/Cara get frustrated over an English speaking taxi, only to wash away to third, hopefully. I hope this race will become a close one for Margie/Luke and Tammy/Victor, and knowing CBS, I can probably bet on it. I’ve wanted Tammy/Victor to see win from the start and still hope they pull through. Either way, this win will be unprecedented; Tammy/Victor could be the first Asian-American team to win, Cara/Jaime could be the first female team to win, and Margie/Luke could be the first Parent/Child team to win.

The teams travel to Beijing, China and had to make their way to Liangzi Foot Message Place. During the way there, Kisha/Jen and Margie/Luke keep mentioning they are over their fight from the pervious leg. So, all of the teams make their way to the foot message place, with Cara/Jaime there first, and one of them choosing to do the roadblock, which was a very painful foot message that they had to deal with for ten minutes. Kisha/Jen arrived, next, and easily, Kisha chose the detour. The two ladies each struggled with the pain they were going through. Finally, Tammy/Victor arrive, and Tammy does the roadblock, becoming the next victim of the pain. Next, Margie/Luke arrive, and Luke decided to do the roadblock.

Finally, all four of the roadblock doers all survived the pain, and Cara/Jaime lead the pack as they still struggle with some language barriers and culture shock. Kisha/Jen, Tammy/Victor, and Margie/Luke each follow, and make their way to Guangcui Natatorium, where their next clue in. Finally, Jaime/Cara, Kisha/Jen, Tammy/Victor, and Margie/Luke each received the detour, sync, or swim. In sync, teams had to dive in a pool, and in swim, swim 800 meters (400 a piece) in order to receive ac clue. Jaime/Cara and Margie/Luke chose to swim, and Kisha/Jen and Tammy/Victor chose to sync. Tammy/Victor struggled a lot with the detour, and Jen’s fear of swimming left her afraid and in tears, in most of the episode. She even wanted to go home.

Jaime/Cara and Margie/Luke finished the detour easily, and in under ten minutes, and easily moved on to the pit stop, the Drum Tower. Jen still struggled to deal with her swimming fear, and Kisha was very supportive of her. Meanwhile, Tammy/Victor were still working on the detour, and Jaime/Cara were screaming at taxi drivers, saying “they all look alike!!!!!”. Finally, Tammy/Victor got the diving detour correct, and were able to finish. Next, Kisha/Jen struggled in the swim detour, but finally managed to make it through. Jaime/Cara arrive to the Drum Tower first, but, Phil tells them this was not the pit stop, and handed them their next clue.

This Amazing Race leg, along with this blog, is to be continued. . . . .

The teams leave Thailand and are headed for Guilin, China. This made Tammy/Victor happy, as they were given the chance to speak Mandarin Chinese. Four of the teams-Kisha/Jen, Margie/Luke, Tammy/Victor, and Jaime/Cara have met up at the first leaving flight, putting Mark/Michael even further back in last. Then, teams had to make their way to a local beauty salon. Jaime/Cara arrived first, telling them to go to the #24 Bridge at the Li River, where teams had to receive their next clue. At the beauty salon, Luke shoved Jen, and Jen called Luke the B-Word. So, the leading teams all made their way out to the Li River. While trying to get their clue again, Luke shoved Jen, again!

Luke/Margie and Kisha/Jen spend some time stating their own side of the story. However, in the roadblock, the teams had to basically train birds to go fishing fort them. Jaime, Tammy, and Luke completed the roadblock, and I’m not sure if it was Kisha or Jen completed this roadblock. Jaime finished the roadblock first, and her and Cara moved on to the Ancient South Gate. Kisha/Jen then finished, and they moved on. So, then, soon, Tammy/Victor and Margie/Luke moved on too. Meanwhile, Mark/Michael are completing a speed bump, by washing the hair of two ladies in order to move back on to racing.

At the Ancient South Gate, the four teams ahead raced to there, and chose a detour: Choreography, or do a traditional dance, or calligraphy, write Chinese letters. Cara/Jaime chose to dance, and Tammy/Victor, Kisha/Jen, and Margie/Luke chose calligraphy. Tammy/Victor lead Margie/Luke across the detour, and they obviously decided to follow them. Finally, the three of those teams finished, and it was a three-way footrace to the finish line. Kisha/Jen were rewarded first, wining a trip for two to Barbados, Tammy/Victor were given second place, and Margie/Luke were given third place. Then, Kisha/Jen and Margie/Luke lead to a confrontation, as they accuse each other of what happened earlier.

Michael decided to complete the roadblock, however, it’s too late. Jaime/Cara-who struggled with t the choreography, and yet again, had another frustration with a language barrier, were given fourth place. Mark/Michael were in last place, and were eliminated. Next, we’ll see the four teams make their way across Beijing, where this time, I’m sure it’ll be Tammy and Victor who will dominate, and take the race out of the others’ hands.

This leg was exciting, only for the one part, seeing Jen take on Luke, who probably thinks he should get his side taken because he’d deaf, or whatever. However, I personally take Kisha/Jen’s side of the story, as we did see her get shoved right into the clue box. If you didn’t see that, than you missed the proof, and now I’m telling you. It was Luke’s fault. I hope to see Margie/Luke in last-hopefully, many hours behind. It was pretty obvious that Mark/Michael would be eliminated, especially when you saw the other four teams get so very far ahead. This race should have a nice finish, however, I’m almost confident it’ll be Margie/Luke who get karma, and get eliminated, in fourth, as a good team, like other fourth place teams have gotten.

Sorry for the late delay, I was away from home on Sunday night. So, the teams leave Phuket and head to Bangkok, Thailand where they must make their way to a Boat Yard. In the roadblock, the teams had to fix a propeller on a boat that would take them to their next destination. Margie, Luke, Victor, Kisha, and Mark worked on the roadblock. Margie finished first, and her and Luke moved along. Jaime/Cara, Kisha/Jen, and Mark/Michael all finish next, and move on, however, Kisha/Jen left their bags at the dock, and decided not to get them right away. Then, Mark/Michael discovered they were missing their stuff too, and actually decided to go back.

Finally, Victor becomes the last to finish, but since Mark/Michael go back for their stuff, Tammy/Victor catch up. In the detour, teams had to choose between broken teeth by fixing peoples’ dentures or broken record, sing in a taxi with a bunch of cross dressers. Margie/Luke chose Teeth, while the other teams chose to sing in a taxi. Margie/Luke excelled, as they took the faster detour, and finished. They arrived to the pit stop to discover, they are team number one, winning a Puerto Rican trip. Finally, Jaime/Cara arrive, and are team number two.
Meanwhile, Mark/Michael seem to have ran out of money, and decided to give their possessions to the driver in exchange of rides. Then, Kisha/Jen and Tammy/Victor arrive to the pit stop. However, Kisha/Jen couldn’t check in until they get their legal documents (passports) from the boat yard, which meant Tammy/Victor were team number three.

It was now between Marl/Michael and Kisha/Jen, and sure enough, Mark/Michael arrived. However, due to breaking the law of TAR by bargaining taxi rides, twice, they received a four hour penalty. This allowed Kisha/Jen to check in as team number four. Not even an hour into the penalty, Phil checked Mark/Michael in, and told them they were in last place. However, Mark/Michael were spared, and would receive a speed bump for the next leg. Watch next week as we see Luke immorally attack Kisha/Jen physically, by (nearly) assaulting them, and then verbally, by calling one of them the B-word.

This leg was the worst, of this season so far. I am probably not really regretting the fact I slept through, like, half of it. I really hope these producers regret making us watch cross dressers in taxi, with karaoke, and have them put dentures in people’s mouths. Fixing a propeller wasn’t that bad, considering that can require some skill. Anyways, I really like all of the teams now, but judging from the previews of next week, I’m not so sure about Margie/Luke. Mark/Michael really remind me of last season’s Dan/Andrew, being so unlucky with all their choices and mistakes. Tammy/Victor are still my pick as number one, and believe it or not, my pre-shoe pick for final three (Mark/Michael, Kisha/Jen, Tammy/Victor) is still active! So, why not, see them in the final three? If that happened, best believe would smoke that final leg, and that what I want to see.

The teams left India and were given a clue to a gorilla statue in Phuket, Thailand. All of the teams chose to go to the ticket agency, except for Cara/Jaime, who went straight to the airport. However, all of the teams went to Thailand on the same flight. All of the teams arrive in Thailand and immediately head off to the zoo, however, they don’t know it’s a zoo they have to go to.

All of the teams manage to find out they are to go to the zoo, except for Mel/Mike, who get a taxi to take them to Patong Beach. Mark/Michael, Jaime/Cara, and Kisha/Jen arrive first, and receive their next clue, which had teams take a picture with a tiger, and have an elephant step on their back. Mark/Michael finished that, and following them were Cara/Jaime and Kisha/Jen.
Finally, Tammy/Victor and Margie/Luke arrive and complete this route marker. Meanwhile, Mel/Mike realize they are going to the wrong place, and immediately decide to turn around. Next, the teams ahead are told to make their way to an Herb shop where they must have a shopkeeper show them a box, hoping there is a clue inside.

Mark/Michael arrive to the shop first, and immediately began choosing boxes. Finally, Jaime/Cara, Kisha/Jen, Tammy/Victor, and Margie/Luke arrive. Meanwhile, Mel/Mike finish the route marker and move on to the shop. Finally, Mark/Michael found their next clue, and moved on to the detour: ride rickshaws or fill up buckets on a boat. Kisha/Jen were next to finish the detour, and they moved on to the boat task. Tammy/Victor received their clue next, and they chose to do the rickshaw detour. Jaime/Cara began to get frustrated, until they receive their clue. Margie/Luke finally get their clue, all finishing before Mel/Mike can arrive.

Mark/Michael move smoothly and keep first place positioning, all the way to finishing the detour to arriving to the pit stop first. However, they are given two penalties, one for tampering with the pumps and the other for following a taxi to their position. Tammy/Victor made an error not carrying their rickshaw all the way, however, recovered. Tammy/Victor were told they were team number one, winning a trip to Hawaii. Jaime/Cara finish, and are told they are team number two. Mike/Mel arrive to the shop, and immediately begins searching for their clue until they find it.

Kisha/Jen are still working on the boat task, and Margie/Luke struggle to communicate in this task. Finally, Mark/Michael are done with their penalty and immediately check in, to hear they are team number three. Finally, Margie/Luke arrive to hear they are team number four. Then, an incident occurred when Margie fainted due to the heat. Margie was quickly treated and recovered. Mel/Mike arrived to the boat detour, and began working on the task. However, Kisha/Jen finished and immediately made their way to the pit stop. They were team number five. When Mel/Mike arrive, they were told they were last, and were eliminated. Five teams are left.

You can comment here or email me at mapleleaf_melee18@hotmail.com.

Sorry this is late, TAR aired late, and things like school came up. So, All of the teams make their way out of frigid Siberia, and on their way to India. All of the teams managed to get the same flight, and off to their first destination, the sacred tree they go. Tammy/Victor arrive to the sacred tree first, and immediately recognized that they were supposed to call a phone number to receive the next clue. The next clue told them to go to Amber Fort, Gaura Parvati Parking. Next, there were five teams all neck and neck with each other, which included Kisha/Jen, Margie/Luke, Mark/Michael, Jaime/Cara, and Mel/Mike. So, all five of those teams raced for the sacred tree, only to find them searching for a envelope clue. Finally someone discovered there’s a phone there, and everyone begins calling. Christie and Jodi were left in last, and arrived to the sacred tree later.

Finally, all of the teams are making their way on the Amber fort. Tammy/Victor arrive first, and their next task was a roadblock, which was to take care of India livestock, a camel. Victor chose to do the roadblock, and immediately was able to keep the lead. Next, five other teams come all at once, and each had one person choose to do the detour. I don’t remember for some, but I know Mel, Mike, and Margie chose the roadblock. Mel struggled to do the roadblock, and immediately placed himself behind all of the others competing. However, the right usage of the tools to the camel feed put Mel back ahead. Victor finished first, and immediately took off with Tammy to their next destination, Johari Bazaar. Finally, Christie/Jodi arrived, and one of them did the roadblock. Tammy/Victor kept a good lead, as of now. Then, Mel finished the roadblock after using the right tools for the camel feed that took everyone else a longer time to figure out.

Finally, the others finished, and Mark/Michael, Kisha/Jen, Cara/Jaime, and Margie/Luke all headed for the detour. Christie/Jodi were left for last, and still couldn’t get out yet. Meanwhile, Tammy/Victor arrive to the bazaar, and receive their next clue: a detour that had them choosing between loading barrels and finding a small elephant or dance in the streets and beg for money. Tammy/Victor chose to dance in the streets. They managed to finish the detour before any of the other teams arrived, and received their clue, which was information directing them to the pit stop, Jaigarh Fort. Finally, Mel/Mike arrived, and they chose to dance in the streets.

Finally, Christie/Jodi finished the roadblock, and moved along to do their speed bump. Next, Kisha/Jen, Cara/Jaime, Margie/Luke, and Mark/Michael all arrived and chose a detour, three of them choosing to dance and Mark/Michael choosing the barrel detour. Mel/mike finished the detour, and were next to head to the pit stop. Finally, Tammy/Victor, who had first the entire leg pretty much, arrive to the pit stop to hear they are team number one, winning ocean kayaks as their prize. Back at the detour, the teams are seen still dancing in the streets begging for money, and Luke explains how difficult it was for him to follow up with the detour. Finally, Christie/Jodi arrive to do their speed bump, which was to correctly paint an elephant. Then, Mel/Mike arrive to the pit stop to hear they have received second place.

Finally, Cara/Jaime, Kisha/Jen, and Margie/Luke all finished the detour, and those teams arrived to the pit stop. Kisha/Jen were team three, Margie/Luke were team four, and Cara/Jaime were team five. Mark/Michael struggled with their barrel detour, which put them with Christie/Jodi, who are choosing the dance detour. It was close as Christie/Jodi and Mark/Michael finished the detour closely together. However, Mark/Michael arrived to the pit stop first, getting sixth place. Christie/Jodi were last, and they were eliminated.

This race was OK, but I just wish they’d take a break from India, since they’ve been there like eight times. This leg really shows that Tammy/Victor are perhaps one of the shows best racers, considering they ran a perfect leg. However, in this season again, we don’t see all the competitiveness like we had previously. I’m sure those other teams are ready to see Tammy/Victor make a blunder. I don’t think Mark/Michael have it in them, and wouldn’t be surprised if they are the next to go. I still feel that Tammy/Victor and Margie/Luke have final three written all over them, and I could see most likely Mel/Mike or Kisha/Jen getting third, preferably, Kisha/Jen. Overall they keep having entertaining challenges, which really seems to make TAR.

Comment me here or email me at mapleleaf_melee18@hotmail.com.

All seven teams are at the pit stop, then are told by clue, they’ll be headed to Novosibirsk, Russia. All of the teams were to arrive by train, in which since the train left at 10:26PM, all of the teams were given the same train. On the train, one of the teams talk to Luke, about using the blind U-Turn.

Once the train departed, the first team to manage their way out is Kisha/Jen, however, they took the wrong way out, letting Mel/Mike, Margie/Luke, Tammy/Victor, and Cara/Jamie to take the front of the pack. So, teams had to make their way to Punkt Tekhnicheskogo Osmotra, where they get their next clue. It was Cara/Jaime, and Margie/Luke who arrive, they read the clue. It’s a detour: In Russian Bride, teams must take a bride to a local church to get married to a groom. Or teams could head to Stadium Spartak, and move a snowplow across an obstacle. Cara/Jaime and Margie/Luke meet up with Tammy/Victor, and those three teams agree to stay together and look for the stadium together. They all also chose the snowplow detour.

However, when the top three teams were out collecting information to the stadium, Tammy/Victor took off with their own information. Meanwhile, Mel/Mike arrive, and they choose the bride detour. Then, Mark/Michael arrive, and they choose the snowplow detour. Meanwhile, at the stadium, Tammy/Victor, Cara/Jaime, and Margie/Luke arrive, and they all begin the plowing. Tammy/Victor finish first, and they move along to the Biblioteka, or the library where they’ll get their next clue. So, Meanwhile, Kisha/Jen and Jodi/Christie are seen gathering the clue, and they both choose the bride detour. Mel/Mike finally find the bride, and they move along to the church.

Cara/Jaime and Margie/Luke finally finish the detour, and they move right along. Then, Mel/Mike arrive to the church, and the photographer takes a picture, allowing them to get their next clue. Kisha/Jen had a hard time driving the Lada cars, thus this put them further behind. Christie/Jodi drove to the wrong church, which may have put them far behind also. Finally, Margie/Luke, Cara/Jaime, and Tammy/Victor arrive to the Library, where the teams discover the roadblock where one person had to strip down and run a 1.4 mile marathon, in their underwear only. Luke, Cara, and Tammy chose to do the roadblock, and they move along. Cara was walking, which allowed Tammy to catch up to her.

Meanwhile, Mark/Michael excelled at the snowplow, and they received their clue, moving to fifth place. Then, Mel/Mike arrive at the Library, and Mike chose to do the roadblock. Finally, it was literally a footrace to the pit stop, which was the Opera and Ballet Theater. It was Luke seen first arriving, and he and Margie ran to Phil at the Pit Stop. That’s when Phil tells them they are team number one, winning a trip to St. Lucia. Tammy finished the marathon, only to hear that her and Victor received second place, as team two. Cara/Jaime were team number three.

Finally Mark/Michael, arrive, where Mark chose to do the roadblock. Then, we see Kisha/Jen and Christie/Jodi arrive to the church, at separate times, and receive their next clue after the photo was taken. Next, we see Mike run in, and he and Mel check in, and are team number four. Mark/Michael check in, and are team number five. Finally, Kisha/Jen and Christie/Jodi arrive to the library, and Jen and Christie chose to do the roadblock. It was Jen who arrived and her and Kisha checked in, to hear they are team number six. Christie finished, and Christie/Jodi hear they are the last team to arrive, however, are saved by a non-elimination leg, and are told they will encounter a speed bump.

This leg was very excellent. I’m enjoying TAR14 more than Survivor: Tocantins, this time. First off, that roadblock was probably the best roadblock I’ve ever seen. I would absolutely LOVE to run around Russian streets in the frigid cold in my boxers. If that’s a real marathon like that, I’m signing up to do that. I find it ironic to see the top two teams fall down to the bottom two. This leg wasn’t much luck, it was mostly just finding the right place as fast as possible. I still believe this race will have either Margie/Luke or Tammy/Victor as the winners, and as for third, I could see Cara/Jaime or Mel/Mike there with them. If you want to contact me, use mapleleaf_melee18@hotmail.com or comment me here.

Sorry for the delay, I had school today. So, the teams race to Siberia, in Russia. All of the teams leave Romania to get a flight to Siberia. It was eight teams on four different flights to there. However, Kisha/Jen Christie/Jodi, and Mark/Michael were fortunate enough to get the earliest and best flight. So, they were the first teams to make their way to the hydroelectric dam, where they would be given their next clue. Christie/Jodi took the lead, and Mark/Michael made third. Next, They were told to make their way to the Saint Innokenty Church. Once there, all three of the teams were given their next detour: Stack logs or construct window shudders. All three, Mark/Michael, Christie/Jodi, and Kisha/Jen chose Stack.

During the detour, all of the teams made it about half way stacking the logs, until Mark/Michael lost balance with their logs, and knocked their’s over. Mark/Michael decided to do switch detours. Then, the teams behind arrive, and make their way to the hydroelectric dam. Meanwhile, Mark/Michael struggle to find the marked house. Then, Kisha/Jen and Christie/Jodi finished the detour, and then arrived to the U-Turn, which was a twist that allowed one team to (for the first time) anonymously force another team to turn around to complete the detour. Neither Christie/Jodi or Kisha/Jen chose to U-Turn anyone. So, they receive their next clue.

Finally, once all of the other teams arrive, Amanda/Kris, Tammy/Victor, Margie/Luke, Cara/Jaime, and Mel/Mike all chose to stack logs. Then, Mark/Michael are seen struggling to find the marked house, and appear to now be a mile away from where they need to be. Then, Christie/Jodi and Kisha/Jen arrive to the roadblock: One person must ride a bobsled and spot seven letters to spell the name of a famous Russian playwright. Christie and Kisha opted to do this roadblock, and Kisha went again, after failing to catch all seven letters. Meanwhile, the five teams on the second flight are all still working on the log stacking, and we also get to hear a few Russians playing music drunk off of Vodka and smoking cigarettes. Then, it was Tammy/Victor and Margie/Luke who excelled in the detour, while Cara/Jaime, Amanda/Kris, and Mel/Mike lost their stack. This is where Mel/Mike and Amanda/Kris decide to switch detours. Meanwhile, Mark/Michael are still stuck, and lost in the village, looking for the right place.

Finally, Luke/Margie arrive to the U-Turn. It was then revealed that they have chosen to U-turn Amanda/Kris. Tammy/Victor arrive, and by default, choose not to U-Turn anyone, so they move on. Meanwhile, Christie and Kisha are working on hard on the roadblock, and are basically putting letters together, hoping something is right. Finally, Christie is right, and they receive information on the next clue, the pit stop. Then, Kisha is right, and her and Jen move along. Then, Tammy/Victor and Margie/Luke arrive, where Luke and Victor volunteer to do this roadblock. Victor immediately knew the answer to the roadblock, which was Chekhov. Victor was instantly right, moving him and Tammy to third. However, Luke struggled with the entire roadblock, and looked frustrated.

In the detour, Amanda/Kris and Mel/Mike catch up with Mark/Michael, and the three teams decide to all go and look for the marked house together. Meanwhile, It was a race for first between Kisha/Jen and Christie/Jodi. It was Christie/Jodi who snatched that first place, winning a motorcycle for their pit stop prize. Kisha/Jen takes second place. Back at the roadblock, Luke was frustrated with the spelling, which made Margie look frustrated. Finally, after five tries, Luke finally got it right, moving along to the pit stop. Back tat the log stacking, Cara/Jamie finally finish, and one of them says they’re proud they did that detour without any help from any boy. Then, this put Amanda/Kris, Mel/Mike and Mark/Michael behind. So, Tammy/Victor arrive to the pit stop (Which was really a Theatre of Musical Comedy), and were told they were team number three. Margie/Luke arrive, and were to be team number four.

Cara/Jamie arrive to the detour, where one of them works to completer it. Meanwhile, the three teams working on the detour together, all finally got each other lost. Then, Mel spots the house, and all three teams begin working on their window shudders. Finally, Cara/Jamie finish the detour, where they arrive to the theatre and are told they’re team number five. Back at the detour, all three teams finish, where they learn Amanda/Kris are U-Turned. They are to go back at complete the log stacking while Mel/Mike and Mark/Michael got a lucky break. At the roadblock, Mark/Michael finish, where Mel/Mike got sixth place, and Mark/Michael take seventh. Amanda/Kris’s unfortunate turn forced them into last place, where they were eliminated from the race. Seven teams remain, who will be out next?

This leg was very good, except anyone who would’ve found the house would make the detour choice look obvious to me. I never t\would’ve thought that Christie/Jodi would get first place, but they did, and now this could be anyone’s game. I believe that Amanda/Kris being a strong team who got eliminated over the U-Turn would easily make this a race for Margie/Luke or Tammy/Victor to win. I really thought Mark/Michael, a couple of stuntmen would be doing well, but they’re not well with directions and aren’t very entertaining right now. I thought the U-turn was genius for Margie/Luke to do, simply because it’s all a game, which now enables teams to hinder their competition. I love the idea of a Blind U-Turn, simply because it makes for an interesting plot. The roadblock was best to watch, and was a lot of fun too. I’m really glad to see Tammy/Victor getting along ,and doing the leg with no blunders. Tammy/Victor are still very good racers, and I’d still like to see them win. There’s no teams I hate, which is good.

If you want to comment, then please do so. I’d also like you to email me at mapleleaf_melee18@hotmail.com

Sorry for a delay, I’ve been shoveling snow since 9PM last night and all morning. So, the teams leave Austria to go to Bucharest, Romania. Before the teams arrive, Tammy/Victor lost control of their flight, losing first place and following the middle crowd. However, Brad/Victoria went to a different flight, hoping to gamble it and take the lead while on the earliest flight, and that backfired harshly on them, putting them on a flight hours behind.

So, the first three teams to arrive in Bucharest are Amanda/Kris, Mel/Mike, and Margie/Luke. Those three teams arrive to Complexul Sportiv National where in the roadblock, teams must complete a series of gymnastics exercises. Mike, Amanda, and Margie completed the task. Amanda made the task look easy, and she easily finished first, putting her and Kris in first place. Margie and Mike then finished easily, and those three teams were off to Brasov, a city in Transylvania. Next, Tammy/Victor, Cara/Jamie, Kisha/Jen, Jodi/Christie, and Mark/Michael, all arrive. Tammy/Victor struggled to find the complex, and fell to eighth place. During the roadblock, the racers all did fair, except when Tammy/Victor arrived, Victor was speaking to Tammy in a way that probably made her feel uncomfortable. However, all of those teams finished and met up with the top pack at the train station. Brad/Victoria were left at the airport, still.

It’s the next day, and all of the teams are boarding the train to Brasov. Once in Brasov, teams must arrive to Biserica Neagra, or the Black Church. Once there, they were all given a detour: Gypsy Moves, or moving a gypsy family’s belongings to another place, or Vampire Remains, follow a marked path to coffins, and find a clue. One by one, the teams arrive, and everyone picks a task. Mel/Mike, Amanda/Kris, Kisha/Jen, and Mark/Michael chose Gypsy Moves, and Margie/Luke, Jamie/Cara, Jodi/Christie, and Tammy/Victor chose Vampire Remain. I don’t remember what Christie/Jodi did. So, it turns out that the Gypsy detour turned out to be faster than the vampire detour, since Kris/Amanda, Mel/Mike, and Kisha/Jen finished fast.

Meanwhile, teams were struggling with the vampire detour. Victor, feeling confident in following red arrows on a tree, leads himself and Tammy in the wrong direction. Margie/Luke actually did OK on the vampire, proving they are indeed a good team.

When Amanda/Kris are done with the gypsy moving, they realize they have lost Kris’s fanny pack. So, this leaves them to freak out, but with a lot of hope, they easily find it back at where they finished. They may have lost first place, which that easily went to Mel/Mike, now, wining a trip to Costa Rica. So, Kris/Amanda take second. Meanwhile, Tammy and Victor keep following the wrong path, and Tammy is sure he’s misdirecting them. Finally, Tammy gets the courage to speak up, and Victor, frustrated, begins crying. I really didn’t expect that. So, Victor gives in ,and he and Tammy turn around where Victor realizes Tammy was right all along.

Meanwhile, we see Kisha/Jen go take third place, without developing anything to the plot. I believe this is around the time Brad/Victoria arrive in Bucharest and Victoria complete the roadblock. Brad/Victoria move along to Brasov, hoping another team screwed up worse. Back at the pit stop, Margie/Luke arrive, and Phil tells them they are back in fourth place. Meanwhile, Mark/Michael and Jodie/Christie complete their detour, while Cara/Jamie are still struggling trying to figure out how to unlock the coffin. So, Mark/Michael and Jodi/Christie run for the mat. Phil tells Mark/Michael that they’ve receive fifth place, and Jodi/Christie made sixth place. Tammy/Victor get on the ball with their detour, and lose a key they easily find. Cara/Jamie finish, and Phil tells then they’ve received seventh place. Finally, Tammy/Victor finish, and are told they have bad news. They were second to last to arrive, but the good news was that they were not last, and were still in the race. Brad/Victoria arrive at the vampire detour at the turn on dusk, and when they finish, they are told they were indeed last, and have been eliminated from the race.

This leg had amazing tasks, once again, and showed some conflict. The only problem was seeing Brad/Victoria screwed from the beginning, and having edit not able to manipulate it. I would have to say that I really am still surprised about Mel/Mike, and Jodi/Christie are proving they can at least run a leg without a line of mistakes. Tammy/Victor, well, I don’t really have less respect for them, because it really probably is hard to race without someone of a different personality. Tammy is still a good racer, Victor just needs to prove he can listen to her. We didn’t hear about Kisha/Jen’s struggle with their conflict about their teamwork skills. As a matter f fact, we didn’t see very much of Kisha/Jen. I don’t remember what they did. I really love the tasks of Romania, they are really indigenous to Romania (Dracula, gymnastics, gypsies), a country I’d go to. One thing I’ve learned about TAR and flight choosing: Go with the flow, or go on the flight majority of the teams go on, if you can help it, of course. Margie/Luke are always nice, and I’m real curious to see what the other teams think of Luke. Luke seems to want to know. My obvious picks for the win are Margie/Luke or Tammy/Victor.

The Amazing Race begins with Margie/Luke departing. All of the teams were directed to go to Munich, Germany. At the airport, eight of the teams called for an airplane before getting to the airport. Those eight teams were rewarded with the best flight, and this left Mark/Michael and Christie/Jodi in the dust called “The Last flight”.

So, in Germany, teams traveled to Rupholding, Germany. Once there, they must take a cable car up a mountain where they’ll receive their next clue. During the navigation to the mountain, Jen/Kisha argued over who should lead the team, and who should follow, using age as an excuse. Tammy/Victor were the first to arrive, and since it took longer than two minutes for the others to arrive, they were able to take first place to themselves. In the next clue, it was a roadblock, paragliding. However, teams were given the chance to turn around and walk down the steep hill following arrows, if the wind was too bad for paragliding. Immediately, all of the teams were told to wait, since the wind was too bad. Luke seems to like Cara/Jamie, as he says he communicated well with them, according to Luke. So, everyone went down the steep hill, except for Mel, who stayed and wanted to paraglide. It was Tammy, Kris, Margie, and Victoria who succeeded the roadblock, and put those four teams ahead. Mel, who is now praying for a miracle to see the wind change, ended up seeing his wish come true. This allowed Mel to glide his way from last, to the middle of the pack.

Right about this time, we see Linda lost and confused on which way to go. Even Steve says Linda is not the best at directions. Honestly, it’s just knowing from right to left. So, finally, Cara/Jamie, Jen/Kisha, and Mark/Michael are the next to finish, and they move along, nearly escaping last. Before we go to commercial break, Linda is by the highway crying until after commercial, a German local takes her back to the right track. Meanwhile. Tammy/Victor arrive at their next destination, Schonau am Konigsee where they have a detour: Balancing Dolly by riding a segway over a 2-mile course or Austrian Folly: throw pies at your team mate, and look for a cheery filling. Tammy/Victor managed to arrive and finish their detour before any other team arrived. Then, at a woodcutting machine, they were given their next clue: The location to the pit stop, Schloss Hellbrunn in Salzburg, Austria. Tammy/Victor were indeed the first team to arrive, receiving first place, and their prize was hybrid go-karts.

The next few teams to arrive were Amanda/Kris, Mel/Mike, Margie/Luke, and Brad/Victoria. They each all chose a detour and completed it without much conflict or struggle. Meanwhile, Linda was the last to complete the roadblock, and she was sure Steve would yell at her, however, ironically, Steve was very nice about it. Meanwhile, surely enough, Mel/Mike were there taking second place, with Amanda/Kris following them, getting third place. Margie/Luke take fourth, and Brad/Victoria take fifth. Meanwhile, the next few teams to arrive to the detour are Jamie/Cara, Mark/Michael, and Jen/Kisha. Apparently, Jamie/Cara finished their detour faster, and moved along faster leaving Mark/Michael and Kisha/Jen at the Balancing Dolly detour. So, Cara/Jaime are rewarded with sixth place. Christie/Jodi are the next to arrive to the detour, and after they complete it, they spend time wasted for finding the woodcutting machine. Then, Kisha/Jen are still bickering over who should be the boss of the group, and it frustrates little sister. Finally, they are able to rest, as Kisha/Jen take seventh place with Mark/Michael taking eighth place. Jodi/Christie are still finding the woodcutting machine while Steve/Linda arrive to do Austria’s Folly. It becomes an edited neck-and-neck race between the teams. Jodi/Christie, however, took the glory of being second-to-last yet again, thus meaning Steve/Linda face last, and were eliminated. Nine teams remain. Who’s mistake will lead to an elimination next?

Personally, I think we are looking at one of the best seasons of this show. I mean, the tasks are entertaining, and most teams are developing a story, and there are a few people surprising me. Yeah, Tammy/Victor are deferentially the team to beat, with only one weakness, Victor’s over protection of them. Mel/Mike are really surprising me, and It’s kind of interesting that Mel, aged 68, was the only one who did the paraglide. That’s’ something we don’t see every season of TAR. I kind of like how Luke is able to make friends with Cara/Jaime, that’s real nice. I really hope that Kisha/Jen pull it together, and learn to work as a team, I mean, come on, they are all-star athletes after all. Christie/Jodie kind of concern me, after acing both titles of second to last. They have deferentially emerged as the underdogs.

Tune in next week to see Tammy concerned about her brother trying to control everything, and see Kris/Amanda lose their money and passports. If you remember Toni/Dallas, you know they’d be in some danger. As of now, I’m still rooting for Tammy/Victor, and have Christie/Jodi as a prediction for the next teams to go. You can always comment, or be the first to email me at mapleleaf_melee18@hotmail.com

The Recap: Jumps, Cheese, bad train bookings and a very slow runner.
OK, so the teams start in California, and race to Switzerland!!!! Before they arrive, they must get on one of two flights, then a train that takes them to the Church of St. Antonio. The lead teams arrive first, which include Luke/Margie, Tammy/Victor, Mark/Michael, and Jodi/Christie, who ended up meeting with a local who knew where to go. Preston/Jennifer ended up missing the train, and became the team first to drop into last place. Then, the other team all arrive for the departure time. Linda/Steve fell behind, and Steve yelled at Linda for her slow speed.

Then, the next day, everyone starts at their designated time. Cara/Jaime & Jodi/Christie struggle to grab a taxi, and fall behind the teams who depart after them. Finally, the lead teams arrive to a dam, where the next clue is the first roadblock. In this roadblock, teams must have one member bungee jump. Victor was the first one up. Jodi was the one who felt more frightened by the jump.

So, as soon as all teams make it, they are all instructed to take another train to another town, Interlaken. In Interlaken, teams must take two carriers up a slippery and steep hill and come back down with 200 pounds of cheese. Luke/Margie, Mel/Mike, Tammy/Victor, and Mark/Michael are the lead teams. Luke/Margie finish the task first, and move along, with the same four teams following. Meanwhile, Jodi/Christie take the first train they see, but Brad/Victoria and others were smarter, taking a later train that turned out to arrive first.

So, a group of teams all end up doing the task together. Linda struggles up even get up the hill, but miraculously had a good strategy, and gave them sixth, with only Amanda/Kris ahead, but only for a few moments.

The teams were to find a yodeling trio standing on the mat at the pit stop with Phil. It was a footrace between Margie/Luke, Tammy/Victor, and Mark/Michael for first. Luke/Margie arrived, winning first, and a trip to Mexico. Luke explains to Phil he wants to prove that deaf people can do the same things others can do. Tammy/Victor take second, and Mark/Michael take third. Mel/Mike surprisingly earn fourth.

Meanwhile, back at the cheese hill, Preston and Jennifer are there, struggling the most and getting frustrated. Jodie/Christie finally arrive, and find themselves in last, but with many chances to catch up. By this time, Amanda/Kris are given fifth, and Linda/Steve are struggling to find the yodelers. Finally, Brad/Victoria, Cara/Jaime, and Kisha/Jen (LaKisha/Jennifer) all pass Linda/Steve, and take sixth, seventh, and eighth, leaving ninth to Steve/Linda.

So, Preston and Jennifer struggled with the cheese task, and Jodie and Christie’s previous mistake finds them in a footrace for survival. Christie and Jodi passed Jennifer/Preston, and earned tenth place. Preston and Jenifer were last to arrive, and were eliminated.

Overall analysis of predictions, surprises, Linda/Steve, and can you say cheese?.
This episode of The Amazing Race was very good, and it reminded me of the Cortina, Italy leg from TAR4 for some reason. There were some obvious predictions, like Tammy/Victor, Amanda/Kris, and Mark/Michael running a solid leg. I was surprised that Mel/Mike and Luke/Margie did so well and Preston/Jennifer falling behind. It’s not every season we see a young dating couple get eliminated first.

Switzerland was a nice place, a country I’d visit myself. It really seems like Margie/Luke stole the show, and I don’t see why not, they make for an interesting plot. Linda/Steve are probably just there so half of the viewers have someone to put on the top of their list for who will be the next to go. Personally, I’d like to see them go through the same stuff Dan/Andrew went through last season. Steve needs to stop being so negative about Linda being so slow, it’s pretty obvious they’re both not adventurous and competitive.

OK, the cheese and hill task has got to be one of my favourite tasks in a while, and it was enjoyable throughout the whole time watching it. I loved it when teams were struggling with carrying a massive amounts of cheese and seeing the strategies they used to come up in order to get them down. Anyways, I’ll just finish off with saying that I really hope Linda/Steve just go back to Hick town, as they’re just going to make each other miserable, which will make us viewers miserable too. I’m still rioting for Tammy/Victor, and now add Margie/Luke, and Mark/Michael to my list as backups.

Tune in next week to see Linda screw up by getting lost, and see Luke/Margie get creamed. As always, I look forward to it. Please comment, or email me at mapleleaf_melee@hotmail.com. I would LOVE to receive an email and would love to hear from you.

TAR14: The Cast
This cast of TAR14, overall looks fantastic, deferentially different from TAR13. The cast seem more real, and their relationships seem to be more real too. My personal favourite is Tammy/Victor, they seem like the adult, smart, and outgoing regular sibling couple. I’m pretty good at getting my favourite to win TAR, considering I’ve had six of my favourites win (Flo/Zach <3, Chip/Kim, Freddy/Kendra, Uchenna/Joyce, Tyler/James, Rachel/TK) I’d have to say I also like Cara/Jamie, and maybe Jennifer/Preston.

Amanda & Kris – Dating: This to me sounds like just another typical young couple TAR always has. I really don’t see anything special about them now, but I hope they surprise me. I’m about half way sure they’ll be one of the bickering couples of this season.

Brad & Victoria – Married: Aww, I kind of hope they’ll last and be the next example of Ken/Tina. I’ve always wondered if a middle aged couple would actually win TAR, but we’ve got some as far as second, let’s see a change!

Cara & Jaime – Former NFL Cheerleaders: I hope they’re not like the last cheerleader team we got (Jaime/Kelly, TAR10). Personally, I believe they’ll be a mid season boot. They seem like the flirty type, and will probably use charm as their key to success in TAR.

Christie & Jodi – Flight Attendants: Ehh, I kind of don’t think they’ll last. Being flight attendants they may know a few tricks to getting faster flights, though. Honestly, I could see them following teams, and if they go far, they’ll be lucky, but not as lucky as Dan/Andrew of last season.

Jennifer & Preston – Dating: Like I said, I really think I’d like them. They do seem like just another young dating couple TAR has, and I Hope they stand out. I could see them going far, and racing a very solid race.

LaKisha & Jennifer – Sisters: I really do like this team, and I hope their athletic ability makes them competitive and solid racers. I could see them getting a little feisty with each other, but it’ll be entertaining to watch.

Linda & Steve – Married: Meh, I kind of don’t feel good vibes with them. I think they’ll be nice people and all, but I kind of think they’ll be out in the dark against more competitive teams. Who knows, maybe they’ll be like David/Mary of TAR10, just not too much like them, for sure.

Margie & Luke – Mother/Son: TAR has never had a death contestant before, however, not to be rude, but how many foreigners know American sign language? Margie better learn to be a good communicator to these foreigners. However, they do look like they have a very special relationship, and they’ll win over the viewers’ hearts.

Mark & Michael – Brothers/Stuntmen: I can really see these guys have the entertaining comical team of the season. Being stuntmen, it’ll be interesting what detour choices and crazy stuff they opt for. I can see them being a top team for the final three, and wouldn’t be surprised if they won.

Mel & Mike – Father/Son: I am going to make them my prediction for the team who bites the dust tonight. I really feel they don’t have the competitiveness and strength for a successful run on the race. I don’t even think they’ll surprise me one bit. I would like them too, but meh, I’m not counting on it.

Tammy & Victor – Siblings/Lawyers: I actually see them as the sibling version of Becky/Yul from Survivor. They just seem like they’ve got the brains for this race, and yes, maybe it’s due to their Harvard Law degrees. I also see them not paying mind to how other teams do, and just worry about themselves. That’s what I’d do.

Predictions:
Final Three Predictions: Tammy/Victor, Mark/Michael, LaKisha/Jennifer
Winner Prediction: Tammy/Victor
First to Go Prediction: Mel/Mike

You can comment, or email me at mapleleaf_melee18@hotmail.com