Not only have they cut the budget on TAR, but they've also put the fix in to keep Team Big Brother and Team Such As on for as long as possible. They've made all the tasks super-easy as Joel McHale on The Soup and several anti-Jeff and Jordan bloggers have pointed out. This week all the teams had to do was bungy-jump, eat a small plate of sauerkraut before a five-minute song ended, drink some beer, and find a bar in the middle of some strip clubs. If you will recall previous eating challenges included consuming an entire HUGE bowl of caviar, an omelet made from ostrich eggs, and that Hungarian soup that made more than one racer sick. A little plate of sauerkraut was nothing.
To get to the particulars of this episode--I am probably the only person in America who watched the first half-hour instead of the Red Carpet arrivals at the Oscars, then switched to the Oscars at 8:30 EST, and caught up with the final half-hour on Monday night.
There were several pluses to this leg despite the disappointing finish. There was no time spent at the airport. I find watching teams standing in line and getting tickets so exciting--NOT! And those close-ups of the tickets being printed--such drama! This time they went right from Jet and Cord opening their envelope to everyone getting on a plane for Europe. I marvel at how no one seemed to be jet-lagged after what had to at least a 12-hour flight from Bariloche, with some layovers in Buenos Aires and San Paolo. Incidentally how did the direct flight which carried Team Lesbian and gay/straight brothers manage to fall behind the flight with the cowboys and the cops which had a layover in Buenos Aires?
The intersection idea was a good one. They did have something similar on the race with Mary and Dave where teams had to team together to deliver bedding--was it in India? Anyway, I thought it was weird when Heidi said she and hubby overlord and the father-daughter team all came from good families and therefore got along. Huh? What does that mean--good families? Does she mean if somebody had gotten a divorce or didn't go to tailgate parties, they wouldn't bungee jump as good? Anyway, I loved it when Caite and Jordan teamed up and got lost on the subway. I guess they couldn't figure out that the train usually has the name of the last station it's going to on the front and that's how you tell which direction it's going in.
Brent proved himself to be a real wuss, not being able to kick a soccer ball or hold his beer. I could see it if he had done the bungee jump and/or ate the sauerkraut, but he did neither. So this guy can't drive a car, read a map, kick a soccer ball, is scared of heights and can't drink a boot of beer. The cowboys proved they're pretty adaptable by kicking their soccer balls quickly even though they'd never played soccer before (I guess it's considered too European and sissyfied in Oklahoma) But then they wussed out at the beer challenge and let Joe-and-Heidi-from-the good-family kick their asses at chugging brewskis.
Jeff and Jordan made one stupid mistake after another, they couldn't even eat that little plate of sauerkraut. But I can't stay mad at them, they've kinda grown on me. I guess it's cause they're never mean or arrogant like some past teams. Stupid and arrogant are a lethal combination. And they openly admit how dumb they are. "We are so stupid," Jeff keeps saying. I'd rather see them stay rather than Team Such As. So of course they come in last and it's a non-elimination which leads me--and my friend Lydia--to think it's a fix to keep them on as long as possible.
I liked it better when you came in last and were not eliminated, they took all your money, your clothes and all your possessions. Now all you have to do is some lame-ass Speed Bump like taking a pot of tea across the street and serving it some old guy or finding a bar and drinking a shot of vodka or sitting in a sauna. It's rigged to keep the stupid people on. The previews say there will be both a speed bump and a U-Turn in the next episode. Also they have to dress up in WWI outfits which I hope doesn't mean they get stuck in Germany for another episode. Maybe it's France.
Summary:
Day 5--Leave ranch at 10:57 PM, getting to airport at Bariloche, waiting 11 hours til planes leave
Day 6--Flights leave Bariloche at about 11:10 AM
Day 7--Flights arrive in Frankfurt from 2:35-3:40 PM the following day. Train to Hamburg, getting there early evening. Bungee jump intersection challenge, soccer or sauerkraut, drink a boot of beer at the shark bar, find Indra in red light district.
Leaderboard:
Jet and Cord--two wins; Loot: two sailboats, trip to Patagonia
Jeff and Jordan--one win; Loot: trip to Vancouver
Louie and Michael--one win; Loot: two Discover cards worth $5,000 each
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