Amazing Race 10 Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 10th Edition

Thoughts on Episode 10 and Outlook for Episode 11

Thoughts on Episode Ten -- Kiev, Ukraine

Placements reflected the order found at the end of Episode 9, with James and Tyler ahead of Dustin and Kandice, and the Cho brothers just a bit confused and trailing Lyn and Karlyn. Erwin's indecisiveness led to the surprise of this episode.

Episode Nine ended with a surprise. James and Tyler improved, as did Lyn and Karlyn. But the leg did not end there as all teams got a clue telling them to keep racing, and take a flight to the capital of the country where the Chernobyl atomic accident took place. Dustin and Kandice thought at first it meant where the atomic bomb was.

In Finland, teams had a hard time getting out. They ended up at the airport as it was winding down for the day. Do they roll up the carpet like this all over Finland? As it was, James and Tyler, and the blondes booked the flight to the Ukraine connecting through Vienna. It did take Dustin and Kandice an extra moment with the agent to recover from their misunderstanding and find out that the clue meant Ukraine and the capital city of Kiev

Rob and Kimberly booked a flight through Warsaw before the counter closed for the evening. The Cho brothers and Lyn and Karlyn had to wait until 6AM to book the same flight, due to arrive in Kiev at the same time as the flight through Vienna. But of course, the flight through Warsaw was delayed, giving the frontrunners in the last episode an advantage continuing on. This flight delay set up a three way race for last, that later turned into a two way race, as Team Alabama chose to work with the Cho brothers in an increasingly uneasy alliance. Erwin became very indecisive when he had trouble matching the signs with information Godwin was getting from the maps--that Cyrillic alphabet is hard to fathom for most Americans!

Roadblock

One Team member had to navigate a Russian T-64 Tank through a 2 kilometer or 1.2 mile obstacle course used in simulated military exercises

Episode Ten Roadblock
Team	Team Member	Result
Tyler and James	James	Tried hard, stalling on a rise, but closed fast.
Karlyn and Lyn	Lyn	Stalled, but caught a break when the Cho brothers waited for her to finish
Rob and Kimberly	Kimberly	Drove the tank with steadiness and ease.
Dustin and Kandice	Dustin	Huge smile of delight, and a solid drive
Erwin and Godwin	Godwin	Good enough to edge out Lyn

End of the Alliance

Erwin's indecisive ways causing him to stop repeatedly for directions finally got on Team Alabama's nerves on the way back to Kiev for the next clue. It was so bad that they both lost their advantage over Rob and Kimberly, who had their car overheat and were given a replacement car. Lyn and Karlyn tried unsuccessfully to break away, only to be spotted and followed by the Cho brothers to the apartment building to receive the Detour clue.

Detour

Make the Music: Teams needed to travel three miles to the Dance and Groove studio bar, a hip hop club and focal point of Kiev's underground rap movement. They had to write and perform a rap song that incorporated the names of the countries they have visited on the Race up to Ukraine. Kiev's top rap artist judged the performance, and once he approved, he would give them the next clue.

Find the Music: The Teams had travel 2.5 miles to the National Music Academy of Ukraine, located in the building known as the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Then, they had to search among 25 thousand pieces of sheet music for the piano part to Tchaikovsky's Concert Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, of which 5 copies had to be there at the start. Once they had a copy, they needed to search the conservatory's 120 practice rooms for one of six pianists waiting for sheet music.

Some teams had trouble spotting the door to enter the apartment building for the Detour clue. Erwin had too much pride to follow Karlyn and Lyn to the club, and chose to get his own directions, which did not work until he asked for the way to the conservatory. Otherwise, all teams did well with their chosen tasks, even the Cho brothers.

Episode Ten Detour
Members	Detour Selected	Result
Tyler and James	Find the Music	Surprisingly quick
Karlyn and Lyn	Make the Music	Rap was the natural choice, as they earned the cheers
Dustin and Kandice	Make the Music	Surprisingly good
Erwin and Godwin	Find the Music	Could not find the rap club, but surprisingly quick
Rob and Kimberly	Make the Music	Surprisingly good

Now There Are Four Teams

Teams had to drive about 2 miles through Kiev's confusing streets to the Great Patriotic War Museum. The Pit Stop was in front of the Motherland Statue, which at 102 meters high can be seen for many miles. This time, James and Tyler earned their place in front with a sprint to the mat ahead of Dustin and Kandice. Rob and Kimberly benefited from Erwin's constant stopping for directions to finish in their usual third place. Karlyn and Lyn cruised to the fourth place finish, while Erwin and Godwin were stopped by a traffic cop and forced to wait several minutes at a road closed by local authorities.

Outlook for Episode Eleven

The Amazing Race 10 had been less predictable than the previous couple of editions, with teams that are very competitive, until Episode Eight. The four remaining teams are skillful and resourceful. Each of the four teams has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses that have emerged.

Comparison of Teams in AMAZING RACE 10
Place	Members	Strengths	Weaknesses
1	Tyler and James	Most athletic team, good swimmers	Not paying attention to details of clues, some bad luck, poor navigation, poor decision making, communication with locals. James is passive.
2	Dustin and Kandice	Competitive, college educated, athletic, good navigation, good swimmers	Not paying attention to details of clues, try to push ahead of others, abrasive, not fastest in foot races, emotional. Dustin is bossy and domineering.
3	Rob and Kimberly	Athletic, fast enough in footraces, good swimmers, good at tasks. Rob is awesome biking.	Arguing, fighting, hot tempered, even hitting each other. Rob loses patience easily, Kimberly fights for control all the time.
4	Karlyn and Lyn	Communication, determination, good navigation and driving	Limited traveling experience, short in stature, slow at tasks, poor in swimming, rely on others for decisions, Lyn may be slower in footraces.

Dustin and Kandice finished a strong second. They were aggressive, but effective, with no obvious delays, and barely losing the sprint to the mat to the models. Likewise, James and Tyler were quick to find the Motherland Statue and thus the Pit Stop, sharing information when it is useful, but making their own way without getting lost. Kimberly and Rob did well enough, but indirectly benefited from the slow Cho Bros. Rob and Kimberly need to have better luck to hold off the improving single moms, though they still have the better task skills, outside of driving. Kim was so serious in the tank, and so solid in driving. Maybe they should switch roles in the cars?

Lyn and Karlyn have become more effective, the turning point being Lyn praying at the start of the angel dive. They caught on to the slowness of the Cho brothers, and discovered that they could find their way independently again. Their navigation skills are about on a par with the blondes. If they can keep up the pace on tasks, they can compete now.

The theme of Amazing Race 10 is the promise of twists, turns, and surprises never seen before in the Race, clearly seen in Episodes 1, 3, 5, and 8. What will Episode 11 reveal about the teams and who will be eliminated next? Watch Sunday, November 26 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific after 60 Minutes. Also, be sure to catch the FINISH LINE at 1 PM Monday November 27 on the THE AMAZING RACE 10th Edition Web site.