Amazing Race Tidbits
CBS' The Amazing Race 10th Edition
Thoughts on Episode Three -- Vietnam
Episode Three was an elimination leg.
Special rules applied to this leg of the Race. All teams were given zero dollars and told they were not allowed to beg or sell anything. The travel to Vietnam involved driving the jeeplike vehicles back to Ulan Bator to book a flight to Hanoi. Once there, teams were to find the building made famous as the "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War and locate John McCain's flight suit. Hoa Lo Prison, called the "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War, was originally built by the French as Maison Centrale, but expanded to hold the many American POWs. It is now a museum showing its use by the colonial French, and a small section with the history of the American POWs being held there. All teams shared the same flight from Mongolia to Vietnam.
In Hanoi, teams took taxis to the prison, with some teams falling back, only to encounter an equalizer, as the flight came in at night and the prison/museum opened at 8AM
Places for those arriving at the Roadblock got scrambled when Duke and Lauren have to hoof it to the flower market a mile and a half from Hoa Lo Prison as they were out of money. They started the Roadblock in dead last.
One team member had to sell enough flowers at a market stall to make 80,000 Vietnamese dong.
Episode Three Roadblock |
||
|---|---|---|
Team |
Team Member |
Result |
| Tyler and James | James | Did well enough |
| Peter and Sarah | Peter | Great at selling, but he has taken all three Roadblocks |
| Duke and Lauren | Lauren | Last to arrive, Duke was great at selling |
| Karlyn and Lyn | Lyn | Did just well enough to catch third bus |
| David and Mary | David | Do well enougfh |
| Rob and Kimberly | Rob | Sold flowers quickly |
| Dustin and Kandice | Kandice | Sold flowers quickly |
| Tom and Terry | Tom | Did well enough to catch second bus |
| Erwin and Godwin | Erwin | Eighth to arrive, eighth to finish, recovered at bus |
Erwin and Godwin are practically last done selling flowers, but all other teams blunder in finding the buses, so that when they find the right bus, they are by themselves in first on the way to Vac.
Public Buses to Vac |
|
|---|---|
Team |
Bus Number |
| Tyler and James | 3 |
| Peter and Sarah | 4 |
| Duke and Lauren | 3 |
| Karlyn and Lyn | 3 |
| David and Mary | 3 |
| Rob and Kimberly | 3 |
| Dustin and Kandice | 3 |
| Tom and Terry | 2 |
| Erwin and Godwin | 1 |
Fuel: Teams have to use a primitive machine to make 30 coal bricks from a form of coal similar to peat. The task is tedious, but the team used to labor can finish quickly.
Fowl: Teams have to construct a wooden birdcage out of native materials.
Teams get scrambled getting off the third bus. David and Mary get stuck in midst of performers at Buddhist temple--something like a Chinese dragon comfuses Mary, who crawls under it to move forward. David and Mary recover to make a quick start on the Fuel challenge. The other five teams on the third bus raced all around the village. Duke, being confused, went to ask for directions yet again. But, he and Lauren lost track of the teams headed for the Fuel workstation.
Episode Three Detour |
||
|---|---|---|
Members |
Detour Selected |
Result |
| Tyler and James | Fuel | Third to finish |
| Peter and Sarah | Fuel | Last to workstation, seventh to finish, but pass two teams |
| Karlyn and Lyn | Fuel | In pack of five to arrive, finish eighth, but pass two teams |
| Duke and Lauren | Fowl | Practically last to start, last to finish |
| Dustin and Kandice | Fuel | Fifth to leave, net gain of one spot on path |
| Erwin and Godwin | Fuel | First even after starting all over |
| Rob and Kimberly | Fuel | In pack of 5, sixth to finish, but gain 3 spots on path, outrace beauties |
| Tom and Terry | Fuel | Second to arrive, finish second |
| David and Mary | Fuel | Started quickly, fourth to finish, but fell back on path to Pit Stop |
Tom and Terry appeared at the mat second, but were assessed a 30 minute penalty for accepting rides on a motorcycle into Vac. This caused them to fall all the way to eighth, just escaping elimination. David went back to the workstation after finishing quickly after Tom and Terry. Then Mary had an awful time moving on a bum ankle, with team after team passing them, including best friends Karlyn and Lyn, as they fell to seventh.
It was sad to see Duke and Lauren eliminated because they were doing so well in spite of the circumstance of being estranged from each other for so long. They seemed focused and communicating well, at least until the long taxi ride in Hanoi. The loss of money definitely hurt as they had no money for a taxi to take them to the Roadblock. It appeared that the waiting at the airport and the delay in the taxi translated into being tired later. In one scene of Duke speaking, he looked as if he were out of gas. Likewise, Lauren asked Duke to slow down on the way to the Pit Stop, although their fate was already sealed.
Outlook for Episode Four
The eight remaining teams have diverse backgrounds, including a team of black single mothers, 2 gay men, another all female team, and a woman with a prosthesis. The remaining teams are very competitive, with no team without weaknesses. Each of the teams has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses that are emerging.
Comparison of Teams in AMAZING RACE 9 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Place |
Members |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
| 1 | Erwin and Godwin | Very intelligent, athletic enough | Small in stature, bad luck |
| 2 | Tyler and James | Most athletic team, intelligent enough | Not paying attention to details of clues |
| 3 | Rob and Kimberly | Athletic, fast enough in footraces, good at tasks | Arguing, fighting, Kimberly meltdowns. Both are hot tempered. |
| 4 | Dustin and Kandice | Competitive, college educated, athletic | Not paying attention to details of clues, upset Tom and Terry, not fastest in foot races, boy watching |
| 5 | Peter and Sarah | Both Iron Man triathlon competitors, Peter is highly intelligent and has good communication skills | Sarah is amputee, using leg prosthesis in disrepair that is slowing her down, quieter, more emotional, Peter is bossy, getting on Sarah's nerves |
| 6 | Karlyn and Lyn | Communication | Limited traveling experience, short in stature, slow at tasks, Karlyn is weak in upper body, Lyn may be slower in footraces |
| 7 | David and Mary | David is athletic and has traveled. Mary has sweet personality, and a quick read | Mary is weak, does not like to hear advice, afraid of unknown, and has an injured ankle |
| 8 | Tom and Terry | Tom is highly intelligent, Terry is supportive | Oldest pair in competition--based on average age, Tom is not strong |
The bottom teams of David and Mary, Tom and Terry, and the moms, Lyn and Karlyn, are consistently struggling through the three episodes so far, even calling themselves the backpack.
If Tyler and James can avoid mental errors, and they have already committed a couple of them, they would be virtually unstoppable. For the most part, Peter was making technically good decisions,, as long as Sarah does OK with the leak she encountered with her prosthesis and holds together emotionally. But Peter is getting on her nerves, as is clear in the preview for Episode 4. One move that may play out later--Peter took the third straight Roadblock, as did Erwin. The beauty queens are surprisingly athletic. Kimberly and Rob have potential to excel, if they can avoid the negative outbursts and meltdowns.
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 and 3. Tasks in the Episode 4 preview relate to water, including one shot of climbing rocks above water. What will Episode 4 reveal about the teams and who will be eliminated next? Watch Sunday, October 8 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific. Also, be sure to catch the FINISH LINE at 1 PM Monday October 9 on the THE AMAZING RACE 10th Edition Web site.
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