Amazing Race Tidbits
CBS' The Amazing Race 10th Edition
Thoughts on Episode Five-- Chennai, India
Episode Five was a non-elimination leg. The saga of Peter and Sarah continued with a big win. The Kentucky team of David and Mary trailed from the start and added to their deficit to finish last.
In Hanoi, teams took taxis to the airport after locating a travel agency for tickets out of country, as they were not allowed to buy tickets at the airport checkin counters. Peter hit on the idea to take the flight given to him by the travel agency and then to change the ticket arrangements once out of restrictive Vietnam, at the Bangkok airport. Dustin and Kandice did an excellent job of seeing through Peter and hanging in for second place. They picked up on Peter's airport strategy quickly by following him, but analyzing what he told them. They used their own travel experience to independently find the fastest route to Chennai at the ticket counter in Bangkok.
David and Mary used information from the Cho brothers map. Unfortunately, the better travel agency of the two selected on the map moved, and Mary's bum ankle dictated that they take the nearest and worse travel agency of the two as they became separated from their "backpack" buddies. When David and Mary arrived at the airport, they discovered how badly the travel agency had treated them, so they took a risk to take nonconfirmed tickets for the last leg of the trip, from New Delhi to Chennai, India, formerly Madras, on the southeast coast in the state of Tamil Nadu. Even though they recovered to only a forty minute deficit, this was the beginning of a very bad day.
Wild Things: Teams have to travel 9 miles to the Madras Crocodile Bank and find Pit 16 where they would assist in tying up and transporting a crocodile to another pit.
Wild Rice: Teams have to use colored rice powder to fill in a pattern on the ground using a picture as a guide for the colors.
The Wild Rice Detour took a very long time, probably much longer than the gold leaf exercise in Thailand in Amazing Race 9.
Episode Five Detour |
||
|---|---|---|
Members |
Detour Selected |
Result |
| Tyler and James | Wild Rice | These guys lost a lot of ground by choosing the artsy task. |
| Peter and Sarah | Wild Things | Bossy during the task, Peter was trying to catch the bus, but Sarah could not keep up. |
| Karlyn and Lyn | Wild Things | Lyn had trouble getting over the crocodile pit wall. |
| Dustin and Kandice | Wild Things | Not keen on handling a crocodile. |
| Erwin and Godwin | Wild Things | Switched Detours quickly to save fourth place |
| Rob and Kimberly | Wild Things | Worked quickly and efficiently to hold in third. |
| David and Mary | Wild Rice | Mary was afraid of crocodiles, then they argued about switching Detours, while falling further and further behind. |
At the Karthik Driving School in Chennai, one team member had to take a driving lesson and pass a driving test. It appeared that the Roadblock had no effect on placement, and little impact on times as teams appeared to complete the Roadblock without incident and in roughly the same time.
On the way to the Driving School, Peter and Sarah managed to get just a bit ahead of Dustin and Kandice.
Episode Five Roadblock |
||
|---|---|---|
Team |
Team Member |
Result |
| Tyler and James | Tyler | |
| Peter and Sarah | Peter | First |
| Karlyn and Lyn | Lyn | |
| David and Mary | David | Was able to take the lesson and pass at night |
| Rob and Kimberly | Rob | |
| Dustin and Kandice | Dustin | |
| Erwin and Godwin | Godwin | |
Outlook for Episode Six
The Amazing Race 10 has been less predictable than the previous couple of editions, with teams that are very competitive. The seven remaining teams have diverse backgrounds, including a team of black single mothers, another all female team, and a woman with a prosthesis. The seven teams are skillful and resourceful. Each of the teams has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses that have emerged.
Comparison of Teams in AMAZING RACE 10 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Place |
Members |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
| 3 | Rob and Kimberly | Athletic, fast enough in footraces, good at tasks | Arguing, fighting, hot tempered. Rob loses patience easily, Kimberly fights for control. |
| 1 | Peter and Sarah | Both Iron Man triathlon competitors, Peter is highly intelligent. Both are highly motivated and determined. | Sarah is amputee, using leg prosthesis in disrepair that may be slowing her down, quieter, more emotional, Peter is bossy, manipulative, and insensitive, especially with Sarah, and getting on her last nerve. |
| 6 | Tyler and James | Most athletic team, intelligent enough | Not paying attention to details of clues, trouble communicating with locals |
| 4 | Erwin and Godwin | Very intelligent, athletic enough | Small in stature, bad luck |
| 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 |
| 5 | Karlyn and Lyn | Communication, determination | Limited traveling experience, short in stature, slow at tasks, fair in rowing, Karlyn is not as strong in upper body, Lyn may be slower in footraces |
| 2 | Dustin and Kandice | Competitive, college educated, athletic | Not paying attention to details of clues--or even preservation of clues, try to push ahead of others, not fastest in foot races, emotional, boy watching. Dustin is bossy and domineering. |
Peter willed and pushed his way, and Sarah followed closely enough behind to claim first. Sarah was at her wits end in trying to keep up, saying famously that it is not fun anymore for her. Dustin and Kandice regained their form to finish a strong second. They were less pushy and used their experience to see through Peter's game of false friendship. Kimberly and Rob demonstrated they can do well, without the negative outbursts and meltdowns.
The Cho brothers could have improved had they gone straight to the croc pit instead of the artsy Wild Rice Detour. If Tyler and James could avoid mental errors, and they have already committed a couple of blunders, they would be virtually unstoppable. The choice of the Wild Rice detour was hard to fathom for two young strapping men that excel at labor tasks. The teams of David and Mary, and the moms, Lyn and Karlyn, are consistently struggling through the five episodes so far. Mary has a badly sprained ankle that could slow her way down. Sweet Mary is so compassionate--on the later preview, she says it would break her heart if another team winds up eliminated.
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. The non-elimination leg arrived on schedule, but with a twist. The last place team, David and Mary, are "marked for elimination", with a penalty of thirty minutes if they fail to finish first. Featured in the preview is a camel, so the teams are going to the desert. What will Episode 5 reveal about the teams and who will be eliminated next? Watch Sunday, October 22 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific after 60 Minutes. Also, be sure to catch the FINISH LINE at 1 PM Monday October 23 on the THE AMAZING RACE 10th Edition Web site.
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