Amazing Race 10 Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 10th Edition

Thoughts on Episode 8 and Outlook for Episode 9

Thoughts on Episode Eight -- Madagascar

Episode Eight was an elimination leg. The saga of the Kentucky team of David and Mary ended as they finished fifth, and were eliminated when Lyn and Karlyn arrived at the Pit Stop before David and Mary's penalty expired.

In Mauritius, teams went to the airport to find only one connecting flight to their next destination, Madagascar.

Intersection

This was the first ever Intersection in an Amazing Race. At an Intersection, each team must join forces with another team and perform all tasks and make all decisions together until further notice.

Arrival at Intersection Box
Team	Place
Tyler and James	1
Karlyn and Lyn	4
David and Mary	5
Rob and Kimberly	2
Dustin and Kandice	3
Erwin and Godwin	6

Due to misunderstanding the clue, the three Sixpack teams all had their taxi drivers go on by the path to the black angel, and so were several minutes bechind the beauty queens. Dustin and Kandice had to wait for the Cho brothers, who were the most lost.

Groups of Two Teams at Intersection
Group	Team	Team
1	Tyler and James	Rob and Kimberly
2	Dustin and Kandice	Erwin and Godwin
3	Karlyn and Lyn	David and Mary

Fast Forward

This long Fast Forward required joined teams to both complete the Fast Forward to earn the award and proceed on to the Pit Stop, skipping all other tasks. It required all four team members to consume a serving of cow lips, a local delicacy, prepared for them at a meat market. The models, James and Tyler, and Rob and Kimberly completed the Fast Forward, but only after a long struggle with the gnarly meal.

Detour

Long Sleep: Teams had to put covers on eight mattresses at an open air market and carry them on foot about a mile to a homeowner who would hand them their next clue.

Short Letter: The newly joined Teams had to travel by van approximately 3.5 miles where they would use local methods at a papermaking station to produce and decorate 28 sheets of handcrafted paper, to be judged by an artisan before receiving their next clue.

The Short Letter Detour was considered by all teams to be too hard as it looked to be time consuming, perhaps like the rice powder Detour in India. David and Mary and Lyn and Karlyn still lost a lot of time with the decisions they jointly made. Dustin and Kandice made the best decision by working with the strong and experienced Cho brothers on the Long Sleep Detour.

Episode Eight Detour
Members	Detour Selected	Result
Tyler and James		Completed Fast Forward
Karlyn and Lyn	Long Sleep	In second group to finish
Dustin and Kandice	Long Sleep	In first group to finish
Erwin and Godwin	Long Sleep	In first group to finish
Rob and Kimberly		Completed Fast Forward
David and Mary	Long Sleep	In second group to finish

Roadblock

One team member could go directly to the Pit Stop for this leg of the Race. The Pit Stop was the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, located in the Andohalo district of the capital city of Antananarivo, at the top of a hill that appeared to be the highest point in the city. However, the location was only identified as the Cathedral Andohalo in the voiceover. The other team member had to find four stamp vendors with the correct stamps to match the stamps in the clue, all related to transportation: a boat, train, plane, and car. Dozens of vendors were spread out across steep staircases that connect the city's upper and lower districts. Once done, the team member doing the Roadblock could rejoin his or her partner at the Pit Stop.

Episode Eight Roadblock
Team	Team Member	Result
Tyler and James		Completed Fast Forward
Karlyn and Lyn	Lyn	Finished fourth with a little help from Mary
David and Mary	Mary	Finished third
Rob and Kimberly		Completed Fast Forward
Dustin and Kandice	Dustin	Worked quickly to finish first
Erwin and Godwin	Godwin	Finished second

Out of Gas, Again!

Taxi drivers frequently made stops for gas, irking various teams, especially the Cho brothers, perhaps costing them a place or two. The mat was in front of the picturesque Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary,

Dustin completed the Roadblock ahead of the teams doing the Fast Forward, vaulting the beauty queens into a very strong first place. James and Tyler were second, followed by Rob and Kimberly, both teams having completed the Fast Forward. Godwin was twice delayed by taxi drivers and his slower pace at the Roadblock to force a fourth place finish, again!

David and Mary were eliminated when Lyn came in to join Karlyn with 20 of the 30 minutes still left on the penalty. The tearful scene at the elimination was the most poignant in a long time, because of the strong friendship between the fifth and sixth place teams, and David and Mary themselves being so likeable. Few teams have endeared themselves to so many as this unassuming team from Kentucky.

Outlook for Episode Nine

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

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

Dustin and Kandice finished a strong first. The beauties posted the best performance in Mauritius, completing all regular tasks first, beating both the teams completing the Fast Forward. They were aggressive, but effective, coming back from having to wait on the last to arrive Cho brothers at the Intersection. Likewise, James and Tyler were quick to find the Black Angel, find a team to be partners with, and were so strong in the Fast Forward. They have figured out the dynamic of their friendship, as Tyler took more control, while James realized that he had to step up and take more responsibility. Kimberly and Rob did well enough at the Fast Forward to land in third place, and Rob was more sensitive and cautious in choosing his words.

The Cho brothers worked steadily in all tasks, but had bad luck with taxi drivers constantly stopping for gas. Lyn and Karlyn were not as tired, but remain as a struggling team as they lag at tasks. Mary and David made a poor suggestion for the delivery of the mattresses, trying to tie them together in the Long Sleep Detour, costing both teams. Now it is basically lights out for the Backpack or Sixpack.

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. The twist in Episode Eight, the Intersection, proved interesting, even if it made the teams fall into a more natural order. What will Episode 9 reveal about the teams as they face challenges in Finland, and who will be eliminated next? Watch Sunday, November 12 at 8PM Eastern/Pacific after 60 Minutes. Also, be sure to catch the FINISH LINE at 1 PM Monday November 13 on the THE AMAZING RACE 10th Edition Web site.