Amazing Race Tidbits -- Thoughts and Outlook

Amazing Race Tidbits

CBS' The Amazing Race 13th Edition

Thoughts on Episode 6 and Outlook for Episode 7

Thoughts on Episode Six

No Airport Shuffle

All teams took same Bangkok Air flight to Delhi, India.

Taxi Horrors

Teams leaving the airport all easily found taxis, but Ken and Tina got a confused driver. Moonlight Motors was difficult to find, even with an address. The first teams to leave the airport got the best results from their drivers. Tina thought they were just blocks away, yet ended up on a very long wild goose chase. Other teams were better off than the already hapless couple.

Roadblock

Teaser question: Who's got an artistic flair?

From the website: One team member had to paint a black and yellow auto rickshaw green to signify that they now run on natural gas. However, before they could paint, they had to mask the yellow exterior and interior with newspaper. When they finished masking and painting the rickshaw, they would receive their next clue.

The rub was that the task took a very long time, allowing late arriving teams to catch up a bit.

Episode Six Roadblock
Team	Member	Result
Nick and Starr	Starr	Starr took Nick's timely advice well to finish second not far behind the frat boys.
Ken and Tina	Ken	Last to start, but finished fourth. Did Ken appreciate the timely advice Tina gave him that gained back two places?
Terence and Sarah	Sarah	Sarah took help from Terence as nagging. Maybe he should have done it. Sarah struggled with getting approval, causing them to fall to last place.
Kelly and Christy	Kelly	Quickly enough done to make up for the long cab ride.
Toni and Dallas	Toni	Finished quickly enough, to put them in third. Toni was appreciative of Dallas' help.
Andrew and Dan	Andrew	Surprised to be done first ahead of Nick and Starr, after being second to start.

Teams are instructed to go to the Ambassador Hotel and locate the cluebox. Only Ken and Tina's driver had a hard time finding this destination.

Detour

From the website: Launder Money: Teams made their way to a banquet hall and created a wedding necklace decorated with Indian money known as rupees. The necklace had to have exactly ten individual rupee notes that added up to the sum of 780. Teams would have to find ways to exchange money from their own stash of cash for the right combination of rupee notes. When the necklace was finished they had to find a waiting groom and trade it for their next clue.

The lower floor was packed with people, making it nearly impossible to traverse. The key was to find the groom--seated with his bride with an appropriate backdrop.

From the website: Launder Clothes: Teams traveled to a laundry shop, chose an ironing station, and used a traditional charcoal heated iron to press twenty pieces of clothing. When they laundry woman determined that the clothes had been properly pressed, she would hand them their next clue.

The irons were so hot that even the handles seemed ready to burn the hands. Nick and Starr were prepared, getting gloves from their backpacks. Having the gloves probably was worth first place in this leg, and not so bad an idea given the possibilities of a cold weather destination. The other teams all later wished they had brought gloves. Kelly and Christy improvised by using an article of clothing to wrap around the handle of the hot iron.

Episode Six Detour
Members	Option	Notes
Nick and Starr	Launder Clothes	They used gloves from their backpacks, giving them a huge advantage. Finished first.
Terence and Sarah	Launder Money	Do well enough, especially in changing money. They asked their cab driver to wait.
Ken and Tina	Launder Money	Do quite well, except that Tina had trouble getting help from bystanders in the street to change money. Plus, they forgot to have cab wait for them.
Kelly and Christy	Launder Clothes	They improvised by using an article of clothing to handle the hot iron. They seemed familiar enough with the task, and finished quickly.
Andrew and Dan	Launder Clothes	Lose a lot of time, work rejected, then a gust of wind blows over their pile of clothes. Last to leave.
Toni and Dallas	Launder Clothes	They made good enough time, taking cues from other teams.

Pit Stop

The Pit Stop for this leg was the Bahai House. Only Ken and Tina's driver had trouble finding it. Terence and Sarah recovered one place after the 30-minute penalty. Ken and Tina have bad luck leaving the banquet hall, not having their driver wait outside the hall. They searched empty streets for a cab and scrambled about until they happened on the main thoroughfare. Then the last driver had to stop for directions, allowing Dan and Andrew to pass them. Ken and Tina had an awkward moment getting back into the cab after checking on what the driver was doing to get directions.

Episode Six Order of Finish
Members	Place
Nick and Starr	1
Terence and Sarah	4
Ken and Tina	6
Kelly and Christy	2
Andrew and Dan	5
Toni and Dallas	3

This was indeed a non-elimination episode. Ken and Tina face a Speed Bump in Episode 7.

Outlook for Episode Seven

Each of the renaiming teams has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses. Some Racers are not as physically fit as others, and it shows already. Others have quite a bit of intelligence, while others are creative. A lot of narrative in Episode 6 was devoted to the relationship between Nick and Starr and how it is helping them to be on top.

Until the last two episodes, Ken and Tina have done quite well. It looks grim for the former frontrunners unless their communication and luck improve. Ken and Tina are having serious communication problems and it has affected their performance. Ken and Tina were showing serious signs of blocked communication--not listening and talking past each other. They have not handled adversity well as they have fallen behind and their luck with with cab drivers worsened. Andrew and Dan have had trouble making sense out of the clues or the tasks themselves.

Watch Episode Seven on November 9th, at 8:00 PM Eastern/Pacific, unless delayed by NFL football.