Amazing Race Recap: "The Crap You Do For A Million Dollars"

The Amazing Race returned on Sunday night after a week away due to the Academy of Country Music Awards, which were held in Las Vegas last week. Ironically, I was in Las Vegas at the same time (not attending the awards), although I did JUST miss Carrie Underwood at the Wynn on Sunday night. I appreciated the coincidence that the week that the show wasn’t on, was the one week that I was away on vacation, so the recap I wouldn’t have been able to write, didn’t have to be written.

One fun thing that did happen on this trip actually did involve The Amazing Race, however. Remember back in Season 15, when on the final leg of the Race, the teams were in Las Vegas and had to count two million dollars in poker chips? Well, that was in the poker room at the Monte Carlo casino, and we stopped by there to check it out. Here’s a photo of my girlfriend and I in the poker room where the challenge took place.

And on a side note, as a poker player (and dealer), I would have been able to breeze through that chip counting challenge.

But on to this week’s episode, which I happily didn’t have to wait until 8:12 to start watching since our Canadian affiliates still start the show at 8:00 sharp, regardless of how long The Masters takes.

My Random Thoughts:

- I have to admit, I did enjoy watching Enabler Mom Margie and Sulky Baby Luke get eliminated again on the “Previously” segment. I’m just that cold…once again, good riddance Team Freeloader.

- Just when I thought that last episode’s Snapple commercial was a one-week only treat, we saw Gary and Mallory enjoy their prize from Snapple, a feast that was made “from the best stuff in India,” which I will emphatically point out is NOT the slogan for Snapple. They then went on to talk about how they wanted to become the first parent–child team to win The Race, and I rolled my eyes because after last season’s constant reminders that an all-woman team had never won the Race (until Nat and Kat), I cringed at the thought of another season of irrelevant potential Race “firsts.”

Hey, did you know that if Flight Time and Big Easy win, it'll be the first time that two black men over 6 feet tall have won? Or that if Kisha and Jen win, it'll be the first time that two women who were also NCAA Division I athletes have won? Or that if Kent and Vyxsin win, it'll be the very first time that two people who wear pink and black, are from Kentucky, have no children, and own an album by The Misfits have EVER won the Race? In the entire history of the show???

- Jet and Cord found themselves quickly behind the other teams by a full hour by picking the wrong flight to Varanesi. Hey, here's an idea...make sure you're not basing your airline choices on airlines that include your own name! That's right, they were one hour behind because they flew with Jet Airways instead of Kingfisher. Clearly Flight Time doesn't have the same problem.

- Since they had time to kill, Ron decided that it was time to go for dinner at an Indian restaurant. Someone needs to tell him that this isn't a culinary adventure. Is he trying to win the million dollars, or parlay this into a guest judge spot on Iron Chef America?

- Why do NONE of the teams ever ask the cab driver if they have a full tank of gas? Seriously, not ever?

- The Roadblock had one member of each team searching for " the meaning of life" by collecting clues from 6 holy men stationed around a busy Indian marketplace. Kent seemed to have a good strategy: "When in doubt, follow Gary", but that only lasted as long as he got the final clue and took off on Gary, which is exactly what he promised he wouldn't do. Surprising actions from Kent, but perhaps now that Luke the sulky child is gone, the producers need someone to appear as "the villain."

Kisha and Jen finished first, which wasn't that surprising to me. As I've stated before, I think they've got the perfect makeup for a winning team, as long as they don't have to do any swimming. Ok, ok...the Snapple Factory mis-cue from the last episode was a bit of a hiccup, but I think they have a good shot at winning.

Ron and Christina finished the Roadblock in last place by a mile, mostly due to Ron's dawdling and propensity to be distracted the entire time. He even accused the holy men of not being dressed properly since he couldn't find them, wondering if they were maybe swimming instead of waiting for the Racers. Yeah, sure Ron...these guys decided "Screw the show that hired us and paid us to be on TV. I need a swim right this second." Well, at least he didn't get sidetracked by a vindaloo stand.

- Once I saw the strongmen that the teams had to find, I was thinking that there was going to be a fun challenge coming up...maybe a wrestling or strength challenge. But alas, no...it was just a clue box with the route info for the Detour. So, was this just an opportunity for them to show hefty men in their briefs? Talk about a missed opportunity. Could you imagine Big Easy having to throw down Greco-Roman style with one of those dudes? Or Kent? That's Emmy-winning television right there.

- The choice between the Detours seemed like an easy one to me. I never would have chosen Feed The Buffalo (which sounds a lot dirtier than it should) since it involved strength and navigation through the streets of India. Feed the Fire, meanwhile, seemed like the obvious choice, if you could keep your gag reflex in check. Slapping those cow patties on the wall seemed much easier.

- On their water Taxi, Gary and Mallory saw a ceremony were bodies where being cremated on the Ganges river. Mallory then waxed poetic about what it meant seeing that, and how she had never seen any cultures celebrate death like that. I'm sure many of you are expecting me to make fun of that, but I'm not. I actually thought it was a nice moment, a pleasant break from the Race itself, and reminding me about why this is my favourite reality show, because I actually learn things about the world.

But right after she was talking about it, with the soft, pensive music still playing, the camera panned across the water's edge and we saw...a naked guy with his crotch blurred. Seriously???? This moment gets punctuated with NAKED INDIAN GUY? Come on!

And of course, Mallory's very next line after that shot:  I’ve never seen anything like this. But I’m glad we saw it.”

- I commented a couple of recaps ago about the camaraderie on this Race, and I'm still assuming it's because of the common experience all the teams have of running the Race before. Between Mallory giving Zev her earplugs, to the Globetrotters working with Zev and Justin, singing “Running with hay-ay-ay, in the middle of India,” it's a nice treat to see on this season.

- I love the Globetrotters, but I have a fundamental problem with them winning a trip for getting to the Pit Stop first. By definition, they have already seen the world...they've Trotted the Globe, so to speak. Leave the trips for the other teams.

- In this episode, Vyxsin showed that she really wears the pants in that relationship. Whether it was taking Kent's bag so he could walk up the stairs faster, or taking matters into her own hands when their water taxi wasn't listening by jumping into the water and dragging it to shore, she was the crux of that team for this leg. Kudos to her.

- Jet and Cord zipped through every part of this leg, and despite being an hour behind from the flight, they still finished in 5th place out of 7 teams. Impressive. And with Ron and Christina eliminated, I now have no teams remaining that I can't feel good cheering for. I would have no problem with any of the final 6 teams winning.

Good people. Good teams. Good season.

Next Week: Austrian Cuisine and Goth Drama

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Related Posts:
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Spoiler TV Recap

(Photo credits: CBS.com and Reality Fan Forum.)