The Amazing Race 15 -- "This is Not My Finest Hour" -- 11/01/09

[cracksky]

Originally Posted by dolphinboy

Do you, technically, have to do the challenge? What if you had a hunch it was 62, wrote it down, and you turned out to be right? I don't think you can be penalized for that and, again, the boys were responsible for giving out the answer. I can't blame the girls for that. For a lot of other things I didn't like about them, yes. That...no.

I don't remember if the clue was ever on screen but I think part of the challenge was to walk all the way to the top as you counted the bells. I would think they would get a penalty for not doing that part.

[Fandango]

What could be in store for next week...

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

I'm thinking that's a spoiler right for the people that don't watch previews...

[gotrice487]

I can't stand Ericka! I was hoping they would be eliminated but they survived!

[devilshalo]

Originally Posted by bralph

If the Asian girl was even half of a partner, they would have been able to complete the golf challenge. She was absolutely pathetic the entire race. She let her partner do everything, and was just along for the ride. The golf wasn't THAT physical a challenge, she was just completely weak. Just like last week, I didn't feel bad for the girl who was too scared to go down a waterslide, I don't feel bad for someone that physically weak. On the Amazing Race, you're going to have heights, water, physical and eating challenges. If you are too scared or too weak to complete them, you don't deserve to move on.

Maria was able to figure out the weight of $500K in gold rather quickly and was able to help the brothers (eventhough it was their calculator and they couldn't figure out $/exchange = weight.)

Originally Posted by Wolf359

I don't understand the complaints about the golf being too physical. You had to hit a plastic ball with a stick. Really doesn't look too hard.

It took the guys a few tries to hit the little painted soccer ball 25 yards into the wind. The holes seemed 200 yards apart (hence the 8 strokes you needed to par). The girls weren't able to hit the ball more than 50 feet it seemed. And after 70+ tries at the Test of Strength and 2 swims in the cold river, I'd find it hard to muster up the strength, too.

Originally Posted by Red Dog

I don't know why teams don't do that more often unless there is some restriction.

Wasn't there some in the past where they needed to wait a required amount of time before they could give the answer for some challenges? I think it was 2 seasons ago.. they needed to wait 10 mins before guessing the book after an incorrect answer.

[chowderhead]

Originally Posted by Patman

It would have been hilarious if Erika just started writing numbers down and asking the bell-chimer if that was the right number. It would have taken her about 2 minutes tops with that strategy.

I would have just counted the number of keys on the keyboard of the guy handing out the clues.

[tofu]

Originally Posted by devilshalo

Maria was able to figure out the weight of $500K in gold rather quickly and was able to help the brothers (even though it was their calculator and they couldn't figure out $/exchange = weight.)
.

Well . . she did have the foresight to bring a calculator. That seemed to be the key to that challenge. But she was pretty worthless for the rest of the race. Especially with their backpacks with the roller wheels. A backpack like that isn't really going to be good for lots of racing.

[Patman]

Maria didn't bring a calculator, she used the brothers' calculator (the brothers had the foresight).

[devilshalo]

Originally Posted by Patman

Maria didn't bring a calculator, she used the brothers' calculator (the brothers had the foresight).

But not the knowledge.

[mugwump]

Originally Posted by chowderhead

I would have just counted the number of keys on the keyboard of the guy handing out the clues.

That's exactly what I said while watching. It seemed pretty obvious but maybe the Dutch dude would've just stood up to block the view.

And while I felt bad that the poker chicks got shafted by the mighty feat of strength they had been squeaking by in so many previous episodes that their number was rightly up.

[Patman]

On Facebook, I was sort of surprised by how many people said the detours were fair, and how the girls should have played smarter. Whatever...

[Finisher]

Yep, if the girls hadn't been saved so many times, it would've felt like they got screwed. But they should've been gone at least two or three times already and Maria was totally worthless, so it's more like a mercy killing. Still, pretty ridiculous that both tasks required physical strength. And the bell thing didn't even fit with the dancing challenge. Like they just tacked that on at the last second. I'm still wondering if the girls could've just skipped the bell thing altogether and done the dance, eaten the fish and incurred whatever penalty for not ringing the bell.

[the big train]

Neither of those detour options were strictly strength-based. They weren't very smart about it.

[tofu]

Originally Posted by Patman

Maria didn't bring a calculator, she used the brothers' calculator (the brothers had the foresight).

oh yeah . . there goes my argument. So then the only good that Maria brought was her ability to punch calculator buttons quickly

[skatefan20]

I'm not hating any of the teams left on this race. Flight Tme & Big Easy dancing after eating the herrings - hilarious.

Originally Posted by BadlyDrawnBoy

the asian one couldn't even hit the pin that you had to hit

Was Maria too distraught over finding out the brothers were the token gay guys, or was she just sabotaging the race? I can understand the trouble playing that golf game in their undergarments in chilly winds, but there was absolutely no effort from Maria in swinging the mallet.

Some teams still need to work on their clue-reading comprehension skills (ouch ouch for team jungle fever)

Another excellent leg for an excellent race, but that preview with

Spoiler:

the repeat of the "needle in the haystack" challenge

has me shaking my head.

[mytzplyx]

I really don't understand people who are arguing on behalf of the poker team, saying that the detour was unfair. ALL detours are unfair, depending on the make-up of the team. Almost any physical detour, the globetrotters would be favored. Does that mean the show is discriminating?

Look, the white chick almost hit the top of the bell a few times. All she needed to do was swing the mallet in a bigger circle. The Asian chick was just DUMB, not realizing you're not supposed to choke the mallet close to the head when swinging and that also you have to hit the target flush and not at an angle. Basically, I think everyone is overestimating the amount of strength you need to hit it. I think it's VERY reasonable for the show to assume that the team would be able to get through one of the two options. The team just SUCKED. Their suckiness just finally caught up to them in a challenge which exposed them more easily than the others.


Also, keep in mind, the poker girls were due. REmember in episode 1 or 2 when they had to lead the Japanese group around Shibuya, Tokyo? They were missing people at the end and were supposed to suffer a penalty - I think an additional task or something. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the SHOW NEVER MADE THEM DO IT. I went back to look at the thread for the next episode, and I don't think anyone caught on to the fact that the poker girls didn't suffer any penalty for that. (at least, not shown on TV) Am I getting something wrong?

[mytzplyx]

Oh ya, this episode just reaffirmed my love for the globetrotters team. They're always upbeat, funny, and encouraging. They are genuinely enjoying their time on the show, without fear (Micah), deer-in-the-headlight-syndrome (any old couple), and competitiveness-turn-asshole-ness (poker team). And again, they're just hilarious.

[mwbmis]

Originally Posted by mytzplyx

I really don't understand people who are arguing on behalf of the poker team, saying that the detour was unfair. ALL detours are unfair, depending on the make-up of the team. Almost any physical detour, the globetrotters would be favored. Does that mean the show is discriminating?

A detour is a supposed to be a "choice between two tasks each with their own pros and cons" not a choice between two tasks each with a physical strength test. Could they have done the bell ring if they had the right technique? Maybe, but it's not like there was someone there showing them how to do it properly, and it's not like the proper technique was an issue for any team with a guy. I don't see any way they complete the golf because neither of them could hit that ball far enough to get it in the hole in eight shots.

Of course the Globetrotters are going to be better at the detours. They are a superior team. And Maria and Tiffany weren't going to win the Amazing Race, but they also weren't last in this leg. And they also wouldn't have been eliminated on this leg if the detour task wasn't designed to be unfair to their team.

[mytzplyx]

Ya, and this detour DID have a choice between two tasks each with pros and cons. It's just that the con for the girls were arguably bigger in one than the other. If they just sat and thought about the bell part of the task and/or maybe got a good rest before trying again instead of repeatedly hammering the bell, they probably could have done it. I still don't think that it was unfair. They're just a crappy team.

I don't recall the race every mandating that one task had to be more "cerebral" and one had to be "physical." The two tasks were pretty damn different overall, already.

[mwbmis]

Originally Posted by mytzplyx

Ya, and this detour DID have a choice between two tasks each with pros and cons. It's just that the con for the girls were arguably bigger in one than the other. If they just sat and thought about the bell part of the task and/or maybe got a good rest before trying again instead of repeatedly hammering the bell, they probably could have done it. I still don't think that it was unfair. They're just a crappy team.

I don't recall the race every mandating that one task had to be more "cerebral" and one had to be "physical." The two tasks were pretty damn different overall, already.

So you're saying if they had sat there and thought about it they would have been strong enough to hit the bell. You keep talking about technique as if it would be obvious to them how to do it. It's a lot easier to say that at home. These people are jet-lagged and mentally exhausted, and there was no demonstration.

It was unfair because the two detour tasks are supposed to rely on different sets of skills (strength, endurance, cerebral, agility, determination, patience, etc..) but each one of these had a raw physical strength component that benefitted teams with guys. While the nature of the race obviously is an advantage to teams with two strong guys, I'm still wondering what the purpose of the bell ring was even supposed to be, given that the other task was a such a "power" task. Four teams went to the dance challenge. The three with guys had no problems with the bell thus making it little more than pointless annoyance. One team had to give up because they couldn't eat the fish. Maria and Tiffany tried more than seventy times. They would have had to suck it up and eat the fish, but they couldn't get past the bogus bell ring portion of that detour.

[mwbmis]

Some answers from the Maria & Tiffany chat...

Tiffany and Maria: Yah, our issue in a detour situation there is one more physical and one more mental... in this situation they were both physical. With the carnival bell we didn't have the strenth and by the time we went to the golf challenge the wind was so strong and made it that much harder. It was harder for females as well. Adding in the wind it made it very hard to succeed at those challenges.

Tiffany and Maria: I tried every possible technique with that hammer. The mallet acutally weighed 40 punds. It was heavy. I tried every possible way!

Tiffany and Maria: I came so close... It was about 4 inches away... About 40 or 50 tries into it I did that and could never get back. It was really frustrating.

Tiffany and Maria: We didn't get to see any females attempt it. I want to know if any girl did it. I would kiss her feet. I'm one tough chick and I couldn't get it. If a female can, she is my hero.

Tiffany and Maria: No, detours give you a 24 hour penalty so we didn't have a shot

Tiffany and Maria: Because the Amazing Race is stinkin hard. It is hard to design a race that is equally as physical as it is mental. Most of the challenges come down to being very physical and it is hard for a female to do it.

[Fandango]

If you want to talk about unfair challenges, watch the video I posted, it is based completely on luck. Rob and Amber got eliminated in their season on a challenge completely based on luck as well.

[cracksky]

Originally Posted by mwbmis

It was unfair because the two detour tasks are supposed to rely on different sets of skills (strength, endurance, cerebral, agility, determination, patience, etc..) but each one of these had a raw physical strength component that benefitted teams with guys. While the nature of the race obviously is an advantage to teams with two strong guys, I'm still wondering what the purpose of the bell ring was even supposed to be, given that the other task was a such a "power" task. Four teams went to the dance challenge. The three with guys had no problems with the bell thus making it little more than pointless annoyance. One team had to give up because they couldn't eat the fish. Maria and Tiffany tried more than seventy times. They would have had to suck it up and eat the fish, but they couldn't get past the bogus bell ring portion of that detour.

Maria and Tiffany chose to play the game together so that's the risk they took as two women possibly facing a challenge where strength would be a factor.

[chowderhead]

Originally Posted by mwbmis

Of course the Globetrotters are going to be better at the detours. They are a superior team. And Maria and Tiffany weren't going to win the Amazing Race, but they also weren't last in this leg. And they also wouldn't have been eliminated on this leg if the detour task wasn't designed to be unfair to their team.

I would not bet against the poker players if they ever managed to get into the final 3 along with the gay brothers and Shane/Megan (if the Globetrotters get targeted for a Yield). The last roadblocks usually now involves a memory skill. The gay brothers thought the Persian Gulf was a country. Shane has done most of the roadblocks so Megan might have to do the roadblock and she easily gets frustrated. The poker players should have great memories so it's not a given they would have not won the race had they somehow managed to get pulled into the final 3.

[Groucho]

Bear in mind that the poker girls were already saved from elimination twice this year. Once, by a non-elimination leg. Second, when that guy lost his passport. They've basically been on borrowed time since the beginning of the race, not a strong team in the slightest.