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Episodes September 30 - Leg 1 October 7 - Leg 2 October 14 - Leg 3 October 21 - Leg 4 October 28 - Leg 5 November 4 - Leg 6 November 11 - Leg 7 November 18 - Leg 8 November 25 - Leg 9 |
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| Eleven teams of two, joined by family or relationship, follow a path of twists and turns in a frenetic race around the world for $1 million...and, quite possibly, even TWO million! Who will be the first to cross the finish line? Recaps by Chris Wolvie, GSNN
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Not a Well-Rounded
Athlete Previously on THE AMAZING RACE...from the capital of Russia to the capital of the Netherlands, five teams Raced, all taking different flights. Nadiya & Natalie (Team Jersey Twins) utilized the FAST FORWARD and ate herring to win the Leg...and they set in motion a plan to get rid of the biggest threats in the Race: Abbie & Ryan (Team Dating Divorcees). At first, Jaymes & James (Team Full Monty!) didn't want to assist...but they U-TURNed the divorcees in order to have a better chance at the money. Trey & Lexi (Team Texas Two-Step) finished the job by U-TURNing Jaymes & James, thus preventing Abbie & Ryan from U-TURNing Josh & Brent (Team Beekman Boys) and making it a race for last. In the end Abbie & Ryan's Race - and their chance at being the first-ever TWO-million-dollar winners in TAR history - was over. Four teams continue to Race for the ONE million bucks...who will bow out NEXT?! PIT
STOP #9 I dare say that, of all the people RELIEVED that Abbie & Ryan are history, the twin sisters are the MOST relieved (or would be if they had KNOWN). But, here in the wee hours of the morning, they have no time to bask in the glow. They start Leg 10 with this clue:
The other teams departure times (local time) are: Jaymes & James: 0557 INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT SCHIPHOL And the lucky twins have a flight to THEMSELVES departing at 6am! That's ANOTHER plus to taking a FAST FORWARD: you (sometimes) escape the Great Race Equalizer! So, as THEY take off from the airport, Team Full Monty! take off from the PIT STOP. They still feel awful about kicking Abbey & Ryan to the curb but...they'll face the music when it comes. THEY manage a direct flight to Barcelona at 7:20am, and they take off before Team Texas Two-Step arrive at the airport. But THEY get a 7:55am flight. And, before Team Beekman Boys can even start the Leg, the first plane touches down in... BARCELONA, SPAIN At the home of the memorable '92 Summer Olympics - the Games that introduced jai-alai as an "Olympic" sport (though only as a demonstration) - Team Jersey Twins' plane arrives. It's just around 9am local time, so the girls take it easy heading to the Port. Once there, they learn the ticket office doesn't open until 10am. So...they wait. Speaking of, Josh & Brent have been waiting and waiting and waiting to leave the PIT STOP. they finally do, three hours behind third place. They have had ALL sorts of luck - good and bad - during this trek...and they start to wonder if they'll EVER get out of the basement! Add to that the fact that Josh twisted his ankle a bit in the ROADBLOCK SWITCHBACK in the last Leg...and they can't help but continue to worry as they board the next plane. PORT
OF BARCELONA Jaymes & James run to hug Nadiya & Natalie as they wait for the ticket counter to open. When it does, they find that the only ferry to Mallorca leaves at 11...AT NIGHT! Well, so much for escaping the Great Equalizer. Looks like, unless there's a serious problem with one of the other two flights, everyone will be on the boat. they get they're tickets and, as they start to sight-see, they run into Trey & Lexi. They talk about the alliance they formed to take out the biggest threat...and, then, they hit the beach. After all, they have a whole day to kill before the Race continues. By the way, did you know the other teams have NO idea who was Philiminated in the previous Leg? As the three teams donned their travel clothes and went back to the port, they started to worry that Abbie & Ryan would STILL beat Josh & Brent. But, much to their relief and joy, Team Beekman Boys were waiting for them. They hug and laugh that Team Dating Divorcees have hit the bricks and that they will NEVER see that two million! Josh & Brent...are just happy to have caught up with the rest; now they feel they can WIN this Race! At 2300 local time, the ferry takes off and chugs through the Med, taking the eight Americans to... PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN Y'know, a lady that I knew just came from Mallorca, Spain. She smiled because I did not understand. Then she held out...uh,...y'know, listen to the Ringo Starr song to get the rest. I don't wanna give the wrong impression. Anywho, as the sun rises on the "Large One" (as it is translated), the ferry arrives. The teams hop off and grab cabs to the place where the "spectacle" will take place. "We're searching for Lucifer at 7 in the morning," says Jaymes. "I dunno how I feel about that." Uh,...but Josh & Brent want better directions so they stop at a motel to get them before continuing. PALMA
CATHEDRAL What greets the teams are a dozen men in devil masks and torn clothing, screaming like the damned in hell and waving torches all over the place. Team Jersey Twins are the first to get to this poor imitation of a Gwar concert with the other teams right on their tail. Let the freaking out begin. Oh, but wait...there's a touch of yellow peaking out of one of the devil's black-and-red costume. It's the CLUE! The teams grab it, rip it and read it:
Into the Fords they go and the teams decide to follow each other and ask for directions to this Centro. As they split, Team Beekman Boys arrive at the demon-fest. After a minute of SEVERE discomfort, they're given the clue and they haul themselves, trying (as always) to catch up. On the road, Trey &
Lexi notice that Natalie & Nadiya aren't following them as they
had agreed. Jayem & James notice this as well. That's because
Team Jersey Twins lost site of them back in town. Oh...and, plus,
neither girl can drive a stick-shift too well....even Nadiya took
ONE LESSON in it back in the States. So while they do a poor-man
hydraulics imitation, Josh & Brent speed ahead of them, getting
confidence in performing this first-ever drive-yourselves task sufficiently.
Oh, and Josh's ankle feels much better now. CENTRO
de ALTO RENDIMIENTO "Alto Rendimiento" means "High Performance" in Spanish. A pair of high performance cars show up at the center. Team Full Monty! and Team Texas Two-Step exit their vehicles, run inside the complex to a clay tennis court and find clues in what looks like a classic "loving cup"-style trophy. They open it to find a:
Trey and James are the volly-masters for this 'BLOCK. Good think Trey knows HOW to play tennis pretty well; he knows just what to do to get the balls where they have to land...he hopes. One thing Trey does NOT take into effect: the serving machine fires balls out every half-second...and all OVER the court, too! But Trey takes it in stride, wacking them gently over the net and within the inner lines of the court. James...is stupified. And, needless to say, he doesn't have much luck himself on the other court. Before James can even get to his second legal return, Trey is at 17...18...19...game, set and 'BLOCK! He runs to the female ump on her high hors...er, chair and receive this clue.
As they leave, James gets to six...and runs out of balls. Back to zero. Fortunately, Team Beekman Boys aren't there yet...and Team Jersey Twins are STILL jerking around in Mallorca. Plenty of time to load a second basket...and patiently make it to 20! The Ja(y)mes Boys leave in second as Josh & Brent arrive and Josh - healing ankle and all - elects to go. But no sooner does he plant his foot on that springy clay than he rolls the ankle again...and it starts to hurt. He fights through it, though, trying desperate to catch-up to the frantic machine. He moans with each hit (Brent says Josh "sounds like Monica Seles", a female tennis player RENOWNED for her groaning during matches) but can only get four over before the machine empties. Another basket and Josh tries again. He gets up to ten...but it's still half-way to completion as he sits down and rests his swollen ankle. And, wouldn'tcha know it, this is where the Sri Lankan twins finally show up. Nadiya opts to do the 'BLOCK. Fortunately for the life-partners, Nadiya isn't quick to get used to the fast-firing machine. And Natalie's "advice" ain't helping matters as her sis only gets eight before running empty. While she tries again, Josh finally gets to his feet and tries again with a third basket. The only way he was going to quit was if he passes out from the pain and/or dehydration or his foot snaps completely off! He doesn't run as much (but still moans) as he gets up to 6...while Nadiya is only at 4. It seems to be "Advantage: Josh" as he gets to 14...Nadiya at 11...Josh at 17...Nadiya at 14...and, with a bit of chalk kicking up as the ball lands, Josh finishes the task and he & Brent leave in third. They cheer the girls as they leave...and, at that moment, Nadiya gets #20 with a high lob. Now...if they can only overcome their stick-shift-itis faster than Josh can overcome his ankle... COVES
de CAMPANET Teams Full Monty! and Texas Two-Step arrive at the Coves and, again, decide to work together to find the clue. The caves are a beautiful sight and they enjoy it as they look around, extensively for a music box. Suddenly, Lexi hears the strumming of guitars and Trey leads her and the Chippendales to the source: two Spaniards strumming away. On the wall nearby are the clues, which end up being the next:
Hmmm...fix windmills with possibly heavy blades...or run around a ring for two minutes at a time? the two teams decide to run with the bulls...or, rather, AS the bull. Out of the caves and back into the cars they go. But leave it to a roundabout to screw things up. The two teams want to go in different directions but, without better communication outside of yelling out a window, they can't tell either team that. So...they go their separate ways... SA POBLA, SPAIN And whatcha know, Jaymes & James arrive at SPIN IT! Well, since they're there, might as well give the muscles a workout, right? Can't be any harder than a giant ceiling fan. They pull up, find a repairman, greet "Don" and "Sancho" and gear up. Isn't much different from the costumes they wore at the club...and the blades arent really that heavy. they just need to be put in the right position. MURO, SPAIN Meanwhile, Trey & Lexi arrive at El Plaza de Toros. They grab the bull (Trey in the rear with his head out) and, once the gate opens, they rush out to butt some silk. Trey shouts instructions to Lexi as they run around, getting the first cape in...15 seconds. Yeesh. The matadors are spread around the ring so it's not a straight path...and Lexi has a hard time listening to instructions a few times. Of course, Trey has a hard time SAYING the instructions. Add to that the fact that Lexi can only see in the peripheral out of the bull's eyes and...well, it's a bit of a mess. But...they get through the eight capes and run to the target with the "9" on it. But...she hits the dummy matador, not the target. That's not part of the task so...they have to reset the dummy and the team will have to charge all over again. But, wait...we have a cut finger on Lexi's part. It looks almost like the nail has been torn. Owie... Back at the caves, Team Beekman Boys find the guitarists and get the DETOUR clue. They decide on SPIN IT (probably because Josh's ankle can't take running around) and depart without a word to the musicians who helped them. Meanwhile, at said SPIN IT, the Ja(y)mes Boys finish the repair work and ask for the repairman to look at their handiwork. The man gives them the thumbs-up and allows the boys to head back down. Once they ditch the work clothing and tools, they go to the windmill-tilter and his "homeboy" (as James called him) to receive this fantastic clue:
While they head to win their second Leg, the team that won the LAST Leg finally arrives at the caves. They decide to SPIN IT as well. Back at BULL-IT, Lexi's finger is wrapped tightly and her tears have ebbed. She and Trey decide to switch positions for this second run-through. Lexi shouts out commands and Trey goes delicately through them. It's a smooth run, with all eight done with just under a minute. Now...for the target. Lexi steers (no pun intended), Trey runs and...BULL'S EYE! (THIS time, pun intended). They get the PIT STOP CLUE and leave for the castle in second. Josh & Brent arrive at the windmills and get to work putting the blades up. But, as they suit-up, here comes Natalie & Nadiya! This only boosted Josh's sonfidence that they could beat them! This is old hat for the goat farmers; they have a wind turbine on their own farm. As they start, the girls run to a far windmill (and show how much they failed at Spanish). So it's a race to see who would finish the blades first. But...it's not really. As stated, Team Beekman Boys are wizzes at machinery repair. All it takes is making sure the blades are in the right place and bolted on firmly. And, besides, Team Jersey Twins are butterfingers when it comes to their tools. Oh, and they argue with each other all the way. On the road, Team Texas Two-Step seem to be lost...until they see a sign for Palma...going the other way. Oops. Team Full Monty! have no such problems. And, up on a hilltop in the distance, the two dancers see the castle as clear as day. But so does Trey & Lexi once their bearings are straight. The question is...who will be first to get to... PIT
STOP #10 It's been a royal retreat...it's been a prison...and now it's "home" to Phil and a...headless greeter? Huh. Anyway, two Americans hit the mat, get a creepy greeting from the headless one and then gets the great news from Phil: "Trey & Lexi...you are Team # 1!" And Travelocity will be sending this dating couple to the Riviera Maya in Mexico on a five-night stay at an exclusive hotel, including guided tours of Mayan ruins. I hope they have taken the trip by now before the Mayans are proven right. Minutes later, Jaymes & James are checked-in as Team # 2. they are VERY motivated, given that the million will help Jaymes' father. Two down and two to go. Will the guys or the girls finish SPIN IT first? Well, Josh & Brent ask for a ruling first...and they get the thumbs-up! They get the clue from "Don" and leave in third. And Natalie & Nadiya WATCH them speed out on the dirt road. Their evaluation for their own performance? "We suck!" Once again, fighting against all odds, Josh & Brent check-in NOT as the "last team to arrive"! They keep Racing! And they feel they can WIN!! Despite playing aggressively, the twin sisters can only blame themselves for arriving at the mat in last. When prompted by Phil, they run down the list of things that went wrong today. Then Phil says, "Well, let me put you in a good mood. This is a Non-Elimination Leg!" Yeah, yeah, a SPEED BUMP awaits them...but they know that, as long as they're still Racing, they're still the odds-on-faves to win!
To see this episode in its entirety, or to apply to be a contestant on "The Amazing Race", visit the official website at www.cbs.com/amazingrace. |
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