|
|
GSNN
Primes |
| Previous
Episodes February 17 - Leg 1 February 24 - Leg 2 March 3 - Leg 3 March 10 - Leg 4 |
|||||||||||||||||
| Eleven teams of two, joined by family or relationship, follow a path of twists and turns in a hectic race around the world for $1 million. Who will be the first to cross the finish line? Recaps by Chris Wolvie, GSNN
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright
Statement Powered by 1&1 Internet |
|
Your Tan Is Totally
Cool PREVIOUSLY ON THE AMAZING RACE...after a "gas 'n' go" PIT STOP, nine teams travelled from New Zealand to Bali in Indonesia. Upon arrival, they let monkeys show them the tasks they must partake in: scooping sand from a riverbed and hauling it uphill or arranging fruit into a religious offering. Jessica & John (Team Macklemore/Babe) tried one task before switching to another...and that would make all the difference. In the end, David & Connor (Team Ribbon Wearers) won their second Leg in a row on three legs. And Jessica & John - through numerous bad decisions - became the first-ever team to be Philiminated while still holding an EXPRESS PASS. Eight teams remain in the race around the globe for a million bucks...who will have to head home...NEXT?! PIT STOP
#4 Here at the so-called "last paradise on Earth", the father-and-son cancer survivors start off Leg 5 with this clue:
During the PIT STOP, David called his orthopedic surgeon back in the states, who recommended surgery for his torn Achilles tendon with seven days. They're getting VERY close to that threshhold...so they're seriously thinking of just flying to Hanoi...and dropping out of the Race. Bad news for them...GOOD news for the seven other teams, who depart the PIT STOP at these (local) times: Pam & Winnie (Team Scrappers):
0521 ABBEY TRAVEL AGENCY Team Ribbon Wearers arrive at a travel agency and ask for flights to Hanoi. They find that a flight that connects through Singapore and arrives at 6pm. The next two teams (who are well ahead of the rest of the pack) arrive to book the same flight. And David & Conner announce to them that they WILL get eliminated in Hanoi/ The teams are saddened by this...but are also RELIEVED. Oh, and Max & Katie and Pam & Winnie vow not to U-TURN each other when it comes to that. As luck would have it, the three are the only teams on this flight. As they take off, other teams look for later flights. There's another connecting through Kuala Lampur that lands at 9:30pm in Vietnam. Everyone else books that flight. HANOI, VIETNAM GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD...er, EVENING, VIETNAAAAAAM! The first flight lands in the bustling Communist-run capital city and two teams get cabs to the theater. They still haven't seen any of the other teams...and they hope it stays that way.. GALLERY 42 They get to the theater at 7:34pm...and find that the Gallery closed at 6pm! ARRRRGH! That means EVERYONOE will be at the Gallery when it opens at 9am!! So much for the lead. They head to the Hotel des Artistes nearby and curl up on the carpet in the lobby...and wait for everyone else. While there, Team Honeymooners and Team Scrappers bond. Sure enough, the other teams arrive and get the skinny on the two missing teams: David & Connor are in Singapore (they're really in Hanoi but they DON'T tell the others that they will DQ themselves)...and John & Jessica are gone. Max goes on a rant about how cocky and stupid John & Jessica are for not using the EXPRESS PASS...and Meghan wants to PUNCH him. PIT STOP
#5 (Yes, you're reading that right; the next scene takes place at the PIT STOP) The following morning, Phil and the local greeter are waiting at the mat...and in comes David & Connor. It's obvious to Phil that they have yet to perform any tasks in Hanoi and, as such, cannot be checked-in. But David announces that this is the end of their Race. He feels he's let his son down...but Connor disagrees; his father is his hero and best friend. Phil makes it official, eliminating them from the Race. But their heads are held high, as they ran a strong couple of Legs...and they feel they would've rather run four Legs with each other than win the million bucks with anyone else. So, with that out of the way, let's get to the battle for first-through-next-to-last. At 7:30am, Caroline & Jennifer and Pam & Winnie arrive at Gallery 42 and await its opening. Together, they agree that the alliance of Team Rollergames and Team Cute Activate! HAVE to be shot down at the U-TURN. When the other teams sans those two arrive, they ALL agree to do so. And they get AWFUL quiet when said two teams arrive. Joey & Meghan and Mona & Beth (correctly) assess that they are targets. At 9am, the teams file into the Gallery and pick up this clue, their next:
And your 'BLOCKers for this Leg are: Jennifer, Meghan, Pam, Anthony, Beth, Katie and Chuck. All seven enter the theater and watch the performance from the front row. And...it's kind of a good thing no one speaks Vietnamese because...well, the song is all about pride of being Socialists, to which I'm certain at least one of the Americans would take exception (though I'm sure the old Soviet Union flags being waved gave them a clue). But, this isn't about politics; it's about Racing. The dancers come out and show them the phrase: "VIHN QUANG THAY THE HE THANH NIEN CHUNG TA" ("GLORY TO OUR YOUNG GENERATION"). After reading about it, the seven Racers sprint out of the theater and towards the Gallery. There were HUNDREDS of posters with all sorts of messages on them. Many of them were CLOSE to the phrase...but had one or maybe two consonants changed. Anthony tries first...but the poster says "QUARS", not "QUANG". Next is Jennifer...but hers is likewise wrong. Chuck's says "JHE" instead of "THE", Meghan's says "JETSON instead of "NIEN". Katie's being methodical. Pam, being a film art director, has a good eye for details. She grabs a poster, brings it in and, with other waiting behind her, gets the nod and the clue from the judge! She runs to Winnie and, outside the theater, they rip 'n' read their next clue:
They are the only ones to get it right before the five minutes expire so, as they leave, the other six head back into the theater to watch the patriotic song and dance again. But the alliance have a plan: Beth and Meghan would each memorize half of the phrase and then work together to find the right posters. So, when the performance ended, out they sprinted. A minute later, it's Chuck who brings a poster...and gets it right! He & Wynona leave in second...but followed CLOSELY by Caroline & Jennifer as Jen got the right one. Katie gets it right next and Max & she are on their tail. Meghan FOUND the right poster...but sticks around to help Beth. However, the bell rang for the next performance and she had to put the right one back and watch the performance yet again. At the end of the third take, Meghan finds the right poster again and helps Beth. The two of them run to the judge and get the thumbs up and the clue: Joey & Meghan in 5th, Mona & Beth in 6th. But Anthony is RIGHT behind the girls and gets it right, allowing Bates & he to leave in last...but RIGHT behind the other teams. CONG VIEN THONG
NHAT It took some time for Team Scrappers to find where the dance is taking place...but they finally follow the music to a row of schoolgirls kneeling in two rows...and moving bamboo sticks apart and together in time to a beat. Two dancers demonstrate how to step between the bamboo in time. And the two "besties" enjoy the culture as they follow in the footsteps. They get to the end and receive their next clue:
Well, DUH! Pam & Winnie have played Chinese chess before so, obviously, they choose MAKE YOUR MOVE. About five minutes later, the second group of teams arrive and dance amid the bamboo. But Team Roll Tide! forget to hold hands like the dancers did so they have to start from the beginning. Team Honeymooners do like wise...but they LEARN from their mistake whereas Chuck & Wynona do not. As such, Max & Katie hit the DETOUR in second and decide to MAKE YOUR MEAL. Joey & Meghan arrive and make quick work of the task and choose MOVE...while the married 'Bama couple screw-up again and again. More teams arrive and ace the dance; Team Goons likewise choose MOVE, as does Team Rollergames. Only THEN does Team Roll Tide! get their act together, hold hands to dance and leave for MEAL in sixth. Aaaaaaaaaaaaand Team Cowboy Descendants have a crappy cabbie and get lost. Eventually they arrive, dance and enter the DETOUR in last, choosing to MAKE YOUR MOVE and head to... TEMPLE OF LITERATURE Ah, a temple to Confucius. How we've missed you. And here comes Pam & Winnie. The "pieces" are in one courtyard while the board is in another. They decide on four blue pieces close to each other. The staffs are easy to place. Finding the right "pieces"...that's the tough part. They figure out that the markings on each piece's uniform must coincide with the pieces on the real chessboard...but Winnie doesn't think COLOR matters so they grab two blue and two red pieces and bring them to the board. The chess-master shakes her head...and Team Scrappers are befuddled. NGOC SO TEMPLE Meanwhile, at MAKE YOUR MEAL, Max & Katie arrive, get their list and haul their baskets into the district. One problem, though; the list of ingredients was in English...and none of the vendors can READ or SPEAK English. Fortunately, they run across someone who DOES and ask for her help. After that, things get fairly easy and Team Honeymooners start to have a little fun. Oh, so it's the COLORS! Pam & Winnie figure it out and head back into the pieces' courtyard...just as other teams start to show up. So it's a good thing they grabbed the other two blue pieces and got the nod from the chess-masster. They leave in first with this clue:.
As they hope for a U-TURN while leaving, the other teams work out what they have to do. Back at MEAL, Max & Katie get all their ingredients and head for the nearby cooking station to get said ingredients weighed. But there was an error in the chili peppers and the basil. So as they head back into the crowd to try to get more, Chuck & Wynona show up at the temple. they get the list and the empty baskets...but Chuck thinks the chickens can be left behind. (I'm telling ya, they are doing NOTHING to bunk the "rednecks is dumb" stereotype today!) And THEN they go the wrong WAY to the market...AND Wynona's scared of getting run over in the street! They finally find a rickshaw driver who brings them to the market (no idea if that's against Da Rules of Da Race...but we'll see) B-52 MEMORIAL Don't ask WHY the people of Hanoi have left an "enemy" bomber in the middle of a small lake. Ask what Team Scrappers will do once they ARRIVE at said bomber and find this:.
As per the plan, Pam & Winnie use it.
With that out of the way, they get this important clue:
The two friends head for the prize while the teams at MOVE get their pieces in place and the teams at MEAL get their goods in order. Well, Max & Katie do, anyway. Team Roll Tide! have the language barrier to deal with. They start to wonder if they should do MOVE instead. Speaking of, you wouldn't think that hockey players would be good at chess...but Team Goons proves you wrong. They are the second to leave the DETOUR. Meanwhile, the other two all-female teams have NO clue what they're doing, allowing for Joey & Meghan to pass right by them and head for their fate in third...for now, anyway. Team Honeymooners get the right amounts of ingredients and FINALLY get to cooking. Max says he can now enter a Vietnamese restaurant, order the pho ga and say, "Eh,...I made better in Hanoi." The chef seems to like it enough; he allows the team to depart the DETOUR in fourth. Meanwhile, Chuck & Wynona (thanks to Chuck's stubborness) is WAY behind. PIT
STOP #5 We saw them earlier Philiminating a team...now Phil and the greeter are ready to crown a Leg winner. And, of course, it's Pam & Winnie who are Team # 1! And they are headed (thanks to Travelocity) to Whistler, Canada for skiing, snowboarding, a glacier helicopter ride and even a sleigh ride. Guess they'll find out once and for all "oh what fun it is to ride", eh? They refuse to act confindent, though; they heard what happened to John when that happened. Team Cute Activate! are second to the U-TURN...and the first TO be U-TURNed on this Race. They are NOT happy about this at all. BUT...Da Rules state that a team can USE a U-TURN before having to do THEIRS. Even though it hurts, they want to stay in the Race...so they do it:
At least they have a chance to stay ahead of ONE team as they about-face and head for MAKE YOUR MEAL. Maybe more than one...because Teams Cowboy Descendants and Rollergames are STILL not sure what to do! Caroline & Jennifer start to move the OTHER "pieces" thinking they have to PLAY the chess-master. (And THEY are doing nothing to debunk "blondes are dumb" myth.) Mona & Beth work it out, though. They put the right pieces in the right places and leave the DETOUR in 4th. Caroline & Jennifer FINALLY get their act together and move their own pieces to the right places...and leave in fifth. A few teams hit the U-TURN and find that a) they are safe and b) they don't have to use their own. So...to the PIT STOP they go. THERE's the market. Team Roll Tide! quickly gathers their ingredients and goes to get them weighed...just as Joey & Meghan arrive for their U-TURN. When they head for the market, the keepers recognize that THESE Americans want exactly what the OTHER Americans wanted...so they waste little time getting the ingredients together. Max & Katie check-in as Team # 2...Mona & Beth as Team # 3...Bates & Anthony as # 4...and Caroline & Jennifer as # 5. So it's a battle for last...er,...SEVENTH place. More bean sprouts are needed for Chuck & Wynona...and more of EVERYTHING is needed for Team Cute Activate! Obviouslty the vendors screwed up majorly for them. But Wynona also realized that the other teams have the chickens and...they DON'T. So back the dumb clucks go to get those dumber clucks! As they do so, Joey & Meghan get the ingredients on their own and get it right. They make the soup, get the nod from the chef and race back to the B-52 memorial...while Team Roll Tide! starts cooking themselves. Team Cute Activate!'s cabbie gets them lost...and Team Roll Tide! gets the nod and the clue. They both get to the bomber within minutes of each other...and it's heart-breaking for Chuck & Wynona when they see the U-TURN with their mugs on it. So...they trudge off to play some chess, certain they're dead meat. Joey & Meghan are checked-in as Team # 6. But Meghan is "a huge ball of fiery righteousness"...and the team agrees that it's "no more Mr. and Ms. Nice Guys!" Four chess pieces in place later and Chuck & Wynona bring it in. Phil gives them the bad news: they are the last team to arrive. Wynona feels so weak...but Chuck is still proud of her. Then Phil says, "Dave & Connor had to withdraw from the Race which means...you are officially, Team # 7!" Tears of joy! They promise to start fresh in the next Leg! (OK, Vietnam Socialist Boys Choir, take us out!)
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. |
|||||||||||||||||||||