This is the second weekly blog for the 15th season of The Amazing Race but we are already on the THIRD leg of the race after the two hour season premiere. The title of this blog is in reference to "The Jeffersons" and if you were a fan of the show, you'll get the references as you read the blog.
This third leg started with another new twist as the 10 teams were on a riverboat as their pit-stop in Vietnam. But the riverboat sailed to another location while the teams rested and they were not told of their location. So they began the next leg from an unknown location where they would have to take a taxi to Ho Chi Minh City. It turns out that this would be a 2 hour taxi ride from their unknown location.
Departure times only ranged 45 minutes from the father and son team Gary & Matt to the interracial married couple Brian & Ericka leaving at 6:30am. This was a rare occasion when the pit-stop departure times weren’t obscured by what I call the “Great Amazing Race Team Equalizer” which means whatever great lead a team would have is lost when everyone is forced to wait together because of a flight, train or bus schedule or a closed departure location.
Once in Ho Chi Minh City, teams had to get their first clue by locating a theatre where teams had to pull their clue from the mouths of simulated dragons in a pool. The clue was on a photo stamp enclosed in an empty bullet. Teams had to figure out that the photo was of a post office and they would travel there for the “detour” task choices of “Childs Play” where teams would have to transport a large concrete animal statue on a cart collecting balloons along the way or “Word Play” where teams had to look for letters from atop an observation deck to make out a word. Those letters would be traveling through the crowd on the ground below. Then they would use the letters to make the Vietnamese word for “independence’
Most teams had no problem figuring out the clue was INSIDE the bullet except the team I immediately disliked the most, the engaged couple Lance & Keri as they didn’t open their bullet to get their clue. They ran around aimlessly with Lance yelling at Keri until they figured out the clue was inside the bullet and later while locating the clue box. Lance and his arrogant highly competitive ego was already effecting their progress in the race. These kinds of attitudes always get in the way of success and I tend to route for such teams to fall flat on their asses. This Lance guy reminds me of ROB & AMBER who’s 15 minutes of reality show fame went on much longer than it should have. Long time Amazing Race fans may remember them. But I digress and return to this season.
Anyway most teams chose to do the “kids play” detour task of transporting the concrete animals. There were a couple problems, one team had a broken cart and another team dropped their animal and pieces of it broke off. But there was one team that would make “George Jefferson” cringe, that would be Brian & Ericka who are the “Tom and Helen Willis” of The Amazing Race choosing a ZEBRA as the concrete animal they would transport. And they were “movin on up” during the race.
Only one team chose the “word play” detour and that would be the oldest team on the race Marcy & Ron who at this point were acting more like tourists than contestants on a race. Ron even stood for a minute to say that he was “taking it all in” which I am sorry to say that is NOT what you are there for. While is cool that you are traveling around the world for free, you are not really there to sightsee, you are there to win a race. Sightseers don’t win The Amazing Race.
After completing the “detour” teams traveled to an electronics “chop shop” where they would have to disassemble a VCR and place all its parts into separate piles for recycling.
After taking apart the VCR’s teams went to the next pit-stop, Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, which is the former Saigon. And there was a foot race to the finish with the first team to make to the pit-stop mat was the Harlem Globetrotters, Nathaniel & Herbert and for their first place finish they each won a vacation package to Aruba from show sponsor Travelocity.
“Flight Time & Big Easy” had a good lead but could not get good directions from the “roadblock” to the pit-stop so they chose to follow Meghan & Cheyne’s taxi to the Reunification Palace gate knowing they would beat them in a foot race. And while Cheyne was the first to reach the mat, both Globetrotters made it to the mat before Meghan. This meant Meghan & Cheyne were officially in SECOND place.
The rest of the arrivals were..
THIRD: Gary & Matt
FOURTH: Brian & Ericka, “Team Zebra” moved on up from last place to fourth.
FIFTH: Gay brothers Sam & Dan.
SIXTH: Maria & Tiffany
SEVENTH: Mika & Canaan
EIGTH: Zev & Justin
And the final two teams are where they are at this point for traditional reasons.
NINTH: Lance & Keri, now at the back of the pack after a leg of Lance’s ego and competitiveness combined with his poor treatment of his partner and fiancée’ Keri. His ego is getting in the way of their making progress in the race. His yelling at Keri is getting in the way. She is not happy being treated with the disrespect Lance has displayed toward his team partner AND his fiancée’
And
TENTH: Marcy and Ron had a short “vacation” on CBS and The Amazing Race’s tab. Like I said earlier, sightseers don’t make Amazing Race winners and on this leg of the race, Marcy and Ron were sightseers who took a break to play a word game is if they had all afternoon to do it. Sorry, but you play Scrabble at home. You play a QUICK word scramble when it is on The Amazing Race. But Marcy and Ron can now relax for a couple weeks at the “elimination station” where they will meet Garrett & Jessica at a nice tropical cottage somewhere in Vietnam.
And at the "Elimination Station" seen only online at CBS dot com, we learn that Garrett & Jessica were the ONLY team at the hideaway. The first team to be eliminated BEFORE the race began (Eric & Lisa) didn't even get to go to the "Elimination Station" to wait for the race to complete. And while Garrett & Jessica seemed to be a little depressed at this vacation hideaway, Garrett moved up his plans to surprise Jessica with a marriage proposal and she accepted. It was done off camera but mentioned during the online segment.
Well they sort of have a pre-honeymoon until Ron & Marcy show up.
Now that we are a couple episodes into the season, I now begin my weekly blog predictions for next team elimination and my predictions for which teams will make the final three. Now to be honest, these “predictions” are really my own personal wishes and I admit that it is based on who I like or don’t like most of the time. But I try to be honest about it. You can’t deny who are the strongest and weakest teams whether you like them or not.
I definitely can’t base any prediction on the previews for the next broadcast. The previews mention that one of the teams will lose their passports but the visual shows all of the “strong” teams in some sort stress moment. But they are always in a stressful moment on the race because it is a competition. And creative editing can play with your mind. That is their intention. So my predictions for elimination are more biased and wishful.
I predict (hope) for LANCE & KERI as the next team eliminated. I cannot stand Lance for his arrogance and disrespectful treatment of his partner. You saw in this episode their relationship struggles which mean TEAM struggles in the race unless Lance makes an attitude adjustment. I would not be surprised if it turned out that Lance & Keri were the team that lost their passports. When you have attitude issues and aren’t properly focused you tend to screw up . I am looking for Lance to do just that.
My early predictions for which teams will make the final three will change from week to week. My predictions are based on who I feel are the strongest teams on the race in terms of their relationship (how they treat each other on the race) and their physical ability. I usually pick 5 teams as having a good chance to make the final three and that number decreases every couple weeks.
So my predictions for any of these FIVE teams to make the final three are.
Meghan & Cheyne
The Harlem Globetrotters Herbert & Nathaniel (or “Flight Time & Big Easy”)
Brian & Ericka
Mika & Canaan
Sam & Dan
Those five teams are the ONLY ones I think have a chance at making the final three. I do not believe that Zev & Justin, Maria & Tiffany or Gary & Matt will make the final three. The upcoming legs of the race will wear them out. Maria & Tiffany struggled through the physical running of the recent “detour” and Zev, Justin, Gary and Matt may simply be outrun by the other teams I predicted for the final three.
Because I predicted Lance & Keri to be next eliminated I don’t include them in anything else. I feel any further appearances by them this season is either out of luck or Lance manages to back up the bullshit he talks and his fiancée doesn’t completely give up on him. But I don’t see that happening. What I do see is he keeps treating her like crap with his Bostonian Machismo and she doesn’t take it well.
And that’s my opinion on The Amazing Race this week. See you next week!
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