The Amazing Race 31.12 “This One Is For One Million Dollars”

Congratulations to Colin and Christie!

Though last night’s finale of The Amazing Race was overshadowed a bit by the premiere of Big Brother, it was still one of the most satisfying finishes in the history of the Race!  While I was disappointed that Victor and Nicole didn’t make it into the final three (and Leo and Jamal’s struggles during the final leg of the race felt a bit like karmic retribution), I was very happy to see Colin and Christie win the million dollars.

To understand why, you have to know a little about the last time that Colin and Christie were on the race.  15 years ago, when they took part in the 5th season of the Amazing Race, Colin and Christie were a strong team but they were also so intense that it was easy to view them as being that season’s villains.  Colin was constantly yelling and getting angry at taxi drivers and neither one of them seemed to really enjoy the journey.  It appeared that the other teams couldn’t stand them.  The first time they ran the race, Colin and Christie came in 2nd, largely because Colin got into an argument with a cab driver.

After that season of the race, Colin was very vocal about feeling that he had been edited to look like a villain and I think he kind of had a point.  Some of the other teams from that season also said that Colin and Christie were not as bad as they were portrayed on the show, as well.

And that brings us to The Amazing Race 31.  During this race, we saw a new Colin and Christie.  This time, they seemed determined to enjoy the experience no matter what.  They were still fierce competitors.  They still had their intense moments.  But gone was the anger.  Instead of yelling, they supported each other.  Instead of getting upset and frustrated whenever they ran into difficulty, they instead remained (for the most part) calm and they worked through it.  In short, they provided a master class in how to run a great race.

And, last night, it paid off for them.  They won and they earned the victory.  I love a good redemption story and that’s what this season provided.  Tyler and Korey also ran a good race and should have no reason to be ashamed of their second place finish.  As for Leo and Jamal’s third place finish …. well, what can I say?  I wish it had been Victor and Nicole running the final leg.  But, Victor and Nicole are now engaged to be married so everything worked out well for them, regardless.

This was really a good season.  I was skeptical when I heard the concept.  I wasn’t sure that we really needed to have an entire season of Big Brother teams vs. Survivor teams vs. Amazing Race teams.  But, in the end, everyone did their best and they were a lot of fun to watch.  This was the type of season that reminded me why I love this show in the first place.

And the good news is that The Amazing Race will be back!  Season 32 has already been filmed and will be airing next year!

Well, that’s it for now.  Thank you everyone for reading along with these recaps!  I’ll be over at the Big Brother Blog for the rest of the summer, covering Big Brother!  And this blog will start up again as soon the next season of Survivor begins!

If you haven’t joined the Big Brother Blog and Reality TV Chat Facebook Group, we’d love to have you there!

Otherwise, I’ll see y’all over on the Big Brother Blog or here in a few months!

Peace and love,

Lisa Marie

The Amazing Race 31.10 — “Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!”

Well, so much for Team Fun.

Becca and Floyd were the type of team that viewers either hated or they loved.  There didn’t seem to be much middle ground when it came to how people reacted to Team Fun.  You either enjoyed their unique mix of the goofy and the ruthless or you spent every leg hoping that they would be eliminated.  Personally, I was never a huge Team Fun fan, though I did like Floyd a lot more than I liked Becca.  However, I know that many readers of the blog disagree with me.  Unlike some of the other teams this race — like two certain sisters — Team Fun definitely had as many fans as they had disparagers.  So, I will say this: Team Fun was a strong team and ultimately, it took a double u-turn to knock them out.  Floyd and Becca are unique in that, during all of their appearances on the Amazing Race, they never got mad at each other.  They seem to have a good and genuine friendship and, as Phil pointed out last night, that’s worth a lot.

(You can always tell when Phil likes or dislikes a team.  For instance, he doesn’t seem to care much for the Afghanimals this time around.  However, you can tell that he really, really liked Team Fun.)

The show’s editors worked hard last night to make it appear as if the race was closer than it actually was.  Actually, if I had to guess, I’d say that Becca and Floyd were put so far behind as a result of being u-turned that there was never any serious chance of them not coming in last and getting eliminated.  So now, with Team Fun gone, there’s only four teams left and next week is the finale.

So, who do we have left?

First off, we’ve got Colin and Christie!  They came in first last night and I think they’re definitely the front runners to win it all.  The first time that Colin and Christie were on the show, they were super-intense and Colin was portrayed as being the season’s villain.  (Afterward, Colin was quite vocal about being displeased about the way he was portrayed on the show.  In fact, he was so outspoken that I was initially surprised to learn that he had been invited back.)  This season, we’ve seen a new Colin and Christie.  They’re positive.  They’re working well together.  They’re not taking things personally.  And it’s working for them!  Since the season began, they’ve been the most consistently strong team and, if they keep it up, I can easily see them winning next week.

If Colin and Christie don’t win, it’ll probably be Tyler and Korey.  After struggling during the first few legs of the race, they’ve come on strong over the past few legs.  If Tyler and Korey have a weakness, it’s that they sometimes have a difficult time dealing with the minor problems that always crop up during the race.  If Tyler and Korey are comfortably in first place, they’re positive and they work well together.  But, as soon as they can’t get a taxi or they take a wrong turn, they get frustrated and spend more time complaining about the problem than looking for a solution.  That’s a weakness that has taken down many teams in the finale.  That said, Tyler and Korey definitely have a good chance of winning.

Leo and Jamal came in third last night but that was mostly because everyone behind them got u-turned.  The Afghanimals are the weakest team left in the race.  They’re not bad at challenges but they’re terrible when it comes to following directions.  If any team could get lost on the way to the final pit stop, it would be Leo and Jamal.

And finally, we have Victor and Nicole.  Last night, we really saw both the strengths and the weaknesses of this team.  Their main strength is that Victor can do just about anything.  Their main weakness is that Nicole can’t.  That said, considering how weak the Afghanimals are, I could still imagine Victor and Nicole finishing in third place.

So, here are my prediction for next week:

1st place — Colin and Christie

2nd place — Tyler and Korey

3rd place — Victor and Nicole

We’ll find out if I’m right next Wednesday!

Lisa Marie

The Amazing Race 31.9 “Let’s Split!”

Well, so much for Chris and Bret.

I have to admit that, when the Race began, I never thought that I’d care about whether or not Chris and Bret were eliminated.  I didn’t really like either one of them on Survivor and, as one of the older and less physically fit teams on this season of the Race, it seemed probable that they would be one of the first teams out.

However, Chris and Bret really won me over.  They may have had a rough start but they never gave up and, in their own low-key way, they emerged as legitimate contenders to win the season.  If nothing else, they’ll always be remembered as the team who voted to give Rachel and Elissa the double U-turn that knocked the Riley sisters out of the race.

Unfortunately, last night, Chris and Bret ran out of luck.  The race moved from Switzerland to Croatia and, despite briefly being in the lead, Chris and Bret got hung up at the Detour.  There were two options: Teams could either use a metal detector to search for coins in the ocean or they could memorize a poem while riding in a large flying tube.  Chris and Bret started with the coins, switched over to the poem, then went back to the coins, and then returned to the poem.  They didn’t have much luck with either one but I think it was the constant switching that doomed them.  If they had stuck with the treasure hunt, I think they would have survived this leg.  But, instead, they let their frustrations get the better of them and they went from finishing in 2nd place last week to getting eliminated this week.  Still, they ran a good race and they should be proud of themselves.

With Chris and Bret gone, that means that all of the Survivor players have been eliminated from the race.  We have five teams left.  One — Nicole and Victor — is a Big Brother team.  The other four are all alumni of The Amazing Race.

Here’s how everyone did:

Coming in 1st, Tyler and Korey.  Again.  Yawn.  Tyler and Korey’s streak of 1st place finishes is impressive but it’s also kind of boring.  Still, they seem to be the prohibitive favorites to win the race at this point.

Coming in 2nd, Nicole and Victor.  It occurred to me last night that Victor has pretty much carried this team through almost every leg of the race.  Still, it seems to be working out well for them.

Coming in 3rd, Becca and Floyd.  I’m a bit over Team Fun.  I’ve noticed that they tend to be really sneaky and bitter but we’re not supposed to notice because of Becca’s stupid little fun meter.  They seem to be a strong team but I would rule out karma sneaking up and knocking them out of the race before the final leg.

Coming in 4th, Colin and Christie.  Even though they had to go back to get their roaming gnome, Colin and Christie still managed a 4th place finish.  They’ve been the most consistently strong team this season and I still think they could easily win the whole thing if they make it to the final leg.  (Unfortunately, for them, there’s one more double u-turn coming up and, unless they reach it before any of the other teams, it’s hard to envision a scenario where it isn’t used on them.)

Coming in 5th, Leo and Jamal.  What a strange race it’s been for Leo and Jamal!  They work well together but they always seem to have bad luck with directions.  At the same time, they’ve also had enough good luck that they’ve managed to avoid getting eliminated.  Still, they seem to be in the weakest position of all the remaining racers.

And finally, coming in 6th, Chris and Bret.  Luck was not with them last night.

Finally, here’s some good news: The Amazing Race has been renewed!  Season 32 was filmed last November and it’ll air next year!

Lisa Marie

The Amazing Race 31.8 “You’re The Apple In My Eye”

Well, it finally happened!

The Riley sisters are no longer in the race.

To be honest, it’s not a surprise that Rachel and Elissa were eliminated tonight.  They’ve pretty much been at the back of the pack ever since the Race started and it’s hard not to feel that the only thing that kept them from being eliminated before tonight was pure luck.  Tonight, their luck ran out.  After spending the season alienating the other teams, they were double u-turned tonight.  Colin and Christie were also double u-turned but they’re a strong team and were able to take it in stride.  Rachel and Elissa, on the other hand….

Would Rachel had done better if she had been racing with Brendon than with Elissa?  It’s hard to say.  Rachel didn’t have as many emotional breakdowns while racing with her sister as she did during the two times that she raced with her husband.  At the same time, Brendon was an instinctive competitor who hated to lose and, even when Rachel was totally falling apart, he still always kept her moving.  Elissa, on the other hand, never seemed like she particularly cared about winning the Race.

Rachel and Elissa are out of the race now.  Through some clever editing tricks, the show made it look like Rachel and Elissa came a lot closer to surviving than the actually did.  But if you actually watch carefully, it’s obvious that they were running behind for the entire leg.  The show may have been edited to make it look like the Rileys were mere minutes behind the Afghanimals but it was hard not to notice that there weren’t any other teams anywhere near the mat when the sisters finally showed up at the pit stop.

Along with the elimination of Rachel and Elissa, the other big news from tonight’s episode is that Colin and Christie are such a consistently strong team that even being u-turned couldn’t keep them from finishing in third place!  As well, Tyler and Korey seem to have found a groove that’s working for them and Chris and Bret continue to show themselves to be an underrated team.

Last night’s episode also featured an Amazing Race first.  For the first time, the teams voted for who they wanted to give the double U-turn too.  Here’s how the votes broke down:

Rachel and Elissa voted for Colin and Christie.

Nicole and Victor votes for Leo and Jamal, even though Nicole actually wanted to vote for Rachel and Elissa.

Colin and Christie voted for Rachel and Elissa.

Leo and Jamal and Becca and Floyd voted for Colin and Christie.

Tyler and Korey voted for Nicole and Victor.

Chris and Bret voted for Rachel and Elissa, which caused Rachel to throw a hissy fit.

Personally, I liked the voting.  It added a new wrinkle to the Amazing Race.  Since Colin and Christie and Rachel and Elissa got the most votes, they got the Double U-Turn.  Colin and Christie received their votes because they’re viewed as being the biggest threat to win the race.  Rachel and Elissa, meanwhile, received their U-Turn because Chris and Bret found them to be annoying.  Personally, I probably would have voted for Rachel and Elissa too.

Here’s how everyone finished tonight:

Coming in 1st for the 3rd time in a row, Tyler and Korey!  Tyler and Korey look strong right now but they still seem like they might fall apart the minute they have any bad luck.

Coming in 2nd, Bret and Chris.  For the oldest team on the race, Chris and Bret are doing surprisingly well.  They’re still searching for their first 1st place finish.

Coming in 3rd, Colin and Christie.  After tonight, Colin and Christie seem like they may be unstoppable.

Coming in 4th, Becca and Floyd.  Team Fun seems to be permanently stuck in the middle of the pack,

Coming in 5th, Nicole and Victor.  Nicole and Victor are an inconsistent team.  When they’re strong, they’re very strong but when they struggle, they really struggle.

Coming in 6h, Leo and Jamal.  The Afghanimals have struggled this season, especially when it comes to trying to follow maps.  Their time may be nearly be up.

And, finally, coming in last and getting eliminated, Rachel and Elissa.

Next week, the action moves from Switzerland to Croatia.  Will Tyler and Korey’s luck continue?  Will the Afghanimals luck run out?

We’ll find out next week!

Lisa Marie