Episode 8: Antananarivo, Madagascar (11/5)
BEAUTY QUEENS STAY ON TOP; DAVID & MARY OUT Making their way to Madagascar, Teams encountered a new twist in the race, the Intersection, forcing two Teams to work together. After successfully teaming with the Cho brothers, beauty queens Dustin & Kandice surged ahead to claim another first place, while coal miner and wife David & Mary couldn't overcome their 30-minute penalty becoming the sixth Team eliminated from the race. MARKED AGAIN Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 3:00am, beauty queens Dustin & Kandice discovered they needed to fly 700 miles to the nearby island of Madagascar. Once in the capital city of Antananarivo, they had to search for the Black Angel, a local landmark that had recently been painted white. Last place coal miner and wife David & Mary, who again faced a 30-minute penalty after being marked for elimination, breathed a sigh of relief when they and their six-pack alliance members booked seats on the same flight to Antananarivo as the beauty queens, models Tyler & James, and dating couple Rob & Kimberly. On the six-pack, Mary commented, "We feel great being at the airport and everybody here. The other three Teams are really on to how strong our alliance is. Makes us want to fight even harder to beat them." A NEW TWIST Landing in Antananarivo, Madagascar, with the pressure mounting, David & Mary took the early lead out of the airport in what they hoped would be a fast taxi followed closely by alliance members Lyn & Karlyn and Erwin & Godwin. On getting the quick jump, fourth place Dustin noted, "I can tell the six-pack is really stepping it up today. They're rushing. They're working harder than I've ever seen them work. It just makes me aware that we have to be on our A-game today." Fifth place Tyler added, " gonna need a lot of help to stay in first. They keep hanging around somehow. Today's the knockout punch I think." When the taxi drivers of the six-pack drove past the Black Angel statue at Lac Anosy, the other three Teams capitalized on the critical error as their drivers stopped at the correct location. Bolting out of their taxis, models Tyler & James noticed what they believed to be a Yield. When they reached the mat, they discovered a new twist in the race: the Intersection. At an Intersection, Teams must join forces with another Team and perform all tasks and make all decisions together until further notice. Running up right behind the models were their good friends, dating couple Rob & Kimberly, who instantly paired with them. On their decision, Tyler & James later remarked, "There were no questions in our minds who we were going to merge with. The damn blondes, we don't trust them." Arriving at the Intersection seconds behind in third place, Dustin & Kandice, with no other Team to pair with, watched in annoyance as Tyler & James and Rob & Kimberly read the Fast Forward clue. In this Fast Forward, the joined Teams had to travel 2.5 miles to the Analakeley Market and indulge in a local gastronomic delight: cow lips. Each team member needed to eat an entire serving of the local favorite. When all four members cleaned their plates the butcher would hand them the Fast Forward award. PARTNERS FOUND As the two joined Teams headed off to the market joking that the beauty queens would be working with Lyn & Karlyn, Dustin & Kandice stood on the Intersection mat dreading the arrival of the six-pack. Kandice, laughing at the predicament, joked, "Nobody else is gonna work with us right now. They hate us." Of course, in reality one of the six-pack would be forced to pair with the beauty queens, but the first two out of the their taxis, Lyn & Karlyn and David & Mary, chose to team up with each other, leaving Dustin & Kandice to wait for the Cho brothers who lagged behind. After the beauty queens ran to Erwin & Godwin informing them they had no option but to pair with them, all four Teams read the Detour clue, choosing between Long Sleep and Short Letter. In Long Sleep, the newly joined Teams had to travel by van 2.2 miles to an open market. Once there, they would choose eight foam mattresses, wrap them in mattress covers, and deliver them on foot approximately one mile to the provided address. When their delivery was complete, the homeowner would hand them their next clue. In Short Letter, the newly joined Teams traveled by van approximately 3.5 miles where they needed to choose a papermaking station and use local methods to produce and decorate 28 sheets of handcrafted paper. Once the artisan signaled that they correctly made their paper, they received their next clue. Desperately needing to finish in first place to avoid a penalty, Mary toyed with the idea of traveling to the Fast Forward, but Lyn convinced her, that with the other Teams already headed there, it would be best to choose the easier of the Detour options, the mattresses, rather than falling further behind if they couldn't win the Fast Forward award. BURYING THE HATCHET In an uneasy truce, brothers Erwin & Godwin and beauty queens Dustin & Kandice also opted to travel to the market to deliver mattresses. In the ride over, Godwin told them, "No love lost. You make it up in the mattresses, all forgotten." Dustin responded, "You're glad that we're on your side right now and we're glad that you're on our side." Of course, the beauty queens ruined the mutual goodwill by joking that they stole the leaders of the six-pack. Later, they added, "Hopefully without them , one of the members of the six-pack will be gone. Just get them out of here!" TASTE OF VICTORY Arriving at the Analakeley Market, models Tyler & James and dating couple Rob & Kimberly became increasingly worried as they ran past stands of raw meat and slaughtered animals. The quartet stopped dead in their tracks at stand eleven where four plates of very unappetizing cow lips waited to be consumed. Kimberly commented, "It was disgusting. The hair was still there. There was fat on it. There were teeth there still." While Tyler initially suggested reading the Detour options again, James and Rob reminded him that they would be too far behind to switch tasks now. "Mind on the prize," James ordered. BEDDING DOWN As Rob & Kimberly and James & Tyler began choking down cow lips, the other four Teams arrived at the open market and began covering foam mattresses. The quick, athletic beauty queens made the task significantly easier for brothers Erwin & Godwin, but it came with a price. Erwin noted, "Working with the blondes was efficient, but it was tough competing against our friends." After wrapping up the mattresses, the Cho brothers and beauty queens took the lead as each Team carried four mattresses through the narrow alleys of the city with a local guiding them to the address where they needed to deliver them. Lagging behind, David & Mary and Lyn & Karlyn opted to bind all eight mattresses together and carry it through the congested streets. Lyn later joked, "We almost looked like the Macy's Day Parade." The plan ran aground when the tower of mattresses fell over onto cars causing chaos on the streets. Eventually, the quartet agreed to simply drag them as they followed their local guide to the address for delivery. Although they had a momentary scare when they lost their local guide, the Cho brothers and beauty queens successfully delivered their mattresses to earn their next clue that informed them that the Intersection was now complete. The newly separated Teams now had to travel four miles to the base of the steps at Totohotohobato Ambondrona Analakeley. After grabbing their bags, the beauty queens seized an advantage over the Cho brothers by snagging the first taxi. On teaming with the Cho brothers at the detriment of the six-pack, Dustin quipped, "It was a win-win for us and lose-lose for them which is the way we like it." CATCHING UP As James cleaned his plate of cow lips to set an example and motivate his allies, beauty queens Dustin & Kandice arrived at Totohotohobato Ambondrona Analakeley to discover a Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to search among dozens of rubber stamp vendors spread across these steep staircases that connect the city's upper and lower districts and find the four vendors whose stamp matches the imprint of a boat, train, plane, and car on their clue. Once they got the stamp of each vehicle on their clue, they had to travel two and a half miles alone to the next Pit Stop, the Cathedral Andohalo, where their teammates, who had traveled here separately, would be waiting for them. With Dustin beginning her search for the stamps and Kandice on her way to the Pit Stop already, an oblivious Tyler & James and Rob & Kimberly continued to eat cow lips convinced the no one could pass them before they finished. After Rob cleaned his plate, only Tyler and Kimberly remained, but Dustin already found all four stamps as Tyler insisted, "We're gonna have a good lead. We're golden." WINNERS AGAIN Even though her taxi needed to stop for gas, Dustin arrived at the Pit Stop in first place where a thrilled Kandice greeted her as the beauty queens stepped onto the mat. Phil informed the excited pair that they had won a trip for two from Travelocity to the lush Kona coast of Hawaii's big island. On their stellar performance, Kandice remarked, "We totally feel like we're on a roll and we totally feel like we're gaining momentum and it's really exciting. It's definitely given us a stamp of validation." With stomachs full of cow lips, models Tyler & James settled for second place while dating couple Rob & Kimberly finished in third place. HEART OF KENTUCKY After brothers Erwin & Godwin snagged fourth place, friends and allies Mary and Lyn were resigned to battle each other searching for stamps to avoid elimination. With the thirty-minute penalty looming over her, Mary managed to complete the Roadblock ahead of Lyn and arrived at the Pit Stop where an anxious David waited. The nervous pair began serving their penalty at the mat, dreading that either they, or their friends, would be eliminated. After finding the last stamp, a frustrated Lyn shouted at her taxi driver when he needed to stop for gas. In the end, however, Lyn stepped onto the mat with her partner Karlyn in fifth place as David & Mary still had almost twenty minutes remaining on their penalty. Now stepping on the mat in last place, coal miner and wife David & Mary received the bad news from Phil that they had been eliminated from the race. On his wife, David remarked, "I couldn't have done nothing on this race without Mary. She's hung with me. She's done everything I've done and I'm proud of her." On her good friends, a tearful Lyn noted, "This has been the first of everything for them and I just relish in their spunk and their spirit. I just appreciate the spirit of who there are." A reflective Mary closed, saying, "The race has made me appreciate where I'm from. Kentucky is who we are. I love my little place in the world, but it's also made me appreciate the fact that I don't need to be stuck in one place, that I need to get out and take my kids to see the world. It's a whole new book. It's not a new chapter in the same old life. It's a new book."

So glad David and Mary are out of it. They weren't true competitors --- this game isn't about, or should not be about, making friends. I'm fast becoming a fan of the beauty queens. I like their ruthlessness but I also like to see things come back to bite them, like when they had to take the lesser of 3 evils to get another team to work with them. I was amazed at how almost every taxi any team took almost instantly ran out of gas. I couldn't believe how slow the "Fast Forward" was this time. Since this is the first season I have ever watched TAR, I have a question: if, on the cowlips eating, someone was a vegetarian, what would happen then or has this particular situation ever come up (I know it has on Survivor). I'm thinking that the contestants would know in advance that they would have to eat cowlips (when they get the instruction envelope) and would then have to opt not to do this, and go for the other alternative.

The Amazing Race 10, Episode 8: This is the Task That Never Ends by Jenn Brasler -- 11/06/2006 It just goes on and on, my friends. The teams head to Madagascar, where two get stuck at what feels like the longest task since the dreaded haystacks from season 6. James wants to feel more useful to Team Zoolander. Will he be able to show his stuff on the neverending task? Previously on If They’re a Six Pack, What’s the Ring Holding Them Together?: Six teams left Kuwait for Mauritius. David & Mary, Dublyn, and ErGo formed the Six Pack, which seemed like a really bad idea. Dustin & Kandice crashed their car but came in first anyway. A huge mound of salt delayed the Six Pack, who all switched tasks and came in last. Mary & David were the final team to the mat and were once again marked for elimination. Six teams are still left: Dustin & Kandice - Friends/Quit underestimating them, would ya? Tyler & James (Team Zoolander) - Models/recovering drug addicts/At least they’re not hitting on everything that moves Rob & Kimberly - Dating/Might need a time-out Erwin & Godwin (Team ErGo) - Brothers/Getting hurt the most by the Six Pack alliance Lyn & Karlyn (Team Dublyn) - Friends/Karlyn needs to shut up Mary & David - Married/Sentimental favorites/Only still in this because of two non-elimination legs Mauritius is pretty. Don’t you want to go there now that we all know where it is? Will Dustin & Kandice keep to themselves? Will the Six Pack help Mary & David out? Kandice & Dustin are the first to leave at 3:00 a.m. They are headed for Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. That’s right - not Asia! There, they have to find a local landmark called the Black Angel. Except it’s white, not black. The blonds notice that the clue says nothing about taking the same car, so they ditch their beaten-up vehicle for another team’s (we find out later that it’s Zoolander’s). Sneaky. I probably would have done the same thing. Kandice interviews that they’re in this to win, not make friends. Oh, no, Kandice - only the villains say that! They say that they’ll be as kind as they can to other people but stay competitive and race the best they can. Not being in an alliance means they don’t have to wait for anyone else. Zoolander leave second. Tyler interviews that sometimes James is more passive, and he feels he needs to step up as the more dominant partner. James interviews that he feels like he hasn’t been giving enough. He wants to be able to prove himself and show that he can do well. They decide to wait for Rob & Kimberly. Noooo! At least Kimberly & Rob are the next to leave. Kimberly whines her way out of taking Kandice & Dustin’s car. They interview about fighting and blah blah blah. I don’t care. Tyler and Rob disagree about the route to take to the airport. James interviews that they weren’t looking to make an alliance; the Six Pack forced them to. Did they hold a gun to your head? No? Then shut up. For all the trash talking they did about the Six Pack alliance last week, they’re awfully quick to jump into one now. ErGo leave next, noting that they only have $10 for this leg. They’re waiting for the rest of the Six Pack. Dublyn leave next and see that their car is gone. Mary & David leave last. Erwin gives the most disappointing interview ever: “If there was a choice between us coming in first and one of the Six Pack being eliminated, we would give up first in a heartbeat.” I really, really want to like them, but that’s insane. Does he not get that he’s in a race? They claim to want to stay in as long as possible. That’s definitely not the way to do it. The Six Pack proceeds to the airport in a convoy. Mary interviews that this is their second time being marked for elimination, but they’re not going to give up. She says that all she knows of Madagascar is the animated movie of the same name. I’m sure she’s not the only one. She’s excited to go there. Dublyn split from the convoy since Lyn thinks she’s found a shortcut. She interviews that they’re all friends no matter what, but you have to do what you have to do. Thank you, Lyn. Kandice & Dustin reach the airport first and laugh over the possibility that they took Dublyn’s car. Karlyn is, of course, angry about that. Get over it. It’s a car. You’re going on a plane now anyway. You’ll never see the car again. She’s just mad she got bested. Rob & Kimberly and Zoolander catch up with Dustin & Kandice and all three teams get on the same flight to Madagascar. They’re soon followed by Six Pack, who get on the flight (which happens to be the only one going there). So now they’re all even again. Mary thinks the others are on to how strong the alliance is, and that makes them want to fight even harder. David just wants a window seat. Awww. In Antananarivo, Six Pack make it out of the airport first. In fact, David & Mary are in first place and hope to stay there. Karlyn wonders why they’re looking for the Black Angel, since that’s her and she’s right there. Hee. If she’d calm down and stop worrying about other people, I think I could like her. Maybe. I’m not making any promises. ErGo want to stay away from the non-Six Pack teams. Dustin notes that Six Pack is working hard, so they need to be on their A game. Zoolander thinks Mary & David will need help to stick around and today will be their day to go. Rob & Kimberly talk about the people of Madagascar with Rob waxing poetic about why they’re so thin. Just enjoy the scenery, Rob. One by one the Six Pack teams spot the Black Angel but don’t believe it’s what they’re looking for since it’s, you know, not black. Zoolander pass Kandice & Dustin, who vow to beat them at their own game. Of passing? Zoolander becomes the first team to realize that the Black Angel is not, in fact, black. They’re quickly joined by Kimberly & Rob and Kandice & Dustin. As Zoolander approach the clue box, James notes that it’s a Yield, but Tyler says it’s not. He’s right - it’s called an Intersection. Phil, wearing what I swear is a woman’s shirt, explains that this is a twist that requires two teams to work together on a task. Zoolander pair up with Rob & Kimberly, which leaves Dustin & Kandice to wait for another team to arrive. The first thing Zoolander and Rob & Kimberly pull out of the clue envelope is the second and final Fast Forward of the race. In this instance, if one pair wants to do it, their Intersected team has to go, too. This Fast Forward task requires the teams to head to a food stall and eat cow lips. I didn’t even know they had lips. Zoolander and Kimberly & Rob pick the Fast Forward while Dustin & Kandice are resigned to wait around. Kimberly & Rob laugh that they’ll have to pair up with Dublyn. The Six Pack start to head back to the Black Angel. Dustin & Kandice say that this shows who their true friends are. I was unaware that they had any friends on this race. Also, Rob & Kimberly and Zoolander were the first two teams to the Intersection, so of course they would pair up. I hate to have to say it, but hush up, blondies. The Six Pack make it back to the Black Angel with David & Mary and Dublyn arriving first. Kandice & Dustin hope ErGo show up soon. As Mary & David and Dublyn get their clues, Kandice debates asking Dublyn to pair with them, but Dustin is sure they won’t go for it. She’s right, as they team up with Mary & David without giving Kandice & Dustin a second glance. As soon as ErGo run up, Kandice & Dustin announce that they have to work with them. It turns out they’ll have to work on a Detour, the choices of which are Long Sleep and Short Letter. In Long Sleep, teams go to a market, pick out eight foam mattresses, put covers on them, and carry them to an address. In Short Letter, teams make and decorate 28 sheets of paper. Gah. Kandice & Dustin and ErGo choose Long Sleep as one blond says something to the brothers about being Asian and making paper. What? Watch yourself, whichever one that was. Don’t be an ugly American, especially to other Americans. As Dublyn and Mary & David head off, Mary announces that she wants to do the Fast Forward, but Lyn reasons that if Zoolander and Rob & Kimberly are already on their way there, they’ll just be wasting their time. Mary realizes she’s right and they just have to pick the easier Detour task. David suggests Long Sleep. On ErGo and Kandice & Dustin’s bus, Godwin says that if the blonds are helpful with the mattresses, everything will be forgotten. They all agree that they’re happy to be paired up. Zoolander and Kimberly & Rob get to the Fast Forward and the reality of the task sets in. They each have to eat one serving of lips, and those servings are big. Kimberly talks about the grossness and I just can’t repeat it. Interestingly, Kimberly, Tyler, and Rob are all sickened while James just chews like he does this all the time. I’m surprised it’s gross; I would have expected the lips to taste just like the rest of the cow. Kandice & Dustin interview that they’re hoping that without ErGo, either Dublyn or Mary & David will be out. Dublyn and Mary & David state that they didn’t want to work with Kandice & Dustin anyway. The teams all reach the Detour and get started. The Fast Forwarders are struggling… except James. Everyone else wants to quit. The four Detour teams quickly show how different they are - while Dublyn work together and Mary & David work together to put on the mattress covers, Kandice, Dustin, and ErGo all work together, which speeds things up. It’s much easier for eight hands to get the covers on than four. ErGo say it’s hard to compete against their friends, but Kandice & Dustin are happy to be with them. Not happy? Mary & David, who are bickering. She says that they argue when they get stressed, and they’re just not used to being together 24 hours a day. Definitely understandable. David says they’re in this to win the money for their kids, so if they have to argue to do it, so be it. The ErGo/Kandice & Dustin pairing finish first and ErGo task the blonds to get the locals to help them find the delivery address. They do so, though Kandice interviews that the brothers seem to think she and Dustin are just getting ahead because they’re lucky or smiling at the wrong people. Kandice jokes that they’re not necessarily wrong, but I think they’ve proven that false a lot so far. Dublyn get help from a local as well, leaving their bags behind since they don’t think they can carrying the bags and mattresses at the same time. Apparently Godwin used to work for a moving company, so he and Erwin have a good advantage carrying the mattresses. The two pairings again have a different strategy - ErGo and Dustin & Kandice carry four mattresses each while Dublyn and Mary & David pile all eight of theirs on top of each other and tie them together with the binds from Mary & David’s fanny packs. “We almost looked like the Macy’s Day Parade.” Hee. It seems smart in theory, but I think that would be difficult, especially since it looks like they have to navigate through some narrow spaces. The Fast Forwarding teams are… still Fast Forwarding. I wonder how long they’ve been there. Dustin & Kandice and ErGo are slowed down first when Kandice & Dustin drop a couple of mattresses, then when their local runs off. As Beethoven’s Fifth plays (no, I don’t know why), Dublyn and Mary & David realize that their stacking strategy might not have been the best idea. More Fast Forwarding and Detouring. All six teams look to be stuck in limbo. James is almost done eating. Rock on. Dustin & Kandice and ErGo decide to briefly abandon their mattresses and make sure they know where they’re going before they go too far. The Fast Forwarding teams remind themselves that no matter how long they’re taking, the other teams having to do both a Detour and a Roadblock. ErGo and Dustin & Kandice head back to their mattresses, having figured out where to go. Mary & David get some help pushing their mattresses. Kandice interviews that she and Dustin respect ErGo; they work similar to them and it doesn’t hurt to have their muscles around. They deliver the mattresses and are sent to steps at a place with a really long name that I’m not going to try to spell. They’re also now un-Intersected and can work separately again. Mary & David and Dublyn are lost and have to go back. Oops. The Fast Forwarders keep eating. Kimberly keeps getting sick. Rob interviews that the race is a good gauge of when to push someone and when to ease up. Sometimes you just have to let go and let someone experience what he or she is going through. Hey, they’re learning something! Dustin & Kandice snag a taxi, but there’s only one around so ErGo are out of luck. The blonds note that the Intersection was win-win for them and ErGo and lose-lose for Mary & David and Dublyn. Erwin notes that every step forward for ErGo, the further behind Mary & David and Dublyn are. Speaking of the last two Six Pack teams, they’re struggling with the mattresses still. Karlyn hollers at David to help Mary. I don’t think you’re allowed to yell at another woman’s husband like that. Tyler is glad that the three Fast Forwarders are going through this together. They agree that it’s a bonding experience. They all high five, though Kimberly’s is hilariously half-hearted. She’s just trying not to throw up on someone’s shoes. In Dustin & Kandice’s cab, they note that thanks to the Intersection/Fast Forward combination, they’re only competing with three teams to stay out of last place. That makes things a little more nerve-wracking. Also nerve-wracking? Car troubles for ErGo. Dustin & Kandice get to the next clue box first and are met with a Roadblock. One team member will have to get four specific rubber stamps from vendors. Once that person is done, the Roadblocker gets to go to the Pit Stop, the Cathedral Andohalo, where he or she will be met by his or her teammate. Dustin takes this one. At the Fast Forward, the teams try to psych themselves up by remembering that once they’re done eating, they get to go straight to the Pit Stop. Dublyn and Mary & David deliver their mattresses, get un-Intersected, and head back to their bags. ErGo keep looking for the clue box. Dustin looks for stamps while Phil waits at the Pit Stop, dancing to some music with the greeter. I love when he does stuff like this. Kandice arrives but can’t approach, so she just waves and says hi to Phil, then joins in the dancing. Awesome. Dustin gets her first stamp. The Fast Forwarders are STILL EATING. I’m guessing that’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner for them. James is the first to finish and he says that at least he’s good at something. Yeah, I’m sure eating cow lips will come in handy in his everyday life. I know I’d put it on my résumé. ErGo finally get to the Roadblock, which Godwin takes. The Fast Forwarders keep eating. Now Rob is done as well. Dustin works quietly at the Roadblock while Godwin calls out for help. Her method seems to work better. Erwin joins Kandice at the cathedral and she jokingly tells him to go back where he came from. “After we worked together? That’s how it is?” he teases. Tyler is almost done but Kimberly is getting full and is worried she won’t be able to finish. The guys assure her that they’ll all be fine. Dustin gets her last stamp and gets the clue that sends her to the Pit Stop. Zoolander and Rob & Kimberly are sure they’re ahead and that the other teams are plowing a field. With a broken ox? We can wish. Mary is worried that there are four teams ahead of them. As Tyler finishes up, Godwin gets his third stamp. Kimberly has to take a break and Rob tells her to take her time. She gets sick again. Awww. Tyler finishes his lips. (I never thought I’d have to type that sentence.) Dustin heads to the Pit Stop, wondering if the Fast Forwarders have checked in yet. Nope, Kimberly’s just now finishing up. The guys are very proud of her. She just looks like she hopes she can keep everything done. They’re now all on their way to the Pit Stop as well. Godwin gets his last stamp and Pit Stop clue. Dustin’s driver has to stop for gas, so she asks him just to get a little bit. Mary & David get the Roadblock clue and Mary takes it. Dublyn get there shortly after them and Lyn takes it. Rob & Kimberly and Zoolander aren’t sure where they’re going. Dustin hopes she’s still in the lead. Godwin’s driver has to stop for gas, too, and he says that next time he gets in a cab, he should check the gauge. Rob & Kimberly get out and run while Dustin urges her car to make it up the hill. Her urging works - she’s the first to reach the cathedral, meaning she and Kandice are in first place. Again. Rock on, blondies. They’ve won a trip to Hawaii. Yay! Take me with you! They hug Phil. I wanna do that, too! He informs them that they beat the Fast Forwarders. They’re happy to be on such a roll and feel validated. Mary gets her first stamp. Lyn doesn’t have the same luck. Zoolander are second to the Pit Stop and seem okay with that. Mary interviews that her friendships are worth more than a million dollars. She’s not going to change who she is and become a mean person just for the money. Rob & Kimberly check in third, followed by ErGo in fourth, so the first four teams didn’t change placements at all. Now it’s down to Dublyn and Mary & David. David hopes this isn’t the end for them. Karlyn says that they knew they couldn’t stay together forever. They all did their best, but they know it’s going to come down to someone leaving. Mary is done with the Roadblock and she heads off to join David at the cathedral. She’s touched by seeing the kids around, since she misses her own so much. But they’re the reason she’s there, so she has to keep going. Lyn is still wandering, looking for the right stamps. She’s only on her second one. Mary just hopes to get to the Pit Stop 30 minutes ahead of Lyn. She and Dave get to the mat and their 30-minute penalty begins. That’s rough, especially since it means either they go or their friends go. Lyn finishes up and heads to the cathedral. Her driver has to stop for gas as well, and she wishes he would have told her he was short. More tense waiting at the Pit Stop. Lyn runs up and joins a relieved Karlyn. They check in together in fifth place. Sadly, this means Mary & David have to go. I’m sad, but I didn’t even think they’d be around this long. David says that this has changed his life and his kids will be proud. He couldn’t have gotten through the race without Mary, and he’s proud of her. Mary says this was extremely difficult and Dublyn are great women. Lyn hates to see them go, and she loves their spirit. Mary says the race made her appreciate where she’s from; she loves Kentucky and her place in the world. However, the race has also made her appreciate that she doesn’t have to be stuck in one place – she needs to get out there with her kids and experience life, because she doesn’t want them to be like her. This isn’t a new chapter in the same book of her life, this is a new book. I’ll really miss them. I’m so glad they were on this race. Next week: Dublyn get a message from home.

The Amazing Race 10: Thinking Smart in Episode 8 by Jeffrey Clinard -- 11/07/2006 The new Intersection twist caused teams to have to think on the fly. Who did well with this new wrench thrown into the works? Who didn’t? Jeffrey takes a look at which teams were thinking smart. In my last article, I talked about teams that travel together, saying they were less likely to get lost, but would only travel at the speed of the slowest member. The new Intersection proved that point, forcing teams to make decisions and work together. Each intersected team group had to pick one of three options (the Fast Forward or one Detour option) and complete it before setting out on their own. The Intersection is also a reason teams shouldn’t be rude to each other, because in a situation where three teams show up close to each other at the Intersection, the rude one can be left behind and forced to wait for another team. Early on in a race, teams might show up in pairs and keep leaving a team waiting for a partner. Of course, none of the players knew ahead of time about the Intersection, but trying to get along is still a good idea in general – now there is an even better reason. Strong teams should usually try to pair up, because a slow team can cost them time. That time might be the buffer that prevents a set of bad instructions, flat tires, or a cab that needs gasoline from eliminating a team. Even if the drag doesn’t eliminate them, the team will lose valuable time waiting to depart for the next leg. That might prevent a team from making the earlier flight to the next destination. While one of my thinking smart tips is to help the weak competition, teaming giving aid shouldn’t pay a price for it. Still, I’m not sold on the Intersection because I’ve always felt The Amazing Race was one of the few reality TV competitions where teams could do their own thing. Teams won, lost, or were eliminated through their own decisions and actions. I’m glad the producers are trying new twists, but I wouldn’t want to see more than two or three per race. The Fast Forward was a nasty taste experience. I could eat cow lips, but when it has hair and teeth... well, it’s time to take them like shots. The nature of the Fast Forward was to stall the teams until the slowest eater consumed the dish. The Intersection made it harder to abandon, and the pressure was on everybody to complete it. I’m beginning to think teams should hesitate before going for the second Fast Forward. Amazing Race 5 and 7 had head shaving as the second Fast Forward task, while Amazing Race 9 had eating grasshoppers and crickets. It shows a pattern, and I think the producers would be wise to change it. The Detour was a choice between making paper or putting covers on foam mattresses and delivering them. Which was faster? We’ll never know as nobody chose the paper option, but I do believe transporting the mattresses was faster. Dustin & Kandice and Erwin & Godwin attacked the task intelligently, and set aside all differences to get it done as quickly as possible. The more clueless David & Mary and Lyn & Karlyn made a mess of the task, trying to transport all eight mattresses together. It didn’t work very well, and both teams suffered for it. The Roadblock was worthy of note as one team member completed it while the other waited at the Pit Stop. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s always interesting to see several people at the pit stop desperately waiting for their teammate to show up. The Roadblock was a search, but it wasn’t a hard one, and nobody gained or lost much ground because of it. After an episode with a new twist, an elimination, and only five teams remaining, which teams were thinking smart in episode eight? Dustin & Kandice: The beauty queens are showing they are excellent racers, coming in first in the last two legs, and beating two teams who used a Fast Forward. They paired up well with Erwin & Godwin, got the task done, and moved forward. The only thing I didn’t like was they took a car other than the one they damaged, but if it was legal to drive at night and the rules didn’t prohibit it, it didn’t change any results. At this point, they are looking to be the team to beat. Tyler & James: The former drug users were smart to go after the Fast Forward, but got a rude shock to find out they hadn’t secured first place (with a little more luck from Erwin & Godwin, they wouldn’t even have placed second). Their confusion at the Intersection was understandable given it’s a new concept, and they made the right choice to partner up with Rob & Kimberly. They ran a good leg, even if the Fast Forward took more time than an efficient Detour and Roadblock. Rob & Kimberly: Kimberly was the drag on the Intersected teams at the Fast Forward, but the team ran another solid leg, and without much of the usual bickering. In fact, Rob learned how to back off and let Kimberly finish up the cow lips at her own pace. They are still running a good race, even if their leg was fairly uninteresting, spent Intersected with Tyler & James at a Fast Forward. Erwin & Godwin: The brothers continued to be plagued by bad luck. One cab ran out of gas and another needed to be filled up. This delay probably cost them a second place finish, as both occurred after the Intersection ended and they were racing on their own. Other than their bad luck, they ran a great leg, working well together with Dustin & Kandice and showing how good a team they could be if they’d cut the rest of the Six Pack loose. In addition, Godwin resolved to check the fuel gauge of cabs. Given the experience in Madagascar, he learned something. Lyn & Karlyn: No doubt about it, the single moms took more time to complete the leg than any other team. There was a reason for it – their Intersection with David & Mary slowed down both teams. The fanny pack arrangement holding all eight mattresses together didn’t work, and they wasted more time undoing what they had done. They lost time getting to the Roadblock, and a bit more time when their cab needed fuel. They were the last team to hit the mat, with only the David & Mary’s “marked for elimination” penalty saving them. David & Mary: What went wrong? By choice and by race rules, they ran with a pack in a leg when they really couldn’t afford to run with a pack. Worse, Mary compounded their problems by actually giving aid to Lyn when she pointed out the location of a stamp. For a long time this team has raced poorly, and it finally caught up to them. Still, I hope they get enough money to take their kids to Disneyland. Maybe they can get appearance fees for opening supermarkets or something.

Damn, I'm glad those hicks are gone!!! Not that I have anything against hicks, but when it comes to one being a nagging bitch and the other being a pussy-whipped wimpy goofball, then I do! And go BEAUTY QUEENS!!!! I love how people bitch about them using their looks to get ahead .... ummmm, but it's okay when other teams (past and present) use personality quirks, looks, etc. to get ahead. I do like the Cho boys too, but if they don't cut loose the Bamabitches then I will quickly quit supporting them. The goal of the race is to WIN and WIN A MILLION DOLLARS. If you're there to make friends and make that a priority and kiss the bucks good-bye, then you shouldn't be taking up space in the race, IMO. I'm starting to like the bickering couple as well, I think they've progressed positively in their relationship since the beginning of the race. And Grimme, to answer your question about vegetarians .... if a team had got to that task and realized it was something they couldn't do, then they could leave and go to the other task. On the other hand, if it's a task that all teams must do and a team literally cannot do the task, they can proceed and incur a penalty for not completing the task. I'm not sure what would happen if a team simply by-passed a task, whether they would be eliminated or only incur a penalty.

One of the things that I like most about them (and other teams as well) is that they are playing TOGETHER. They are supportive of each other (I recall one little spat near the beginning), and really seem to like each other. It's a competition so if they use "elbows up, I'm coming through" methods, then more power to them I say. And the truth is, they haven't come this far because of their looks, it's because they don't get lost repeatedly, they've made good choices in tasks, and oh yeah, they've kicked ass. Although they should be assessed a 15 minute penalty every time they hit the mat because they look good while getting ahead. I think that if the brothers outlast the Bamabitches, then they will be a force with which to be reckoned as well. And I love them too.

I remember a couple of seasons ago you mentioned that you had never watched it and I was so surprised because I thought it was something that you would really enjoy. Maybe you'll be able to find past seasons on your TV somewhere, just don't waste your time on the family version.

The Amazing Race 10: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Episode 8 by Mike DeGeorge -- 11/08/2006 It was a pretty blah episode this week, but Mike still has a lot to say, primarily about their recent behavior. Will it win them Miss Congeniality? Also, reaction to the rumored All-Stars edition! It's all inside! I want to start this week with a topic that seems to be on a lot of minds – the rumored upcoming “All-Star” edition of The Amazing Race. I don’t want to post the rumored contestant list, because it’s far from official and I don’t want to perpetuate it if it’s wrong (and I bet if you found this article you can find the list), but I have to tell you, I hope to God it’s not. It’s as if I went through the seasons and picked out my least favorite, most obnoxious, most grating, most irritating, least deserving of another shot teams and put them all on this list. Examples? How about Colin & friggin Christie, two people I would boot-scoot through broken glass to avoid? Or Charla & Mirna? What about Ray & Deana? Have we not gotten our quotient of obnoxious alpha males yet that we have to put them all together? There are only a couple of teams I can even say I liked (Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce stand out) but I don’t care to see them again. Where are the clowns? Where is the endearing older couple – take your pick? Or the NICE couples like Jon & Kelly? What about any of the best friend teams? Basically, where are the teams that didn’t annoy the unholy piss out of everyone? Sorry, folks, but if you enjoy this column, you should hope this doesn’t come to pass. If this rumored lineup shows up on The Amazing Race, then I’ll be watching something else. On a lighter note, I mentioned last week that I didn’t even know where Mauritius is, much less how to pronounce it. Well, a great reader emailed in with a neat bit of info about Mauritius – it was the home of the now-extinct dodo bird. I love little bits of trivia like this, so everyone feel free to keep ‘em coming if you have any that pertain to the race. I’m having trouble coming up with stuff to write about this week. When I asked my fiancée for ideas, all she could offer was, “it was lame.” Unfortunately, I had to agree. The Good: What’s Mine is Mine: Well, Kentucky is gone, and I can’t say I’m upset about it. Yes, I liked them a lot and wanted them to do well (and haven’t soured on them quite as much as some others have), but the simple fact is, it was time for them to go. Actually, it was past time for them to go, as they probably should have gone three weeks ago. The thing is, you can be my favorite team on the Race – and Kentucky was still one of my favorites, much as they grated – but that’s only half the battle. It IS still a race, contrary to how it looks sometimes this season. You have to actually race well. It’s why Chip & Kim are still my favorites ever, because they did well most of the time, and won, while stopping to enjoy the scenery. The Bad: Roadbuh-lock… Duh-umb: After a monster start of climbing up sheer rock faces and boating around marketplaces, the challenges have taken a rather pathetic turn the last couple of weeks. I know they can’t all be winners, but one would think they’d be a little more creative than first-grade scrapbooking! Moving mattresses that weren’t even real mattresses? Come on. I get the whole idea was to navigate the streets with these huge burdens, but it just struck me as lame. Free pass on the eating Fast Forward, though. Those never look easy. The Ugly: There She is, Miss Hypocritical: I like the Beauty Queens, I really do, and I’m thrilled that they’re defying the odds and coming in first, forget just staying in the game. But I sincerely hope that their “how dare they think of us as pretty faces even though we are” routine with the Cho Brothers was a joke, because I wanted to throw something at the television. It’s just like Charla & Mirna, or Sarah & Peter – if you use your advantage to benefit you, you’re not allowed to complain when people see you as just blonde beauty queens. Here’s another one – they steal someone else’s car (which *I* thought was against the rules, but who knows) because they didn’t want to ride in their own car, which they smashed up last episode. That’s right, they screwed up, and they let someone else suffer for it. Typical spoiled brat behavior, if you ask me, done by people who get whatever they want all the time and always get away with it with a quivering lip and a tear or two. What’s even more pathetic is that they KNEW that they were ditching the car at the airport at the next stop! The only reason they did it, just like with the ticket counter last episode, is to be brats. It’s funny occasionally, but repeatedly behaving the same way is a pattern.

Still don't like those damn "Beauty Queens." I hope the Cho brother cut the 'Bama moms loose and start running their own race. It makes me furious when they always say they "have to wait" for the rest of the Six Pack. Well, now that David and Mary are gone, the 'Bama moms won't think twice about ditching the Cho brothers.

The Amazing Race 10, Episode 8 Insider: Marty, the Penguins Are Psychotic by Heathyr Fields Ford -- 11/09/2006 David & Mary are finally gone, but what about their allies, the Cho Brothers and Lyn & Karlyn? We didn’t see it on TV, but each of them had some interesting things to say – especially the women. Read all about it right here. I like them, I like them! I liked them first! Before I even met them I liked them! As soon as I met them I liked them right away! You hate them compared to how much I like them!: No, not a clip, but a comment! David & Mary are gone, and I am not upset. They did remind me quite a bit of my ex-in-laws, and I am thrilled to see how much they grew and realized they could continue to grow from this experience. However, when push comes to shove, this is a race, and running the race well doesn’t make you “the devil,” Mary. I've got a bigger crown. It's got a gecko on it: And Karlyn feels entitled to wear the crown. This clip is hysterical, and everyone should go watch it. It’s actually called “Lyn & Karlyn Bicker Over Directions” but I’m going with a bold-font theme which may or may not relate ever to the content. Just go with it. Like your college boyfriend said, it’s easier that way. Right. Clip. Karlyn is waking up in the backseat and bitching out Lyn for following the Chos and not getting the right directions. Lyn tosses the map back to the now-awake Karlyn and tells Karlyn to stay awake and read the map then. Hee. Karlyn gets all nasty, but tells Lyn she has attitude. Lyn doesn’t take it lying down and tells Karlyn that all she does is bitch and complain. Karlyn whines that Lyn takes everyone’s opinion over Karlyn’s. I can actually understand that whine. It’s the “Hey, I’m the partner, the one you’re supposed to trust, and you never listen to me” whine. Sometimes ridiculous. Sometimes has a point. Here? Probably ridiculous. Lyn actually denies it, and we’ve got a lot of “do” and “do not” going on. Karlyn bitches (and complains!) that Lyn also didn’t tell the Chos that their idea was Karlyn’s first. See, she just wants the credit. It’s about a million dollars. So just race! Lyn tells Karlyn that Karlyn always thinks she is right and never wrong, and that Lyn is not the one always trying to belittle someone. Wow. Guess someone knows their racing partner, eh? I like a little fat on my steak. My sweet, juicy steak: Mary’s backpack is overweight, and she will have to check it. David, being all like logical and stuff, wants to take stuff out of it. Apparently, this is a VERY BAD THING if you are Mary. I have no idea why, but she gets all attitude on him for this totally logical thought. Cut to them away from the counter going through backpacks and doing things like wearing coats and second pairs of pants, and she still has the attitude, but they finally winnow it down enough, they think. She bitches that the teams in previous years who lost all their stuff were lucky. Uh, right. Sure. As they walk back to the ticket counter, Mary snarks that the woman can kiss her butt. Why? Because you can’t be bothered? Whatever. What is a bite on the butt amongst friends? : In the car, Tyler & James remark that the Back Pack and the Barbies (said without the total derisive nature that ‘Bama seems to inflict in the word) got a small jump. They took time to change to Madagascar money, apparently, so they are about five minutes behind. Not bad, and probably well worth it. They are not worried though, they tell us, because the Back Pack tends to jump out, then fall back, and Kentucky has a thirty-minute deficit. They do hypothesize that the other two teams would let Kentucky step on the mat first if they all got there first, which is probably accurate. Did he just say "Grand Central Station," or "My aunt's constipation"?: While eating cow lips, Rob reminds Kimberly of a story his mom tells. Apparently, when seeing his dad before they were married, she went to his family’s home in Mexico, and of course, it’s very impolite to not like the food you are served. Well, she was served cow tongue soup, which to these teams probably sounds scrumptious, and her theory was to cut the tongue into tiny pieces and swallow them whole and smile while doing it. Heh. Kimberly gets more nauseated just at the reminder of the story and cutely tells him to stop. He doesn’t really, but he moves away from her and tells it more to the camera. What does Connecticut have to offer us? : Tyler & James and Rob & Kimberly plan ahead for the final four teams, hypothesizing that the other two in the final four will be Dustin & Kandice and Erwin & Godwin. They assume that Kentucky and Alabama will be gone next. I certainly hope they are right. One of the Zoolanders suggests Yielding the Chos, but the other three remark that Dustin & Kandice are tough competitors, probably more so than the Chos. So, they hatch a Rob Mariano-worthy plan: They will bring the beauty queens in and say they’re all going to Yield the Chos, but if Zoolander or Rob & Kimberly land at the Yield before Dustin & Kandice, the Barbies get Yielded. Ah conniving, how I love thee. This all assumes that they’ll have a Yield this race, obviously, but they assume so. I’d have thrown all assumptions out the window when Bilal and Sa’eed were ousted hours into the race, personally. Rant: By the way, let me rant on CBS and the Amazing Race staff just a bit again. You totally undercut the oomph of your damned 30-minute penalty idea by putting in Fast Forwards right after non-elimination legs. That’s STUPID. Also, the Intersection? Great idea, poorly executed. Band them together for longer. Have it end only after they get to the mat. Then, make it a double-elimination. Better yet, make it a double non-elimination leg, wherein the last place partnership both start off with 30-minute deficits and now have to be pretty cutthroat with each other and the rest. They totally would need first and second place with a huge lead to avoid elimination. MAKE IT HURT! And this week’s Fast Forward versus the Detour and Roadblock? Lame. This was not a true Fast Forward that gave a good time advantage but had risk, simply because the Detour and Roadblock were too easy and quick. End of rant. They've come to kill us! And take our women! And our precious metals!: We see a brief “action” clip of Dustin running by Godwin and him asking her something I can’t quite make out, and she answers something about having to look for it. Then, we cut to the beauty queens post-race. Dustin frets slightly that she misunderstood Godwin on the stairs. She thought he was asking about the stamps, because they were walking from the direction of the clue box. She assumed, she tells us, that he had the clue. She worries that he thinks she blew him off when it was really a misunderstanding. Cut to Godwin in the cab being a bit self-righteous. He states that Dustin told him a bald-faced lie, but that was to be expected. The clue was in her hand, but he asked her where the clue box was, he says. He takes people here with a grain of salt and pats himself on the back that it is not the way he would play it. Then he says what really stands out to me: he may not tell her the exact location, or anything, because they are a strong team but he wouldn’t out and out lie. Hmm, so it’s only okay to tell weak teams things? So doesn’t that mean that you are trying to take weak teams with you? Doesn’t that make you as devious as those who aren’t part of your Six Pack? Heh. He does backpedal some and figures that honestly, he probably would just point people to it, unless it was like the last leg. He figures once you lie, you ruin your credibility. Yeah, but dude, it’s a race. On the last leg, he even admits he’d point Kentucky or Alabama in the right direction, but with the others, he probably wouldn’t say anything. Whoa! Hold up there a second, fuzzbucket. You mean like, uh, the "live in a mud hut, wipe yourself with a leaf" type wild? : Post-leg, Dustin & Kandice appreciate their luck. Dustin remarks that it breaks your heart to see kids lacking for money for necessities like food. She wants to come back here, or somewhere like here with need, to help some day. She then says she will, not just she wants to. I like that. Kandice agrees, but also says that despite all that they go through, these are the happiest people she’s seen. Happier even than people where she lives. Yep, it’s because we truly don’t get how fortunate we are, most the time, so we become entitled prisses. She also says how hard it is to see all this poverty when they’re actually racing for a million dollars. Oh totally, that’s what would pull me up short. That’s more than most of them will ever see, and we’re running willy-nilly and getting help from them, and even if we don’t win, when the race is over, we go back to lives with more fortune in it then they have, but we don’t see it. I like that she noted that. Dustin says the race changes you. She’s more thankful for everything she has. I like you two, really I do, but I would be a hypocrite if I did not remark that sometimes, you two need to shut the hell up. Seriously. The Asian/paper comment? Only good if you know someone really well. Being irked that someone wants you to get the help because you’re the pretty girls? Sorry. You’ve got it, you use it, don’t be upset that someone else wants to use it too. Duh. Bottom line though, you two seem willing to take and learn from your errors, so I’m holding on to hope for you. This is all some kind of whacked-out conspiracy: Dustin & Kandice remark that David told them, “I’m not out yet,” after getting another non-elimination. They say they told him good for them, because they feel it is nice to be supportive. Besides, Kandice says, David & Mary were not on the top of their list to go home. However, we are told that in the background as this conversation was happening, Karlyn was going “F-A-K-E. F-A-K-E.” Kandice feels like that was high school in Georgia all over again, and she is visibly irked and upset, and just says she doesn’t even want to go there. I want to see that clip, because if it happened like that, and I have no reason to doubt them, then I really think Alabama is low. That’s just childish. I already disbelieved their moral high ground, but now I can’t believe they even think they can claim any! I have to compete with Shamu and his smug little grin: Lyn & Karlyn post-leg talk about David & Mary. Actually, Lyn talks about them. She says they are unique, selfless individuals, and that in the midst of having the desire to win, they took the time to stop and look around. Okay, I’ll give you that, but that’s not unique. I point you to the beauty queens’ remarks about being touched enough to want to come back. And to the team that spent extra time at McCain’s uniform. In short, you can do that without sacrificing racing. David & Mary sacrificed racing to do it. Lyn continues that it is not in David & Mary to be ugly, a statement I disagree with. It’s in everyone to be ugly. They seem relatively nice, yes, but they were ugly some times here. Lyn loves Mary because she’s up front and just speaks her mind. And sometimes, Lyn, that’s UGLY. Like how she “spoke her mind” to David all the time. But yes, most the time, it is refreshing. And amusing. Lyn gives a few examples and Karlyn finally chimes in with something. Lyn concludes that they’re just good people. Yeah! You don't see that on Animal Planet: David & Mary’s final words. Mary is proud of how she ran the race. She didn’t want to be a quitter and a crier, and the only reason she’s crying now is because she’s going home, not because she’s wanting to quit. David restates that he works in the coal mines, and that he hasn’t had more than a one week vacation in years. He laughs that it’s the hardest vacation ever. Mary says she’s proof anyone can do this race, as she’s not physically fit, has never gone anywhere, etc. She ends by proclaiming that anyone, anywhere could do this race. While they bugged me, especially towards the end, and I do not believe they are nearly as saintly as being painted, I also appreciate how much they got out of this for their own personal growth. May doors and opportunities open up for you while it slams in Karlyn’s face. No, I don’t seriously want that to happen. I think she’s a hypocrite and a horrible person by and large, but I don’t wish her ill in life. May she get what she’s looking for, as long as it’s not lasting much longer in The Amazing Race!

The Amazing Race 10, Episode 8 First Class and Cargo Class Awards: Would You Like Some Teeth With Your Lips? by Sandy Lamparello -- 11/09/2006 Episode 8 of The Amazing Race 10 found our racers traveling from the tiny island nation of Mauritius to the larger island nation of Madagascar. The Intersection presented a new challenge for the teams, and completion of a Fast Forward did not mean a first place finish. As usual, there were First Class performances, and Cargo Class performances. Click here to find out which teams get this week’s awards! The latest leg of The Amazing Race was full of interesting events, wasn’t it? The Intersection made for a nice new twist, as teams were given no choice but to work together for a portion of the leg. By now you’ve surely read Jenn’s excellent-as-usual recap, so it’s time to move on to the awards! I had a hard time deciding who to seat in First Class this week. I don’t know if it was the added dynamic of the Intersection, or if no one team really stood out. However, I finally decided to be a bit unconventional and award First Class to Rob & Kimberly. Weren’t expecting that, were you? I’ve made no secret about the fact that up to this point, Kimberly & Rob have been a completely annoying team. Which, of course, is typical of the “Let’s go on the race to figure out our relationship status” teams. As a sidenote, how annoying is it that those teams have usually made it deep into the race? Not only do we have to listen to them bicker, but we often have to listen to it until the bitter end of the race. On this leg, however, Rob & Kimberly miraculously put their bickering aside. They had already teamed up with Tyler & James before the Intersection, and arrived together at the Intersection clue box. They chose to complete the Fast Forward task, and didn’t waste any time heading over there. I was waiting for Kimberly & Rob to start arguing about whether to attempt it, but to their credit they did not. Even more remarkable than their easy agreement to attempt the Fast Forward was their behavior once they started chowing down on their big ol’ plate of cow lips, complete with teeth and hair. It was clearly a very difficult task, and Kimberly even threw up. But she never gave up, and eventually ate everything that was on her plate. She could very well have refused to finish eating, and since another team would have to return to the Detour/Roadblock tasks with them, there was a good chance Kimberly & Rob would have been able to avoid Philimination had she done so. Rob’s behavior on this leg deserves even more praise than Kimberly’s, however. I’ve come to expect Rob to react to an adverse situation by becoming critical of his partner. I fully expected that, when he realized that Kimberly was having trouble finishing her cow lips, he would start yelling at her. However, Rob realized that this was the time he needed to back off and let Kimberly work through the task on her own. Even though they didn’t finish in first or second place, they showed a lot of heart and determination in completing the Fast Forward. So, for finally acting like a pair instead of bickering through the whole leg, Rob & Kimberly, take your places in the comfort of First Class. Kick back, relax, and enjoy the in-flight treats. Hopefully you’ve learned something on this leg that will last throughout the rest of the race. Cargo Class this week seems like piling on, but I have to award it to the Philiminated team of David & Mary. While I do like them as people, and I think they added a lot to the season, they just weren’t cut out for this race. They admitted several times that they would gladly give up the money for the friends they made on the race. While extremely admirable in real life, it’s not good race behavior. Whenever I see a “We’re just on this for the experience and don’t want the money” team it drives me crazy. I know several people who have applied to be on The Amazing Race who would have both enjoyed the experience and remembered the purpose of being there. I don’t like to see a team who doesn’t have the money as their ultimate goal take the spot of any number of other teams who understand the purpose of the race. Although Mary & David were a likeable team, they also had their moments of bickering far too often on the race. I realize they were experiencing things they never imagined they would, but there were many times along the way that they could have worked together better. This continued right down to their last Detour task. David & Mary (along with Lyn & Karlyn, of course) used very poor strategy during the Long Sleep task. In fact, they reversed the strategy they should have used by covering the mattresses in pairs and then trying to carry them as a foursome. The smarter way to proceed would have been to have everyone assist in covering the mattresses, and then have each pair carry four to the house. (This was the strategy employed effectively by Dustin & Kandice and Erwin & Godwin.) Trying to carry all eight mattresses at the same time was a recipe for disaster from the start. Mary & David lasted far longer on the race than I expected but they really didn’t use good strategy along the way. They were obviously aided in their journey by the two non-Philimination legs, but their time had definitely come by this week. So, even though I’ll miss them, I can’t really say it’s a bad outcome. Unfortunately, David & Mary, you’ll have to take your places under the plane. I heard you received some pretty nice gifts from the ladies at The View, so you’ll be just fine. I’ll miss you on the race! Next week, Lyn & Karlyn get messages from home, and teams get stuck in the mud.