Thinking Smart in Episode 11
The Amazing Race All-Stars: Thinking Smart in Episode 11 by Jeffrey Clinard -- 05/04/2007 It’s the final three, and everything that went on before has come down to the wire. All three teams have an equal chance to win the race (given the likely bottleneck in getting out of Guam) and it is up to the teams to win through better flights, navigation, and task selection. Which teams have been doing that well already? Getting to the final leg meant staying out of last place in episode 11. All teams had both an early and late advantage over Danny & Oswald, in that they were able to book the first set of tickets to Tokyo and then Guam. Danny & Oswald ended up catching up in Tokyo, with a tighter connection, but still made it. If their plane had been delayed, it would have been over at that point. That put everybody in a tie, but it also meant Danny & Oswald had to either be first, or gain a 30-minute advantage over another team. It was possible, but they ended up getting lost and the whole matter became irrelevant as they finished last again. Much of the leg was based on good navigation (both on the road and during a task) and proper task selection. The Detour had two options: Care Package or Engine Care. Engine Care was faster for most teams, even though it was hard work. It bypassed the entire 30-minute flight, which was decidedly more fun. I only say “for most teams” as I’m not sure Charla & Mirna could have completed Engine Care much faster than Care Package, given the need for close-quarters scrubbing. The Roadblock was all about navigation. I’m been on many geocaches, which use GPS devices to locate hidden caches of objects, and never had a problem using one. The only hindrance was that teams were not supposed to touch the buttons. The closer in you get, the more you need to use the ZOOM button to narrow down the location. Still, many teams struggled with the units, including Charla, who kept pushing the buttons (to the annoyance of her escort), and Danielle. One leg remains, and this time first place means $1,000,000. To get there, teams will need to think smarter than ever. Which teams were thinking smart in episode 11? Dustin & Kandice: The beauty queens have repeatedly said they wanted to be the first all-female team to win the race. Lots have said that, but the beauty queens have had the game play to back up their desire. Simply put, they ran a mistake-free leg. They get an “A” in everything from flights to navigation to task performance in this leg. It paid off with another first-place win. Eric & Danielle: This team also raced well, but were simply outperformed by Dustin & Kandice on the tasks, particularly the Roadblock. It’s a reminder that this is a team game, and sometimes teams race at the pace of the slowest member. Danielle struggled a great deal during the Roadblock and lost valuable time. The team also was slower to complete the Detour than the beauty queens. They deserved second place, but were outmatched in the leg. Charla & Mirna: The cousins did not perform well in the leg, but they did perform well enough to deserve third place. While they picked the slower Detour option, I’m not sure it was the wrong choice for this team. Charla simply doesn’t have the reach needed to clean the jet engine, but had no problem loading the care package. They left in last place, but made up the time when navigating to the naval base. While Charla struggled with the task, their superior navigation bought them the time advantage they needed to come in third. It helped they had a cushion with the penalty of Oswald & Danny, as they could afford to take a few extra moments to check directions. It was a third place, though in many legs it would have meant elimination. Danny & Oswald: What went wrong? Simply put, it was point-to-point navigation which killed any chance they had to either take first place or buy the 30 minutes needed to survive the leg. They did a better job on the tasks, but the game usually isn’t won or lost on them. Overall, this team suffered the same fate that killed them in Season 2 - a late breakdown in local navigation.
The Amazing Race All-Stars: Thinking Smart in Episode 11 by Jeffrey Clinard -- 05/04/2007 It’s the final three, and everything that went on before has come down to the wire. All three teams have an equal chance to win the race (given the likely bottleneck in getting out of Guam) and it is up to the teams to win through better flights, navigation, and task selection. Which teams have been doing that well already? Getting to the final leg meant staying out of last place in episode 11. All teams had both an early and late advantage over Danny & Oswald, in that they were able to book the first set of tickets to Tokyo and then Guam. Danny & Oswald ended up catching up in Tokyo, with a tighter connection, but still made it. If their plane had been delayed, it would have been over at that point. That put everybody in a tie, but it also meant Danny & Oswald had to either be first, or gain a 30-minute advantage over another team. It was possible, but they ended up getting lost and the whole matter became irrelevant as they finished last again. Much of the leg was based on good navigation (both on the road and during a task) and proper task selection. The Detour had two options: Care Package or Engine Care. Engine Care was faster for most teams, even though it was hard work. It bypassed the entire 30-minute flight, which was decidedly more fun. I only say “for most teams” as I’m not sure Charla & Mirna could have completed Engine Care much faster than Care Package, given the need for close-quarters scrubbing. The Roadblock was all about navigation. I’m been on many geocaches, which use GPS devices to locate hidden caches of objects, and never had a problem using one. The only hindrance was that teams were not supposed to touch the buttons. The closer in you get, the more you need to use the ZOOM button to narrow down the location. Still, many teams struggled with the units, including Charla, who kept pushing the buttons (to the annoyance of her escort), and Danielle. One leg remains, and this time first place means $1,000,000. To get there, teams will need to think smarter than ever. Which teams were thinking smart in episode 11? Dustin & Kandice: The beauty queens have repeatedly said they wanted to be the first all-female team to win the race. Lots have said that, but the beauty queens have had the game play to back up their desire. Simply put, they ran a mistake-free leg. They get an “A” in everything from flights to navigation to task performance in this leg. It paid off with another first-place win. Eric & Danielle: This team also raced well, but were simply outperformed by Dustin & Kandice on the tasks, particularly the Roadblock. It’s a reminder that this is a team game, and sometimes teams race at the pace of the slowest member. Danielle struggled a great deal during the Roadblock and lost valuable time. The team also was slower to complete the Detour than the beauty queens. They deserved second place, but were outmatched in the leg. Charla & Mirna: The cousins did not perform well in the leg, but they did perform well enough to deserve third place. While they picked the slower Detour option, I’m not sure it was the wrong choice for this team. Charla simply doesn’t have the reach needed to clean the jet engine, but had no problem loading the care package. They left in last place, but made up the time when navigating to the naval base. While Charla struggled with the task, their superior navigation bought them the time advantage they needed to come in third. It helped they had a cushion with the penalty of Oswald & Danny, as they could afford to take a few extra moments to check directions. It was a third place, though in many legs it would have meant elimination. Danny & Oswald: What went wrong? Simply put, it was point-to-point navigation which killed any chance they had to either take first place or buy the 30 minutes needed to survive the leg. They did a better job on the tasks, but the game usually isn’t won or lost on them. Overall, this team suffered the same fate that killed them in Season 2 - a late breakdown in local navigation.