Thinking Smart in Episode 4
The Amazing Race All-Stars: Thinking Smart in Episode 4 by Jeffrey Clinard -- 03/16/2007 Despite thinking smart, Rob & Amber were the most recent team eliminated from the race. Which teams made better choices? And which teams’ bad choices were only negated by the elimination of another team? One thing I always like to see is teams taking advantage of the slack time in the race. Rob & Amber used the Internet to find the shipwreck, while Joe & Bill got directions while waiting for their flight to depart. Uchenna & Joyce also got information while in flight, though Rob ended up stealing it (or, according to him, the flight attendant gave it to him). All of these are good moves that can help team quickly get to the next route marker. This week’s Detour had a choice of Navigate It or Sign It, with Navigate It clearly being the winner in terms of speed. All the teams that initially picked Navigate It gained time over their competitors, which led directly to better charter flight times. That gave the top teams enough advantage over the luck-based Roadblock task not to do more than shuffle up the order a bit. However, the Detour did illustrate when it was time to give up and take the other option. Several teams did that, admitting they had made a mistake in their task selection, but willing to cut their losses. Teams that admit they made a bad decision are usually better off than teams that continue to struggle with difficult tasks. I’ve made it clear in the past I hate luck-based Roadblocks, as teams can be eliminated by bad luck instead of bad racing. It’s partly what happened this time, as either Rob got unlucky or Mirna got lucky in finding their letter. Given Rob had a 20-minute advantage, luck was a factor, though it wasn’t the only thing that eliminated them. In a leg that went to the end of the world, which teams were thinking smart in episode 4? Oswald & Danny: The friends ran an error-free leg, making the best Detour option and getting to the airport in time to book the first charter flight. Once that was done, their position in the race was secured. With a bit of good luck at the Roadblock, they took first place. Overall, they are running mistake-free legs so far. Eric & Danielle: The dating couple ran a good leg, making smart decisions at the Detour and outracing most teams to the airport. They also made the first charter flight, which insured a good safety margin over the other teams. They took a solid second place and are racing well together. Teri & Ian: The married parents are showing their age has nothing to do with racing ability, as they continued to make good decisions. They were able to successfully plead with the airport ticket agents and got on the first flight out of Chile. After that, they took the fastest Detour and obtained the best charter flight. However, they did stumble when trying to find the route marker containing the Roadblock. If they hadn’t missed it the first time, they might have done even better than their third place rank. Bill & Joe: Team Guido made the most of their slow start. After being unable to obtain tickets on the first flight out of Chile, they made up a lot of time by picking the Navigate It Detour and used their compass correctly the first time. While it wasn’t enough to get on the first charter flight, they were able to grab a taxi quickly, which bought them some time. From there, they raced well, as they were the first of the teams on the second charter flight to make it to the Pit Stop. Dustin & Kandice: The beauty queens struggled in this leg, spending way too much time on the Sign It Detour, then getting lost with Rob & Amber along the way. However, they did race well at the end of the world, doing well enough to grab the fourth boat ticket, which gave them 20 minutes over two teams and 40 minutes over another. This helped keep them from being eliminated. Uchenna & Joyce: The married couple suffered from some of the same problems as the other teams, particularly when attempting the Sign It Detour. Unlike the others, they figured out what they were doing wrong and completed it, but not before they lost their chance at the first charter flight. After that they did OK, grabbing a taxi and getting the edge over Charla & Mirna and Rob & Amber. However, if their luck had been as bad as Rob’s during the Roadblock, they might have been eliminated. Charla & Mirna: The cousins continue to barely stave off elimination, but no matter where they are, they still manage to be rude and hypocritical. Not wanting to be around Joe & Bill because they “ditched them” in the last episode seems remarkably funny considering they thought nothing of ditching Mary & David a few episodes ago. Plus, they tried to steal a taxi Rob & Amber beat them to. Overall, they made a number of poor choices in the leg, starting with the Detour task, then only got lucky that Rob had terrible luck at the Roadblock. Rob & Amber: What went wrong? While they made a number of good decisions, like using the Internet to figure out where the shipwreck was and obtaining the directions from the flight attendant, they made a huge mistake by picking the Sign It Detour option. They then struggled with the Navigate It option, and then missed getting one of the first cabs at the end of the world. They ended up with terrible luck at the Roadblock, which helped lead to their elimination.
The Amazing Race All-Stars: Thinking Smart in Episode 4 by Jeffrey Clinard -- 03/16/2007 Despite thinking smart, Rob & Amber were the most recent team eliminated from the race. Which teams made better choices? And which teams’ bad choices were only negated by the elimination of another team? One thing I always like to see is teams taking advantage of the slack time in the race. Rob & Amber used the Internet to find the shipwreck, while Joe & Bill got directions while waiting for their flight to depart. Uchenna & Joyce also got information while in flight, though Rob ended up stealing it (or, according to him, the flight attendant gave it to him). All of these are good moves that can help team quickly get to the next route marker. This week’s Detour had a choice of Navigate It or Sign It, with Navigate It clearly being the winner in terms of speed. All the teams that initially picked Navigate It gained time over their competitors, which led directly to better charter flight times. That gave the top teams enough advantage over the luck-based Roadblock task not to do more than shuffle up the order a bit. However, the Detour did illustrate when it was time to give up and take the other option. Several teams did that, admitting they had made a mistake in their task selection, but willing to cut their losses. Teams that admit they made a bad decision are usually better off than teams that continue to struggle with difficult tasks. I’ve made it clear in the past I hate luck-based Roadblocks, as teams can be eliminated by bad luck instead of bad racing. It’s partly what happened this time, as either Rob got unlucky or Mirna got lucky in finding their letter. Given Rob had a 20-minute advantage, luck was a factor, though it wasn’t the only thing that eliminated them. In a leg that went to the end of the world, which teams were thinking smart in episode 4? Oswald & Danny: The friends ran an error-free leg, making the best Detour option and getting to the airport in time to book the first charter flight. Once that was done, their position in the race was secured. With a bit of good luck at the Roadblock, they took first place. Overall, they are running mistake-free legs so far. Eric & Danielle: The dating couple ran a good leg, making smart decisions at the Detour and outracing most teams to the airport. They also made the first charter flight, which insured a good safety margin over the other teams. They took a solid second place and are racing well together. Teri & Ian: The married parents are showing their age has nothing to do with racing ability, as they continued to make good decisions. They were able to successfully plead with the airport ticket agents and got on the first flight out of Chile. After that, they took the fastest Detour and obtained the best charter flight. However, they did stumble when trying to find the route marker containing the Roadblock. If they hadn’t missed it the first time, they might have done even better than their third place rank. Bill & Joe: Team Guido made the most of their slow start. After being unable to obtain tickets on the first flight out of Chile, they made up a lot of time by picking the Navigate It Detour and used their compass correctly the first time. While it wasn’t enough to get on the first charter flight, they were able to grab a taxi quickly, which bought them some time. From there, they raced well, as they were the first of the teams on the second charter flight to make it to the Pit Stop. Dustin & Kandice: The beauty queens struggled in this leg, spending way too much time on the Sign It Detour, then getting lost with Rob & Amber along the way. However, they did race well at the end of the world, doing well enough to grab the fourth boat ticket, which gave them 20 minutes over two teams and 40 minutes over another. This helped keep them from being eliminated. Uchenna & Joyce: The married couple suffered from some of the same problems as the other teams, particularly when attempting the Sign It Detour. Unlike the others, they figured out what they were doing wrong and completed it, but not before they lost their chance at the first charter flight. After that they did OK, grabbing a taxi and getting the edge over Charla & Mirna and Rob & Amber. However, if their luck had been as bad as Rob’s during the Roadblock, they might have been eliminated. Charla & Mirna: The cousins continue to barely stave off elimination, but no matter where they are, they still manage to be rude and hypocritical. Not wanting to be around Joe & Bill because they “ditched them” in the last episode seems remarkably funny considering they thought nothing of ditching Mary & David a few episodes ago. Plus, they tried to steal a taxi Rob & Amber beat them to. Overall, they made a number of poor choices in the leg, starting with the Detour task, then only got lucky that Rob had terrible luck at the Roadblock. Rob & Amber: What went wrong? While they made a number of good decisions, like using the Internet to figure out where the shipwreck was and obtaining the directions from the flight attendant, they made a huge mistake by picking the Sign It Detour option. They then struggled with the Navigate It option, and then missed getting one of the first cabs at the end of the world. They ended up with terrible luck at the Roadblock, which helped lead to their elimination.