Thinking Smart in Episode 6
The Amazing Race All-Stars: Thinking Smart in Episode 6 by Jeffrey Clinard -- 03/30/2007 Smart thinking is becoming more and more important on the race, but some teams aren’t doing as well as they could be in the cerebral department. Why were Charla & Mirna the smartest racers this week? Of the many things teams can do to gain an edge in the race, one of them is minimize their risk of losing seating on a plane by camping out in front of a ticket agent all night long. It puts them at the front of the queue, with the first chance to buy any available seats. Another thing teams can do is take chances of flying to a hub city, even without confirmed seats for the rest of the leg. It can kill teams (like David & Jeff in The Amazing Race 4) or it can pay off with a huge advantage, like Charla & Mirna. One things teams can’t fight is bad luck when getting seats on standby flights. Teams can ask for priority standby, but that’s about it. Teams have lost the race because they couldn't get needed seating, like Lyn & Karlyn in The Amazing Race 10. Teri & Ian and Joe & Bill also got hit with this situation. While Teri & Ian were eliminated, Joe & Bill are in a bad position unless there is a major delay at some point in the next leg of the race. The situation that occurred in this leg is a producer’s nightmare, as they want a nice, tight race without teams falling 24 hours behind or getting 24 hours ahead of other teams. It’s why they have hours of operation, and often provide tickets on routes which tend to be sold out (though often allowing teams to get better flights if they can). Something went very wrong in this leg, with a “bad weather”-forced delay that kept Charla & Mirna from winning the leg too early, and probably knocking out two teams who couldn’t get seating. The Roadblock was another challenge using native weapons, while the Detour was a choice between hauling logs or solving a puzzle. Which was faster? Well, only Dustin & Kandice elected to haul the logs, and they finished over 30 minutes behind Uchenna & Joyce, who they were tied with going into the Detour. So it seems like solving the puzzle was the faster of the two tasks. Joe & Bill went at it very intelligently, sorting the pieces into colors and solving it much faster than Teri & Ian. At this point, a few teams are well ahead of the others, and a few are way behind and need some kind of delay in order to get a chance to win. What did teams do that put them in this position? Who was thinking smart in Episode 6? Charla & Mirna: The cousins took a chance, and it paid off with a huge lead at one point, to the point where their boat ride was either deliberately delayed, or only bad weather prevented them from taking a commanding lead in the race. Their chance was a good one, as their hub city was a large one, and they breezed through the rest of the leg. They earned their first-place finish every step of the way. Oswald & Danny: This team didn’t take the same chance as the cousins, but were able to outrace the others teams in their group to obtain a ride on the first boat. Given the time between sailings, it was clear they’d either come in first or second on the leg. They raced well, but not as well as Charla & Mirna, and they really shouldn’t have stopped for fruit while still racing. Uchenna & Joyce: The married couple didn’t have the best luck in the race, but they had enough to leave three teams behind at the airport while they continued to race. They weren’t fast enough to snag the first sailing time, but were on the second one. They picked a faster Detour option and gained over a half hour on their closest competition, Dustin & Kandice. It let them beat the marked-for-elimination penalty and come in third place at the same time. Dustin & Kandice: The beauty queens ran a solid enough leg to come in fourth place, though they stumbled along the way. They were fortunate enough to get seating on the second flight out, but picked the slow Detour option and lost some time to Uchenna & Joyce. Still, they have a fairly good position at this point in the race and are probably safe for another few legs. Eric & Danielle: This team had the bad luck to be kicked out of their aircraft, despite Eric’s offer of $50 to people who would give up their seats. It was a smart offer to make, even though it didn’t work. It did allow them to get priority standby on the next flight. They were lucky they didn’t have to wait for the trailing teams for a sailing time, and their position was pretty much locked into place by the time they reached the Detour. The only question is if they can recover the time they lost. Joe & Bill: Team Guido is on the rocks, and it started with terrible luck at getting aircraft seating. This put them in a tie for dead last with Teri & Ian, and at a huge time disadvantage going into the next leg. They did solve the puzzle intelligently and quickly, and used that to avoid elimination, but they may be so far behind right now they’ll never catch up - just like in their original season. Teri & Ian: What went wrong? Actually, they did a lot of things right, like sleeping out at the airport to try to get the first tickets. They failed to take the chance on the route Charla & Mirna took, and wound up not getting seats on either of the next two flights, losing over 24 hours in the process. They compounded their situation with a hunt-and-peck strategy with the puzzle, and pretty much lost the race right there. They were not a bad team, but a few bad choices and a lot of bad luck eliminated them.
The Amazing Race All-Stars: Thinking Smart in Episode 6 by Jeffrey Clinard -- 03/30/2007 Smart thinking is becoming more and more important on the race, but some teams aren’t doing as well as they could be in the cerebral department. Why were Charla & Mirna the smartest racers this week? Of the many things teams can do to gain an edge in the race, one of them is minimize their risk of losing seating on a plane by camping out in front of a ticket agent all night long. It puts them at the front of the queue, with the first chance to buy any available seats. Another thing teams can do is take chances of flying to a hub city, even without confirmed seats for the rest of the leg. It can kill teams (like David & Jeff in The Amazing Race 4) or it can pay off with a huge advantage, like Charla & Mirna. One things teams can’t fight is bad luck when getting seats on standby flights. Teams can ask for priority standby, but that’s about it. Teams have lost the race because they couldn't get needed seating, like Lyn & Karlyn in The Amazing Race 10. Teri & Ian and Joe & Bill also got hit with this situation. While Teri & Ian were eliminated, Joe & Bill are in a bad position unless there is a major delay at some point in the next leg of the race. The situation that occurred in this leg is a producer’s nightmare, as they want a nice, tight race without teams falling 24 hours behind or getting 24 hours ahead of other teams. It’s why they have hours of operation, and often provide tickets on routes which tend to be sold out (though often allowing teams to get better flights if they can). Something went very wrong in this leg, with a “bad weather”-forced delay that kept Charla & Mirna from winning the leg too early, and probably knocking out two teams who couldn’t get seating. The Roadblock was another challenge using native weapons, while the Detour was a choice between hauling logs or solving a puzzle. Which was faster? Well, only Dustin & Kandice elected to haul the logs, and they finished over 30 minutes behind Uchenna & Joyce, who they were tied with going into the Detour. So it seems like solving the puzzle was the faster of the two tasks. Joe & Bill went at it very intelligently, sorting the pieces into colors and solving it much faster than Teri & Ian. At this point, a few teams are well ahead of the others, and a few are way behind and need some kind of delay in order to get a chance to win. What did teams do that put them in this position? Who was thinking smart in Episode 6? Charla & Mirna: The cousins took a chance, and it paid off with a huge lead at one point, to the point where their boat ride was either deliberately delayed, or only bad weather prevented them from taking a commanding lead in the race. Their chance was a good one, as their hub city was a large one, and they breezed through the rest of the leg. They earned their first-place finish every step of the way. Oswald & Danny: This team didn’t take the same chance as the cousins, but were able to outrace the others teams in their group to obtain a ride on the first boat. Given the time between sailings, it was clear they’d either come in first or second on the leg. They raced well, but not as well as Charla & Mirna, and they really shouldn’t have stopped for fruit while still racing. Uchenna & Joyce: The married couple didn’t have the best luck in the race, but they had enough to leave three teams behind at the airport while they continued to race. They weren’t fast enough to snag the first sailing time, but were on the second one. They picked a faster Detour option and gained over a half hour on their closest competition, Dustin & Kandice. It let them beat the marked-for-elimination penalty and come in third place at the same time. Dustin & Kandice: The beauty queens ran a solid enough leg to come in fourth place, though they stumbled along the way. They were fortunate enough to get seating on the second flight out, but picked the slow Detour option and lost some time to Uchenna & Joyce. Still, they have a fairly good position at this point in the race and are probably safe for another few legs. Eric & Danielle: This team had the bad luck to be kicked out of their aircraft, despite Eric’s offer of $50 to people who would give up their seats. It was a smart offer to make, even though it didn’t work. It did allow them to get priority standby on the next flight. They were lucky they didn’t have to wait for the trailing teams for a sailing time, and their position was pretty much locked into place by the time they reached the Detour. The only question is if they can recover the time they lost. Joe & Bill: Team Guido is on the rocks, and it started with terrible luck at getting aircraft seating. This put them in a tie for dead last with Teri & Ian, and at a huge time disadvantage going into the next leg. They did solve the puzzle intelligently and quickly, and used that to avoid elimination, but they may be so far behind right now they’ll never catch up - just like in their original season. Teri & Ian: What went wrong? Actually, they did a lot of things right, like sleeping out at the airport to try to get the first tickets. They failed to take the chance on the route Charla & Mirna took, and wound up not getting seats on either of the next two flights, losing over 24 hours in the process. They compounded their situation with a hunt-and-peck strategy with the puzzle, and pretty much lost the race right there. They were not a bad team, but a few bad choices and a lot of bad luck eliminated them.