The Amazing Race: Hi, I'm Sorry. I'm in a Race
Another season of The Amazing Race has come to a close and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Not just because there were a lot of hot women this season, but also because there was no team that I just completely hated. I know a lot of people enjoy it when a season has a good villain, but I like it best when they are all at least somewhat likable. True, I did not care for Chad at all as he was quite the spiteful jerk, but I liked Stephanie. And I never liked Thomas this season, but Jill was so cute and sweet that I could not hate the team. Thomas was such a putz in his attitude and the way he treated her that it was tough to like him. So overall we had three final teams and only one jerk left and that jerk was Thomas.
But I am getting ahead of myself here. Since I have never recapped AR before let me bring you non-viewers up to speed. Last night started in Seoul South Korea with the final three teams: Evil Thomas and hot babe Jill, the sexy doctors Nat & Kat and the exuberant home shopping hosts sexy Brook and Claire. The clue had them all leaving Seoul and heading off to L.A. for the final leg. All teams grouped up on the same plane and headed home. At the airport Thomas noted that there was no way he was going to lose to either of the two all female teams that were left. Attention viewers, we have foreshadowing.
As the teams got off the plane at LAX Nat & Kat took the early lead, hopped in a taxi and headed off to the Port of Long Beach. Teams had to take a teeny tiny elevator to the top of a gantry crane where they then had to do a tandem bungee jump over the water. Nat (and her incredible fear of heights) was not pleased. Nat looked absolutely petrified standing at the top of the gantry, but Kat gave her the support she needed and the jump was made. Nat was pleased as punch when she finally was back on the ground and was very thankful for asphalt as she so eloquently stated. I have to add that when Brook & Claire went Brook let out screams that sounded pretty much what I would have expected of my self had I been tossed off a gantry 150 feet in the air.
Once the clue was received teams knew they had to take a helicopter to a mystery destination. That destination ultimately proved to be the Rose Bowl in Pasadena where teams had a road block in front of them. The task was to assist in putting flowers on a float for the Rose Parade. Now, I know this season was filmed in May & June of this year so my question is this: do they really put the flowers on that early? Won’t the flowers wither and die before January 1st 2011? Regardless, each team made quick work of the flowers and Brook got to see another beauty queen and went nuts. Was there ever an episode this season when Brook was not perky and thrilled beyond belief? No, I didn’t think so.
Up to this point the finale was fun, if a bit unspectacular compared to all the fun we had had this season. But, then things changed. First we had Thomas admitting he had made a mistake in choosing to do this challenge and complaining that he should have had Jill do it. Not that Thomas did a bad job, but I think he was thinking that it would have been a football related challenge. Thomas sees himself as having a much higher intelligence than Jill (though I find that debatable) and thinks he would always do better so it was a bit odd to me seeing him admit that Jill would have fared better with the flowers. I hesitate to say he was being sexist since he was working with flowers, but if you are drawn to that conclusion then so be it.
Nat & Kat left first (I am spotting a trend here) and the next clue was actually a bit of a game. There were three clues:
1. I am Sancho Panza’s master (answer: Don Quixote)
2. I am the place to hear the Symphony in the Glen (a: Stage in Griffith Park)
3. Monroe’s Year of the Itch (a: Seven)
Once they figured these out they would piece them together so they would know to go Quixote Studios Stage 7.
Nat & Kat asked their cabbie to use his phone and called some sort of information line (probably a library) and told the woman she was in a race and needed help. After a little convincing the woman helped her out and gave her the Don Quixote answer. They asked the cabbie if there was a Quixote Studios and he said yes and took them there.
Brook and Claire had their cabbie take them to a hotel where they were able to retrieve the information there using the internet. But poor Thomas and Jill got possibly the worst cabbie in all of L.A. He barely spoke English and told them he had never heard of Google or the internet. Why they continued to drive around with this cab driver is beyond me. They seemed to think the more they spoke to him that he would have figured it out, but all the cabbie offered was his GPS which was useless. “I have GPS” he said and Thomas just screamed in frustration as Jill buried her head. Then Thomas had the driver stop so he could yell at random people on the street to see if they had internet access. I found it ironic that at the end of a race around the world Thomas & Jill would have the most trouble with a cab driver in their own country.
But this proves my point, I think, that Thomas is in no way intellectually superior to Jill because he never thought to ask the cabbie to drive them to a hotel, an internet café or even a Starbucks. How many people are sitting in a Starbucks on any given day in America? How many Starbucks are there in the greater L.A. area? My gut instinct tells me that some poor college student doing his/her homework would have helped them out. Instead, they floundered and we never even saw them get to Quixote Studios, although we did get to see them finish third a little later. But which of the two all female teams won?
Again, Nat & Kat arrived at Stage 7 first where they were greeted by none other than Bob Eubanks. (Apparently Wink Martindale was busy) The challenge was played like a game show in which each team had to identify each greeter that met them at each and every pit stop. The twist was that they had moving photos of 48 different greeters and had to pick the correct 11 in the correct order. Nat & Kat had taken very good notes and made seemingly quick work of the puzzle and got their clue (and hugs) from Bob. Then it was off to the finish line at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills for the million bucks.
By the time Brook and Claire arrived at Studio 7 and greeted Bob Eubanks with screams, jumping and hugs Nat & Kat were well on their way, albeit stuck in the notorious L.A. traffic. Brook told Bob “you’re like, our idol!” Bob, always quick with the witty reply, said that “you’re mine too”. (More hugs) Brook & Claire had also taken notes and made mincemeat out of the challenge followed by more hugs. Poor Bob getting hugged by beautiful women. Must be tough.
(On a side note, every time I use the term mincemeat I am reminded of Klondike Kat and him chasing that little mouse all over the place. Remember the little mouse was named Savoir Faire and he would always say “Savoir Faire is everywhere” while Klondike Kat would try to stop him from stealing food and would say “I’ll make mincemeat out of that mouse!” Please don’t tell me I am the only one that remembers that cartoon.)
Okay, back to the race. I don’t think it was that close at the end, although the producers seemed to make it look that way. We saw the finish line and the suspense was building. We saw all of the fallen teams waiting and cheering on the winning team. We saw Phil and Browsie waiting on the mat to give the first team to arrive the good news. Who would it be? From around the corner we saw Nat & Kat making their triumphant run to the mat and thereby winning the 17th edition of The Amazing Race and the $1 million prize. Victory for an all female team at last!
Like I said, I don’t think it was that close at the end and when we saw Brook & Claire arrive a little bit later even more history was made when the first two places in the race went to all female teams. Jill & Thomas came in third and it appeared to me to be substantially later when they arrived, not that it mattered.
So season 17 has come to a close and Phil teased us a little about the next installment which is entitled The Amazing Race Unfinished Business. It is an all star edition with what appears to be teams that finished near the top, but failed to win in previous seasons. It was hard to tell how many teams there would be and how many from this past season, but my hope is that Brook & Claire are back because they are just plain fun to watch. Just so you know, that season of AR began filming in November and is still currently filming. Phil gave us the premiere date of February 20th 2011. See you then.
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