Amazing Race 17 Recap
By Daron Aldridge
September 27, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Hopefully, you checked out the preliminary introductions from last week because in the interest of space to cover a 90-minute premiere, I won’t be dwelling too much on the giving team background. But, optimistically, there will be enough description so you can tell all the parent/child teams and dating couples apart. Once again, as recapper, I reserve the right to admit fault in my snap judgments and predictions.
After a prolonged panoramic shot of our first departure from the Massachusetts coast the teams converge on the starting live by way of boat. We are officially introduced to the teams:
Team HSN of Brook & Claire, best friends and television shopping network co-hosts;
Dating couple Chad & Stephanie, who I peg to be the most volatile on the race;
Pro volleyball players Katie & Rachel, who should perform well together and may win it all;
Team Glee of Connor & Jonathan, who are Ivy League singers and apparently the producers' answer to making the Race appeal to Glee fans;
Doctors Kat & Nat, best friends and co-workers;
Father/son Michael & Kevin, who use their generational/cultural differences for online entertainment;
Heavily tattooed dating couple Nick & Vicki;
Best friends and stage thespians Ron & Tony;
Dating couple Jill & Thomas, who may be harmonious or hateful on the race;
Dad/daughter Gary & Mallory, who is the reigning Miss Kentucky; and
Andie & Jenna, the team that has the heart-tugging story that they are a recently reunited biological mother and the daughter she gave up for adoption.
Our accented host, Phil Keoghan, is waiting for them and breaks down the race, including a new twist in the form of the Express Pass. This new wrinkle gives the team that arrives in first place at the first pit stop the freedom to play their Express Pass at any future challenge, which allows them to completely bypass it and get their next clue. I like that the producers are upping the ante on the teams who happily tread water in the middle of the pack. Let’s see how hard they will race now.
With the dropping of Phil’s arm and an accented "Go," the teams start the race and head to Logan airport to catch one of two flights, the first of which only has room for three teams and arrives 30 minutes earlier in London on their way to Stonehenge.
In no discernible order of who’s leading whom, the teams scramble down the Massachusetts coast toward the airport. We learn that this is only the third time that Andie & Jenna have met. If they make it fairly deep into the race, then I will be very impressed because the teams that work well with one another and play off their known strengths are the strongest ones. Andie & Jenna have to make up for months and years of knowing their partner to be at the same point as their competition.
The first team to arrive in at the pre-flight shuttle are friends Ron & Tony, followed shortly behind by dating couples Chad & Stephanie and Jill & Thomas. Ron & Tony are officially the first team on the first flight. We then cut to an ear-piercing sessions yammering for the shuttle to leave from Mallory (with dad Gary sitting quietly by) and Team HSN’s Claire. Grating is the best word to describe this instance.
Thanks to Stephanie’s near catastrophic decision to wait in the big long line of passengers as opposed to Chad’s insistence to look for the flags, Jill & Thomas claim the second set of seats on flight one and Chad & Stephanie narrowly beat volleyballers Katie & Rachel for the last seats. The girls head to their flight, where all the other teams have arrived except Connor & Jonathan. Whether I get anything else right on this season, I accurately named these guys Team Glee, which the other teams also labeled them. I will wear that as a badge of honor.
Everybody is in the air and we make the first airport departure without either flight being delayed. After flight one touches down, Jill & Thomas are in the car and out the garage first. Ron & Tony wisely stop to get a map and their bearings before heading out and Chad & Stephanie are living up to my snap judgment that his hotheadedness will be their downfall. They are still circling the airport aimlessly, which appears to nullify their 30-minute lead, as we see the next plane full of teams land.
It’s time for a little more team insight: Team HSN’s Brook praises Claire for her ability to just adapt quickly to new situations. Meanwhile, we learn that doctors Nat & Kat must accommodate the complication that Nat is a Type 1 Diabetic on an insulin pump and its irregular schedule will be a huge obstacle for them.
I think I may have used the word “scramble” inaccurately to describe the teams in Massachusetts but scrambling is exactly what they are doing in London. Body art enthusiasts Nick & Vicki are lost, friends Ron & Tony are going in the completely wrong direction, and Chad & Stephanie are stopping by McDonald’s for directions.
And then we have Perfect Strangers Andie & Jenna, who are hoping that the ability to drive a manual transmission isn’t a hereditary trait. Bio-mom Andie’s skill at destroying a clutch on a new car leaves their team stranded in the middle of a London street. Refreshingly, Team Glee stops to see if they can get the car started again but unsuccessfully, so they head out. After a dramatic commercial break, Andie finally figures out to let out the clutch, which I believe is about the only extra step involved with driving a stick.
First flight team and dating couple Jill & Thomas overshoot Stonehenge by about ten miles (by the way, I love how the Englishman who helps them doesn’t bother giving them the distance in kilometers), which allows doctors Nat & Kat to arrive first at the cluebox. So, folks, that first flight advantage doesn’t mean squat if you can’t navigate your way to the destination.
The clue directs them to “Find the castle that is the opposite of Nor'easter” and Phil deciphers the riddle for us viewers as they are looking for Eastnor Castle. Dating Jill & Thomas and volleyballers Katie & Rachel get there next. The teams of ladies get their answer from a fellow who could easily have been an extra from Hot Fuzz and Jill & Thomas quickly use the Internet to surmise they are seeking Eastnor Castle.
Brook & Claire get their clue and catch up to Nat & Kat and hitch their costume jewelry wagon to the women doctors. We may have the initial alliance on the race. And one of the volleyballers (honestly, I can’t tell them apart yet) must be channeling Andie and her driving ineptitude as she is unable to get their car to go up a hill. So, the lesson here is that when America only buys automatics, we have a nation of people who can’t drive in foreign countries and have undeveloped left leg muscles due to non-use. (The last part is probably not true but it could be.)
Team Glee and Gary & Mallory arrive at Stonehenge next and decide to work together after getting an assist from a local with a great mobile Internet connection. Andie & Jenna show up as team seven and Chad’s jerkiness crops up with the accurate but unnecessarily sarcastic “I guess we’re not in third anymore” as they get their cluebox. It was clearly directed at Stephanie’s navigation skills. On their heels are Nick & Vicki and father/son Michael & Kevin.
Ron and Tony are officially in last place after their scenic English countryside drive and still haven’t found Stonehenge but first flightmates Jill & Thomas are now at Eastnor Castle with the doctors and HSN right there with them. Time for our first task and it’s right up the alley of any team that is a frequent patron of Renaissance fairs.
For “It’s time to storm the castle,” they have to climb a ladder up the wall of the castle while a bunch of overacting "peasants" throw water at them, and then cross a moat/river on an ancient boat and rope system where they will get their next clue from a knight in shining armor.
Brook & Claire get to the top of the castle first but only steps ahead of the other two teams. In case you forgot about them, we see that dad/daughter Gary & Mallory have experienced a flat tire and Team Glee has once again been faced with a decision to help another team or in this case stand and watch Gary change a tire. They opt for heading to the task and I don’t blame them, nor would I begrudge them if I was the other team. This is a race and at the end of the leg you have to make sure your team is on top or at least not last.
Back to the Castle, all the teams jump in their boats and of course sink because they rushed into the task and didn’t use the ropes to pull themselves across. Jill & Thomas are the first ones to figure out how to make this work. Chad & Stephanie and volleyballers Katie & Rachel make up ground on the navigation side of things as they show up at Eastnor Castle in fourth and fifth. Guess who’s finally at Stonehenge…Ron & Tony and the realization of how pathetically they have performed so far is sinking in.
With Thomas keeping the balance in the boat and being a cheerleader to Jill, who is steadily pulling them across, they are the first ones ashore. Unfortunately, for Chad & Stephanie they didn’t get to see the first three teams’ errors at the boats, so they duplicate it and Chad berates Stephanie over and over. Despite the fact that I think Stephanie is physically to blame for their screw-ups, she is 100% correct by telling him “You freakin’ out is not helping us at all.”
Perfect Strangers Andie & Jenna are still lost because they are looking for the wrong castle but Nick & Vicki aren’t faring much better. You of course know that Ron & Tony are languishing in last.
Jill & Thomas get the Roadblock first and it’s the doozy that was featured in the cringe-inducing previews for this season. For “Defeat the Warrior,” a teammate must launch bowling ball sized watermelons from an ancient water balloon launcher and knock down a suit of armor 50 feet away. Thomas steps up for his team and we all know that Claire is the one who takes the Roadblock head-on for her team. Dr. Nat assumes the role for her team.
Team Glee gets to the Castle and Jonathan asks with a serious face, “Do I have time to go bathroom or no?” I am not your teammate but the answer is “NO”. This is a dang race. Either hold it or just wet your pants.
Chad & Stephanie are about halfway across the moat as Team Beach Volleyball boards their boat. Stephanie is still overly concerned about water getting in their boat, which is weird because during the ladder portion of the task they got drenched. Thanks to the helpful onscreen text, we know that the battling couple has just failed their 12th attempt, which brings a smile to my face.
Thomas finishes the Roadblock before the ladies and he and Jill are off to the first pitstop, which is located somewhere on the grounds of Eastnor Castle. They quickly dart through some trees and are greeted by a knight in shining armor and a smiling Phil, who checks them in as team one and the recipients of the Express Pass. Thomas is elated and Jill seems pleased but is not exactly demonstrative or expressive. I hope she loosens up as the race progesses.
Rachel & Katie are sprinting to the Roadblock now, and Connor & Jonathan are proving that they are much more adept at river-crossing than angry Chad & Stephanie. Dr. Nat nails her knight and Phil proclaims, “The doctors are team number two.”
Father/son Michael & Kevin have arrived at the castle and being doused in dirty water as they make their way up the ladder.
Rachel is shooting melons for the volleyballers and Claire tries and tries again to finish for Team HSN. And whether it was edited that way or eerily prophetic, as Brook cheers on Claire with a “Right in the kisser, show that knight who’s boss,” the weaponry strikes back and slings the watermelon at full force back into Claire’s face. I have watched this clip many times on the preview and it never fails to make me wince and jump.
This occurrence had to be greeted by the producers with hosannas and praise to the reality TV gods, especially when teammate Brook, matter-of-factly tells her you have to finish and “they don’t call it the Amazing Race for nothing.” Thanks for the promo soundbite, Brook, I’m sure CBS will be cutting you a check for your efforts.
Connor mounts up for Team Glee and joins Rachel and freshly injured Claire at the Roadblock. Claire gets it done next and they leave for the Pitstop but Team Glee and volleyballers are all sprinting to the mat. Connor & Jonathan get the number three spot and Brook & Claire claim fourth. That means that Katie & Rachel take fifth place. To recap, Connor and Jonathan went from sixth at the castle to third at the pitstop. I think I and everyone else may have underestimated them. Bet they’re glad they decided against a potty break.
Chad is undoubtedly exerting this ever-present frustration toward the Roadblock and trying to not let anyone else pass them up but two parent/child teams are right behind them - Michael & Kevin at the river and Gary & Mallory at the castle wall.
Reunited Andie & Jenna have finally got a map and a clue, but not the one at the castle. Rather, the lightbulb seems to have lit up for them and are on the right path. They are faring better than Nick & Vicki and Ron & Tony.
Chad defeats his warrior and with the Pitstop directions not being specific, Chad declares, “I guarantee it’s on the other side of the castle.” It astounds me that they are the only ones that had any difficulty finding the mat.
Mallory & Gary pass Michael & Kevin, who have taken the boat-sinking mantle from Chad & Stephanie at this point. Andie & Jenna are at the castle and blow past the ladder and take on the river just as Nick & Vicki get there. Fortunately for the mom and daughter, Nick & Vicki can’t figure out where to find their flag on the battlement (or what a battlement is), even though it was literally right in front of them, as were the boats they are supposed to use, which look like turtle shells. Man, these guys are letting me down and I am not enjoying their mistakes as much as Chad & Stephanie wandering aimlessly about the castle grounds looking for the Pitstop. I think it is because Nick & Vicki seem to be more good-natured about their mistakes.
Jenna heads to the Roadblock for her team and Kevin & Gary are already there for their teams. Securely in last place we have Ron & Tony, who are heading to the moat crossing that Nick & Vicki are doing pretty well at now that they've found the boats.
Gary makes short work of the Roadblock as does Kevin, and that is the order they get to the mat. After squandering a good lead, Chad & Stephanie hit the pitstop with a Phil-endorsed eighth place. They tried really hard to prove me right in predicting they would be the first ones eliminated but it wasn’t meant to be. Luckily, they lived up to my dysfunctional assumption even though Chad declares they have to change their negative ways.
Jenna gets it done for her team and she and her biological mom have another leg to get reacquainted as they check in as team number nine. With little drama, it is easy to tell that Nick & Vicki will take number ten and Phil happily mocks their mental mess ups by asking Vicki what country they are in. Her answer: London. Yes, they are in the country of London. It was all in good fun and Nick & Vicki seem to be the first to laugh at themselves.
Ron & Tony are last place and the first team to be eliminated from Season 17 of the Amazing Race. I had higher hopes for these guys and thought they would be a bigger factor, but it won’t be the last time I am wrong.
Until the next episode, when the teams fight the streets and tasks in Ghana, have a great week.