The Amazing Race Recap
By Daron Aldridge
November 8, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Anyway, spared elimination last week in Mother Russia, Nick & Vicki need to catch a break to pull themselves out of last place. The illustrated couple was the only team checked in after the sunset, so they have their work cut out for them. Well, the luck of the Russian is apparently still shining on them, in the form of circus operating hours.
Our first place finishers Jill & Thomas rip in to the clue and leave the Pitstop for a circus. After being treated to a quick confessional interview that underscores this dating couple’s major problem (“He talks at me, instead of to me.”), they pull up to the big top only to find that it is closed until later that morning. This levels the playing field for all the teams.
Littered with over-caffeinated clowns, who seem to have gone to the Mime School for Highly-Irritating Behavior and with whom Team HSN’s Brook should feel right at home, the circus presents teams with this leg’s Detour – Circus Band or Circus Clown.
Both tasks are straightforward in description only. For Circus Band, the teams have to pick an instructor who will teach them a song on the accordion. For Circus Clown, they have to learn and perform a plate spinning routine, which consists of having ten plates spinning simultaneously atop what appears to be six-foot poles. Both tasks really require a calm setting but this is not even close to calm.
Adding to the chaotic atmosphere are the aforementioned clowns, who are distracting the teams while they work on their task. Based upon this and Nick’s confessed distaste of clowns, I think that one of these Bozos may end up with a fist to his red clown nose.
Initially, father/daughter Gary & Mallory and doctors Nat & Kat are the only ones to choose Circus Band. If the fates would allow and I was on the Race, I would definitely be pulling up a chair next to these teams. As usual, I would tend to go with the task that gives me more control over its success.
It doesn’t take long for a team to bail on the plate task and the first quitters are Jill & Thomas. I hate to say it, but I think that Thomas has an actual sound rationalization for switching – the tasks are at the same location and they should at least see what the other one involves.
Team HSN Brook & Claire finish their plate spinning and get the next cryptic clue. The teams have to find the place guarded by four creatures with golden wings. Meanwhile, Nat & Kat are explaining their brilliant approach to learning accordion. This involves them assigning numbers to each of the notes and then writing out the order to play them back. Making Steve Urkel proud, the lady doctors (not to be confused with a “lady’s doctor”) successfully do the task on the first performance.
Back in the big top, Chad asserts that he is not gentle enough for the task (my condolences, Stephanie) and they switch to the accordion, to which Chad offers the logical comparison to Guitar Hero. Meanwhile, Gary & Mallory and Jill & Thomas are slowly learning the song, which each one unhappily groans about when they learn it has three different parts.
From last to third, Nick & Vicki overcome their many-a-plate crashing to the floor technique and are recovering from starting the leg in last place.
The slow and methodical accordion skills of Gary finally pay off as he and Mallory are the fourth team done at the Detour, followed by the other parenting pair Michael & Kevin who conquer the Clown task. This leaves the two teams who switched their tasks bringing up the rear.
Team HSN pulls up to the Bank Bridge for the next clue and gets a full set of instructions. The producers have decided to make the task a bit more difficult. The clue directs them to go on foot to the Prospekt Tower and while they can ask locals for directions, they are prohibited from paying a taxi to show them the way. At the tower, only two teams at a time can go up to the top and must figure out that the figurine on the ledge is pointing them to the “Church on Spilled Blood,” which they also have to walk to. Given that Phil specifically explains to the no-paying-a-cab rule, I think we will be looking at our first time penalty this season, which is an improvement over the wealth of them last season. Also, I have to say that I am impressed that the producers have stepped it up on the tasks this season. They are possibly some of the most difficult they have put their teams through ever.
The doctors and the tattooed team both get to the bridge and use the heel-toe express to find the tower as instructed. As Michael & Kevin open the clue, dad wisely advises to read the entire clue and don’t miss a word. Of course, that isn’t what happens and Kevin asks the cabbie to show them as they walk behind the car. Oops. I don’t like being right but…okay…I love being right but I wish that it had been another team to make this kind of error.
Gary & Mallory don’t suffer the same foolishness as they begin running to the tower.
Lest you forget who else is on this race, Chad & Stephanie successfully work out a system to play the accordion song and Jill & Thomas are trying to avoid being the anti-Jet & Cord because the dating couple are close to falling from first to last in a single leg.
As Thomas explains, they spend “way too much time at the accordion,” and decided to switch again. Clearly, they aren’t aware of how well this strategy worked from Nick & Vicki last leg with the piano and the film and then piano again. In a touch of surprising sweetness, Thomas encourages Jill that they can do this despite everyone else being done. It makes me feel a little bad for painting him completely with an angry red brush but only a little because I suspect that he’ll lose his cool again before the hour is up.
Team HSN has employed the hospitality of an older Russian gentleman and found the tower but blindly walk right past the marked door as Brook is saying “Check every door. It will be marked.” You know the producers love when these moments occur and I am right there with them on that.
After a freefall to last place, Jill & Thomas finally spin the plates the right way and get to leave the Detour with clue in hand. Jill points out the obvious, “We are in last place. That is not good.” You are correct on both counts, ma’am. And for your next obvious observation, you may point out that the sun is bright and Thomas went to Notre Dame. I kid because those who can do and those who can’t recap.
The new tag team of Nat & Kat and Nick & Vicki find the tower together and send Kat and Nick up to the find their next destination, which is explained as "if you’re keen, the view will reveal the location of your next clue," which doesn’t help them out.
Rule-breakers Michael & Kevin have arrived at the tower finally but must wait for one of the two earlier teams to come down. After circling the block aimlessly, Brook & Claire spot Nick and Kat on the tower and run for it. While this is going on, Jill & Thomas seem to have recovered one spot and gotten their next clue at Bank Bridge before Chad & Stephanie, who must be just taking in the sights of St. Petersburg.
Nick and Kat are still perched up in the tower and have only spotted some conspicuous graffiti that says DS13. Nick points out that the clues are usually more obvious than that. He then turns around to see the figurine of the church and asks “How dumb are we?” Then he suggests that when they get down to just tell the other teams they couldn’t find it but saw something that had DS13 on it. This is a pretty smart, yet conniving plan by Nick.
As Nick relays the ruse to Kevin and Claire that all he saw was “Take your chances DS13,” Kevin naively says that he doesn’t think Nick would lie to them “because he is awesome.” That has to be rooted in some need for acceptance by a cool, tattooed guy on the part of Kevin. Fortunately, for him, Claire says that is has to be more obvious than that, so they keep looking.
Poor Chad & Stephanie are finally at the bridge in last place. Jill & Thomas stumble upon Gary & Mallory, and they also decide to work together.
Kevin and Claire not only find the figurine clue but Kevin accepts that his awesome idol Nick probably lied to them. As the father & son and Team HSN get directions from the cab, their ignorance of clue-following is contagious as both teams hop in a cab for the church. This is going to be a tricky Pitstop with two potential elimination-inducing time penalties, especially for teams I wouldn’t expect it from.
At the tower now, Mallory and Thomas are looking for the clue with the same results as the previous teams, until Thomas spies it for them and they try to leave the tower before anyone sees them. This makes me realize that without a clue box, there is no way for these teams to truly know where they are in the rankings, since they are essentially paired up with whoever they got to the tower with.
Nat & Kat and Nick & Vicki get to the church first. The sneaky producers keep the riddles coming with the teams having to figure out where Peter the Great is buried (the answer is at the Peter and Paul Fortress). Embarrassingly, the first few locals they ask have no idea about the answer. Arriving at church and no doubt rested from their cab ride, are Michael & Kevin and Brook & Claire who question Nick about lying to them. Nick tries to play it off that they are lost but they are not buying it. No worries, because Nick points out that they will be penalized for the cabs. Maybe Nick & Vickie did take one of the rest periods to read up on the rules and terminology of the race after their Fast Forward faux pas in Norway.
Nick & Vicki and the doctors find the answer and notice the clue doesn’t prohibit cab rides for this route info. So, the inked couple tries to flag down a cab and the doctors head back to the original bridge to get their cab with their bags in it. Right behind them are the rule-breaking teams.
Stephanie is now at the tower looking and looking and looking for a clue.
The doctors get their cab and Nick regresses into angrily muttering under his breath that Vicki’s technique for getting one is dumb. With that kind of attitude showing back up, I am actually hoping they get eliminated or supremely humbled, so he has to eat those words…again.
Thankfully for a long cab ride, Claire goes back and rereads the clues and realizes the error of their Kevin-following ways. So, they have their cab driver take them back to the tower and then they will walk to the church as detailed in the clue. They hope that will keep them from getting dinged like Kevin and his dad but I am not convinced that it will undo their mistake. We will just have to see what Phil says.
Stephanie tags out of the tower and Chad heads up. He spots the church figurine and thinks it is hilarious that she missed it right in front of her. I think it is hilarious that they are the third team to stupidly get in a cab when they are told to walk.
Nat & Kat are the first at the fortress and it’s a Roadblock. They are to play Gorodki, which is described as Russian bowling. The person has to throw a bat and clear three different formations in two shots each to get their clue. And we get treated to a clip of Phil almost being crippled by a Gorodki player. Good times, da? Kat warms up her throwing arm for the Roadblock and clears the first set.
While Jill & Thomas and Gary & Mallory question the locals for the Peter the Great riddle answer, Brook & Claire have re-arrived at the church and hopped in another cab hopeful they have righted their wrong. Since neither the dating couple nor father/daughter have their bags with them, they run back to the Bank Bridge.
Kat has cleared her second formation as Michael chooses to do the Roadblock and Brook is in for Team HSN. Sadly, Brook and Michael don’t have Gorodki prowess of Kat. She is now done before they have completed one. The Pitstop awaits them on the bastion of the fortress, once again as team number one. Nat & Kat are possibly the strongest team out there this season.
Chad & Stephanie are pleased they found the church so quickly but will undoubtedly be displeased when they get docked time for their cab ride. The question has become which penalty-incurring team will be the last place finisher.
Brook finds her groove both in the game of Gorodki and in celebratory dancing, hamming it up as usual. She clears all three and Kevin is deeply regretting letting his dad do this Roadblock. To add to the situation, not-nearly-as-awesome Nick is now there and starting the Roadblock, along with Stephanie.
With no issue at all, Nick finishes the task and they are on the heels of Brook & Claire. Phil checks the girls in as team number two and the dating couple as number three. I don’t understand the lack of a Speed Bump for Nick & Vicki, the usual added task for non-elimination legs. While I don’t recall Phil mentioning a Speed Bump at the end of the last episode, I just assumed it was edited out. I wonder why this was not part of the leg.
If it weren’t for the time penalties, this Roadblock would be much more dramatic, as Thomas and Gary are the last ones there but having more success than Stephanie and Michael, who has finally cleared their first ones. Even though Thomas finishes before Gary, they have to settle up with their cab and get their bags. This puts Gary & Mallory as team number four.
Jill & Thomas give the cabbie the rest of their Russian money and it isn’t enough. Apparently, backpacks are currency in Russia because their cabbie grabs Jill’s and I have to give Thomas credit for stepping up to him at that point. Just up the way, Michael & Kevin’s cabbie is also trying to claim their backpacks as payment when they don’t have enough money, either.
Meanwhile, Russian taxi drivers aren’t the only ones mad as Stephanie is struggling with the last formation and Chad is quite angry. Jill & Thomas hand over $60 US dollars to the cabbie and finally head to the Pitstop. They are team number five.
For Michael & Kevin $40 US dollars suffices and they are now trying to get to the Pitstop. Chad & Stephanie see them run by right before Stephanie completes the Roadblock. Instead of going through heading back to their cab for their bags, the couple decides to just run for it. Alas, since they failed to pay their cabbie, Phil will not check in them in at the Pitstop.
That leaves Michael & Kevin as the team number…nevermind. Phil points out they broke two rules – paying their cabbie to show them to the tower and then taking a cab from the tower to the church. They are hit with a 30-minute penalty for each. While they wait for an hour to be checked in, Chad & Stephanie have just been saved because they only had one 30-minute penalty. So, they are team number six. That means Michael & Kevin are no longer on the Amazing Race but have plenty of YouTube material.
Next week, Chad & Stephanie are apparently missing, so their reprieve this week may be for nothing, if they can’t get a flight to Oman. Don’t sleep in and miss next week’s episode.