The Amazing Race All-Stars Recap
By Daron Aldridge
February 21, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Without having seen a second of the new season, here are my power rankings for the teams:
1. Globetrotters Flight Time & Big Easy (Season 15)
2. Cowboys Jet & Cord (Season 16)
3. Former NFL cheerleaders Jaime & Cara (Season 14)
4. Best friends Zev & Justin (Season 15)
5. Mother/son Margie & Luke (Season 14)
6. Sisters Kisha & Jen (Season 14)
7. Father/Daughter Ron & Christina (Season 12)
8. Dating Goths and color pink enthusiasts Kent & Vyxsin (Season 12)
9. Engaged Amanda & Kris (Season 14)
10. Father/daughter Gary & Mallory (Season 17)
11. Father/son Mel & Mike (Season 14)
If you happened to have read my Pre-Game column you know my rationale (however sound or unsound) for these rankings. If not, feel free to jump over there now and see how wrong or right I may be only one episode in.
Cue everyone’s favorite New Zealander, Phil Keoghan. Our host stands in a field in Palm Springs, California (the second windiest place on Earth, according to Phil) and the teams are driving themselves up a dirt road in an ATV and golf cart crossbreed. Let’s see the pieces of unfinished business the producers dredge up about the teams’ last race (i.e. the mistake or event that was their undoing).
Jet & Cord were cut in front of by eventual winners Dan & Jordan in Shanghai.
Luke choked on the memory challenge on the last leg and let down mom.
Kris & Amanda were U-Turned by Luke & Margie and thus eliminated.
Big Easy took a hefty time penalty, which knocked him and Flight Time out.
Mel & Mike wandered Thailand lost and alone.
Kent & Vyxsin melted down with Kent threatening to jump from a moving car in Italy.
Gary & Mallory pulled a Mel & Mike in Oman (see above).
Nature called and Jen answered, "steps away" from the Beijing pitstop.
Justin loses his & Zev’s passports, which bumped them from first to elimination in Cambodia.
Christina set the final memory challenge precedent for Luke and froze at the end.
Jaime & Cara could not navigate the roads of Hawaii to the finish line.
Phil welcomes them back and explains an Express Pass is up for grabs again to the team that checks in first on this leg. They introduced this on last season and it is a nice new element to the race. It makes the teams try more than just NOT being last on the first leg and gives them the incentive to secure a competitive edge. Phil then explains another change in plans. They aren’t merely given their clue but have to find "something in the desert" and bring it to Phil for their route info. The first eight teams get one flight and the remaining teams get a second flight that arrives 90 minutes later. And the hits just keep coming from Phil. He breaks the news that the last team to finish this first task will receive and automatic U-Turn, which will be performed at the first Detour they have on the race. The producers are quickly trying to shatter these teams' comfort level with knowing what to expect. Judging by the furrowed brows and displeasure on some faces, the producers have succeeded.
Phil gives them the hint “Queensland and Northern Territories Aerial Services” (which the viewers find out is the acronym for QANTAS airline). He points them to a field with hundreds of paper airplanes staked in the ground with different airlines written on them. Away they go.
A few teams strike out immediately and at merely ten minutes or so into the race, dad Gary is already exhibiting signs of frustration to Mallory. Mel & Mike, Zev & Justin and Jet & Cord are the first three out of there with their clues and en route to LAX for a flight to Sydney, Australia. Fast and furious, the first flight is filled up by the Goths, Ron & Christina, the Globetrotters, Margie & Luke and their former alliance Jaime & Cara. With all the spots on flight number one sewn up, the stragglers are fighting to avoid the automatic U-Turn. Kisha & Jen escape that fate and get their clue and seats on flight two.
Clearly, Amanda & Kris’ strategy of just randomly selecting planes isn’t paying off and neither is Gary’s exasperation. Looks like a good time for a commercial break to manufacture tension because as soon as we are back both teams figure out QANTAS as the clue and dash to Phil. Unfortunately, Amanda & Kris can’t blame Luke & Margie for a U-Turn because the engaged couple have essentially U-Turned themselves by being last.
Both flights take off as scheduled but the Amazing Race is completely vulnerable to outside forces. For the first time, a flight has to make an emergency stop in Honolulu because a passenger had a heart attack. As Zev points out, the 90 minute lead has evaporated but Big Easy has perspective on the ordeal, in that at least they were able to land to make sure the passenger is getting the help he needs. That may not be the competitive killer instinct some would display but it shows that he understands that life is life and the game is a game.
The second flight touches down at 10:20 a.m. and teams have to head to a ferry to Oceanworld. The back of the pack is now thrilled to be the front of the pack, with Amanda & Kris eyeing the Express Pass to counteract their impending U-Turn. As they are making their way across the harbor, the other flight lands nearly 30 minutes later. Most of those teams get on the train to the ferry, except Ron & Christina, Mel & Mike and Jet & Cord.
As the first teams get to the Roadblock, the producers decide to kick it up a notch instantly. The team member must get a decoding compass from the floor of a 1.5 million gallon tank filled with sharks and stingrays. Then they have to use the compass to decode a message in nautical flags. The producers must think making racers soil themselves or lose limbs is the way to get back into Emmys’ good graces.
Miniature beauty queen Mallory accepts the challenge, as do Kisha and Amanda. Kisha & Jen remind us of their inability to dive on their previous season and they cannot swim still. If I knew swimming was a huge issue for me previously, as soon as I accepted doing the race again, I would’ve been signed up at the Y for lessons immediately.
Despite a few brushes with smaller sharks, Mallory and Amanda find the compass relatively easy but Kisha is still searching. The second ferry with Goths, Globetrotters, Zev & Justin, Jaime & Cara and Luke & Margie is nearly at Oceanworld. The trailers are finally to the ferry but Jet & Cord make a huge mistake and overshoot the ticket booth. They are officially in last and have to wait for the next ferry as Mel & Mike and Ron & Christina leave minutes earlier.
On shore, the second group of racers facing the Roadblock includes Flight, Cara, Justin, Vyxsin and Margie. Before they get in the tank, Kisha has located her compass and is off to join Amanda and Mallory sitting on the dock of Manly Bay. Not far behind them, Christina and Mel get chosen for the Roadblock. Surprisingly, none of the team members has exhibited anything close to freaking out in a tank with sharks and none of the teams seem particularly stumped by locating the compass, except maybe Vyxsin, who is now the only person from the second group still in the tank. I guess this Roadblock was more intimidating in description than execution.
Mallory deciphers the code first is heading to the Manly Skiff Club to deliver a message for the next clue. Securely in last place, Jet & Cord finally get to Oceanworld and have much ground to make up or their business will remained unfinished. Jet dives in but notes that there isn’t a whole lot of diving experience you can gain from living in Oklahoma and he jokes (I hope) of an aversion to baths.
Gary & Mallory get their next clue, which directs them to help sail a 16 foot skiff into bay and find a clue attached to a buoy. Kisha and Amanda decide to work together while languishing out on the dock. This move was clearly motivated by the arrival of Justin, Margie, Flight and Cara at the decoder portion of the Roadblock. But it works for them and they are off to the skiff club. As expected, Jaime and Margie have rekindled their alliance and started working together again.
Kisha & Jen and Amanda & Kris gear up for their skiff rides as Gary snags the clue for their team. The skiff task is quick and painless as all three teams are neck-and-neck on the way to Phil on a beach. Back in the tank, the remaining four teams have found the compass but Vyxsin is still floundering (yes bad pun intended) and can’t navigate her way out of the tank.
With a very important Express Pass dangling in front of them, Kris & Amanda are trying their best but it isn’t good enough for them to pass Gary & Mallory. The father and daughter hit the mat and Phil happily hands over the Express Pass. Phil then quickly explains that this is not a pitstop and they are still racing. That sneaky, sneaky Keoghan. They haven’t pulled out this trick in a few seasons but I am glad it is back.
Yammering along as usual, Mallory continues to stand on the mat and voice her confusion/disbelief that they are still going. Phil has to be as direct as possible and tells her “stop talking and go.” I am not convinced that she understands what just happened to them.
Amanda & Kris show up in second and Kisha & Jen arrive at the non-pitstop in third. Both teams are sent on their way with a fatigued look on their faces. We aren’t shown much decoding action on the dock, so it is surprising to see that Justin has passed the others with the code. He and Zev are on their way to the skiff.
And we are treated with the first flub of the race and it is performed by Luke & Margie and Jaime & Cara. Working together only meant they both got it wrong. Instead of “I am between the devil and the deep blue sea,” they came up with “I am the devil and the deep blue sea.”
Next, Flight Time employs a different strategy and bails on decoding the message because of a fear of falling behind. They approach Zev & Justin, who they became friends with on their season…and are even wearing Harlem Globetrotters T-Shirts on this leg, for what the message was. Justin delivers and both teams agree that Flight and Easy owe them. Justin explains that they will rely upon that friendship and are happy to help but know they now have someone to ask for a favor as payback. With the incorrect teams milling around the dock, Flight leans in and whispers the phrase to prevent eavesdropping. It works and Margie & Luke and Jaime & Cara head back to the dock. Both teams approach Justin about helping them and he denies both of them. He tells them they already helped someone else and aren’t going to do that for everyone. I have to agree with him on this strategy. Why would you minimize the value of your alliance with Flight and Easy for teams you don’t know or don’t know if you can trust. This is a dynamic that I was skeptical of going in to the season because of the preexisting relationships, but it may prove to be an intriguing curve ball as the race progresses.
Back on the skiffs, Zev & Justin and the Globetrotters have conquered the bay with clues in hand. Christina and Mel think they have solved the compass clue and head out, leaving Vyxsin and Jet bringing up the rear.
On route back to the dock, Margie ambushes Mel and Christina. Very smart on her part, Christina doesn’t tell them but rather would share it with them if they showed them to the skiff club. Brilliantly played, Christina. That is a great way to leverage the other teams without indebting yourself to them. Feeling the pressure, Jet hastily takes off with only the location part of the clue. Vyxsin is right behind with not much more accuracy but they use the Globetrotters method of just asking another one for the answer. Margie happily helps because she feels they can beat Kent & Vyxsin at the end.
It is not looking good for the cowboys because everyone is in the water except them. Luckily, the pitstop fake-out is awaiting all the teams. They are shown arriving in this order: fourth – Zev & Justin; fifth – Flight Time & Big Easy; sixth – Jaime & Cara; seventh – Margie & Luke; eighth – Ron & Christina; and ninth – Mel & Mike.
Jet thinks he has the rest of the message figured out but they are way behind the tenth place Goths. He’s wrong again. The team that proved very strong on their first race is struggling majorly here. Since the clock is ticking on the episode and Jet is mentally tapped out with this Roadblock, it is a great time to use the words “To Be Continued.”
That’s right. There is no elimination but the Amazing Race has fulfilled my entertainment expectation. It is once again off to a strong start and kept a brisk pace for the whole episode to me. I look forward to next week when we get our first elimination (hopefully) but apparently, the physicality of the race is taking its toll on 70-year-old Mel, according to the previews. It’s a good thing I placed them at the bottom of my rankings this week, even though I will be revising them based upon what went down this week.