The Amazing Race 14: Ep. 8 - Discussion

Tonight’s episode was alright. I thought the Karaoke detour was funny. I would have definitely picked that over the false teeth… I thought that Lakisha and Jennifer were done for when Phil sent them back. They should have turned around while they had the chance (like Tammy and Victor did). The two brothers lucked out again! I had a feeling that it was going to be a non-elimination leg. I forgot that it was against the rules to use personal items as pay. Unless something happens, they are definitely gone next week. I am ready for them to go. Cara and Jamie are really starting to get on my nerves... I don’t know who I am rooting for at this point. I really don’t have a favorite team.

Phil blogs about episode 8 of The Amazing Race. [URL="http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=1711"][IMG]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/32449e3a58bac1b1.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [quote]One of the things the[I] Race[/I] does is give you a good idea of who would be useful on a desert island. And while Victor may be at the top of his game as a lawyer, he clearly isn't blessed with some very practical skills. I'm always amazed at how many very capable people have no idea how to do practical things. For two guys who seem to know how to do just about everything, Mark and Michael really fell apart in this episode. Just when it looked like they were going to break out and start leading the pack, they were hit with a four-hour penalty because they continued to break the rules. Who knows where those guys would be in this game if they played within the regulations. Two penalties last week and two penalties this week? That's insane. I believe they are the most penalized team in the history of the[I] Race[/I]. We all joked about Mark and Michael having done [I]everything.[/I] No matter what anybody working on the production [I]said[/I] they had done, those two guys had done it or knew how to do it. There is no doubt they have a lot of life experience, but after a while it got quite hysterical. On another point, one of the golden rules of traveling on the[I] Race[/I] (or traveling, period) is that you never lose sight of the essentials -- namely, your passport and a way to buy yourself out of trouble. No matter where I go in the world, I never lose contact with or sight of either. After seeing what happened to Toni and Dallas in season 13, you would have thought we would never see a repeat of their costly mistake. I don't think we really touched on it in the show, but that boat ride after they finished assembling the propeller was about 45 minutes long -- and that's in a boat. Jump in a taxi and add traffic, and that turns into a two-hour cab ride. It's almost impossible to overcome that type of play. I love the Detour in this episode. Margie was amazing. And as she said, being a nurse really helped her in finding the right piece for the perfect smile. I actually felt quite sick when I was on location. I definitely would have gone with the karaoke. I don't know how a dentist goes digging around in people's mouths. This was definitely Margie's leg. Obviously Luke was right there with her, but she was driving the team this week. From the propellers to the dentures, she had her A game on. By the way, all of us on the show thought the dentures were going to take quite a while to complete, but Margie flew through that challenge. She was reaching into the locals' mouths without hesitation. I would say she probably finished that in about 5 minutes. They were on a mission this week. I was really impressed with the way she bounced back after her collapse on the mat last week. A lot of you commented last week that it seemed like we dragged out that scene. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The safety of everyone is our No. 1 priority. If you really think otherwise, then you clearly don't know the outstanding safety record we've had for the past 14 seasons. Enough said. One of the more odd occurrences from tonight’s episode was the flooding of the streets. It was a little disconcerting, to be honest, for all of us in production. When we first started seeing the rising water, we started to panic a little, but then we were informed by some of the locals that this was a daily occurrence. The river rose above the banks and spilled over into the city. Pretty freaky. Favorite scene from tonight's episode was the party taxis ... so fun. Classic [I]Race[/I] moment -- taking the racers completely out of their element and throwing them into an "out of this world" scenario. Without a doubt, Tammy and Victor welcomed the karaoke with open arms. All of the teams seemed to have fun. I don't think Mark and Michael knew that their backup singers were transvestites. They made it all the way through the ride without knowing, and then I think one of the locals told them ... reminds me of that scene in [I]The Crying Game[/I]. I've been teeing it up for weeks now, and we're finally here: Next week is the most memorable mat meltdown of all time. Margie and Luke vs. Kisha and Jen. These two teams battle throughout the entire leg and end up with mere seconds separating them at the check in. I've never seen two teams go at it like this before and have it carry all the way to the mat. Thank you to all of those who understand just how much energy this ride is taking out of me right now. I am very focused on raising money and awareness for MS. And riding 100 miles a day in rain, sleet or snow is definitely taking a toll. Makes me wish I could multiply myself like Michael Keaton did in [I]Multiplicty.[/I] I'm 1,500 miles into my ride, doing open casting calls along the way, and the response has been overwhelming. We'll keep you updated on future casting calls on [URL="http://www.philridesacrossamerica.com/"][COLOR=#0066cc]www.philridesacrossamerica.com[/COLOR][/URL]. A huge thank you to Margie and Luke, who turned up in the pouring rain in Denver to support the start of one of my MS rides. Having you there meant a lot. [/quote] [via [URL="http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/amazing-race.html"]ew[/URL]]