Category — The Amazing Race – Season 13

I don’t know what the worst thing was about that gymnastic challenge in Romania, having to wear a leotard, or having to do a cartwheel. I would still be there trying to do one.

The brother and sister team, Tammy and Victor, at 10.13am were first to leave the pitstop. Teams were to fly to Bucharest, Romania and head to a gymnastic hall for their next clue.

Tammy and Victor got a great head start  by being the only team to get on a 3.20pm flight. But then they had something happen that I have yet to see on all the seasons I have been watching the show. The flight had to turn back because of technical issues. So the other teams who were on a 4.45pm flight suddenly were in the lead.

They were with the last few  teams on a 9.00pm flight which would not arrive in Buchurest until after midnight.

It was roadblock time  at the gymnastic hall, cue the leotard and difficult gymasticmoves. If there were any female’s in the team they were the ones that were doing this Roadblock.

They task was to do two different manouvres on three gymnastic apparatuses, the beam, the parallel bars, and the floor. 

Then it was off to Brasov Transylvania, where they had to go to the black church for their next clue.

Amanda and Chris were in the lead at this point, but that all came to a crushing halt as they could not get a train to Brasov until the morning, so all the teams caught up.

Brad and Victoria had tried being tricky and took a flight to Amsterdam to get a connecting flight to Romania which would get them in 25 minutes earlier than the other teams. However once in Amsterdam they found out their flight had left without them, and the rest of the planes were grounded due to fog. They could not fly out until the morning.

This was lucky for Victor and Tammy as they were having a shocker. They got lost on the way to the gymnastic hall and Tammy did the roadblock, and was not a great. I was feeling her pain as she cannot cartwheel, then she could not somersault. Victor is a bit bossy and makes all the decisions which was going to lead them into even greater catastrophe later in the episode.

All the teams except Brad and Victoria were now on a level playing field.

It was no surprise once they got to the church that the clue was a detour.

They had the choice between Gypsy Moves and Vampire Remains.
Gypsy Moves – they must load all the family belongings onto a horse and cart and move them to another location and then unload again.

and,

Vampire Remains – Teams must drag a coffin to a point and then must impale frames on a stake to get a flag to claim their next clue.

Jamie and Cara were involved in another The Amazing Race Curse which is having a taxi disaster. Their driver had no clue where to take them.

Victor and Tammy were quick to the detour location, but then he stuffed it by following the wrong markers and then not listening to Tammy who was saying they should turn back. He kept saying going back would be a big mistake. Finally when he had to admit he stuffed up he started to weep. I mean seriously was it soooo humiliating to have to admit your baby sister was right?

Amanda and Kris were first to finish the detour and should have been heading to the  pitstop which was at Vila Panoramic. However they had lost their fanny pack, they had left it at the start of the gypsy challenge. The editors were trying to make it look like the gypsy’s might be living up to their European reputation of scamming and thieving. Very naughty. But of course they found the pack.

But this gave father and son team Mike and Mel, the opportunity to slip past and be the first team to arrive. They won a trip to Costa Rica.

Amanda and Kris came in second, and Tammy and Victor were still walking on that mountain. Victor wept and they finally went back down the mountain. Oh but their pain was not over yet they lost one of the keys off their coffin, therefore they had to look for the key on the grass. They found it and finally got to the pit stop to find out it was their lucky day and they were the second last team to arrive.

 Brad and Victoria were last to arrive, and they were eliminated. Here is an interview with Brad and Victoria.

Also I note that Phil’s one eyebrow lift did not make an appearance this episode.

The Superbad team have got to be the dumbest but luckiest team in The Amazing Race history.

In a week where the level of idiocy from males on reality TV hit new highs with ice cream scooper Eric giving his immunity necklace away to then be voted out on Survivor, these boys come in come in a close second for the reality TV morons award.

They started the leg without shoes as they left them on the previous leg when they dressed up as a cow, but this was just the beginning of their woes

As Ken (of the Ken and Tina team) said “They are good at the travel [between the clues], but suck at the challenges.”

The stumbled and staggered at the detour. They started on the marching detour when one couldn’t do the socks, they then flipped to the serving Borchst detour, then back to marching, then back to the borchst.

Then they finally stagger into the pitstop last and it is a non-elimination round. How they made top four and will be in the running for 1 million dollars is a reality TV travesty.

Is there a romance blossoming on The Amazing Race between Starr and Dallas? It is not the first time there has been on the road flirtations, but nothing as never eventuated. As an aside are these the weirdest name for a couple yet?

They were off to Kazakhstan and what a way to showcase a country by going to a chicken factory. I don’t think this will bring an increase in tourism to the country.

There was tension when the contestants were spread across three different flights, but since the chicken factory didn’t open until 7.30am, everyone had plenty of time to catch up. The frat boys Dan and Andrew who had been the most unlucky with their flight just made it.

It was Roadblock and they had to search amongst the 30,000 chickens to find the one of six golden eggs.

There was also a fast forward which Nick and Starr and Sara and Terence decided to do. It involved eating sheep bum fat. Both challenges were pretty crappy.

Sara in the taxi to the fast forward said she was not sure they had made the right decision, but Terence thought this was what the race was all about to take risks to win. If they lose the fast forward there was definitely going to be fear and loathing on that team.

The golden egg challenge was easy. But Terence hit a brick wall at the sheep eating challenge as he was a vegetarian. He said he was not going to do it. Now really what did he expect they were going to get served at a restaurant? It is always some sort of stomach churning flesh.

If this is Kazakhstan cuisine no wonder it has not taken off in Sydney.

Sara gave the phrase “If looks could kill a new meaning”. He did start eating it, but he was always going to fade.

Terence in the end bailed after seeing Nick and Starr had nearly finish. And a gold star to Starr who just gulped it down beating Nick easily. I know there are people on the race who don’t like her but I do. She is the strongest player on this current series.

The detour was play like mad or act like fools.

The play like mad detour was to learn to play two traditional instruments then go to a park and busk until they had earned a certain amount of money. No one did this one.

Act like fools they must dress like a cow and walk through the town to find the milk store and drink a glass of milk.

The frat boys again having bad luck with a driver who did not know where he was going, so it looked like Sara and Terence would make it back into the race.

Nick and Starr made a hat trick of coming in first for the third time in a row.

Toni and Dallas went past the stall and Ken and Tina got there and drank the milk but missed the clue at the bottom of the cup. Then when they did realise they then went and returned the cow costume.

Seriously when are these teams going to learn to read their clues properly. Dan and Andrew have luckily stumbled through this whole series, but made another vital mistake when they took a cab to the pitstop, when it specifically said you had to get their by foot. Even after having to retrace their steps they managed to beat Terence and Sara to the pitstop.

Dan and Andrew should have been eliminated due to them being utter morons, however the other teams must be happy that such a strong team was eliminated tonight.

Here in an interview on Buddy TV Terence and Sarah reveal they were only seven minutes behind, as well as discussing the way they were edited on the show.

It was time to head to Asia and specifically Siam Reap in Cambodia. The teams were split up, Ken and Tina, and Type A personalities Sarah and Terence, got the first flight out of Auckland. Terence and Sarah also copped a speeding ticket on the way to the airport. I thought that maybe NZ reality TV show Highway Patrol was suddenly going to pop up on screen. All caught up in Singapore for their flight to Siam Reap, except for Ty and Aja.

So tonight the interest was only in who was going to win this leg, and unless there is a catastrophe. This may have been a possibility as the taxi’s were taking the teams to all sorts of places.

First clue was at a petrol station where they had to fill up a truck with 25 litres of petrol. Of course that truck was to take them to their next clue.

The frat boys had difficulty with it. Not realising that you had to put a bit of grunt into it. Nick and Starr were leading at this stag, but they were caught up to.

They were all on boats racing to a restaurant in the middle of Siam Reap. Terence and Sarah got their driver to go fast and then suddenly the engine overheated, and they had to manually row to the clue box.

Detour
Village Life – involves picking up items throughout the village.
or
Village Work – Finding two traps filled with fish.

Nick and Starr took over the lead again after getting the fish.

It was time to head to Angkor Wat and the Road Block. This involved finding the chamber of echos and banging your chest three times to get the next clue.

Tina had trouble finding it and kept on walking through it.

Nick and Starr were first to the pit stop at the Banyon Temple. Again the frat boys bumbled it, but luckily for them Aja and Ty just were never in the leg.

The Producers suddenly got all moralistic about Terence and Sarah speeding ticket and decided they would be hit with a 30 minute penalty in the next leg of the race. I don’t see the point of this they all speed and break road rules or encourage others to. So the ones that get caught get a double penalty.

Reality Wanted have an interview with Aja and Ty, where they reveal they are now living together, and they were surprised about the editing with Terence – so clearly they don’t think he is an arsehole. In fact they said they wanted Sarah and Terence to win.

Buddy TV reveals they were nowhere in the race as they had landed in Siam Reap just has Andrew and Dan, the second last team, made it to the pit stop.

Do the producers on The Amazing Race spike the tyres on cars? Whenever teams have to drive on this show, and I am including all series, there is an inordinate amount flat tyres on this show. This time it was Aja and Ty’s.

The started the race in Bolivia and then they were all on the same flight to Auckland. Aja and Ty the long distance dating couple were starting to have cracks in their relationship.

In Auckland, Ken and Tina continued to lead and decided to go for the fast forward and beat the Frat boys to the tower to climb it.

The Frat boy’s are typical frat boys as they said that they got on best with the blondes. Well the blondes were struggling finding the gordian knot they needed to get their next clue. I am not sure which of these two teams are dumber.

The Roadblock was a getting a picture of traditional Maori tattoo and matching to the an actual person. This was made more difficult with them doing a haka type dance.

Ken and Tina climbed the Sky Tower and then got to take a helicopter to the next pit stop where Phil got his dad to greet the arriving teams.

The other teams after the Road Block had to got to the City Life Hotel Roof and look with binoculars for a Travelocity gnome, and then go to the place were it was. After that it was off to the giant kiwi for their next clue.

It was detour time:
A matter of time – they had to go to a kiwi farm and stomp on kiwi fruit until they have 8 quarts of juice. Then they had to drink a glass of it.

Matter of skill – teams must assemble a go-cart and go around the track three times.

Terence and Sarah were the first to finish the detour and were second to the pit stop.

Three teams switched from the kiwi’s to the go-kart. One of these were the frat boys who struggled building the go-karts.

Starr tipped go-kart and thought she had broken her arm, but then managed to complete but she was in a lot of pain.

This leg was breaking a lot of people as Aja and Ty swapped detours as well and they were battling it out for last place with the blondes. However Aja and Ty beat the blondes there and the blondes were eliminated.

As the blondes sobbed, Phil’s dad took the opportunity to hug them.

Here is an interview on Buddy TV with Marissa and Brooke. They said they were only minutes behind Aja and Ty.

The teams are in Brazil but is the surrounding poverty the big issue no it is about a sports bra being “pushed” off a window ledge.

Christy accuses Starr of pushing it off? I tend to tend to agree with Starr what was the point of that it is not like the bra will give them an advantage in the race. Now if you could spike someones drink with laxatives that might get you ahead.

Ken and Tina, the estranged married couple are first to leave the pit stop at 12.51am. They have to fly to La Paz, Boliva, and must get to a statue and look through a newspaper to find their next clue.

The geeks are second to go. I love these guys.

Everyone got on flights to Boliva and were trying to cope with the altitude as well as sleeping on concrete on a freezing cold night.

The frat boys were the first to discover the clue hidden in the newspaper. The blondes were the last to find it – but did run a strong rest of the leg.

After getting to the hat store to buy a traditional Bolivian hat it was time for the detour.

The choices were Musical March – where you must collect musicians to form a band
or
Bumpy Ride where you must get on some dodgy bike and travel on some bumpy ride. At the end of this detour they have a U-Turn where they can make another team do both detours.

Terence and Sarah and the geeks stuffed up and hopped into cabs when the clue specifically said you had to travel on foot. Do you go back or just cop the time penalty at the pit stop?

Points to Tina who overtook Terence and Sarah on the bumpy bike ride. Terence nearly had a breakdown and made a crack at Sarah.

Nick and Starr flew past Kelly and Christy on the bikes this humiliation was compounded by a huge stack, which meant Nick and Starr got to the U-Turn first. Starr really wanted to U-Turn the girls but then strategy wise decided not to.

Next was to get to Los Titines and the Geeks were in first place – they had not realised their mistake at this stage.

Tina and Ken made it to the Roadblock first. Where they had to wrestling a cholita (a woman). And were off to the pit stop first for the second week in a row.

Terence and Sarah hopped out at the wrong spot when they spotted a red and yellow flag, and Aja and Ty had taxi issues with no petrol and overheating.

The geeks had trouble with the wrestling due to lack of coordination and fitness resulted in sucking on oxygen. It was getting ugly for him.

Aja took the time at the roadblock to make mischief by telling Kelly and Christy that Starr had wanted Aja and Ty to U-Turn them. There is going to be a scrag fight at the pitstop tonight.

Toni and Dallas overtook a few teams to go for the pit stop second, and the blondes came in fourth after Terence and Sarah who had a great cab driver.

At this point the geeks realised they had fucked up and their necks were on the chopping block, and they copped a 30 minute penalty. The divorcees were now saved from elimination and the geeks were going home, even Phil looked disappointed as was I.

Buddy TV here has an interview with Mark and Bill about their time on the amazing race.

The teams this series is the usual assortments of families, and dating couples, however this season there appears to be no gay team (I am from Sydney I notice these things), unless you count the two geeks who could be in the closet.

Anyway it was the usual schmozzle at the airport and then they were off to Salvador Brazil to find a sandwich shop.

The Geeks were leading at this stage and they then had to push a contraption loaded with candy somewhere. The question needed to be asked on how much of the candy had to stay on it as there was alot falling off.

New York dating couple, Terence and Sarah took the lead due to her ability to speak Portuguese.

Is Terence going to be the new Johnathan (of Victoria and Johnathan fame), as he was pissed off that Sarah was talking to other teams. “I want her to connect with me.” and “You cannot climb and talk, I can.” were two of his classic lines. I hope they stay in for awhile.

It was important to get there as quickly as possible as you needed to get a ticket to get the time they were leaving in the morning.

The next morning was detour time.
Detour:
Hard way up – Must climb entire staircase on their hands and knees.

Soft way down – must climb down cargo net from a elevator, only three teams can be on the net at the same downs. Most people were picking this one. This one would only be hard if you were afraid of heights.

Frat boys were the only ones to do the stairs and the question at the top was how many stairs have you just climbed. Whoops turn back round and do it again. By the way the answer was 53.

Then it was time to go to the pit stop. First to arrive were siblings Nick and Starr, with estranged couple Ken and Tina right behind them. These two teams have formed an alliance Nick and Starr are going to call them mum and dad. They do have American football in common. Ken is a former NFL player, and Starr is a Dallas Cowboy Cheer girl, and Ken’s wife Tina looks like a former cheer girl herself. In fact she did a few cheer like bounces after she climbed down the rope ladder.

Last team to arrive were the old hippies they were eliminated.

My current fave teams are the geeks and the frat boys.

Take note Channel Seven say they have fast tracked the new season of The Amazing Race from the US – however we are still a couple of episodes behind so beware of spoiler on websites.

Buddy TV here has an exit interview with the eliminated team of hippies Arthur and Anita.

Also and interview with Phil Keoghan is here.