Gentlemen Start Your Engines

The Amazing Race is back on a new night. I was really not crazy about the move because I had my whole television viewing schedule planned out. 8:00 on Wednesday nights had a reservation for Bones on Fox. My apologies to David Boreanaz, but I can't ignore the best season of the Race ever. Luckily I had a VCR and a DVD recorder. Guess which show got the special treatment? Only the best for my frat boys.

Speaking of which....

TEAM ALPHA - Apparently those Woodstock boys underestimated your smartness. It was dead even and you took the initiative to screw them over and get a comfortable lead. Not as comfortable as you or I would like, but we'll take it. Now you can focus on the million bucks instead of hot babes. Would you have really wanted Dani and Danielle if they were covered in fish slime anyways? They'll look a lot better after the Race is over and you boys will look a lot better with money in your pockets.

TEAM WOODSTOCK - BJ and Tyler are fun to watch 100% of the time. They ARE smart and well traveled and that will continue to be an advantage for them. I think the only edge Eric and Jeremy have over them is that the frat boys have no problem saying 'screw you'. The hippies are generally happy go lucky, although they do have tricks up their sleeves. That sign in sheet was about the funniest thing ever. I think there are some teams and I won't say who - that would have bought that hook, line and sinker. It was worth a try.

TEAM BREAKDOWN - MoJo have officially crossed the 'My Ox Is Broken' line. Please refer to Colin and Christie if you don't know what that means. It took them a long time to complete that Detour for two reasons. One being that they completely butchered that fish man's name. Somehow none of the other teams had a problem with it. Secondly, they panicked. Actually I should say Monica got frustrated which got Joseph frustrated which nearly caused a disaster. It happened with Flo and Zach. It happened with Colin and Christie. It happened with Hayden and Aaron. All of whom went far into the Race, so maybe it is actually a strategy. A fucked up one. But it works.

TEAM AARP - This is actually the first I've seen Barry get mad. I thought it was impossible. Apparently not. I'd hire a new map reader if I were him! Oh, right. This little snafu didn't really hurt them as they were in fourth place on the last leg. It didn't help them either though. They could have potentially slid past MoJo. I have to hand it to them. They're a solid team. BUT this leg didn't make for a lot of even ground for all of the teams as many other legs do. If everyone gets grouped together, the slower older couple may find themselves in trouble. Especially next week as Fran gets the willies about bungee.

TEAM LAKE - Seriously Lake, have a little more confidence in your woman and you might avoid a lot of stress. I truly believe that if Lake could chill, for like, 2 seconds that they might be a lot further ahead than they are. I read something someone wrote about this team being in trouble when Michelle has to start doing Roadblocks. We got a little sample of that in this episode. Lake has to realize also that screaming at Michelle while she is doing this will not get it done any faster. Trust me. I can vouch.

TEAM BUFF - Ray and Yolanda are still beautiful to look at. Even with fish guts. The thing that they did well on this leg was communicate and stay calm. That kept them from finishing last in this leg. If they keep doing this, it will be to their advantage because they're already strong. Physically they can keep up with any team. If they keep their composure, they can pass up teams like MoJo and Lake who have a tendency to get frustrated. They may not be as interesting as the hippies, but they're still a team to root for.

TEAM JEDI - Nooooooooooooooooo!! Honestly, I thought for sure this was a non-elimination leg. It usually happens by now, so I wasn't worried seeing Lori and Dave walk up to the mat in last place. Alas, they're gone. I can't say it was unfair. Two legs in a row they got into a confusing situation and panicked losing valuable time. It's something you can't do if you expect to win. I think they're adorable and I hope they go home, get married, start a family. I'm not too upset because I never did think they had the competitive edge to go all the way, but I would have liked to see them stick around a couple more legs.

Next week - the teams travel to Greece. All of the challenges shown in the previews from the Greek games to the bungee should favor the front runners - Eric/Jeremy and BJ/Tyler which is super since they're my two favorite teams!

More Race commentary will be coming your way then.