Amazing Race episode "Getting our Grooves on"...

Here are my thoughtson episode 5.
I did like the fact that this was a 2 part race. But with that being said the equalizer of the ferry ride made the 2 part episode pretty much pointless. The could have easily done that with 2 episodes. That was definitely disappointing.
 Once they arrived in Poland some teams were having the worst luck with taxi drivers that I've seen in quite some time. But it makes for good TV though. That one express pass got used that early in the race...well I'm not sure if that is a good choice. When it comes the the detour challange I rpobably would have chosen "Pose" it just seemed to be easier than learning a Polka routine. But makbe I'm completely wrong with that. I still think team "Oklahoma's" reaction is a little over the top. You're racing for 1 million bucks, so why would you care if something is humiliating or not. But by the way...he did look pretty in the dress...LOL... Another thing that still amazes me each and every season. People are still puzzeld that the inhabitants of a foreign country don't necessarily speak English...SERIOUSLY!! You would think after 22 season teams would finally get the message.
The use of the Double U-Turn is perfectly legitimate and the way it was used here was a good strategic move. Therefore I'm fine with it. The Roadblock was a pure chance of luck. Some teams got it quicker and other did take way longer. It was pretty clear that this was going to be an elimination leg. They didn't even try to make any attempt of hiding it. And I'm fine with that choice by the producers. I do have a little a beef with the entire "Pose" challange. They were supposed to collect 75 Sloti. But if you really looked closely most of the coins were Euro coins. Therefore I have to cry foul here. It's a repeat of the coin issue that we had 2 seasons ago. And I'm not happy about that.
I'm sorry to see the Hippies go, since they were such a fun team.

Amazing Race episode "Beards in the Wind"...

This episode start with something very familiar...another equalizer. No surprise here. When it comes to the detour im not quite sure about wich task is easier, but if I had to chose I probably would have chosen "Fish Jerky"...it just looks a little easier and less time consuming. I've only one suggestiong for the Afghan Boys...always check your equipment before starting out with a task. A stupid mistake like that can easily break your race. After 22 seasons something like that should no longer be happening...but apparently contestants just don't learn from previous seasons.
I really didn't care for all the trash talking, that's something we could have easily done without.
We're now into season 23 and teams are still not reading their clues properly...SERIOUSLY!!
So far the express pass really hasn't proven to be that much of a benefit since teams don't seem to go for the power play. Apparently everyone is looking pretty much through the tactics.
I really didn't think that the roadblock was that difficult. Bungee Junping from a bridge seemed like a fun challange but nothing that would make me think "WOW...Awesome". I just don't think that this challange is up to the standards that we've gotten used to. And challenge with the Ford Ranger pretty much goes along the line of the bridge challenge. So nothing really special.
One thing did strike me a little odd. As far as I remember you drive on the right side of the road in Norway, so why exactly did the quarry pickups have the stiring wheel on the wrong side ?
I did like that the "Hippies" came in first place..they really earned that fare and square. Other than that I didn't think that this was a particluar exciting episode. I would even go as far to say that it was rather slow. It was another example of an episode with beautiful scenery...and we had that already last season. They could have put the majority of that episode on the Traven Channel or NatGeo and you would have never noticed the difference.

Amazing Race episode "King Arthur Style"...

As some of you guys might have figured out...I've gotten kinda behind on this season of the Amazing Race. Well, life is funny some times as it has a tendency to get in your way. And when I get back from a 12+ hour work day I just want to kick back and relax. But right now it seems I have the time and I'm in the mood to catch up. So here are my thoughts on episode 3.
That the flight was going to be an equalizer didn't really come as a surprise. And we all know that a flight can make or break your race. Rolling the dice and having 3 connecting flight is definitely huge gamble. And it might just come back to bite you in the ass. If at all possible I would advice against such a tactic. Tems being divided on different flights makes it more interesting. But somehow the drama about the flights feels a little artificial. Not sure if that drama was for real or if it was at least partly produced. In my opinion they did "milk" that segement a little too long.
With the Coach challenge it was hard to believe. You get show a pic of a coach and you ask what it is? SERIOUSLY!! IF that's the best American education can do, well than America is really screwed! Fortunately there are a lot nice people around the globe to tell the teams that the coaches can be found in the Coach Museum. Surprise, Surprise!
If it had been my pick I would have chosen the Map Challenge. Sounded way easier and quicker than the tile challange. I liked that the tile master was having fun at the contestants expense. The first few teams were doing really well with the Map Challange, but with the Oklahoma Boys it was all downhill from there. Apparentyl calulus isn't big in Oklahoma. You calculate Magellan's journey and you forget the zero. Says somthing about your Math skills. But not realizing that this can't possibly be right tells me that you must have troubles with common sense skills as well. And common sense is a very important skill to have on the Amazing Race. Watching the two other teams with the Map Challange was just painful. It was quite apparent that they don't know anything about Geography and not much about History either. Magellan took his journey from 1519 to 1522. And no he did not take the Panama canal, since it digging the canal didn't start till 1904. Having a little knowledge of geography and history might come in quite handy when going on the Amazing Race.
That team NFL got kicked off was due to their bad luck with planes. I haven't seen any team having that bad luck with flights in a very long time. And I do agree with teh descision not even let them attempt the challanges, since there was no point to that in the first place. And we haven't seen that in quite some time either.

Amazing Race Ep. "Zip it, Bingo"...

Episode 2 of the Amaying Race wasn't that exciting as far as I'm concerned. It wasn't an episode of rather a slow pace. Lot of the same things and the real race feeling just didn' come up.
Of course a public attraction is closed during night hours. Suprise, Surprise! The detour was OK. I'm not quite sure what is the easier task. But if I had to pick one I probably would have gone with Brining. It just looked like the less exhausting challenge.
I didn't care to much for the buses with the different time tables. Just widens up the race field and creats 2 blocks of racers. That the "Bingo" guys tried to be smart and got bit in the ass...well that's not exactly new on the Amazing Race. A strategy like that can make or brake your race. But on the other hand if you don't take risks here and there you can't end up with a substantial gain either. So far this has been the first time on this season that even one team had taken the chances. Let's hope it's not one time thing. That it didn't work out in the end and most likely got them eliminated is part of the game. And of course if they had read the clue more carefully, they might still be in the game. So the not properly reading the clues continues!!
The Roadblock Challenge was just a very weak task as far as I'm concerned. The only thing that made it a little more interesting to watch was the fact that no team really read the clue. The clue clearly stated to pack the cart in the right order and not make some pile out of it.
I still don't have a favorite team, but on the other hand I don't absolutely hate another team either. Still happy that the "Hippies" are still in the race and seem to be doing well. Those 2 guys just seem to have fun on the race.