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Recap: 'The Amazing Race' - 'This is the Most Stupid Day Ever'

The teams head to China, but two teams really struggle

By Daniel Fienberg Sunday, Mar 13, 2011 10:14 PM

<p>Kent and Vyxsin of 'The Amazing Race'</p>

Kent and Vyxsin of 'The Amazing Race'

Credit: CBS

 Well that was pretty stupid.

 
I'm not sure I have any other reaction to Sunday (March 13) night's "Amazing Race" installment.
 
That was pretty astoundingly stupid.
 
I don't know if I'm referring to the "Race" leg itself or to the leg run by one particular team, but oh my goodness...
 
That was pretty mind-bogglingly stupid.
 
I'm going to try to think up other things to say about Sunday's episode after the break, but you can probably skip over everything else and just settle on this:
 
On the scale of "Amazing Race" stupidity, tonight's episode turned the dial to 11. "The Amazing Race" had an entire season seemingly dedicated to teams that misread clues, misread directions and got lost going in straight lines -- that would be Season 16 -- but nobody in that season put together a leg this impressively stupid.
 
Click through...
 
I'm not sure that Kent & Vyxsin had the worst "Amazing Race" leg in recent memory. I still vividly remember Tammy & Victor's wrong-way journey through Transylvania, falling from first to near-last. But in terms of pure dumb? You've gotta give it up for The Goths. And it could have competed with the all-time worst legs except for one equally dumb thing: Sunday's episode was the season's second "You've reached the Pit Stop, but you've gotta keep on racing" not-officially-a-Non-Elimination-Leg of the season. Then again, as Sunday's episode ended, The Goths still weren't close to finishing the leg, so I don't want to rule out a continuation of ineptitude stretched out over two full episodes. That would definitely qualify for the record books.
 
The episode began with the teams departing their Japanese Pit Stop and journeying to the airport, where they were told they all had to take a single flight to China. All of the teams departed at nighttime between 8:44 p.m. and 12:41 a.m. leaving them with ample time to get to Narita Airport in time for a 9 a.m. flight. I just did a quick piece of Google Mapping and it told me that the trip from last week's Pit Stop to Narita Airport should take a little over two hours. No matter how easily confused these teams might be, I don't think anybody on the production team ever considered the possibility a team could miss the flight. 
 
They didn't count on Kent and Vyxsin deciding to steer themselves there using a compass and Vyxsin's apparently suspect map skills. Somehow, despite more than nine hours to travel a two-hour distance, The Goths missed the flight. All evidence pointed to the directional flaws all being Vyxsin's, but how is it possible to drive that length of time and not just give up in confusion after four or five hours to seek somebody, anybody, capable of speaking or reading English. Or finding a computer capable of accessing the Internet. Or actually successfully noticing confusingly misdirected signs and turning around. Instead, Vyxsin just had a meltdown in the backseat of their car, crying about how stupid she was. Kent, to his credit, was practically a saint and never yelled, insulted her or anything. 
 
"Even if they had to walk to Narita, it shouldn't have happened," Justin said.
 
Even Vyxsin acknowledged, "There's no reason on this Earth why any sane person wouldn't have made it to that flight on time."
 
As a result of missing that flight, Kent & Vyxsin also missed the shuttle that was supposed to take teams to Jade Dragon Mountain, site of all of the leg's action.
 
Things weren't much better for Vyxsin on the episode's Roadblock, which required on player to wander along a bridge festooned with tens of thousands of tiles, isolating 12 tiles corresponding to the signs of the Chinese Zodiac and then arranging them in order.
 
For most of the teams, this needle-in-a-haystack task was a breeze. Only Zev of Justin & Zev had any difficulties, repeatedly getting frustrated both attempting to find a rabbit and then attempting to put the tiles in order. Because Zev took as long as he did -- it was really hard to watch, especially in the unavoidable light of Zev's Aspergers -- Kent and Vyxsin were actually able to catch up, only to have Vyxsin get stymied collecting all of the tiles, becoming increasingly frustrated and eventually sitting down and crying about how stupid she was. Because of Vyxsin's problems, Zev was eventually able to realize that he'd collected two goats and no horses, letting Team Aspie pull back ahead.
 
Then, just when it seemed as if things couldn't get any worse for the Goths, they hopped on the bus that was supposed to take them to the Detour and realized that they -- Kent, in this case -- had lost their fanny pack featuring all of their travel documents, leaving them unable to communicate with the driver to indicate the need to turn back. Disaster.
 
And because this much injury still needs more insult, I'm fairly sure that failing total pity from the producers, there's no way The Goths hit the Pit Stop (if they ever hit the Pit Stop) without incurring at least some measure of penalty. At the Roadblock, The Goths admitted that they were unsure on their penalty situation, but it seems awfully clear that if teams were instructed to take one fight to China and were then instructed to take one shuttle to Jade Dragon Mountain and The Goths didn't take the flight they were instructed to take and they didn't take the shuttle they were instructed to take, a least a minor penalty out to be required. The only thing preventing a penalty would be a sympathetic read that because each failure left them in worse position rather than better, they penalized themselves. Forget that.
 
Meanwhile, the episode also ended with Justin and Zev struggling with the uninspired Detour, which asked teams to choose between Hammer and Horn. In Hammer, they had to pound some candy. In Horn, they had to carry a horn some distance and... something. Hammer seemed like the easier task, since there were no real standards to their candy-making craft other than pounding. The Cheerleaders opted to do Horn and quit immediately because of the heaviness of the instrument. The Globetrotters seemed to get lost, but the task was so uninteresting that we didn't even see how they righted themselves. In the end, neither Detour task was hard. Neither Detour task required any nuance. And the editors tired of both Detours, because it was much more entertaining to follow the two trailing teams. We didn't get any indication of how Luke & Margie moved ahead of Jet & Cord and Gary & Mallory to win the Leg and it's hard to care, since they were sent off to their next task.
 
So nobody went home. The Detour was dull. The Roadblock should have been harder. The Goths (Vyxsin, mostly) were epically dumb. And I'm betting this was an episode that looked great in high definition.
 
 
A few other thoughts on Sunday's unresolved "Amazing Race":
 
*** As expected, Phil Keoghan appeared in a CBS Cares PSA urging viewers to make donation to relief efforts in the wake of the Japan earthquake/tsunami. The PSA aired at the end of the first in-show commercial break and touched the right notes, though under the circumstances perhaps it could have been a bit more prominent? Either immediately before the episode or immediately after? Anyway, have a Red Cross URL if you feel like donating.
 
*** Ron keeps getting worse, doesn't he? This week, he was hungry. So he kept trying to hold Christina up to get food and then, during the Detour, he kept eating the candy. And earlier than that, when the teams were supposed to catch a bus to the Detour and he and Christina got on a random shuttle, his freak-out at their driver was mighty annoying. And for all of the talk of Ron and Christina's advantage on the leg because they spoke Chinese, why were they verbally abusing their driver in English? [Side note: Christina's roll out from the moving shuttle was pretty bad-ass.]
 
*** That shuttle situation ended up OK for Ron & Christina for one reason and one reason only: The Globetrotters saw that the other team was having trouble and they made their bus driver stop and wait for the father and daughter. Several of y'all have said mean things about the Globetrotters in the past. I'll now pause to let you take those words back.
 
*** Not only were The Globetrotters altruistic, but they had the leg's funniest moment when, at a Route Marker, Flight Time was unable to remember his Japanese Zodiac sign. The teams had to write down wishes and deposit them in slots associated with their signs and Flight Time cracked, "First of all, I just wished that I knew what my Zodiac sign was." I was, as the kids say, LOLing.
 
*** Zev had a tough leg, but he also had my favorite line of the episode, analyzing Kent & Kyxsin's absence at Narita with, "Either they're in a Kabuki show, or super, super lost."
 
*** The Yak challenge was also disappointing. I wanted a repeat of the classic "My ox is broken" or else I wanted everybody else to struggle and the Cowboys to reign supreme. Instead, the yaks were docile. Meh.
 
*** Last week I questioned if Mallory was being slightly racist with her intonation of certain Asian-inflected words or if she has just become a frantic, uncontrollable spaz. After this week? Yeah. Slightly racist. Sorry if I doubted.
 
*** So the teams are up in the mountains and for nearly as minute as they scurried toward the Roadblock, nearly every player mentioned the altitude and the impact it was having on them. That felt like foreshadowing, a bit like Justin's comment that Zev had had only "rocking chair" legs thus far. But no. No payoff to the altitude references. Boo. Somebody needs to pass out next week.
 
 
That's it for me... Any thoughts on this week's leg? Any favorite "Amazing Race" legs that you want to single out as worse than the one Kent & Vyxsin are finishing? And do you figure they still have a penalty ahead of them?

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Daniel Fienberg
Executive Editor
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
Related Searches: TV, recaps, The Amazing Race, The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, This is the Most Stupid Day Ever

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  • While my heart went out to him, Zev looking for a rabbit while wearing an Elmer Fudd hat was kinda hilarious.

    March 13, 2011 at 10:43PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Ann-Marie

    I agree that the "keep racing" pit stops are annoying to watch. I think the producers must be trying to make the race tougher for the teams, but I wish they could come up with a way to edit it better.

    March 13, 2011 at 11:05PM EST Reply to Comment
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      Craig There's tough and then there's "you are actively attempting to kill your older contestants." Making them race at altitude and then not letting them rest seems just unnecessarily cruel, even if it is an All-Stars season. If Mel and Mike had made it through last week's challenge, this week plus next week might have finished the old man off for good.

      March 14, 2011 at 12:03AM EST
    • Default-avatar

      Greg Sullivan Yeah, but what can the producers do? The net is always filled with comments about how everyone hates the "non-elimination" legs where someone comes in last but doesn't go home. They've explained that the economics of making the show prevents there from being enough teams to send someone home every week. The only other option is to have more double legs.

      Yeah this wasn't the best episode ever, but I'd like to see them try a couple of seasons this way before going back to "lose-but-don't-go-home" legs.

      -Greg S.

      March 14, 2011 at 12:25AM EST



  • I thought it was cool that the Globetrotters stopped for Christina and Ron(especially in light the lost bag incident). And, yeah...Christina's roll was great.

    The Globetrotters were hilarious this episode, too. I loved when one of them asked the yak for help finding the symbols.

    The faux-Cowboys continue to annoy. Low point for me was when one of them started hitting the yak like it was a bull: it's cruel to do to bulls, but just stupid to do to an docile animal you're simply walking across a river. (They need to hit a challenge that just stops them dead in their tracks and eliminates them from the Race.)

    March 14, 2011 at 12:13AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Tyler

    I don't really mind the To Be Continued legs if it means we don't get non-elimination legs. The Speed Bumps have gotten so mind-numbingly boring in recent seasons (such as last season's literal timeout for Michael & Kevin) that this adds a different component. I only hope we don't get a bunching point between the end of this leg and the next.

    As for how Kent & Vyxsin got so lost, judging by the other teams' arrival times at the airport, my guess is that the teams went back to their Pit Stop hotel for more sleep before leaving for the airport. If Kent & Vyxsin didn't leave the hotel until 5 or 6, I can reasonably see them wandering around the city for an hour or two before finding the highway and then if they were really going the wrong way on the highway for more than an hour, it's easy to see how they missed that flight. Now as to whether an intelligent team would have ended up in that situation, I can't say.

    March 14, 2011 at 12:20AM EST Reply to Comment
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    rachelmed

    I am eating my words about the Globetrotters. When Zev and Justin showed such love for them this season I knew they had to be better than they seemed. It's not really that I thought they were mean (never anything like Ron) just more cocky/annoying, I guess. But they totally redeemed themselves especially stopping the bus for Ron which I'm not sure if I would have done.

    I am so ready for Ron to leave. Christina and her badass tuck and roll and continue on the race but I would be fine if Ron decided to stay in China and eat for the rest of the Race.

    I get not wanting to do really challenging tasks when you know the teams are going to continue racing but they have to be somewhat entertaining for the viewers. Two weeks in a row of pretty lack luster episodes is not good.

    Thank goodness for the Globetrotters trying so hard to guess their zodiac signs and Zev and Justin being their awesome selves. Otherwise there was nothing I really cared about in the episode and it was pretty painful to watch Kent and Vyxsin fail so miserably.

    March 14, 2011 at 1:54AM EST Reply to Comment



  • I have to admit, before Ron gout out of hand on this leg, I thought it was a really touching and human moment to see him and Christina stop to get those little rolls (which looked delicious). They were way ahead and had plenty of time, and took a few moments to stop and smell the roses.

    Afterward, though, he still had to stop and taste every rose. rrrrgh!

    March 14, 2011 at 3:00AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan Rob - I don't disagree that the first street food incident was humanizing. But then when he was marveling at what a great deal the little fish were and Christina was freaking out because he wouldn't move? That was bad...

      -Daniel

      March 14, 2011 at 12:07PM EST

    • Oh, totally agree. I loved the first street food moment -- perhaps the first time I've liked Ron ever. After that, though, he reverted to awful, solely self-interested form.

      March 14, 2011 at 1:43PM EST
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    Randomer

    I don't know about anyone else but I find Ron to be a goldmine of unintentional comedy. He's still a blowhard but since the last race, he's developed a loopy streak. It's like he's skipped right past senility and reverted into being a spoiled little child. I cracked up every time he went for the candy instead of doing the task.

    March 14, 2011 at 4:30AM EST Reply to Comment
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      Glitterous The man is comedy gold. Loved him on his season only because we got to laugh at him constantly.

      March 14, 2011 at 7:36AM EST
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      SaveFarris Are we SURE that Ron isn't the father from the "S*$% My Asian Dad Says" YouTube videos that was on last year? Because this guy is much funnier/clueless than the "real" crazy Asian dad was.

      March 14, 2011 at 9:52AM EST
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    DAB84

    i know people find ron annoying, rude, and childish, but i also find him consistently humorous. as long as you already presume that he's going to act like a moron, the things he does are HI-larious, and definitely more interesting than some of these other bland teams...

    March 14, 2011 at 4:39AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Jon88

    Speaking of penalties, how do Ron and Christina not get penalized for not returning to the mountain and taking the marked bus?

    March 14, 2011 at 9:09AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Gizmo_bigger_talkback_profile

      dan Jon88 - Freaking out aside, I don't get the impression that Ron and Christina actually went very far in that shuttle. And assuming the marked buses took them at least a moderate distance away, I assume they'll escape a penalty? But we'll see...

      -Daniel

      March 14, 2011 at 12:09PM EST
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    Randolph Cleaver

    You know the dumbest decision by the Goths was having Vyxsin do the roadblock...she(?) is obviously exhausted and having a really bad day...would not have Kent been to logical choice there?

    March 14, 2011 at 11:16AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Robin

    I don't mind the continuation legs. If they replace the NEL I think it's a better choice.

    I don't think I agree that K/V were disadvantaged enough by missing the plane that they should not get a penalty. I know that Zev took forever to do the roadblock (anyone know exactly how long he was there?), but it seems like K/V gained a huge time jump by not having to wait for the shuttle bus like the other teams. In fact, I'd really like to know exactly how they got to the roadblock. Did the Race provide a shuttle bus specifically for them? That, combined with Zev taking so long put the Goths right back in the Race, and with it being a continuation leg, they could conceivably catch completely up in an hours of operation bunch.

    I like the Goths, so it's not like I really want them gone, but I would hate it if they managed to avoid elimination despite their epic stupidity on this leg.

    Oh, and Ron is an ass. I get about as much comic value out of him as I did the infamous Jonathan.

    March 14, 2011 at 1:37PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Godzillavseaster_talkback_profile

    Dezbot

    I don't mind the addition of more mega-legs, especially as some of the teams seemed so defeated when they found out (Margie was looking especially grim throughout the ep). I'm kind of hoping the stupidity continues so K&V are out soon because Kent annoys me almost as much as Ron, but I like Vyxsin less than I do Christina. Too bad they can't team Christina with Vyxsin and get rid of the two twerps (even though I will give credit to Kent for being so patient with his friend).

    I guess I've become immune to Mallory's spazzing or I'm just tuning out her screeches. When was she being racist?

    BTW, Dan, were you at Paleyfest for the F&G/Undeclared reunion? Thought I saw you, but wasn't sure (for frame of reference so you don't think I'm a creepy stalker: I'm Alan's friend, dez, that you met briefly at Comic-Con last year).

    March 14, 2011 at 2:01PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Rob_60x60_talkback_profile

    robcrogers3

    Write a comment...

    March 14, 2011 at 11:01PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Rob_60x60_talkback_profile

    robcrogers3

    Grrr. I guess now I now why I see so many random "Write a comment" posts. There should be an easier way to log in without a false post.

    Anyway, some random thoughts:
    *Here's my main question for the episode: Zev had two goats for a while, then finally figured out his mistake and went to replace one. It looked like he dropped the extra on the ground and, eventually, Vyxsin found her last animal on the ground. Was it the same piece? If so, should he and Justin have some sort of penalty for making Vyxsin's search more difficult?
    * Call me crazy, but I rarely have any issue with non-elimination legs. By the time they come along, I'm usually attached enough to several teams that I'm relieved not to see a favorite go. Of course, it depends on how it lands. If it's a team I can't stand, the non-elimination legs bug me. :)
    * I can't remember what it was exactly, but Mallory said or did something very nice early in the episode. It almost made me feel bad for loathing her. Then she made that racist "China" impression and I lost any trace of guilt. Can't stand her.
    * I'm with Rob Staeger. The first time Ron stopped for food was cute, but the rest made me want to throttle him. Funny, though.
    * I've *always* loved the Globetrotters. I was glad to see them behaving so nicely, though. To be honest, I wouldn't have stopped the bus.
    * Loved the Elmer Fudd/rabbit confluence.
    * In terms of Kent and Vyxsin, I fall on the side of "their delays were penalty enough." Should they somehow manage to catch up, I'd hate to see them dinged with a penalty.
    * Now that we know that Christina is engaged to Azaria from her season, I kind of wish she'd been paired with him for this race instead of Ron. I think they might have had a pretty good shot.

    March 14, 2011 at 11:18PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Nigel

    As soon as they showed Margie & Luke at the end, I thought, "how the heck did they pass 2 teams just by walking from the task to the pitstop?!" Then it turned into a continued leg and it didn't matter. But they probably still should have shown something to show how that happened. They didn't show Margie doing the Yak riding either. Just a very quiet leg for them and they somehow finished first.

    On another note, I wish there was a way to see the contestant's reactions to these episodes as they air. I think it'd be cool/interesting to see how they react to watching themselves and how they come across on this show. Ron and Vyxsin would have been especially interesting for this episode.

    For next week, who should Margie/Luke U-Turn? They'll likely pick Kisha/Jen because they have beef, but I'd probably pick the Globetrotters or the Cheerleaders. I'd be nervous about the Cowboys and Greg/Mallory too though..

    March 15, 2011 at 6:02PM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      Mary when they said candy i was thinking how to make caramel sauce but i guess not. but i agree with Nigel it would be interesting.

      July 9, 2011 at 7:01PM EST

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