Inside TV+Movies with Daniel Fienberg

Recap: 'The Amazing Race' - 'You Know I'm Not as Smart as You'

Who knew long division would be so important?

By Daniel Fienberg Monday, Feb 27, 2012 4:15 AM

Bopper and Mark of "The Amazing Race"

Credit: CBS

Are you a fan of The Amazing Race?

Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.

By airing the season's second episode on Oscars night, "The Amazing Race" forced me into a late-night recap on Sunday (Feb. 26), since I was live-bloging the Academy Awards during the show's ET airing.

I can't say if I would have felt this disconnected from the episode if I'd watched it on my normal schedule, but this is going to be a short recap [After-the-fact note: It was not a short recap], since I spent the last 20 minutes of the show thinking something that regular readers know I almost never think during "The Amazing Race"...

That thought?

Gee. I kinda hope this is a Non-Elimination Leg.

I had the thought even before a team I like started to struggle, but I swear on a small stack of Bibles that I'd have stuck by the thought even if Phil Keoghan had been on the verge of eliminating one of the teams I hate.

That was just a bad hour of TV to send any team home on. This would have been the rare NEL that wouldn't have gotten any complains from me.

Instead, naturally, this was not a Non-Elimination Leg and a team I like (kinda) went home.

Add in the Oscars, which largely went to movies I didn't really love and this was a lackluster evening of non-stop TV viewing.

Click through for as much recapping as I can stand...

I know. I'm old-fashiong. I just don't think an "Amazing Race" elimination should be based on an out-of-their-control bus incident and a single long division problem.

Half of that is the fault of fate. Half of it is the fault of the "Amazing Race" architecture for this Leg. But I'm less about placing blame and more about being slightly disappointed.

It was just a clunky Leg from start to finish, designed less based around creative or difficult challenges and more on getting the teams out of rural Argentina and back into a place from which the show can navigate going forward.

The Leg began with an equalizer, as the teams made their way from the previous Pit Stop to the local town square forcing Rachel & Dave to relinquish a very slim lead over the first small group of teams, but a lead of nearly three hours over Danny & Joey "Fitness." Since that lead was built mostly on that luck-of-the-draw balloon pull in Santa Barbara, I can't begrudge the equalizer at this point. [It was interesting that the teams from the second flight were in a really tight bunch, with only 12 minutes between Kerri & Stacy and The Nouveau Guidos, while somehow Elliott & Andrew dug themselves early a 90-minute hole behind Rachel & Dave. Yes. That only interests me, I suppose.]

That led to the teams all being together for the episode's Detour, which offered the choice between Boil My Water or Light My Fire. In teams had to visit one of three villages and set up a solar kitchen using only the picture on the side of the box and then bring a kettle of water to boil. In Light My Fire, teams had to load a donkey with sticks and clay and lead it a mile to a pottery kiln to get a fire lit.

Y'all know the Detour rules.

Rule One is always "Do the more photogenic Detour." There wasn't really a clear advantage here. Water had shiny domes, but it was just a bunch of people scurrying around doing basic assembly and then waiting for water to boil and not only does a watched pot never boil, but it's weak TV. So that probably gives an advantage to Fire, except...

Rule Two is, whenever possible, don't do the task that puts you at the mercy of animals, especially the task that puts you at the mercy of animals over a potential hike of a mile, which isn't a lot if you're jogging on flat land, but becomes a lot when you're tugging a potentially stubborn burro.

So I think the rules probably stated that you were supposed to pick Boil. And of the 10 remaining teams, nine of the teams picked that side of the Detour. They may have been wrong.

Border Agents Art & JJ got lost multiple times and estimated they wasted more than 20 minutes getting lost going to Light My Fire. They then proceeded to load up their burro and scoot him across the desert in no time flat, going from last to second place. Was this an example of a task that looked like it was harder than it actually was? Or was this an example of two men who are apparently experience dragging a different sort of mule through the desert and simply got lucky in this instance with an agreeable donkey and a cooperative sun?

It turns out that as cumbersome as animals are to rely upon, they're positive docile when compared to forcing the sun to shine early in the morning. So Art & JJ ran along, along comparing their donkey to an illegal immigrant and completed the task, rushy by the Boil My Water contestants who were just standing around doing nothing except for praying that the son would generate enough energy to eventually boil water.

On the Boil My Water task, the only revelation was that Mark of Team Kentucky isn't as backwoods as we may have thought he was. It was a great episode for Mark, who took his team temporarily into first by using skills he claimed to have acquired by helping his kids play with Legos. Either way, Mark was impressive with the building of the solar kitchen. Nobody on any of the other teams was all that impressive and only the clowns, by failing to realize there were instructions on the side, and The Nouveau Guidos, by copying from Kerri & Stacy, came away looking less-than-intelligent. For some reason, Kerri & Stacy and Nary & Jamie were left waiting for boiling to occur, but we got no explanation for the delay.

The Detour just set teams up for a really, really long bus ride to Buenos Aires. The editors were very coy and withholding when it came to letting us know what the separation was between the first bus to Buenos Aires, the second bus and the third bus and we were never to get any perspective, because a disaster ensued.

The first bus had no issues, but the second bus, with four teams, had a catastrophe, as a window on the bus got blown out, scattering glass everywhere and causing a roadside delay that one player estimated took at least two hours. In the process, the third bus easily passed them, helping Team Mississippi and Team Secret Agents (Nary and Jamie are claiming to be teachers) escape trouble.

In Buenos Aires, the teams all had to go to a cattle yard, where the faced a Roadblock that required, as I mentioned a while back, the successful completion of ONE long division problem. Standing at a beef auction, one player from each team had to hear the auctioneer's estimate on the weight of a paddock of cows, count the cows and properly figure out the average weight of the cows. Yes. That's total weight, divided by number of cows, equals the answer to complete the task.

JJ and Not-"Big Brother"-Rachel worked together and finished the Roadblock quickly, leaving "Big Brother" Rachel blubbering in total confusion.

"I don't know anything about cows except that they taste good in steak," "Big Brother" Rachel said, before realizing that bovine knowledge was less important than knowledge knowledge, to which she could only say, "I'm really bad at math."

I'm convinced that left to her own devices, "Big Brother" Rachel would still be standing in Argentina crying, pointing at steers and yelling random numbers at gauchos as Brendon played with his Rip Van Winkle beard in frustration.

Instead, Rachel was saved by the most unlikely of sources...

Mark from Team Kentucky! Again! Turns out the dude works with cows and he's great with math. At Brendon's urging Mark solved the problem, on his second shot, and dragged Rachel by the ear (not literally) with him to the gaucho. They got their next clue and Mark ran off grumbling about how he messed up a decimal, which is exactly *not* what I would have expected. Now if you told me Bopper can't read? That I'd believe.

So anyway, this all means that the Leg came down to the last four teams from the ill-fated second bus hitting the cattle yards at the exact same time. The last person to solve one long division problem goes home. Vanessa, from Vanessa & Ralph, was supposed to have problems, because she was an English major, not a math major. She did not. She solved that problem fast. I really like Vanessa. Seeing the scenes from next week's episode with "Big Brother" Rachel insulting Vanessa only make me like her more.

It came down to Nouveau Guido Danny, Soccer Twin Andrew and Clown Dave. Sensing the clown was stuggling, Danny and Andrew teamed up and figured out the problem together, leaving Dave, a two-time cancer survivor, on his own.

The Clowns were eliminated because of a broken bus window and one long division problem involving cows. Definitely teams have been eliminated for less. Misa & Maiya went home last week because they didn't look up and missed Phil. Still, it didn't feel satisfying for a likable team to go home in this way.

Some other thoughts on this week's episode:

*** Cherie the Clown cried again and used the "tears of a clown" joke for a second time. I'm not gonna lie: That was gonna get annoying. Fast.

*** Dave & Rachel have won two straight legs. They're a powerhouse. They're like "The Artist" in "Amazing Race" form.

*** Team Kentucky made a big leap to the top of my Favorite Teams list. They could blow that sentimental advantage in a second, but I love it when teams surprise me and Mark pulled a double-surprise this week. Both surprises were based on my own false assumptions, but I'm OK with having my ignorance exposed if it leads to entertainment.

*** I still can't tell how I feel about Art & JJ. Their vendetta against Team Big Brother would be irrational if Rachel weren't an awful, awful person. The Border Guards don't seem to hate anybody else, so they may be OK and as a USC guy, I liked Art mocking Brendon with, "He's a UCLA student, what do you expect?" Fight on, Art!

*** The Boil My Water task produced some of the weirdest colorful language I've ever heard. "Is it worth being crabby-pants about it?" "Son of a monkey's uncle!" "Boy, this is hotter than shenanigans" and "Just like baby bird soup, baby" were just a few of the things that were said.

*** And lastly: *Was* that Diego Maradona at the mat with Phil? They didn't introduce him and even when Andrew -- a "professional" soccer goalie -- got excited, he didn't say, "Dude, you're Diego Maradona," he just called him a legend. I know what Diego Maradona used to look like, even as recently as the last World Cup. But the guy at the mat with the awful dye-job and the awful dyed goatee? I really don't know. I saw him next to Phil and I immediately thought it might be him, but if you have Diego Maradona, don't you introduce him by name? [UPDATE: Per Phil Keoghan's twitter feed, it was not, in fact, Diego Maradona. So they let Andrew embarrass himself at the time and then the editors exposed the embarrassment for all to see. Oh well.]

Anyway, it's really late and I'm sleepy. Were you rooting for a reboot at the end of this episode or were you satisfied to send out the clowns?

Want More...

The Amazing Race?

Check out everything there is including photos, reviews, videos.

Go There ►

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, You Know I'm Not as Smart as You

Trending Now on HitFix Boards

Topic	Started By	Latest Post	Replies
Which "Real Housewives" star do you like? Or loathe?	LianeBonin	20 days ago	2
Big Brother is back -- but do we care?	LianeBonin	10 months ago	3
Discuss Reality TV on HitFix Message Boards »

Jamie

yes that was Diego Maradona, which is absolutely crazy in too many ways to count.
February 27, 2012 at 5:47AM EST Reply to Comment
- Jamie - According to Phil's Twitter feed, it was only an impersonator, which makes the entire thing really, really weird and a little unseemly...
  
  -Daniel
  February 27, 2012 at 1:03PM EST
- Jobin Jamie,
  That was NOT Maradona, it was just a guy who looks similar to him that they decided to use.
  
  http://thetotalfootballer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Diego-Maradona.jpg
  
  That is what Maradonna looks like currently. Even if he died his beard for show, it isn't the same guy.
  
  Also, Maradona is the manager of some team in Dubai thats paying him ridiculous money. I highly doubt he came back to Argentina for whatever Amazing Race was offering for an appearance fee.
  February 27, 2012 at 1:49PM EST
mgrabois

I think other challenges in Races past have involved math, and when the clue said "no calculators" Big Brother Rachel was visibly upset, which suggests to me that she might have had one in her pack.

Also: for all those kids out there who say math isn't important to know since they'll always have computers or calculators: ok, it's not like Amazing Race is real life, but you never know when you'll need to do math.

(Typo watch: in the paragraph that starts "The first bus had no issues", there were four teams on the second bus, not four years on the bus.)
February 27, 2012 at 5:54AM EST Reply to Comment
- Fixed that typo! Thanks!
  
  -Daniel
  February 27, 2012 at 12:45PM EST
JimD

It’s hard for me to work up much outrage about the clowns getting eliminated – who knows how long they might have taken at the solar kitchen challenge if they didn’t ‘innocently’ check up on Dave & Rachel’s work and figure out what they were doing wrong. It’s also possible that even if the incident with the bus window hadn’t occurred and the original order of bus arrivals prevailed, Clown Dave might have been stuck at the Roadblock for a while and the teams from the third bus could have caught him anyways. The two-hour bus delay would have been far more frustrating to witness had it cost a team that had performed flawlessly (or even competently) otherwise.
February 27, 2012 at 9:45AM EST Reply to Comment
- Biddle I completely agree with this.
  
  February 27, 2012 at 10:10AM EST
Willow

Consensus seems to be it was a Maradona impersonator. Because Maradona weighs like 100lbs more than that now and has grayer hair.
February 27, 2012 at 9:51AM EST Reply to Comment
Mike

I found the clowns to be nice people, but I'm thrilled they went home last night. Not only because last season became a huge mess when they had too many non-elimination legs early. But because the clowns were a terrible TAR team. They became overwhelmed on the first leg, had trouble with directions, couldn't read instructions and couldn't do math.

After two episodes, I had no faith that they could be a successful team. So them sticking around would have just meant a future week when they finished last instead of a team I'd really like to see gone -- i.e. the Long Island guys or Team Big Brother.
February 27, 2012 at 9:56AM EST Reply to Comment
- Biddle Yeah my wfe who usually loves quirky teams said this when the teams were leaving the pit stop. "Oh yeah, they won't last long" and sure enough...
  
  They're not even etertaining t.v, they seemed so out of their element but not in the funny etertaining way.
  
  Now Rachel and Brendon, that's entertaining, there's no way in hell these two are going to win. But you know until they finally get eliminated there's going to be a lot of crying, yelling and projecting their frustration on other teams.
  February 27, 2012 at 10:16AM EST
Biddle

Oh yeah, something that I just tohught of that has me chuckling again. When Rachel says "You know I'm not as smart as you are" to Brendon (Brandon?) did he even try to ensure her that was not true?

I've watched him for two seasons on Big Brother and now here remind us of how smart he is, but so far have seen no proof.
February 27, 2012 at 10:21AM EST Reply to Comment
Robin

I was very happy the clowns were eliminated. As others have said, they were not a strong team, and I thought they were simply 2 nice people who were in way over their heads. Not fun to watch.

I didn't get the BB-Rachel hate until this episode, since I've seen approximately 10 minutes of BB in like S2. I thought she was your standard annoying girlfriend in the premiere. But I now understand her potential for sheer annoyance.

I'm still not sold on KY. They improved this episode, but they are still made up of so many bad stereotypes I find them hard to watch. "Git 'er done" had me grinding my teeth in frustration.

I love Vanessa. She's probably my favorite racer at this point.
February 27, 2012 at 1:17PM EST Reply to Comment
Andy

Am I the only one who finds it incredibly sad that a single long division problem (to quote Dan) proved to be a MAJOR obstacle for a lot of people? And that the designers of the race built an entire challenge about it, predicting it would be that way?
February 27, 2012 at 1:51PM EST Reply to Comment
Kujo

I knew it was a Diego Maradona imposter as soon as I saw him. :)

I think the "Boil My Water" task took so long for some teams was due to the amount of water they put in the pot.

February 27, 2012 at 1:54PM EST Reply to Comment
Jobin

I'd like to give congrats to Rachel for being promoted from being identified as a VIP Waitress to the much more acclaimed Event Hostess.

That had me cracking up.

Can't wait until they get eliminated, CBS's affection for some truely annoying reality show members that causes them to reuse them in multiple shows is really painful for me as a viewer.
February 27, 2012 at 1:57PM EST Reply to Comment
- victoriaj1908 LOL
  February 27, 2012 at 2:25PM EST
Kujo

I knew it was a Diego Maradona impersonator as soon as I saw him. :)

I think the "Boil My Water" task took longer for some teams is due to the amount of water they put in the teapot.

February 27, 2012 at 2:00PM EST Reply to Comment
- Kujo - The water quantity *had* to have been monitored, didn't it? It had to have been "Fill to this line..." Otherwise, why would *any* team have put more than the most shallow amount possible?
  
  And the Maradona thing just confused me. It looked less like Maradona and more like a wax statue of Maradona. But for all I knew, that's what real Maradona looks like this week...
  
  -Daniel
  February 27, 2012 at 2:08PM EST
- Kujo "The water quantity *had* to have been monitored, didn't it"
  
  Honestly, I didn't notice that requirement. You may be right.
  
  February 27, 2012 at 2:37PM EST
- Kujo - I just talked to The Clowns -- interview posting tonight or tomorrow -- and you're exactly right. They weren't told how much water to put in the kettle. All they were told is to make it whistle...
  
  -Daniel
  February 27, 2012 at 3:24PM EST
Greg

I think the only team (actually, person) I'm almost liking is Vanessa. The uterus quote last week was fantastic and the "Son of a Monkey's uncle" was great too. The Kentucky Team is fine, but doesn't seem like the kind of team who has a shot of winning. We'll see.

I'm finding the challenges very dull, so far. I hated the parachuting last week and the detour this week didn't seem particularly hard. It may be one of those cases where it's much harder in real life, but if it is so, it's the show own fault for not showing how hard that was for the teams.

And please don't say you're bad in math. Say it was hard to concentrate with the guy yelling, say it was hard to count exactly how many cows there were... Being bad in math in that road block is just admitting that you're stupid.
February 27, 2012 at 3:27PM EST Reply to Comment
- Pedak And Vanessa is smoking hot.
  February 27, 2012 at 4:15PM EST
Becca

It was hard to tell because it happened so fast, but what happened when they are trying to get that first clue from the guy on the donkey? Did Art or JJ say that Brendon (team big brother)grabbed the clue out of their hand? If so, that would make me dislike them too.

Plus, there has been a lot of talk about team BB just tagging along with other teams. Every season there are a couple of teams that just follow the leaders around and they always aggravate the heck out of me!
February 27, 2012 at 4:01PM EST Reply to Comment
Pam

Another favorite Vanessa quote: "I'm really good at tuning men out. I do it all the time!" (when she was doing long division at the cattle auction)

Is it just me, or do they play the same "theme song" for the Kentucky men as they did for the cowboys Jet and Cord?
February 28, 2012 at 2:16AM EST Reply to Comment
shmrck14

I'm really liking Kerri and Stacy, they go about the tasks competently with no drama or help from the others. In a video clip on the CBS website, they got a flat tire at some point in the first leg and Kerri just got right to it, changed it like it was nohting and they were on their way.
February 28, 2012 at 11:39AM EST Reply to Comment

News From Our Partners

Follow HitFix:

Follow @HitFix

Get Instant Alerts on Breaking News

Latest Posts

Recap: 'American Idol' Finale Results - The Winner Is...

Kree or Candice? Join as as we wade through over two hours of filler.

Thursday, May 16, 2013
Interview: John Cochran discusses his 'Survivor: Caramoan' win

This season's shutout winner discusses his path to victory

Thursday, May 16, 2013
Recap: 'American Idol' Finale Performances - Candice versus Kree

'Idol' begins to wind down a tough season with an hour of singing

Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Interview: Dawn Meehan and Sherri Biethman talk 'Survivor: Caramoan'

The losing finalists discuss their lack of Jury respect

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Cannes Film Festival 2013

Inside TV+Movies with Daniel Fienberg

Recap: 'The Amazing Race' - 'You Know I'm Not as Smart as You'

Are you a fan of The Amazing Race?

Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.

Never miss a post - sign up now to get an e-mail alert whenever The Amazing Race is updated

Want More...

The Amazing Race?

Send to your friends

Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/72lcdjo

Recap: 'The Amazing Race' - 'You Know I'm Not as Smart as You'

Share this Post on ...

Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/72lcdjo

Recap: 'The Amazing Race' - 'You Know I'm Not as Smart as You'

Trending Now on HitFix Boards

Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Jamie yes that was Diego Maradona, which is absolutely crazy in too many ways to count.

Jamie - According to Phil's Twitter feed, it was only an impersonator, which makes the entire thing really, really weird and a little unseemly...-Daniel

Fixed that typo! Thanks!-Daniel

Biddle I completely agree with this.

Willow Consensus seems to be it was a Maradona impersonator. Because Maradona weighs like 100lbs more than that now and has grayer hair.

Andy Am I the only one who finds it incredibly sad that a single long division problem (to quote Dan) proved to be a MAJOR obstacle for a lot of people? And that the designers of the race built an entire challenge about it, predicting it would be that way?

Kujo I knew it was a Diego Maradona imposter as soon as I saw him. :)I think the "Boil My Water" task took so long for some teams was due to the amount of water they put in the pot.

victoriaj1908 LOL

Kujo I knew it was a Diego Maradona impersonator as soon as I saw him. :)I think the "Boil My Water" task took longer for some teams is due to the amount of water they put in the teapot.

Kujo "The water quantity *had* to have been monitored, didn't it"Honestly, I didn't notice that requirement. You may be right.

Kujo - I just talked to The Clowns -- interview posting tonight or tomorrow -- and you're exactly right. They weren't told how much water to put in the kettle. All they were told is to make it whistle... -Daniel

Pedak And Vanessa is smoking hot.

Pam Another favorite Vanessa quote: "I'm really good at tuning men out. I do it all the time!" (when she was doing long division at the cattle auction)Is it just me, or do they play the same "theme song" for the Kentucky men as they did for the cowboys Jet and Cord?

shmrck14 I'm really liking Kerri and Stacy, they go about the tasks competently with no drama or help from the others. In a video clip on the CBS website, they got a flat tire at some point in the first leg and Kerri just got right to it, changed it like it was nohting and they were on their way.

News From Our Partners

Be the first to know - sign up now to get an instant e-mail alert whenever something big happens in Movies, TV or Music

Latest Posts

Recent Activity on Facebook

Most Popular on Facebook

About HitFix

Advertise on HitFix

Subscribe to HitFix

Popular Topics

Never miss a post - sign up now to get an e-mail alert whenever
The Amazing Race is updated

Jamie

yes that was Diego Maradona, which is absolutely crazy in too many ways to count.

Jamie - According to Phil's Twitter feed, it was only an impersonator, which makes the entire thing really, really weird and a little unseemly...

-Daniel

Fixed that typo! Thanks!

-Daniel

Willow

Consensus seems to be it was a Maradona impersonator. Because Maradona weighs like 100lbs more than that now and has grayer hair.

Andy

Am I the only one who finds it incredibly sad that a single long division problem (to quote Dan) proved to be a MAJOR obstacle for a lot of people? And that the designers of the race built an entire challenge about it, predicting it would be that way?

Kujo

I knew it was a Diego Maradona imposter as soon as I saw him. :)

I think the "Boil My Water" task took so long for some teams was due to the amount of water they put in the pot.

Kujo

I knew it was a Diego Maradona impersonator as soon as I saw him. :)

I think the "Boil My Water" task took longer for some teams is due to the amount of water they put in the teapot.

Kujo "The water quantity had to have been monitored, didn't it"

Honestly, I didn't notice that requirement. You may be right.

Kujo - I just talked to The Clowns -- interview posting tonight or tomorrow -- and you're exactly right. They weren't told how much water to put in the kettle. All they were told is to make it whistle...

-Daniel

Pam

Another favorite Vanessa quote: "I'm really good at tuning men out. I do it all the time!" (when she was doing long division at the cattle auction)

Is it just me, or do they play the same "theme song" for the Kentucky men as they did for the cowboys Jet and Cord?

shmrck14

I'm really liking Kerri and Stacy, they go about the tasks competently with no drama or help from the others. In a video clip on the CBS website, they got a flat tire at some point in the first leg and Kerri just got right to it, changed it like it was nohting and they were on their way.

Be the first to know - sign up now to get an instant e-mail alert
whenever something big happens in Movies, TV or Music