Inside TV+Movies with Daniel Fienberg

Recap: 'The Amazing Race' - 'Not a Well-Rounded Athlete'

The teams take the long way to Spain as the finale looms

By Daniel Fienberg Sunday, Dec 2, 2012 10:45 PM

The Beekman Boys

Credit: CBS

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We all did the math on this one, didn't we?

There was one Non-Elimination Leg that saved The Beekmans.

There was a second Non-Elimination Leg that [briefly] saved the Rockers.

And the "Amazing Race" season had only two episodes remaining.

Yes, I suppose it's *possible* that next Sunday's two-hour finale could have included a Non-Elimination Leg, but we've already had one in-episode NEL this season, plus you need to have some achievement/milestone to keep people watching a two-hour finale -- Heck, "Survivor" seems to save a half-dozen eliminations for the finale each season.

So... Yeah. That was inevitable and mostly not worth discussing.

A truly uninspired recap of a truly uninspired "Amazing Race" episode after the break.

It's probably not worth complaining.

A) Most fans knew with confidence that tonight was going to be a Non-Elimination Leg. And it was. So where's the disappointment in that? Plus...

B) We've had three very good Legs in a row. Better to get a dud out of the way now and blow the roof off on the finale, right?

Here's hoping.

But did this week's episode need to be *such* a dud?

We began with one of the lamest segments in "Amazing Race" history, as the three teams at the front of the pack left Amsterdam and flew to Barcelona, wasted a day in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Then they all met up with the straggling Beekmans -- I suspect some SERIOUS time-fudging, with Josh & Brent suddenly under four hours behind the main pack -- and celebrated ditching Abbie & Ryan before boarding an overnight ferry to Mallora, which none of them could pronounce. When the first 15 minutes of an "Amazing Race" Leg is dedicated solely to self-congratulations and a contrived equalizer -- Amsterdam to Palma de Mallorca is an easy one-connection flight -- you know that nobody's attempting to create urgency.

No, this was a Leg that was all about pretty things. No, none of the early-arriving teams said, "Hey, let's go sightsee in Barcelona!" but the show got in a few second-unit Gaudi cut-aways. And the opening non-task in Mallorca with the fire-breathing demons on the steps was amusing a photogenic.

Then the hope was obviously that the Roadblock -- "Who Wants To Get Smashed?" -- would produce some comedy. One player had to go out onto a clay tennis court and return 20 shots against a pair of machines. You could sense the producers praying to get a couple uncoordinated players on the court and start playing "Yakety Sax" or its Spanish equivalent. The problem? Nobody was really awful. Although Trey wasn't quite as tennis-proficient as the other players were making it sound, he had good enough form to make fast work of the 20 shots. James flailed initially, but locked in. Josh, with a sprained ankle, looked horrible for one round, seemed to be on the verge of quitting and then pulled a Michael Chang and gutted out a win. And even Nadiya, despite dreadful two-handed cricket form and the inevitable spectacle of Nathalie on the sidelines bellowing "You can do it, TWINIE!!!" and "Twinie, move, you jackass!" had no actual problems. Nobody was bad enough to be worth the effort. And nobody was good enough to be impressive. As a result? Task fail.

And then the Detour wasn't much better. The choice? Spin It or Bull It. In Spin It, teams had to repair two blades on a windmill. In Bull It, they had to don a bull costume and run around a circle of eight matadors in two minutes.

Any Detour that only takes two minutes in its perfect form isn't a good Detour, no matter how many pretty colors you can pack into a bull-fighting arena and even the revelation that the person playing the back of the bull had to steer the blind front didn't especially help. If you can do a task, fail the task, re-do the task and you only lost five minutes, that's just not very good. Plus, we had to listen to the painful shrieking of poor Lexi when she hurt her finger in some way. Yes, there was blood, so I'm not going to make fun of her or her reaction. She definitely got a boo-boo.

And the Spin It Detour? Not much better. Yes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were standing by to watch the participants tilt at the windmills, but the task itself? Lots of screwing and not the good kind. There was no way to gauge timing or progress, so other than the number of Chippendales references James & Jaymes were able to fit into a short window, there wasn't an iota of excitement or amusement.

It was also hard to figure the logistics that controlled the end of the Leg. The Chippendales and Team Longhorn were running in tandem and they both decided to do Bull It, but The Chippendales tried to take the freeway to the task and stumbled upon Bull It and decided they might as well just do it. They finished ahead of Team Longhorn and both teams were staring at the Pit Stop in the distance and then Team Longhorn won the Leg. The editors didn't care enough to add suspense or causality, so I guess we shouldn't care either.

The editors also didn't attempt to add suspense to the end of the Leg, which saw the Beekmans complete Spin It before the Twins and then show up at the Pit Stop seconds later. In an Elimination Leg, they would have at least tried to make it seem like both teams were in their cars trying desperately to get to the Pit Stop and that the Beekmans arrived seconds ahead. Or something.

Whatever.

Bad Leg. We'll see if "The Amazing Race" can get its mojo back for the finale next Sunday.

Other thoughts on this Leg:

*** Brutal Leg for Natalie & Nadiya, who I protested I was still liking last week, despite their problematic edit. Fine. All the haters win. I'll now be rooting against the Twins next week as well. Yes, they're funny. Yes, they try hard. Yes, there are cultural explanations for what other people have described as semi-racism previously. But this week, things just got really annoying, whether it was Nadiya dropping them from first to last by not being able to drive a stick or the increasingly shrill bickering or the multiple totally irrelevant references to Josh & Brent's sexuality, this was an episode designed to trim away whatever support remained for Team Sri Lanka. Pity. Throw in the money-stealing and whatnot and, especially compared to the other three remaining teams, you have a duo that has been set up as the villains for the finale.

*** You have the Beekmans as the Underdogs, Jaymes & James as the team absolutely everybody is rooting for, and Lexi & Trey as... Oh, whatever. So the show needed a team for viewers to root against in the finale and the editors used this episode to guarantee that it would be the twins. The teams can't be separated by more than an hour now, so I'm guessing they'll be allowed to play out the next Leg before another equalizer at the Top 3.

*** While maybe not as cute as last week's Dutch Girl, this week's headless greeter was pretty funky.

*** Favorite quotes of the episode: Jaymes: "Searching for Lucifer at 7:30 in the morning. Don't know how I feel about that." And Brent's "Sounds like Monica Seles out on the course." And Nadiya's "Am I left-handed or right-handed?"

*** An idea that came to me while watching Jaymes & James and Lexi & Trey waste their Barcelona day at the beach: Instead of Travelocity sending the teams that win each Leg on the same five or six interchangeable all-inclusive resort vacations, why doesn't Travelocity send the teams back to the city in which they won the Leg? That way, the teams could actually get to spend some real time in some of these cities and come to appreciate them under less stressful conditions? The flaw in my plan is that winning a trip back to several of these locations wouldn't necessarily be a grand prize. OK. Fine. I take it back. Forget I suggested anything.

Do y'all have any thoughts at all on this filler hour of "The Amazing Race"?

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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.

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rugman11

I thought the Roadblock was a really good task until the teams made short work of it. They probably needed to up the difficulty on that.

But none of that matters because we need to discuss the previews for next week and the apparent return of "This is bull$*!#. My ox is broken!" I really hope this year's version is as good as the original.
December 3, 2012 at 12:04AM EST Reply to Comment
- dan Rugman11 - The Roadblock required people to suck at it. In success, it was dismal.
  
  And I was annoyed enough by the end of the Leg that I switched away and skipped the previews. I *love* a good broken ox. Maybe this season can be saved!
  
  -Daniel
  December 3, 2012 at 12:19AM EST
- Andrew My suspicion is that the original plan was for them to play some local tennis pros and have to return 20 points, but when they tested it that was way too far on the other end of the difficulty curve. Just seems like the natural task to do there, and similar to things they've done in the past (on this very race!).
  December 3, 2012 at 5:44AM EST
Mulderism

I had hoped those terrible women were out of my life forever. I didn't think it would be a NEL but I'm still relatively new to the show. If any team besides the shrill racists wins I'll be satisfied.
December 3, 2012 at 12:35AM EST Reply to Comment
- dan Mulderism - I just don't see how they're "terrible women." They're not especially appealing. But they're not in the Top 50 of least likable "Amazing Race" teams. At least not for me.
  
  -Daniel
  December 3, 2012 at 12:45AM EST
- Mulderism I'm the few season I've seen they are the worst. There must have been some pretty unlikeable teams over the years if they don't crack the top 50.
  
  I skipped last season simply because Brachel was in it.
  December 3, 2012 at 2:12AM EST
- Andrew I find it hard to believe there are 2.5 teams per season on average you find less likeable than them. Unless we're counting, say, Jonathan and Victoria about ten times, which is fair, since they ruined the sixth season (with the help of Kendra) despite the presence of my favorite team ever.
  December 3, 2012 at 5:21AM EST
Tara

I don't think it was serious time shaving. Trey and Lesile's flight to Amsterdam was scheduled to land at 1:05 and the Beekman's at 4:35. So they made up a lot of time with that flight.
December 3, 2012 at 12:37AM EST Reply to Comment
- dan Tara - True. I forgot that the time-shaving was last Leg...
  
  -Daniel
  December 3, 2012 at 12:40AM EST
mgrabois

Dan, when you get to interview the next duo, please ask them about what happens when they're at Pit Stop. The Beekmans were only a few hours behind the rest of the pack in Amsterdam, yet it wasn't until Barcelona that the other three teams knew who the last team was and who had gotten eliminated by the Roadblock.

I had forgotten that next week was a 2-hour finale, so I was not expecting the non-elimination leg.

And if they're going to do easy challenges, the rule of thumb in the past was that you'd have an easy one that was far away or a tough one that was close.

Finally, Nadiya and Natalie deserve to lose if they went on The Amazing Race without one of them being proficient at driving stick. Not only have there frequently been legs where the Racers have to drive, the manual transmission car is the pretty much standard (no pun intended) in most of the world. And the Beekmans deserve to lose if the guy with the gimpy ankle is the one who chooses to do the Roadblock at a sports arena where you can see tennis courts and you know there's going to be something athletic.
December 3, 2012 at 1:32AM EST Reply to Comment
- Andrew TAR sequesters the teams during pit stops because having the teams get to know each other didn't create enough conflict and made things pleasant and enjoyable. I miss eat/sleep/mingle. :(
  December 3, 2012 at 5:18AM EST
- semicolwin Rob Cesternino (from Survivor) had Ernie and Cindy on a little while back, and they talked about how they would be sitting around the dinner table with everyone else, but they couldn't talk to one another. They'd have to ask their partner, "Hey Cindy, how do you think Marcus and Amani felt about that detour?" and then Marcus and Amani would respond in kind. So I was a bit confused when they didn't know who was eliminated...maybe the producers are more likely to do a full sequester when there was drama in the potential elimination.
  December 4, 2012 at 10:15AM EST
SaveFarris

Was there a rule for the tennis roadblock that said you couldn't stand at the net and smash the ball 20 times? Because that would have been my strategery.
December 3, 2012 at 11:58AM EST Reply to Comment
olucy

Don't you mean to say that the Chippendales stumbled upon Spin It and decided to do the task?
December 3, 2012 at 12:03PM EST Reply to Comment
Ben

This isn't a season of notable jerks. Even Ryan was more of an oafish type than a truly hateful person; certainly he's no TAR6 Jonathan, just like neither of the Twinnies could play on the All-Asshole TAR Women's Team captained by Mirna and TAR7's Kelly (or led by AATWT Scout Leader Mama Weaver). That said, Jaymes & James have run a great race and been utterly likable from start to finish, and it would be awesome if they took the $1 million prize. After that, Trey & Lexi would be fine (they're one of those Dating Couples who have come across positively, but they're certainly not the next-generation TK & Rachel or Cheyne & Whitney), the Beekman Boys would need a great final leg to justify winning (right now, they're basically a less grating, less physically pratfalling version of TAR13's Andrew and Dan), and I'd prefer the Twinnies bow out ahead of the three-team finale. Looking forward to seeing this one play out next Sunday!
December 3, 2012 at 12:49PM EST Reply to Comment
floretbroccoli

I never understand it when teams say one member or the other is the ONE designated to learn to drive a standard shift. There have been times in the past when both team members have had to drive stick shift.
December 3, 2012 at 2:32PM EST Reply to Comment
shmrck14

I'm rooting against the twins but rooting harder against Brent and Josh. While I like Brent, I can't stand Josh. He is so whiny and constantly seems like he couldn't care less if he were even on the race. He is one of the worst racers ever.

To be honest, if anyone other than James and Jaymes wins, I'll be pretty disappointed.
December 3, 2012 at 2:47PM EST Reply to Comment
- jan I'm hoping James and Jaymes win, too. They seem to have had a lot of fun all the way along, and they haven't gotten whiny or snide about anybody else. But then--not likely to happen, but you never know--I'd hope for Brent and Josh to win. True, Josh has been whiny, but I like Brent, and they don't seem to be down on everyone else. Third for me are Lexi and Trey. They'd be higher up except that they did go along with stealing the money, so that kind of soured me on them. And I hope, hope, hope the twins lose--for stealing the money as well as for their comments on the other teams. I had actually gotten to like Abbie and Ryan much better than I had initially, but then they were eliminated.
  December 4, 2012 at 11:05AM EST
Pauline K. Rodgers

What is the name of the castle where the pit stop was? I didn't write it down last night and still have not seen it written anywhere on the Amazing Race sites. I would like to research it especially when it was used as a prison.
December 3, 2012 at 4:59PM EST Reply to Comment
- Keith Castell de Bellver.
  December 4, 2012 at 6:10PM EST
Pauline K. Rodgers

What is the name of the castle where the pit stop was in Spain?
December 3, 2012 at 5:00PM EST Reply to Comment
RR

Hey Dan, how is it wrong to refer to someone as gay who IS gay? I don't think anything the Twins said was offensive. They are called Team Sri Lanka...is that racist? We've had teams called the Blonds, Strippers, Truckers, Hicks, etc. Each team gets a shorthand nickname. Older teams get referred to as Ma & Pa. That could be taken as offensive. Brent & Josh are gay, so its not derogatory. Have we become such a politically correct society that we can't even utter the "G" word when it's appropriate?
I can't remember their names, but there was a team a couple of cycles ago that referred to 2 black women who were friends as "the sistas" & no one made a big deal about that. (Which I think could be construed as more offensive)
December 5, 2012 at 3:55PM EST Reply to Comment
- dan RR - Attributing certain characteristics to anybody -- be it positive or negative -- on the basis of the race, religion, gender or sexuality is problematic. They didn't call the Beekmans gay. With the map at the beginning, they said "They're super-prepared. They're gay" and then there was a similar comment at the end with the windmill challenge, where their sexuality was brought up in relation to their ability to perform the task. You're gonna say, "But how is saying positive things about somebody based on whatever a negative?" and I'd say that if they had said, "Of course they can run, they're African-American" or "Of course they're good with money, they're Jewish" you might see how it's problematic. Or maybe not. I can't speak to what does or doesn't bother you.
  
  And that's all I'd say it was: Problematic. And not-entirely-kosher. I didn't call them homophobic nor did I say that what they said about the Beekmans was outright offensive. But coupled with other things they've said throughout? It's problematic.
  
  -Daniel
  December 5, 2012 at 4:18PM EST
- RR So you would agree, going forward, that referring to a team as "The Blonds" will be problematic? Are we going to have to start calling each team by both members name so no one is offended? Where does it stop?
  
  December 5, 2012 at 4:27PM EST
- dan RR - You didn't read a word I wrote. That's OK.
  
  -Daniel
  December 5, 2012 at 4:33PM EST
Chris

"before boarding an overnight ferry to Mallora, which none of them could pronounce."

It's Mallorca, by the way.
December 6, 2012 at 2:45AM EST Reply to Comment

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Recap: 'The Amazing Race' - 'Not a Well-Rounded Athlete'

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Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

dan Rugman11 - The Roadblock required people to suck at it. In success, it was dismal. And I was annoyed enough by the end of the Leg that I switched away and skipped the previews. I *love* a good broken ox. Maybe this season can be saved!-Daniel

Mulderism I had hoped those terrible women were out of my life forever. I didn't think it would be a NEL but I'm still relatively new to the show. If any team besides the shrill racists wins I'll be satisfied.

dan Mulderism - I just don't see how they're "terrible women." They're not especially appealing. But they're not in the Top 50 of least likable "Amazing Race" teams. At least not for me. -Daniel

Mulderism I'm the few season I've seen they are the worst. There must have been some pretty unlikeable teams over the years if they don't crack the top 50.I skipped last season simply because Brachel was in it.

Andrew I find it hard to believe there are 2.5 teams per season on average you find less likeable than them. Unless we're counting, say, Jonathan and Victoria about ten times, which is fair, since they ruined the sixth season (with the help of Kendra) despite the presence of my favorite team ever.

Tara I don't think it was serious time shaving. Trey and Lesile's flight to Amsterdam was scheduled to land at 1:05 and the Beekman's at 4:35. So they made up a lot of time with that flight.

dan Tara - True. I forgot that the time-shaving was last Leg...-Daniel

Andrew TAR sequesters the teams during pit stops because having the teams get to know each other didn't create enough conflict and made things pleasant and enjoyable. I miss eat/sleep/mingle. :(

SaveFarris Was there a rule for the tennis roadblock that said you couldn't stand at the net and smash the ball 20 times? Because that would have been my strategery.

olucy Don't you mean to say that the Chippendales stumbled upon Spin It and decided to do the task?

floretbroccoli I never understand it when teams say one member or the other is the ONE designated to learn to drive a standard shift. There have been times in the past when both team members have had to drive stick shift.

Pauline K. Rodgers What is the name of the castle where the pit stop was? I didn't write it down last night and still have not seen it written anywhere on the Amazing Race sites. I would like to research it especially when it was used as a prison.

Keith Castell de Bellver.

Pauline K. Rodgers What is the name of the castle where the pit stop was in Spain?

RR So you would agree, going forward, that referring to a team as "The Blonds" will be problematic? Are we going to have to start calling each team by both members name so no one is offended? Where does it stop?

dan RR - You didn't read a word I wrote. That's OK. -Daniel

Chris "before boarding an overnight ferry to Mallora, which none of them could pronounce."It's Mallorca, by the way.

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The Amazing Race is updated

dan Rugman11 - The Roadblock required people to suck at it. In success, it was dismal.

And I was annoyed enough by the end of the Leg that I switched away and skipped the previews. I love a good broken ox. Maybe this season can be saved!

-Daniel

Mulderism

I had hoped those terrible women were out of my life forever. I didn't think it would be a NEL but I'm still relatively new to the show. If any team besides the shrill racists wins I'll be satisfied.

dan Mulderism - I just don't see how they're "terrible women." They're not especially appealing. But they're not in the Top 50 of least likable "Amazing Race" teams. At least not for me.

-Daniel

Mulderism I'm the few season I've seen they are the worst. There must have been some pretty unlikeable teams over the years if they don't crack the top 50.

I skipped last season simply because Brachel was in it.

Tara

I don't think it was serious time shaving. Trey and Lesile's flight to Amsterdam was scheduled to land at 1:05 and the Beekman's at 4:35. So they made up a lot of time with that flight.

dan Tara - True. I forgot that the time-shaving was last Leg...

-Daniel

SaveFarris

Was there a rule for the tennis roadblock that said you couldn't stand at the net and smash the ball 20 times? Because that would have been my strategery.

olucy

Don't you mean to say that the Chippendales stumbled upon Spin It and decided to do the task?

floretbroccoli

I never understand it when teams say one member or the other is the ONE designated to learn to drive a standard shift. There have been times in the past when both team members have had to drive stick shift.

Pauline K. Rodgers

What is the name of the castle where the pit stop was? I didn't write it down last night and still have not seen it written anywhere on the Amazing Race sites. I would like to research it especially when it was used as a prison.

Pauline K. Rodgers

What is the name of the castle where the pit stop was in Spain?

dan RR - You didn't read a word I wrote. That's OK.

-Daniel

Chris

"before boarding an overnight ferry to Mallora, which none of them could pronounce."

It's Mallorca, by the way.

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