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The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 6- “Run, Babuschka, Run” Last night’s leg of the amazing race, set in beautiful St. Petersburg, Russia, was a treat for Race fans. Not only did it feature a choice between two seemingly ridiculously difficult detour choices, but also colorful locals, literal shit shovelling, and babuschkas. Babuschkas! Anyway, all the teams got bunched up traveling from Narvik to St. Petersburg, so it was a free-for-all once teams hit the city. They all made their way to some columns that directed them to their detour: classical music or classical film. In music, teams would have to correctly identify the three pianists playing three specific pieces in a sea of pianists playing. Film was about finding a strip of film that was being shown on loop in a sea of film strips. Both were utterly maddening for the teams, and you need look no further than the fact that all three teams who chose to do film (the needle in the haystack challenge) finished before anyone got the music. So Jill/Thomas, Brook/Claire, and Kevin/Michael raced to the front of the pack. Gary/Mallory, Nick/Vicki, and Nat/Kat all opted to switch detour tasks from the music, but, despite a mini anger tantrum, Chad/Stephanie managed to work through the music. From there, teams made their way to Palace Square, where they were directed to the town of Alexandrovskaya where they found their roadblock. Teams had to don traditional garb (enter the babuschkas), and plant a row of 50 potatoes, complete with fertilizer. The only drama in this was teams having trouble finding said fertilizer, but, after everyone had their requisite “OMG it’s poop!” freakout, everyone did the task with ease and little griping. But the Russian locals were great color commentators. From there, teams made their way to the pit stop, St. Isaac’s cathedral, or, rather, a park near the cathedral. Jill & Thomas made it to the mat first, followed by Brook/Claire, Kevin/Michael, Nat/Kat, Chad/Stephanie, and Gary/Mallory. Team Tats, who were trailing all leg after having so many problems with the detour that they actually switched back to their original choice of music, came in last, but were spared by a non-elimination leg. I was actually glad to see this, as they’ve grown on me, with their lack of bickering and comic relief-ness. Other Assorted Thoughts: •Jill is having a harder time hiding her resentment about everything Thomas says or has claimed to have done. •Quote of the episode: “I’ve got a lot of manure. it’s kind of been a theme of this leg.”- Mallory •Stephanie actually threw the shovel into the pile of manure so whoever was next would have to climb in to get it. That person? Adorable, pocket-sized Mallory. -Nate (LevyOnTV)

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 6- “Run, Babuschka, Run”

Last night’s leg of the amazing race, set in beautiful St. Petersburg, Russia, was a treat for Race fans. Not only did it feature a choice between two seemingly ridiculously difficult detour choices, but also colorful locals, literal shit shovelling, and babuschkas. Babuschkas!

Anyway, all the teams got bunched up traveling from Narvik to St. Petersburg, so it was a free-for-all once teams hit the city. They all made their way to some columns that directed them to their detour: classical music or classical film. In music, teams would have to correctly identify the three pianists playing three specific pieces in a sea of pianists playing. Film was about finding a strip of film that was being shown on loop in a sea of film strips. Both were utterly maddening for the teams, and you need look no further than the fact that all three teams who chose to do film (the needle in the haystack challenge) finished before anyone got the music. So Jill/Thomas, Brook/Claire, and Kevin/Michael raced to the front of the pack. Gary/Mallory, Nick/Vicki, and Nat/Kat all opted to switch detour tasks from the music, but, despite a mini anger tantrum, Chad/Stephanie managed to work through the music.

From there, teams made their way to Palace Square, where they were directed to the town of Alexandrovskaya where they found their roadblock. Teams had to don traditional garb (enter the babuschkas), and plant a row of 50 potatoes, complete with fertilizer. The only drama in this was teams having trouble finding said fertilizer, but, after everyone had their requisite “OMG it’s poop!” freakout, everyone did the task with ease and little griping. But the Russian locals were great color commentators.

From there, teams made their way to the pit stop, St. Isaac’s cathedral, or, rather, a park near the cathedral. Jill & Thomas made it to the mat first, followed by Brook/Claire, Kevin/Michael, Nat/Kat, Chad/Stephanie, and Gary/Mallory. Team Tats, who were trailing all leg after having so many problems with the detour that they actually switched back to their original choice of music, came in last, but were spared by a non-elimination leg. I was actually glad to see this, as they’ve grown on me, with their lack of bickering and comic relief-ness.

Other Assorted Thoughts:

•Jill is having a harder time hiding her resentment about everything Thomas says or has claimed to have done.

•Quote of the episode: “I’ve got a lot of manure. it’s kind of been a theme of this leg.”- Mallory

•Stephanie actually threw the shovel into the pile of manure so whoever was next would have to climb in to get it. That person? Adorable, pocket-sized Mallory.

-Nate (LevyOnTV)

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The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 5- “Tastes Like A Million Dollars” Last night’s Amazing Race was, all in all, a great leg. No bunching points, teams could definitely bypass each other through good driving and powering through tasks, a generally high level of competence, and, best of all, an elimination I was happy to see. The teams left the pitstop and headed to Narvik, Norway, where they had to take a gondola to the top of a mountain whose name everyone butchered. From there, they made their way to a bridge whose name everyone butchered, where they encountered their roadblock. It saw team member rapelling down off the bridge, signaling a boat in the water and getting a clue, and then ascending 130 feet using a mechanical ascender. My arms hurt just thinking about it. While Claire had some trouble with this (which ended with Brook invoking the power of Claire’s spicy, recently deceased grandmother in a more touching moment than I’m making it sound), both Thomas and Vicki proved to be masters of this one. From there, teams made their way to the only easily pronounceable location of the night, Harvika (although some still managed to botch saying this one. You’re my favorite, Mallory, but, for serious, how hard is it to say Harvika?), where they encountered the detour: bikes or boats. Bikes involved biking to a board, memorizing a four digit bike lock combination, and biking back and unlocking the lock. Boats involves “directing” a boat to an area of shore, then carrying two cod and a chainsaw up a hill to a man’s house. Bikes seemed to be the faster of the two, but both were entirely drama free, save for the possibility that a few of the racers reeked heavily of day-old cod. Also on this leg was the fast forward, which the Doctors, who left first, decided to go after. It involved a Norwegian Christmas tradition, eating a roasted sheep’s head. Now, this seemed like it was going to be a dealbreaker, since Kat has been a vegetarian for 22 years. But they absolutely went mind over matter and powered through it, shooting themselves directly to the pitstop, the Ankenes Marina and scoring another first place opportunity for Travelocity product placement. Following them were Gary/Mallory, Jill/Thomas, Kevin/Michael, Brook/Claire, and Nick/Vicki (who also went to the fast forward but got there too late and pondered/misunderstood the meaning of “fast forward taken” for a minute). This left Chad and Stephanie and Katie and Rachel in the back, but, right from the top of the hour, it was kind of clear that the Volleyball girls would end in last. They just never caught up to the rest of the pack. And I kind of say Good Riddance to them. Yes, I want an all-female team to win this year (it’s about time), but I did NOT want it to be the Volleyball girls. Not only were they generally mean, they basically said “I’m not here to make friends” tonight, and, while I find that endearing on VH1, I do not want it in my Amazing Race. Assorted Other Thoughts •Michael at one point said Sorry to Kevin, and I could swear he was doing a GIlly impression. I hope not. •Nick and Vicki have endeared themselves to me simply as comic relief. Their inability to understand “fast forward taken” was just kind of adorable. •The doctors have a fantastically droll sense of humor. They’re my second favorite team behind Gary and Mallory. -Nate (LevyOnTV)

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 5- “Tastes Like A Million Dollars”

Last night’s Amazing Race was, all in all, a great leg. No bunching points, teams could definitely bypass each other through good driving and powering through tasks, a generally high level of competence, and, best of all, an elimination I was happy to see.

The teams left the pitstop and headed to Narvik, Norway, where they had to take a gondola to the top of a mountain whose name everyone butchered. From there, they made their way to a bridge whose name everyone butchered, where they encountered their roadblock. It saw team member rapelling down off the bridge, signaling a boat in the water and getting a clue, and then ascending 130 feet using a mechanical ascender. My arms hurt just thinking about it. While Claire had some trouble with this (which ended with Brook invoking the power of Claire’s spicy, recently deceased grandmother in a more touching moment than I’m making it sound), both Thomas and Vicki proved to be masters of this one.

From there, teams made their way to the only easily pronounceable location of the night, Harvika (although some still managed to botch saying this one. You’re my favorite, Mallory, but, for serious, how hard is it to say Harvika?), where they encountered the detour: bikes or boats. Bikes involved biking to a board, memorizing a four digit bike lock combination, and biking back and unlocking the lock. Boats involves “directing” a boat to an area of shore, then carrying two cod and a chainsaw up a hill to a man’s house. Bikes seemed to be the faster of the two, but both were entirely drama free, save for the possibility that a few of the racers reeked heavily of day-old cod.

Also on this leg was the fast forward, which the Doctors, who left first, decided to go after. It involved a Norwegian Christmas tradition, eating a roasted sheep’s head. Now, this seemed like it was going to be a dealbreaker, since Kat has been a vegetarian for 22 years. But they absolutely went mind over matter and powered through it, shooting themselves directly to the pitstop, the Ankenes Marina and scoring another first place opportunity for Travelocity product placement. Following them were Gary/Mallory, Jill/Thomas, Kevin/Michael, Brook/Claire, and Nick/Vicki (who also went to the fast forward but got there too late and pondered/misunderstood the meaning of “fast forward taken” for a minute). This left Chad and Stephanie and Katie and Rachel in the back, but, right from the top of the hour, it was kind of clear that the Volleyball girls would end in last. They just never caught up to the rest of the pack. And I kind of say Good Riddance to them. Yes, I want an all-female team to win this year (it’s about time), but I did NOT want it to be the Volleyball girls. Not only were they generally mean, they basically said “I’m not here to make friends” tonight, and, while I find that endearing on VH1, I do not want it in my Amazing Race.

Assorted Other Thoughts

•Michael at one point said Sorry to Kevin, and I could swear he was doing a GIlly impression. I hope not.

•Nick and Vicki have endeared themselves to me simply as comic relief. Their inability to understand “fast forward taken” was just kind of adorable.

•The doctors have a fantastically droll sense of humor. They’re my second favorite team behind Gary and Mallory.

-Nate (LevyOnTV)

3 notes

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 4- “We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads” Tonight’s Amazing Race sent the teams from one temperature extreme to the other, flying them from Accra, Ghana to the Arctic Circle. What resulted was a great TAR episode, with certain teams’ ingenuity shooting them into the lead, lots of position-shifting, and a whole lot of adorable moments. First, we saw what Phil had discussed last week, with the teams helping to renovate the Ghanain schoolhouse. Everyone seemed grateful to be a part of this. Also, Brook kisses a child, continuing her kissaholic streak. This woman is just oversexed.  Due to, you know, there not being a lot of travel options from Ghana to the Arctic Circle, teams were all given the same flight tickets, although they didn’t need to necessarily use them. This is where Team KevJumba, knowing they needed to make a move to compensate for their speed bump, made a smart move, finding a flight that would get them in two hours earlier. They weren’t the only ones, though, as the Surgeons also found the flight. Even better, each of these teams told one other team (with KevJumba telling Kentucky and the Surgeons telling HSN), and, wham, like that, my four favorite teams all had a two hour lead on the rest of the pack. Understandably, I was a very happy camper about this move. Also? KevJumba and Kentucky working together was ahhhh-dorable. Anyway, the teams arrived in Kiruna, Sweden and made their way to the famous Ice Hotel, being kept in cold storage during the summer. KevJumba found their speedbump here, forcing them to sit on two icy chairs for ten minutes. It was a super crappy speedbump. Anyway, from there, the clues, printed on giant blocks of ice, directed teams to a dog-sledding track, where they found their roadblock. One team member had to ride the sled and grab five flags, give the flags to a guy, get a bundle of pelts, and bring it back to the start. Also ahhhh-dorable? The sled dogs. There was also a fake bear there to scare the dogs (see above). Also also ahhh-dorable? Michael doing the road block. Also also also ahhh-dorable? Mallory is too short to reach some of the flags. From their teams made their way to the detour, Sleds or Beds. Sleds involved using a teksled and reaching a finish line in 2 minutes. Beds involved building a suomi tent and making the interior comfortable. Most teams opted to do sleds, a move that paid off for a few, but not for Team Princeton, Team Volleyball, or Chad and Stephanie (who I really need to find a new team nickname for, since he’s really toned down the anger. Team redemption, perhaps?), who all had to abandon it and switch to the other task. The order of arrival at the pitstop, the Norwegian border, sees the Surgeons come in first, followed by Teams Kentucky, HSN, KevJumba, Bland Couple (Thomas and Jill, who used their express pass in order to avoid elimination due to extreme stupidity), Tats, and Chad and Stephanie. In all, it came down to the Volleyball girls, who I really hoped would get eliminated, and the Princeton guys. But Volleyball beat ‘em, so we said goodbye to Princeton on the leg that took place at the same time as their graduation. I’ll miss their personalities, but I will NOT miss their idiotic singing. Various and Sundry Other Thoughts: •Nick tried to direct his cab driver in Ghana to the Arctic Circle. Maybe I should rename them Team Scarecrow (if they only had a brain). •During a drive in the woods, following the surgeons, Claire was narrating as if the two teams were in a horror movie. Thank you for being awesome, Claire. •Claire and Brook are also keeping a kiss count for the season. They’re at 6 currently. I would have guessed higher. •Next week sees the return of the “eat something disgusting” task. I can’t wait. -Nate (LevyOnTV)

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 4- “We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads”

Tonight’s Amazing Race sent the teams from one temperature extreme to the other, flying them from Accra, Ghana to the Arctic Circle. What resulted was a great TAR episode, with certain teams’ ingenuity shooting them into the lead, lots of position-shifting, and a whole lot of adorable moments.

First, we saw what Phil had discussed last week, with the teams helping to renovate the Ghanain schoolhouse. Everyone seemed grateful to be a part of this. Also, Brook kisses a child, continuing her kissaholic streak. This woman is just oversexed. 

Due to, you know, there not being a lot of travel options from Ghana to the Arctic Circle, teams were all given the same flight tickets, although they didn’t need to necessarily use them. This is where Team KevJumba, knowing they needed to make a move to compensate for their speed bump, made a smart move, finding a flight that would get them in two hours earlier. They weren’t the only ones, though, as the Surgeons also found the flight. Even better, each of these teams told one other team (with KevJumba telling Kentucky and the Surgeons telling HSN), and, wham, like that, my four favorite teams all had a two hour lead on the rest of the pack. Understandably, I was a very happy camper about this move. Also? KevJumba and Kentucky working together was ahhhh-dorable.

Anyway, the teams arrived in Kiruna, Sweden and made their way to the famous Ice Hotel, being kept in cold storage during the summer. KevJumba found their speedbump here, forcing them to sit on two icy chairs for ten minutes. It was a super crappy speedbump. Anyway, from there, the clues, printed on giant blocks of ice, directed teams to a dog-sledding track, where they found their roadblock. One team member had to ride the sled and grab five flags, give the flags to a guy, get a bundle of pelts, and bring it back to the start. Also ahhhh-dorable? The sled dogs. There was also a fake bear there to scare the dogs (see above). Also also ahhh-dorable? Michael doing the road block. Also also also ahhh-dorable? Mallory is too short to reach some of the flags.

From their teams made their way to the detour, Sleds or Beds. Sleds involved using a teksled and reaching a finish line in 2 minutes. Beds involved building a suomi tent and making the interior comfortable. Most teams opted to do sleds, a move that paid off for a few, but not for Team Princeton, Team Volleyball, or Chad and Stephanie (who I really need to find a new team nickname for, since he’s really toned down the anger. Team redemption, perhaps?), who all had to abandon it and switch to the other task.

The order of arrival at the pitstop, the Norwegian border, sees the Surgeons come in first, followed by Teams Kentucky, HSN, KevJumba, Bland Couple (Thomas and Jill, who used their express pass in order to avoid elimination due to extreme stupidity), Tats, and Chad and Stephanie. In all, it came down to the Volleyball girls, who I really hoped would get eliminated, and the Princeton guys. But Volleyball beat ‘em, so we said goodbye to Princeton on the leg that took place at the same time as their graduation. I’ll miss their personalities, but I will NOT miss their idiotic singing.

Various and Sundry Other Thoughts:

•Nick tried to direct his cab driver in Ghana to the Arctic Circle. Maybe I should rename them Team Scarecrow (if they only had a brain).

•During a drive in the woods, following the surgeons, Claire was narrating as if the two teams were in a horror movie. Thank you for being awesome, Claire.

•Claire and Brook are also keeping a kiss count for the season. They’re at 6 currently. I would have guessed higher.

•Next week sees the return of the “eat something disgusting” task. I can’t wait.

-Nate (LevyOnTV)

2 notes

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 3- “In Phil We Trust” Obliviousness won the night tonight on the Amazing Race. Nearly all the teams, at one point or another, displayed an astonishing level of complete cluelessness, failing to use their eyes or read the clues. Like, it was actually kind of amazing how utterly unobservant teams were tonight. Teams departed from Kinishie market and headed across Accra to Akotoku boxing academy, where they encountered their road block. Now, at a boxing academy, you would think the roadblock would involve boxing. But it was more of a training roadblock, where a team member had to properly wrap their hand, and then do a minute on a punching bag and a minute of jump rope. Teams pretty much stayed in the order their cabs arrived, and the whole roadblock was… kind of lame. From there, teams traveled to the Dodowa district, where they had to find a supply depot, load a wheelbarrow with construction supplies and bring it to a schoolhouse. This is when obliviousness started to take over the hour, with at least 4 teams shown botching this straightforward task by getting too much or too little of supplies. Once they reached the school, teams encountered a pop quiz, locating Ghana on a map of Africa. Again, obliviousness delayed several teams here, with, shocker, Nick and Vicki (Team Tats) having a supremely tough time. Then again, they thought London was a country, so let’s just be glad they gave them a map of only Africa and not the entire world. After correctly locating Ghana, teams were given the detour: Bicycle Parts or Language Arts. In Bicycle, teams would have to roll a bicycle rim back and forth across a field using a stick, a popular kids game in Ghana and any place old-timey. In Language Arts, teams were given a phrase that they had to translate into a pictogram using a decoder and then find in a giant word search. While a number of teams opted to do Language Arts, team Princeton was the only one to successfully complete it, due to a stunning show of ineptitude on everyone else’s part. You see, not a single other team could find the decoder, which is shocking considering it was AN ENTIRE SIDE OF A FRICKIN’ BUILDING. At least 5 times stumbled around circling random parts of the word search, interrogating small Ghanain children, and generally acting a fool until they switched to bicycle parts. The few teams who went straight to bicycle parts gained a good deal of ground, as a result. Team Princeton checked in first, winning 5 grand apiece, followed by Team Kentucky (Gary and Mallory), Chad and Stephanie (I can no longer call them Team Angry because Chad seems to have calmed the temper), Team Volleyball (Katie and Rachel), Team Tats, Team HSN (Brook and Claire), and Bland Couple (Jill and Thomas, aka Who?). The surgeons, who had terrible cab luck all episode, finished the detour first, mostly because Michael (of Team KevJumba) suffered heat exhaustion and had to see medical. So KevJumba checked in last, expecting to be Philiminated, but, in a stroke of happiness, were spared by the season’s first Non-Elimination Leg. Hip Hip Huzzah! Assorted Other Thoughts: •Brook is a Kiss-A-Holic, as this marks the third episode where she has kissed a stranger. I guess sex sells. (Get it? Because she’s one of the home shopping hosts? Thank you, I’ll be here all week) •The Volleyball Girls are officially my least favorite team. They’ve got a really superior attitude, and I have the feeling I’m really gonna be hating them by the end. Here’s hoping for their early ouster. Also, they’re from Jersey, which really doesn’t help their case for me. •Team Kentucky is just so gosh darn likable. I don’t want to like them, but I can’t help it. She’s just infectious. •All the teams returned to the pit stop the next day to help rebuild part of the school, which is really awesome. I hope we get footage of it next week. Next leg sees the teams going to the Arctic Circle. There’s dog-sledding! A Speedbump! And Chad gets Angry again! See you there. -Nate (LevyOnTV)

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 3- “In Phil We Trust”

Obliviousness won the night tonight on the Amazing Race. Nearly all the teams, at one point or another, displayed an astonishing level of complete cluelessness, failing to use their eyes or read the clues. Like, it was actually kind of amazing how utterly unobservant teams were tonight.

Teams departed from Kinishie market and headed across Accra to Akotoku boxing academy, where they encountered their road block. Now, at a boxing academy, you would think the roadblock would involve boxing. But it was more of a training roadblock, where a team member had to properly wrap their hand, and then do a minute on a punching bag and a minute of jump rope. Teams pretty much stayed in the order their cabs arrived, and the whole roadblock was… kind of lame.

From there, teams traveled to the Dodowa district, where they had to find a supply depot, load a wheelbarrow with construction supplies and bring it to a schoolhouse. This is when obliviousness started to take over the hour, with at least 4 teams shown botching this straightforward task by getting too much or too little of supplies. Once they reached the school, teams encountered a pop quiz, locating Ghana on a map of Africa. Again, obliviousness delayed several teams here, with, shocker, Nick and Vicki (Team Tats) having a supremely tough time. Then again, they thought London was a country, so let’s just be glad they gave them a map of only Africa and not the entire world.

After correctly locating Ghana, teams were given the detour: Bicycle Parts or Language Arts. In Bicycle, teams would have to roll a bicycle rim back and forth across a field using a stick, a popular kids game in Ghana and any place old-timey. In Language Arts, teams were given a phrase that they had to translate into a pictogram using a decoder and then find in a giant word search. While a number of teams opted to do Language Arts, team Princeton was the only one to successfully complete it, due to a stunning show of ineptitude on everyone else’s part. You see, not a single other team could find the decoder, which is shocking considering it was AN ENTIRE SIDE OF A FRICKIN’ BUILDING. At least 5 times stumbled around circling random parts of the word search, interrogating small Ghanain children, and generally acting a fool until they switched to bicycle parts. The few teams who went straight to bicycle parts gained a good deal of ground, as a result.

Team Princeton checked in first, winning 5 grand apiece, followed by Team Kentucky (Gary and Mallory), Chad and Stephanie (I can no longer call them Team Angry because Chad seems to have calmed the temper), Team Volleyball (Katie and Rachel), Team Tats, Team HSN (Brook and Claire), and Bland Couple (Jill and Thomas, aka Who?). The surgeons, who had terrible cab luck all episode, finished the detour first, mostly because Michael (of Team KevJumba) suffered heat exhaustion and had to see medical. So KevJumba checked in last, expecting to be Philiminated, but, in a stroke of happiness, were spared by the season’s first Non-Elimination Leg. Hip Hip Huzzah!

Assorted Other Thoughts:

•Brook is a Kiss-A-Holic, as this marks the third episode where she has kissed a stranger. I guess sex sells. (Get it? Because she’s one of the home shopping hosts? Thank you, I’ll be here all week)

•The Volleyball Girls are officially my least favorite team. They’ve got a really superior attitude, and I have the feeling I’m really gonna be hating them by the end. Here’s hoping for their early ouster. Also, they’re from Jersey, which really doesn’t help their case for me.

•Team Kentucky is just so gosh darn likable. I don’t want to like them, but I can’t help it. She’s just infectious.

•All the teams returned to the pit stop the next day to help rebuild part of the school, which is really awesome. I hope we get footage of it next week.

Next leg sees the teams going to the Arctic Circle. There’s dog-sledding! A Speedbump! And Chad gets Angry again! See you there.

-Nate (LevyOnTV)

2 notes

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 2- “A Kiss Saves The Day” Tonight’s episode saw the ten remaining teams flying from London to Accra, Ghana. All the teams get bunched on the same flight, so there was no airport drama. Also, Claire seems to have no long-term damage from getting smashed in the face by a high velocity watermelon. That’s good. Arriving in Ghana, the teams jockeyed for taxis to make their way to Kwame Nkrumah National Park, where they get a clue directing them to Makola Market. While many teams like Brook and Claire seem to be in awe of Ghana, some teams are… not. Katie and Rachel in particular seem to exhibit the largest display of Ugly Americanism, describing how dirty Ghana is. Also, Gary and Mallory (Team Kentucky)’s cab dies on them. That’s… never good. But even when she’s freaking out, Mallory is pretty darn endearing. Once at Makola Market, the teams hit the Road Block, selling enough sunglasses in order to earn a certain amount of money. While Brook and Claire excel, as they really should in a selling challenge, a few other teams struggle, most notably Jill and Thomas (team Bland Couple, who proved themselves to be more annoying than bland this week), Nat and Kat (the anesthesiologists), and Nick and Vicki (Team If I Only Had A Brain). Connor and Jonathan (Team Princeton) and Kevin and Michael (Team KevJumba), however, also excel. From the road block, the teams headed to the June 4th Area, where they find the detour, installing and getting a TV antenna to work or delivering a decorative coffin to a coffin showroom. Brook and Claire (Team HSN) is first to the detour and opt to do the antenna. Overall, it was about a 50-50 split between the two detours, with neither offering a major advantage to the doers. But Team HSN continues to act like they’re selling something throughout the entire detour, which, if they continue this throughout the race, could get annoying. Which is problematic, because I kind of want to like these two, if just for Claire’s post-watermelon perseverance. As Brook and Claire and Katie and Rachel finish up the detour, it’s a three-way-tie for last between Nat and Kat, Gary and Mallory, and Andie and Jenna (Team Gilmore Girls). Brook and Claire land in first, followed by Team Volleyball, Team KevJumba, Chad and Stephanie (Team Angry Couple), and Team Bland-turned-Annoying. The remaining five teams are all stuck in roughly the same traffic, which looks killer. Thankfully for Team Anesthesia, they have a cabbie with a death wish, who creates his own lane between the two directions of traffic and propels them ahead of the other teams. However, in a foot race, Team Princeton lands at Phil’s mat barely ahead of them. Team If I Only Had A Brain comes in next after Team Anesthesia, leaving it between the kind-of-adorable Team Kentucky and Team Gilmore Girls, who have an interesting backstory but are pretty boring on camera. But, thankfully, team Kentucky checks in first, Philiminating Team Gilmore, who are sad that their time is done but were glad to have been able to have spent so much time together. Overall, a pretty decent episode of The Amazing Race. Despite flight bunching, there was enough room for place-shifts and all the cab hijinks (those cabbies are seriously fearless and now I never want to drive in Ghana), and so far, there aren’t any really offensively awful teams. Me and Phil’s eyebrows will be back next week. Hope to see you there. -Nate (LevyOnTV)

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 2- “A Kiss Saves The Day”

Tonight’s episode saw the ten remaining teams flying from London to Accra, Ghana. All the teams get bunched on the same flight, so there was no airport drama. Also, Claire seems to have no long-term damage from getting smashed in the face by a high velocity watermelon. That’s good.

Arriving in Ghana, the teams jockeyed for taxis to make their way to Kwame Nkrumah National Park, where they get a clue directing them to Makola Market. While many teams like Brook and Claire seem to be in awe of Ghana, some teams are… not. Katie and Rachel in particular seem to exhibit the largest display of Ugly Americanism, describing how dirty Ghana is. Also, Gary and Mallory (Team Kentucky)’s cab dies on them. That’s… never good. But even when she’s freaking out, Mallory is pretty darn endearing.

Once at Makola Market, the teams hit the Road Block, selling enough sunglasses in order to earn a certain amount of money. While Brook and Claire excel, as they really should in a selling challenge, a few other teams struggle, most notably Jill and Thomas (team Bland Couple, who proved themselves to be more annoying than bland this week), Nat and Kat (the anesthesiologists), and Nick and Vicki (Team If I Only Had A Brain). Connor and Jonathan (Team Princeton) and Kevin and Michael (Team KevJumba), however, also excel.

From the road block, the teams headed to the June 4th Area, where they find the detour, installing and getting a TV antenna to work or delivering a decorative coffin to a coffin showroom. Brook and Claire (Team HSN) is first to the detour and opt to do the antenna. Overall, it was about a 50-50 split between the two detours, with neither offering a major advantage to the doers. But Team HSN continues to act like they’re selling something throughout the entire detour, which, if they continue this throughout the race, could get annoying. Which is problematic, because I kind of want to like these two, if just for Claire’s post-watermelon perseverance.

As Brook and Claire and Katie and Rachel finish up the detour, it’s a three-way-tie for last between Nat and Kat, Gary and Mallory, and Andie and Jenna (Team Gilmore Girls). Brook and Claire land in first, followed by Team Volleyball, Team KevJumba, Chad and Stephanie (Team Angry Couple), and Team Bland-turned-Annoying.

The remaining five teams are all stuck in roughly the same traffic, which looks killer. Thankfully for Team Anesthesia, they have a cabbie with a death wish, who creates his own lane between the two directions of traffic and propels them ahead of the other teams. However, in a foot race, Team Princeton lands at Phil’s mat barely ahead of them. Team If I Only Had A Brain comes in next after Team Anesthesia, leaving it between the kind-of-adorable Team Kentucky and Team Gilmore Girls, who have an interesting backstory but are pretty boring on camera. But, thankfully, team Kentucky checks in first, Philiminating Team Gilmore, who are sad that their time is done but were glad to have been able to have spent so much time together.

Overall, a pretty decent episode of The Amazing Race. Despite flight bunching, there was enough room for place-shifts and all the cab hijinks (those cabbies are seriously fearless and now I never want to drive in Ghana), and so far, there aren’t any really offensively awful teams. Me and Phil’s eyebrows will be back next week. Hope to see you there.

-Nate (LevyOnTV)

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The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 1- “They Don’t Call It The Amazing Race For Nothin’!” Tonight’s Amazing Race premiere featured, as the show often has in the past, navigation troubles, extreme stupidity, a few likable contestants, and Phil Keoghan’s eyebrow. But tonight also had an added bonus: this lady above getting smashed in the face by a watermelon. It’s both terrifying and hysterical. I can’t stop watching it (if you somehow haven’t seen it, see it in motion). Since the premiere is all about getting to know the teams, let me give you a rundown of my first impressions in their order of arrival: Jill and Thomas- Bland couple is bland. They did very little to stick out except coming in first. But who knows, they didn’t argue, so that’s at least a good thing. If there’s one thing I can’t stand on the race, it’s the couple who are at each other’s throats the entire time, except when they’re calling each other babe. Nat and Kat- Surgeons, who very accurately pointed out that their ability to keep focused in the face of sleep deprivation and extreme stress should help them. They may be the second coming of Dustin and Kandace, and actually be an all-female team who could take the whole thing. So far, they’re my favorites. Brook and Claire- Peppy Home Shopping Network hosts who get really intense pedicures. Claire is the one who got slammed Gallagher-style in the above gif. She, however, is an absolute trooper, as she kept going. Her partner, OTOH, is shrill and annoying. I guess this will be the pair where I like one member and don’t like the other. (See: Jamie and Cara) Connor and Jonathan- A-Capella dudes from Princeton who many other teams derisively referred to as nerds. I didn’t want to like them at first, but when they referred to the Birth Mother and Daughter team as “Team Gilmore Girls”, they won me over. Katie and Rachel- Beach Volleyball Partners who kind of seem like mean girls, but are physically fit enough to be a threat down the line. Otherwise, pretty bland. Gary and Mallory- A former Miss Kentucky and her dad. I didn’t want to like them. But darn it if Mallory didn’t seriously grow on me throughout the premiere. She seemed genuinely happy to be there. She’s like Jordan from Big Brother, Amazing Race-style (I’m choosing to forget Jeff and Jordan’s foray into TAR, thankyouverymuch) Kevin and Michael- YouTube star KevJumba and his dad are adorable. I’ve never seen any of his videos, but they seemed to be enjoying it, which is the right attitude to have on the race. Chad and Stephanie- Chad is planning to propose to Stephanie on the race. So of course, they’re the couple who was arguing all episode. Chad has a temper and is incredibly unlikable. The other teams refer to them as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, I’m guessing because she has a pixie cut and he has the emotional maturity of a 4 year old. Andie and Jenna- A Birth Mother and Daughter, who have only met twice before going on the race. There’s is the most interesting backstory to me, but they don’t seem to have the racing chops to stick around long. But I’m really interested in what their dynamic is going to be like. Nick and Vicki- She reminds me of Bombshell McGee and they’re dumber than a sack of hammers. She didn’t know what Stonehenge was, couldn’t figure out what a battlement was, couldn’t find a boat, and then thought London was a country. My least favorite team, even if they are entertaining in their unrelenting, mind-boggling stupidity. They even said, “I promise you we’re not that dumb.” I hate to break it to you, but yes, yes you are. Ron and Tony- They met doing “The Wiz” and unfortunately heeded it’s lyrics, as they eased on down, eased on down the road, rather than racing, and found themselves Philiminated. It’s too bad. They were quite endearing. Now that the teams bit is out of the way, I’ll go over the episode. Teams flew from Boston to London, then made their way to Stonehenge. Nearly all the teams had driving problems, as Nat and Kat, who were 5th to leave the airport, got there first, beating all 3 teams who got on the earlier flight. They then made their way to Eastnor castle, where they had to scale a castle wall while extras dressed up as English peasants, hamming it up for the camera (I love when local flavor hams it up to the camera), poured grimy water on them. They then had to navigate a little, easily sinkable boat across a lake (with humorous results for many a team, particularly KevJumba and Dad). Once they were across, they had to use an old-timey catapult/slingshot thing to shoot a watermelon and knock over a suit of armor. You can see how well that went for some teams. Then they had to search the castle grounds for the pitstop.  Jill and Thomas, coming in first, received the race’s newest twist, The Express Pass, which allows them to bypass one task at any point in the first eight legs. Like Survivor’s Medallion of Power, I’m unsold as to whether to like or hate this twist. We’ll see if them using it Philiminates a team I like. Chad and Stephanie walked all over the grounds, resulting in dropping from 5th to 8th, but did not fall all the way to last like I was hoping. After a three-way “Who is the absolute worst at navigating” race between Andie and Jenna, Nick and Vicki, and Ron and Tony, the friends ended up in last. Sad to see them go, but so happy that a new season of The Amazing Race is starting. I know I didn’t make it sound very exciting, but this really was one of the best premieres they’ve had in ages. I mean, just look up, don’t you SEE Claire getting a watermelon facial? -Nate (LevyOnTV)

The Amazing Race- Season 17 Episode 1- “They Don’t Call It The Amazing Race For Nothin’!”

Tonight’s Amazing Race premiere featured, as the show often has in the past, navigation troubles, extreme stupidity, a few likable contestants, and Phil Keoghan’s eyebrow. But tonight also had an added bonus: this lady above getting smashed in the face by a watermelon. It’s both terrifying and hysterical. I can’t stop watching it (if you somehow haven’t seen it, see it in motion). Since the premiere is all about getting to know the teams, let me give you a rundown of my first impressions in their order of arrival:

Jill and Thomas- Bland couple is bland. They did very little to stick out except coming in first. But who knows, they didn’t argue, so that’s at least a good thing. If there’s one thing I can’t stand on the race, it’s the couple who are at each other’s throats the entire time, except when they’re calling each other babe.

Nat and Kat- Surgeons, who very accurately pointed out that their ability to keep focused in the face of sleep deprivation and extreme stress should help them. They may be the second coming of Dustin and Kandace, and actually be an all-female team who could take the whole thing. So far, they’re my favorites.

Brook and Claire- Peppy Home Shopping Network hosts who get really intense pedicures. Claire is the one who got slammed Gallagher-style in the above gif. She, however, is an absolute trooper, as she kept going. Her partner, OTOH, is shrill and annoying. I guess this will be the pair where I like one member and don’t like the other. (See: Jamie and Cara)

Connor and Jonathan- A-Capella dudes from Princeton who many other teams derisively referred to as nerds. I didn’t want to like them at first, but when they referred to the Birth Mother and Daughter team as “Team Gilmore Girls”, they won me over.

Katie and Rachel- Beach Volleyball Partners who kind of seem like mean girls, but are physically fit enough to be a threat down the line. Otherwise, pretty bland.

Gary and Mallory- A former Miss Kentucky and her dad. I didn’t want to like them. But darn it if Mallory didn’t seriously grow on me throughout the premiere. She seemed genuinely happy to be there. She’s like Jordan from Big Brother, Amazing Race-style (I’m choosing to forget Jeff and Jordan’s foray into TAR, thankyouverymuch)

Kevin and Michael- YouTube star KevJumba and his dad are adorable. I’ve never seen any of his videos, but they seemed to be enjoying it, which is the right attitude to have on the race.

Chad and Stephanie- Chad is planning to propose to Stephanie on the race. So of course, they’re the couple who was arguing all episode. Chad has a temper and is incredibly unlikable. The other teams refer to them as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, I’m guessing because she has a pixie cut and he has the emotional maturity of a 4 year old.

Andie and Jenna- A Birth Mother and Daughter, who have only met twice before going on the race. There’s is the most interesting backstory to me, but they don’t seem to have the racing chops to stick around long. But I’m really interested in what their dynamic is going to be like.

Nick and Vicki- She reminds me of Bombshell McGee and they’re dumber than a sack of hammers. She didn’t know what Stonehenge was, couldn’t figure out what a battlement was, couldn’t find a boat, and then thought London was a country. My least favorite team, even if they are entertaining in their unrelenting, mind-boggling stupidity. They even said, “I promise you we’re not that dumb.” I hate to break it to you, but yes, yes you are.

Ron and Tony- They met doing “The Wiz” and unfortunately heeded it’s lyrics, as they eased on down, eased on down the road, rather than racing, and found themselves Philiminated. It’s too bad. They were quite endearing.

Now that the teams bit is out of the way, I’ll go over the episode. Teams flew from Boston to London, then made their way to Stonehenge. Nearly all the teams had driving problems, as Nat and Kat, who were 5th to leave the airport, got there first, beating all 3 teams who got on the earlier flight. They then made their way to Eastnor castle, where they had to scale a castle wall while extras dressed up as English peasants, hamming it up for the camera (I love when local flavor hams it up to the camera), poured grimy water on them. They then had to navigate a little, easily sinkable boat across a lake (with humorous results for many a team, particularly KevJumba and Dad). Once they were across, they had to use an old-timey catapult/slingshot thing to shoot a watermelon and knock over a suit of armor. You can see how well that went for some teams. Then they had to search the castle grounds for the pitstop. 

Jill and Thomas, coming in first, received the race’s newest twist, The Express Pass, which allows them to bypass one task at any point in the first eight legs. Like Survivor’s Medallion of Power, I’m unsold as to whether to like or hate this twist. We’ll see if them using it Philiminates a team I like. Chad and Stephanie walked all over the grounds, resulting in dropping from 5th to 8th, but did not fall all the way to last like I was hoping. After a three-way “Who is the absolute worst at navigating” race between Andie and Jenna, Nick and Vicki, and Ron and Tony, the friends ended up in last. Sad to see them go, but so happy that a new season of The Amazing Race is starting. I know I didn’t make it sound very exciting, but this really was one of the best premieres they’ve had in ages. I mean, just look up, don’t you SEE Claire getting a watermelon facial?

-Nate (LevyOnTV)