The Amazing Race--April 12 Episode

April 12, 2009

I don’t know if it was just me or what, exactly, but this episode just didn’t seem as great as the past episodes. Maybe because it spent so much time focusing on the Boring Sisters, who showed barely any emotion (monotone voices must run in the family) even having left their travel documents on the dock and having to run around dirty streets in their bare feet. That alone would have made me hysterical. Perhaps it is wrong to judge someone for not being more like me (rather egocentric, no?), but I find it hard to relate to them. The one moment I did feel some stirring of genuine sympathy and liking for them was when they started crying when Phil told them they were still in the game. But darn it if I don’t really miss that father and son! I wish they hadn’t been eliminated last week. Tammy and Victor continue to do a good job defending their title as the Most Annoying Sibling Duo Ever. Actually, all Victor has to do for that is speak aloud, but being the high achievers that they are, they threw in some extras for us, such as Victor’s incompetence in attaching the propeller, which took him about four times as long as every other contestant. And I swear that Tammy must have a chip implant that programs her to say “Good job, Victor,” even when he’s doing a terrible job. Someday, girl’s gonna snap, and all that submissive younger Asian sister support is going to turn into one giant beat-down. Or so I hope. That would surely be an episode worth watching. Luke and his mom continue to dominate thanks to Mom’s surprising ability to fit people with dentures. That had to be one of the grossest challenges ever. Who comes up with these things, anyway? At least Luke & Margie got to wear gloves, a mask, and even protective eyewear, whereas all those toothless people had to endure having things shoved in their mouths that had been sitting around in bowls of water and even (I shudder at the thought) recently shoved into someone else’s mouth. Another question on my list for the producers: was there any disinfectant in those bowls? Please say yes. And why are the Cheater Brothers so dumb? Did they not learn their lesson the last time around when they were cooling their heels under that tree and watching other people get checked in ahead of them? Do they not see those cameras following them everywhere and recording their every move? Obviously not, because they continued their cheating ways. Perhaps their brains are as stunted as their bodies. They didn’t get eliminated, but now they have the super-duper delays and speed bumps and blockades and whatever else the show throws at people like that in the next episode. Looks like good entertainment for next week, although from the previews, it also looks like there’s going to be some sort of smack down between a Boring Sister and Luke. I feel a little uneasy about that, but we’ll just have to wait and see…