Okay I'm obviously a little behind on this week's review, almost to the point of no return as tomorrow is another leg, and for that I apologize. I've finally managed to squeeze in the entire episode 5 (as opposed to the 15 minutes I managed to catch while on the road) and I have to say that this was a really great episode with a few definite game changers.
That said, if the producers were looking for a truly Canadian task they should have the teams drive from Edmonton to Winnipeg with two loud children in the backseat, pack and move a bunch of boxes from a family member's home (any family member will work, every Canadian seems to know someone in Winnipeg) to another site 100kms away, squeeze in a waterslide task involving a screaming baby, and then drive back from Winnipeg to Edmonton to catch their next flight to Regina. That's a Canadian task. I'm not entirely sure why the fifth leg starts in Whitehorse instead of Carcross, but obviously the producers have their reasons and Whitehorse is definitely a more scenic place to launch off from for the fifth leg of their race across Canada. As Jet and Dave were the first to arrive at the Pit Stop in leg four, they're the first to get the clue to locate the S.S.Klondike and find their next clue to start off leg five, they also discover that there's a U-Turn ahead. Brett and Holly are right behind so Jet and Dave decide to have a local call two cabs to set up a little mini alliance with TeamPed. This is the type of decision that can sometimes backfire in Amazing Race but so far so good. Eventually all teams are off to the airport to book a flight to Regina, with Jet and Dave and Brett and Holly getting on the only flight into Edmonton for an overnight, while the other four teams all fly through Calgary on a flight which will arrive in Regina forty minutes later than the Edmonton flight. It's not really a big surprise that Hal and Joanne manage to find a flight from Calgary to Edmonton which would put them on the earlier flight into Regina, but I'm surprised no other team thought of it. Arriving in Regina the teams get a Blackberry placement promo that leads them to their next clue, a lentil production plant outside of Regina where teams have to find two small stuffed moose which together will lead them on to the next location. Those two stuffed moose happen to be buried inside of a 2 - 3 foot deep flatbed trailer filled with lentils, and the hotter it got during the day the harder it got to dig through those lentils. Some teams managed to get it done, others did not . . . more on that in a moment. Jet and Dave found their two stuffed moose dressed as little Mounties with the clues attached that would lead all teams to the RCMP Heritage Centre for their next task. Roadblock; one member of the team has to inspect a cadet's room "a pit" and then go into their own pit and outfit it exactly like the cadet's pit then call for inspection by the Sergeant Major on duty. If you've read the team bios it's not a big surprise but if you haven't you find out that Jet is a police officer back in Ontario. He goes into the task a little cocky and thinks it's going to be an easy win but he fails miserably and the Sergeant Major is obviously not very impressed with his attitude. It took Jet five attempts to get it right. Meanwhile back at the lentils from hell the only married teams in the race, Brett and Holly (TeamPeds) and Hal and Joanne (TeamBodyBreak) are knee deep in trouble as they continue to dig and dig and dig and . . . well, you get the idea. They've watched Jet and Dave race out and they kept digging, then they watched TeamTims find their two moose and off they went, but when they saw Vanessa and Celina jump out with their two moose Holly started to lose it. They're hot, they're sweaty, they're not happy with their performance, but no matter how hard they dig they can't find anything but lentils. Brett falls into his usual calm down and support Holly routine and I'm glad that he does so rather than start yelling at her about how they're going to lose as so many other teams have done in the past. Holly may not do well outside of her comfort zone, most of us don't, but Brett stands by her every time and tries to help. Sometimes he's a little snippy but overall he keeps it in check. That or they edit out all the meanness because, after all, we're Canadians. So the Docs decide to chuck the lentils and take the two hour penalty in order to stay in the race. Seeing this turn of events Hal and Joanne, who are also having no luck with the lentils decide to do the same and take the two hour penalty. Big mistake. I don't know about anyone else reading this but I'm pretty sure the last thing I would do is forfeit a challenge unless it was actually life threatening in some way. I'm pretty sure if I even mentioned the idea of taking a two hour penalty that my buddy Wayne would hold me under the lentils until I came to my senses after finding those damn moose. The last team of Jody and Cory watch this happen and start digging with renewed vigour to find those two moose and eventually they do just that and move on to the Roadblock behind all the other teams. Jet, Celina and Tim Sr. have been prepping their pits for quite some time before anyone finally gets approval and in the meantime TeamPeds and TeamBodyBreak arrive for the task and Hall mentions to Holly that they also took the two hour penalty. I'm not sure but I think it was Vanessa who pointed out that Joanne has to beat Brett in order to stay in the race. Here's another point where one team reveals a little too much information to another team and that revelation ends up backfiring on Hal. After three hours Jet finally gets his pit prepped correctly and he and Dave are off to City Hall to find the Ukranian Dancers for their next clue, which would lead them to Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium for their Detour. This weeks Detour was a choice between Brawn or Beauty. In Brawn, teams had to perform a series of football drills which included one team member catching a pass and the other kicking a field goal. If either team member failed they had to run a lap around the field and start over. In Beauty, teams had to learn and perform a cheerleader routine with the Roughriders cheerleaders. Back at the RCMP Heritage Centre, Joanne gets her pit properly inspected on her third attempt, as does Brett on his third. They're followed closely by Tim Sr.on his fourth and Celina on her fifth. HAving arrived last at the Roadblock I was glad to see Cory get his pit inspected properly on his second attempt which keeps them in with the others as they're all off to City Hall. It's not really a surprise that Jet and Dave choose Brawn at the Detour, even though it took them a few attempts to get it right. It's also not a surprise that Hal and Joanne chose Brawn or the Docs chose Beauty but their performances in these tasks was. As TeamTims arrive they also choose Brawn and again a surprise performance. Jet and Dave having led the way for this entire leg of the race are the first to get to the Double U-Turn and realize they have no need to get their hands dirty and decide not to use it on anyone. Ahead of the pack they're off to Pine Island for the Pit Stop of this leg of the race overlooking the Saskatchewan Legislature. Holly breaks down again during the Beauty Detour, while Joanne kicks low on her field goal attempt and TeamBodyBreak is forced to repeat the task deciding to switch kickers. Tim Sr. and Tim Jr. actually race through the Brawn task and pass TeamBodyBreak allowing them to be the next team to get to the Double U-Turn. TeamTims have no concern over getting their hands dirty and decide that it would be a good game move to U-Turn TeamBodyBreak. I'm not sure if they knew about the two hour penalty that Hal and Joanne already had but this decision was a big game changer for everyone. As much as I've enjoyed watching TeamBodyBreak and have been rooting for them I would have done the same as they've proven to be a force to reckon with. Oh yeah, Jet and Dave are of course first to the Pit Stop and are awarded aflight for each to anywhere Air Canada flies so they say they'll be using that reward to return to Regina. That would be interesting, but I doubt it. Meanwhile, back on the playing field, Brett and Holly have failed their first attempt at the Beauty Challenge while it's Hal's turn to kick low on that field goal. Eventually these two teams finish almost at the same time and it's a race up the stands to get to the Double U-Turn before the other team and ensure your survival. When Hal gets there first he sees that they've been U-Turned and he's not happy about it. Would he have U-Turned Brett and Holly regardless, probably . . . but now he had no choice if they wanted to survive. So back down they went to perform the other half of the Detour. Yes, there are tears. Yes, they are Holly's. For a team that doesn't feel they're very physical and who have never touched a football before in their entire life Brett and Holly somehow manage to ace the Brawn Detour and are off the field ahead of Hal and Joanne. Hal just keeps chanting "not cool" and as Brett runs by TeamBodyBreak he wishes them "Good Luck" but Joanne mutters back "F*** Off" and the producers bleeped it. Not the best image control for TeamBodyBreak and it wasn't like she actually blamed Brett for having to do the other side of the Detour, but it did show her as human and pissed off. I would have been too, especially when they both know they have a two hour penalty and the odds are that somebody's going home. Brett and Holly managed to be thrid to the mat but because of the two hour penalty Vaness and Celina are team number three and Jody and Cory come in for team number four. When Hal and Joanne finally complete the Detour and arrive last to the mat it's pretty obvious they're too late and Jon tells them they've been eliminated from the race. Sorry to see them go. The next leg of the race will see teams flying to Quebec where that mini alliance that Jet and Dave formed with Brett and Holly may come in handy (since they're from Montreal and should have no issues with the language). Vanessa and Celina get lost once again, no surprise there, only to then get crushed by crepes. |
Gordon L GaleGordon L Gale is a Freelance Illustrator, a Graphic Designer, a Dad and (according to his children) an Ogre. Archives
September 2016
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