BOOOO, i'll miss frankenberry. they were no gretchen & meredith, but close.

fran: thats for damn sure.

LOVE IT

Awww. Fran and Barry are too cute. What an amazing breast cancer survivor Fran is. The two of them seem to be very active, fit, and in love. Way to go geezers!!

I am clearly under the hippies spell. Or else can't think straight due to the scent of patchouli, onions, and pencil shavings. Because I flippin' adore the hippies. Prawns on the barbie? I'm dying over here. Although B-Side "Ah, that's the sort of spontaneity that only plenty of rehearsal can provide!" had me equally charmed.

Hate the Mojo. Would she please just drop dead? Or die. Or stop breathing. Forever. That'd be great. He's a bit of a high strung tool himself.

Yolanda, he's just not that into you. I was sure that Yo was calling them Frank and Barry all night. I never noticed if the other teams had named them Frankenberry too. Duh.

yeah i think yolanda called them frankenberry--i'm sure of it.

mojo is my new team to hate. seriously WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM?

Forgot to mention how much I do not miss Flake and misogyny. Hate them! jash, it's been great playing tennis with you. ;)

Did anyone else notice that Eric was sporting a set of nipple rings?

I was a little verklempt at Frankenberry's loss. Cheers to breast cancer survivors and uber cheers to Fran - she's a trooper. I'll miss them both.

There must have been an altercation between the Hippies (whom I love dearly) and team mojo. Mojo's actions and attitude were uncalled for during the whole show and I was wishing the first great white attack on AR.

LOVED the Phil Package - finally!!

GO GOOFY, SMELLY HIPPIES.

RULE CHANGE PLEASE CBS!

I like the footraces to the finish mat, but I think it only fair that you start the next leg with only the gear that you step on the mat with. That way you have to decide whether to drop all your gear and come in first or come in second with all your stuff. Adds a bit of strategy to the final sprint...

I too was thrilled to finally get a PhilPackage...

But was disappointed that he is also looking a little "hippy" this season.

Doesn't matter though, still love the Phil.

(Not unwashed hippy, but large hips hippy)

yes susanarosa - he looks as though he has on his husky boy pants. Still yummy.....hmmmmmmmmmm

I think back in the fish market there was some sort of Frankenberry comment made. And I too am curious about what really sparked the Mojo-Hippie fight. I can totally see Mojo misinterpreting a request for money paired with a non-serious joking threat of being yeilded and blowing it totally out of proportion. And did anyone else notice that the Hippies were able to get like 2x as much money as everyone else by asking on the airplane? If Team Jeric does win I hope the Hippies totally show up at the mat in 2nd with the IOU.

I did notice that Samy- the Hippies made $300 begging on the plane and everyone else started out with $181. They have some hippie skills! I still love that team, and I hope Monica gets a big fish to the face or something so she'll stip whining so much. Stupid girl!

I loved hearing Yolanda say "Frankenberry" and the European conversion in her statement. I thought that she'd be a stronger bike rider with her thighs of stell though.

I have to say the jeric looked mighty fine in their speedos. No Philpackage, but the abs were yummy!

They are definitely playing up the homoerotic comments by Jeric. Did anyone catch that they had to pixelate the ass crack of one of the Jeric's in his speedo? Not that I was looking.

Mojo is annoying, but Mo was right about one thing, those were spiny lobster, not crayfish.

Wow, I was actually SAD that Frankenberry got eliminated. I really started to like them b/c they are so sweet to each other, and they really exceeded my expectations of how far they would go in the race.

Hippies all the way! I love those crazy guys.

"And so the teams all had to go find lodgings for the night, and for some, that meant heading to the local hostile."
While the actual word is "hostel", I think I like "hostile" much more.
As for Phil's mat buddy, now it just seems like they're pulling random people off the street.

I have to say that I am glad that Frankenberry are out. I never liked them from the start. When they yelled at that little girl (on training wheels no less!!) to get out of the way, like they're the King of Omen or something, is a good example of why I dislike them. Whining Fran also was a factor.

Dang gumit!! I do miss L&M!! But there is no way they would have made it this far without imploding.

Samynoodle (#10), I have to agree with your assesment of Mojo misinterpreting the hippies. When I heard them describe the 'threat to yield' I took it as a joke. Leave it to Mojo to misread something!!

Jeric, what can I say? They are going to take a lot of vacations together. How very gay!!

What would be better than the hippes coming in second and producing the $100 IOU, is if they win and then hit up the 3rd place Jeric with the IOU.

B-Side,
I got the same feeling from Ray. Get me away from this crazy bitch the first chance I get!!

Did anyone else notice that the teams started 24 hours after the time they arrived from the last episode? I thought they were supposed to leave after a 12 (or 36) hour pit stop. This was a 24 hour pit stop.

On last weeks Finish Line, They interviewed Zach (not Flo). He mentioned that they had 36 hour pit stops. He also mentioned that Flo is still hooked up with Derrick/Drew (can't remember which one). Poor Zach. But the most amazing thing I thought was that it was Flo that signed up for TAR and picked Zach as her partner. I would have never guessed that from watching the show!!

I'm rooting for Ray & Yolanda. They have so much potential but always seem to just take it easy. I really want to see them step it up!

While Fran's constant whining really irked me, I was a little teary to see them go.

Thanks for another hilarious recap B-Side!

Belinda(#6)-is it wrong that I laughed out loud at the thought of a Great White attack on Mojo? Now THAT's something she would have every right to be afraid of!

susanarosa(#8)-I was thinking the same thing. I think wardrobe needs to find him some more flattering pants.

Isn't it funny how the hippies talked it up about not needing money to get by that they could just be the humans they are or whatever, but they drooled over the $300 they begged off of people like starving dogs with a steak? Hmmm, I'm thinking they wouldn't be so annoyingly happy without their trust funds.

I thought of another nickname for Jeric after watching "Scrubs" Tuesday night- The Todds. Anyone who watches the show knows exactly what I'm talking about.

tvaholic, the difference between Jeric and the Todd is that the Todd is actually funny to watch.

I liked the "hippies" at the start but now it's just too much. Being "silly" and "goofy" all of the time and constantly commenting on it makes them look rehearsed and like they're just trying too hard. They now seem fake and calculating to me. Truly funny people wouldn't need to comment to the camera about how funny they are.

Even if the hippies were joking when they told MoJo they'd yield them if they didn't give them money, their reaction to not getting money was to go on and on about how they really do want to yield MoJo. It's a race, yet they seemed to feel entitled to help. Maybe MoJo made a bid deal out of what started as a joke, but the hippies acted like jerks in return.

AbbyAnn-good point. Calling Jeric The Todds would be an insult to The Todd.

I'm glad Ray & Yolanda live to see another leg of the race! I wasn't really rooting for Fran & Barry, I didn't think they were sympathetic (besides for the cancer survivor part) and I often found them to be rude. I can't believe the season is almost over. I feel it went by too fast. It's already MAY?!

Anyways, no one pointed out all the flies landing on BJ & Tyler during their interviews! They've gotta smell freaking nasty at this point. That's probably how they made so much money on the plane; the passengers were like "Here's some $$, take a bath or buy some deodorant or something PLEASE".

-Thanks for the funny recap B-Side! :)

A Baywatch moment? Ummm no a Baywatch moment was the slow run shots of females not of two closet cases.

BJ and Tyler are American Bedouins, huh? What with all the horses and guns, seems a little Red State for these two.

"Oz in Oz? A dream come true!" Hahaha, awesome, B-Side! Also, I can't believe I missed that scene with Tyler standing under the 'Division 4' sign - priceless.

flypay (#7)- I liked the excellent suggestion regarding the whole question of whether one should have to arrive at the mat with one's backpack or not. It would add some more strategy to these close finishes, not that they happen as often as I would like, especially this season.

I believe that the Aussie usage for 'shrimp/prawn' and 'crawfish/spiny lobster' is different than in the US, not positive about the latter though.

+AbbyAnn (#18) - Amen regarding the hippies. *If* it did start off as a joke, and I'm not convinced that that was the case, they sure seemed serious enough about targeting MoJo when they didn't cave to their possibly phony extortion. Sure, MoJo acted kind of nasty about out it, but I'm not giving either of these teams the benefit of the doubt.

With Lori and Dave, and Lake and Michelle, gone, it's a bit hard for me to care too much about any of these teams. Dave and Lori were a sweet couple, and seemed like they would have been more fun to hang with than any of the other teams, but their racing skills were sort of feeble, and they didn't have even a smidgen of that cutthroat attitude I like to see a bit of in this game. Still, I was rooting for them just based on personalities. Like many people, I started off the season with some dislike for Lake and Michelle, but they really grew on me, and by the third week or so, they were my hands-down favorites. Lake didn't come near Colin and Johnathan for creepy volcanic rages, and on those few occasions when it was clear that Michelle saved their bacon, he was gracious and supportive (not that he wasn't interviewing that he wore the pants in the family hours later). And as her deliciously sarcastic sniping made clear, Michelle isn't deluding herself that Lake is some kind of Rhett Butler, and I don't hold it against her that she fantasizes a little to get through the rough patches of what I don't doubt is a very tempestuous marriage. She's certainly not the doormat I dreaded when their team was introduced. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't flourish in a relationship like that, but I ended up kind of believing that they complemented each other. I just really miss how dang wound up Lake would get about stupid things (for good and ill), and Michelle would look at him with mingled affection and exasperation, seemingly thinking, 'What a loon my fella is'. Seeing them roaring around Oman, with Lake yelling and whooping, would have been awesome. And 'KAN-KA-WEE-GO!' has entered my vocabulary for good; I busted it out at a cocktail party last weekend and got the strangest looks...

I'm not totally sure who to root for now, though I'm leaning towards RaYo. They started off as bland but likeable, and have started to look a little less of both. A little bickering is good drama, but it doesn't entirely suit these two; sulky Ray especially doesn't do anything for me, though sometimes Yolanda's newfound sass is a welcome addition to the show. Every now and then the Hippies do something totally awesome and I sort of like them for a few minutes, and then the damn mugging starts again. I have a personal animus against people who are 'on' all the time, so I just can't root for these two, even though they're the smartest travellers by a mile. Their Two Stooges routine is really missing a Moe: someone to knock their skulls together like coconuts and tell them to 'Get busy, onionheads!' Jeric? I have to hand it to them, they're racing really hard, and despite their ignorance and less-than-winning manners, they generally have good interactions with the locals, but they seem to think they are entitled to win every leg, and that angers me. I don't think they realize how much of their success has been due to the errors of their rivals, and to dumb luck. Plus they take liberties with Phil, and that's a no-no, dudes. "Big Philly Style", my ass. As for Mojo, I blow hot and cold on these two. Like the Hippies, they're kind of a fair-weather team: when everything's jake, the "baby"s sound very sincere, and Monica in particular seems like a good sport. But their break-downs are cringe-inducing. Joseph becomes an incoherent jerk when he flies off the handle, which he does rather more frequently than is proper, and Monica has a whine that goes straight through your head. I dunno, I guess it's RaYo by default.

I'm also under the Hippies spell... I'll take their goofy-but-potentially-annoying humor over Jeric's played out frat antics anyday. I don't know if they (or anyone else) can stop Team Butt Plug, but they're my personal pick to win.

Raylonda seem nice enough but they tend to bore me. Also, I can't understand why two people who are in such amazing shape aren't doing better in the race/in physical challenges. They usually come in at the end of the pack.

I can't stand the Mojo.

Oh, and #17-- BJ is from my home town which is very blue collar, middle class, small town... I highly doubt he has a trust fund. I think he's probably the only person from our high school to ever go to Harvard!

Thanks so much for the PhilPackage pic B-side! It's been awhile since we've seen it.

I like Ray & Yo, however, they seem to have trouble with directions/maps, so I don't know if they can win it. They definitely have to step it up. I did notice Ray's response (or lack thereof) to Yolanda's attempt at a hug - doesn't look promising for these 2 post TAR.

Team MoJo - who cares? I am curious about their beef with the Hippies though.

The Hippies - yeah, they're playing the goofy humor up too much.

JEric - Zoobabe, you're right, definitely nowhere near a PhilPackage.

I agree with stacyrocks that this season is going too fast. To make up for the family edition, they should have made this one longer. It's been so freakin' "amazing".
I have to root for Jeric as they were my original pick to win though they are complete dweebs. The hippies don't surprise me with how well they are doing- I expected that from people who have traveled- but they are annoying. MoJo are too high strung and Raylonda are too low key. Even their bickering wasn't that much fuss. I won't miss Frankenberry- The Pleasure Dome: SHUDDER.
Thanks for the recap, B-Side!!

Best recap ever B-Side. And yeah, I'm rooting for Jeric now too. They're just too honestly what they are not to like them. Plus they don't spat with each other -- true love.

I just don't know. I like the hippies and Jeric, and, unlike everyone else, I especially like Mo's boobs. I'd hit that!

Rayo don't do anything for me. She's wierd, and he's sick of her. They have no passion, and I think they're in fourth now because they are so strong, because the rest of their game is rotten.

If I had picked four teams at the beginning, I think the top three would have been these. L&M might have been my choice ahead of Rayo, but this is one of the few seasons that has really been true to form, from start to finish, basically MoJo,Jeric, and The Hips have been top half the entire time. Usually a few more ups and downs.

We shall see, but Jeric have played a pretty good race, without errors, and I think they'll win.

I love it when they say "brushing the beach" is a common Australian activity. I've lived in the land of Oz all my life and i have never seen or heard of anyone ever doing it lol.

Didnt like Jeric's attitude at the war memorial, probably cos it was just ANZAC day.

Does anyone else feel slightly indifferent about this season? I mean I know last season sucked, but at least there was a team that was the obvious one to root for... this season everyone is just "okay". Anyways, I'd rather see Jeric or the hippies win than Mojo, but otherwise...

This recap being titles Prison Break really confused me, I just found it today, oops!

I think it's different this season because there is not a clearcut wonderful team that you would like to see win. Like Unchenna and Joyce, or a team like that.

Also, I was wondering why the teams had so much trouble finding the underground tunnel. Didn't they notice the direction people were coming from when they came back from that part of the challenge?

B-side, I can't believe you're rooting for Jeric now. You're letting me down in a big way. I know that the hippies are annoying, but they're clearly the better team. Jeric seems to be getting by mostly on dumb luck thus far, but hopefully that will run out soon.

#5 - I also noticed that Eric was sporting a nice set of nipple rings. In fact, I had to rewind and pause a few times just to be sure. I'm sorry, but no straight man wears nipple rings unless he's in a rock band, and even then it's questionable.