Let's all be honest, the best things about reality shows are the villains, and the idiots. This season of The Amazing Race provides good examples in both categories. Actually, you can safely say the show depends on the abundance of idiots to get us through the episodes. Thanks to the crazy challenges and the never-ending way to get yourself in trouble at the reservation counter at an airport, the producers don't need to do any creative editing to come up with the idiots. Finding villains is often much more difficult, and often a show will present a certain crop of characters to the audience with heavy bias in order to create more drama within the show. You can see that in early episodes of the Amazing Race where even the Bowling Moms were involved in some intrigue. The tape didn't have to be doctored to show viewers the true nature of Colin, posterchild of Rageoholics Anonymous. Without Marshall and Lance, Colin has had to be the one villain in the show, and he does his job with as much gusto as the ACLU defending an anarchist. Everybody just better watch out.
We really started to get a feel for Colin in the last episode where he went from someone who bullies little people, into somebody we think might actually eat people's hearts while they are still alive. OK, that's harsh. He would probably kill them first, but you get my point. At the beginning this week, everybody had to make their way to Water Wiki[make that Wild Wadi - thanks theMatt], the largest water park outside of the United States. You got to give it to those Emirates, they know how to have a good time. Well, the water park didn't open until 8 AM, so of course all of the teams caught up with each other. Good thing too, because once inside the water park, they had to face the task of...going down a big water slide. Hmm. It's not called Amazing Race: X-Treme, so I guess I can't complain the challenge is crazy, but don't they usually reserve that type of easy challenge for the final one in the episode?
The producers obviously knew much more than us viewers, because it turned out that the next part was difficult, at least for two teams. Everybody had to drive for the airport, which Chip and Kim translated to "Take a Taxi" and the bowling moms left the bag with their passports at the water park after they had already made it part of the way to the airport. Both teams returned to the water park to fix their errors. Luckily for these two slackers, the next destination was Calcutta, India, which you may also know as the number one place to go if you want to get the plague. Yes, that plague. And I realize with all the people in Calcutta, the chances are a statistical anomaly, but you don't see the plague in Hoboken do you? The air service to Calcutta was limited and all the teams made it on the same connecting flights except for Chip and Kim who had to take a plane that landed 10 minutes later. Once in Calcutta, Colin worked hard once again to show his true nature, throwing around some not-so-flattering compliments about Calcutta and what a high point of civilization it was. Chomsky, he is not. Admittedly, everybody else was complaining about the smell, but colin was mean spirited and holistically unaware, so he sucks more.
There was one inconsequential stop at a tower in calcutta, and Chip and Kim were able to make up all of the time they lost from being on the later plane thanks to a crazy driver and bad traffic for the others. CBS decided to remind all the viewers about the detour[Late Edit: Thanks to allelel, I meant the YIELD, not the detour], the feature of the race nobody even contemplates using this year. Perhaps they are saving it until later in the game, and maybe contestants in the upcoming races use it more, but it has been a boring addition this year. More frequent fast forwards would be much better. The first challenge was a roadblock that required one person to make twenty bricks in a traditional indian fashion, i.e. with mud and some hand tools.
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Comments (13)
The look on Brandon's face was just spectacular. LOVED IT. So glad you captured it!
1 of 13 | Posted by freakgirl | Posted on September 1, 2004 6:15 AM
I think you mean the Yield's not been used, not the Detour.
I suspect that since it's only been mentioned in the first episode of the season, and last night's, it's going to start to play a key role in episodes starting next week or so.
2 of 13 | Posted by allelel | Posted on September 1, 2004 6:54 AM
I like how Nicole remarks with disdain how there are mosques "on like every corner - like Starbucks". Yeah, because you'd be hard pressed to find a church in the United States.
And let's not overlook the twins' little meltdown at the brick factory. That was finger-pointing fun.
Also, I believe it was Wild Wiki, not Water Wiki.
3 of 13 | Posted by b-side | Posted on September 1, 2004 8:58 AM
Actually, b-side, it is Wild Wadi:
http://www.wildwadi.com/info/
I was hoping that Chip and Kim would do the Fast Forward. I mean, they were half done already!
4 of 13 | Posted by TheMatt | Posted on September 1, 2004 9:22 AM
Ah, but for the power of prayer . . .
Seriously--I guess Jesus really can come through for you in a pinch, especially if you're cute and appeal to targeted marketing demographics.
But the big moment of the episode for me was discovering Chip & Kim's Machiavellian scheme to undo Colin by flattering the angry young man's ego. Whodathunk Carebear Chip could be so devious? I almost felt sorry for Colin, who seemed pathetically oblivious to the fact that even the super-nice people like Chip & Kim and the Bowling Moms despise him intensely. Of course, only a minute or two later, he was once again the eye-bulging, red-faced, raised-vein-on-the-temple Colin we've come to know and loathe, and all sympathy crumbled like a poorly molded brick.
Maybe next week, instead of helping Brandon and Nicky, Jesus will stick an invisible leg out in front of Colin and send him tumbling down a steep flight of stairs like the one the priest goes flying down at the end of 'The Exorcist.'
In the immortal words of Big Brother 5's Jase, "That would be good TV."
5 of 13 | Posted by jack | Posted on September 1, 2004 9:58 AM
Hello people?!?!?! The best line of the night was when Colin yelled at Christie, "You're Killing Me!" It sounded just like something from 'Who's Affraid of Virginia Wolf' or something.
Colin is an ASS!
I didn't want anyone to take that FastForward as much as I wanted the Christian couple too. Duh, what was I thinking. Of course they weren't going to shave their heads. But man I was hoping they would.
And at the end when the Indian woman smudged red paint on their third eye, I thought they would complain that it was sacraligious to take part in another religions activity. They giggled, but none of the screaming I thought would happen.
p.s. Colin is an ASS!
6 of 13 | Posted by Genevieve | Posted on September 1, 2004 11:03 AM
Yah Boy couldnt agree more with u, genevieve, its so priceless n irriating at the same time to hear Colin says " you are killing me. " I wonder why he even say that man. He the one killing everyone with his Psychopath looks!!
Btw do any of u guys remember in the episode, where he almost when to jail, he said sth like. " this is not the r/s that i am looking for, i need her to support n agree with me, n not go against me" DUH??? how unreasonable he can get!
oh my goodness his looks as best sum up by Mina. " An ex convict face "
7 of 13 | Posted by raisin | Posted on September 1, 2004 12:52 PM
nicole and brandon said at the end of the episode that God still wants them in the game.
but apparently God wants them in the game without money. apparently God wants americans going after a million dollar prize to get poor indians to give them their money. apparently God is a colonialist.
8 of 13 | Posted by njy | Posted on September 1, 2004 2:21 PM
Did anyone notice how at the pit stop, Nicole brushed off the red things they put on her head. How rude! It fell off everyone else's heads as they were jumping for joy - she just brushed it off as if it were bugs. Too bad they weren't bugs...
9 of 13 | Posted by Crystal | Posted on September 2, 2004 6:43 AM
As they were my early favorites in the game, even through the Mirna days, it is sad (albeit great TV) to see Colin's descent into madness. I only hope they never get eliminated - until the last leg when Colin will be taking out other teams with a rifle from a tower.
And I have to say I love those moms. Does the brown-haired one ever talk? But it was cute when they were asking the indian people for rubles instead of rupees.
10 of 13 | Posted by Jack | Posted on September 2, 2004 8:39 AM
anyone remember nicole say "i couldnt let them shave our heads! i mean we are models, and brandon's hair is ALL HE HAS"
haha, oh SNAP!
11 of 13 | Posted by jash | Posted on September 2, 2004 10:34 AM
When Brandon and Nicole chose to not shave their heads I didn't look at it like they were being vain. I just looked at it that they were not greedy. It just proves there are some things they wont do for money. Personally, I would not have shaved my head if I were them. Just imagine how much the other teams would have made fun of them (especially Colin). I think dignity is more important than winning a reality show and I'm glad they didn't do it. When Nicole brought up doing the fast forward I was thinking "no, don't go". After all, they were the team with the best hair. I'm glad they were not eliminated. I hope they win.
12 of 13 | Posted by Lisa | Posted on September 3, 2004 12:45 AM
I would let Colin hit me, as long as he made it up to me later. My only concern is that he almost surely has a micropenis.
13 of 13 | Posted by Frank | Posted on September 3, 2004 7:40 AM