The show jump started with the teams racing off to the Town Hall tower in Stockholm, which conveniently didn't open until 7 AM the next morning. Somehow Jon, Kris, Hayden, Aaron, Jon, and Victoria all determined that it opened at 10 AM, which meant the local Sheraton had the lucky distinction of hosting six reality stars/vagrants on their lobby couches for the night.

As usual, the episode provided a few snippets of interviews at the outset to frame the emotional and dramatic arcs we would be seeing over the next hour. Last night Rebecca revealed that when she met Adam, his mother was still cutting his toe nails. I don't know who to feel sadder for: Adam or his mom. Either way, Rebecca laid down the gauntlet. "If you're gonna be my boyfriend, you have to cut your own toe nails," she insisted, adding "And I'd like you to stop being gay too."

Meanwhile, the dating models tried their hardest to assert some sort of personality. Kendra commented that she likes the finer things in life, and apparently that includes her giant bandana (which, as we learned from a summer of Big Brother 5, is NEVER acceptable). Freddy meanwhile likes to get down and dirty, as evidenced by his raucous personality and life of the party attitude. Man, what would this season be without Freddy???

As for Bolo, all he wanted was peace with Lori. No more infighting. No more anger. No more people saying "I'm better than you are, you're better than me are." Don't worry, me aren't going to say anything.

Anyway, when the teams eventually plucked their clues off the top of the Town Hall tower, they were sent packing to Senegal. Most everyone got to the airport early on, although Kris and Jon decided to spend the morning sightseeing around Stockholm. Late risers Jon and Victoria approached the Town Hall tower at what they thought was an early time, but reality soon set in as they spied people already atop the structure. "How did they get up there if it doesn't open 'til 10?" asked Victoria. I don't know, maybe it's MAGIC! Amazingly, Jon didn't let loose a torrent of effeminate anger, but I'm sure that's because he was pre-occupied with his garrish blue furry hat. In case you missed it, it was like some ill-advised attempt at kitschy pimp chic - which would have been fine if he were Dennis Rodman, but, uh, he's not.

Eventually though the 10 AM blunder crew got with the program, and while they managed to catch up with the pack, it didn't prevent Aaron from doing his best Chris Farley impersonation as he berated himself with "I'm so STUPID. STUPID STUPID STUPID!"

All the teams found flights to Senegal easily, and once there, the group poured out of the airport as if a giant fireball were barrelling down behind them. Teams then set out to find the grave of a Senegalese poet, a task which nicely allowed Kendra to come out of the whiny closet by complaining about the stench, the cars, and Africa in general (or "ghetto Africa" as she unwittingly called it). Freddy, watch out! Your fiancé is displaying signs of a personality!

Of course we were introduced to this season's first Third World taxi hijinx as teams struggled to find a cabbie that a) could speak English; b) would drive them somewhere; and c) didn't mind being touched. Yes, in the middle of the fray, one cabbie sternly reprimanded someone by saying "Do not touch." I don't really know why he said that or what was going on or where he was being touched, but apparently, he didn't like it. Meanwhile, obnoxious Jon took a grammatical page from Bolo and yelled out to the crowd: "I need somebody to speak me English!" In other news, John continues to be a huge idiot.

« NBC Misses Yet Another Chance To Replace Football | Main | Where the Boys Aren't Revisited »

Posted in Amazing Race by B-Side at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Last Comment: brett on Dec 9, 2004 02:33 PM.