'The Amazing Race': They survived a Japanese game show -- and herded ducks
What a doozy of a season premiere of The Amazing Race!
They're not messing around -- this season, the first challenge took place before the teams even headed to the airport. They had to find a license plate off a wall of hundreds of them that bore the marks of a particular town -- and of course, the marks weren't in English.
Eric and Lisa, the married yoga teachers, were the casualties, but they took it OK, saying that they'd removed the shame factor for the rest of the teams.
After that, the teams headed to Tokyo, where their next challenge was to appear on a version of a Japanese game show. I'll just call it Wheel of Sushi. There was a wheel, and teams had to eat whatever roll landed in front of them, but they couldn't leave until they took on the wasabi bomb, a giant roll filled with an wickedly insane amount of the pungent green stuff. (I'd had sushi earlier in the day and had freaked when one of the pieces had just a smidge of wasabi. Couldn't imagine what this roll was like.)
If the team had the wasabi roll in front of them, they had two minutes to eat it up or else forfeit. Maria (of the team of professional poker players who lied and said they worked with the homeless for a nonprofit) couldn't quite finish her roll in two minutes and, OUCH, had to do it again. But she survived that one. Brian (husband of former Miss America Ericka) also had to repeat and made it.
After eating the wasabi bomb, teams were matched up with 20 audience members and had to herd them through Tokyo's busiest intersection to the first pit stop. Maria and Tiffany ended up in some trouble after losing two of their audience members -- they came in last and incurred a two-hour penalty, but it was a nonelimination leg, so they were saved.
The next day, teams had to go to Ho Chi Minh City. For their first challenge, they had to fill up an area with mud around the base of a tree until it reached a certain point. They all got filthy, but everyone eventually got through it. Next, though, was the best challenge of the night: duck herding. One team member had to get about 100 ducks from one area, over a bridge to another area, and then back across the bridge and into their pen in 10 minutes. It was tough tough tough, but oh so amusing. (I mean, it wasn't cheese wheels rolling down a hill or anything, but I still laughed plenty.)
My favorite moment during that challenge was that Zev, who has Asperger's Syndrome, was so good with the ducks. They seemed to just know what he wanted them to do; one of the other teams called him the "Duck Whisperer."
Maria and Tiffany had to do a Speed Bump challenge, but they quickly caught up after delivering the ingredients of pho soup to a security guard, and Tiffany had actually raised ducks at some point in her life, so she got through that part pretty easily. Earlier in the episode, though, I had to laugh when, after lying to everyone else and saying they worked for a nonprofit, they were recognized in the airport by a hard-core poker fan. Whoops! No one will trust them now. Way to bluff, guys!
Gary and Matt, the father-and-son team, came in first, and last place was a race between Brian and Ericka and on-again, off-again couple Garrett and Jessica. Garrett and Jessica finished last, and that was OK.
What did you think of the premiere?
Comments
What a great 1st episode for TAR. I like how they thre in the twist with 1 team being eliminated right away. Right now to me no one team stands out as a serious threat so this could be one very competitive season
Posted by: jason | September 28, 2009 5:08 PM
I think the new twist stank. You sign up for this incredible adventure and you are canned right at the start, without getting the first leg of the race completed. That speed bump as a penalty for coming in last, was pretty lame this year compared to some others
Posted by: Capt Jack | September 29, 2009 7:34 AM
EAT THE WASABI!!!!!
My wife and I are rooting for Gary and Matt. My wife is from Montana, and very rarely are there people from Montana on reality shows.
I'm surprised they put the Globetrotters on, however I think they'll provide some good entertainment before the season is out.
Posted by: Chris in KS | September 29, 2009 9:02 AM
Great first episode. We have a saying out here: the only way to herd cattle fast is slowly. That applies to ducks, too.
And I'm thinking the poker players may be this season's flight attendants. How can you be capable of counting an entire deck of cards and mentally calculating the odds of the cards you need coming out, but you can't keep count of 20 people all wearing matching hats, walking down the street together?
SKK: Or, for that matter, remembering that you've been on TV before, so lying about your background might not be the best plan ever ...
Posted by: Bucky | September 29, 2009 9:09 AM
Nothing will EVER top the Wheels of Cheese!
As for this premire it was kind of meh for me. Maybe because is seemed so grey and rainy in both places.
Posted by: etucker | September 29, 2009 9:23 AM
I think it was 150 ducks. Some of those flocks seemed to have a lot more than that.
I don't like the way Miss America and her husband speak to each other when the pressure is on. And I'm really glad to see the last of Garrett.
This was an OK show, but I was very angry when I realized I'd missed Ken Burns' National Parks watching it.
Posted by: Eve | September 29, 2009 10:47 AM
Just another game of Duck Duck Loose!
Posted by: bluzdude | September 29, 2009 11:42 AM
PLEASE let something heavy fall on Lance.
SKK: But with his giant muscles, he is sure to catch it. Or at least that is what he'd tell you ...
Posted by: jo | October 1, 2009 12:04 PM