The Amazing Race – These people know it’s a competition, right?

This was one of those Amazing Race episodes that makes me want to call up the producers and ask, “What are you doing to this show?!?” The best part of the episode this week was the beautiful scenery. The challenges were more “busy work” than challenging and hardly had an effect on the team standings. However, bad taxi drivers, and other elements not related to the tasks, helped and hindered the teams.

The teams started out on a slow bike ride in the tradition of the Dutch Colonial police patrolling the streets. Had Ernie’s pedal not fallen off, the teams would have arrived at the next clue box in the same order they had started. Once they got the clue, they were off by taxi (Amani and Marcus got the bad cab driver draw this week) to a restaurant … but not for an eating challenge Detour.

The Detour required teams to either deliver lunch to a worker in the rice fields and then plant 300 rice seedlings, or fill two bags with grass and drag two uncooperative sheep to a pen where they then had to fill up six buckets of water  — only two at a time — and fill a trough. Most teams chose the “Grass Fed” portion of the Detour, and when Amani and Marcus finally arrived, they did so as well. Except, when they delivered their sheep and were told they needed more grass, they decided to do the “Rice Field” Detour instead. That boggled my mind. All they had to do was fill the bags up with a little more grass, walk back with their sheep and fill up some buckets. But noooooo, Marcus was angry so he decided they had to do the other Detour … and they were the last to finish and arrive at the next challenge.

Now, here’s where I start to have some issues with the show. Do these people not understand that they are all in a competition to win a million dollars? Granted, this Road Block was a little confusing — count the Buddhas with the four distinct hand positions at the Borobudur Temple, and remember the number and positions to get the next clue — but the whole point is to get yourself ahead of the pack. Yes, it’s so nice to see teams helping each other out, but it does the competition aspect of the show no favors. Laurence helped Tommy, then four other teams banded together to figure it out, and then Tommy and Andy actually gave Amani and Marcus the answers as the teams crossed paths at the entrance to the temple. That drives me crazy. Teams should not be able to give other teams answers to challenges. It seemed like Bill was the only person who actually figured out the solution for himself (and, of course, our old nemesis — editing — could have distorted the truth of the matter).

I’m all for having teams get along harmoniously and be all sunshine and happiness, and helping each other get to a clue box, but when it comes to the actual tasks, there really should be a rule that forbids helping another team or giving a team the answer so they don’t even have to perform the task at hand (and if Marcus had actually been paying attention, he could have just pretended to county the Buddhas). This isn’t Survivor, where you want to keep a strong player in the game for a while to help the tribe. At this point, if a strong team that includes a professional football player is at the back of the pack, let them stay there and face elimination!

In the end, Kaylani and Lisa were eliminated because … no one helped them with the answers. What do you think? Should teams be allowed to assist other teams with challenges?

Clacked by Chuck Duncan
on Oct 10, 2011 @ 04:04 EST5EDT