Here's Bucky on last night's Amazing Race:
So, I'm working without a net tonight (on the road, no DVR.) Feel free to comment in with any corrections/additions if I got something wrong or omitted entertaining details.
The teams are still in France and will run this leg of the race in the same region where, last week, they did the WWI battle re-enactment. They will be driving hither and yon in cars with automatic transmissions. (We deduce this later in the show when Brent, who doesn't drive a stick, is in the Captain's seat while Caite is in the back.)
The other advantage of running the race in the same region is that we avoid the leveling of the playing field with teams all waiting for the same flight to the next destination. I'm wondering as we begin if this will detract from the drama, and if it means teams finish in the same order they started.
The Detectives depart the Pit Stop first and we find the teams will have to drive to Reims, find the only outdoor statue of Joan of Arc, and find a lady playing a "singing saw" to get the next clue. Predictably, the only teams that struggle are Brent & Caite, who go to the wrong statue initially and Jeff & Jordan, who have to have a discussion about Joan of Arc vs. Noah and the Ark to get themselves on the same page.
Eventually all the teams get the clue, which is a cork imprinted with next destination, which is the site of tonight's Roadblock. The destination is the Taittinger mansion. Unfortunately there is also a Taittinger winery in the region and this confuses not only some of the teams, but locals who they ask for directions as well. The Cowboys, Steve & Allie and Jeff & Jordan are all delayed by this mix-up. (I'm pretty sure the Detectives also got bad directions, but then got a different local to lead them directly to the correct place, so they weren't affected.)
At the Roadblock, one member of each team has to rappel 100 feet down into an underground wine cellar, find a specially marked bottle of champagne and open it with the "flick-of-a-sword" maneuver to get the next clue.
The Brothers have taken the lead and Jordan rappels for their team. Louie follows for the Detectives; neither has trouble completing the task. Steve & Allie overcome their bad directions to arrive for the task, but when they park, Steve somehow wrecks the car (fill in a blank for me here, SKK or commenters, because I didn't see how he did it). (Note from SKK: I didn't see, either. I think he hit a curb or something, but the camerapeople were in the car? Correct me if I'm wrong, folks ...) Luckily Steve has a small roll of duct tape in his backpack and repairs the car with that. (Note to people who want to be on The Amazing Race: bring a roll of duct tape and a can of WD-40 in your backpack. They are the only tools you need: if something moves and shouldn't, use the duct tape. If something doesn't move, but should, use the WD-40.) He completes the challenge third. Cord, working for the Cowboys, moves ahead of Brandy in the cellar and they finish the challenge in 4th and 5th places, respectively.
The clue from the champagne bottle takes teams to the Detour, where their choices are:
Tower – teams have to build a 15-layer pyramid out of 680 champagne glasses, then fill them by pouring at the top and letting the champagne overflow into all the glasses below. Theoretically, this requires some math skill as well as steady hands. You have to figure out how many glasses go on each level, ending up with only one for the top. When done, they will get directions to the Pit Stop.
Terra – teams have to search through a vineyard and find a specially-marked cluster of grapes, and then turn it in for directions to the Pit Stop.
The Detectives select Terra, complete the Detour and head for the Pit Stop before any other team has even finished the rappelling task. Now maybe we're seeing why producers work the wait for an airplane into the beginning of most legs.
The Brothers arrive next, pick Tower and begin stacking their glasses while a nice string quartet plays in the background.
Carol & Brandy arrive next, pick Terra, find the grapes and head for the Pit Stop. This produces maybe my favorite Brent & Caite moment of the season. They are so far behind that they are on the way to the Roadblock and see Carol & Brandy leaving the Detour (ahead of the Brothers, who are still stacking glasses.) Brent and Caite (who, you remember, last week skipped picking up a clue and had to retrace their steps) decide to just follow Carol & Brandy. So they end up at the Pit Stop in third place. Ha Ha Ha. Phil tells them to go back and pick up where they left off.
(The most amazing thing, however, is that even with this screw-up, they are still ahead of Jeff & Jordan.)
Steve & Allie select Terra, find the grapes and head for the Pit Stop. (The Brothers are still stacking glasses.) Brent & Caite get back on track, pick Terra and start searching for grapes. Caite wanted to do Tower and while she is barely moving through the vineyard (spray her with WD-40, Brent!) she whines. She also walks right by a bunch of the specially marked grapes.
The Cowboys arrive, find grapes quickly and depart for the Pit Stop ahead of Brent & that whiney Caite.
The Brothers finish their champagne-glass-pyramid even though they've totally miscalculated how many glasses go on each level. Their pyramid is topped by four single glasses, each balanced in the one below. But, in a ridiculously steady display of champagne pouring, they fill the pyramid without knocking it down, and I think they should get a prize for that act alone. They head for the Pit Stop.
Brent & Caite switch to Tower and begin stacking glasses, which is what Caite wanted to do in the first place. However, while filling it, Brent knocks over their pyramid and instead of trying it again, they switch back to the never-ending search for grapes.
Jeff & Jordan finally arrive and see Brent & Caite's car, so they know they still have a chance. They pick Terra, but when they see Brent & Caite searching, they assume it is the harder task and do Tower instead. However, they knock over their glasses about halfway into the pyramid, so they go look for grapes.
Irritatingly, Caite is the team member who finds grapes, and they head to the Pit Stop. Jeff and Jordan continue to look for grapes, now in the dark, knowing they are in last place. But Jordan eventually stumbles onto the special grapes. When they finally arrive at the Pit Stop, Phil tells them they are eliminated.
The final order of finish for the week:
1st – The Detectives, who win a trip to Cancun.
2nd – Carol & Brandy
3rd – Steve & Allie
4th – The Cowboys
5th – The Brothers
6th – Brent & Caite
7th – Jeff & Jordan
What did you think of tonight's episode?