Amazing Race 15

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EricBess

Guest
Yeah, it would have been interesting to see the Viking writing, but just from what they showed, that seemed like it might have been pretty tough. And compared to filling sand bags...
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Well, I think the thinking was that the sandbags would be difficult physically while the decoding was mental. And I'm not sure it would have been THAT tough, but all of the remaining teams were pretty physical AND male, so blowing stuff up appealed to them more :)
 
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EricBess

Guest
I guess it depends on what they needed to do. When they showed it, I got the impression that it was more than just a substitution cypher, but since no one did it, we can't really know.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, saw it last night, and I was going to say the same thing :)

I guess I was a bit surprised at the large gaps between the starting times; the Globetrotters had a two hour lead over Cheyne and partner! And an hour and a half between the Sam and Dan and the last place team. But it was all for naught since everyone caught up at the ferry :) I guess the waiting for it and the 16 hour ride is good downtime for everyone.

I'm not sure how the last place team stayed behind everyone, but I guess everything adds up. Barring the speed bump, which wasn't THAT bad since they got into the society building with the 4th place team at the time, I guess it was just slow/bad taxis.

Not sure what happened with Dan and Sam and the Globetrotters at the end and who might have been at fault, but both teams are losing value to me. Right now, I think interracial couple are my front-runners; Cheyne and partner lost points due to partner's comment about not calling a taxi for them when they started going to the Detour.
 
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train

Guest
I missed it - but that's because McNabb was teasing me all through the Philly game...
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Okay, saw last night's episode...

More and more, I'm liking Brian and Erica. All of the other teams did a "little something" which made them slightly more unlikeable: Cheyne was pretty rude - I think he pulled that pad of paper out of that woman's hand who was writing directions. Flight Time decided to go down first from the rope challenge when his partner hadn't even finished and went slow because he said he was "tired", and Sam and Dan stole Brian and Erica's taxi and weren't men enough to face them afterwards and apologize at the Roadblock (though they may have done so at the Pit Stop afterwards when we can't see it).

So thank goodness for non-elimination. Their decision to take the trolley in the beginning in hindsight cost them, as they caught up at the Detour and just fell behind doing the ropes; had they been there from the start with everyone else, they could have pulled ahead of Dan and Sam since they kept trying the kayak.

This isn't to say they couldn't have fallen behind in the Roadblock and still could have been last to find the mini-instruments, but you never know...

So judging from Sam and Dan's comment when they finished and said they weren't worried about Brian and Erica, I hope they pass them despite their upcoming Speed Bump and take their spot in the Final 3 :)
 
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EricBess

Guest
To be fair, Flight Time was told to go down first. Its unclear exactly how that happened because Brian was allowed to stay, but maybe because of his size or because he finished slightly before the other two? And he admited to intentionally going slow once Meghan mentioned it, so I'm inclined to believe him that before that, he really was sluggish because he was tired.

As for Meghan and Cheyne, I think Cheyne is way too competative, but not necessarily thinking big picture. After all, they and the Globetrotters were both already way ahead of the brothers, so working together as Meghan wanted wasn't likely to hurt them. It might cost them on the leg, but not overall. Meghan, on the other hand, seems like a decent person, but I agree about Cheyne.

Of the four teams left, I least like the brothers, but I don't really have a problem with any of the other teams. I see what you mean about Brian and Erica, but there is something about the way they interact with each other that keeps me from liking them any more than the Globetrotters, who seem to have a more free-spirited attitude toward the race.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I'm don't remember Flight Time being told to go down first; I think all three of them were told to go down and since he was the closest, he just went for it. And even if he was told to go first, he could have stepped aside and let Cheyne and Meghan go down since his partner was still on the ropes - it's the little acts of "kindness" that I notice that a team could have done.

Meghan is just as competitive, I think, and has her moments - a couple of episodes ago, they and Brian and Erica were looking for taxis at the same time and B&E let them have one if the driver would call for another one and Meghan said to just go and forget about calling. Now, getting the taxi instead of staying with the Globestrotters I can see, but it was what looked like he pulled the pad of paper out of the hands of a woman who was trying to help them was what was not a "nice" move.

I'm not sure what you mean about B&E interacting; if anything, it seems to be slight "clash" of how each approaches the race - Brian being more laid-back and helpful to other teams while Erica is more competitive. Both both seem supportive of each other overall.
 
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EricBess

Guest
I got the impression that he wanted to stay and cheer on his team mate. As for stepping aside as an act of kindness, he probably could have. Meghan was telling the attendant to let them go down first, so it is likely that if he had offered, the attendent may have aquiessed. Cheyne didn't seem to care that they were waiting as much as Meghan did, but in the end, she was the one that wanted to work with the Globetrotters, so clearly she wasn't too upset by it.

As an aside - I find it interesting that teams seem to have such a problem working together. I mean, I understand the competative nature, but if you think about it, there is an advantage to working together. Consider, for example, sharing a taxi. Suppose all teams play equivalent games, but one of the 11 teams ends up sharing a taxi once during the race with each of the other 10 teams. All else being equal, that one team has an edge because they have split the fare 10 times where everyone else has only split once.

Obviously, this is a gross oversimplification (The specific example is flawed - I've seen them share van taxis before, but a normal taxi wouldn't have room for 2 teams and the cameras), but the principle is sound. If you are one of the last 2 teams, then its survival, so every man for themselves, but if you are not in danger of elimination, then why not cooperate with as many teams as possible. If one team burns you, then stop cooperating with them.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I think Cheyne was the one getting all agitated about Flight Time going down first, actually. He was saying he was going slow on purpose, etc....

I agree about the teamwork, but there might be a bit more. For instance, if you share a taxi, you know you're at least equal to the team you're sharing place-wise, so you want to make sure you can beat them in a footrace or whatever when getting to the pit stop. So of course the (perceived) faster team would want to pair with a slower team but NOT vice versa. And since you don't know when a pit stop will occur, that makes it harder for teams to share taxis from the beginning (although you know there's a Detour and Roadblock somewhere within the leg). But it doesn't make much sense to share in the beginning and not the end of the leg.

That's probably really the only time teams can work together. And getting directions. I don't think they can work together during Roadblocks or Detours, even if they wanted to.

And teams do stop cooperating; I think Brian and Erica siad they had been working with Sam and Dan previously, but once they took their taxi, they said the partnership is off. You just don't want to be the one who's getting burned :)
 
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EricBess

Guest
I think some of it has to do with what your goal is. Everyone seems to want to win every leg and there is always some great prize for doing so, so that is understandable. If your ultimate goal is to win as many/much as possible, then I agree with everything you have said. On the other hand, if your ultimate goal is to win the whole thing or bust, then it doesn't matter to you if another team gets to the mat 5-seconds before you as long as you are positioned better in the long run.

What you said about not wanting to be the one that gets burned is probably what keeps most people from cooperating more. You can control whether you are being genuine or not, but it's not always easy to know if another team is genuinely cooperating or if they are just taking advantage of you.

Something like sharing a taxi, for example, is I think always a good idea if 1) your ultimate goal is win or bust, and 2) you and the person you are sharing with are well ahead of at least one other team. Sure, it benefits a competitor as much as it benefits you, but if you can share with different teams at different times, then you are benefited far more. We've seen plenty of times in the race where not having enough money has limited options.

I think the problem is that most of the time, whether or not you cooperate with another team doesn't have any long-term benefit other than the cooperation itself and then, if the other team doesn't reciprocate in a pinch, it can actually cost you time. I guess the key is to hope that they will help you back, but not to expect it.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah.

The show hasn't concentrated on the money lately, in the past couple or several seasons. This past episode, they got 0 dollars, but I think that was the first mention of money in a long time. I guess the teams are getting more and/or being more careful with it so it's not a big part of the "plot" :)
 
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EricBess

Guest
Hmmm...I'm not sure I can really comment then. Anything I can say would pretty much be a spoiler, so I guess I'll let you watch it first.
 
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