If you are thinking about being on "The Amazing Race," please take a close look at this picture. Commit it to memory. The show likes to challenge contestants. If you are afraid of heights, there's a pretty good chance you will face a situation where you have to deal with heights. If you hate the water, there's a chance you will find yourself on or in the water. If you're a picky eater … well, you know where this is going. See me after the jump.
I don't know how familiar Mika and Canaan were with "TAR" before they signed up, or if they somehow thought that the stunts they saw on TV would not be as intimidating in real life, or what. But Mika's meltdown, with the race on the line, was sad (because she was so very frightened) and dramatic. Canaan was trying not to force her to jump — which could have been disastrous if she was off-balance or panicky on the way down — but came very close the line between forcing and strong persuasion. Then you add in the Globetrotters' arrival, and that excitement, as well as the potential controversy in their behavior. (I, frankly, thought they were rough but still in the spirit of the game. If it had been a matter of who finished fourth and who fifth, say, then you might argue about the situation. But this was about who might be going home.) And yet it was all a bit depressing, too, because Mika should have known long before this that winning the show would mean facing up to some if not all of her fears.
Good show. Not only for the diving, but for things like the hookah challenge, where Ericka went so wrong, both in thinking that details were unimportant and in her ranting instead of trying to solve their problem. To be fair, though, Ericka has more than once noted her glossy-diva side, including on last night's telecast, so it's not as if she has hidden herself up to now.
I haven't paid much attention to Meghan and Cheyne up to this point, probably because they're not dramatic enough to have merited a lot of screen time when other contestants offered TV-appealing nuttiness. But they were really adept players on last night's show, and are clearly a threat to win it all. Sam and Dan — smart to bring a calculator but come on, you don't know how to divide numbers? I still like Gary and Matt, though, because they seem like good guys, and capable players.
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Add to the list "if you don't know how to drive stick" and "you are afraid of dark, small spaces." Sam and Dan not understanding what to do with the numbers was a little amazing. Meghan and Cheyne did a great job – they just seem like a nice young couple. We had a lot of discussion on my posting board about the Globetrotters behavior. I think they trash talked because they thought they should (they're athletes and they're in a competition), but it was forced on their part. And Mika didn't really seem fazed by what they were saying – she had already made up her mind. On the other hand, many people said that Canaan was out of line, esp when he was trying to force her onto the slide and she was screaming for help.
And, Erika and Brian were equally hesitant about the slide, but they sucked it up and did it. It's a race with challenges, it's not about having tea in the Louvre (unless it is).
Ah, a tea in the Louvre challenge. Let's see: You must take this embossed teacup, and find the painting with a matching image. Then you will receive your next clue …
that was ridiculous! Fancast has a live chat with the booted team from TAR every week. Check it out!