9/30 TAR 21: PREMIERE **West Coast Spoilers**

[judibug]

I think the food challenge thing said you couldn't use your hands, not you had to use the chopsticks. So the ones who did chopsticks and/or leaned over to slurp it were OK --as long as they didn't pick it up. (Tilden: I used to do PR for a big poultry company. It was a challenge to try to explain the job of "milking" the male turkeys, who were too fat to breed the hens naturally. Tough choice over which is the worse job: turkey milker or frog fallopian tube gatherer.)

As for the guy saying he was scared of heights and people asking well then, why is he on the race? I'm sure he knew that there would be a height challenge or two, but there's always the hope that your partner will get that one. And maybe you go on the race anyway, hoping you can get past your fears.

Also, I guess we can add "abacus" to the list of things that the younger generation has never heard of. Like clocks with hands.

[Florimel]

Intial impression of three teams I do not like at all and will be pleased so see eliminated sooner rather than later.

1. The 'N' twins, Natalie/Nadiya - they grate on my last nerve endings.
2. Gary/Will - I thought I was going to like them before the show started, but blech.
3. Josh/Brent - Another pair I wanted to like, but their behavior towards each other turned me way off.

The last two might redeem themselves in later episodes, but the twins are beyond unbearable.

[Bearcata]

Initial impressions:

1. What ever happened to just ordinary people being contestants in this show? I loved that part about it. This season all these folks are world champions of this and that. Don't like that at all.

2. Who didn't I like:

a.The two Sri Lankan Twins. Please Shut Them Up.

b.The male monster truck driver. His attitude at the food challenge and in the previews where he is telling the short guy "you cost me a million bucks". I instantly thought "Bully".

3. I felt so bad for the Colorado couple when they came in second. Why, oh, why did you help. If you can't lie. Say nothing.

4. Totally luv'd the start rappelling off the bridge that was brilliant.

[Bearcata]

Nice to have no reality stars.

Most seem to be pretty fit ... it will come down to luck and stupidity. Will have to see who has some smarts.

The Beekman Boys, the goat farmers are on cable.

[JohnnyK]

I like Josh and Brent so far. If I didn't I'd just be indifferent. They didn't do anything to piss me off yet.

[jadewarlock]

Few points:

1. Frog Fallopian tubes challenge - the clue did say specifically "use chopsticks" and "you cannot pick up or touch the papaya with your hands." They all used the chopsticks at least for part of it - it didn't specify the WHOLE bit - so I felt that was OK if they slurped it. It did help they still had to use them for the last dregs.

2. In regard to the above, I LOVED the fact instead of assessing them a 30 minute penalty, they forced the one who did NOT follow an obvious direction to eat another set of the dish. I personally think it's better to force them to do the challenge until they get it right. I'd rather this than them being able to also take a 4-hour penalty as well, because it totally eliminates any strategy of trying to get others to refuse the challenge so there's at least one person behind you after your penalty is over.

3. Ping-pong girl - I REALLY felt bad for her constantly being called a "he." I'm sorry, but most young Chinese boys I know of do NOT wear their hair that long anymore. It was just so... disrespectful.

I could tell too she wasn't too happy about getting the hugs except from one team, which makes me think in that case they asked while the others just gave her one and jumped around. The ones who shook her hand or bowed did it properly.

Having Asian roommates (not Chinese, but Taiwanese and South Korean), I can say that if you approach for a hug, they are a bit skiddish of it - more because it's not normal in their culture (and even more so same sex I noticed). I did one time give a hug to one roommate, but she let me hug her after I asked and told her I was just so happy about something I had to hug someone. The others - I shook their hand. Her cousin however did give me a hug one time, but it was a hug of friendship, he initiated it and he knew I was OK with it. (mind you the same cousin also asked me every five minutes at dinner one time how to spell "spaghetti" so that helped).

4. It has to stink to high heaven to be eliminated by literally steps. Wondered what would've happened if they jumped on mat the same time. Fortunately for the Chippendales the loggers did NOT have both players on the mat first from the looks of things - it looked like one of the Jasons and the female logger got on first, THEN the other Chippendale stepped on the mat. (BTW, I prefered the two Jasons - Chippendales - over the loggers, and not for looks.)

5. Favorite sophomoric comment of the night - basically the contestant complaining about a woman using an abacus and wondering why she didn't instead use a calculator (!). Made me wish though that they used the abacus in a challenge.

6. A bit silly, but seeing HOW much the burnt orange and white of the University of Texas was shown in the team announcements, I can safely predict that CBS will be getting a petition and angry letters from Texas A&M University demanding that next season there is an A&M team and they're allowed to dress to the nines in maroon and white and the A&M logo in order to be "Fair" to the two rival schools. (And watch CBS - fed up with the petitions - in turn choose a team who is from WEST Texas A&M University instead - same school colors and similar names. Mascot different ).

[jadewarlock]

In the previews, they showed one of the Chippendale guys in just his collar and tie (at least that's all from the waist up--couldn't see below that). Gee, do you think they're stripping for money along the way?

The Chippendales usually wear tuxedo pants or jeans when they perform in real life. I haven't seen many in speedos. And in the case of this particular show, even if they DID bring Speedos, they probably wouldn't be allowed to wear them with the rest of the get up because that can be seen as stripping. (Not that I think these two would do that anyway - most of the countries that it looked like they may go to it's going to be either very cold or a culture if they dressed with the get up and speedos sted pants they won't draw in customers - they could get arrested. There has been precedence with a team ending up at a police station one time.)

[jadewarlock]

Does anyone know what countries they are going to this season? I recognized the Taj Mahal in India in the preview. There was also some castle that could be somewhere in Germany/Austria?

That was not the Taj Mahal - that was St. Basil's Cathedral which is in Russia. Difference is the onion domes are multicolored and all similar sizes. Taj Mahal has one huge onion dome and several smaller ones - and is white. I didn't see anything that alluded to India in the previews this year (which would be nice - the country is used in just about every race, but hasn't been in all of them).

[princess07]

I think the food challenge thing said you couldn't use your hands, not you had to use the chopsticks. So the ones who did chopsticks and/or leaned over to slurp it were OK --as long as they didn't pick it up. (Tilden: I used to do PR for a big poultry company. It was a challenge to try to explain the job of "milking" the male turkeys, who were too fat to breed the hens naturally. Tough choice over which is the worse job: turkey milker or frog fallopian tube gatherer.)

As for the guy saying he was scared of heights and people asking well then, why is he on the race? I'm sure he knew that there would be a height challenge or two, but there's always the hope that your partner will get that one. And maybe you go on the race anyway, hoping you can get past your fears.

Also, I guess we can add "abacus" to the list of things that the younger generation has never heard of. Like clocks with hands.

Oh, okay. See I probably would of had to eaten it twice lol!!!!

[Arielflies]

Thank goodness the icky food challenge is over early. Well, one can hope.