Printable View
I didn't like them last week( the taller of the two guys) he was so snooty!!! I think you are right, Amy & Daniel were not as close as we thought.I had a feeling it was going to be a non elimination leg of the race, - nope :(Quote:
Originally Posted by I'm here
For some bizarre reason, I keep forgetting to record this show. This is the second week in a row that I've had to watch it the day after on the internet.
People have pretty much said what I was going to say. I'm ashamed that I share the same profession with the teachers. :( Most of the teachers I work with would NOT act like that. It wasn't just at the end, either. Once they left the kids' party I got really tired of hearing, "I sucked. We're going to lose the race because of me." In my opinion, you are entitled to one moment of self-pity/apologizing. After that, suck it up and get on with the race! Like somebody said, the race is topsy-turvy and anything could happen. Look at this week. The team that just missed getting 1st place last week (due to their own silliness, not lack of ability) ended up dead last and eliminated this week because of bad fortune with a taxi. Until you hit the Pit Stop mat, you never know what's going to happen!
Looks like everybody covered the obnoxious Monster Truck guy. I was so hoping he would get eliminated. :pissedoff
The twins really went up in my estimation this episode. Good to see them working together and having fun. And even before Phil said anything, I thought, "Oh man, I bet he really appreciated being covered with fish stink." I burst out laughing when he said that right afterwards! :rofl
I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed by the first "challenge" with the bulls. Where was the challenge in that? :shrug Like Midol said, I would have actually made them race the bulls and go back if they lost. We know the bulls can be beaten because one of the teams did. Also, I felt sorry for the people who did the party challenge. Not only did that take a lot of dexterity and physical strength, but it's not terribly easy to make balloon shapes. I took a class on that once and gave up after the first lesson because I couldn't master it. I was pleasantly surprised that more teams didn't bomb like the teachers.
I agree... I thought they should have had to ride the bulls. That would have been a great challenge... and of course good TV. We all know the harder the challenge the crazier the players get.Quote:
Originally Posted by Babbred
But since they didn't have to ride the bulls... I feel since they were riding on the back of a motor bike.... they should have had to beat the bull in order to get the clue.
Who knew bulls could race? But I did think it was a weak challenge as all you had to do was participate.
I have often wondered about a couple of aspects of Amazing Race. One involves visas. Many countries require tourists to obtain visas long before they arrive. China is one of them; if you show up at a Chinese airport without a visa in your passport you will likely be put on the next plane out. The application process for Russia is especially complex, and requires specific travel dates. What do Amazing Race contestants do about visas? I suspect that in many cases they know in advance where they are going and have a chance to do some research; am I wrong? Also, are they given a list of items that they are required to carry with them? Some of those packs seem pretty large. I could imagine doing that race with not much more than two changes of clothes, a rain jacket, a fleece vest and a toothbrush. Nobody is going to be dressing for a formal dinner; what's everybody carrying?
I'm guessing at this, but I imagine the show makes special arrangements with these countries long before the race begins. I expect they also provide substantial compensation for this.Quote:
Originally Posted by fan999
Good points! I thought about riding the bulls, too. But then I realized that that didn't look very safe, so the producers probably didn't want to risk the contestants getting seriously injured by falling off.
I never thought about the visas before. We know the contestants have to have their passport, because teams have freaked out when one member lost theirs. As for specific country visas, I'm with you, Florimel. I just always assumed the show handled the arrangements.
And I've always wondered, too, about the bulky backpacks. Good grief, for a million (or two!) bucks, I'd be willing to endure having to wear the same two outfits for a while. You could buy an entire clothing store with your prize money.
The show could handle some paperwork, just as you can pay an expediter to carry your passport and visa application to the embassy for you. But you still have to fill out and sign the application yourself, and some countries require you to provide a passport picture for their files. And the turn-around time can be days or even weeks. The visa is actually stamped or glued into each passport itself, which the contestants carry themselves. I can't imagine any shortcut that would keep the contestant completely out of the loop, and a foreign government doesn't have any particular reason to bend the rules to accomodate an American TV show.Quote:
Originally Posted by Babbred
I have no first hand knowledge of what they do, but I assume like has been said that countries fall into 3 categories:Quote:
Originally Posted by fan999
1) No Visa required
2) Visa required but allow arrangements with the show without contestants having to know
3) Visa required but don't allow the show to make the arrangements
How cases 1 and 2 are handled is obvious. Case 3 can be handled by giving the contestants the proper forms (maybe even already filled out) and have them sign them. They can easily give the contestants a much larger list of countries such that the contestants have no idea which ones they will actually go to. The Visas themselves can be part of the packet given at the pit stop or carried by the film crews.
Of course someone could always ask Phil whenever he does his chats.
Added- I just found the following online, not on a site that lists any firsthand knowledge, but it sounds right.
The following is from Wikipedia.Quote:
A visa service gets them for them in advance, along with some decoy visas for countries the racers aren't actually going to. The biggest difficulties are almost certainly for the crew members who have to get valuable video and sound equipment through customs under bond, rather than for the relatively unencumbered racers.
From another site.Quote:
Once teams have been selected, teams are given a list of countries, including additional countries that are not planned for the race, that they will need to apply for visas for.
Quote:
How is the whole visa situation handled?
All paperwork required to get into countries visited during the race is filled out and handled before the race begins. Just because racers get visas for a country doesn't mean they are going to that country. Production likes to keep them guessing.
Since the visa situation is handled some time before the race, don't the contestants know ahead of time where they're going?
Not exactly, because the contestants fill out the paperwork for dozens of countries, not just the ones actually visited on the Race. In addition, there are many countries that don't require Americans to obtain visas before visiting.
That actually explains a lot. Just tell'em to get visas for everyplace and keep'em guessing. I wonder if it's a kind of aptitude test: if you can't get your paperwork straight, you get replaced.Quote:
Originally Posted by marauder
That's true for most countries. But among the ones that do require visas prior to arrival are China, India, Vietnam and Russia, all of which have been AR destinations.Quote:
In addition, there are many countries that don't require Americans to obtain visas before visiting.
Countries that Require US Citizens to Have a Travel Visa