PREMIERE PART 2
The second part of The Amazing Race premiere proved precisely why SABC3's refusal to broadcast the full thing in one go sucks so much.
By the end of last week I was so in tune with everybody but this week I took right up until the first ad break to work out what the stuff was going on and who was where.
It didn't help that some of them were different people from how they were last week - the Joni and Lisa Godzillas espesh. They were iffy last week but this week they were horrible - I honestly can't believe the cheek they have to call their classlessness Glamazonian.
That constant screaming's so pathetically unwatchable I was very annoyed that John and Scott didn't manage to beat them. Of course from now they're going to claim that it was all Jesus who did it for them 'cos he somehow managed to reconcile forgiving them for spending the entire episode blaspheming.
With things being so all over the place the only thing I properly remember about the beginning of the episode is that Eric and Jeremy started out front mid-helicopter and managed to maintain their lead throughout. I was happy for them when they won and also re-surprised by how much I continue to like them. Despite them being so samey, frat boy looking and Double D obsessed, they're far from the cliche of what you'd expect them to be.
I also liked what they said about going along in their own way without thinking they're too special. Their attitude served them well and every decision they made worked out perfectly for them - unlike the idiots who chose to do the bike Detour.
As predicted last week it was a disaster for everyone - except for the Lake and Michelle Pigs who treated The Olds heartlessly. Not that they should have helped them but to say they were going to and then ignore and confuse them even more like they did was totally unecessary.
That Michelle may seem as if she's under Lake's whip with her bad hairstyle but I suspect she's got a hard edge to her that she makes him take all responsibility for. Clearly she thrives on every moment of his arrogance - she would have at least muttered an apology as she left if she didn't.
Speaking of outside - Ray and Yolanda! What happened to them goes down as the most horrific thing I've seen on the race. All I wanted was for them to go over and Mortal Kombat the slime but of course that's just not an option if you want to live.
I reckon it cut Ray up and that it's partly why Yolanda said she wished she knew what he was thinking more. Clearly he makes her nervous, like she's not sure how he's going to respond, which she highlighted when she laughed about being harassed and said: "
Men."
This is why I refuse to accept the idea that everyone needs to respect everyone else's culture and that if you have major issues with it you're wrong or intolerant. The stabbingly sexist behaviour of those guys wasn't a representation of all men but rather a cultural phenomenon that's evidently a very acceptable way of life in South America. It changed my impression of the country in a very big way and put me off wanting to see it.
By their end of the race Ray and Yolanda seemed wounded - as if they'd come out of something changed almost. Maybe it was my imagination but it's defs the sense I got. Thinking about it now their seventh place finish was admirable considering both what they went through and the fact that they're still getting to know each other.
Wanda and Desiree were also impressive with their third place finish - they get along well considering parent/kid teams always start out coming last.
I reckon Wanda (are you also haunted by the Wanda freak from Survivor?) has a lot to do with it - in the same way Julie keeps Susan together in Desperate Housewives. They've had numerous flickers of moments where Wanda seems to be the parent instead of Desiree. When Wanda was looking out of the helicopter and commenting on how she felt - it was the first time it seemed she was enjoying something for herself.
After the hustle and bustle of the detour, getting the final clue from the dancing snake in Santa Cecilia went off without too much fuss - the only ones to have an incident were The Happies when they turned sad. What I want to know is what exactly Tyler learnt about himself during the dancing? I get that it was cool to see but to be so moved by it that you end up crying was ridiculous.
His expression when Phil told them they finished second was also bizarre. Like he wasn't sure how AJ was going to respond and was waiting to see before he expressed how he felt which made him look like a seriously bad actor.
The Nerdy McNerdison's, Kris and Jon and Double D seemed to disappear don't you think? I can't recall one specific thing they did - except for the D's deciding to do the helicopter instead and getting stuck in all that traffic that put them in ninth behind Fran and Barry. Also, Kris semeed to be in a better mood- obviously the sort who's only happy when things go her way.
As for Scott and John's elimination - even though I wanted them to stay, the truth is they deserved it. They've been useless from the start - they constantly got themselves debilitated into doing nothing - from trying to work out where they were all of the time to reading the helicopter map hoping their rubbish genie would just make it happen.
Still as they wondered off hand in hand they seemed to have fun in their own way.
I don't care what happens to who next week just so long as the Godzilla's get whacked.