‘The Amazing Race’: It always comes down to the taxi
***spoilers***
It was surprising that Andrew and Dan (self-proclaimed ambassadors of America’s frat boys) made it into the final three of “TAR 13.” But it was no surprise that they got an inept taxi driver who quickly killed their chances to win the $1 million. Not that they’d necessarily have won anyway; I think Nick and Starr, who’d been Team No. 1 so many times, were unstoppable. But the bad taxi is iconic on “The Amazing Race,” having cost countless teams a possible victory. In fact, a taxi also came into play in making Nick and Starr the winners over Ken and Tina, or at least the version of the race we saw made it look that way. (In fact, much goes on that we never see that, and we don’t really know how much ahead Nick and Starr finished, or how much behind Andrew and Dan really were.
The winners crossed the finish line pretty early, apparently to leave room for Ken’s little ring ceremony on the mat. Oh, Ken, you clearly think the race solidified your relationship with Tina, enough to put your rings back on. I say: Run, man! Run fast and far! Perhaps actually watching the show on TV, as it unfolded, changed his mind, and they’ve already split by now. Fighting for your marriage is a heartwarming concept, but marriage to Tina has to be one of the circles of hell.
In general: Solid finale. I always wish they were two hours long, and but the challenge involving remembering the various legs and matching them up to the 150 clue boxes (!) was perfect, forcing the exhausted teams to function both mentally and physically. The villain of the final sprint was almost that awful woman at the Russian food cart who heard a man explain the clue to Nick and Starr and was all smarmy giving the same info (which she hadn’t known before), plus a shortcut, to Ken and Tina. I hope she’s proud when she sees herself on TV.
Again, as always, I have many questions that can only be answered by a Phil-hosted reunion show. There won’t be one. Never will, Bert van Muenster says. And he’s the boss. But winners (not sure about runners-up) will be on “The Early Show” Monday.
I was a little bummed for the last half because they didn’t even show Andrew and Dan, maybe because they fell too far behind. They were very gracious losers. I thought Nick and Starr were boring, predictable, but deserving winners, and Ken and Tina redeemed themselves at the end until I read your review and remembered how utterly controlling Tina was. I wondered where Toni and Dallas were when all the other teams were cheering the winners; they weren’t in the ending clip at all, and every one of the other teams was.
tina and dallas lost their passports in the previous episode!
Well, it’s nice to finally see people who are related by blood win the Amazing Race…it only took 13 seasons.
Toni and Dallas were probably stuck in Moscow, I doubt you can get a new passport and get out of the country in one day, even with the help of big wig producers at CBS.
And Tina was not nearly as annoying as Terrance, or as I call him, Mr. Babe. As in: “Babe I can’t eat this, I’m a vegetarian” or “Babe I just need your emotional support”, etc. If any of her family let her keep dating him after this whole thing is over, shame on them. That guy is a train wreck.
Also, did anyone notice that Tina kept saying “Si” to her various cab drivers all over the world? She did it in Russia and in India, those were the only two I noticed. Does she think everyone outside the USA speaks Spanish?
Does anyone know what happened to the Mother and Son? They were not at the final site. There were only 10 couples.
Bill Daly
I was happy to see that the winners were people who ran the best race. I don’t think I would want them as friends however. I was bummed too that they didn’t show more of Dandrew, but it was probably because they were so far behind or they were so completely inept at the last challenge. In regards to the bad taxi, why would you stay in a cab where you know the driver has no clue as to where you want to go, especially back in the USA (thinking it would be harder changing cabs in a country you aren’t familiar with)? If it were me, I would have told the driver to go back to the airport and pick up a different cab or go to a nearby hotel to do the same. That, IMHO, would have taken far less time than going the wrong way.
Gail, I too want the premier episode and the finale to be 2 hours long! With this seasons premier only being an hour, we hardly could tell the difference between the couples before 1 was sent home. And the finale felt rushed. Just how far behind was “Dandrew”? You know it would have been hilarious to see them trying to figure out the final challenge. Get on van Muenster at the next CBS event and tell him the people have spoken! I also would love a reunion a la Survivor - even a 30 minute one. If no reunion - they could at least do a voiceover recap at the end.
As far as Ken and Tina - as I’ve said before, while I don’t condone cheating on a spouse, it’s easy to see why he did. What a shrew! I think Ken was crying at the end because he realized that without winning the million, there was no chance in hades that he could afford to divorce Tina!
Forgot to add….in an interview last week, Dallas confirmed that he and Starr are long-distance dating. His mom approves. Cute couple.
From the light and shadows at the final mat, Dandrew were WAY behind Ken & Tina.
It’s too bad there isn’t a reunion show. Maybe Bert is worried that the viewers will find out too much about the “magic” behind the scenes in the editing bay that makes the race look more urgent and exciting than it probably is live.
If you would take the time to watch the additional video clips throughout the season on the CBS website, you would have a much different opinion of Tina. In almost all of the videos she shows her love and respect for Ken. Most of us under duress will show a bad side. They went without food, water, sleep and they are much older than Nick and Star. Tina was especially gracious to locals everywhere. On Elimination Station Videos many of the teams wanted Tina and Ken to win - guess they would know best as they spent more time with them than we see on the TV! Good for them in keeping up and coming in 2nd by only 7 minutes. I believe that Ken and Tina will work out their marriage and after reading several articles since the finale and seeing them on CBS Early Show - I am sure of it! Good Luck and we hope they have an All Star Race - you two would ROCK IT!