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Survivor: Gabon Episode 7

Ace outwitted his tribe in what looked like a one-sided battle of wits, Sugar proved to be as unpredictable as it gets, and ultimately Kelly was voted out in Survivor: Gabon Episode 6.

Crystal trips over the rice, knocking over “just a little bit” (aka most of what they have left from the looks of it). Not good for the tribe that’s already falling apart to begin with. Ken doesn’t like that Matty and Ace seem to be turning on her, but it’s not like this tribe would be any better without those two.

Dan is paranoid about how close Charlie, Marcus, and Corinne are (with good reason). He approaches them about it, and while they act supportive, they tell us he’s insecure and needs to get over it.

The challenge is a game of keep away. Each tribe will compete with a breakable ball against one person from the other tribe, who must break the ball. Reward is a helicopter ride and a picnic. Charlie and Corinne sit out for Kota. Randy gets aggressive and scores a point for Kota. After a hard fought battle, Bob scores another point for Kota. In the other ring, Sugar looked as if she was trying to get a tan or something, giving Bob all the time in the world. Dan is the next to score, and Kota wins reward, extending Fang’s losing streak to 6. Sugar will be going to Exile for the fifth time in a row. Matty’s tired of her anyway.

Matty goes back to camp and lets his tribe know he’s tired Sugar. Then he tells Ace he wants to get rid of Sugar. Ace, however, would rather get rid of Crystal, since they have control of the idol if they keep Sugar.

On the other side of the tribe, Ken and Crystal want to blindside Ace and get Sugar to vote with them.

As they’re eating lunch, aware that the other tribe’s probably almost out of food, Kota gets letters from home, too.

As for Sugar, she’s living the life over on Exile, also not concerned about food. She says she’s using Ace, too, and she’s with him because he’s the strongest player currently, which he’s proved is true.

When they arrive at the immunity challenge, Jeff tells them each team will vote someone out, though individual immunity is up for grabs. They may be competing against the opposite tribe, or they may be competing against their teammates. It’s not a merge. Just a silly twist. As if that’s not enough, another twist will be revealed after the challenge is over. This is a log roll challenge. Dan goes against Ace, and Ace moves on. Charlie squares off against Crystal, and Charlie moves on. Marcus takes on Matty in the next round, and Marcus moves on. Randy beats fellow tribe member Susie to proceed to the next round. Ken takes on Sugar, and Sugar beats him. Bob tells us he’s a log roll champion, and he beats Corinne. In the first semifinal match, Ace barely beats Charlie. Marcus beats Randy to go to the finals. Sugar beats Bob in a close match, and she moves on. Sugar, Ace, and Marcus all get on the log at the same time for the final match. Sugar is out first. Ace falls, and Marcus wins individual immunity. He will also assign immunity to one member of the other tribe. He gives it to Sugar, in hopes of taking out a more powerful player.

Ken goes to Sugar to tell her that everybody thinks she’s useless and needs to be voted out. Half of this is true, but the untrue part is way over the top (and obvious). Sugar agrees to blindside Ace.

Ace gives some validity to the lies, though. He asks Sugar if he can borrow the idol in case they try to double cross. Uh, they only have two votes. Unless he doesn’t trust Matty, in which case he’s in trouble regardless. This is a big risk for Ace to take, and an unnecessary one that really doesn’t make much sense.

The rice argument comes up again at tribal council. Crystal, who wanted to play the martyr and go without rice, is now complaining that nobody saved her any rice (which she told them repeatedly she didn’t want any since she spilled so much). Sugar suggests that this is all so petty and is why they’re not winning because they can’t get past this sort of stuff.

Votes
Ace
Crystal
Ace
Crystal
Ace

An unexpected vote for sure, but Ace played himself right out of this game. Having gotten rid of their de facto leader, though, this tribe of misfits surely can’t think they’re any better off than they were before.

The good news for Fang is that Kota’s being forced to vote out one of their own for a change.

Dan’s worried he’s the next to go, with good reason, despite his one asset of physical strength.

Somehow, former Fang member Randy has replaced Bob as a final four member, alongside Marcus, Charlie, and Corinne. Of course, this assumes that Bob was ever more than a fifth to begin with, but ultimately anyone trusting Randy’s word deserves what they get, so this move will come back to bite them sooner or later.

Corinne tells Susie that they’re targeting Dan. Susie’s response to her is that she had planned to vote her out. Corinne has decided that she hates Susie’s guts and wants to stab her in the face. She says that Susie is crazy. Pot, meet kettle.

At tribal council, Susie says she’s stronger than Corinne, which may well be true.

Votes
Susie
Dan
Dan
Susie
Dan
Susie
Dan

Dan has been eliminated in a vote that appears to balance out the Fang vote in terms of both stupidity and also getting rid of someone who’s been a big contributor in challenges. Kota, however, can afford to make stupid decisions like this more than Fang can. With that in mind, with merge coming up soon, this may be a good time to get rid of someone like Dan.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Gabon episode 8 Apple in the Garden of Eden, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

The Biggest Loser Families Episode 8

Amy P was eliminated in The Biggest Loser Families Episode 7, leaving her husband Philip to fend for himself.

Bob doesn’t buy that Brady only lost 3 pounds last week. He denies that it was intentional, and eventually Bob gets out of him that he’s not eating often enough. Bob believes that Brady’s intentions are good, but he doesn’t trust his wife Vicky.

It seems Dave Zinczenko from Men’s Health has a book to promote, so with that said, he’s there at the temptation for no real reason. At the challenge, contestants must choose the best of two bad foods based on which has the fewest calories. Reward is a 40 pound advantage at the next challenge. Both teams pick hot dogs over nachos, which is correct. The teams both pick penne and shrimp over spaghetti and sausage, and again both teams score a point, with sausage being high in calories. Coleen picks chicken fajitas, while Amy guesses chicken nuggets. The nuggets are correct, with the key word about the other choice’s badness being “the works.” Brady and Phil both guess the ham, egg, and cheese muffin over the bagel with light cream cheese, which is correct. Heba picks the chicken burrito with the works, while Michelle picks 18 light beers. The burrito turns out to be slightly fewer calories, and the blue team wins the challenge.

Heba has decided that Phil hates her personally. They confront him in front of his team in an attempt to get them to hate him, too. Phil’s as surprised about her reaction as anybody else, and she’s not doing herself any favors. She wants him to shut his mouth, not be a slimy snake in the grass, and just worry about losing weight. Someone get this chick a mirror so she can practice this speech to herself. Phil’s team thinks this whole thing is quite silly.

The teams arrive at the challenge and see cranes suspended in the air. Each team will be harnessed, with each player holding a rope. They will be supporting their own body weight. Black team will have to carry an additional 40 pounds since they lost the previous challenge, which will become more of an issue as the challenge goes on. The winning team will be able to make any player from the opposite team’s weight not count at the next weigh-in. Blue is carrying 932 pounds; black is carrying 918 pounds. Coleen’s fear of heights has the potential to play a role again. Their decision is based on that thought. Blue team decides based on putting the two heaviest people in the middle. At 25 minutes, Alison announces that one person from each team must let go at half an hour. Michelle wants to let go and convinces her team it’s the right thing to do. Blue team decides between Amy and Vicky and goes with Vicky. Phil immediately begins struggling as Michelle lets go. After about 15 minutes of this, Phil slips. Coleen’s not far behind him. It’s now all up to Renee to hold up the 918 pounds by herself. She, too, falls, and blue wins the challenge, a particularly huge victory because Brady’s likely to have a great week considering his lackluster performance the past couple weeks.

Phil is eliminated from consideration first because they think he will lose a lot of weight but will be the weakest link as far as percentages go. They also seem to really want to do something that’s not what the other team expects. Beyond that, they don’t give any indication what they plan to do. The other team believes it will either be Renee or Phil.

At the weigh-in, the blue team reveals that they have decided to make Michelle’s weight not count. She doesn’t understand their logic, but being considered a threat is not a good thing in this house.

Michelle: 200 pounds (-2)

It quickly becomes apparent Michelle was the wrong person to choose for her weight to be excluded.

Renee: 222 pounds (-3)
Coleen: 177 pounds (-2)
Phil: 269 pounds (-3)
Total: -8 pounds, 1.18%

Ultimately, Michelle lost the least, but it doesn’t end up mattering who has been chosen to not count because the entire team had a particularly bad week.

Brady: 270 pounds (-13)
Vicky: 201 pounds (-2)
Heba: 247 pounds (-6)
Amy: 187 pounds (-6)
Total: -27 pounds, 2.90%

Blue team has a pretty good week (and Alison points out that Amy’s done the best of everyone so far), while black team bombs pretty noticeably, with Brady scoring enough of a weight loss by himself to beat them. This should bode well for them next week, but someone will be going home this week. Renee is safe as the biggest loser from her team. Renee and Michelle need to decide between their day one teammate Coleen or the more logical long-term ally Phil.

Phil believes that the blue team tried to sabotage him and get him off his game, and maybe he played right into their hands.

Votes
Renee: Phil
Michelle: Phil
Phil: Michelle
Coleen: Phil

This is one of the dumbest votes I’ve seen. A Phil out of the game will contribute more than a Coleen whose head’s in the game, considering he’s got 100 pounds on her. Phil hopes to take everything he’s learned back home with him to teach his children. Since his 20th anniversary is right around the corner, he is buying a ring for his wife, with plans to get repledge their vows when he gets home. Phil is down 108 pounds to 225 pounds.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser Families episode 9, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

The Amazing Race 13 Episode 5

Marisa & Brooke were behind the whole leg and were eliminated in The Amazing Race 13 Episode 4. Ken & Tina and Terence & Sarah remained at the top of the pack, while Aja & Ty struggled to pretend they were still in the race.

60 Minutes is almost on time for a change, running about 5-10 minutes late.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Ken & Tina – 6:03AM
Second: Terence & Sarah – 8:19AM
Third: Kelly & Christy – 9:32AM
Fourth: Toni & Dallas – 10:15AM
Fifth: Nick & Starr – 11:34AM
Sixth: Andrew & Dan – 12:44PM
Seventh: Aja & Ty – 3:04PM

Ken really feels like a kid again since he’s out here competing instead of sitting at home in a rocking chair. Terence & Sarah are hoping the race gets more physical. Kelly & Christy plan to use their brain power (yeah, they really said that). Starr didn’t break her arm, but she is in pain. Andrew says Dan’s too intense and wacky at times. Aja & Ty are running 9 hours behind the leaders.

Terence is pulled over for doing 117km in a 100 zone, about 10 miles per hour over. Don’t mess with New Zealand cops. With an aggressive quota system and a #1 priority of speeding tickets, they will pull you over. Sarah tells Terence she always thought he was a slow driver.

Teams will fly 5600 miles to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Terence & Sarah just barely manage to get on the first flight with Ken & Tina. Kelly & Christy and Toni & Dallas arrive around the same time, which allows the girls to mock Dallas’ hair for looking like Teen Wolf. I’m assuming that’s supposed to be funny to someone, but anyway, Dallas says they’re getting on his last nerve. Unlike Terence & Sarah, Andrew & Dan don’t get lucky and miss the second flight by a few minutes. They’re told there’s no chance of getting on tonight’s flight, and the way that’s worded, it sounds like really bad news. Not giving up, though, they go to the counter anyway and see if there’s anything that can be done, which allows them to get on the flight. Still a long way behind the first place teams, but at least they’re not several hours or more behind like Aja & Ty will be.

First flight (12:20PM via Singapore): Ken & Tina, Terence & Sarah
Second flight (4:55PM): Kelly & Christy, Toni & Dallas, Nick & Starr, Andrew & Dan
Third flight (no time given): Aja & Ty

At the layover, Ken & Tina and Terence & Sarah see their lead evaporate, as everybody (other than Aja & Ty) shows up.

When they arrive in Cambodia, teams must find a gas station and choose a truck, which they will need to fill via hand pump. Most teams struggle with cab drivers, some more than others. Nick & Starr arrive first, and Toni & Dallas arrive as they’re leaving. Terence & Sarah, Andrew & Dan, and Ken & Tina are all there next. Kelly & Christy are last, but they get ahead of Andrew & Dan who seem to struggle with everything.

After their trucks are full of gas, they’ll hop in the back and go to Siem Reap Harbor on southeast Asia’s largest lake, where they’ll travel by boat to their next clue. Nick & Starr’s lead disappears as she says “Senor stop” (could they be any further away from somewhere that people speak Spanish?), despite having a driver who has clearly been advised of the route ahead of time. The front four teams are all neck and neck, with the current positions being decided by the speed of the truck and boat drivers.

Terence & Sarah, who had been in the lead, run into trouble as their boat breaks down. Terence begins rowing the boat instead. While they are able to row to the clue, their boat’s not fixed, and each detour involves using the boat. Fixing it will apparently delay them about 10 minutes.

The detour is a choice between village life or village work. In village life, teams use their boats to pick up local items at three destinations. In village work, teams will go to fishing grounds and search fishing traps for two filled with fish.

Village work (in order of arrival): Nick & Starr, Toni & Dallas, Andrew & Dan, Aja & Ty
Village life: Ken & Tina, Terence & Sarah (switched from village work after seeing they’re close to this one), Kelly & Christy

From the detour, teams will travel by tuk tuk to Angkor Wat. The road block is to search the temple for a small elusive room, the chamber of echoes. Logically, they’d be better off having their strongest physical member not do this task, but teams decide based on the clue, better sense of direction.

Road block (in order of arrival): Nick, Tina, Dallas, Terence, Christy, Andrew, Ty

The pit stop for this leg of the race is Bayon Temple.

First: Nick & Starr (win a trip to St. John)
Second: Toni & Dallas
Third: Terence & Sarah
Fourth: Ken & Tina
Fifth: Kelly & Christy
Sixth: Andrew & Dan
Eliminated: Aja & Ty

As predictable episodes go, this was one of them. The top six teams caused some drama, but it was pretty obvious Aja & Ty weren’t going to catch up. Aja & Ty have been eliminated, but at least they have a more positive attitude than they had in the previous episode. Ty plans to move to LA to be with Aja.

Because they were speeding (barely), Terence & Sarah will have a 30 minute penalty applied to the start of the next leg.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 13 Episode 6 Please Hold While I Singe My Skull, which airs Sunday at 8/7cish on CBS.

The Amazing Race Asia 3 Episode 7

Ida and Tania arrived hours late to pit stop but were saved by non-elimination in The Amazing Race Asia 3 Episode 6.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Vince & Sam – 5:47AM
Second: Henry & Bernie – 6:53AM
Third: Geoff & Tisha – 7:12AM
Fourth: AD & Fuzzie – 7:24AM
Fifth: Ida & Tania – 9:57AM

The taking away of people’s money has never had an impact on the race before, which is one reason it was removed from the American version, and it’s unlikely to impact Ida & Tania here. The other teams will be donating to their cause. They’ll be able to beg for the rest should it be necessary.

The first stop of the leg is a goldfish market and then an aquarium. Hours of operation at the aquarium begin at 11, so they’ve got some time to kill. They wait hours for the shop to open so that they can turn over their fish and receive a clue. Why the clue could not have been in a clue box I’m not clear, but it has allowed all four lead teams to be even, and Ida & Tania are not far behind.

Teams will travel by ferry to Macau, China, where they will be going by pedicab to the fountain in Senado Square. Locals Sam & Vince know that walking to the ferry terminal will be quicker than going by taxi, so they are able to arrive first, giving them a 10-15 minute advantage. Geoff & Tisha are the only one of the other teams to notice there’s a ferry that leaves 5 minutes before the other one.

First ferry: Vince & Sam
Second ferry: Geoff & Tisha
Third ferry: AD & Fuzzie, Henry & Bernie
Fourth ferry: Ida & Tania

With a yield ahead, teams are going to the Macau Tower. Sam & Vince do not yield, as they don’t need it at this time, particularly as they still have the home country advantage. Geoff & Tisha have chosen to yield Henry & Bernie, considering that the teams are joining forces against them. That 5 minutes proved to be a bigger deal than it may have seemed initially. With how far behind Ida & Tania are, it’s probably a waste to use this now rather than in a later leg, though. Henry doesn’t hide that he hates them (more) when he gets to the road block.

The road block is to climb the mast of the 10th tallest tower in the world.

Road block (in order of arrival): Vince, Geoff, Fuzzie, Bernie, Tania

Vince and Geoff finish in the same order they arrived, but Fuzzie struggles, allowing Bernie to pass her. Tania arrives before the third and fourth place teams have left. After Bernie leaves, the sky falls in, a bad thing when you’re trying to climb a high tower outdoors. The good news for Fuzzie is that, due to the lightning, she does not need to complete the outdoor portion of the task, nor does Tania, although, ultimately, this seems to cost Tania since Fuzzie was still trying to recover from the first part of her climb and had still not begun to climb the outside part.

From the road block, teams will complete a dragon boat course at Sai Van Lake, where Geoff & Tisha narrow the lead down to a couple minutes. Ida & Tania, who appeared to be making things interesting and closing the gap, get taken to the wrong place by their cab driver.

The detour is a choice between dance or chance. In dance, teams must complete a lion dance routine correctly, which turns out to be further complicated by the slippery conditions caused by the rain. In chance, teams must get dressed in formalwear and play blackjack until they win 9 times.

Chance: Vince & Sam, Henry & Bernie, AD & Fuzzie, Ida & Tania
Dance: Geoff & Tisha

By the time Ida & Tania arrive at the casino, AD & Fuzzie have completed 7 of their 9 winning hands.

The Ama Cultural Village in Coloane is the pit stop for this leg of the race. Before they are granted access, teams will need to complete the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. Geoff & Tisha are the first to arrive after a quick detour finish. Despite their earlier lead, Henry & Bernie are the fourth ones to arrive following difficulty getting a cab. The zodiac could have changed the race, but it ultimately didn’t have any impact on placement.

First: Geoff & Tisha (each win a 40 inch HDTV and a PS3)
Second: Vince & Sam
Third: AD & Fuzzie
Fourth: Henry & Bernie
Non-eliminated: Ida & Tania

The leg turned out to be a lot closer than I would have expected thanks to the beginning hours of operation, but Ida & Tania have arrived in last. This again is a non-elimination leg, though. If they are not first in the next leg, they will receive a 30 minute penalty.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 3 episode 8, and don’t forget the live blogs of The Amazing Race 13.

Survivor: Gabon Episode 6

GC decided he’d had enough and asked his tribe to get rid of him in Survivor: Gabon Episode 5. Apparently, he was surprised by the backstabbing and lack of food (on Survivor). His tribe honored his request, despite having found out that Sugar has the hidden immunity idol, putting old Fang in a rather precarious position, one which goes quite nicely with new Fang’s rather dim prospects as a whole.

Ace is looking for a Benedict Arnold. Shouldn’t be hard to find considering old Fang just voted out one of their own. Matty feels as if he’s in a terrible position within his tribe. Ace approaches him and offers him a deal until merge. Not a very good deal. Anyway, Ace gets to keep Sugar, Matty gets to keep Ken, and they’ll all watch each other.

The tribe is concerned that Dan is eating way too much food, as he’s taking large servings and going back for more. That can be the kiss of death.

Fang also has concerns about food because they’ve failed to ration the rice properly and don’t have much else.

Ace tells Sugar he’s pretty sure they went through her bag. She’s got an idea. She gives the idol to Ace instead. Of all the dumb moves I’ve seen, this was the latest.

Kota’s happy to see GC is out of the game when they arrive at the challenge. Each tribe will be tethered to a snake. Tribes will run and try to catch each other. If someone gets tired and wants to drop out, they can disconnect, but the rest of the tribe will have to pick up their weight. Yeah, it’s a physical challenge. Do we even need to watch to see the results? Reward is a breakfast feast. Corinne sits out for Kota. Fang manages to get an early lead, which lasts for about one lap before Kelly starts struggling. Sugar and Ken both drop, and Kelly is close behind them. Susie is the first out for Kota. Matty starts to get annoyed with Crystal and wants her to drop out, which she does, but the weight is too much for two people to hold. It’s not long before Kota catches Matty and Ace to win reward. Jeff gives them a sample to eat right away, which Randy happily rubs in Fang’s faces, a great way to create unnecessary hostility toward himself. Crystal is getting tired of losing. Sugar will be going back to Exile Island. Again.

You’d think they would just dig in and celebrate, but Kota is worried that Dan will pig out, so they end up more concerned about how it’s going to be divided. While they’re dividing it up, Dan says this is an extra meal and they need to still cook dinner.

Sugar feels guilty that this year Exile offers comfort. She gets to eat while her tribe starves, since she already has (had) the idol.

Fang views Crystal’s crying after the challenge as an indication she’s breaking down like GC did.

Kota’s already got plenty of food it seems, but then they also stumble upon a big turtle.

At the immunity challenge, tribes are divided into pairs. They’ll gather flag pole pieces on an obstacle course. Each leg will add another obstacle, making it more difficult. Susie sits out for Kota. Bob & Randy start off against Kelly & Sugar. Fang gets off to an early lead as Randy drags for Kota, but Kota turns things around on the second half of the leg that involves carrying flag pole pieces. Corinne & Charlie have a good lead over Ace & Crystal (why isn’t Ace on the last leg?). Fang manages to erase much of Kota’s lead as Dan & Marcus go against Matty & Ken. Going over the last obstacle instead of under it, Fang gets a slight lead at the halfway point, and Ken’s looking a lot more impressive than I would have anticipated. On the second half of the leg, Kota retakes the lead as I expected, but it’s pretty close as they go to assemble the flag pole. Jeff says assembling the flag pole will take teamwork. With that said, Kota wins immunity. Jeff has a warning for Fang: if you continue to play like individuals, you’ll be at tribal council every time.

Ace wants to send Kelly home, which they should have done two weeks ago.

Matty tells Ace he wants to flush the idol. Ace tells him Sugar can’t play it tonight, which is true.

Crystal is tired of Ace and thinks Matty is stupid for telling Ace everything without getting anything in return. Ken seems onboard with the Kelly plan, but he believes there’s reason to be suspicious that Matty’s flipping. Matty tells him all they have to know is that Kelly’s next. Because that’s all Ace has told him.

After Ken talks to Matty, he wants to have a discussion with Sugar alone. She asks if she should get the idol back from Ace. Why is she asking this? She’s either really ridiculous or a genius at this game. She takes the idol out of Ace’s jacket, and Ken tells her she needs to keep it on her at all times.

Ace accepts some blame for the challenge loss at tribal council, though it’s hardly fair to suggest he needs to be voted out because of it since it’s not like the rest of them contributed to the final stage of the challenge either.

Kelly suggests Crystal is not stable, and Crystal’s response to that is to get loud, which is supposed to prove she’s stable I guess. Kelly says that Ace also talked about Crystal’s crying at the challenge. He doesn’t like that he’s been thrown under the bus “for no apparent reason.” He tries to lie his way out of this, but I doubt anyone’s buying it. Crystal’s classy response to all this is to give Kelly the finger as she’s voting her out.

Votes
Kelly
Crystal
Kelly
Kelly
Kelly

Kelly has been voted out, proving Ace is firmly in control of this tribe. Not that it’s necessarily a good thing to be in control of a tribe that’s falling apart.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Gabon episode 7, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on CBS.

The Biggest Loser Families Episode 7

New teams were picked in The Biggest Loser Families Episode 6. Despite Heba’s poor judgment in picking her blue team, the black team lost the weigh-in, and Shellay was voted out for some reason.

Jillian brings her team to do a ropes course in hopes of reenergizing them. As long as Coleen doesn’t have a heart attack from being 45 feet above the ground. Bob, meanwhile, has his team hop on trapezes.

Following the drama where she claimed she wanted to go home last week, Jillian is trying to push Michelle so that she can learn to meet her mom half way.

They’ve got another activity: assailant defense class. They get to beat up some padded guy for a day.

The contestants pay a visit to Dr. H hoping for better news than they got week 1. Michelle has added 6 years to her life after 6 weeks, while her mother has added 22 years. Brady’s no longer a 72-year-old man in cardio, as he’s down now to 43. Vicky has lost 38 pounds of hydrated fat. Amy C’s down from 47 to 34, having dropped weight and smoking. Amy P has lost 20% of her abdominal volume. Coleen is now able to do what a 30-year-old is on the treadmill, an improvement over her start of an out of shape 55-year-old. Heba started at 52% body fat but is down 38 pounds of fat.

They see water when they approach the challenge, a bad sign. Each team has a circular balance beam. They have to walk around the balance beam, and every time a team member passes the laser, the team will score a point. Reward is videos from home. Amy C will sit out with an injured knee. Amy P falls pretty quickly, with Vicky close behind her. Heba’s next out. It’s all up to Brady for blue. Coleen is the first person down for the black team. Michelle and Renee are having a siesta but finally start moving eventually. Brady falls, so the whole blue team is out and will remain out unless everybody from black falls. Blue tries to smack talk because they don’t have anything else to do. After black scores 15 points, Michelle falls. One point later, Phil falls. Renee finishes it off, and the black team wins 25-0. Vicky says she doesn’t care because the prize is lame. I get her point, but I’m not sure how good an idea it is to say it in front of everyone. Bob’s not impressed with his team’s attitude, nor is Amy P.

It turns out it’s not just a video. It’s a video conference with their families. Eliminated player Jerry is also back and doing well.

Phil makes a mistake at the last chance workout and says “I can’t.” So Jillian gives him the option of getting back on the treadmill or throwing up. He picks the latter. On the other side of the gym, his wife is working out and working on breaking her legs in half.

Phil approaches Brady afterward and tells him that they should get rid of Heba. This will give them a reason to get rid of Amy P, not that they need one.

It’s time for the weigh-in.

Renee: 225 pounds (-7)
Michelle: 202 pounds (-7)
Coleen: 179 pounds (-8)
Phil: 272 pounds (-7)
Total: -29 pounds, 3.2%

Amy C: 193 pounds (-6)
Heba: 253 pounds (-5)
Vicky: 203 pounds (-8)
Amy P: 191 pounds (-2)
Brady: 283 pounds (-3)
Total: -24 pounds, 2.09%

Bit of a trainwreck for blue team. Vicky did well and is safe, but everybody else (aka Amy P) is fair game.

Heba, who picked this lackluster team to begin with, is pretending like Phil targeting her is the real reason she wants to vote out Amy P. Her case against being voted out is that Brady’s not pulling his weight. Interestingly, both of them should have quite impressive weeks next week should they stick around.

Votes
Vicky: Amy P
Brady: Amy P
Amy C: Brady
Amy P: Brady
Heba: Amy P

With three votes, Amy P is not the biggest loser. She is down from a size 20 to a size 8.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser Families episode 8, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

The Amazing Race 13 Episode 4

Having proved to be one of the strongest teams in the first two legs, Mark & Bill misread a clue telling them to travel by foot, which was enough to eliminate them in The Amazing Race 13 Episode 3.

With the football game going into overtime, The Amazing Race will be off to a late start as usual. A live blog will begin around 8:45 when 60 Minutes is over.

Kelly & Christy take the time at the pit stop to confront Nick & Starr. Yes, again.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Ken & Tina – 12:33AM
Second: Toni & Dallas – 12:59AM
Third: Terence & Sarah – 1:04AM
Fourth: Marisa & Brooke – 1:05AM
Fifth: Aja & Ty – 1:06AM
Sixth: Nick & Starr – 1:07AM
Seventh: Andrew & Dan – 1:08AM
Eighth: Kelly & Christy – 1:20AM

The teams are pretty well bunched together following the last close leg. Ken & Tina say they’ve turned the corner and are now getting along a lot better. Dallas tells us he’s college educated. Nick & Starr say they don’t take anything personally on the race. Kelly & Christy like everybody… except Nick & Starr.

Teams will now fly 6900 miles to Auckland, New Zealand, meaning people who speak English (though the teams will probably still try speaking Spanish). The counters are all closed, but teams can look for flights on the Internet. Andrew & Dan believe they have a prayer with Marisa & Brooke. Aja & Ty are bickering with each other while looking for flights. Everybody gets on the same flight, so it doesn’t all end up mattering anyway.

The first clue is at Gulf Harbour, where they untie knots to get their next clue. Aja & Ty are getting along now, but the flat tire from him driving on the curb should test their stress some. The good news for them is that Marisa & Brooke seem as though they’re trailing everybody by quite a bit.

From there, they will drive to the summit of Mount Eden. If they wish, they can opt for the fast forward (the first of two on the race), which is at the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere, the Auckland Sky Tower. Ken & Tina and Andrew & Dan will be doing the fast forward, which involves climbing to the top of the tower. Ken & Tina arrive at the fast forward first. Andrew & Dan, who know they’re behind Ken & Tina the whole way there, keep driving anyway, but turn back when they arrive and notice another car in the parking lot. Having won the fast forward, Ken & Tina will skip all tasks and take a helicopter ride to the next pit stop.

Kelly & Christy can’t seem to find the way to drive up to the summit, so they run up to it instead. That’d be a penalty, but they’re killing enough time that it probably won’t be. The road block is to pick an image and find the matching Maori tattoo from the group of warriors.

Road block (in order of arrival): Terence, Toni, Andrew, Christy, Starr, Aja, Brooke

The next clue is at the City Life Hotel. They’ll have to spot a Travelocity roaming gnome. When they get their gnomes, they’ll go to Kiwi 360.

The detour is a choice between matter of time or matter of skill. In matter of time, they’ll need to crush kiwis with their feet. In matter of skill, they must assemble and drive blokarts. The kiwi container is lined with jagged rocks, which could be bad going forward if they cut up their feet too bad. Most of the teams struggle with matter of time, but those who finish it head to the front of the pack. Aja & Ty are still arguing, but lucky for them the blondes have been way behind everybody all day long. Starr wipes out on the blokart and injures her arm but still completes the task.

Matter of time: Terence & Sarah, Kelly & Christy, Marisa & Brooke
Matter of skill: Toni & Dallas (switched from matter of time), Nick & Starr (switched from matter of time), Andrew & Dan (switched from matter of time), Aja & Ty (switched from matter of time)

The 1000 acre sheep farm Summer Hill is the pit stop for this leg of the race. Teams will be greeted by a special guest appearance of Phil’s dad.

First: Ken & Tina (win a trip to Rio de Janeiro)
Second: Terence & Sarah
Third: Kelly & Christy
Fourth: Toni & Dallas
Fifth: Nick & Starr
Sixth: Andrew & Dan
Seventh: Aja & Ty
Eliminated: Marisa & Brooke

I was hoping for Aja & Ty to be able to be put out of their misery, but Marisa & Brooke were the weakest link, despite their positive attitude.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 13 Episode 5 Do It Like a Madman, which airs Sunday at 8/7cish on CBS.

The Amazing Race Asia 3 Episode 6

Mai & Oliver had a run of bad luck in The Amazing Race Asia 3 Episode 5, were ultimately unable to complete the leg, and were eliminated.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Vince & Sam – 6:11AM
Second: Henry & Bernie – 10:07AM
Third: AD & Fuzzie – 10:09AM
Fourth: Geoff & Tisha – 11:36AM
Fifth: Ida & Tania – 1:30PM

Teams will be flying to Hong Kong, China. Vince & Sam are happy to have the hometown advantage to go along with their big lead. Geoff & Tisha realize they’re all alone on the race.

First flight: Vince & Sam
Second flight: Henry & Bernie
Third flight: AD & Fuzzie, Geoff & Tisha
Fourth flight: Ida & Tania

All flights are direct and within about 4 hours of each other.

When they arrive in Hong Kong, teams will head from King’s Park to Central, Hong Kong, the main business district. The first trick is finding a cab. Geoff & Tisha let their good cab driver go when they’re getting the first clue, while AD & Fuzzie can’t seem to find a cab driver willing to go to Central.

The detour is a choice between get fishy or get lucky. In get fishy, teams must clean, gut, and scale 15 fish. In get lucky, teams must bite open fortune cookies until they find the right fortune. The dumb luck tasks are typically a bad idea, but it turns out this time the fortune cookie task is easier.

Get lucky: Sam & Vince, Geoff & Tisha, AD & Fuzzie, Ida & Tania
Get fishy: Henry & Bernie

The next stop is the Ladies Market via ferry from Central Pier. The three teams in the middle are on the same ferry. Geoff & Tisha stay on their own, while the other two teams sit together. The road block is to choose a handbag and search the market to find a woman who’s carrying the matching handbag.

Road block (in order of arrival): Sam, Bernie, AD, Tisha, Ida

The pit stop for this leg of the race is Blake Pier at Stanley Bay, a popular seaside town in Hong Kong.

First: Vince & Sam (win a spa getaway in Thailand)
Second: Henry & Bernie
Third: Geoff & Tisha
Fourth: AD & Fuzzie
Non-eliminated: Ida & Tania

This was a pretty obvious leg. One team way out in front, three somewhere in the middle, and one way in the back, but it was apparent there had to be a NEL since there haven’t been any yet. Ida & Tania have been non-eliminated, but they’ll need a friendlier leg next time if they hope to stay in the race. It’s mugging time, as Allan asks them for all their money.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 3 episode 7, and don’t forget the live blogs of The Amazing Race 13.