Pop Culture Kitty

The Amazing Race 15 – Episode Four

Aired 10-11-09

We picked back up in Ho Chi Minh City with Harlem Globetrotters teammates, Flight Time & Big Easy, departing in 1st place at 6:53PM.  The teams had to fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  I was reminded that these racers are very young because hardly any of them knew how to pronounce that name.  Once there, they had to find the Foreign Correspondent’s Club and ask the assignment editor to give them their next assignment.  Dating couple Meghan & Cheyne, father and son Gary & Matt, married couple Brian & Ericka, brothers Sam & Dan and poker players Maria & Tiffany followed between 6:54 and 7:16PM.

At the airport, Flight Time & Big Easy and Meghan & Cheyne found they were going to have a long wait.  Only one airline (Vietnam Airlines) flew to Cambodia and the next flight out wasn’t until 12:25PM the next day.

Newly dating couple Mika & Canaan were in 7th place and departed at 7:25PM.  They were followed by best friends Zev & Justin at 7:31PM.  We learned that these two became friends when they met at camp.  Zev, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, said Justin made him a part of his circle of friends and he was very grateful for that.  The last pair to leave was engaged couple Lance & Keri at 7:32PM.  Lance said they were experiencing the stress of about 5 years of marriage during the race and (accurately) noted that their communication skills “suck”.

Things got a little nerve-wracking at the airport when Lance & Keri and Zev & Justin found that the 12:25PM flight was full.  They had to buy tickets for the next flight out at 2:15PM and be placed on standby for the earlier one.  After a lot of hand-wringing they did get on the same flight as everyone else.  We had a race reboot.

Once in Phnom Penh, Zev & Justin took an early lead.  They quickly bonded with their cab driver, Thierry.  Actually, all the drivers seemed pretty good in Cambodia and the teams quickly descended on the Foreign Correspondent’s Club.  The next clue was a picture of Jackie Kennedy visiting the country in 1967.  They were told that they had to locate the hotel that had a suite named for “the woman in the picture.”  I was left feeling old again as hardly any of these people recognized her!  The suite was at the Hotel Le Royal and, luckily for the teams, the locals knew about the famous picture and the hotel. 

Things were going smoothly for everyone except Mika & Canaan.  The clue specifically said they had to ask the editor for their next “assignment” but Canaan kept saying “task”.  He did finally reread the instructions.  The whole segment wasn’t flattering to Canaan as he said the picture was of Queen Elizabeth.  Of course, he wasn’t alone in being clueless.  Flight & Easy, Sam & Dan and Canaan’s teammate Mika all thought Jackie Kennedy was Cambodian royalty.  Only Zev and Gary were shown to know who she was.  I’ll cut them a little slack because the picture was small and they were in a hurry but, really, it was a pretty sad display.

Zev & Justin were the first to arrive at the hotel and they found a Detour.

Detour

The choice involved two common accessories worn by the Cambodian people.  “Cover” involved locating a helmet stand, getting 4 motorcycle helmets, and then finding a family of 4 to sell them to for $10.  They could then exchange the $10 for the next clue.  In “Wrap” the teams had to go to the Russian Market and locate a shopkeeper who would give them a unique scarf.  They then had to search the market for a woman wearing the identical scarf.  All the teams chose “Wrap” except Lance & Keri.  Zev & Justin arrived at the market first and had their new friend Thierry help them search.  I wonder if TAR airs in Cambodia?  Thierry seemed very into the whole thing.  They continued to breeze through this leg and were the first to find the matching scarf.  The next clue told them to travel, by foot, to Wat Toul Tom Pong.  They ran behind the cab as their new best friend lead them to the site.

Flight Time & Big Easy also found some helpers in the form of two girls from Pennsylvania who happened to be shopping at the market and who knew where Wat Toul Tom Pong was. 

Zev, Justin & Thierry arrived at the site and found a Roadblock

Roadblock

One team member had to don a monkey mask and tail and learn to perform like a monkey.  According to host Phil Keoghan, monkeys are revered in Cambodia and the Royal Family employs “Monkey Masters” to train dancers to imitate the animals.  The racers had to complete three specific maneuvers.  Zev took the challenge and did pretty well – on the first two tasks.  The third maneuver was difficult for him and the noise and pressure caused him to have a panic attack.  The delay allowed Dan to finish the task and he and brother Sam took the lead.  They were the first to get the final clue taking them to the Pit Stop at Wat Phnom, a 600 year old Buddhist shrine.

Zev finished as Flight Time and Ericka started the monkey business (sorry, I couldn’t resist).  Thierry, the amazing cab driver, came through for the buddies again as Zev & Justin beat Sam & Dan to the Pit Stop.  They checked in first but we didn’t get an announcement from Phil about the prize they’d won because trouble was looming.

Sam & Dan checked in 2nd.
Flight Time & Big Easy were 3rd.

We then cut to Zev & Justin searching for Zev’s passport.  When they couldn’t locate it, they went to confess to Phil.  He informed them that, if they didn’t find the passport, they would be out of the race.  He sent them back out to look for it saying they had to find it and make it back before the last team arrived.  The guys had no idea what happened and they started the search already looking defeated.

Hey, here’s a shocking development:  Lance was peppering Keri with unwanted advice at the monkey roadblock and she was yelling at him to shut up.

Thierry came back to help Zev & Justin in their search but he seemed out of miracles.

Brian & Ericka arrived at the Pit Stop and Phil declared them to now be the official team #3.
Gary & Matt were 4th.
Meghan & Cheyne were 5th.
Lance & Keri checked in 6th. As they approached Phil, Lance did this silly karate spin and kick. Lord, I find these two annoying.
Mika & Canaan were 7th.

Maria & Tiffany were the last team to arrive but, since Zev & Justin weren’t back yet, they were still in the race.  This was the second time they’ve been last but survived (the first time having been on a non-elimination leg) and that wasn’t lost on them.  Tiffany said she wished they had that kind of luck when they play poker.

The guys eventually dragged themselves back to the Pit Stop having not found the passport.  Justin was very down.  He said that he blamed himself because he can be prone to carelessness and Zev had trusted him.  Zev replied that it was just a freak thing.  Phil told them they were eliminated.  They were so sweet and supportive of each other during their final interview that it just broke my heart that they’re done.

Next Week:  We go to Dubai and face the heat and …. snow?

Full episodes and bonus clips of TAR are available at CBS’ website here:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/video/