Friday 14 August 2015

Amazing Race Canada 3 Episode 6 "Who Is Alex Trebek?" OR "A Tale of Super Worms, Super Heroes, Super-Sized and Super Deep Things"

Okay, I may have gone a bit too far with the title thing this week. Just a tad. I promise to chill. So lets just call it "All Things Super."

Teams "kept on racing" out of the Magdalene Islands and were directed to make their way to Vale Mines in Sudbury, Ontario. Here are the check-in/departure times:

Gino and Jesse   5:57 P.M.
Brian and Cynthia 6:20 P.M.
Nick and Matt 6:54 P.M.
...and that's all we know. We are not told the times of the remaining teams.

I hate when they do that because it just makes my Spidey-senses tingle. Got to wonder just WHAT time did Nic and Sabrina hit that mat? And what of those pesky 4 hour penalties for Neil & Kristin and Simi & Ope? Not that it really mattered in the end, because the ferry off the island doesn't depart until 8 A.M. the next day. Still. We have questions. This was just the start of a rather arduous. two-day journey. Ferry to Souris, P.E.I., drive to Charlottetown airport, fly to Toronto, then fly to Sudbury. [Note: Leg 5 was filmed May 11 and Leg 6 was filmed May 13. Everything in between was travel time.] Ouch. These guys must have been friggin tired. Then as if to add to their misery, they had to get in line at Vale Mines and wait until 10 A.M. I just hope they grabbed a hotel room in Sudbury that night.


I wouldn't go that deep unless I needed to save my friends.
Teams had to go two at a time, down, down, down...1.3 KM into the mine. That's 8/10ths of a mile (for all of you metrically-challenged types out there). NO. THANK. YOU. Nope. Just the thought of all that rock above your head...NOPE. And what was it all for? Well, it wasn't to search for neutrinos, or to find a time machine made from a Delorean, or to stop a nasty Balrog from killing your fellowship. All of this was to use a sledgehammer to get at a chunk of nickel in a rock. Rather odd that each rock had a nice, uniform piece of nickel like that. Teams then handed this over to the miner who gave them their next clue. A Canadian nickel. And for you race fanatics out there, this is the second time that Canadian coins were used as a clue. Remember S1's Vanessa and Celina who had no idea what the Bluenose on the dime meant? In Lunenburg? At least this time everyone knew right away the nickel meant they had to go to the Big Nickel, Sudbury's very own super-sized roadside attraction. Jesse may have thought Santiago was in Europe or wherever, but he knew what that nickel meant.

Typical Super Worm.
The Big Nickel was a route marker that gave the teams a choice between going to the Detour or trying for the Fast Forward - the first one offered this season. Gino and Jesse are in the lead, so of course they jump on the Fast Forward.  It's at Science North, and to earn the FF, Gino and Jesse must feed a tray of Superworms, mealworms and crickets to a turtle, then eat some themselves. Jon was in fine form with his intro. There's a wink, a reference to "half-shell heroes", and a taste test, all accompanied by some background sound-bytes of screaming and gagging noises. All of this was no problem for the guys, but I just wonder if this TMNT diet only made them crave some pizza. And while I am at it, just what the heck is a "Super Worm" anyway?

The Detour is "Synchronize or Analyze", at Laurentian University. In Synchronize, teams have to learn and then perform a routine with the Sudbury Synchronized Swimming Club...aka a group of 14 to 16 year old girls. For Analyze, teams have to go to a crime scene - a 3 X 3 roped off area. They must find 10 pieces of bone and teeth, mark each with an orange flag, then chart their locations. Just like in Buenos Aires, this is a limited stations Detour. There is only room for 4 teams at each side of the Detour at any one time. This one differs from the first with the "at any one time" bit, giving teams the option of waiting until a space opens.

And that's how it played out. Neil & Kristen, Brian & Cynthia, Nick & Matt and Sean & Brent (in that order) go for Analyze. Brian & Cynthia decide to stay undercover (keeping their police identities a secret). This consisted of playing dumb and throwing in a smart ass comment or two. "I hope we don't mess it up, I don't know the first thing about policing!" Right. Kristin really gets into character ("The professionals are here!) and has a lot of fun with it, and all the noise gets to the real professional, Cynthia. Sean and Brent decide they may be better off with Synchronize and head off to the pool. That choice I don't understand, because being the fourth team there, you are going to slow down other teams by making them wait. Nic and Sabrina take that fourth spot. Of course Ope doesn't want to do swimming, but finding the spots full, decide to check out Synchronize. Nope. Why they did this (they do this back and forth thing it a lot) when they know its synchro swimming, I just don't get. They head back. Dujean and Leilani get lost trying to find the university. Lack of communication skills between the two exes are to blame. Noted. Nick and Matt finish the task with their second attempt and comment they may have a second career in crime fighting. Why not? As wrestlers, they already wear tights. They just need a shtick. I wonder who would be the superhero and who would be the sidekick?

Thanks TARC, I just can't unsee this.
Dujean & Leilani take the vacancy opened after Nick & Matt leave. Brian and Cynthia finish and Simi and Ope take that spot. Meanwhile Brent and Sean take a few attempts at the synchro. I can't help but compare these two to that Martin Short/Harry Shearer SNL skit. So funny...in an annoying sort of way. But I really must say, those multi-coloured floral 60's retro swim caps added a nice touch.

On to the Roadblock at Health Sciences North, called "Who's got heart?" where one team member must correctly use CPR for two full minutes to revive a patient. Actually, it's a dummy. It's all nicely set up too, as each person takes their turn they are called into the room with, "We need help in here!" There's blood, a doctor and even a crying mother. Nick and Matt are the first ones here. Nick takes it before they are allowed to read the task description. He's had a bit of training, but unfortunately it's Matt who is certified. Cynthia was a paramedic for 13 years, so she feels "very comfortable" with the simulation. So you know what that means? She has to re-do it several times. Sean works up such a sweat that Brent worries his brother may collapse and someone will have to perform CPR on him. Simi gets this in ONE attempt! Nic fails time and again. And talk about getting in character, he punches the wall when the patient dies. Sorry Nic, but please stop George-Clooneying it!

Teams then had to drive themselves to the Vale Living With Lakes Research Centre, then paddle 1 km across Ramsey Lake to the gazebo at Bell Park to find Jon at the Pitstop. And oh yeah, Alex Trebek.

Nic & Sabrina hit the mat at dusk, again.
Gino and Jesse win this leg again. But I think it's safe to say this win was compliments of that Fast Forward. If they had to do that Detour and the Roadblock, the results would have been very different. They win two return tickets to any Air Canada California destination and another year of free gas.
Nick and Matt break out of their 3rd place standings and take 2nd. It was a close call however, after getting lost on their way to the canoe location. Alex Trebek notes their zig-zag paddling skills.
Brian and Cynthia are a close third. Brian sees the wrestlers and says, "Those guys must have gotten lost, EH?" Brian, Brian, Brian. Your Canadian is showing! Please put it away.
Sean and Brent fourth. Sean tells Alex Trebek they were in a "little bit of Jeopardy back there" (paddling across the lake) Nice plug, even if it sounded a tad gratuitous.
Simi and Ope have an amazing comeback on this leg and finish fifth. Alex Trebek's eyes start to leak when he comments on the father-daughter relationship. Thank you Simi and Ope for making Trebek cry. Sean Connery would be so jealous!
Neil and Kristin take sixth. Kristin really bounced back from that hypothermia.
Dujean and Leilani end another bad leg in seventh. Their lack of communication skills are showing. Note to Mark Lysakowski: Please, oh please NEVER have a "Blind-Dating Season". Please.
Nic and Sabrina are eighth and are eliminated. Sorry to say, but they really fulfilled their destiny here, having been given that free ride in the last leg.

Astute viewers may have noticed that Alex Trebek kind of disappeared after greeting Simi and Ope. Was the drama too much for him? If so, it's a good thing he didn't greet Neil and Kristin! Did he suddenly realize he left the stve on? Maybe he had dinner reservations? Geesh. I am sure it was a long day for him. But I think he had a family reunion to go to.

Next week, it's off to "Canada's Heartland", Saskatoon. Oh geez. I wonder if they're running back there? Will they be hanging around gas stations, and talking to grease monkeys, learning about cars?

You can just go ahead now and thank me now for this "super" earworm. The way I figure, it's going to be in my head all week, so I just thought I'd share. You're welcome.