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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Teamwork takes top spot on Amazing Race Canada

Haida Gwaii has become a hot spot to film Canadian television shows. First it was the Season 2 premiere of Jonny Harris’ Still Standing that visited the community; on Tuesday, The Amazing Race Canada teams blew through the area, soaking up culture and striving to arrive on the mat in first place. (Eagle-eyed fans of Still Standing recognized Desi Collinson and Ben Davidson in the episode.)

Perhaps it was the mysticism of the place that caused several teams to do the unthinkable: they helped each other out. The first Road Block challenge—to listen to the stories of six totem poles, then identify them and the artist to carved them—saw Ashley tell Amy and Kate the correct pole order and then Jillian, Julie, Rita and Amy all work together. (Learning the stories of the totems, though edited down for TV, was still fascinating and I wish there had been more time devoted to it.) Steph and Kristen had already shot ahead to the puzzle test in the forest, where once again Jillian and Emmett took a few extra minutes to aid their competitors instructing them in how the pieces fit together. I couldn’t help but be impressed by the team play, especially at this later stage in the game. I’d expect a little sharing off the top, but not so much as the end winds into sight.

This Leg of the Race was all Steph and Kristen, who vowed they’d land on the mat in front of Jon Montgomery. They made good on their word, never relinquishing the lead and only seeing other teams when they were leaving for the next stage. I admit I was cheering for them all along; they’re strong physically and mentally and are nothing but supportive of each other. (As an aside, those shots from and of the sea plane gliding over the water and land were some of the show’s most stunning ever.)

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As for the rest of the teams? They were in a figurative—and literal—log jam for the bulk of the Leg, with just Kelly and Kate the last team leaving the puzzle challenge in dead last. But The Amazing Race Canada has a way of equalizing things, and that happened during the second Road Block where the team member that didn’t complete the totem pole task had to operate a small tug boat and move rafts of marked logs—Beachcombers-style—to a dispatcher. That meant Lowell and his limited sight was behind the wheel of one boat while Kelly and her fear of operating machinery controlled the other.

Unfortunately, Kelly and Kate couldn’t recreate their luck last week and arrived on the mat last, where they were eliminated. Buy hey, they came in first place during one Leg and scored a trip for two to Los Angeles.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg:

  1. Steph and Kristen (won trip for two to New York City)
  2. Jillian and Emmett
  3. Frankie and Amy
  4. Joel and Ashley
  5. Rita and Yvette
  6. Julie and Lowell
  7. Kelly and Kate (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

Images courtesy of CTV

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Best day ever on The Amazing Race Canada

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The latest Leg of The Amazing Race Canada contained two things I dread: eating wiggly bugs and performing karaoke. And, to be honest, it’s the karaoke that scares me the most out of the two. So I watched much of Tuesday’s episode with an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach because I knew both challenges were happening on the same night.

The Leg, through the hot and sweaty streets of Ho Chi Minh City, was a wild one where teams that were in middle and bottom of the pack jumped to the front while previously strong ones like Ashley and Joel and Jillian and Ashley were humbled as they dropped in the standings.

“Expect the unexpected,” Ashley said when Steph and Kristen revealed they’d gotten the Express Passes and handed them over to Frankie and Amy. Ashley was dead on. What seemed to be a relatively easy “Flip Flop” Detour—tossing around bottles of booze Cocktail-style—threw Ashley and her dad and Emmett and Jillian for a major loop, allowing other teams to roll in, complete the task and depart, while they struggled dozens of times to get in sync. The result? Joel and Ashley finished in fifth while the former Big Brother competitors were battling with Anne and Tanya for the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop.

Alas, it was the end of the road for longtime friends Anne and Tanya, who started the Leg in last place and never recovered. It was fun to watch them race this week; with no pressure to perform head-to-head with another team, they just soaked the experience in.

Meanwhile, Kelly and Kate had what they described as “Best. Day. Ever,” completing the scooter challenge in second place and devouring the bugs, bat and pulsating coconut worms with aplomb. Their Asian heritage served the girls well both with the insects—they both revealed they eat stuff like that all the time—and especially with the V-Pop Detour: they converted the karaoke lyrics to Chinese to help learn Vietnamese and charged through the challenge on their first try. It was a stunning Leg for the two friends, who landed in front of Jon Montgomery in first place.

The success of Kate and Kelly, Rita and Yvette, Julie and Lowell and mother-daughter team Frankie and Amy proved this may be one of the most equally-matched casts The Amazing Race Canada has ever put together and—as usual—appearances can be deceiving. Franke and Amy placed fourth for the Leg and scored the other Express Pass from Steph and Kristen, immediately giving them an advantage in the coming weeks.

What did you think of this Leg of the Race? Comment below or via @tv_eh.

Here’s how the teams finished up this Leg:

  1. Kelly and Kate (won trip for two to Los Angeles)
  2. Steph and Kristen
  3. Rita and Yvette
  4. Frankie and Amy (receive Express Pass)
  5. Joel and Ashley
  6. Julie and Lowell
  7. Jillian and Emmett
  8. Anne and Tanya (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Sweating it out in Vietnam on The Amazing Race Canada

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Unlike the last two legs of The Amazing Race Canada, Tuesday’s third one had no clear leaders. I blame it on the stifling heat in the Mekong Delta for causing teams to make bone-headed decisions and failing to note a critical clue that caused a shakeup at the Pit Stop.

Among the nuttiness in Vietnam? First-place team Joel and Ashley, along with three other duos, all took 30-minute penalties for using a water taxi to traverse between sections rather than the ferry clearly listed on the card they received. Listen, I get it. My instinct would have been to grab the water taxi I’d just climbed out of too, especially with teams breathing down my neck. But while I understand the urgency to keep moving—this is a race after all—I’m having trouble understanding what Stéphane was thinking.

The father not only relinquished the lead he and Antoine had by helping Ashley complete the goose-herding challenge, allowing she and Joel to depart the test in first place, but he aided other squads too, moving he and Antoine further back in the pack. It almost seemed like he’d given up and wanted to go home, and the frustration and shock on Antoine’s face was understandable. The pair eventually departed dead-last and never recovered, finishing in last place thanks to the four-hour penalty they took when Stéphane gave up on duck-herding after two hours. You’d think knowing the last team would be eliminated would light a fire under his butt, but perhaps the heat of the day sapped all rational thought.

The heat affected everyone, but Tanya especially. She struggled mightily during the ironically-named Hydrate Detour and had to be tended to by the show’s medical team. She sat off to the side, taking in fluids, while Anne continued to carry 60 coconuts from their boat to the harvesting station, completing the task and showing she wasn’t about to give up and was all about teamwork. Speaking of teamwork, Jillian and Emmett continue to complete Legs of the Race despite spending precious time and energy bitching at one another. The former Big Brother Canada competitors are used to playing a singular game, but The Amazing Race Canada is about supporting the other person and they need to work on that. I hit the mute button every time they start to fight because it’s embarrassing.

The most impressive team of this Leg was easily Kelly and Kate. The best friends, on the cusp of exiting the show last week, aced their toad-carrying Speed Bump (and informing viewers 20 toads is known as a knot) and landed in a very respectable third place.

What are your thoughts on this latest Leg? Would you have helped other teams like Stéphane did? Comment below.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

  1. Joel and Ashley (30-minute penalty, won trip for two to Japan)
  2. Steph and Kristen
  3. Kelly and Kate
  4. Emmett and Jillian (30-minute penalty)
  5. Frankie and Amy
  6. Rita and Yvette (30-minute penalty)
  7. Julie and Lowell
  8. Anne and Tanya (30-minute penalty)
  9. Stéphane and Antoine (four-hour penalty, eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Comments and queries for the week of July 8

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Swimming with the fishes on The Amazing Race Canada

There’s something fitting about a bus pulling away just as you run up to it, even on television. They seem to be trying to inject a bit of a strategic game in our Race, usually the Express Passes are given for winning a leg and the Fast Forward takes you out of the way—but you’ll probably get first that episode with the FF. In typical Canadian politeness two teams agree to work together … but in no real shock the team from Big Brother breaks the deal. Though when they aren’t yelling at each other they seem like a strong team.

Although with the other Pass having to be given away either in Episode 3 or 4, I don’t see how much strategy could really go into it. There are eight teams left, so it can’t cause too much of an upset. The Face Off twist from last year was kind of a bust too. In terms of being strategic better just leave that to the U-Turn boards.

Having been to Calgary last year, I was deeply amused how the twins kept searching around the wrong building, which you can see from the tower but it clearly wrong. Two rapeling Roadblocks in a row? Meh. I know they’re going for a positive edit, but damn if Lowell’s big grin going down the tower and fish puns with Julie wasn’t sweet as hell.

That Sim Detour must have been harder then it looked. It seemed just like a video game but three teams GTFO almost instantly.

Oh wow! An actual footrace between the last two teams! This is so tense and exciting … way to undercut the tension there. I know non-elimination legs are planned in advance but this seems a bit early. (And aren’t we short at least one team this year to begin with?) Going international next week Yay! —DanAmazing

 

I find there is a lack of age diversity this time. Not very many older couples, it’s all very pretty and attractive shiny people. —Kelly H.

Where will Major Crimes and Rizzoli & Isles land?

Now that Super Channel has lost the rights to Major Crimes and Rizzoli & Isles, is there any word on the new seasons being picked up by a Canadian broadcaster? I know the last season of Rizzoli, which aired on Super Channel, is about to air on Showcase.

Meantime, has a Canadian broadcaster picked Shooter, which begins in the U.S. soon? —Doug

No word yet on where Major Crimes and Rizzoli & Isles will air now that Super Channel has lost the rights, but Showcase is a natural and likely fit for both, especially since Rizzoli is airing in a second window on that station.

As Jayme notes below, Shooter will be broadcast on Bravo this fall.

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Amazing Race Canada, Featured

Swimming with the fishes on The Amazing Race Canada

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I’m consistently fascinated by the odd times Amazing Race contestants depart for a new Leg. In Tuesday’s newest journey, for instance, Jillian and Emmett departed Jasper, AB, at 12:56 a.m. Why not round it up to 1 a.m.? Why set it that late anyway? Can anyone answer that question for me? I really, honestly, want to know.

But back to the contest itself. Following a dramatic Leg, The Amazing Race Canada upped the ante in Week 2 with a pair of Express Passes—ways of skipping challenges without incurring a penalty—up for grabs. Out of the gate, Jillian and Emmett and Steph and Kristen have proved themselves to by not only physically strong teams but savvy ones too. So it was no surprise they emerged from the first bus into Calgary—following another rappel test—and decided to team up in a hunt for the Express Passes. (Can I just say it was a little disappointing to follow up last week’s height test with another one in Calgary?) They were thick as thieves … until Jillian and Emmett discussed and decided it was more important to finish Legs of the Race in first place than it was to score the passes.

With that, they left the girls to hunt through hundreds (thousands?) of vinyl records at Canada Boy Vinyl on their own while they headed off to the “Swim” Detour, corralling thousands of hatchery trout into one area and scooping them into cages. Steph and Kristen’s gamble paid off after an hour of work—scoring them an Express Pass and one to hand to another team—but costing them precious time. Luckily, they were fast and physical, outgunning other teams at the hatchery to land a respectable fifth place for their troubles. Jillian and Emmett, meanwhile, never gave up their lead after that, cruising into first place again. When they’re not bickering, Jillian and Emmett are simply unstoppable.

Meanwhile, there was a log jam in the hatchery, as every other team save for Joel and Ashley chose to scoop up fish. Instead, the father and daughter opted for the “Sim” side of the Detour, involving using a crane simulator to move a concrete weight through an intricate obstacle course in under six minutes combined. (Steph and Kristen, Kelly and Kate and Rita and Yvette took one look and swapped challenges.) After much practicing, the pair completed the task in their first try and hit the mat in a very respectable fourth place.

Things never improved for Kelly and Kate and Rita and Yvette, who entered Calgary in the last bus and never made up ground. In a footrace to the mat. Rita and Yvette edged out Kate and Kelly for the last spot. I could right away by Jon Montgomery’s tone that it was a non-elimination Leg, meaning the two friends have a Speed Bump to contend with in Vietnam. My take? Amazing Race Canada introduced a non-elimination way too early and should have waited until next week.

Here’s how the teams finished the Leg:

  1. Jillian and Emmett (trip for two to Paris)
  2. Stéphane and Antoine
  3. Frankie and Amy
  4. Joel and Ashley
  5. Anne and Tanya
  6. Steph and Kristen
  7. Julie and Lowell
  8. Rita and Yvette
  9. Kelly and Kate (non-elimination Leg)

What did you think of this Leg of the Race?  Comment below or via @tv_eh on Twitter.

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

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