Episode Report Card Miss Alli: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Camel Kicks And Milk
By Miss Alli | Season 12 | Episode 3 | Aired on 11.17.2007
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.The teams receive instructions to fly to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which means that the entire first part of the episode is taken up with people trying to say "Ouagadougou" without sounding like total idiots, which very few manage successfully. Ron is nursing a hernia at the same time, because apparently, haranguing your daughter really takes a toll on your innards. After a long plane ride highlighted by a few almost-but-not-quite big leads developing, everyone took a bus into the African savannah, where they had a little party that allowed Donald to develop a big (and futile -- SPOILER!) crush on Marianna and Julia. Shana and Jennifer let their inner ugly Americans get some air, but everyone had to buckle down when the Roadblock required someone to milk a camel. This challenges everyone, but it's not a huge, huge issue for anyone but Lorena, who totally freaks out when she can't get the camel to give up the milk. For whatever reason, when the second-to-last-place Marianna and Julia finally figure out that one should milk the camels that have babies near them, they decide to pass this advice on to Lorena, who promptly uses it to finish the task. A Detour focusing on either teaching or learning language allows everyone to share some adorable moments with the local youth, but when Jason and Lorena catch up and then pass Marianna and Julia, the sisters are eliminated. We came so close to getting rid of one of those irritating couples that always seem to end up in the final three, and it is so infuriating, you guys. Anyway, there's something of a reprieve from the intensity of last week's Ron/Christina ugliness, so at least there's that. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously on Amster, Amster, Dam Dam Dam: The teams went to Amsterdam (okay, the title kind of gave it away) and tried out bicycles and furniture-heaving. Ron went from Goofily Embarrassing Dad to Cringeworthy, Mean Dad, while Christina showed herself to be a fine, fine diplomat. While several teams struggled with a needle-in-a-haystack task and a few of the young ladies went face-first into a ditch full of mud, everyone eventually finished the leg, with the lovely Pat and Kate in last place and sadly eliminated. With one very unlikable team and one very likable team out, the next booting would determine the early balance between good and evil. Or at least between annoying and less annoying.
Credits. That imaginary plane belongs in the Smithsonian next to Archie Bunker's chair. [BOMP.]
We begin in Durgedam, described by Phil as a "quaint lakeside village." Raise your hand if this description reminds you of the beginning of something narrated by Bill Kurtis. Anyway, we revisit Ron's "crotchbuster" remark, made while he was riding the bikes last week, and we learn that, as a result of that ride, Ron gave himself a hernia. So in a sense, he got on a bike, called it a crotchbuster, and actually busted his crotch. I mean, it's not his crotch, but "innardsbuster" isn't as cute a word. And how'd you like to be the daughter whose ass he was already complaining about having to haul around before he got a hernia? That's going to be awkward at Thanksgiving. At any rate, it looks like the medical attention Ron received at the pit stop consisted of shoving the lump of tissue back in, which...based on information obtained from the people I've known who have had hernias (other than the main information, which is "ow"), I'm going to guess Ron's not making it around the world with "push it back in" as his treatment plan. Ron tries to look on the bright side, saying that the pain is intense, and that he might be slowed down, but that he's going to do his best. And if nothing else, his hernia can stick out in front of him and cross the finish line several minutes before the rest of him gets there. Makin' lemonade!