Episode Report Card Miss Alli: A | 543 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT Peru-ff beyond a reasonable doubt
By Miss Alli | Season 7 | Episode 1 | Aired on 2005.02.29
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.From our old friend LAX, the teams take off for Lima, Peru. There is much talk among some of the other teams of the presence of Rob and Amber, whom I will tell you right now I personally like and don't care who knows it, and do you know why? Because every time they grin broadly, it chaps the shit out of Lex somewhere in the world.
At any rate, sand-pit digging reveals that there are a few teams who will need to pay a bit more attention to what's going on in said world, a zip line reveals that some things never change, and llama-roping reveals that those suckers really do spit. In the end, it comes down to a footrace to the mat between a pair of blondes I don't care for much at all, a former POW and a beauty queen I would like a lot better if they would never discuss those things about themselves ever again, and the team that the room I was in immediately christened Team Yokel, who are by far the most endearing of the three. Of course, it is Yokel that takes a dive, but the shocker is that this still leaves behind a number of teams I anticipate liking. Aside from a couple of teams I haven't made my mind up about yet (including a team whose entire hook seems to be a string of hard luck, and a couple of "lifelong friends" who may or may not be employing a euphemism there) and one that looks like it's warming up to be the Bickersons of TAR7, the teams are largely inoffensive. Patrick, you need to stop talking about other people and worry about your own game. Gretchen, you need toâ¦not do that. Overall, though, the casting appears to be far superior to anything in at least the past three seasons, as there is a marked absence of boy-drags-girl dating couples. And did I mentionâ¦Boston Rob? For whom I have an unreasonable and largely inexplicable fondness, attributable probably to the accent alone? Did I mention that sometime during the season, he may say "sweet-haht"? And that I look forward in an unseemly fashion to that moment? Yeah, I thought so. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously on How To Endanger Your Franchise With One Drunken Casting Session: First, it was awwwwwesome. Then, it was great. Then it was great, except for the part where Flo won. Then, it kind of sucked. Then it kind of sucked, except for the part where Chip and Kim won. Then it really sucked, except for Kris and Jon, and especially in the parts that had shoving. So now, it is time to see whether the trend can be reversed. It's safe to say we all certainly hope so.
We swoop (yay, swooping!) over a lighthouse and a marina, and then Phil is standing on the deck of the Titanic, and Leo DiCaprio is in the water all, "I'm cooooold," and then...okay, not actually. Actually, Phil is on the Queen Mary, and we're at the Port of Long Beach, where 11 teams will go racing all over the damn place for a big honkload of money, and...well, bless its heart, even though they didn't give it a long enough vacation, I'm still happy to see it. All the teams have an existing relationship! Yay! I am patter's bitch. In other news, Phil's hair is really, really short, and is thus less spiky than usual. I can't say I'm in favor of that.
First out of the helicopter are Debbie and Bianca. One of them has red hair, but they are spiritual blondes. They are introduced as "lifelong friends from Virginia." The more redheaded one, who is apparently Debbie, says that they spend lots of time "goofing off," and calls them both "silly" enough times to choke a Doberman. By way of illustration, we see them drink martinis (wacky!) and roller skate-spin in someone's driveway wearing white tops, miniskirts, and long tube socks with stripes at the top. It is something out of a roller disco movie, and while I am not the demographic at whom this display is aimed, I maintain that it? Is stupid. Bianca promises that they are "strong" and "intelligent," and they "can win this thing." Especially the roller-skating parts.
Next up? Lynn and Alex, a pair of boyfriends! From West Hollywood, California! So, you know, GAY. Lynn, in an interview in which he kind of looks like Alex, ten years and 10,000 beers later, says that the two of them have "sharp claws." But then they promise that they only strike if you piss them off, or whatever. Because as Lynn says, they wouldn't want to "break a nail." Get it? It's a nail-breaking joke, because they're GAY. And also, they have a dog they carry, even though it's not really a carrying kind of dog. Now, call me unfairly biased; I won't deny it. But I knew Guido. I have had dinner with Guido. And you, sir...well, you get the idea. And it's cute when they're in the car and Lynn is all tousling Alex's hair, but then Lynn adds, "We'll scratch their eyes out." See, it's a catfight joke. Because they're GAY. I certainly hope that goes on all season.