Episode Report Card M. Giant: A- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Champagne-ful
By M. Giant | Season 16 | Episode 6 | Aired on 03.21.2010
Steve and Allie are leaving at 8:04 AM, and it looks like the sun has just come up. The clever clue reads, "Find the only outdoor statue of Joan of Arc, then listen to what you saw." Geddit? Saw? Allie complains about the cold, then, in the back seat of the car, she can't seem to manage the navigation and wants Steve to look at the map. I think one driver, one navigator is how this is supposed to work.
Jet and Cord leave in third place, at 8:13. In the back seat, Cord is at a loss looking at the map, and he tells Jet to stop at "any place of business" at "this town," which basically looks like a row of barns from this angle. "I'll see if I can find us a 7-11," Jet says agreeably.
Dan and Jordan open their clue in fourth place at 8:17, just hoping it'll send them someplace warm. Once they reach their "warm Mercedes," Jordan tries to make sense of the clue. "Maybe this Joan of Arc speaks...She goes, 'My name is Joan of Arc.'" If she uses the falsetto voice that Jordan just used, that would be less dignified than the musical saw player.
Carol and Brandy leave at 8:39, in fifth place. Driving through the village, Carol points out, "My house." She and Carol talk about having a house here and a flat in Paris. Win the race first, ladies.
Michael and Louie have reached Reims, and Michael is at least aware that he's probably mispronouncing it.
Steve leans out to ask a guy if he speaks English. "Little," is the answer. Steve asks him if he knows where the Joan of Arc statue is, and gets a blank stare in return. As they drive on, Allie wonders what French for Joan of Arc is. "Maybe it's Arc d'Joan. Like Arc d'Triomphe is Arc of...Triomphe." Oh, she's almost there.
Also lost are both sets of brothers. Dan and Jordan flag down a commuter who points them to the cathedral in a French accent so thick they think she's saying "Cathy Drone" at first. They thank her and resume their drive, as Dan complains, "People really do not speak good English here." The mouth harp twanging away on the soundtrack tells us what an informed remark this is in a non-English-speaking country.
Brent and Caite are leaving at 9:48, and begin the leg by looking for someone to get directions from. Solid strategy.
Michael and Louie get out of their car to wander around on foot. A sign points to four separate destinations, two of which have the word "Cathédrale" in them, but Michael decides to go to the Office de Tourisme, which fortunately is one of the ones that also says " Cathédrale." Steve and Allie, however, are also out of their car, and have found a local to guide them over to the statues. Thus they're the first to find the "musician," and she leaves off her low-tech Theremin playing to hand them the clue. It's in the form of a champagne cork whose end is stamped with the legend, "Champagne Leclerc Briant" on one end. They ask their local guide where this would be, and are sent to Épernay. Steve's already looking forward to some bubbly. Doesn't Allie ever get thirsty?