The Amazing Race 9: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Episode 6: Nerds RULE!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It should be obvious to anyone who has read any of these columns this year that I am quite upset about seeing the Frinks get Philiminated this week. I’ve gotten upset at someone’s elimination before. Many times, in fact. I’ve even gotten emotionally involved. But I don’t remember the last time I was almost moved to tears over an elimination on a reality show. Nerds rule, indeed!

The Good:

Them’s Good People: It was obvious on the show, but it’s increasingly apparent in post-show interviews and whatnot that Dave & Lori are deeply in love and, above that, are good people. Best of luck to you guys.

I’m glad to see nerds portrayed in a good light on national television. Too often I see nerds portrayed as the evil stalker of the heroine because they’re frustrated at their lack of dating success. And… well, while that may be true to a large extent, my point here is that nerds are good people. Ladies, if you ever get sick of the way your hunk boyfriend ignores you or treats you like Lake treats Michelle, try a nerd. You won’t regret it. Come on, has Beauty and the Geek taught us nothing?

Sign In Here: I was writing my latest lamentation about equalizers in my head until I realized that the Frats are the only ones to have caught up thanks to the late opening. Making a closer race between these two is a definite “good.”

In addition, the Hippies’ hand-made sign in sheet was hilarious. I don’t know if they actually thought people would use it or if it was just another opportunity to have fun (probably a combination of both), but it once again goes back to what I always say – you can have fun and be competitive.

My favorite part, though, was Ray looking at the sheet quizzically, then ignoring it without a second thought. A close second was the Frats actually signing in before realizing it was fake. No flies on them.

Dancing Man: There were a lot of funny moments this week, but none quite so amusing as Phil dancing along with the orchestra at the pit stop. I think the Frats and Hippies are getting to him.

The Bad:

Non-Elimination: I hate non-elimination legs almost as much as I hate equalizers, so I know I can’t have it both ways and say that they should have had one in this leg.

However (you knew the next sentence was gonna start that way, didn’t you?), I was shocked when we didn’t get one. This was an incredibly linear leg, with very few opportunities to pass another team short of driving errors (yes, I know Ray & Yolanda passed Frink, but it was Dave’s unwillingness to ask directions that killed them), and usually they do non-elimination legs in cases like this. I’m not saying there should have been one, but if they’re going to do one, this was the time.

Maybe they’ve done away with them this season, and they’ll do a couple of those “two-part” legs instead. I’d like that, actually.

Frankenwhiner: I’m getting very tired of Fran & Barry’s whining about “woe is us” and “we’re dead for sure.” I can deal with it once in a while, especially with a severe underdog team. But it seems like every time they get hit with a strong gust of wind, it’s “Ohhhh, now we’re going to be laaaaast!”

The Ugly:

NoMoJo: At least once a season, we get a scene of a racer freaking out about having to perform some gross task. This season, it was Monica. Granted, I think she was freaking out in frustration over not being able to find the right guy, but I think if they were hauling bags of rice she wouldn’t have been quite so bad.

Personally, I’d be embarrassed if I carried on like that while Michelle calmly went about the task. That’s kind of the “pitiful scale” this year. If you handle something worse than Lake & Michelle, you should be ashamed.

Ticking Time Bags: I don’t know what that contraption was on Michelle’s chest, but it did her no favors. Some puppies should stay caged.

Mike DeGeorge is an Accountant from St. Louis and is also Associate Editor for RealityNewsOnline. You can reach Mike at rno.mike@gmail.com.

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