The Amazing Race 35 ends as favorites come from behind to win

The Amazing Race

 

Season 35, Episode 12

 

By Jim Memmott

 

Seattle – The result wasn’t a surprise, but the road to the result was.

In an Amazing Race finale for the ages – the finales are always for the ages – the heavily favored Franklin brothers, Greg (near left) and John, had to come from behind to finish first and take home $1 million.

Thus Emily and Denny Showers finished first in our pool, winning $100, as they often do. (Bitter? Who's bitter? I'm not bitter.)

 

The season itself was a winner, too. A terrific cast, wonderful scenery, and lots of backstories.

 

There were some changes. Thirteen teams, rather than the usual 11, started out in the first episode. Each episode – or leg – lasted 90 minutes rather than 60. Non-elimination legs were, well, eliminated.

 

The added minutes and larger cast worked. More was more. Way to go, CBS.

 

In the finale, the smart and athletic Franklins took the lead in the 11th hour, acing the final challenge, a memory test, before hopping on the finish mat first.

 

They edged out underdogs Joel Strasser (far left) and Garrett Smith. The best friends finished second, winning $50 for the pool’s Seneca River Crew, Elizabeth Cowley, et. al.

 

The Franklins had been predicted to win (by me, anyway) because of their earlier performances (four first-places). But they weren’t themselves earlier on in the episode.

 

They almost blew the glass-blowing challenge, and they were bad roadies, taking ages to set up the equipment for a grunge band. Why? Computer scientists, they failed to think inside the (speaker) boxes, and thus couldn’t find the necessary power cords.

 

Nonetheless, they had almost no trouble flying on the trapeze, and thanks to John’s terrific memory, they aced the final challenge, arranging in the right order some kayaks labeled with episode and challenge titles.

 

Though they lost, Joel and Garrett won a lot of hearts.

 

Not all that athletic, the duo seemed to have been miscast for the Race. But self-deprecating and quick with a quip (especially Joel), they embraced (and earned) the underdog role.

 

Underdogs or not, they might have won it all were it not for a mistake on the memory challenge that they took too long to correct.

The father/son team of Rob (near left) and Corey McArthur came in

third, winning #30 for your host, Jim Memmott.

Rob struggled on the trapeze,

and they had problems with glass blowing, Given that, they arrived at the memory challenge too late to make up for lost ground.

 

While they lost the race, Rob and Corey emerged as the stars of the season, remarkable in their optimism, their persistence, and their affection for each other.

 

For sure, being deaf did not hinder Rob. Using sign language, he and Corey communicated flawlessly, even when Corey was in the backseat and Rob was driving.

 

It was impossible not to cry at the end when Rob expressed his gratitude to Corey for signing with him “all the way” and being “proud to be a CODA.”

 

Corey, in turn, expressed his thanks: “I’m so entirely grateful to my parents because they raised me with sign language and pulled me into their world,” he said.

 

Thus, the season ended on a warm note, a fitting finish.

 

As always, there were moments in the season that stood out.

 

I close my eyes and see boatloads of pomelos. I see Joel doing the best he can at River Dancing, the Franklin sisters eating bugs, Ashlie Martin slowly, carefully arranging a wreath as the clock ticks away.

 

I see Steve Cargile and his daughter Anna Leigh Wilson climbing up a ski slope they didn’t have to climb. I see racers lugging mattresses up a narrow stairway. And there they are riding huge horse bicycles. Why?

 

Look up. Everyone is high in the sky, walking a tightrope between buildings, riding in a glider, parachuting for no apparent reason, creeping around on the top of the Space Needle. I hate heights. I love The Amazing Race.

 

It’s over. “Eight countries, 19 cities, more than 23,00 miles,” according to host Phil Keoghan.

 

Franny Mokris, 7, and her sister Margot, 5, new fans of The Amazing Race, agreed that it’s sad when a season ends. It is.

 

Wipe those tears. word on the internet is that Season 36 is already filmed. Bring it on. I’m ready.

 

Overheard:

 

Corey: If the roadblock is to find the best piece of pizza in Seattle, I’m winning.

 

Joel: We didn’t come this far just to come this far.

 

Garrett: I’m somewhat afraid of heights.

 

Corey: I took guitar lessons for a year, and then my parents made me stop because I didn’t practice.

Joel: We ran the entire race without yelling at each other.

 

Garrett: This guy pushed me through so much

 

Corey: It’s really bittersweet, the race coming to the end.

 

Order of Finish

 

Greg and John Franklin, brothers

Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith, best friends

Corey and Rob McArthur, son and father

 

The Poop on the Amazing Race, Episode 11, Season 35

 

The Amazing Race

 

Season 35, Episode 11

 

By Jim Memmott

 

Dublin, Ireland

 

Be warned. What you are about to read may be upsetting:

 

For at least the second time on Season 35 of the Amazing Race,

longshot racer Joel Strasser (near left) reacted to his good fortune with these words: “I may poop my pants with joy.”

Good heavens what could happen in his pants if Joel and his buddy Garrett Smith win the $1 million prize next week?

They'll go against the father-son duo of Rob and Corey McArthur, who finished first in this episode, and brothers Greg and John Franklin, who took second. Joel and Garrett, survived by finishing third.

Time ran out on the father-daughter team of Texans Steve Cargile and Anna Leigh Wilson, who finished fourth and were sent home by Phil Keoghan, taking Bob Wilcox out of the pool with them .

The episode in Dublin was terrific – filled with wonderful moments.

In perhaps the best segment of all, Rob, who is deaf, got through the memory challenge in James Toner's pub by signing some tricky lines from James Joyce's "Ulysses." (And when was the last time "Ulysses" got a shout out on U.S. TV?)

Earlier, Corey showed he was born to River Dance, and his time as a youth playing baseball made him a natural for the hurling challenge.

The Franklin brothers did well throughout and seemed satisfied with second. However, they were just a little full of themselves, as they

reminded all of us viewers at home that they had four first-place finishes to their credit.

Joel and Garrett's survival was pretty much typical of their performances throughout the season. They are far from slick; they always seem on the verge of defeat, and, yet, now they are in the finals.

This time around, Joel struggled terribly with the River Dance challenge until he rescued himself by taking time out to get his feet on track. However, the guys did masterJames Joyce without that much trouble. More power to them.

Garrett was a good enough hurler, as well, though Joel, always with a wisecrack, couldn't resist reminding him that the challenge involved the sport of hurling, not hurling, as in throwing up. (Maybe Joel is just into bodily functions.)

Steve and Anna Leigh gave it a good run, but their problem in this episode was their problem for the whole season. They kept getting lost. Navigation did them in.

Prediction?

I suspect Corey and his dad are the duo most viewers want to win.

Still, I’d put my money on the Franklin brothers. They’re skilled at languages, math, music, and debugging any problem. Though right now, they do seem overconfident. Maybe, the video editors are setting them up for a fall.

 

 

Product placement, again

 

Racers used the Expedia app to book their flights out of Sweden and their lodging in Ireland. I still wish Expedia had a gnome.

 

Chilly dip

 

Race fan Cindy Schmitt noticed that the Racers had to take a swim in the ice-cold waters of the Forty Foot. That's where the sisters of the series “Bad Sisters” took several plunges. Heavens, I miss that show.

 

Overheard

 

Rob: I’m ready to haul my ass.

 

Steve: I hope it’s warm there because we are Texas people.

 

Corey: I’m no stranger to cold water. I like to take ice baths after a basketball game. But that water was cold.

 

Anna Leigh: It’s the worst feeling in the world to be dead last.

 

 

Order of finish

 

Corey and Rob McArthur, son and father

Greg and John Franklin, brothers

Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith, best friends

 

Eliminated

 

Steve Cargile and Anna Leigh Wilson, father and daughter

A comeback that wasn't on The Amazing Race 35

  

 

The Amazing Race

 

Season 35, Episode 10

 

By Jim Memmott

 

Stockholm – Call me crazy, but I’m going to miss Todd Martin, the tall mansplaining former basketball player.

Some viewers I know were annoyed by the big guy, but he was a perfect guest in every country he visited, always praising the scenery and thanking the locals.

And he didn’t know the meaning of the word “quit.” Even when he and his wife, Ashlie, were clearly on their way to a defeat – she lost far too much time in the wreath-making challenge – he cheerfully talked of a comeback. Everyone knows that comebacks happen in sports. Why not in life?

 

Alas, the comeback kid didn’t come back, so now he and Ashlie are gone, taking poolster Cindy Schmitt with them.

We’re down to four teams, which, I assume, means two more episodes.

 

In something of an upset, best friends Joel Strasser (far left) and Garrett Smith, hopped on the finish mat first.

It could be that the ever-upbeat and wonderfully goofy pair are better than this column thought.

 

Or it could also be that they were lucky not to be part of an alliance that made sense until it didn’t make sense.

 

Near the end of the episode, three teams, Greg and John Franklin (brothers), Corey and Rob McArthur (son/father), Anna Leigh Wilson and Steve Cargile (daughter/father), were in a group, working together. They got some bad information and wandered off together in the wrong direction.

Joel and Garrett, not part of the group, didn’t get lost, and thus they won. The brothers Franklin, who had finished first in the three previous episodes, captured second place. Rob and Corey came third and Steve and Anna Leigh were a close fourth. As always, she kept telling him to run faster, though it seems he has run out of gas. Stay tuned.

 

All in all, it was a good episode, though it had me scratching my head sometimes.

 

Why, for example, did the Racers have to skydive?

 

Sure, it was fun to see so much fear transformed to joy as they glided to the earth. But they weren’t judged on their form, or the accuracy of their landings. No one had to jump again.

I guess parachuting was just a scary time-filler. (One, I should add, that I wouldn’t have done in 10 million years.)

 

The recycling challenge also left me a little puzzled. There didn’t seem to be a way anyone could fail. Finding the right bin for each item – refrigerators go here, etc. – wasn’t hard. Basically, it was just like a pleasant visit to the Peaks Island, Maine, dump, which, I know is a whole other story

 

For the record, Corey and Rob used their Express Pass to avoid the wreath-making challenge. I’m not sure it made much of a difference, as they lost the time they had gained when they couldn’t find the right entrance to the opera house.

 

Overheard:

 

Todd: I feel like Rocky. We’re up against the ropes now, but we have to fight our way to the top.

 

Rob: What’s better than skydiving with your son.

 

Garrett: I’m so glad I got to go through that experience (skydiving). I’ll never do it again.

 

Greg: John and I are city boys. We can do the subway.

 

Ashlie: I love your positivity, but I’m not there right now.

 

Garrett: It was such a blast picking up that toilet and just slamming it.

 

Todd: Teamwork makes the dream work.

 

Phil Keoghan: I don’t think we’ve ever had a final four this close going into the penultimate lap.

 

Ashlie: We gave it our all, but I love this guy.

 

Todd: Six years ago, we weren’t in a spot where we could do this. God has restored our relationship.

 

 

Order of finish

 

Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith, best friends

Greg and John Franklin, brothers

Corey and Rob McArthur, son and father

Steve Cargile and Anna Leigh Wilson, father and daughter

 

Eliminated

 

Todd and Ashlie Martin, married, high school sweethearts