The Amazing Race 17: Nick & Vicky Get Saved

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The 6th leg of the Amazing Race 17 was not as easy as the rest of the legs have proven to be. The Detour was the toughest part of the leg, and nearly drove two teams out of the race. In the end it was Nick & Vicky that came in last place. Phil revealed the 6th leg was a non-elimination leg after telling Team Tattoo that they came in last place.

Nat & Kat kicked off the leg in first place, and headed off to the train station that would take them to St. Petersburg, Russia. They quickly became aware that it would be a tight leg when all teams would ride the same train for several hours to get to Russia.

Brook & Claire wound up bonding with Nat & Kat during the train ride. As the teams shared a cabin for the long ride, they took turns smelling each others shoes and socks. Boy, did that look like fun... NOT! It was funny to watch though.


Once teams reached St. Petersburg, they all took the time to at least notice the beautiful architecture. Even Nick noticed, saying, “I like how they keep all their buildings instead of blowing them up.” Um, yeah.

A cab ride took the racers to the dreaded Detour: Classical Music or Classical Cinema. In Classical Music, teams had to listen to excerpts from three compositions, then match the music to that being played by pianists in another room. Trouble is, all the pianists were playing different tunes loudly at the same time. In Classical Cinema, teams had to look through thousands of reels of film to find the one playing on a large screen behind them.

Only Michael & Kevin and Brook & Claire headed to the film side.... but Brook & Claire’s cab driver got completely lost. Michael & Kevin got a big lead from that. It did not take long for Kevin to realize the trick to the film detour. There were words in some of the film, look for the words that stood out on the film strip. It still took a while, but it was much easier than the music challenge.

The other teams all headed to the music conservatory for the Detour. It went downhill quickly from there. Chad & Stephanie had a major blowout (what’s new), and were nearly ready to give up completely. Nick & Vicky had the most trouble though. A few teams switched to the movie challenge, including Nick & Vicky. While that was the right choice for most, Nick & Vicky decided to go back to the conservatory and try to figure out the music challenge one more time.

After the Detour, teams headed for the Roadblock. Though a physical challenge, it was far easier than the earlier tasks. The Roadblock was called Russian Drag Race. Racers had to dress as a Russian Babushka and get potatoes and a wheelbarrow full of manure, then plant the potatoes (with real Russian babushka’s cheering them on).

Jill & Thomas, Brook & Claire and Michael & Kevin were the first teams to arrive at the Roadblock. Kevin did it for his team, and looked so cute in his Russian dress, the ladies loved him. Brook took the task on herself and was called “ripe” smelling afterward by the cab driver. Jill appeared to be born to plant potatoes in Russia as she burst ahead to catch up with the other teams.

It was pretty obvious Nick & Vicky were long away in last place when they finally reached the Roadblock, but they didn’t give up. Nick donned the babushka outfit and was then a bit of a tourist attraction himself as he looked for his clues. The natives wanted pictures with the tattooed cross-dressing potato planter. “It was a little bit of race, and a whole lot of drag,” quipped Nick. He kept his wits about him though and finished.

Finding the actual Pit Stop became another challenge as teams all headed in the wrong direction at first. Kevin continues to treat his father like an idiot and it wound up costing them first place in the 6th leg. As Michael nearly begged Kevin to look for Phil in a park across the street, Kevin shunned his advice. Though they were the first to arrive near the Pit Stop, they were third on the carpet in front of Phil... who was waiting in the park across the street.

Here are the results of the 6th leg of the Amazing Race 17:
1. Jill & Thomas
2. Brook & Claire
3. Michael & Kevin
4. Nat & Kat
5. Chad & Stephanie
6. Gary & Mallory
7. Nick & Vicky  *were not required to complete an extra task (Speed Bump) in the 7th leg (for reasons as yet unknown)*

I was impressed with Nick’s ability to not blow up this week. He said he’s learned his lesson from the tantrum he’s thrown in Africa, and would never act like that again. So far, so good. Now if he could just get that through to Chad, who constantly has a meltdown with Stephanie.

Though I was not really a fan of Brook & Claire (Team HSN) at first, I’m quickly liking them more each week. They are funny to watch and have yet to have a complete meltdown. I like that they get along with Nat & Kat too. Those are my two favorite teams, at least for this week. Who are you rooting for on the Amazing Race 17?



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