The Amazing Race 17 Secret Scenes, Episode 3:  “Fill Our Life With More Phil”

These Secret Scenes promise to do just that – give you more Phil!  What else did you want?  More acapella songs?  Check.  Admiration of Chad’s arms?  Check.  Hand-modeling careers coming to an end?  Check!  All this and boob-eating bugs await inside the exciting video recaps within!

At the Pit Stop

Featured Teams: Nick & Vicki, Brook & Claire (fifth and sixth place)

Harder Than It Looks:  Phil wants Nick & Vicki and Brook & Claire to confirm that indeed the race is much harder than it appears on television.  Vicki warns everyone that you have no idea what’s in store for you on the journey.  It never looked easy, but there’s just no indication as to how hard it really it is.  The physical exhaustion was also surprising especially with hot conditions like here in Ghana.  Claire is also affected by the heat as she felt she was going to pass out a few times during the wheel run.  Even trying to read the letters and numbers on the clue was difficult to do by the end of the race.  Brook & Claire aren’t about to give up though, and Vicki commends them for the great job they’ve been doing.  Nick tells Phil that every leg he is most concerned with Vicki’s asthma and how these physical tasks will take a toll on her.

Featured Team: Michael & Kevin (last/ninth place, but not eliminated!)

A Second Chance:  Michael looks utterly exhausted as Phil asks Kevin about his desire to be on The Amazing Race.  Kevin tells Phil that he pushed his dad into doing the race even when Michael expressed misgivings on doing it.  Kevin is proud of his dad for persevering even when he wanted to quit.  Michael objects to that characterization as he never claims to have said that, it was just that he wasn’t feeling good during this very physical leg.  Phil passes on to them that the other teams are still scared of them even when coming in last.  Michael bets that now they’re in last place that perhaps the fear will be gone, but Phil reminds him that they were in third place in the previous leg.

Phil informs them about their community service project tomorrow when they return to the Pit Stop and that they’ll work on the school house.  All the teams will join together for this effort for a few hours and help work on a beautification effort.  Phil recognizes that Michael looks a lot happier and better than just a few minutes ago.  Michael is happier as he is still in the race!

Featured Team: Chad & Stephanie (third place)

Arms and the Phil:  Phil tells his Ghana greeter that Chad & Stephanie are very much in love.  He then points out Chad’s big arms and the woman is suitably impressed, as Chad does indeed have some major guns.  Chad gives her a healthy flex of his arms.  Phil asks how their leg was today and Chad tells him that it was a good leg but it had its share of ups and downs.  They were neck and neck with quite a few teams and then the wheelbarrow schlep happened and a lot of teams messed up and had to come back to get the right supplies.  Phil wonders who did the boxing Detour and Stephanie gestures at Chad’s arms and asks Phil to guess.  He jokes with Stephanie if she’s trying to make him feel bad.  She reassures Phil that he’s got something going on!

Featured Team: Nat & Kat (eighth place)

Tough Time in Ghana:  Phil congratulates Nat & Kat for getting through three legs even if they are at the back of the pack as they are still in it.  Kat agrees because as long as you’re not the team that’s eliminated, you can make it all the way to the end.  Phil is curious why Nat looks emotional and Kat tells him that they’re both feeling the stress of playing catchup these last two legs.  The first leg they didn’t feel the stress too bad as they were near the top, but the last two legs have been nothing but struggle to stay in it.

Phil notices that Kat’s four-leaf clover necklace (which we saw in one of the week one videos) is missing and asks if she lost it.  It did break at the start of the second leg but she found the charm itself so she keeps it in her pocket.  Admittedly her luck hasn’t been as good as it was the first leg.  Phil asks if they’re concerned about other teams at this point but they’re just worried about themselves not coming in last.  But they acknowledge that Kevin & Michael are still a force to reckon with.  Phil looks at Nat and asks if she can do this.  She gives him a steely look and tells him yeah and that she’s ready.

Featured Team:  Gary & Mallory (second place)

Dad Done Good:  Mallory is proud of her dad as he easily handled the wheel task and without any problem. He was even a superstar at the boxing Detour!   Gary wore his good luck wrestling t-shirt as he coaches wrestling and they have to jump rope every day.  Phil asks if Mallory can wrestle but she apparently was always the wrestling throwing dummy.  Everyone would practice their moves on her.  Phil notices they’re having a lot more fun this leg and they confirm that nothing went wrong this leg.  Mallory started to get dehydrated a little while back so Phil advises her to get some salt.  Mallory scopes out a salt lick in the cow pasture behind Phil, so Phil yells over to the cows to see if they wouldn’t mind sharing their salt with her.  She praises the Ghana greeter on being able to survive in this environment while Gary tells her that he finds the countryside of Ghana much nicer than the city part.

Featured Team: Connor & Jonathan (first place)

A Song for Ghana:  Connor & Jonathan pledged that if they ever got first place that they’d sing Phil an original song all for him.  They proceed with a song that has a quality not unlike the holiday song “Silent Night” but with lyrics complementing Phil.  Unfortunately after the first verse they mess up their harmonies and get embarrassed, sniping at each other because they’d practiced this song so much.  They work out which harmonies each will take and then continue the song.  Unfortunately, Jonathan makes them stop again as he messes up.  They pump each other up and after Phil suggests they practice a bit more, they hurry back into the song.  A lyric they eventually do get to is “Fill our life with more Phil.”  The Beatles wish they had penned such poetry!

It wasn’t the best performance but Phil cheers them up and bets that when they sing the song at the Finish Line, it’ll be perfect.  Jonathan pleads for another chance to sing the song so they try yet again, and this time it actually all comes out as they had hoped for initially.  They admit they’re a little rusty but trying to race and sing is pretty hard!

Featured Team: Jill & Thomas (seventh place)

In Survival Mode:  Jill tells Phil how hard it was to find the symbols and Thomas admits they’re happy they didn’t use the Express Pass.  Thomas is very proud of how slow and steady Jill was in the wheel challenge even when she got intimidated by how fast everyone else was racing across the field.  Phil notices that they both seem pretty fit but they don’t find that to be much of an advantage at this point.  They’re mildly frustrated that they can’t get above third place but Phil commends them for running a very strong overall race so far.  Phil tells them about the renovation work that all the teams will do the next day and Jill & Thomas are very excited to do what they can for the kids they met today.

Featured Team: Katie & Rachel (fourth place)

Size Up:  Phil asks Katie & Rachel if there are any other teams as competitive as they are.  Neither of them think so as if you consider how competitive they each are and combine that, that sum of competitiveness far exceeds any of the other teams.  They think that although “Glee” (Connor & Jonathan) went to Princeton and are very nice, they don’t really have street smarts.  In terms of physical strength, they think Chad & Stephanie are the ones to beat.  Both have seen how jacked Chad is but Katie knows Chad hasn’t been involved in sports for a few years so it may just be he’s in “gym shape.”  Phil asks if they are excited about trying to win as the first all-female team. Katie is more excited about winning and it would just be a nice bonus to be the first female team to win.

Extra Race Footage

Featured Team: Brook & Claire

On a Different Schedule:  Brook & Claire are in their cab and Brook complains that once again they have a driver who doesn’t know where he’s going.  Claire doesn’t get why asking for directions needs to involve not one person but five.  Are they setting up dinner plans?  We’re only racing for a million dollars here, please, find out how Junior is doing and if he made the honor roll!  The camera pans to the taxi driver who seems unaware that they’re kvetching about him.  Claire reminds Brook that these kinds of taxi issues happens to everyone so you can’t let it mess up your game.

Featured Team: Brook & Claire

Hanging:  As they head somewhere in a cab, Claire can’t believe how dirty her fingernails are.  Brook shows us her hands and how dirty and bloody they are.  Brook & Claire are hand models so this is definitely not a good thing for them.  Brook’s fake nails have been coming off one at a time on each leg and she is sure that their television director back home must be having a fit.  In fact, when Claire got slammed in the face with a watermelon, which causes Brook to giggle again, one of the first things she noticed was that she had lost a nail!

Featured Team: Nick & Vicki

Vicki Vs. a Bug:  In the cab, Nick predicts they’re currently in seventh or eighth place.  As he continues his estimations, Vicki suddenly shrieks and frantically brushes something off of her arm.  She then starts checking in her shirt and tells Nick that she thinks there’s a bug in her boobs.  She laughs and tries to handle the situation as decently as she can but Nick asks her why she cares.  Vicki tells him that she doesn’t want the bug to eat her boob.  A moment later, Vicki realizes that the bug isn’t there and isn’t eating her boob.

Featured Team: Chad & Stephanie

A Long Way from Florida:  Chad & Stephanie just bought a home in South Florida and they can’t believe how different the community in Ghana is grouped than in Florida.  It’s crowded in Florida but in Ghana everyone is using the roads whether it’s on foot, bike or car, plus the reality is multiple families live in homes here as opposed to each family having a condo.  The only similarity to Florida is the hot humid weather.  What Stephanie does love about Ghana though is how hospitable everyone is.

Featured Team: Nat & Kat

Doctors in Ghana:  Kat tells us that she’s traveled extensively in Asia and there are some areas in Asia that are similar to what they’re currently driving through in Ghana.  Despite the poverty though, everyone continues on with their daily lives and manage to live a happy existence. It’s just different than what Americans are used to.  Nat has been to Central America and seen similar situations as Ghana and agrees that you still see happy people and brightly-dressed women going about their lives.  Both have loved getting to meet the children in Ghana as it seems that once you’ve made eye contact and made yourself approachable, the children will come up and introduce themselves.

Featured Team: Nat & Kat

Nat & Kat Lose Control:  Kat explains that both she & Nat typically live very controlled lives so this experience on the race is forcing them to deal with when things are out of their direct control.  So even though they’re in the back of the pack, they’re trying to still enjoy the experience of being in Ghana.  Nat doesn’t mind meandering or getting lost when on a typical point A to point B trip, but in The Amazing Race, you may get eliminated for being the last one to arrive.  She doesn’t want the trip to end yet!  Kat agrees and a loss on this leg would be especially bitter as it was mainly due to things, like taxis and getting lost, that are out of their control.  Part of that frustration is in their normal lives, if they were traveling somewhere, they’d research, get maps, drive themselves, and know the lay of the land.  This situation doesn’t lend itself to that and you’re at the mercy of taxi drivers.  Now that their fate is in someone else’s hands, they have a better understanding how their patients feel.

Featured Team: Connor & Jonathan

The Spirit of Ghana:  Jonathan observes that the Ghanan people are so different yet still so similar to them.  There are vendors in Ghana just like there are in Philadelphia.  Despite not being a wealthy people, it appears that they all are satisfied and happy with what they have.  Everyone is just so nice.

After the Race

Featured Team: Katie & Rachel

Not Worried About the Women: Rachel likes the idea that there are other strong female teams on the race and the fact that they’re all currently doing pretty well.  She feels her & Katie’s chances are better at the end if they have to go against another female team versus two really strong guys.  She isn’t worried about Brook’s aggressiveness too much as while that’s Brook’s strength, she & Katie have physical strength on top of that.  Katie thinks it may be a bit too early still to make a solid judgment of the other teams.

Featured Team: Michael & Kevin

No One to Blame: Kevin doesn’t blame his dad Michael because Michael is not only the oldest racer but also sits in a cubicle for eight hours a day, so this whole experience isn’t exactly suited for him.  Instead of blaming he wants to look at the positives including the fact that they’re still in the race.  He’s proud that his dad didn’t quit or pass out in that last challenge because if the delay had been substantial, they probably would have been disqualified in the next leg since this was a non-elimination.  They still have a chance!

Featured Team: Jill & Thomas

Express Pass on His Mind:  Thomas admits he thought about the Express Pass during the word search Detour, but it never was something he really considered using.  They didn’t really need it as there were still quite a few teams struggling behind them so the pass would have been wasted.  Thomas knows they need to continue focusing on reading the clues accurately, on not giving up too quickly on a task, and on working as hard as possible.

Featured Team: Brook & Claire

Back to School:  Claire liked sitting with the school kids learning geography, but Brook is just embarrassed that they couldn’t locate Ghana on a map.  It’s even more frustrating because they know quite a bit of African geography due to their jewelry specialty.  But could they tell you where they are right now?  Nope!  Claire couldn’t believe how much the kids were putting them to shame and it felt like they were on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Elimination Station

Since another team won’t be joining them until next week, Andie & Jenna will be getting a salsa dancing lesson from Ron, who has been on Broadway for years.  They’re excited to learn but Andie admits that she probably hasn’t danced for at least 20 years.  Ron gets them started with a simple out-together-out-together dance step which Andie & Jenna seem to get fairly easily.  No sooner do they master that base step is when Ron adds in some arm movement.  The girls are still all smiles so it looks like he hasn’t lost them yet.  Surprisingly, Andie is rocking her hips like a natural and is getting her salsa on.  After a quite successful dance lesson that leaves everyone in huge smiles, Andie exclaims how glad she is that they got eliminated!  She knows there’s no way they’d be having this much fun.

The next day at the pool, Andie & Jenna are inventorying which body parts they seem to share.  In addition to double-jointedness, Andie thinks they might share the same legs.  Jenna still finds it surreal that she’s sitting next to her birth mother after having just done The Amazing Race with her.  She is still so thankful that Andie selflessly gave her up for adoption to a wonderful loving family.  Both are well aware that this time at Elimination Station is a gift and likely won’t ever happen again in the future.  That realization makes Andie sad but regardless, they’ll make sure to keep in touch.

 

Hobie Barnes works in NYC at 30 Rock (the building, not the show). While not conquering Midtown, he might be found watching DVR’d reality TV, mastering intermediate guitar (is that you F chord?  get ready to be rocked), or getting lost on the subway. He can be reached at hobiewan76@gmail.com.