Just lovely. Now this means that TAR has to stop in Japan or Seattle, and a Roadblock will consist of playing a round of Wii Golf. The leg will be sponsored by Nintendo, and the producers will insist it's totally original.

Note to self: Scratch that Wii Golf challenge from TAR Expedition. Additional note to self: Finish Episode 10.

LAST EDITED ON 07-30-08 AT 10:27 AM (EST)

Ok. I finally saw the end of the first episode. Apparently, this competition is double-elimination. If you finish last in any leg, you get a strike. Two strikes and you're out.

That explains why there's 9 legs (maximum possible) for 5 teams...... If everyone ends up getting a strike at one point or another, it'll take that many legs to eliminate everyone but the winner.........

Probably the reason there's 10 episodes is that either one leg takes up two episodes........ or there's a recap episode.

Well, so much for my carefully-calculated mileage/destination theories: they're moving them between legs.

No prize for coming in second? Ouch. Most competition shows at least give you the gas money back. (Or was that metaphorical? No, it's the Golf Channel: they could be exactly that broke...)

Are all blonde teams on reality shows taken out of the exact same mold? 'Get in front of that car and drive really, really slowly -- please?' At least they didn't whine about how cruel karma had been to them when they came in last. So far, this has been a pretty mature group. So far.

And yeah -- who ever thought you'd need to put in more practice on that football stadium shot?

LAST EDITED ON 08-13-08 AT 02:44 AM (EST)

The teams started at a horse racing track in Ocala. They had to hit a target beyond the first turn that was still on the track. The track was a sandy dirt track, so when the balls landed, they mostly cratered, and went nowhere.......

The next clue took the teams to Daytona. One person had to shoot 3 balls at a car on the infield, and then the other took laps in a NASCAR car. The rider starts with 4 laps, and each ball that hit the infield car reduces that by a lap.

Afterwards they went to the LPGA International golf course. All teams had to play stoke play on the same 2 holes: a par 5 and a par 4. This time the teams not in first got a penalty stroke for each position out of first. There was a tie for first and a tie for last after the holes were played. Both ties were broken by the order of finish arriving at that course.

This leg ended up being a Super Leg!

The winners? Get to take the 2nd half of the leg off!

Last Place? Have a time penalty to deal with. No strikes were dealt, though.

It took 7 episodes, containing 2 Super Legs, both won by Raul and Jameca (they're the ones that got the first strike....) but we finally got an elimination.

Andy and Parker are gone

Rob and Charlotte is the only team without a strike.

Dang it! They're my local boys.

Raul and Jameica are the 2nd team eliminated.

It was a Trump-themed episode. After having to chip a ball into an airboat in a swampland, they got a clue directing them to one of Trump's courses. This one had a croquet setup near the front lawn, 2 identical courses for the teams. The arrival time plus the playing time of the course determined their departure time. Then, the went to Trump International where it was a Par 3 challenge. All of the eligible hole were converted into par 3's (if they weren't already one) with equal distance.

Raul and Jameica were the first ones there and chose the closest hole, the 18th, but Jameica ended up taking four attempts to complete the hole, and that was their downfall.......

Next week they're heading to Doral.

I was almost surprised Donald didn't show up, but then I remembered his appearance fee is about twenty times the budget of the entire show.

Three things jumped out at me from this episode.

1. The innocence of the camera work (especially as compared to TAR) is very appealing. When Raul & Jameica were running up to confirm their last-place finish, you could just see the other teams hiding around the corner...

2. Golf. Is. Hard. That's an easy thing to forget when you watch pure professionals grinding their way around the course every few weeks. Watching our semi-amateurs getting repeatedly blitzed by Par-3 holes is a very rude reminder.

3. Geez, there's a lot of golf courses in Florida...

One episode now remains.

Y'know considering that it was known that there was only 10 episodes and it took until episode 7 to eliminate a team, I'm not surprised that Rob and Charlotte are in the Final 2, since they never got a strike (the only time they finished last was on a Super Leg.....) The other team? The Ashleys.

Jay and Peach were eliminated. They had to play a better ball hole at Doral. They were assigned holes. Upon departure they went to Shell World in Key Largo, where Andy and Parker told them to look for a special type of shell, where a SkyCaddie awaited them......

They then went to the Sombrero C.C. which was in the Keys. They had to use the SkyCaddie to find a clue box (an empty ball box with a note inside assigning them their holes) They got two holes, Scramble format, birdie or better.

Jay wiped out when they left Doral. He wrapped up his right forearm, but it got tighter and tighter, so he had to go to an orthopedic hospital, where he got a sling..... (and some medicine, I think.....) They never recovered from the waiting time in the hospital and Jay having to play with only his left arm.........

Tuesday is the Season Finale, so I imagine the strikes system is eliminated and the first team to the Finish Line is the first winner of Highway 18 (will they be the only one, though? Time will tell......)

In that timeslot the following Tuesday: October 7, is Big Break X: Michigan, in which there are 8 teams and like TAR and Highway 18, they're pre-existing relationships..........

Back from exile to say that I kinda liked this silly show. As mentioned earlier, it felt much like the early seasons of TAR. I hope it's renewed for another season.

50,000 airline miles? Where do I sign up?