MovieChat Forums > The Amazing Race (2001) Discussion > S21: So Confused About Lost Passport

S21: So Confused About Lost Passport

posted 9 years ago by laballatician
8 replies | jump to latest

This situation makes no sense to me!

The rockers arrive 4th after completing all tasks, but Phil tells them to go away because they can't be checked in without a passport.

The Beakman team doesn't complete their detour and our technically the last team to arrive, but because Phil can't check in the rockers, they are safe with a 4-hour penalty.

BUT THEN Phil brings the rockers back and even though they haven't found their passports, checks them in as last, in a non-elimination leg.

I don't understand. We were told they couldn't be checked in. Even though it's a non-elimination, the rule was still that they could not check in without passports.

But they were allowed to check in. So shouldn't they have been checked in the first time, under the same guideline that they'd still need to present their passports when needed?

Their situation from when they first got there had not changed, so why we're they issued this random "last place" penalty?

Since they WERE allowed to be checked in at the mat without passports, Phil should have checked them in the first time. There was no change in the status of the situation in the interim, and their being checked in last makes no sense considering.

[–] MCoop25 9 years ago

Think of it this way that a non-elimination leg trumps other rules. The rule is that you can't check-in if you are the last team to arrive but if it's a non-elimination leg then you can. It works the same way in the Rockers case. The rule is that you can't check in without a Passport but they were saved by the non-elimination leg.

[–] laballatician 9 years ago

I understand that aspect, I don't get why they were told they couldn't be checked on at all when they first arrived, told to wander around the city until all of the other teams were checked in, and THEN were told that YES they could be checked in.

What kind of penalty is that? You forget your passport so you go the end of the line? I don't understand the logic. Since they were allowed to be checked in and compete in the next leg, and no official penalty was stated for arriving without their passport, they should have been checked in when they arrived.

[–] engle_james 9 years ago

It was handled that way so the fact that it was a non-elimination leg would be a surprise.

[–] laballatician 9 years ago

Exactly. I'd go so far as to say they broke their own rules and changed the outcome of the race. But I think they were scrambling, so I forgive it.

But it's a disappointing mess of handling.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MCoop25 9 years ago

The main rule is that you can't check in to the Pit Stop if you don't have a passport. The Rockers got to the Pit Stop without one of their passports so they couldn't get checked in. Since they weren't last they had time to find their missing passport the instant they found it they could have gotten checked in. Since they didn't find it before the last team checked in if that was a normal leg they would have been eliminated.

Since it was a non-elimination leg I feel like the show actually cheated their rules to help them. They took pity on them and let them check in anyway I believe with the stipulation that if they didn't find their passport but it was required for a race task then they were automatically eliminated. The show let them check-in despite them not having all the necessary materials just to give them a chance in case they found their missing passport in the 12 hour wait between legs. I would have to watch it again but I think the Rockers got to leave 1 minute after the Beakman Boys right? So if they had found their passport before the leg started they had a fighting chance to catch up.

[–] Doc80 9 years ago

Think of it like this because it's a non-elimination leg, the last team to check in then has to do a speed bump right. Is it really fair to allow the rockers to check in when the rule says you have to have your passports even though they would be allowed to proceed because of the non-elimination leg? I mean if they can't even leave the country without a passport so it doesn't really matter in the long run.

[–] SBL84 9 years ago

Their second check-in was basically a pity check-in.

Just like when Zev & Justin lost a passport in season 15, where they weren't allowed to check in until they had their passport. As it turned out, they couldn't find it in time, and when they got to the mat after the final team checked in, they were eliminated.

Now, what happened in this situation is that this happened to be a Non-Elimination Leg. Since the rockers couldn't find their passport, if it was an Elimination Leg, Phil would've told them that they were the last to arrive and they were eliminated, and that would be the end of it.

Since the legs are planned far ahead of time, it may have been problematic to move a NEL to another leg, since they would have to come up with a Speed Bump task on the spot 2 or 3 legs down the line. Since both legs were in the same country and they didn't need to use their passport between the legs, Phil checked them in and let them continue on without their passport through the next leg.

So I wouldn't say they did anything against the rules, it was just that a situation arose that they didn't have rules for.