"We Bought Fruit": Cha Cha Cha Thisclose to Beating Charla and Mirna on "Amazing Race"

It's official: Charla and Mirna have completely worn out their welcome in reality TV.

Last night's episode of The Amazing Race reinforced those feelings for me as, through a fluke of luck most likely unforeseen by the producers and travel specialists of TAR, Charla and Mirna not only managed to keep their first place lead over the other teams but seemed for a little while to be nearly a full day ahead of their competition.

As it were, thanks to some weather problems, Charla and Mirna (sorry, but I refuse to call them "Too Hot to Handle") were unable to board their traditional African dhow to Zanzibar until the following morning (wahoo!), leaving time for Danny and Oswald to catch up to them.

I'm still not entirely sure what the hell happened last night regarding the ongoing travel snafus as teams attempted to leave Maputo. Sure, there have been times in the past when securing airline tickets has been problematic at best, but last night took that to a whole new level of ridiculousness. Had there not been (rather suspicious) weather problems in Dar Es Salaam, potentially Charla and Mirna could have reached the pit stop a full day and a half ahead of the last place team. That's not too good planning nor is it good television. I'd love to know what actually happened to cause the teams to get so far behind (and nearly get stranded in Johannesburg). Any theories?

Danny and Oswald meanwhile decided to have fun with Charla and Mirna, who suddenly developed a severe lack of sense of humor, missing the point of every single one of Team Cha Cha Cha's jokes, especially when Owsald joked that they were going to trade the cousins for food (not to mention the hilarious faux turf war he tried to start with Mirna). Then again, Mirna had no idea what a catamaran was, so maybe a sense of humor isn't all that she's missing upstairs.

The gruesome twosome continued their swath through Africa, armed with more bad foreign accents to use on people. This week, Charla got in on the action, attempting an Italian accent while pleading with an airline representative. Mirna continued the same strategy of attempting to confuse locals with with strange and confusing (and often offensive) accents, offering a grotesquely mangled and drawn-out "nobody?" when told who no one could book them airline tickets at this time.

Which brings me to the fact that Team Cha Cha Cha would now be in first place if they hadn't stopped to buy some fruit along the way. Yes, they were dehydrated after the long boat trip to Zanzibar, and, yes, they were in the lead and hadn't even seen the other teams, but come on now, guys. It's a race and there will be plenty of time to stop at the local market AFTER you reach the Pit Stop. But Danny and Oswald do decide to stop off along the way to the Road Block (though they do catch up with Charla and Mirna), leading the cousins to nab the first spot at the Pit Stop.

(Aside: just how great was it to see Eric and a hysterical Danielle get yanked right off of that plane and then be forced to race with Teri and Ian and the Guidos? Har har. Personally, I loved seeing the looks on their faces when they realized they really weren't getting on that flight. Priceless.)

Uchenna and Joyce manage to survive Phil-imination this week and, even with the 30 minute time penalty, arrive third, followed by the Beauty Queens (which means my fave three teams are all in the top four slots right now). But for Teri and Ian, a day behind the other teams, their final showdown with the Guidos put them in last place and, for Teri, it's finally a chance to get back to Miami as she mentioned a zillion times last night. (Or as close as the Elimination Station, anyway).

Next week on The Amazing Race: Danielle and Eric have a nasty spat, leading Danielle to finally tell Eric he needs to grow up (about time), while Joe attempts to outrun a plane (seriously) and Charla gets suited up in armor for a challenge, only to land flat on her face. (Ouch.) Remind me again: why isn't Mirna doing this challenge?

What's On Tonight

8 pm: How I Met Your Mother/The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC; 8-10 pm); Everybody Hates Chris/All of Us (CW); Dancing with the Stars (ABC; 8-10 pm); House (FOX)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement (CBS); Girlfriends/The Game (CW); 24 (FOX)

10 pm: CSI: Miami (CBS); The Black Donnellys (NBC); What About Brian (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Everybody Hates Chris.

On tonight's episode ("Everybody Hates Baseball"), Chris is forced to choose between going to a baseball game with his dad or taking Tasha to the movies.

8:30 pm: Old Christine.

On tonight's repeat episode ("The Champ"), it's the return of Sad Dad (Andy Richter), whom Christine slept with in Season One... but now she is forced to admit that she is attracted to him.

9 pm: 24.

It's Day Six of 24. While FOX doesn't give us much in the way of previews, here's what we do know: the nuclear threat unveiled by Noah Daniels brings about some unexpected consequences, Karen Hayes refuses to step down, and Jack and Mike Doyle are forced to work together during a field operation.

10 pm: The Riches on FX.

Is anyone else watching new drama The Riches on FX? On tonight's episode ("Operation Education"), Wayne is forced start working for Hugh Panetta, who tells him that we must fire his predecessor on his first day, while Dahlia and the kids embark on a complicated scam to get them enrolled at a private school.