Re Amazing: I'm also pleased that so much of the tasks meant involvement in the local culture and local people (loved the judges), and that they stuck around in the same country for a second episode.

Also, no chickens were squashed or left on top of a taxi or something.

I kept waiting for someone to forget their chicken. With the "no chicken, no check in", I wanted to see what would happen. Time delay, sent back to find a chicken, automatic boot off the race....

Yep, SJP was looking down at her hands at the final phase of judging. She really looked uncomfortable.

SJP:

I didn't want to judge. I felt it in my head, but watching the episode I didn't realize how much editing took place. I didn't realize it was an hour or more dedicated to discussion of the fashion, so watching on TV there's less nuance. Nina, Michael and Heidi, because they are experts, have strong opinons, but on TV it seems spare and harsh because it's edited. So watching on TV it makes me feel kind of terrible. Having experienced it, I see you can't devote an entire episode to the judging and give all the time it needs for the nuace (though I would watch an hour of judging!). So, my fear was realized; I wish I could get transcripts to the designers so they knew every single thing I said about them. It's such a fragile time for them -- regardless of their years living and years experience. The more you feel your confidence taken because of critical thinking it's harder ... you do better with support and cheerleaders. You worry that your words will be the final words they hear that won't allow them to go the full distance. You don't want to be the nail in their coffin of creativity, you know? That's why I got so hung up about Christian.

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Love SJP!

I'd also watch an hour of judging. hah!

I felt badly for Marion mostly because he came across as such a sad sack. everything about him was kind of droopy.

I'd also watch an hour of judging. hah!

I don't watch, umm, not even sure which show SJP was on, but I was thinking the same thing during the Next Iron Chef -- Ruhlman kept talking in his blog about how this-or-that seeming one-liner dismissal actually came after an hour or two of discussion back and forth about the food. Gimme some more of that!

They should do DVDs with the full judge discussions. A lot of people would buy them, I think.

She said she has a "gimpy leg," didn't she? I think he said she has "physical limitations," and she laughed and was like, "Limitations? I run slow as shit with this gimpy leg!" Or something.

I don't think (or rather, I didn't take it to mean) that she actually has anything wrong. I think he was fancying up "can't run for shit" and she was laughing at him for being pretentious/acting like she had some actual real physical issue.

Now I'm curious, though.

I thought she was saying that she did not have a gimpy leg. But I also couldn't figure out what they'd bleeped in that sentence so I am maybe untrustworthy.

lisa - I thought that too - she was just making fun of her brother. I can't recall exactly what she said but it was more like, "it's not as if I have a gimpy leg" than "I have a gimpy leg".