Strike the Gold

The Roadies witness first hand the old saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure"

Analysis

Well wouldn't you know it! One week after Paco's guest appearance in "This One's For Gladys, yours truly got a featured spot in this week's lackluster offering--"Strike the Gold". I'm speaking in reference to Josh sporting his favorite shirt that read "Kyle is a pimp" Hey, watch it Fabio! I'd best stick with those 100 amp Magnum P.I shirts if I were you!

Unfortunately, Josh's attire wasn't the only thing that rubbed me the wrong way in this episode. Considering the producers have done a good job in straying away from the usual mission cliches: skydiving, white water rafting, military camp, and the done to the death bungee jump! But on the same plane, many (If not all) of the missions this season have been boring....and that's a BORING with capital everything! "Strike the Gold" is no exception; In fact, "Strike the Gold" is one of the last titles I'd use to describe this episode. A more suitable title would be, "Strike Out"! And that is what this episode does on many levels.

Take the mission for example. The Roadies receive a clue telling them to head over to the Mexico City Dump where they meet a renagade band of kids on big bad motorbikes. Along with their leader (Helen) who looks like she should team up with that crazy trailer park lady from "Fight the Bull" to form a Latin America Thelma & Louise dual. Their mission? To turn trash into gold treasure. You mean to tell me that this is the best mission the producers can muster? Not to mention exploiting the youth conservation society by (In essence) having these naive Americans come in as savors to rebuild their fallen society. An act that only futher perpetuates the myth that everyone else in the world can't even tie their own shoelaces without Americans stepping in to give a helping hand. Do they actually expect us to believe that those crooks over in B-M would give two cents about these people if they weren't pawned as a plot device (The mission)? All those kids, we didn't get to know any of them on a personal level.

And if that wasn't enough, you have Brian acting like a total idiot.....bitching and griping like the weenie boy he is: "This place is disgusting! This is why I live in the United States!" I have never heard such a foolish statement in my life! Sarah should've taken a few pointers from Gladys and wacked him up-side his head with the contract, pointing out that he should exercise his right to exclude himself from the mission instead of behaving like a prick! And after all of this, everyone walked away feeling zero emotional impact except for a hypocritical Brian saying that this experience has changed him for the better. All this despite the fact that a few minutes earlier, he was slamming them, and calling their stuff s&@#. Talk about a change of heart!

So in the end, what was the point? My thoughts exactly. Again and again, I keep asking myself the same question, "Exactly what new and exciting things are we learning about in Mexico--Ops! I mean Latin America?" Besides the Raramuri, introduced in "Cobwebs and Margaritas", the producers have shown nothing about Latin America that 1. I haven't read about in a book, or seen on tv. And 2. That would inspire me to take a trip south of the border in search of thills and adventure anytime soon!

And as in "Cobwebs and Margaritas", the Abe/Holly B Plot rears its head in half way through the episode when the Roadies mysteriously receive a clue from somewhere telling them to head across the border into Belize. While in route featuring many filler shots of the Mexican landscape [clichés], Abe made a run for second base by giving Holly a sensual massage which in turn provocted Holly to share her oral fixation with everyone along with her pacifire fetish.

But did we really need to see this show-and-tell game? I kept yelling at the tv....."Come on....get on with it already!" Abe's constant rubbing on Holly's shoulders and caressing her arm got old fast! And it left me wondering when things were really going to heat up! Then all of a sudden, the troopers decide to drop in a line about their depleted money supply despite the fact that they've been living the high life over the past two months: Eating three meals a day while staying in plush hotels. So did I care whether they had enough cash to sleep in a motel or not? Of course not.

And on top of that, the motel manager (Cellcilia, hope I spelled that right) offered the kids a special deal. If they tap their knee with a stone in front of the cross, they'll get a free room. Show of hands....who actually thinks this special deal applies to every weary traveler that comes along minus the entourage of cameras and buff mics? I didn't think so!

And with a potential free stay in their hands, the Troopers still manage to screw up by misinterpreting the managers instructions and kneeing the surrounding stones around the cross. And it wasn't until Josh worked up enough common sense to ask Cellcila exactly what they are supposed to do, she then explained to him that they were supposed to tap their knee with a individual stone on top of the cross as a show of good faith. But isn't all of this just filler? Couldn't camera time have been put to better use towards something else, such as the premise of the episode: Abe and Holly connecting?

That brings up another rant. I should've known by now to take the promos with a grain of salt. Over the previous week, the producers went out of their way to hype this week's episode as the--"Holly and Abe get their grove on show!" But in the end, all we got was a immature tent scene with mellow music swelling in the background as an attempt to invoke some suspense. I'll save you Abe/Holly fans out there the time it "waste" discussing this on message boards. Despite all of the flashing lights and sirens the producers displayed for this scene, nothing happened between Abe and Holly! Trust me, you'll sleep better at night.

I feel I'm being awfully generous here, but call it a 2.


NEXT WEEK: The Roadies get a case of Arachnophobia.

Jump straight to "Into The Heart Of Darkness". Or go back to "This One's For Gladys".

Viewer Rating	Results
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