TAR tackles beards and witches,Elena's Vampire Diaries angst and Mad Men back in town

The teams on The Amazing Race went to Bavaria(not "Bolivia"as a certain Big Brother gal thought)and were faced with a pair of Detours that really gave new meaning to the term "local color."

Challenge one was to style the beard of a traditional dressed gentlemen into designs that would be daunting even to an experienced barber. Most of the teams opted for this Detour,relying on their partner to work wonders with hair gel and spray:





The other option had teams follow a path towards a house with a witch in the yard and use the pieces of wrapped gingerbread picked up along the way to finish making a gingerbread house. That was the one I would've gone with,just to see the old school witch crackling as she stirred her cauldron.

Mark and Bopper took this challenge,after their Speed Bump(a yodeling lesson which they took to pretty well),along with Kerri and Stacy and Team Big Brother. The latter chose this task,by the way,because Rachel claimed that she didn't know what a beard was and I am so not kidding about that. I don't mean to pick on them but that girl is beyond annoying,with her constant complaining and carrying on.

It's too bad that Kerri and Stacy wound up being eliminated this round,since I would rather see more of them that Miss Tammy Whine-ette here:





Elena's troubles never seem to end on The Vampire Diaries,as tonight's episode will have her worrying that her guardian Alaric is unknowingly behind a spree of mysterious murders in town,due to long term use of the magical protection ring that he's been wearing.

It's not like this girl doesn't have enough on her plate,with the on-again,off-again love triangle she has with the Salvatore brothers,plus a pack of Original vampires literally out for her blood.

Oh,and let's not forget her best friend Bonnie the witch whose newly found mom is now becoming a vampire and gal pal Caroline who is in between romances while mourning her dad's untimely death due to the current kill spree possibly caused by might-be-going crazy Alaric. Whew,a lot of ground to cover there but I think I managed it.

Anyway,at some point,Elena is going to be concerned about her brother Jeremy(conveniently sent out of state)since he also has one of these protection rings and if this whole overexposure theory is correct,that boy is doomed to be a killer. Hopefully,Stefan will get over his latest bout of moodiness to be of some comfort to Elena(if he doesn't,Damon surely will):





The two hour premiere of the fifth season of Mad Men is set for this Sunday and advance word on the show so far is that it's been worth the wait. The cast and crew have been cagey about giving away too many details but it's clear that Don's mood about life is much more positive,due to his hook-up with Megan.

One of the highlights of this series is how the changing times are reflected through the characters and their reactions to the brave new world unfolding before them. With the civil rights movement,feminism and the Vietnam war making more strides in the mid to late sixties,we should really see some meaty plot lines based on these major developments,I'm guessing. At any rate,it's good to see the old gang back in action:



RANDOM NOTES:

GAME OF THRONES: Yes,we all know the show is coming and part of the campaign for Season Two asks the fans to "pledge their allegiance" to a warring house. As much as I admire the Starks,my loyalty lies with Danearys Targaryen,the mother of dragons: