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COUPLES FEAR FACTOR (5) (1/31/05)

by Fearless Frankie

Only a few weeks to go in Couples Competition and the remaining couples could almost taste the million dollars. The previous week, couples had gotten off relatively easy with no elimination stunts (just a bunch of snakes and spiders!). This week, theyíd have no such luck! The first stunt involved trucks, water, helicopters, swimming, strength and endurance. This stunt was not for elimination, but would earn the winning couple $20,000 and two Sony digital Walkmans. Randy & Tina hated that they were up first for this one. They started out on the back of a flat bed truck. As the truck moved down a pier, Randy & Tina jumped into the adjacent water. One member of the team (in this case, Randy) had a longer swim than the other to reach two buoys. Upon reaching the offshore buoys, they had to grab a hold of a trapeze hanging from the hovering helicopters. By the time Tina was in the air Randy, who took the longer swim, still hadnít reached the buoy! Once the helicopter neared a second set of buoys, the couple dropped back into the water to snag flags. Next, they swam with their flags to a floating platform. Randy quickly caught up and planted his flag first, then made sure to help Tina up. The physically demanding stunt left the couple exhausted, but got them a final time of 2:12.7.

Craig & Maria were shooting for a time of 1:58. They had yet to win a prize! They decided Craig would jump off the truck first for the longer swim to the buoy. Maria said she wanted to save her strength to hang on to the trapeze. Craig & Maria were up in the air almost exactly at the minute mark. Both landed right on their targets from the helicopter drop. They were in good shape, but still had to swim to the raft and plant their flags. Maria used a dog paddle-type stroke which slowed her down a lot. Craig eventually hoisted her up and they stopped the clock at 2:15.7. So close! Andre & Amirah, who also hadnít won a prize so far, were up next.

Their jump into the water went off without a hitch and Amirah proved to be a quick swimmer. While she got airborne, Andre struggled to reach his first buoy. Amirah had already dropped to the second buoy while Andre was just getting up under the helicopter. Luckily he nailed his second buoy and quickly grabbed his flag. It was a race to the raft, with only seconds to go. Amirah dragged her tired self up on the platform first, then helped Andre make it. He struggled to hook his flag, which ate up valuable time. Their final time was a disappointing 2:23. So it was up to Dean & Ashley to snatch the prize from Randy & Tina! Andre meanwhile, went straight to the medics for oxygen.

Dean & Ashley got off to a strong start with a quick swim to the first buoy. Ashley was airborne in 20 seconds, with Dean up shortly thereafter. They hit the second set of buoys right on target and started their second swim. Dean made it to the platform first, planted his flag and cheered Ashley in. Their final time: 1:41! Once again, they had slammed Randy & Tina back to earth. Roberto & Leah were up next and Leah was losing faith in their capabilities. Roberto took the long swim and definitely wasnít paddling as fast as Dean had previously. Leah dropped late for the second buoy, while Roberto overshot the buoy. Plus, Roberto dislocated his arm when he landed ñ but popped it back in before proceeding! Thatís some Fear Factor chutzpah right there! The couple clamored onto the platform to plant their flags, but it wasnít fast enough to beat Dean & Ashley ñ who claimed the $20,000/Walkman prize.

The next night, couples arrived at a power plant and got the shock of their lives. This new stunt would send powerful volts of electricity into their bodies! Finally, an elimination stunt; I was starting to worry. The couples would be handcuffed while they navigated a ìchargedî maze of tangled wires in order to retrieve Fear Factor flags. Each time they hit a wire within the maze theyíd be hit with volts of electricity! Once again, Dean & Ashley chose Randy & Tina to go first. Randy had to grab yellow flags, while Tina grabbed red ones. The couple made their way with plenty of ìowsî and ìewsî with every zap of the wires. Once safely through to the other side, they hooked all their flags on an awaiting post. Their final time was 1:05.5.

Leah & Roberto were actually relieved to go next because they wanted to just get it over with. The couple hotfooted it up, over and around the wires, gathering flags quickly. You could see the electric charges hit Leah & Roberto like little lightening bolts as they posted their flags on the pole. Their final time was 1:01.2. Joe asked later if it hurt and they both said, ìYes!î Andre, who was up next with Amirah, swore he wasnít nervous, but no one was buying it. They hustled through the maze, trying to stay in step since they were handcuffed. The buzzing voltage was constant hum in the background. Once they had successfully planted their flags, Andre was thrilled to hear that their final time was 55 seconds! It would be tough to beat, and Andre & Amirah might finally win something! Craig & Maria were up next and Maria shared her unique experience with electric volts. At her college, according to Maria, folks in Illinois throw themselves into electric fences for fun! Iíve heard of cow tipping, but fence tripping? Anyway, she thought the experience might give her an edge over the others. Craig led the way as the handcuffed couple navigated the zips and zaps. Maria struggled with one of her flags, but they still finished with a good time of 56 seconds! They hadnít beat Andre & Amirah, but they were safe from elimination.

Oh the sweet irony that Randy & Tinaís fate was in the hands of Ashley & Dean. All Ashley & Dean had to do was beat Randy & Tinaís time of 1:05 to send them home. The seemingly unstoppable couple was in, out and done with that maze in 38.6 seconds! Not only had the blondes earned the best time ñ and $10,000 ñ they had booted their rivals from competition. Meanwhile, the other contestants were starting to get a little bitter about ìKen & Barbieísî recent back-to-back-to-back victories. Roberto wondered if Dean even had a job, or if he just sat at home watching old Fear Factor episodes as training video. Randy said goodbye to the group with a two-handed, middle-finger salute. Classy, that Randy. In response, Dean light-heartedly shouted farewells (and even offered to sing a song) as Randy & Tina took the walk of shame. This set Randy off and he had to be restrained by a nearby Fear Factor employee! Oh the excitement of Couples Fear Factor!