The week The Amazing Race Canada goes all Mission: Impossible

Did you happen to see this Tuesday’s episode of The Amazing Race Canada? If you missed it, you can catch up with the series anytime by streaming it on Crave.

Have to admit, I stepped off this bandwagon a few summers ago. I used to write about TARC all the time, especially when I won what seemed like the TV columnist lottery by being embedded on several occasions back when this series still traveled to places such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Argentina and Chile. Thank you again CTV and Insight Productions.

At a time when Canada still has its “elbows up,” you don’t hear any more complaints about the nation’s most popular summer series being played out now entirely on Canadian soil. Had the producers not made the decision to do that a few years ago, they definitely would have avoided crossing borders into the U.S. this summer.

Flipping around this past Tuesday night, I caught up with the racers about halfway through the episode. The six remaining teams were busy trying to learn some tricky dance moves on a rollerblade course in Mississauga, Ont. From there they traveled to the Absolute World buildings, dubbed the Marilyn Monroe towers by locals due to their twisty curves. There, one member of each team had to complete the most intimidating roadblock I’ve ever seen on the series — wynching their way on their backs along a steel wire slung between the rooftops of both towers!

This is all uphill, and hundreds of feet above the city. Host Jon Montgomery showed he is still in Olympic shape as he introduced the roadblock challenge by hanging between the towers by said wire.

I realize there is $250,000 at stake, but yikes! These towers stand 56 and 50 stories high. That’s a long way down.

Then the racers had to zip over to an Ornge education and training centre, where they had to revive a robotic cadaver that was missing an arm and a leg. Good thing they weren’t made to do that BEFORE they were elevated up to perform the Tom Cruise-level highjinx.

It all ended with the most hair-raising challenge of them all — trying to make it by cab from Mississauga to Toronto along the 401 in rush hour traffic!

Next Tuesday, Sept. 9, is the second-last episode of Season 11 which finds the five remaining teams heading to St. John’s and Gander, Nfld. It all plays out on CTV, CTV.ca and the CTV app, and streams next day on Crave.