SEASON #5: BEN.

EPISODE #1:  Tough Times Don't Last but Tough People Do.                 12 To Start.

HOST:  Phil Keoghan.

PLACE:  First Time - Hamilton, Ontario Canada.

PRIZE:  $200,000 + A New Ford Truck, Plus the Tough as Nail Belt.

ARRIVED ON:  A Tugboat on Lake Ontario.

                                    PLAYERS (12)

1.  AKEELA AL-HAMEED 34   Firefighter                         Fridley, MINNESOTA

2.  BEN DEMPSEY  33  Tile Setter                                   Halifax, NOVA SCOTIA

3.  CARLY STEIMAN  32  Electrician                        North Vancouver, BRITISH COLUMBIA

4.  CAROLINA PAREDES  42  Motorcycle Builder          Houston, TEXAS

5.  CHERYL LIETEAU  55  Carpenter                            Dudley, MASSACHUSETTS

6.  DUSTIN BRADFORD  34  Firefighter                        Edmonton, ALBERTA      

7.  JESSICA HAYES  35  Remodeling Contractor           Cedar Park, TEXAS

8.  KENJI NGO  39  Jack of all Trades                              Delaware, OHIO

9.  MARCUS JONES  49  CO2 Technician                       Forth Worth, TEXAS

10.  PAUL HAMILTON  56  Maintenance Supervisor      Airdrie, ALBERTA

11.  TODD ANDERSON  58  Toolmaker                           Janesville, WISCONSIN

12.  YESI REYES  31  Ironworker                                      Los Angels, CALIFORNIA

ARRIVED AT:  Heddle Shipyard for their first challenge to determine who picked the teams of 6.

- First, two cut up 500 lbs. of scrap metal using a plasma torch.

   WINNERS:  Ben & Paul.

BEN:  Dirty Hands:  Todd, Kenji, Yesi, Carly & Cheryl.

PAUL: Savage Crew:  Marcus, Akeela, Jessica, Carolina, & Dustin.

NEXT DAY:  Competition Challenge to win $12,000

ARRIVED BACK:  At the Shipyard.

CHALLENGE:  Cleaning the tugboat up.

MENTOR:  Rick Heddle, owner of Shipyard.

- power wash all the algae off the side of the hull, dry it off, then paint it.  Also, remove the tires on the side for docking & replace them.

GUEST JUDGES:  Lance & Jason, Shipyard Crews.

  CREW BOSS:  D

dirty Hands - Kenji  & Savage Crew - Jessica.

       WINNERS:  Savage Crews - won $12,000.

EPISODE #2:  First Dance.

ARRIVED AT:  Green Horizon Sods

TEAM CHALLENGE:  30 minutes to load sod into a large bag & load them into a truck & another 30 minutes to load folded sod into smaller bags, then into a truck.  The winner is the most folded sod.

    PRIZE:  $12,000

CREW BOSS:  Dirty Hands - Cheryl and Savage Crew:  Akeela.

         WINNER:  Dirty Hands - $12,000

NEXT DAY:  ARRIVED AT:  Back at the Green Horizon.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE:  pairing up by driving a tractor & picking up folded sod and sticking them onto a truck in 20 minutes.  WIN $2,000.  Run in 3 Heats.

     Carly/Yesi,  Dustin/Ben, Jessica/Carolina, Paul/Todd, Akeela/Kenji, and Cheryl/Marcus.

            WINNER:  Ben & Dustin won $2,000.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Carolina & Jessica.

- put in 2 more Aerators in a pond.  First, one to finish win.  But the canoes have holes in them.

      WINNER:  Jessica.

PUNCH OUT:  Carolina.

EPISODE #3:  Zink About it. 

ARRIVED AT:  Corbec, Canada's Largest Molten Zinc Facility, Ontario.

TEAM CHALLENGE:  Tied a piece at 1.

- Build a steel trailer, dip it in Zinc, and get it ready to hitch it up to a truck.  Win $12,000.

   CREW BOSS:  Yesi - Dirty Hands and Paul - Savage Crew.

         WINNER IS:  Savage Crew & Won the $12,000 & Badge of Honor.

- Paul's Wife's birthday is today.

NEXT DAY:  Arrived:  Back at Corbec.

SIT-OUT:  Carolina.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE:  Test your Pressure.

- Build a 3-Foot Structure to withstand the with of 2,316 lbs. for 10 seconds in 90 minutes.

     WINNER:  Paul, again.  Win $3,000.

Only Paul & Dustin's structure worked.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Yesi & Jessica.

- Make a steel structure of Beautiful Steel Bald Eagle with 13 pieces:  26 nuts & Bolts.

       WINNER:  Jessica.

PUNCH-OUT:  Yesi.

EPISODE #4:  Man Made it, These Hands Can Fix it.

       TEAM SCORE:  Dirty Hands - 1   and Savage Crew - 2.

ARRIVED AT:  Motocross Dirt Track

TEAM CHALLENGE:  Build 3 Whoops on 2 Sections of tracks & finish it.  WIN $12,000.

GUEST JUDGES:  Sean & Brandon.

CREW BOSS:  Dirty Hands - Cheryl and Savage Crew - Carolina.

          WINNER:  Dirty Hands - Won the $12,000 & Badge.

NOW SCORE:  Dirty Hands - 2 and Savage Crew - 2.

NEXT DAY:  ARRIVED AT: A Mud Pit.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE:  Race thru a mud track to an ATV, then race the ATV attached to a log, then race thru the mud to a haystack to finish.  Fastest time win.  WIN $4,000.

SIT-OUT:  Jessica & Carolina.

HEAT #1:  Marcus & Jessica,

HEAT #2:  Akeela vs. Cheryl,

- Akeela fell in the mud & hurt herself,

HEAT #3:  Carly vs.  Paul,

HEAT #4:  Kenji vs. Dustin,

HEAT #5:  Todd vs. Ben.

       WINNER:  Marcus - Won $4,000.

       SLOWEST TIME:  Carly & Paul.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Carly & Paul.

- replace the 2 worn-out shocks on two ATVs as fast as you can.

         WINNER:  Paul.

PUNCH-OUT:  Carly.

EPISODE #5:  How Do You Like Them Apples?

ARRIVED AT:  Drummond Farms - Apple Orchard.

TEAM SCORE:  Tied - 2 a Piece.

TEAM CHALLENGE:  Fill the crate on the tractor from the 532 scattered baskets around.  Weigh in the highest total & win the $12,000.

GUEST ADVISOR:  Lianne, a worker, but was Lia, Winner of Season #3.

CREW BOSS:  Savage Crew:  Dustin and Dirty Hands:  Cheryl.

    5,984 lbs. - THE WINNER IS:  Dirty Hands

    4,874  lbs.  Savage Crew.

SCORE:  Dirty Hand - 3 & Savage Crew - 2.

NEXT DAY:  Arrived At An Orchard Farm.

SIT-OUT:  Yesi, Carolina, & Carly.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE:  Sapling.

- Support 30 sampling & be the first to finish & win $$5,000.

ADVISOR:  Hugh Drummond, 6th Generation Farmer.

JUDGING:

   WINNER - Kenji & Won the $5,000.

2nd - Jessica, 3rd - Ben, 4th - Todd, 5th - Akeela, 6th - Dustin, & 7th - Paul.

     LAST:  Cheryl & Marcus.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Marcus & Cheryl.

- Pressed Apples for the juice.  Fill up 4 glasses jug & win.

      WINNER - Cheryl.

PUCH-OUT:  Marcus.

EPISODE #6:  Just Trying to Be Me.

ARRIVED AT:  Rona, a local Home Improvement Store.

TEAM SCORE:  Dirty Hands - 3 and Savage Crew - 2.

TEAM CHALLENGE:  An Inside Job:  Working off a Purchase Order, which has 45 items.  Find the items & pack them into your truck.  Win $12,000 + Badge.

CREW BOSS:  Dirty Hands - Cheryl & Savage Crew - Jessica.

      WINNER - Dirty Hands.

NEXT DAY:  Arrived At:  In a Field.

SIT-OUT:  Carolina, Yesi, Carly & Marcus.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE:  Packing, Stacking, Tracking, & Unpacking.

-  Take supplies & load them into your track, then drive 1/4 mile thru a track without dropping any of the supplies, then unload the track.  Working in teams.

       Dustin/Kenji          Jessica/Todd      Ben/Paul         Akeela/Cheryl

Running in 2 Heats & win $6,000.

      WINNER:  Ben & Paul - Won the $6,000.

LOSER - Akeela & Cheryl.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Cheryl & Akeela.

- A Construction Obstacle.  Take a bucket of concrete thru an obstacle course to the end then fill up a tube to the red line.

- Cheryl was advised by the medic not to complete but she didn't listen.

      WINNER - Akeela.

PUNCH-OUT - Cheryl.

EPISODE #7:  Boom or Bust.

ARRIVED AT:  A Local Quarry in Canada.

SCORE:  4-2 with Dirty Hands ahead.  They are 1 win away from the Bonus of $60,000.

TEAM CHALLENGE:  Build 3 Gabion baskets for the front of the gravel loading bays to create a retaining wall & Win $12,000 + Badge.

ADVISOR:  Joey De Athe, Excavation Expert.

CREW BOSS:  Dirty Hand - Cheryl and Savage Crew - Marcus.

      WINNING TEAM:  Savage Crew - Won the $12,000.

NOW SCORE:  4-3.

NEXT DAY:  Arrived At:  The Same Quarry.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE:  Making Big Rock into Small Rocks by crushing them down.  Setting 20 Blast holes across the quarry.  Win $7,000.

SITTING OUT:  Carolina, Yesi, Carly, Marcus &  Cheryl.

ADVISOR:  Dustin Donais, Blaster in Charge.

  WINNER:  Ben.

Then:  Dustin, Todd, Akeela, & Jessica.  Leaving Paul & Kenji for last.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Paul & Kenji.

- Build a hibernaculum, a Snake Home.

ADVISOR:  Jenny Pearce, Herpetologist.

           WINNER:  Kenji.

PUNCH OUT:  Paul.

EPISODE #8:  You Can't Always Be the Hammer.                        

ARRIVED AT:  First Nations Lands

    SCORE:  4-3 Dirty Hand in the Lead.

TEAM CHALLENGE:  Build a playground for the children of the First Nations.

ADVISOR:  Chief Ralph Stacey Laforme, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations.

    Trevor & Matt, Playground Expert.

CRESS BOSS:  Dirty Hand - Cheryl and Akeela - Savage Crew.

   WINNER:  Dirty Hand - Won the $12,000 & Badge Plus the Bonus of $60,000.

NOW SCORE 5-3.

NEXT DAY:  Arrived At Another First Nation Ground.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE:  Making bicycles for kids.

- Put together 3 different bikes:  a small bike, a single Speed bike & a mountain bike.  Win $8,000.

SIT-OUT:  Carolina, Yesi, Carly, Marcus, Cheryl, & Paul.

ADVISOR:  Mel, Bike Expert.

      WINNER:  Kenji - Won the $8,000.

Next Jessica, Dustin, and Ben.  Leaving Todd & Akeela last.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Todd & Akeela.

- Build a pole statue for the eagle in an earlier challenge.

        WINNER:  Todd.

PUNCH-OUT:  Akeela.

EPISODE #9:  Winning's Not Everything, but Losing Sucks.

ARRIVED AT:  A Field.

FINAL TEAM CHALLENGE:  Score:  5-3 Dirty Hands ahead.

                  BATTLE OF THE TRADES

- Going head-head doing one job at a time.  Collect 5 Hatchets to Win $12,000

       WINNER:  Savage Crew - Won the Final $12,000.

NEXT DAY:  Arrived At:  Rock Maple Lodge.

INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGE: Down to Five: Dustin, Kenji, Ben, Jessica, & Todd.

- Put together a picnic table & Win $9,000.

         WINNER:  Ben.

Then, Jessica, & Kenji.

   Leaving Todd & Dustin for Overtime.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Todd & Dustin.

ADVISOR:  Peter, Owner of the property & his dog.

- Cut Eight 2x4 & Four 2x8.

        WINNER:  Todd.

PUNCH-OUT:  Dustin.

EPISODE #10:  Ready for Takeoff.                                             

    SEASON FINALE - Final 4:  Kenji, Ben, Todd, & Jessica.

ARRIVED AT:  A Field.

CHALLENGE:  18-Wheelers.

- Back-Up the wheelers through a slalom course, Also, p/u some supplies:  12 Tires, 20 Concrete blocks, & 20 bags of soil.  Then, race down the straight way to your flag.  Fastest Time will win $10,000.

         WINNER - Todd, then Ben.  Leaving Kenji & Jessica in Overtime.

OVERTIME CHALLENGE:  Jessica & Kenji.

- Get electricity, by running four lights, connecting the conduit, running the wire thru it, then connecting to the 4r junction boxes.

                WINNER:  Kenji - going to the Finale.

PUNCH-OUT:  Jessica.

NEXT DAY:  The Gauntlet.

ARRIVED AT:  Stelco.

FINAL CHALLENGE: this is a series of some combination of the challenges throughout the season.

      WINNER:  BEN -WON $250,000 + FORD TRUCK.

MY OPINION:  Cheryl wanted to prove herself by being Crew Boss,

                            Kenji thought he was too short.

                           Todd thought he was too old.