CBS' The Amazing Race is my favorite of all of the reality shows.
I love it because not only is it an amazing competition that involves both physical and mental abilities, but it also gives all of the viewers a chance to travel around the world through their televisions. It has its good guys and bad guys, just like on Survivor, but teams are eliminated normally because of their own inability to complete a task quickly enough, or figure out a clue on their own. Sometimes teams have been eliminated because they can't catch a flight, or a train, and its that outside of their control influence on the Race that makes it so exciting.
My favorite team of all time would have to be the Hippies, followed closely by Rob & Amber (Or Romber as they're known) from Survivor. There have been two instances of cross-overs between CBS' other major reality show. A player from Big Brother brought her boyfriend on the Race, and was just as annoying in the Race as she was in the house (where she was the runner up). Rob & Amber both played on their own edition of Survivor, then competed together in Survivor: All-Stars where they not only finished first and second, but also fell in love. They got married and their wedding even became reality TV!
Anyway, The Amazing Race is a multi-Emmy winning television show on CBS. The premise of the show is a race around the world, with Pit Stops scattered along the route. Each team follows a series of clues that leads them along the race course, and they have to complete various challenges or tasks, usually based on the culture of the country they are currently in. The last team to arrive at the mat of the Pit Stop is eliminated from the race - UNLESS its a Non-Elimination Leg. Then they remain in the game with some sort of penalty.
The winning team wins ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
Official Amazing Race gear from CBS. Shop now!The Race is On Again February 15th!
The Amazing Race Season 14
Amanda & Kris : Dating Couple
Brad & Victoria: Married Couple
Cara & Jaime : Former NFL Cheerleaders
Christie & Jodi: Flight Attendants (our traditional blonde girl team)
Jennifer & Preston: Dating Couple
Lakisha & Jennifer: Sisters (and former Division I athletes)
Linda & Steve: Married Couple
Margie & Luke: Mother/Son (Luke is deaf, it will be interesting to see how that impacts their run in the race)
Mark & Michael: Brothers - Little People - and Stuntmen!
Mel & Mike: Father/Son
Tammy & Victor: Brother & Sister
February 15th: The 11 teams leave from California and head to Switzerland! This is our first chance to get sneak peeks at the teams, and there are some interesting ones! 6 teams make the first flight, while the other 5 make the second flight. Luke is deaf and cannot read lips - so sticking close to his mother will be key. All the teams take a train to the city in Switzerland and Preston and Jennifer miss the train, putting them in last place. One team (Christie and Jodi) switches trains to get a slight advantage on the rest of the first group. The Zurich group beats the Milan group, but everyone camps out together and now gets a chance to meet each other.
The race continues the next day as they race to find taxis to take them to a Dam and a road block - bungee jumping off the dam - the 2nd highest one in the world! The first teams to finish are on the first train to the next destination while the rest continue jumping off the dam. When they arrive - they are moving cheese up and down a hill using ancient cheese transportation devices - a total of 200 pounds! The locals were very entertained by it all. Luke and his mother are the first to finish and head for the Pit Stop and are the first team to arrive, and Phil SIGNS it for them!
Steve and Linda make up a lot of time by putting 3 cheese on his and sliding it down the hill, where most teams had to make 2 trips they did just one and jump into 6th place, but lose time trying to find the Pit Stop and slip down to 9th. It's a foot race for last place, and Preston and Jennifer are the last to arrive by just seconds.
February 23rd: From Switzerland the teams move on to Munich, Germany. All but 2 teams get on the first flight, leaving 2 teams in the back of the pack struggling to stay in the race. The teams have to drive themselves (scary! and sure to leave some teams lost) to a cable car system that takes you up into the mountains to found the next clue box. It's a road block and one Paraglides down while the other teammate rides back down via the cable car. Due to wind conditions, all the teams except Mike and Mel decide to walk down (a 60 minute hike) rather than wait for the wind to decrease. After the last teams started walking, the wind changes and Mel can fly down. Linda misses a marker on her way down and gets lost!
At the detour, you can ride segway scooters along a course or throw pies at each other until they find a pie with a cherry filling. Very funny watching them throw pies at each other! Christie and Jodi get confused trying to find the Pit Stop clue. Then its on to the Pit Stop, (a few teams get lost on the way) and the first team to arrive is Tammy and Victor who win hybird go-carts! Mike & Mel make a great comeback to finish 2nd. Linda's going astray costs them and they are eliminated.
March 1st: From Salzburg, Austria the teams move on to Romania and find a gymnastics hall where Nadia trained (needless to say a gymnastics challenge appears on the horizon here). Tammy and Victor make the first flight, which has to return to Munich due to technical problems. They had tickets on the 2nd flight and couldn't get over there in time to make it. They went from #1 to with the rest of the pack. Brad and Victoria try another route through Amsterdam, and miss their connecting flight. Lots of airplane issues this leg. The Road Block, once they reach it, have to learn beam, parallel bars, and floor routine. Amanda FLIES through it, Tammy struggles because she's distracted by all the teams ahead of her. Lots of the girls doing it struggle on the parallel bars. but all teams bunch up again at a train station going to Transylvania, except for Brad and Victoria stranded at Amsterdam.
Detours in Transylvania are choices between gypsies or vampires. Both physical in their own way - Tammy and Victor go off following the wrong path and lose more time. Amanda and Kris lose their fanny packs at the gypsy camp! They left it in the truck *WHEW* Mike and Mel are team #1! They win a trip to Costa Rica! Amanda and Kris are #2, and might have won if not for the lost time looking for their fanny pack. Tammy and Victor are having a cursed leg, having a key break off of their coffin once they get on the right path, and having to find it in the leaves. Only because Brad & Victoria messed up so badly are Tammy & Victor still in the race.
March 8th: A new twist in the game debuts - a Blind U Turn, just like a regular U turn, but you don't have to put your picture up so no one knows who did it. From Romania/Transylvania, the remaining teams head for Siberia and a dam. Only some of the teams end up on the first flight into Siberia. From the dam they have to find a church. The detour options are stacking wood or constructing a set of wooden shutters and install them. Stacking wood you get serenaded... Mark & Mike and Mike & Mel and Amanda and Kris knock the wall down and decide to switch to the other task. Lakisha and her sister finish stacking first - their height helps! Margie & Luke choose to use the Blind U Turn on Amanda and Kris, not only to help them but their partners Cara and Jamie. The Road Block is going bobsledding and remember 7 letters posted along the way which they unscramble to spell a famous Russian Playwright. Whew! It took Kisha two tries to get all 7 letters, but she's able to spell Chekhov. Christie and Jodi are team #1 after Kisha and her sister go in the wrong entrance. They win motorcycles! Luke struggles trying to spell Chekhov, but doesn't lose any positions trying to figure it out. The last team to arrive Thanks to the U Turn, Amanda and Kris are the last team to arrive.
March 15th: 4 teams gone, 7 teams left and they head for the train station in the snow. The train doesn't leave for 10 hours, allowing all the teams to catch up. The Blind U Turn apparently isn't a secret, and Margie and Luke are being seen as power players in the race. They get off the train and find a Detour - between Russian Bride or Russian Snowplow. They either deliver a bride to her wedding or drive snowplows through a training course. They have to drive themselves, which in a foreign country is always a trick. After the detour, they're off to the largest library in Siberia for the road block - and they get to run a winter marathon in their underwear - in Siberia, remember? LITTLE COLD??? The end of the race is a theater that is the pit stop. Luke and Margie win - their 2nd leg victory! and get a trip to St. Lucia (will be warmer than Siberia!). Christie and Joni are the last team to arrive - but it is a non-elimination leg! They'll have a speed bump to complete in the next leg - first place to last place, and an injured finger to overcome too.
March 22nd: The race heads to India (a popular location every time they visit). Everyone is on the same flight so they're all bunched up. Mel & Mike have bad taxi luck and end up leaving the airport last. Christie and Jodi's taxi has to stop for gas. They drive through a slum area and seeing the poverty of the kids affects many of the teams, especially Luke. They get their next clue via phone, and at the road block, they have to take care of some camels by loading up on food and water. Mel struggles - it was a very physical challenge for him to do and yet they finish in 2nd place! Victor and Tammy are in the lead with everyone else working the Road Block. Then they travel to a Puppet Store and the detour - Movers or Shakers. Movers are moving a bicycle cart filled with barrels and finding a small elephant hidden inside. Shakers join a dance troupe and try to earn 100 rupees in tips. Everyone does the Shakers except for Mark & Michael who choose to do the barrels and that costs them a lot of time. Christie and Jodi have to decorate an elephant with paint for their Speed Bump, which they do quickly. Then to the Pit Stop at Jaigarh Fort. Tammy and Victor win this leg pretty easily and each get an ocean kayak. Jaime and Cara lose their taxi (with their bags!) for 20 minutes - valuable lost time for them. It comes down to Christie and Jodi vs Mark and Michael - and the losers are Christie and Jodi by a taxi cab ride, as the girls were RIGHT behind them.
March 29th: This is a heart-wrenching week in the Race for multiple reasons, as you'll see. The race moves on to Thailand with all 6 teams on the same flight and bunching everyone up at the top again. Mike & Mel get a bad taxi driver and he takes them to the wrong place. At the zoo, they find the clue box and get to have their pictures taken with a tiger and get walked over by an elephant. Little scary, eh?
Brad & Victoria: Married Couple
Cara & Jaime : Former NFL Cheerleaders
Christie & Jodi: Flight Attendants (our traditional blonde girl team)
Jennifer & Preston: Dating Couple
Lakisha & Jennifer: Sisters (and former Division I athletes)
Linda & Steve: Married Couple
Margie & Luke: Mother/Son (Luke is deaf, it will be interesting to see how that impacts their run in the race)
Mark & Michael: Brothers - Little People - and Stuntmen!
Mel & Mike: Father/Son
Tammy & Victor: Brother & Sister
February 15th: The 11 teams leave from California and head to Switzerland! This is our first chance to get sneak peeks at the teams, and there are some interesting ones! 6 teams make the first flight, while the other 5 make the second flight. Luke is deaf and cannot read lips - so sticking close to his mother will be key. All the teams take a train to the city in Switzerland and Preston and Jennifer miss the train, putting them in last place. One team (Christie and Jodi) switches trains to get a slight advantage on the rest of the first group. The Zurich group beats the Milan group, but everyone camps out together and now gets a chance to meet each other.
The race continues the next day as they race to find taxis to take them to a Dam and a road block - bungee jumping off the dam - the 2nd highest one in the world! The first teams to finish are on the first train to the next destination while the rest continue jumping off the dam. When they arrive - they are moving cheese up and down a hill using ancient cheese transportation devices - a total of 200 pounds! The locals were very entertained by it all. Luke and his mother are the first to finish and head for the Pit Stop and are the first team to arrive, and Phil SIGNS it for them!
Steve and Linda make up a lot of time by putting 3 cheese on his and sliding it down the hill, where most teams had to make 2 trips they did just one and jump into 6th place, but lose time trying to find the Pit Stop and slip down to 9th. It's a foot race for last place, and Preston and Jennifer are the last to arrive by just seconds.
February 23rd: From Switzerland the teams move on to Munich, Germany. All but 2 teams get on the first flight, leaving 2 teams in the back of the pack struggling to stay in the race. The teams have to drive themselves (scary! and sure to leave some teams lost) to a cable car system that takes you up into the mountains to found the next clue box. It's a road block and one Paraglides down while the other teammate rides back down via the cable car. Due to wind conditions, all the teams except Mike and Mel decide to walk down (a 60 minute hike) rather than wait for the wind to decrease. After the last teams started walking, the wind changes and Mel can fly down. Linda misses a marker on her way down and gets lost!
At the detour, you can ride segway scooters along a course or throw pies at each other until they find a pie with a cherry filling. Very funny watching them throw pies at each other! Christie and Jodi get confused trying to find the Pit Stop clue. Then its on to the Pit Stop, (a few teams get lost on the way) and the first team to arrive is Tammy and Victor who win hybird go-carts! Mike & Mel make a great comeback to finish 2nd. Linda's going astray costs them and they are eliminated.
March 1st: From Salzburg, Austria the teams move on to Romania and find a gymnastics hall where Nadia trained (needless to say a gymnastics challenge appears on the horizon here). Tammy and Victor make the first flight, which has to return to Munich due to technical problems. They had tickets on the 2nd flight and couldn't get over there in time to make it. They went from #1 to with the rest of the pack. Brad and Victoria try another route through Amsterdam, and miss their connecting flight. Lots of airplane issues this leg. The Road Block, once they reach it, have to learn beam, parallel bars, and floor routine. Amanda FLIES through it, Tammy struggles because she's distracted by all the teams ahead of her. Lots of the girls doing it struggle on the parallel bars. but all teams bunch up again at a train station going to Transylvania, except for Brad and Victoria stranded at Amsterdam.
Detours in Transylvania are choices between gypsies or vampires. Both physical in their own way - Tammy and Victor go off following the wrong path and lose more time. Amanda and Kris lose their fanny packs at the gypsy camp! They left it in the truck *WHEW* Mike and Mel are team #1! They win a trip to Costa Rica! Amanda and Kris are #2, and might have won if not for the lost time looking for their fanny pack. Tammy and Victor are having a cursed leg, having a key break off of their coffin once they get on the right path, and having to find it in the leaves. Only because Brad & Victoria messed up so badly are Tammy & Victor still in the race.
March 8th: A new twist in the game debuts - a Blind U Turn, just like a regular U turn, but you don't have to put your picture up so no one knows who did it. From Romania/Transylvania, the remaining teams head for Siberia and a dam. Only some of the teams end up on the first flight into Siberia. From the dam they have to find a church. The detour options are stacking wood or constructing a set of wooden shutters and install them. Stacking wood you get serenaded... Mark & Mike and Mike & Mel and Amanda and Kris knock the wall down and decide to switch to the other task. Lakisha and her sister finish stacking first - their height helps! Margie & Luke choose to use the Blind U Turn on Amanda and Kris, not only to help them but their partners Cara and Jamie. The Road Block is going bobsledding and remember 7 letters posted along the way which they unscramble to spell a famous Russian Playwright. Whew! It took Kisha two tries to get all 7 letters, but she's able to spell Chekhov. Christie and Jodi are team #1 after Kisha and her sister go in the wrong entrance. They win motorcycles! Luke struggles trying to spell Chekhov, but doesn't lose any positions trying to figure it out. The last team to arrive Thanks to the U Turn, Amanda and Kris are the last team to arrive.
March 15th: 4 teams gone, 7 teams left and they head for the train station in the snow. The train doesn't leave for 10 hours, allowing all the teams to catch up. The Blind U Turn apparently isn't a secret, and Margie and Luke are being seen as power players in the race. They get off the train and find a Detour - between Russian Bride or Russian Snowplow. They either deliver a bride to her wedding or drive snowplows through a training course. They have to drive themselves, which in a foreign country is always a trick. After the detour, they're off to the largest library in Siberia for the road block - and they get to run a winter marathon in their underwear - in Siberia, remember? LITTLE COLD??? The end of the race is a theater that is the pit stop. Luke and Margie win - their 2nd leg victory! and get a trip to St. Lucia (will be warmer than Siberia!). Christie and Joni are the last team to arrive - but it is a non-elimination leg! They'll have a speed bump to complete in the next leg - first place to last place, and an injured finger to overcome too.
March 22nd: The race heads to India (a popular location every time they visit). Everyone is on the same flight so they're all bunched up. Mel & Mike have bad taxi luck and end up leaving the airport last. Christie and Jodi's taxi has to stop for gas. They drive through a slum area and seeing the poverty of the kids affects many of the teams, especially Luke. They get their next clue via phone, and at the road block, they have to take care of some camels by loading up on food and water. Mel struggles - it was a very physical challenge for him to do and yet they finish in 2nd place! Victor and Tammy are in the lead with everyone else working the Road Block. Then they travel to a Puppet Store and the detour - Movers or Shakers. Movers are moving a bicycle cart filled with barrels and finding a small elephant hidden inside. Shakers join a dance troupe and try to earn 100 rupees in tips. Everyone does the Shakers except for Mark & Michael who choose to do the barrels and that costs them a lot of time. Christie and Jodi have to decorate an elephant with paint for their Speed Bump, which they do quickly. Then to the Pit Stop at Jaigarh Fort. Tammy and Victor win this leg pretty easily and each get an ocean kayak. Jaime and Cara lose their taxi (with their bags!) for 20 minutes - valuable lost time for them. It comes down to Christie and Jodi vs Mark and Michael - and the losers are Christie and Jodi by a taxi cab ride, as the girls were RIGHT behind them.
March 29th: This is a heart-wrenching week in the Race for multiple reasons, as you'll see. The race moves on to Thailand with all 6 teams on the same flight and bunching everyone up at the top again. Mike & Mel get a bad taxi driver and he takes them to the wrong place. At the zoo, they find the clue box and get to have their pictures taken with a tiger and get walked over by an elephant. Little scary, eh?
Everyone heads to an herbal shop and they have to pick a drawer to try and find a clue. Jamie and Cara were the first there, but it took them FOREVER to find a right drawer, going from 1st to 5th. The detour choices are 100 barrels or 2 miles. You either fill barrels with water and move empty barrels on a ship, or drive a rickshaw carrying their partner 2 miles through the city. Mark and Michael were the first team to arrive - BUT they incurred 2 30 minute penalties for intentionally hiding the pumps for the rickshaw tires and following a taxi during the detour. An hour could make or break them in the race. Margie couldn't talk to Luke while he was pulling the rickshaw, so it was easier for her to communicate, but took a physical toll on her. Tammy and Victor didn't bring their rickshaw all the way in, and lost some time backtracking. Tammy and Victor come in 55 minutes behind Mark and Michael and win the leg. Jamie and Cara come in 2nd, and Mark and Michael slip to 3rd. Margie and Luke come in 4th and right away you can see Margie isn't doing well. She collapses - one of the scariest moments in Amazing Race history seeing Phil holding her as help comes, and Luke standing off to the side in shock, the excitement of still being in the race lost as his mother lies collapsed on the Pit Stop mat. Mike and Mel are the last team to arrive and are eliminated from the race. I can't help but wonder if Margie will be able to continue after her collapse. They called for an ambulance but she said she was OK, and they were dousing her in water with Phil holding her hand before the last two teams arrived. Next episode is in 2 weeks - and didn't see Margie or Luke in the clips so we'll have to wait and see if she's able to continue.
April 12th: After waiting 2 weeks, we learn that Margie is able to continue racing (YEAH), and the racers head to Bangkok and a boatyard. All the racers are on the same flight, so it's all evened up again. Margie & Luke are the first to get to the road block where they have to assemble a propeller for a boat. Margie breezed through it! Then they take their newly fixed boats to another pier. Only Margie and Luke brought their bags with them, this costs multiple teams time. A couple of teams leave their stuff there, on the assumption that they'll come back, and the other two run back to their taxis and get their stuff before leaving. Next is the detour - choosing between broken teeth or broken record. The first option is to find dentures for waiting patients and the second option is keroke in party taxis (no - really!) . Everyone chooses singing except for Margie and Luke. Mark and Micheal and Kisha and Jennifer both lose a lot of time due to the issues with their bags. Mark and Michael end up getting a taxi to take them back to their taxi and their bags before performing the detour. Kisha and Jennifer perform the detour without the bags and without their fannypack with passports and money - could REALLY hurt them, we'll see. Margie ended up getting all 5 matches (Luke just couldn't get it). Margie and Luke are the first to arrive (what a come-back for Margie!!) and they win a trip to Puerto Rico!
Kisha and Jennifer find a taxi driver willing to take them to the Pit Stop for free - but they don't have their stuff or passports or money! Jamie and Cara are second, its a footrace between Tammy and Victor and Kisha and Jennifer. Phil won't check Kisha and Jennifer in until they have their travel documents. So while Mark and Michael have gotten their stuff back and need to do the detour, Kisha and Jennifer has completed the detour but haven't recovered their stuff. It'll be between those two teams to see who finishes last.
Mark and Michael end up running out of money and twice give items to their taxi drivers to pay the bill, and that leads to a 4 hour penalty (breaking race rules twice in back-to-back legs, what bad luck!). It's a 2 hour penalty per infraction, so 4 hours of penalty time. This allows Kisha and Jen to finish 4th, and the girls are in tears with shock, certain that their blunders knocked them out of the game. Fortunately for Mark and Michael, it is a non-elimination leg - BUT Mark and Michael's penalty will be added to their departure time, they are out of money, AND they'll have a speed bump to handle in the next leg. It's really going to be stacked against them.
April 19th: It's an explosive episode as the remaining 5 teams head to China. Jen and Luke physically run into each other twice at clue boxes, which generates some very bad blood between the teams, which overflows at the Pit Stop. But first, the teams head to China, with Mark and Michael well behind the leaders due to their 4 hour penalty carried forward from the last leg. Their speed bump is to wash the hair of two Chinese women at a hair salon. They breeze through that, but are still far behind. The Road Block is to have birds retrieve 10 fish from the water. Tammy and Victor get there first of the 4 teams, but leave last. Their ability to speak Chinese doesn't help with their birds. Kisha and Jen take a lead and move on to the Detour. Everyone chooses Calligraphy except for Cara and Jamie and Mark and Michael. Cara and Jamie think their background as cheerleaders will help them learn the moves, but they struggle to complete the challenge to the satisfaction of the judges. Meanwhile Tammy & Victor, Kisha and Jen, and Margie and Luke basically end up doing the calligraphy challenge together, as each station they write the location of the next station, and only Tammy and Victor can read what they are writing. The three teams all run for the pit stop together, and the finishing order is Kisha and Jen (who win a trip to Barbados), Tammy and Victor, and Margie and Luke. There is quite the confrontation between Margie & Luke and Kisha & Jen on the mat (with Tammy and Victor caught in the middle). Jen took offense at the physical contact and called Luke a bitch, when Luke started to sign his side of the story, Kisha smirked and laughed, and Margie got REALLY mad at her, thinking she was laughing at Luke. We'll see how this tension impacts the next leg of the race. With only 4 teams left, we're getting very close to the end of another Amazing Race!
April 26th: The teams move on to Beijing, where a road block has one member of each team get a traditional Chinese foot massage. This is extremely painful and drives them to tears, biting their closing to manage the 10 minutes necessary. From there teams head to a swimming facility where they have to either swim a relay race like Michael Phelps or learn how to Synchronize Dive. Kisha and Jen have real problems because they can't swim and one of them is afraid of the water. They lose a lot of time to the other 3 teams. Tammy and Victor try to dive for ages unsuccessfully, so Cara and Jamie and Margie and Luke finish the swimming first. Cara and Jamie reach Phil at the mat - but it's not a Pit Stop! He has their next clue, and it's the double leg of the race!
May 3rd: The clue sends the teams to a local mall and they start looking for the Travelocity Gnome. Jen cries all the way to the mat, thinking they'd be eliminated. The Gnomes will send them to some electric bicycles and they'll ride across The Forbidden City. At the detour, they choose between opera or waiter. Opera - they dress up as the Opera Stars with makeup and costumes. Waiter - they take orders in Mandarin, repeat it to the chef, and deliver the food to the customers. Everyone chooses Opera except for Tammy & Victor, who have the advantage of speaking the language. It took only 2 tries to get it right. After the Detour - there will be a U Turn. This could change the entire game. It is not a blind one. Tammy & Victor choose to use it on Jen & Kisha. Next is the Road Block, where someone has to eat Chinese delicacies. Grasshoppers, Larva, Scorpions & Starfish - yum yum. Not. Victor eats his way through it, and on to the Pit Stop - the Birds Nest Stadium.
Tammy & Victor win the leg and a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Margie eats her way through pretty easy, and Margie & Luke come in 2nd. Kisha & Jen struggle at the Chinese Restaurant but eventually get it. The last 2 teams meet up at the eating challenge, but Kisha and Jen maintain a slight lead and they are racing to the Pit Stop.
Jen actually has to stop to pee before hitting the mat. This allows Jamie and Cara to catch up, pass them, and finish third! Potty Break Costs Jen & Kisha their shot at the Million Bucks. Next week - the Final Leg!
April 12th: After waiting 2 weeks, we learn that Margie is able to continue racing (YEAH), and the racers head to Bangkok and a boatyard. All the racers are on the same flight, so it's all evened up again. Margie & Luke are the first to get to the road block where they have to assemble a propeller for a boat. Margie breezed through it! Then they take their newly fixed boats to another pier. Only Margie and Luke brought their bags with them, this costs multiple teams time. A couple of teams leave their stuff there, on the assumption that they'll come back, and the other two run back to their taxis and get their stuff before leaving. Next is the detour - choosing between broken teeth or broken record. The first option is to find dentures for waiting patients and the second option is keroke in party taxis (no - really!) . Everyone chooses singing except for Margie and Luke. Mark and Micheal and Kisha and Jennifer both lose a lot of time due to the issues with their bags. Mark and Michael end up getting a taxi to take them back to their taxi and their bags before performing the detour. Kisha and Jennifer perform the detour without the bags and without their fannypack with passports and money - could REALLY hurt them, we'll see. Margie ended up getting all 5 matches (Luke just couldn't get it). Margie and Luke are the first to arrive (what a come-back for Margie!!) and they win a trip to Puerto Rico!
Kisha and Jennifer find a taxi driver willing to take them to the Pit Stop for free - but they don't have their stuff or passports or money! Jamie and Cara are second, its a footrace between Tammy and Victor and Kisha and Jennifer. Phil won't check Kisha and Jennifer in until they have their travel documents. So while Mark and Michael have gotten their stuff back and need to do the detour, Kisha and Jennifer has completed the detour but haven't recovered their stuff. It'll be between those two teams to see who finishes last.
Mark and Michael end up running out of money and twice give items to their taxi drivers to pay the bill, and that leads to a 4 hour penalty (breaking race rules twice in back-to-back legs, what bad luck!). It's a 2 hour penalty per infraction, so 4 hours of penalty time. This allows Kisha and Jen to finish 4th, and the girls are in tears with shock, certain that their blunders knocked them out of the game. Fortunately for Mark and Michael, it is a non-elimination leg - BUT Mark and Michael's penalty will be added to their departure time, they are out of money, AND they'll have a speed bump to handle in the next leg. It's really going to be stacked against them.
April 19th: It's an explosive episode as the remaining 5 teams head to China. Jen and Luke physically run into each other twice at clue boxes, which generates some very bad blood between the teams, which overflows at the Pit Stop. But first, the teams head to China, with Mark and Michael well behind the leaders due to their 4 hour penalty carried forward from the last leg. Their speed bump is to wash the hair of two Chinese women at a hair salon. They breeze through that, but are still far behind. The Road Block is to have birds retrieve 10 fish from the water. Tammy and Victor get there first of the 4 teams, but leave last. Their ability to speak Chinese doesn't help with their birds. Kisha and Jen take a lead and move on to the Detour. Everyone chooses Calligraphy except for Cara and Jamie and Mark and Michael. Cara and Jamie think their background as cheerleaders will help them learn the moves, but they struggle to complete the challenge to the satisfaction of the judges. Meanwhile Tammy & Victor, Kisha and Jen, and Margie and Luke basically end up doing the calligraphy challenge together, as each station they write the location of the next station, and only Tammy and Victor can read what they are writing. The three teams all run for the pit stop together, and the finishing order is Kisha and Jen (who win a trip to Barbados), Tammy and Victor, and Margie and Luke. There is quite the confrontation between Margie & Luke and Kisha & Jen on the mat (with Tammy and Victor caught in the middle). Jen took offense at the physical contact and called Luke a bitch, when Luke started to sign his side of the story, Kisha smirked and laughed, and Margie got REALLY mad at her, thinking she was laughing at Luke. We'll see how this tension impacts the next leg of the race. With only 4 teams left, we're getting very close to the end of another Amazing Race!
April 26th: The teams move on to Beijing, where a road block has one member of each team get a traditional Chinese foot massage. This is extremely painful and drives them to tears, biting their closing to manage the 10 minutes necessary. From there teams head to a swimming facility where they have to either swim a relay race like Michael Phelps or learn how to Synchronize Dive. Kisha and Jen have real problems because they can't swim and one of them is afraid of the water. They lose a lot of time to the other 3 teams. Tammy and Victor try to dive for ages unsuccessfully, so Cara and Jamie and Margie and Luke finish the swimming first. Cara and Jamie reach Phil at the mat - but it's not a Pit Stop! He has their next clue, and it's the double leg of the race!
May 3rd: The clue sends the teams to a local mall and they start looking for the Travelocity Gnome. Jen cries all the way to the mat, thinking they'd be eliminated. The Gnomes will send them to some electric bicycles and they'll ride across The Forbidden City. At the detour, they choose between opera or waiter. Opera - they dress up as the Opera Stars with makeup and costumes. Waiter - they take orders in Mandarin, repeat it to the chef, and deliver the food to the customers. Everyone chooses Opera except for Tammy & Victor, who have the advantage of speaking the language. It took only 2 tries to get it right. After the Detour - there will be a U Turn. This could change the entire game. It is not a blind one. Tammy & Victor choose to use it on Jen & Kisha. Next is the Road Block, where someone has to eat Chinese delicacies. Grasshoppers, Larva, Scorpions & Starfish - yum yum. Not. Victor eats his way through it, and on to the Pit Stop - the Birds Nest Stadium.
Tammy & Victor win the leg and a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Margie eats her way through pretty easy, and Margie & Luke come in 2nd. Kisha & Jen struggle at the Chinese Restaurant but eventually get it. The last 2 teams meet up at the eating challenge, but Kisha and Jen maintain a slight lead and they are racing to the Pit Stop.
Jen actually has to stop to pee before hitting the mat. This allows Jamie and Cara to catch up, pass them, and finish third! Potty Break Costs Jen & Kisha their shot at the Million Bucks. Next week - the Final Leg!
Another Successful Season
The Amazing Race 13 debuted September 28th on CBS
The teams are:
Mark and Bill (Friends)
Kelly and Christy (Best Friends)
Stephanie and Anthony (Dating)
Ken and Tina (Married but Separated)
Terence and Sarah (Dating)
Marisa and Brooke (Friends)
Andrew and Dan (Friends)
Aja and Ty (Long Distance Dating)
Anita and Arthur (Married)
Dallas and Toni (Mother & Son)
Nick and Starr (Brother & Sister)
(Teams in Blue have been eliminated)
Watch for results each week here, or go to the CBS website where you can watch complete episodes!
WEEK 1 (September 28): Nick and Starr charge to the front as the race heads to Brazil, finishing first in this leg. Bringing up the rear, and being eliminated were Anita & Arthur (the senior citizen married couple).
WEEK 2 (October 5): This week's lesson: Read Your Clue carefully and closely so you don't make mistakes! Two teams lost a lot of time by not paying attention to their clues, but fortunately for them, it didn't cause them to be eliminated from the race. Ken and Tina won this leg (thanks to a little help from Mark & Bill at the road block), and Stephanie and Anthony were eliminated.
WEEK 3 (October 12): Lesson wasn't learned from last week, as misreading a clue led to the elimination of Mark and Bill. The clue specifically said to make your way ON FOOT, and they took a taxi. Combined with a road block that took 3 attempts to complete, the 30 minute penalty left them in last place and out of the race. Ken and Tina won their second leg in a row, and seem to be working well together. Inter-team conflict is on the rise though as Nick & Starr and Kelly & Christy are at odds (going as far as accusing Starr of tossing her sports bra off a ledge where it was drying after being washed??). Starr also encouraged Aja and Ty to use the Uturn on the girls, but they didn't do so, and instead told the girls of what Starr asked them to do. We'll see if this explodes in the next couple of legs.
WEEK 4 (October 19): It's off to New Zealand for the remaining 8 teams, all on the same flight so they're all even. Aja and Ty suffer a setback with a flat tire as they drive to the first location, and Marissa and Brooke walked right by the knot they were looking for that contained their next clue! Ken and Tina seized the first of 2 Fast Forwards on the race and got their 3rd straight leg victory - and Phil's DAD is at the mat with him!!
Several teams started with the Kiwi Detour and switched to the Landsail Detour because they found it hard to do. This led to Starr hurting herself when her landsail craft tipped over and she didn't obey the rule of keeping her arms in when it tipped. We'll probably have to wait till the beginning of next week's episode to see if it's serious. Marissa and Brooke and Aja and Ty both struggled during this leg, but it's Marissa and Brooke who finish last. Their reward - hugs from Phil's Dad.
WEEK 5 (October 26): The race moves on from New Zealand to Cambodia. Terence and Sarah have a delay after they are stopped by the police for speeding on their way to the airport (more about that later), and almost don't make the first flight with Ken & Tina, but they JUST made it. Starr is checked out by the doctor and is OK, just sore. Four teams make the 2nd flight, with Aja and Ty trailing the pack on the final flight.
The first and second flight teams meet up in Signapore, making a pack of 6 with Aja and Ty in the rear. Adding to Terence and Sarah's bad luck in this leg, their boat breaks down within sight of the floating restaurant and team after team pass them by as Terence tries to pole the boat the rest of the way while the driver works on the engine.
Off to an ancient temple for the road block, where one person searches the huge temple complex for one room where sounds echo. Tina walks right through the room once without realizing she was in the right place, allowing other teams to pass them by.
Nick and Starr are the first to the mat to win this leg of the race. Aja and Ty were never able to make up the ground they lost at the beginning and were eliminated. Because Terence and Sarah were stopped for speeding, they incur a 30 minute penalty which will be enforced when they leave for the next leg of the race.
WEEK 6: (November 2nd): The teams move on to New Delhi, India, where Andrew and Dan surge from last to first for a while after the road block. Kelly and Christy draw some attention in their tank tops and shorts given the culture in India, but they seem unaware of it. Terence and Sarah fall behind at the Road Block which involved re-painting taxi cabs green.
The detour involves doing laundry or making wedding necklaces. Everyone chose to do the ironing except for Ken & Tina and Terence & Sarah. Nick & Starr had an advantage doing the laundry with hot irons, because they had gloves in their bags. The other teams had to make do with handmade protectors.
Their luck of having gloves bring Nick & Starr to the pit stop first - and they each win an electric car! Ken and Tina were cursed with bad taxi drivers this whole leg, and they were the last team to arrive. Fortunately, this was a non-elimination leg. The penalty: They will have to do the Speed Bump during the next leg of the race and not finish last to stay in the race.
WEEK 7: (November 9th) The race continues in New Dehli with a colorful road block - The Holy Festival - to try and find their clues. Kelly and Christy have a MAJOR meltdown trying to accomplish it, Kelly's pummeled before she even gets to the ladder, and then misunderstands the task and pulls one envelope at a time instead of finding the right clue and then coming out. She ends up black with all of the different dyes covering her, multiple trips through the gauntlet, and trying to protect her face for each trip with a kerchief, and other teams pass them by including Ken & Tina despite getting lost on the way, because Kelly and Christy can't find a taxi. Even those NOT doing the road block end up stained - Tina now has green hair.
The detours are either following numbers along a power line or deliver two bags of chilis and make chili powder. Ken and Tina first have to finish their speed bump, by serving holy water at the temple until no one else wants water. Hard to say how long that takes exactly, but it puts them back into last place. Then they get stuck in traffic and actually get out to clear a path for their taxi!
Only Terence and Sarah choose the chilis with the rest trying to follow the numbers on the power lines. It's NOT easy as they are very little numbers on tags. Nick & Starr work together with Dallas and his mom to complete it. Andrew and Dan and Kelly and Christy both are pulling the wrong numbers from the signs around the street, which slow them down.
The greeter is actually watering the lawn when Nick & Starr arrive at the pit stop first (LOL). Right behind them are Dallas and his Mom. Meanwhile, Ken and Tina passed Andrew & Dan and Kelly & Christy at the Detour - making up A LOT of ground.
Ken & Tina actually show Andrew & Dan what tags to be looking for, at the same time Kelly & Christy figure it out on their own. Terence and Sarah come in 3rd, as the other two now are looking for the right tags. Ken & Tina move up to #4 and stay in the race, as Andrew & Dan beat out Kelly & Christy to the mat, and the girls are out.
WEEK 8: (November 16th): It's off to Kazikstan (insert all your Borat jokes here). Once again the "read your clue completely" delays two teams, Andrew and Dan and Ken and Tina, but both of them manage to avoid elimination. Nick and Starr and Terence and Sarah both head for the fast forward which is an eating challenge involving sheep - and Terence is a vegetarian! The lost time they are never able to make up, and they are eliminated.
WEEK 9: (November 23rd): From Almaty, the remaining 4 teams head to Moscow! It's Nick birthday today - so hopefully he gets another good result, as they've won the last 4 legs in a row. They have bad luck with their taxi driver, and Andrew and Dan not only lost their shoes the last leg, but they bounce back and forth during the detour options, losing time.
Toni and Dallas get it together and surge into the lead - after Dallas has been so jealous of Nick & Starr winning so many legs, they finally win one!
In the end, Andrew and Dan are the last to arrive, having run out of money to pay their taxi driver since they spent money replacing their shoes - but is a non-elimination leg. Will they manage the Speed Bump during the next leg to stay in the race?
WEEK 10: (November 30th): This is the episode we've been waiting for as one team loses their money and THEIR PASSPORTS - something that has never happened in the history of the Race.
The leg continues in Moscow as the teams head to a retired submarine for their next clue, then to a park known as the graveyard of fallen monuments for the Road Block. It's complicated. They have to count the number of statues of Lenin and Stalin, add the numbers together, go to a bookstore with the right number, get a book, and turn to that page to get the info of their next clue. Whew.
Andrew and Dan are having an Andrew and Dan kind of start to their leg, getting splashed by a truck and going to the wrong park. This isn't going to help them get out of last place.
Nick breezes through it, and Toni gets Stalin and Lenin backwards. Tina and Toni are both guessing wrong and helping each other out. Dallas drops his fanny back in the taxi as he's getting out after finishing the detour - losing all their money and their passports!
A very confusing metro station task or a trolley task causes more trouble. Ken & Tina can't find the last clue, and Toni & Dallas are borrowing $ to keep moving forward. Final 3 are Nick & Starr #1, Andrew & Dan #2, and Ken & Tina #3.
Mark and Bill (Friends)
Kelly and Christy (Best Friends)
Stephanie and Anthony (Dating)
Ken and Tina (Married but Separated)
Terence and Sarah (Dating)
Marisa and Brooke (Friends)
Andrew and Dan (Friends)
Aja and Ty (Long Distance Dating)
Anita and Arthur (Married)
Dallas and Toni (Mother & Son)
Nick and Starr (Brother & Sister)
(Teams in Blue have been eliminated)
Watch for results each week here, or go to the CBS website where you can watch complete episodes!
WEEK 1 (September 28): Nick and Starr charge to the front as the race heads to Brazil, finishing first in this leg. Bringing up the rear, and being eliminated were Anita & Arthur (the senior citizen married couple).
WEEK 2 (October 5): This week's lesson: Read Your Clue carefully and closely so you don't make mistakes! Two teams lost a lot of time by not paying attention to their clues, but fortunately for them, it didn't cause them to be eliminated from the race. Ken and Tina won this leg (thanks to a little help from Mark & Bill at the road block), and Stephanie and Anthony were eliminated.
WEEK 3 (October 12): Lesson wasn't learned from last week, as misreading a clue led to the elimination of Mark and Bill. The clue specifically said to make your way ON FOOT, and they took a taxi. Combined with a road block that took 3 attempts to complete, the 30 minute penalty left them in last place and out of the race. Ken and Tina won their second leg in a row, and seem to be working well together. Inter-team conflict is on the rise though as Nick & Starr and Kelly & Christy are at odds (going as far as accusing Starr of tossing her sports bra off a ledge where it was drying after being washed??). Starr also encouraged Aja and Ty to use the Uturn on the girls, but they didn't do so, and instead told the girls of what Starr asked them to do. We'll see if this explodes in the next couple of legs.
WEEK 4 (October 19): It's off to New Zealand for the remaining 8 teams, all on the same flight so they're all even. Aja and Ty suffer a setback with a flat tire as they drive to the first location, and Marissa and Brooke walked right by the knot they were looking for that contained their next clue! Ken and Tina seized the first of 2 Fast Forwards on the race and got their 3rd straight leg victory - and Phil's DAD is at the mat with him!!
Several teams started with the Kiwi Detour and switched to the Landsail Detour because they found it hard to do. This led to Starr hurting herself when her landsail craft tipped over and she didn't obey the rule of keeping her arms in when it tipped. We'll probably have to wait till the beginning of next week's episode to see if it's serious. Marissa and Brooke and Aja and Ty both struggled during this leg, but it's Marissa and Brooke who finish last. Their reward - hugs from Phil's Dad.
WEEK 5 (October 26): The race moves on from New Zealand to Cambodia. Terence and Sarah have a delay after they are stopped by the police for speeding on their way to the airport (more about that later), and almost don't make the first flight with Ken & Tina, but they JUST made it. Starr is checked out by the doctor and is OK, just sore. Four teams make the 2nd flight, with Aja and Ty trailing the pack on the final flight.
The first and second flight teams meet up in Signapore, making a pack of 6 with Aja and Ty in the rear. Adding to Terence and Sarah's bad luck in this leg, their boat breaks down within sight of the floating restaurant and team after team pass them by as Terence tries to pole the boat the rest of the way while the driver works on the engine.
Off to an ancient temple for the road block, where one person searches the huge temple complex for one room where sounds echo. Tina walks right through the room once without realizing she was in the right place, allowing other teams to pass them by.
Nick and Starr are the first to the mat to win this leg of the race. Aja and Ty were never able to make up the ground they lost at the beginning and were eliminated. Because Terence and Sarah were stopped for speeding, they incur a 30 minute penalty which will be enforced when they leave for the next leg of the race.
WEEK 6: (November 2nd): The teams move on to New Delhi, India, where Andrew and Dan surge from last to first for a while after the road block. Kelly and Christy draw some attention in their tank tops and shorts given the culture in India, but they seem unaware of it. Terence and Sarah fall behind at the Road Block which involved re-painting taxi cabs green.
The detour involves doing laundry or making wedding necklaces. Everyone chose to do the ironing except for Ken & Tina and Terence & Sarah. Nick & Starr had an advantage doing the laundry with hot irons, because they had gloves in their bags. The other teams had to make do with handmade protectors.
Their luck of having gloves bring Nick & Starr to the pit stop first - and they each win an electric car! Ken and Tina were cursed with bad taxi drivers this whole leg, and they were the last team to arrive. Fortunately, this was a non-elimination leg. The penalty: They will have to do the Speed Bump during the next leg of the race and not finish last to stay in the race.
WEEK 7: (November 9th) The race continues in New Dehli with a colorful road block - The Holy Festival - to try and find their clues. Kelly and Christy have a MAJOR meltdown trying to accomplish it, Kelly's pummeled before she even gets to the ladder, and then misunderstands the task and pulls one envelope at a time instead of finding the right clue and then coming out. She ends up black with all of the different dyes covering her, multiple trips through the gauntlet, and trying to protect her face for each trip with a kerchief, and other teams pass them by including Ken & Tina despite getting lost on the way, because Kelly and Christy can't find a taxi. Even those NOT doing the road block end up stained - Tina now has green hair.
The detours are either following numbers along a power line or deliver two bags of chilis and make chili powder. Ken and Tina first have to finish their speed bump, by serving holy water at the temple until no one else wants water. Hard to say how long that takes exactly, but it puts them back into last place. Then they get stuck in traffic and actually get out to clear a path for their taxi!
Only Terence and Sarah choose the chilis with the rest trying to follow the numbers on the power lines. It's NOT easy as they are very little numbers on tags. Nick & Starr work together with Dallas and his mom to complete it. Andrew and Dan and Kelly and Christy both are pulling the wrong numbers from the signs around the street, which slow them down.
The greeter is actually watering the lawn when Nick & Starr arrive at the pit stop first (LOL). Right behind them are Dallas and his Mom. Meanwhile, Ken and Tina passed Andrew & Dan and Kelly & Christy at the Detour - making up A LOT of ground.
Ken & Tina actually show Andrew & Dan what tags to be looking for, at the same time Kelly & Christy figure it out on their own. Terence and Sarah come in 3rd, as the other two now are looking for the right tags. Ken & Tina move up to #4 and stay in the race, as Andrew & Dan beat out Kelly & Christy to the mat, and the girls are out.
WEEK 8: (November 16th): It's off to Kazikstan (insert all your Borat jokes here). Once again the "read your clue completely" delays two teams, Andrew and Dan and Ken and Tina, but both of them manage to avoid elimination. Nick and Starr and Terence and Sarah both head for the fast forward which is an eating challenge involving sheep - and Terence is a vegetarian! The lost time they are never able to make up, and they are eliminated.
WEEK 9: (November 23rd): From Almaty, the remaining 4 teams head to Moscow! It's Nick birthday today - so hopefully he gets another good result, as they've won the last 4 legs in a row. They have bad luck with their taxi driver, and Andrew and Dan not only lost their shoes the last leg, but they bounce back and forth during the detour options, losing time.
Toni and Dallas get it together and surge into the lead - after Dallas has been so jealous of Nick & Starr winning so many legs, they finally win one!
In the end, Andrew and Dan are the last to arrive, having run out of money to pay their taxi driver since they spent money replacing their shoes - but is a non-elimination leg. Will they manage the Speed Bump during the next leg to stay in the race?
WEEK 10: (November 30th): This is the episode we've been waiting for as one team loses their money and THEIR PASSPORTS - something that has never happened in the history of the Race.
The leg continues in Moscow as the teams head to a retired submarine for their next clue, then to a park known as the graveyard of fallen monuments for the Road Block. It's complicated. They have to count the number of statues of Lenin and Stalin, add the numbers together, go to a bookstore with the right number, get a book, and turn to that page to get the info of their next clue. Whew.
Andrew and Dan are having an Andrew and Dan kind of start to their leg, getting splashed by a truck and going to the wrong park. This isn't going to help them get out of last place.
Nick breezes through it, and Toni gets Stalin and Lenin backwards. Tina and Toni are both guessing wrong and helping each other out. Dallas drops his fanny back in the taxi as he's getting out after finishing the detour - losing all their money and their passports!
A very confusing metro station task or a trolley task causes more trouble. Ken & Tina can't find the last clue, and Toni & Dallas are borrowing $ to keep moving forward. Final 3 are Nick & Starr #1, Andrew & Dan #2, and Ken & Tina #3.
The Amazing Race Finale!
It's the last leg of the race and Nick & Starr, Andrew & Dan, and Ken & Tina are racing to the Finish Line.
My prediction is Nick & Starr (who have been the most consistent during the entire race) will win - but you never know what happens, so let's see:
From Moscow, the teams return to the US to Portland, Oregon - 5000 miles via Frankfurt, Germany, and will be looking for an Adventure Park once they get to Portland.
Detour: High & Dry or Low & Wet both involve logging. The first is an obstacle course up in the trees, second is a bridge across the water. Ken & Tina get there first and choose High & Dry. Nick & Starr are second and also choose High & Dry. They are working the challenge at the same time. Tina being afraid of heights, this takes guts. Nick & Starr pass Ken & Tina during the challenge.
Next, it's to the Bridge of the Gods and a zipline to get their next clue. Both teams finish before Andrew & Dan find the park, and Ken & Tina pass Nick & Starr on the way to the bridge and it's ANOTHER high in the air challenge for Tina to overcome.
Next, a memory challenge. Each team has a board of 10 pictures, and there are 150 boxes to work through. They have to remember route info, challenges, etc from each leg of the race. They have to get each one right before they move on to the 2nd one. When they get one right, a light goes on telling them. They need to get all 10 right before they move on to the next clue box.
Nick & Starr pass them AGAIN and run to the parking lot for their next clue - they head downtown and look for a green dinosaur near the Portland Building. Again, the first 2 teams finish before Andrew & Dan arrive. Ken & Tina pass them in the taxis AGAIN, and then Nick & Starr pass them back - this is neck & neck.
Nick & Starr get a slight lead as they find the dinosaur right away, and run to an international food court, find the Russian cart, and then to a doughnut shop. Thanks to someone who overhead Nick & Starr getting the info, she gave Ken & Tina a shortcut to get there and they make up some time.
Nick & Starr get to the clue first and then Ken & Tina, and both teams are looking for a taxi in vain. The show has stopped given Andrew & Dan updates they're so far behind now. It's a taxi race to the Pit Stop.
NICK & STARR ARE FIRST!!
Ken & Tina are second, and Ken explains that they haven't been wearing their wedding rings, but he brought their wedding rings with him on the race and asks her to wear them again, and she says yes (everybody awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww).
Andrew & Dan finish third - but they're in the final three and that's pretty amazing for them.
Toni & Dallas are missing from the finish line, probably still in Moscow getting new travel documents after losing their passports in the last leg.
This was yet another AMAZING RACE - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and I can't WAIT for the next installment!!
My prediction is Nick & Starr (who have been the most consistent during the entire race) will win - but you never know what happens, so let's see:
From Moscow, the teams return to the US to Portland, Oregon - 5000 miles via Frankfurt, Germany, and will be looking for an Adventure Park once they get to Portland.
Detour: High & Dry or Low & Wet both involve logging. The first is an obstacle course up in the trees, second is a bridge across the water. Ken & Tina get there first and choose High & Dry. Nick & Starr are second and also choose High & Dry. They are working the challenge at the same time. Tina being afraid of heights, this takes guts. Nick & Starr pass Ken & Tina during the challenge.
Next, it's to the Bridge of the Gods and a zipline to get their next clue. Both teams finish before Andrew & Dan find the park, and Ken & Tina pass Nick & Starr on the way to the bridge and it's ANOTHER high in the air challenge for Tina to overcome.
Next, a memory challenge. Each team has a board of 10 pictures, and there are 150 boxes to work through. They have to remember route info, challenges, etc from each leg of the race. They have to get each one right before they move on to the 2nd one. When they get one right, a light goes on telling them. They need to get all 10 right before they move on to the next clue box.
Nick & Starr pass them AGAIN and run to the parking lot for their next clue - they head downtown and look for a green dinosaur near the Portland Building. Again, the first 2 teams finish before Andrew & Dan arrive. Ken & Tina pass them in the taxis AGAIN, and then Nick & Starr pass them back - this is neck & neck.
Nick & Starr get a slight lead as they find the dinosaur right away, and run to an international food court, find the Russian cart, and then to a doughnut shop. Thanks to someone who overhead Nick & Starr getting the info, she gave Ken & Tina a shortcut to get there and they make up some time.
Nick & Starr get to the clue first and then Ken & Tina, and both teams are looking for a taxi in vain. The show has stopped given Andrew & Dan updates they're so far behind now. It's a taxi race to the Pit Stop.
NICK & STARR ARE FIRST!!
Ken & Tina are second, and Ken explains that they haven't been wearing their wedding rings, but he brought their wedding rings with him on the race and asks her to wear them again, and she says yes (everybody awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww).
Andrew & Dan finish third - but they're in the final three and that's pretty amazing for them.
Toni & Dallas are missing from the finish line, probably still in Moscow getting new travel documents after losing their passports in the last leg.
This was yet another AMAZING RACE - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and I can't WAIT for the next installment!!
Snag your own Amazing Race merchandise from the CBS Store
Check these out!
This is just a sampling of the Amazing Race merchandise available from the CBS Store:
Shop now!
Amazing Race Fanny Pack - Navy
Amazing Race Pocket Kit
Amazing Race Baseball Cap - Navy
Amazing Race Long Sleeve T-Shirt - Navy
Amazing Race Montezuma Messenger Bag
Travelocity Roaming Gnome Stress Reliever
Amazing Race Map T-Shirt - Blue
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB - Map
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Touch 8GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Nano 8GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Classic 160GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Touch 32GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Dog Tag Necklace - Map
Shop now!
Amazing Race Fanny Pack - Navy
Amazing Race Pocket Kit
Amazing Race Baseball Cap - Navy
Amazing Race Long Sleeve T-Shirt - Navy
Amazing Race Montezuma Messenger Bag
Travelocity Roaming Gnome Stress Reliever
Amazing Race Map T-Shirt - Blue
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB - Map
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Touch 8GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Nano 8GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Classic 160GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Limited Edition Apple iPod Touch 32GB - Passport Stamps
The Amazing Race Dog Tag Necklace - Map
The Amazing Race 12th edition recaps!
You can visit the CBS Website for official updates, commentary and forums to discuss your favorite (or least favorite) teams.
Here are the 11 teams participating in no particular order:
Kynt & Vyxsin : Dating Goths (My daughter's favorite team just from the previews!)
Jennifer & Nathan : Dating
Ronald & Christina : Father/Daughter - who are selling their Amazing Race clothing on eBay for charity, check out their About Me Page!
Shana & Jennifer : Friends (aka The Blondes)
Azaria & Hendekea : Brother/Sister
Lorena & Jason : Dating
Nicolas & Donald : Grandson/Grandfather
Ari & Staella : Best Friends
Marianna & Julia : Sisters
Rachel & TK : Dating for almost one year
Kate & Pat : Married Ministers
*************************
RESULTS:
11/4/07: Finishing in 11th place is Ari & Staella after losing an argument with a donkey. Azaria & Hendekea won the first leg of the race, along with a trip to a Canadian resort from Travelocity.
11/11/07: The theme of this week's episode seemed to be missing things - missing planes, missing buses, missing Phil and the drop off point, and missing the mark with challenges. Finishing in 10th place is Kate & Pat. Lorena and Jason won the second leg of the race, along with some three-wheeled bikes, in part because they FLEW through the Detour challenge of hauling furniture up to an upper floor of a building using a rope & pulley system.
11/18/07: This leg was won by Azaria & Hendekea, who won a trip to Bermuda, primarily because they took a very logical approach to the Detour. Finishing in 9th place was Marianna & Julia, who had trouble milking a camel. Lorena (from the Lorena and Jason team) also had problems milking the camel, literally having a breakdown in the middle of the African desert.
11/25/07: This leg involved chickens, dancing, mining for gold, making deliveries, and the first U-Turn of the race (where a team can force another team to go back and complete the other option from a Road Block). The Blondes used it on Lorena and Jason to slow them down. Azaria & Hendekea won another leg, but only by a second or two, and each got Yamaha motor scooters. The last team to arrive at the mat was Lorena and Jason (and I must say, Jason's attitude through the whole episode was amazing), and they finished in 8th place.
12/2/07: An episode filled with close calls - include a near miss with a bus and falling off of stilts. The bad karma from the previous leg caught up with Shana & Jennifer, who finished in 7th place. Rachel & TK had a great leg, going from next-to-last to first place!
12/9/07: Plane problems shuffled the teams around, and throwing the strong team of Azaria & Hendekea to the back of the pack due to a ticket mix-up. Nate and Jen fell to pieces multiple times during the leg, continuing the issues they had in the previous leg. They're still in the race, but it doesn't bode well when Jen talks about not wanting to be in the race any more. Anyway, Ronald and Christina won this leg, a catamarran, and improved their teamwork skills. Azaria & Hendekea finished last in the leg and finished in 6th place. This will really mix up the race, as they were the dominant team early on.
12/16/07: No episode this week, as CBS airs the Survivor: China 2 hour finale and the Reunion Show. Check back next week for the details of the next leg in The Amazing Race!
12/23/07: This leg featured the one and only Fast Forward for the whole races, and Nicolas & Donald got matching "FF" tattoos to win the leg of the race and another nice trip. After several bag turns, Kynt and Vyxen finished last - BUT it was a non-elimination leg! The first one for the race. The twist this year - the team finishing last on the non-elimination leg must deal with a "Speed Bump" during the next leg - a special task that only they must accomplish and that can happen at any time. So stay tuned to the next episode to see if the Goths stay in the race!
12/30/07: The last episode of 2007 bids Kynt and Vyxen goodbye. Their Speed Bump turned out to be a Yoga lesson, but it didn't knock them out the race. They lost their chance to stay in the race when they came in 4th to the U Turn and picked the wrong team to use the U turn on - they chose a team that had already made it past that point, instead of the one team behind them. TK and Rachel won the leg (but I didn't hear the prize because I was away from the TV when they finished). We're down to the Final Four now, the racing should really get intense!
1/6/08: TK & Rachel bumbled by getting a flight that got into the next destination, Osaka Japan, several hours after the rest of the remaining teams. Watching them try to drive taxis in the crowded and confusing Osaka streets was funny - Christina had an advantage in that she speaks Japanese, but she doesn't drive well. Jen and Nate led most of the leg, but their inability to get a taxi to the pit stop gave the win to Ron and Christina, who each won an electric car! TK and Rachel finished last, over 3 hours behind the other teams, but this is a non-elimination leg. They will have their work cut out for them next week making up 3 hours PLUS having to do whatever the Speed Bump challenge entails. Next week's episode should give us our final three for the finale!
1/13/08: In the next to last leg, TK and Rachel battled the odds to stay in the race - 3 hours + behind the other 3 teams, plus facing a speed bump along the way. Off to Taiwan, Ron and Christina take an early lead, while the other 3 teams meet up at the Taiwan airport. It's a very close race! TK and Rachel survived the speed bump and stayed with the other 2 teams in the back of the pack. The Detour may be the turning point.
Teams have to drink tea to reveal their clues at the bottom of the cups and then choose between Fire & Earth. Send 20 lanterns into the sky or walk a path of jadded stones with bare feet.
All of the teams choose Earth, but Jen drags Nate to the subway instead of grabbing a cab, which puts them behind the rest of the teams.
The final three are:
Ron & Christina (who win a trip to the Nether Antillies)
TK & Rachel (who overcame so much that leg!)
Nick & Don
With Jen & Nate eliminated on Jen's birthday.... with all their argueing and fighting, its amazing they made it this far.
Next week - the season finale and the winner is revealed!
1/20/08: It's the finale! Mistakes hurt now more than ever. The first mistake was Don & Nick forgetting to pick up their bag of gear along with the clue. They had to turn around to go back to get it - and lost a HUGE amount of time, which they were lucky to make up by getting through the detour quickly. The three teams had to climb up an ice wall of a glacier. Ron & Christina's lead disappeared when Ron climbed right up despite his fear of heights, but Christina struggled to make it over the first lip and start moving upwards. This allowed TK & Rachel and Nick & Don to catch up to them.
The final road block is a puzzle where you must pick 10 out of 15 items that match certain descriptive statements. WOW - you have to have a really good memory and be able to figure things out.
Christina works the puzzle for their team.
Rachel works the puzzle for their team.
Nick works the puzzle for their team.
All three teams are working this road block at the same time!! It's so close!! It might be one of the most complicated road blocks they've had - it reminds me of the flag challenge during the race where the Hippies won in a close race.
The first to get it right is: RACHEL! They take the lead and are heading to the next clue.
The second to get it right is: CHRISTINA! They move into second place and are heading to the next clue - no idea how far behind TK & Rachel are.
These two teams are neck and neck heading to the pit stop leaving Nick and Don behind at the road block.
TK & RACHEL win the Amazing Race!
RON & CHRISTINA come in Second Place.
NICK & DON come in Third Place.
What another AMAZING RACE it was...
Thanks for following the show with me - and watch for information on the next race when the next season starts up!!!
Here are the 11 teams participating in no particular order:
Kynt & Vyxsin : Dating Goths (My daughter's favorite team just from the previews!)
Jennifer & Nathan : Dating
Ronald & Christina : Father/Daughter - who are selling their Amazing Race clothing on eBay for charity, check out their About Me Page!
Shana & Jennifer : Friends (aka The Blondes)
Azaria & Hendekea : Brother/Sister
Lorena & Jason : Dating
Nicolas & Donald : Grandson/Grandfather
Ari & Staella : Best Friends
Marianna & Julia : Sisters
Rachel & TK : Dating for almost one year
Kate & Pat : Married Ministers
*************************
RESULTS:
11/4/07: Finishing in 11th place is Ari & Staella after losing an argument with a donkey. Azaria & Hendekea won the first leg of the race, along with a trip to a Canadian resort from Travelocity.
11/11/07: The theme of this week's episode seemed to be missing things - missing planes, missing buses, missing Phil and the drop off point, and missing the mark with challenges. Finishing in 10th place is Kate & Pat. Lorena and Jason won the second leg of the race, along with some three-wheeled bikes, in part because they FLEW through the Detour challenge of hauling furniture up to an upper floor of a building using a rope & pulley system.
11/18/07: This leg was won by Azaria & Hendekea, who won a trip to Bermuda, primarily because they took a very logical approach to the Detour. Finishing in 9th place was Marianna & Julia, who had trouble milking a camel. Lorena (from the Lorena and Jason team) also had problems milking the camel, literally having a breakdown in the middle of the African desert.
11/25/07: This leg involved chickens, dancing, mining for gold, making deliveries, and the first U-Turn of the race (where a team can force another team to go back and complete the other option from a Road Block). The Blondes used it on Lorena and Jason to slow them down. Azaria & Hendekea won another leg, but only by a second or two, and each got Yamaha motor scooters. The last team to arrive at the mat was Lorena and Jason (and I must say, Jason's attitude through the whole episode was amazing), and they finished in 8th place.
12/2/07: An episode filled with close calls - include a near miss with a bus and falling off of stilts. The bad karma from the previous leg caught up with Shana & Jennifer, who finished in 7th place. Rachel & TK had a great leg, going from next-to-last to first place!
12/9/07: Plane problems shuffled the teams around, and throwing the strong team of Azaria & Hendekea to the back of the pack due to a ticket mix-up. Nate and Jen fell to pieces multiple times during the leg, continuing the issues they had in the previous leg. They're still in the race, but it doesn't bode well when Jen talks about not wanting to be in the race any more. Anyway, Ronald and Christina won this leg, a catamarran, and improved their teamwork skills. Azaria & Hendekea finished last in the leg and finished in 6th place. This will really mix up the race, as they were the dominant team early on.
12/16/07: No episode this week, as CBS airs the Survivor: China 2 hour finale and the Reunion Show. Check back next week for the details of the next leg in The Amazing Race!
12/23/07: This leg featured the one and only Fast Forward for the whole races, and Nicolas & Donald got matching "FF" tattoos to win the leg of the race and another nice trip. After several bag turns, Kynt and Vyxen finished last - BUT it was a non-elimination leg! The first one for the race. The twist this year - the team finishing last on the non-elimination leg must deal with a "Speed Bump" during the next leg - a special task that only they must accomplish and that can happen at any time. So stay tuned to the next episode to see if the Goths stay in the race!
12/30/07: The last episode of 2007 bids Kynt and Vyxen goodbye. Their Speed Bump turned out to be a Yoga lesson, but it didn't knock them out the race. They lost their chance to stay in the race when they came in 4th to the U Turn and picked the wrong team to use the U turn on - they chose a team that had already made it past that point, instead of the one team behind them. TK and Rachel won the leg (but I didn't hear the prize because I was away from the TV when they finished). We're down to the Final Four now, the racing should really get intense!
1/6/08: TK & Rachel bumbled by getting a flight that got into the next destination, Osaka Japan, several hours after the rest of the remaining teams. Watching them try to drive taxis in the crowded and confusing Osaka streets was funny - Christina had an advantage in that she speaks Japanese, but she doesn't drive well. Jen and Nate led most of the leg, but their inability to get a taxi to the pit stop gave the win to Ron and Christina, who each won an electric car! TK and Rachel finished last, over 3 hours behind the other teams, but this is a non-elimination leg. They will have their work cut out for them next week making up 3 hours PLUS having to do whatever the Speed Bump challenge entails. Next week's episode should give us our final three for the finale!
1/13/08: In the next to last leg, TK and Rachel battled the odds to stay in the race - 3 hours + behind the other 3 teams, plus facing a speed bump along the way. Off to Taiwan, Ron and Christina take an early lead, while the other 3 teams meet up at the Taiwan airport. It's a very close race! TK and Rachel survived the speed bump and stayed with the other 2 teams in the back of the pack. The Detour may be the turning point.
Teams have to drink tea to reveal their clues at the bottom of the cups and then choose between Fire & Earth. Send 20 lanterns into the sky or walk a path of jadded stones with bare feet.
All of the teams choose Earth, but Jen drags Nate to the subway instead of grabbing a cab, which puts them behind the rest of the teams.
The final three are:
Ron & Christina (who win a trip to the Nether Antillies)
TK & Rachel (who overcame so much that leg!)
Nick & Don
With Jen & Nate eliminated on Jen's birthday.... with all their argueing and fighting, its amazing they made it this far.
Next week - the season finale and the winner is revealed!
1/20/08: It's the finale! Mistakes hurt now more than ever. The first mistake was Don & Nick forgetting to pick up their bag of gear along with the clue. They had to turn around to go back to get it - and lost a HUGE amount of time, which they were lucky to make up by getting through the detour quickly. The three teams had to climb up an ice wall of a glacier. Ron & Christina's lead disappeared when Ron climbed right up despite his fear of heights, but Christina struggled to make it over the first lip and start moving upwards. This allowed TK & Rachel and Nick & Don to catch up to them.
The final road block is a puzzle where you must pick 10 out of 15 items that match certain descriptive statements. WOW - you have to have a really good memory and be able to figure things out.
Christina works the puzzle for their team.
Rachel works the puzzle for their team.
Nick works the puzzle for their team.
All three teams are working this road block at the same time!! It's so close!! It might be one of the most complicated road blocks they've had - it reminds me of the flag challenge during the race where the Hippies won in a close race.
The first to get it right is: RACHEL! They take the lead and are heading to the next clue.
The second to get it right is: CHRISTINA! They move into second place and are heading to the next clue - no idea how far behind TK & Rachel are.
These two teams are neck and neck heading to the pit stop leaving Nick and Don behind at the road block.
TK & RACHEL win the Amazing Race!
RON & CHRISTINA come in Second Place.
NICK & DON come in Third Place.
What another AMAZING RACE it was...
Thanks for following the show with me - and watch for information on the next race when the next season starts up!!!
Video clips from The Amazing Race from You Tube
Relive some of your favorite moments from the series...
So why is The Amazing Race my favorite reality show?
First of all, I love that it is not a popularity contest like Big Brother or Survivor, where rubbing people the wrong way can get you eliminated from the game. That's not to say that it can't hurt your chances in the game, but its not going to get you out by itself.
The challenges are breathtaking and scary at times - like bungee jumps. I'd NEVER be able to do that. Some are sickening - like eating an Ostrich Egg Omelette (that's a lot of egg!). I especially like how they tailor the challenges for the country and culture they are currently visiting.
And the travelling - OMG I've never left the United States, so I've only experienced these other places through TV and movies. I can't imagine the splendour and the awe of visiting some of these places in person. There have been things like visiting a concentration camp, or a place used to transport slaves to the American colonies, or an orphanage struggling to provide for their charges.
There have been times I've cheered when a team has been eliminated, and times when I've cried because I was cheering for them to do well. I get emotionally attached to teams usually very early on in the show - it doesn't make me long to realize who I like and who I don't like.
Sometimes a team will get stuck on a clue and I'll think to myself "But that is so obvious, the answer is _____." Then I'll think to myself, its probably not as obvious when you're pressed for time, in a race for a million dollars, and your brain goes blank on you. I know I would never be able to accomplish some of the tasks and challenges they've used in the show - and yet they manage to keep coming up with even more fantastic adventures each season (OK, except for The Amazing Race Family edition where it was simplified a great deal to accommodate the young children on some of the teams).
They once again won the Emmy for best reality TV show in 2007 - so hopefully we'll have a new installment to enjoy very soon!
The challenges are breathtaking and scary at times - like bungee jumps. I'd NEVER be able to do that. Some are sickening - like eating an Ostrich Egg Omelette (that's a lot of egg!). I especially like how they tailor the challenges for the country and culture they are currently visiting.
And the travelling - OMG I've never left the United States, so I've only experienced these other places through TV and movies. I can't imagine the splendour and the awe of visiting some of these places in person. There have been things like visiting a concentration camp, or a place used to transport slaves to the American colonies, or an orphanage struggling to provide for their charges.
There have been times I've cheered when a team has been eliminated, and times when I've cried because I was cheering for them to do well. I get emotionally attached to teams usually very early on in the show - it doesn't make me long to realize who I like and who I don't like.
Sometimes a team will get stuck on a clue and I'll think to myself "But that is so obvious, the answer is _____." Then I'll think to myself, its probably not as obvious when you're pressed for time, in a race for a million dollars, and your brain goes blank on you. I know I would never be able to accomplish some of the tasks and challenges they've used in the show - and yet they manage to keep coming up with even more fantastic adventures each season (OK, except for The Amazing Race Family edition where it was simplified a great deal to accommodate the young children on some of the teams).
They once again won the Emmy for best reality TV show in 2007 - so hopefully we'll have a new installment to enjoy very soon!
Is Phil the hottest reality show host on TV?
Learn more about Phil Keoghan, in case you don't know him.
If you don't think it's Phil, include YOUR choice in your response...
Is Phil the hottest reality show on TV?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byAbsolutely!
No way - I prefer someone else
jeffwend says:
Well, being a guy, I have a different view on things. I think Olivia Munn is the hottest reality show host. Or Judge Judy (just kidding)
Posted December 13, 2007
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Pick up previous seasons of The Amazing Race at Amazon
The Amazing Race - The Seventh Season
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The Amazing Race DVD Board Game
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Rob & Amber: Against The Odds
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