The Amazing Race 14

[jayhawk4]

New season of Amazing Race starts tonight! It's on CBS at 8:00 eastern time -- so less than 30 min. from now. :)

I always seem to miss the first couple of episodes, but not this time. I'm ready to meet the new teams!

[Edit: I don't know about you guys and gals, but I'm terrible at remembering names. Here's a quick reference (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/bio/)!]

[gilmogirl94]

I'm sooooooo glad that this show is starting a new season!!!! They always have such interesting people on it. My family and I always joke about how terrible we would be on the show if we would ever get on it. :) HAHA

[Wheels4Jesus]

I am so glad Luke and his mom got first place right off the bat. I cried when Phil signed that they were team number 1. Really says something for him to learn sign language to communicate with him.

[newsboysfan]

Definitely happy that Luke and his mom came in first


as for the Roadblock...no way!

[Toddrick33]

This season is going to ROCK, if the fancy new graphics are any indication!
Also, the BICKERING TEAM went home FIRST! I bet the producer are bummed! :)
(We still have the Hillbilly bickering team, but it's not the same.)

From first swipe, my faves are:

Marie & Luke
Mark & Michael - the stund doubles
Amanda & Kris - the happy (so far) couple

The teams that annoy me are:

Tammy & Victor - the lawyers
Mel & Mike

The challenges were cool... but bungee jumping is the one thing I NEVER want to do!!
I think that the cheese challenge was rigged for those things to break! I don't want to buy that brand of cheese... it's too dirty, haha!

Props to Phil for doing sign language at the end!

How cool would it be to take a train ride through the Swiss Alps!?

[jayhawk4]

Just as I sat down to watch the show, my mom called ... go figure! But I still saw most of it.

That cheese challenge was crazy -- some of those wooden things were breaking before they even got them loaded up with cheese! Plus, that steep and muddy hill! Yikes.

I was happy about Margie & Luke coming in first too. Very cool.

And I edited my original post to include a link to this season's pics & names ... just because it's hard to remember who's who. :)

[BrandyofPW]

Todd the lawyers are so going to grow on you! :p

I'm so jealous of the Roadblock...I totally want to do it!

[Toddrick33]

Todd the lawyers are so going to grow on you! :p

I'm so jealous of the Roadblock...I totally want to do it!

After the second week... they still haven't grown on me!

I liked the team that went home today. They loved each other in their own interesting way.

I would have been really bummed to not be able to do the hang gliding thing. That I could handle (as compared to bungee jumping)!

I would have had a hard time at the Detour, because they both looked so fun!

I also enjoyed Phil destroying German pronunciations, haha.

[jayhawk4]

I agree -- I would take hang gliding over bungee jumping any day! And those detours were fun. It seemed like Luke & Margie had to throw way more pies than anyone else. He was getting so aggravated!

I felt bad for Linda when she got lost. She was so worried that he was going to be mad at her. I'm glad he wasn't.

[Toddrick33]

I was really hoping that Tammy & Victor would go tonight!!

There wasn't anything too exciting in this episode. I'm glad I didn't have to do gymnastics, though! :o

What is it with my team always losing their fanny packs!?

Congrats to Jaime & Kara, being the first team to perpetuate the ugly American stereotype. Berating your taxi cab driver while chewing gum like a cow... not cool!

[jayhawk4]

I don't know ... I kind of like Tammy & Victor. But they really screwed up everything tonight! Hopefully they'll learn from it all. If not, then they deserve to go, I guess. Props to Mike & Mel though on being first! Goes to show that physical strength is important, but not everything.

I would've loved the gymnastics stuff. I took a few years of dance when I was younger, so I have freakishly good balance. Haha.

And the girls yelling at the cab driver ... sheesh. I'm sure he's going to try harder to help you if you act like a jerk to him. :rolleyes:

[Toddrick33]

I don't know ... I kind of like Tammy. But [Victor] really screwed up everything tonight! Hopefully [he'll] learn from it all. If not, then [he] deserve[s] to go, I guess.

I correct you so I agree. ;)

[jayhawk4]

^ LOL. You have a good point. He was really stubborn, but she didn't try hard enough to stop him. She probably wouldn't have succeeded ;), but she could have asserted herself more.

[BrandyofPW]

What is it with my team always losing their fanny packs!?

I know..lol. I wanted them to be first but at least they found it and got their stuff back.

Victor was so annoying. I loved that after they're on top of some mountain that they didn't need to be on, because of him, he broke down and said okay you can help make the decisions...what is that? I felt sorry for Tammy.

Overall, this episode was kind of boring. :(

[Toddrick33]

Almost all of my clocks were changed... but not my VCR. :( So I missed the first 15 minutes!

Oh well, it was a pretty exciting episode.

My team is out. :( They were so nice to each other and everybody else!
I am now rooting for Luke and his mom (despite their evil U-Turning, but it is a game).

There are no teams that I outright dislike, but Tammy & Victor and their smug haughtiness are getting there!!

[jayhawk4]

I liked Amanda & Kris too. When they got eliminated, I was thinking, "Aw, but they're so nice to each other." Then I realized that most of the people this season get along fairly well w/ their teammates. They really haven't been too nasty to each other just yet.

When Luke was trying to unscramble those letters, I wanted to jump in there and help him! His mom does such a great job of supporting him and encouraging him though.

It will be interesting to see how everyone reacts to Luke & Margie being the ones to use the U-turn -- just because they've been so likeable and nice to everyone. Now that I think about it, there hasn't been a lot of conflict between teams either, has there?

[Toddrick33]

Weird, but I'm having a hard time liking anybody after Kris & Amanda got booted! I think my new team is the stunt double brothers, they are hilarious.

The cheerleaders continue their "ugly American" streak. Um... let's mock our taxi cab driver. "Hey, why can't anybody speak English." DUH! You're in RUSSIA! Why aren't you speaking Russian!? Just because someone laughs at you doesn't mean they're drunk. Oh yeah, one more, Americans are spoiled with dental hygiene.

As I've said pretty much every season, "Note to self: Learn to drive stick shift for when you go on Amazing Race!" It is true this season as well!

I wonder if Phil got a bonus for showing up in his underwear. I would not have liked that challenge...

[jayhawk4]

I really thought those brothers were going to get hit by a car early on! I wouldn't be running out into that crazy traffic!

I'm starting to like Mike & Mel more and more. They've done surprisingly well, and they crack me up sometimes. They don't seem to take themselves too seriously.

First the gymnastics outfits, then racing in their underwear?! Yikes. Guess you can't be too self-conscious on reality TV, huh?

[Toddrick33]

So, I was pretty happy with the outcome tonight! They had me worried for a second! Just goes to show you that the speed bump does not HAVE to be detrimental. They speedbumped team almost made it! When the girls said that all they need is someone to make a mistake, the producers implied that it would happen with the brothers, those tricksters! Also, the Detour task I would have picked probably may have cost me the race without the speed bump! Only the brothers did the bike and they took the longest.

The comment at the beginning by Mike/Mel about who wants to ride an airline called Kacca was pretty funny!

There was a touch of "poverty porn" going on in this episode. (That's the what the media dubbed Slumdog Millionaire.) It's a nice reminder to know that we're blessed, but I'm glad that the show didn't further exploit the teams' emotions.

Again... the cheerleaders continue their trend as the ugly Americans. They need to go... soon!

Did anybody see that camel kick that guy over!? It was so quick, but that was crazy!

[jayhawk4]

Again... the cheerleaders continue their trend as the ugly Americans. They need to go... soon!

Yes, they do!!

Did anybody see that camel kick that guy over!? It was so quick, but that was crazy!

First, the guy gets kicked, then the next shot is of Tammy falling down. That whole sequence was a little weird. But kind of funny ...

And I'm rooting for Mike & Mel. They just don't give up. That whole thing Mel said about wanting Mike to be proud of him ... aww!

[jayhawk4]

So...the order tonight was pretty much the reverse of how I wanted it to turn out. I really don't want to watch those girls anymore. :(

This episode wasn't too exciting. I got a phone call around the time it started, so I turned the volume down on the first 15 or 20 minutes. As much as I hate too much drama between teams, I kind of feel like this season needs a little to liven things up!

On a positive note, YAY for Mike & Mel and all that they accomplished. They went out with such great attitudes and I'm going to miss them!

[Toddrick33]

OK, I'm really late, but good episode.

From a reality show blog I read (I'm not publishing the link because he uses some pretty course language sometimes), he said exactly what I wanted to say about the cheerleaders!

"Searching for a clue in one of 99 drawers by asking a shop keeper to open the drawers one at a time, Jaime became outraged that yet another person didn’t suddenly understand English once she started screaming at them. I get how stressful the situation must be, but contrast her acute horribleness with Mel and Mike, who laughed and made fun of themselves when they had similar trouble. They didn’t take it out on the man who probably had no idea what he was signing up for and will now have nightmares of a fire-headed woman spewing acid out of her mouth."

HAHA!

I didn't care for Mike & Mel, but I do have to say, their attitude was very good. So I'd rather have seen the cheerleaders go.

I like the brothers, so I'm glad their penalty didn't hurt them... although, since when is there a penalty for tampering with stuff!?

[Toddrick33]

Stinking basketball. :(

[Toddrick33]

I guess it was the Country Music Awards, not basically. But they are both fairly equal in terms of boringness.

[jayhawk4]

I didn't comment about this week's episode because I missed most of it. :)

But I did see the end. I guess I didn't realize that you couldn't use your personal items to pay off what you owe someone (i.e., a cab driver). Haven't teams done that in the past? I think the brothers have to be setting some kind of record for penalties! Especially 2 episodes in a row! They didn't exactly get eliminated, but it sounds like they might as well have been. It'll be a steep climb for them next week to catch up.

[Toddrick33]

I guess I didn't realize that you couldn't use your personal items to pay off what you owe someone (i.e., a cab driver). Haven't teams done that in the past?


That's what I thought!

haha, it was a good episode, but nothing too exciting happened (except the penalties).

[jayhawk4]

Ugh. That whole pushing at the clue box thing was blown way out of proportion. I guess if the show doesn't have any drama, you have to create some. I got a little tired of hearing them complain about it.

I have to say, it was fun watching Tammy & Victor actually be able to communicate in Chinese...at first. Once they got to the calligraphy stations, they got a little too chatty!

I was hoping that by some miracle, Mark & Michael would be able to stage a comeback and beat out Jaime & Cara. But, I guess we'll just have to put up with them for at least another week.

[Toddrick33]

Ugh. That whole pushing at the clue box thing was blown way out of proportion. I guess if the show doesn't have any drama, you have to create some. I got a little tired of hearing them complain about it.

I have to say, it was fun watching Tammy & Victor actually be able to communicate in Chinese...at first. Once they got to the calligraphy stations, they got a little too chatty!

I was hoping that by some miracle, Mark & Michael would be able to stage a comeback and beat out Jaime & Cara. But, I guess we'll just have to put up with them for at least another week.

Ditto, ditto, ditto. I don't even have to post! :)

Other than the brothers, Tammy & Victor were actually my favorite team tonight! :eek:

They way overdid the Chinese, but it was still cool. The other teams... ATTITUDE CITY!
Tammy & Victor won me over by staying on the mat and keeping their thoughts to themselves.

[jayhawk4]

At EW.com, Phil has a blog post about last night's episode. Here's his take on the four remaining teams:

Victor/Tammy: Smart, analytical, and competitive, but do they have the street smarts to pull it off?

Luke/Margie and LaKisha/Jen: I'll put these two together following last night's meltdown. Both are strong competitors and the partners communicate really well, but will the teams' feud with each other get in the way? Also, Margie and Luke have played out of their heads the past two weeks -- can they maintain that level of play?

Cara/Jaime: Strong team, but can they get through the rest of the Race without coming to blows with the locals? Case in point, Jaime yelling at the man during last night's dancing challenge because he couldn't understand English. Yelling at someone who doesn't understand your language when you're in their country -- are you serious?

Nothing more needs to be said, really. Except that I agree wholeheartedly. LOL.

[Toddrick33]

Yeah, at this point I hope the cheerleaders are gone. They are the quintessential ugly Americans!

[jayhawk4]

Ooh...suspense! Guess we have to wait 'til next week to see who gets eliminated.

I refuse to believe the synchronized diving task was that difficult!! LOL. Just get a rhythm going or count it down! They looked like they were falling off the diving board half the time.

[Toddrick33]

It's sad that I no longer have anybody to root for! The "least" annoying team is Tammy & Victor so I will root for them!

All the other teams seem to enjoy making ugly American and racist remarks, and it's getting on my nerves!

I do have to say that I enjoyed this episode in kind of a Schadenfreude way.... I feel kind of bad about that, but seriously, this has been a very entertaining season!! :D

[Toddrick33]

I think the producers wanted Tammy & Victor to win... 3 legs in China!?

Unfortunately Jen/Keisha (forget who is who) did not have the drive to win. I mean she went so slow with the bugs, and then went to the bathroom. If you wanted to win, you could've held it!

I am not happy at all that the cheerleaders snuck in there...

[newsboysfan]

I think the producers wanted Tammy & Victor to win... 3 legs in China!?
AND a detour that involved speaking Chinese?

I am not happy at all that the cheerleaders snuck in there...

me neither

[jayhawk4]

I am not happy at all that the cheerleaders snuck in there...

My reaction? NOOOOO!!!

Oh, well. It's just a TV show, right? LOL.

At least with Kisha and Jen gone, that whole "feud" with Margie and Luke should be over.

[Toddrick33]

In the end, I chose Luke & Margie to root for. They were the only ones who didn’t act like complete wusses during the pig challenge. Also, Luke rocked the surf board challenge… until he started to stress out. I felt bad for him!

Tammy & Victor deserve it, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less annoying!

I was so happy Jamie & Cara didn’t win. Jaime performed her first nice action of the race by keeping her promise and helping Luke.

Can’t wait for next season!

[jayhawk4]

Yeah, I was okay with the way things turned out. Tammy & Victor were solid throughout most of the competition.

I was disappointed that the girls got 2nd, but they didn't win, so that's what counts. I'm glad that Jaime helped Luke too ... for a second there, I thought she was just going to take off!

Good for Margie & Luke, though. Their moment at the finish line was pretty great.