9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Posted on 02/24/2005 8:35:27 AM PST by Veto!
Begins March 1 on CBS, 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific
Here we go again, race fans, for the Seventh Season of The Amazing Race (TAR7). We'll vicariously travel with eleven teams as they fly, drive, climb, crawl, leap, slide, and boogie around the world to compete for one million dollars. They'll never know where they're going next or what they'll have to do once there. The last team to arrive at the "designated pit stop" at the end of each week's episode will be eliminated from the race -- unless it is not. So pull up your favorite armchair and travel along with the Freeper Amazing Race contingent every Tuesday night for the next few months as we root for favorites, throw tomatoes at the others, and wish we were the ones living dangerously. BON VOYAGE!
A Thumbnail Photo Guide To This Season's Possibly Amazing Racers
Brian, 27 & Greg, 24 are brothers from Santa Monica, California. Brian is an actor/bartender and Greg is a bouncer. Their primary motivation for participating in the Race is to travel the world with each other and meet new people. Veto!s opinion: Team Bro wants face time on tv. They are big, strong, in shape, and they think they're action stars. But are they wily? Could be they'll be eating other teams' dust.
Debbie & Bianca are best friends from Los Angeles, California and Woodbridge, Virginia, respectively. Bianca is a high school teacher and Debbie works as a photographer. Both are highly educated, experienced travelers, and have lived abroad. Veto!s opinion: Keep an eye on these two. Unless they scratch each other’s eyes out, they’ll probably do just fine.
Lynn & Alex are (would you believe?) a gay couple from West Hollywood, California. They both work as executive assistants. With their four-year anniversary on the horizon, they possibly hope to get married in Amsterdam—if indeed they race through Amsterdam. Veto!s opinion: Need I say?
Megan & Heidi, a make-up artist and fashion designer, are roommates from Oak Park, California. Both are allegedly extremely competitive and not afraid to take risks. They decided to sign up for the Race “just for the challenge and competition.” Veto!s opinion:. Can the Hair Queens keep up the pace when their tresses get tangled? I see hissy fits on the horizon.
Meredith, 69, & Gretchen, 66, are a husband/wife team from Easton, Maryland. Meredith is a retired executive and Gretchen is a retired nurse/flight attendant. He holds seven National Masters Swimming Championship titles, she admits to being quite loud, particularly when upset. . Veto!s opinion: If Gretch doesn’t turn into Nurse Ratched, they may go far and win Freeper kudos for their efforts.
Ray, 44, & Deana, 27, are a dating-on-and-off team from Canfield, Ohio and Youngstown, Ohio respectively. Ray, a former semi-pro football player, is a stockbroker and Deana is a marketing and promotions executive. Both enjoy weight lifting and karate. Veto!s opinion:This season’s “will their relationship last?” team. Ray will overdo it trying to beat younger guys. Ho-hum.
Rob, 29, & Amber, 26, AKA Boston Rob and Ambuh, are an engaged couple from Canton, Massachusetts and Beaver, Pennsylvania, respectively. They formed an alliance and fell in love when they competed with each other on “Survivor: All Stars.” Amber won the one million dollar prize. Rob finished as the $100k runner-up, but proposed to Amber before they knew which had won the big bucks. Veto!s opinion: Two Thumbs Up! Highly athletic and competitive, these two know how to work together. But will their “take-over-the-‘hood” skills that won them Survivor translate to racing’s Hall of Fame? Why, indeed, not?
Ron, 28, & Kelly, 26, are a dating Team from Villa Rica, Georgia and Greenville, South Carolina, respectively. Ron is a former Iraq War POW who is currently a student at the University of Georgia and works as a motivational speaker. Kelly was crowned Miss South Carolina in 2002 and works as a Legislative Correspondent…(for whom?) Ron was an Apache helicopter pilot in Iraq. When shot down, he was captured, interrogated, held captive and later rescued by the United States Marines. Following his rescue, Ron returned home and was introduced to the reigning Miss South Carolina. The two have been an item ever since. Ron is very competitive and admits he’s a thrill seeker. . Veto!s opinion: Two more thumbs 'way up. They’ll be Freepers’ favorites, and they have what it takes to win.
Ryan, 31, & Chuck, 32, are lifelong friends from Landrum, South Carolina and Inman, South Carolina, respectively. Ryan is a general contractor, and Chuck works in boiler tube replacement sales. Both are motorcycle nuts and very religious. . Veto!s opinion: Definitely wily Southern boys. Up against tough competition, but I hope they make a good showing.
Uchenna, 40, & Joyce, 44, a childless married couple from Houston. Uchenna worked for Enron as an energy trader and Joyce worked in sales for WorldCom, have different jobs since their companies went bankrupt. If they win, they say they’ll use the money for in-vitro fertilization. Veto!s opinion:A tough, scrappy pair, but too much tension here, methinks, for them to get much traction. They’re hardly Kim and Chip, the wonderful black couple who won Amazing Race two seasons back.
Susan, 54, & Patrick, 26, are mother and gay son. She is the Director for Judicial Affairs for Miami University in Ohio and Patrick is a writer now living in Hollywood. Susan, married to Patrick’s father for 34 years, earned her college degree as a “non-traditional” student. Patrick says his family has always been very supportive of him,even —surprise, surprise-- when he told them he was gay. Veto!s opinion: They’re looking for love in all the wrong places; hopefully, their elimination from the show will be swift and merciful.
That’s it for the Preview.
Line of the night by team fudge, "we're used to bringing up the rear".
You know this East coast West coast thing makes sharing a thread difficult.
I watched it tonight.
I told you Rob was ruthless!
Yes, I wrote it down for the recap when I get around to writing it. The gay boys are funny. And doing well, too. Susan and Patrick are imploding, LOL. Pa-a-a-a-anicking.
I loved the show tonight, but got spoiled last week with the two-hour show. Tonight it seemed too short and over too soon. Plus, I was miffed that we got THAT close to Machu Pichu and didn't see it. But Santiago was much more beautiful than I'd imagined.
Rob sure got all the alpha-ish males on his side and indebted to him. Don't know how much good it will do him, but each of the other guys with testosterone owes him one now: Ron, Ray, and Uchenna, who came in second, third, and fourth thanks in part to Rob's conniving. He's such fun to watch. He and Ambuh will probably break the bank at Paradise Island.
I have to sign off for a couple of days, as I have a client who's about to kill me and I have to get some work done for a change. I'll miss the fray here. Back soon.
Rick and Bubba, Rick and Bubba pass the gravy please. MOst definately the 2 sexiest fat men alive. :)
They got rid of the FF on each leg on TAR5. IMHO, the FF was a great idea because it injected a bit of strategy into each race plus there was two "races" in each leg:
1) to be the first to the pit stop by completing the entire course
2) to be first to the FF to bypass the remainder of the course and possibly win.
Now there's just the foot races from bunch-up to bunch-up - no real strategy. I'm not counting lying / screwing over other teams as a sustainable strategy because it's a plan of diminishing returns as a team PO'es the other teams.
So far, none of these are panning out...
Self Ping
No kidding! I was so excited about a mother/son team at last, and this? Our Lady of the Hyperactive. Chill, toots - otherwise you'll be a puddle when the killer fatigue starts to sink in.
But no way! Rob is great! He's playing to win and he's willing to screw everybody. It's great. He is really funny and about 40 yards smarter than all the other idiots. The paying the guy not to open the back doors trick on the bus was hysterical, and the fact that he tricked the other teams into paying for it, while he kept his money in his pocket, was icing on the cake. Seriously, he adds a whole new wicked element to the game.
The gay guys are not horrific, but the pulling up the rear comment almost made me hurl. I loved their hissy fit in the market. That was classic. They are a self-parody, so that's a bit fun.
I was rooting for the hillbillies at first - out. Then I was rooting for the hotties - out. Rob's great to watch but I think I'd like to see the two dumb brothers wise up and start hitting back tactically. I've gotten over their faggy matching bandanas from Week One, and now find them dopey laidback cool, like Phish fans. They're definitely going to be trying to score a dube at some point.
The gay guys are going to start fighting dirty. So will the winning-obsessed athlete guy, but I don't think either of those teams have the smarts to outwit Rob.
The black married couple is flying low under the radar. I don't know what they've got. I hate to say it, but the POW doesn't seem to have enough on the ball, and doesn't seem particularly driven to win this thing.
I hate the two kissy chicks. They're very annoying.
I hated the old couple when they were the exact same old couple last season! Are all old people that whiney and annoying? And do they all say things like, "What we lack in speed and strength, we'll make up with our intelligence and experience." And do they always do really stupid things right after they say that?
Far and away, my "can't wait to see them lose" team is the umbilical team. I work with a lady who is the carbon copy of that woman in every way, and I can't stand either of them. I want them off my television now!!
It must be all that coca-flavored water she's been snorting drinking since arriving in Peru.
As I recall, jreimer, your statistics showed Megan and Heidi in the first-three-to-be-eliminated category too, and they're gone. And Susan and Patrick are sinking fast.
My original assessment of Susan and Patrick as Kerry voters is panning out too. Who but dyed-in-the-wood liberals would spend all their money before everyone else and expect perfect strangers (Taxpayers) to pay their way?
Ole Rob said when faced with the shop-or-schlep challenge, "we're running out of money, we'd better schlep." And proceeded to schlep in a careful, workmanlike manner. Brains and brawn. He's looking really good at this point.
dead, your term, "Umbilical Team" is a hoot.
But I don't agree that this season's AARP Team is just like the others. They seem 'way out of balance to me, with hubby thoroughly henpecked. Last season's pair gave us a classic TAR moment when hubby, the doctor, applied surgical skills to stuffing sausage and tying it off with surgical knots. And she hacked her way up the ice wall faster than some of the young hunky guys. I liked them a lot.
So right on the money. (pun intended)
Agree, and boo hiss to the producers who must have assumed that any son willing to go around the world with his mother would have to be gay.
You sure hit the mark, sweet diane. Hope you were watching last night, as Rob gave a boost to Ron, also to Ray and Uchenna, helping them come in 1,2,3,4. Could be these four have formed a posse, at least for now, with Rob the self-appointed leader.
Can anyone tell me how Ron and Ms. SC got in 2nd place last night? I missed the first 20 min. of the game and couldn't figure out how they got from last to 2nd. I have a feeling their "romance" will end by the end of the show. She is way too controlling. Rob is definately competitive. I watched both Survivors that he was on and he manipulated very well. No one ever figured him out until it was too late.
What did he do to help them out? I missed it. :)
So far Rob&Ambuh look like winners, but he's not as fast a runner as some of the other guys. So who knows?
Last season's pair gave us a classic TAR moment when hubby, the doctor, applied surgical skills to stuffing sausage and tying it off with surgical knots. And she hacked her way up the ice wall faster than some of the young hunky guys. I liked them a lot.
They really lost me when they tried to whine their way out of the IKEA challenge. (“But we’re very old and we can’t count anymore!”) And I did get sick of hearing them talk about how smart they were, even though they were constantly making really bad decisions (and they couldn't count!).
Plus, some found it endearingly sweet, but I found his constant crying cloying and annoying.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.