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.
Your statistical work looks good, jriemer. Who should go next?
The Bowling Moms were something else. Perhaps part of their strength was in being low-maintenance, not spending time fluffing up for the cameras. They were a lot less self-conscious than the "babes."
Meanwhile, the surfer dudes are coming into full testosterone bloom, stepping it up, pouring it on, and advancing in the ranks now that they're not distracted by the "hotties."
I also suspect they may have gone on a bit of smokey bender before the journey started, knowing that it wouldn’t be too easy to score some ganj on unfamiliar international turf, especially with the camera crew around.
The fog is slowly lifting. Smell that mountain air, dude! We got us a race to win!
LOL. Rob would love to hear that remark!
As for Alex and Lynn, they're doing amazingly well so far without being totally obnoxious. But in no way are they the Boston Braves.
I'm wondering if the field is concentrating too much on Amber and Rob? One of the pairs, say the surfer dudes, could take advantage of this fact to fly under the radar and take the race.
ROTFL! Whooda thunk that TAR7 could devolve into COPS?
I'm still surprised at the quick departure of the SC Boys in Leg 1. By the numbers, they should have lasted a lot longer.
The team with the Largest Age Range is usually out of the race by Leg 4 (on average) based on data from TAR2-TAR6. Gus / Hera from TAR6 performed the best in this category and they were eliminated on Leg 7. In this race, that team is Miserable Mom 'n' Son.
I think that Miserable Mom 'n' Son or Team AARP is going next. Both are not working well on the show and fighting the statistics. I thought both teams would have been out by now.
For all of Rob's alleged craftiness, the surfer dudes figured understand that TAR is a race not to lose. If you're not eliminated, you're still in the race. The focus on being first and / or beating Romber is a waste of effort compared to the effort needed to be 2nd to last on each leg. Let the other teams tire themselves out.
Wondering too. The other teams waste time and energy getting upset with Romber that they need to use focusing on the race. IMO, ole Rob is aware of this and plays to it, the rotter, doing little things like stealing someone's cab, not so much to get ahead of them as to keep everyone off balance.
Apparently he can only have his own emotions ruffled when someone takes a stab at Amber. If one of Team Dude insulted Amber, for instance, Rob might get so infuriated he'd lose his emotional cool and the Dudes could take advantage.
Any thoughts on the next race, using 4 in a team? I have my doubts about that concept.
Crafty Rob figured that out at the Oversize Bar-B-Q. Last week's race in Santiago was easy for them to win, so they took advantage of their advantages and poured it on. But last night he weighed his options and just decided not to be eliminated. Team Dude may beat them in the end, or another team for that matter. In a running race, Romber would not come in first, for example.
And btw, can you imagine any other woman in the race not questioning her partner's decision to walk away from a challenge? Fur would fly. Amber deserves a great deal of credit for Romber's success so far. One smart little cookie! Joyce seems to be a supportive partner to Uchenna too.
I cannot even imagine the logistical nightmare family TAR would be. Will it be fun to watch? Maybe not for me.
Like you, I enjoy Rob's antics. Unlike you, I enjoyed him from Survivor Marquesas and voted for him, not Rupert, as the best survivor ever at All-Stars with Richard Hatch as my second choice.
Speaking of Hatch, he walked away from a challenge too. He just quit standing on a post in the water, saying he knew he wouldn't win. It was near the end of the game when only he and Rudy and some grrrrrrl were left. (Shhh, we're not talking about the S show here.)
Speaking of logistics. I constantly find myself impressed with how the producers of tar handle the logistics of the race. Watching the race we forget that camera crews have to accompany the racers everywhere, etc......I would love to see outakes of footage that doesn't make the air. Bet there is some real juicy stuff in some of that footage.
I forgot to tape last night. Can you (or anyone) give me a breakdown of how everyone finished? Thanks. I gotta run but will check back later.
Surfer Dudes looking much better! They seemed more confident this leg, even with the bike accident.
I thought Rob was a wimp for not finishing the challenge - the gay guys and the girl both did it, and with less whining. Too bad the girls lost too much time, I'd have liked the mom and son to go. She reminds me of some of my more evil liberal professors.
If you know how to use bittorrent I can tell you where to find last night's episode. Or if you're willing to give me your email address and have decent speed on your internet connection, there's a site I've used in the past to upload big files for other people to download.
I can't figure out which one is more annoying. Alex or Lynn, so far I think Alex. :)
I'm not half as irritated with Lynn and Alex as I am with MiseryMom and son. L&A definitely have their moments but at least they are doing a really good job with the race, thus adding to the overall excitement. MiseryMom and spawn are all hat, no cattle. Self-righteous whiny liberals, one-dimensional, stuck in first gear. L&A probably are liberals too, but they have a few more gears than Team Umbilical.
I'd like to see a mom and straight son team.
I avoided the thread until tonight when I could watch the show....DANG so close!
The most Spanish fluent couple on the show can't read a map. They got eliminated because they can't read a map. If it was me, my first clue would have been knowing that I was supposed to be heading inland to the Andes and we've been driving along the coast for 2 hours.
Here's hoping for next week. Mom and son...Gone!
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