THE AMAZING RACE VII --TAR7-- Official Show Thread & photo preview

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!

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.

It's Amazing Race day, fellow Freeper fans. Tonight they'll be running the seventh leg of the race, starting somewhere in Botswana. Nine o'clock Eastern and Pacific time.

In case you missed last week's two-episode extravaganza, here's a rundown of both laps. Tonight is only an hour, with a "special" scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

Lap 5 – From South America to South Africa

Fly from Buenos Aires 5000 miles to Johannesburg with $217

JoBurg Airport to
Fast Forward: Drive 26 miles to Soweto
Detour:
Tunnels: Drive 50 miles to underground caves and rappel 45 feet into the earth, searching the labyrinth for their next clue OR
Tribes: Drive 40 miles to Lesedi Cultural Village where they deliver items to the correct tribes to get their clue
Roadblock: Baragwanath Market, Soweto
Orlando Children’s Home
Pit Stop – on some corner in beautiful downtown Soweto

At the Buenos Aires airport, Rob and Amber lose their lead thanks to still another interminable terminal wait, and all of the other teams catch up. Relly and Juchenna are unfortunate enough to be checked in by a woman who insists that they check their backpacks, meaning they’ll have to wait for their luggage in JoBurg. Ray and Deana schmooz their way into a first-class seat (details in post #393) and are first to deplane and jump into a car. When they open their clue, they find a Fast Forward, one of two in the entire race. Off they speed to the Orlando Cooling Towers, where they suit up and walk a shaky bridge suspended across the top of a 30-story tower. Ray gets across without falling to his death and then Deana teeters across, with nary a discouraging word from Ray.

As Reana is struggling across the bridge, Romber suits up and waits below, hoping Reana will fall into the tower. Rob loses his cool and flares up at Amber over whether to wait or move on to Tribes or Tunnels. “You make the decision, can you do that?” Amber looks so shocked, it’s clear he rarely if ever has been harsh with her before. While they’re trying to decide, Reana completes the task and dashes off to the Pit Stop at the corner of Ngane St. in Soweto, the first team to arrive, each winning a shiny new Rav4, the most valuable prize yet.

Romber chooses Tribes, stops at a hospital to get directions (and “a psych evaluation,” Rob jokes), where, of course, staff members recognize them and give them directions complete with hugs and beaming smiles.

Meanwhile, the other teams have started into their Detour tasks. Lynn and alEX (ExLax) decided to go with Tribes, which means they had to find Lesedi Cultural Village, a tourist attraction where demonstration tribes occupy different areas, wear traditional clothing, and occupy themselves with making their tribal specialties. ExLax giggles their way through the winding little paths of the village in hit-or-miss fashion, finally delivering the correct item to each tribal elder: the beads to the bead making tribe, basket to basket weavers, etc. Five correctly delivered items gets them five necklaces, which they turn in for their next clue. They’re outta there by the time Romber arrives. Rob uses his head at the village, figuring out that the baskets probably go to the basketmaking tribe, etc etc. and they get through the Detour quickly.

Brian and Gregg (Bregg), Ron and Kelly (Relly), Meredith and Gretch (Metch), Joyce and Uchenna (Juchenna) chose Tunnels. Bregg and Relly made quick work of crawling on their bellies like reptiles to find their clue. Metch has a hard time of it, but finally gets through the cave. Trouble is, they didn’t understand that the clue was in the cave, so they had to suit up and rappel down again. Juchenna struggles but finally gets through the cave, clue in hand. But Pow! Gretchen falls on her head underground, a medic rushes in, stitches her bloody cut with one stitch and bandages her head from ear to ear and forehead to chin. Gamely, Metch completes the task, but they are running far at the back of the pack now.

All teams go from the Detour to the Roadblock at Baragwanath outdoor marketplace where they must purchase five items to deliver to an orphanage: a child’s backpack, a toy, a blanket, two shirts, and ten diapers. Kelly ambles through the market, looking like she has all the time in the world. ExLax and Bregg quickly find the items. Amber arrives and is recognized by still another enthusiastic fan in a bright pink suit who grabs her list and dashes around gathering the stuff with Amber at her heels. Rob calls her their “angel in heels and a skirt.” Uchenna does the shopping with no mishap, and finally Metch arrives, with Gretch wandering around the market looking dazed and confused.

At the Orlando Children’s Home, crowds of cute little kids await, cheering and laughing at the teams. Relly arrives first and Kelly wishes she could stay and play. Next comes Bregg with their stuff, including two WWF shirts, one bro telling the kids, “Stay out of trouble and don’t do drugs.” ExLax just sort of waves at the kids; then comes Romber, and Rob takes a minute to kick a soccer ball around with the little boys. Juchenna surprisingly doesn’t relate to the kids much, Metch is too tired to do more than wander in and smile.

Teams arrive at the Pit Stop in that order.

1. Reana
2. Relly
3. Bregg
4. ExLax
5. Romber (and their shopping angel)
6. Juchenna
7. Metch NOT eliminated

Metch hands over not only all of their money but their luggage too, leaving them with the clothes on their backs and nothing more.

LAP 6 South Africa to Botswana

Drive to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve and feed lions
Fly to beautiful downtown Gaborone, Botswana
Travel by Train and Bus to a Giant Aardvark
Roadblock: Spear a moving burlap bag Bushman style
Drive to Xua Xarra, a remote cattle post
Detour – Food or Water (Grinding or Sucking)
Food: Grind a basketful of corn in a traditional wooden container to specific standards of bush women. OR
Water: Suck water from a container through a long straw, deposit it into a dozen ostrich eggs, and bury them in a hole
Drive to the Pit Stop and Run to the mat.

Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 10:41 pm, Reana learns that they must drive 30 miles to the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve and sign up for one of two shuttles, one at 8 am and the other at 9 am, into the reserve to feed wild lions to earn their next clue. Ray: "Deana and I love being in first place, and we don't plan to give it up." As Romber leaves for the Reserve, Rob remarks to the camera: "We're gettin' no Christmas cahds from these people!" With all the teams at the reserve, Metch begs for money. Rob and Ray decline, Rob says, “They’re the biggest con artists going,” and Ray calls them “sacrificial lambs.”

Reana, Relly and Bregg take the 8:00 a.m. shuttle and toss hunks of raw meat to growling snarling lions. On the next shuttle, Rob, who’s never at a loss for words, says this feels like Jurassic Park, and doesn't everyone know what happened in that movie.

As teams on the second shuttle race for the airport where they’ll board Air Botswana, Romber and Metch follow ExLax in the WRONG direction. Romber and Metch turn around at a tollbooth, but ExLax keeps going to downtown JoBurg, through ever more creepy areas. “This looks like downtown Compton,” (LOL. You might say that Compton looks like downtown Soweto, if not JoBurg.) ExLax is plenty afraid but hires a guy who looks least likely to be packing a gun to get them to the airport.

. Teams took two different flights to Gaborone, but bunched up at the train station. When ExLax refuses to share a large empty van with Romber, Rob remarked, “Lynn’s got his head up his ass. He might be able to run Alex like a little farm boy, but he can’t treat everyone like that. I’m done being nice.”

At the giant aardvark, Racers find a Roadblock where one Team member had to perform a bushman training exercise of throwing a spear through a moving burlap bag swinging on a rope from a branch 20 feet away. Spear tossing is not an American sport, so it took some time for Brian to hit the mark, soon followed by Ron and Lynn with Ray, Mitch, Rob, and Uchenna spearing up the rear in that order.

Opening their clue, Bregg learned they must drive 35 miles to a remote cattle post known as Xua Xarra. Immediately, Ron, experienced in driving hummers in Iraq, overtakes them. Greg tells Brian to stay off the sandy shoulder of the road. Brian comments that the sand is slippery and immediately skids off the road, rolling his vehicle. Bregg sustains no injuries, except to their pride, but their cameraman does a good imitation of dead lying in the sand. ExLax stops and the boys flit around sympathetically saying my oh my, but offer no real help. Romber slows down, but decides not to stop. “There was no way we were stopping. It’s a competition,” says Rob. Every other team passes Bregg, shouting out their windows, “Are You OK?”

Arriving at the Detour in Xua Xarra, Teams had to choose between Food and Water. Or essentially between grinding and sucking. For Food, Teams must use a traditional wooden container and two sticks to grind enough corn to the specific standards of bush women to fill a basket. Teams opting for Water must use reed straws to suck enough water from an underground spring to fill 12 ostrich eggs and then bury the eggs underground for cool storage.

Relly began grinding corn, then Romber arrived and chose sucking. They battled for first place as ExLax began grinding corn. Relly finished first and Romber soon after. They drove seven miles to the Pit Stop at the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans, the largest salt pan in the world. Both teams pulled up at the same time but Relly won the footrace to the mat.

Back at the Detour, discoordinated ExLax bumped into each other while grinding their corn (bumping and grinding) , with Reana, Metch and Juchenna beginning ing to grind as well. It was tougher than it looked, as the container was small and the sticks they used were too large for both to fit in at the same time. This meant that the teams had to develop a smooth rhythm, one going up while the other went down. Eventually, Juchenna and ExLax ground enough corn to the right consistency and stepped on the mat in that order. Metch ground away with determination if not grace, but Reanna had nothing but trouble. No rhythm, no coordination. What is it with these two?

Meanwhile, Bregg received their replacement vehicle, arriving at the cattle post in last place and far behind the others. One look at the struggling grinders convinced them that sucking, while against their cult of cool, held the greatest hope for them. Metch was the first of these last teams to finish and earned a fifth-place finish.

And then a great TAR moment! Bregg and Reana finished their detour tasks at exactly the same moment, leapt into their vehicles and raced to the finish line. Arriving together, they jumped out and ran to the mat, with Bregg beating out Reana, who essentially quit before they started running.

Teams finished in this order:

1. Relly
2. Romber
3. ExLax
4. Juchenna
5. Metch
6. Bregg
7. Reana – ELIMINATED

This Pit Stop is really the pits! They slept outside in a sort of open-air homeless shelter, in uncomfy looking cots lined up one after the other on the sand. Sand. Sand fleas. Venomous desert reptiles. What else? How could anyone get a decent night's rest? Will lack of sleep effect their game? Tune in tonight to see.

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