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.

Ola, fellow racing fans. Don’t forget to turn on your tv tomorrow (Tuesday) night or set your video recorders for the next lap of The Amazing Race. Please check your local listings for the correct time, which I think is 9 Eastern and Pacific, 8 Central, but I’m not swearing to it.

The remaining five teams are Romber, Relly, Juchenna, ExLax, and Metch. For those who have not been following the race, that's Rob and Amber, Ron and Kelly, Joyce and Juchenna, alEX and Lynn, and Meredith and Gretchen, thumbnail bios at the beginning of this thread. Teams left from the Pit Stop at Khwai River Lodge in Botswana in that order. No matter, they bunched at the dusty little Botswanan (Botswanean?) airstrip awaiting their charter flight to Francistown.

SUMMARY. Here’s where they went last week:

Khwai, Botswana to Lucknow, India in the state of Uttar Pradesh,( AKA UtterlyDepressed)

Fly on a charter flight to Francistown, Botswana on small plane
Fly from Francistown 5000 miles to Mumbai, India
FLY from Mumbai to Lucknow
Taxi to a sprawling palace called Bara Imambara to find the first clue
Grab a Horse-drawn carriage and drive three miles to Kohinoor Steel Emporium to find their next clue along with a Yield.
Take a Cycle rickshaw three miles to a gas station in Aishbagh district where they find a Detour, giving them a choice: Pound rocks or Serve tea. All chose tea.
Push tea cart to an office building and serve hot tea to specific employees
Cab or rickshaw to the…….Pit Stop?

Bunched at Francistown, Botswana, Teams discovered that they all had tickets to Mumbai, India, but needed to arrange their own flight from Mumbai to Lucknow. Romber and Relly convinced the ticket agent to book them on the earliest flight, which would get them into Lucknow FIVE minutes before the next available flight. Rob said, “Don’t tell the others, I’ll take responsibility,” to the swamped ticket agent, and so it was.

Meanwhile, outside the tiny terminal ExLax attempted an end run by borrowing a cell phone and calling ahead for tickets, booking a flight for themselves plus Juchenna and Metch, little realizing that their arrival time put them five minutes BEHIND Romber and Relly. When Metch asked why they were being such sweet boys getting tickets for them, Lynn responded “Because we want you guys in the finals with us.” Hardly flattering!

And in a camera-aside, Rob confides to the world: “Our relationship with Ron & Kelly is definitely one of mutual respect and friendship towards each other. So we’re working together, but make no mistake, Amber and I are in it to win it.” The next camera aside shows Relly badmouthing Romber and noting that other teams hate them now that they’re coming in second only to Romber at all the Pit Stops. Apparently Ron and Kelly don’t watch reality TV, or they’d know that everyone hates strong players and winners.

At Lucknow, Relly leaves the airport ahead of Romber, but are passed when their driver has to stop for gas. Ron grumbles, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all.” Someone please FedEx this guy a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking before it’s too late.

Romber arrives at the sprawling, dusty religious (Muslim, it appears) palace called Bara Imambara where they must cover up with headscarves and walk, not run to find their clue. Rob tosses his scarf over his Red Sox hat saying, “We’re all about the customs.”

As Romber strolls down the dusty garden path, Rob tells Amber “Some guy built this for his girlfriend. Imagine if I built you a place, it’d be twice as nice.” (And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why so many race fans want Romber to win. It’s about romance!)

Relly is now exploring the Bara Imambara grounds for the clue box, but does Ron say anything romantic to Kelly? Nah, they’re too busy bickering. Nevertheless, Relly takes the lead after the two couples pick up their clues and race toward the next clue box and the YIELD they will find there……

Meanwhile, back at Lucknow airport, the second plane has landed. Juchenna find a prepaid cab window, plunk down 330 rupees, and are on their way to Bara Imambara as ExLax and Metch screechily try to haggle with cabbies on the street who demand 400. A crowd gathers, shrieking and squealing continues until finally both teams climb into cabs and get underway.

Eyeing the dusty scene out the dusty cab window, Uchanna philosophizes, “Women are not playing a big role in the program here.” Just then, a donkey taxi crosses the square with two Muslim women onboard wearing full black robes with only slits for their eyes. (A chilling reminder that Lucknow is rather close to Pakistan and Kashmir; may the racers escape with their heads.) Juchenna followed by ExLax and Metch finally don their scarves and are looking for the clue at Bara Imambara as…...

Romber and Relly are traveling three miles by horse-drawn carriage to Kohinoor Steel Emporium where they will find their next clue along with a Yield. Rob says, “Gotta get to that Yield first, because if they’re any type of players at all, they’d yield us.”

But Relly gets there first by about 1.5 seconds! Aha, you think, Romber is getting yielded and will finally be eliminated. But silver-tongued Rob sells still another igloo to still another Eskimo as Ron stands looking at him with Yield in hand. Rob says, “This might not be elimination, that’s why we’re saying, ‘Why chance it?” (LOL. Have you ever heard such doubletalk in your life?) Incredibly, Relly’s brains get scrambled and they do NOT yield Romber. (If you think it was a good move, please let us know why.)

Romber and Relly pick up their clue, telling them that this is a Roadblock that only one team member may perform. A mere ten of 600 shiny steel boxes, from purse-size to coffin-size, piled to the ceiling in the Kohinoor warehouse contain the next clue. Kelly and Amber are the designated searchers and agree to tell each other if they find a clue, an exercise in futility, as there’s only one clue per box. Amber finds the clue first and she and Rob peel outta there to find a cycle rickshaw to drive them to a gas station in the Aishbagh district three miles away. Kelly finds her clue quickly, well ahead of the arrival of the last three teams. In their rickshaw, Ron comments about Romber: “They have the most unbelievable luck I’ve ever seen in anyone in my entire life. That’s why we should have yielded them.” (Viewers to Ron: Wake up, inhale the coffee, and speed-read aforementioned book on positive thinking or you are going buh-bye.)

Juchenna and ExLax arrive at Kohinoor Emporium, and ExLax marvels that Romber did not Yield them. Uchenna and Alex search amongst the boxes, with Alex finding his first. Uchenna is still searching as Metch finally pulls up to the door and Gretchen plows into the warehouse. There she has a senior moment, getting totally bewildered and flustered, walking around with her hands on her face mumbling about how it’s impossible to look through all of those boxes.”I could be here for a week!” Well, who can blame her? It’s probably a delayed reaction to the much-worse problem of falling down the mineshaft, which she stiff-upper-lipped like a trouper. Uchenna dashes past her clue in hand, leaving muttering, spluttering Gretch asking Meredith for a hug. She gets one and goes back to the boxes piled twice as high as she is, trying to hold it together as she digs through.

Romber gets to the Aishbagh gas station and discovers that it’s a Detour, with still another Liquid/Solid choice. Solid: In order to get their next clue they must either go to a coal depot one mile away and smash enough coal to fill two burlap sacks with 175 pounds, take it four blocks on a flatbed bike to a store to get their next clue. Liquid: Travel to a local tea stall, select a broken-down wooden teacart and deliver a cup of tea to five employees from a list of ten in exchange for their business cards. Five correct business cards get them their next clue.

Romber decides on tea-time and rumbles off down the dusty street pushing a splintery old cart that holds a bubbling pot of hot tea and a couple of dozen dusty brown pottery cups. Relly follows close behind.

Romber quickly finds the right building, fills one cup of tea from the pot on the cart, and dashes in the door where they find an incredible warren of tiny offices staffed by people who haven’t moved for so long, they might as well be attached to the wall by cobwebs. No one knows where the accounting office is, or billing, or anything else. The alleged employees of this bureaucratic nightmare are just sort of hunched over their desks or milling about, of no help whatsoever to the running, anxious teams. (These are clearly not among the Indians snatching American jobs from our grasp, with the possible exception of those at your local DMV office.)

While Romber and Relly are running up and down stairs with their lists of names, cups of tea, and mounting frustrations, Juchenna and ExLax arrive at the gas station and decide to schlep tea as well. (One might wonder why ExLax passed up the chance to pound coal into lumps to send to Romber for Christmas.)

Romber finally completes the sweaty daunting task and pushes their cart back to the gas station, with Relly not very far behind. Amber notices that the clue tells them to meet Phil on the TAR mat atop the Charbaugh Multi-Story Flats but does not mention the magic words, “Pit Stop.”

Meanwhile, Gretch has finally found a steel box containing a clue and a big crowd of Indian men and children (still no women) gather around Metch, cheering them on and giving them assistance as they move down the road in their rickshaw. On this leg of the race, it’s Metch that gathers adoring crowds rather than Romber. Perhaps because Indians revere age. They finally make it to the office building with their cart of tea and begin making the rounds as Juchenna and ExLax are on their way back to the tea shop.

Romber enlists the aid of an English speaking fellow, jump into a cab and race for Carbaugh Multi-Story Flats as Relly bickers about whether to take a cab or a rickshaw. Ron convinces Kelly that the rickshaw is right there, they might as well take it as Romber pulls up to the Carbaugh -- just an ordinary dusty three- or four-story apartment building but there’s Phil, waiting for them with a smile—and another clue. “This leg is not over,” he tells the exhausted twosome, raising his eyebrow with a fiendish glare.

And that’s where we left the teams, exact times and locations unknown except for Romber. To be continued …..

And where do we go Tuesday night? The race is leaving Lucknow in the dusty state of Uttar Pradesh and moving on to even dustier but history-rich Rajasthan, land of the fabled Mughals, where they will wind up near the city of Jodhpur. I know this from still another inadvertent spoiler on the CBS TAR web site. (They really ought to hire smarter people to run their site!) It says: “Jaswant Thada Just off the fort road and not too far from Mehrangarh Fort, this breathtaking white marble memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II is the Pit Stop for this leg of THE AMAZING RACE.” The Mughals were wealthy enough to build fantastic palaces and plant some trees, so this lap of the race will be more scenic.

If you’d like to read another summation of last week’s race, you might enjoy this one:

The Amazing Race: Rob & Amber Stare Into The Labyrinth Of India
By David W. Taylor Reality Reel Media 04.15.05

Friday, April 15, 2005 - 12:19 PM

Taylor says,"A more delightful episode I have rarely seen and can hardly imagine.”

"Coming tepidly back to India within the unfolding chapters of The Amazing Race is a bit like returning to a familiar malodorous vision in an otherwise meaningless dream. This brimming, spasmodic country — this vague, smokey, lovely India — has an enduring history — like an exotic footnote, laid crooked and bare — between the Amazing Race’s proverbial bookends. When The Amazing Race delights itself to fork its expansive path into more, shall we say, combative territory, it will infallibly fork into India. This land breeds its fortune as a threshing floor for the human soul." You can read it all at the following link.

http://realityreel.com/unscripted_reality_television_episode_summaries_modload-News-article-1164.htm

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