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 others eyes out, theyll 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 Amsterdamif 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 doesnt 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 seasons 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 racings 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 hes a thrill seeker. . Veto!s opinion: Two more thumbs 'way up. Theyll 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 theyll 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. Theyre 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 Patricks 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: Theyre looking for love in all the wrong places; hopefully, their elimination from the show will be swift and merciful.
Thats it for the Preview.
Just saw Rob and Amber on Regis and Kelly. When Regis asked Rob what cost them the reace, he replied,"American Airlines".
Then went on to say, "whoever heard of after the door has been closed and the jetway retracted, that they would stop and allow someone to board"?
I wish I'd seen Romber on Regis. American Airlines sure did cost them the race, with probably a little help from the TAR producers and CBS who would have had a dull finish on their hands had Romber arrived in Florida alone.
A friend who is not a fan of TAR or of any contestants saw it last night and thought that Romber was definitely robbed of the win.
I was ticked that they spent so much time in dusty Africa and India and little time in interesting places like Istanbul and London. And you're right, they didn't go around the world. Add that to my disgust at the apparently fixed ending and I don't think I'll want to watch next season.
Even before the fixed ending, I had already told my wife that I didn't like the idea of 4 people on a team and would not be watching TAR 8. What TAR did Tuesday night IMHO has done serious damage to the franchise.
I'll probably watch TAR 8. Nothing else is on Tuesday night and my DVR always has room on it.
Oh wait, is "24" on Tuesday? :-)
Then went on to say, "whoever heard of after the door has been closed and the jetway retracted, that they would stop and allow someone to board"?
He gets it. He knows he was robbed.
I'm sure Kelly is a very nice person in real life, but the thing that really bothered me was when she would call him a "piece of red-neck white trash", or words to that effect. My opinion of her took a nose dive after that big time.
You all are funny with the "fixed ending" thing. I'm not sure if you really think that, but I definitely don't think it was fixed.
I've read a few articles discussing the ending and it seems all above board. Also, Uchenna said that the the reason they originally said "no" to them was because Rob had asked them to. Uchenna was upset and kept begging (not shown) and the lady felt guilty (since there was room on the plane) and called the pilot.
Rob and Amber were great racers, but they did have a lot of good luck. Their fame helped them a lot - there were at least 3 times the people helping them admitted they were fans. It could have been more. They rarely had any bad luck during the race until the last day. I believe they were actually about 45 minutes behind Uchenna and Joyce (not the close call that it looked like on the show.)
Also, if CBS really wanted to fix it, it probably would have been easier to keep Rob and Amber off the earlier flight, than to squeeze U/J onto it. It would have been an even more exciting finish to have all 3 teams fighting to the end.
If I was a big Rob and Amber fan I think I would be happy they were in the show the whole time. They did make it fun to watch. They will be just fine without that extra million! :-)
I agree with you really. I think it was her worst moment (even worse than the POW comment, for various reasons), and I was even kind of hoping they would be eliminated after that episode, because I didn't want to see them fighting.
However, Ron obviously forgave her. It was a comment made during a bad day (Ron wasn't being very nice to her that day either.) I guess since Ron gave her a second chance, I did too, and I enjoyed her a lot more when I watched the insider videos, than when I watched the show.
Keeping somebody off a plane because an unknown passenger told them to seems as implausible as letting somebody on the plane after the flight is closed.
The season is over, a good team won, but Juchenna should have never made that flight. Never in a million years...not without a lot of outside help.
The season is over, a good team won, but Juchenna should have never made that flight. Never in a million years...not without a lot of outside help.
Amen, couldn't have said it better.
Please, someone, we need a volunteer to run the next Amazing Race thread sometime in the fall. Just contact me for the ping list. Many many thanks!
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