Notes:

• As of Season 37, The Amazing Race (U.S.) has traveled 1.25 million miles across 97 countries!
• Countries like England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are all just counted under the UK. Same goes for Hong Kong and Macau counted under just China.
• The U.S. is counted as a country visited in every season.
• Overall, Season 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 have the best routes.
  • I would say this is like the "golden age" of TAR, and you can actually see this reflected in the edit bc the best airport drama was during these seasons.
  • Season 5 in particular has the most distance traveled, goes to the 6 main continents, and visits 12 countries (United States → Uruguay → Argentina → Russia → Egypt → Kenya → Tanazania → United Arab Emirates → India → New Zealand → Philippines → Canada → United States)
  • Season 10's route was very ambitious as TAR has not returned to a whopping six of the countries it went to, which is double more than any other season (Mongolia, Kuwait, Mauritius, Madagascar, Finland, Ukraine)
• Meanwhile, Season 8, 24, 33, 34, 35, and 36 have the worst routes.
  • Season 8 is the Family Edition which visited a lot of U.S. states and stayed only in North America because kids are racist (just kidding).
  • Season 33, 34, and 36 were all filmed with COVID-19 restrictions, so they mostly just traveled in Europe or South America. The upcoming season, 38, is an all-Europe route for some reason too.
  • Season 24 is out-of-place bc its route was especially lacklustre and boring for some reason, plus it reused challenges of the race from other international versions of the show.
• Analyzing the seasons after the "golden age" and before COVID-19 (seasons 12-32), the route was decent overall, about as good as the first four seasons of the show. There were dips in route quality in seasons 15, 21, and 24. Season 15 had the Swine Flu pandemic in 2009 so there were some last-minute replacement legs. Weather problems in season 24 had some replacement legs too. Idk what happened for season 21's mid route.
• It's kinda obvious that the budget is a lot smaller now than it was 20 years ago. I really hope they are saving up money to go all out for season forty or something idk bc the route nowadays isn't great.
• Link to this spreadsheet I used
• Not me but Wikipedia goes in-depth with the specific countries visited: Link here#Countries_and_locales_visited)
• Funny how Phil was like "The Amazing Race hits one million miles" on season 32, but these statistics say that it was actually during season 27 lmaoo

09/09/25 7:30 - 9:00PM

Eleven remaining celebrity teams race across Nepal to the capital, Kathmandu. Teams are pushed to the limit facing a terrifying descent down a mountain before consuming some local delicacies.

I can't be the only one watching, can we have a discussion thread?

Season 15. Still 2009. What are we waiting for?

I groaned as the opening shot showed us LA for the fourth time in a row. However, I lit up when they showed that the start of this Amazing Race would be in the iconic concrete culvert of the Los Angeles River. Phil mentioned Grease and Terminator 2, which I suppose have probably the most iconic uses of the river, but I distinctly remember it from Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (a revolutionary independent blaxploitation film) and 24 (with Jack Bauer, duh).

We began with 12 teams, unusually. In order of their introduction, we had:

Brian and Ericka. My wife and I were instantly drawn to this married Nashville couple, who I believe are the first mixed-race team ever on the show. If not, they must be the first mixed-race couple… Why has it taken this long? They seemed like us in a few ways, so we instantly began pretending that we were them and rooted for them.

Lance and Keri… not much to say. They seem sorta intense but also boring.

Maria and Tiffany, poker players. They immediately likened the race to playing a game of poker… I don’t really see how it’s like a game of poker at all. Maybe sometimes you have to keep your cards close to your chest, but mostly it’s about getting from place to place and completing challenges. IDK, they seemed a little clueless.

Zev and Justin. Zev has Asperger’s. When I think of Asperger’s, I think of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which may or may not be a realistic depiction. Perhaps going on a race where lots of things are changed from day to day would be too difficult for Zev to handle, or perhaps it could be the shock to the system he needs to put things in perspective and deal with change better in real life. Time would tell.

Mika and Canaan… more Nashville. Christian virgin. Next.

Flight Time and Big Easy… interesting nicknames. I think I heard Phil at the end of this episode (two legs) call them Nate and Rob. Basketball players, I hope they’re good and entertaining!

Sam and Dan. Gay Missouri brothers. I thought their story about coming out to each other was funny. It must be nice to be able to confide in your sibling and have them reflect the same thing back. I have to say, they wouldn’t show up on your gaydar at all, because they don’t present as flowery or effeminate at all, which is fine. They have a weird strategy about wanting to flirt with the girls to get ahead. This isn’t The Circle, guys.

Matt and Gary, later referred to by Brian as Pinky and the Brain. Love to see a dad and son reuniting.

Eric and Lisa, married yoga teachers. Eric made me cringe when he said, “We’re yoga in the hood.” What does that even mean? Team YITH is how I’ll refer to them from now on.

Garrett and Jessica, coming in with a nonsensical intro. Garrett placed his misunderstandings about his partner Jessica (from a Colombian family, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but I think we’re supposed to imagine she was raised around Sofia Vergara-type “strong women” characters) on the fact that he was raised with a brother and “didn’t need to deal with female drama”. Jeez. I can’t stand these ‘dating on and off’ couples.

Marcy and Ron from SF, CA. Love the older couples, and I love that she’s quite fiery and feisty. Maybe she can be the next Gretchen!

Meghan and Cheyne. Young, fit, blond, happy. A boring team that I predict will do well, just like Nick and Starr did.

With that out of the way, Phil gave the teams his usual patter but said there was a big twist that would affect just one team. There was to be a challenge right there and then, which would result in a team being eliminated. At first, my reaction was disappointment, as I hated seeing teams leave early.

However, as the teams were given the clear to start, I realised I much preferred this new, harsher twist to the mid-leg elimination from Season 10 in Beijing. This one added a fierce desperation and confusion to the first task, which was remarkably simple- just find the number plates that had the Japanese region on them, which they were supposed to visit. The Japanese symbols were printed plainly on the clue, but in their desperation not to be eliminated, most teams missed this at first.

This seemed like a filming/editing nightmare as each team’s camera person would be trying to focus on them during the scrum. The poker players were the first to figure it out and snagged a ticket on the first plane to Japan. Marcy and Ron were also savvy, as were boring Meghan and Cheyne. By the time the Globetrotters rolled around, it wasn’t clear if they’d figured out the clue or just got lucky and selected the right license plate by accident. The other teams quickly fell into place behind them, and it was tough to keep up with all the action.

I was just focused on team BAE (Brian and Ericka), who did NOT get it right on their first try and were among the final three teams. Were they really about to get excised from the group at the first hurdle? Fortunately, they were able to leave 10th, leaving just Lance and Keri and Team YITH.

As Lance and Keri found the correct plate, it was Yoga In The Hood that got eliminated, removing the cringe from the show at the first stage. I felt bad for them, but they were among my least favourite of the line-up, so it wasn’t too bad a miss. This was an electrifying first challenge, especially as my favourite team had come so close to being eliminated.

Teams flew to Japan on two different planes and made their way to Tokyo Tower Studios, where a rather different challenge was about to take place. I guess the planes were fairly close time-wise as some of the teams on the second plane arrived before teams on the first plane. Still, the order didn’t matter as the teams were all about to gather around a large green table to play…

SUSHI ROULETTE!!!

Inspired by wacky Japanese game shows, this roadblock pitted the teams against each other with a live studio audience, where they could get ahead with a bit of luck and the intestinal fortitude (to use Phil’s favourite phrase) to stomach a massive ‘wasabi bomb’. I wasn’t so fond of the luck aspect of this roadblock, as some teams (ahem, BAE) were waiting a long time to even start.

Bland Cheyne and fun Ron were up first, and both smashed it. I was surprised that there was no more to this leg of the race as teams were instructed to head to the Konnō Hachimangū Shrine over the Shibuya Scramble of Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift fame (which we’ve already gone over, if you were paying attention to my S9 recaps). The twist is that they had to guide twenty members of the audience with them; what a fun day it must have been to be an extra watching the teams.

After Justin and Garrett also proved themselves, it was time for the poker players. Maria looked more Asian, so she was selected (I mean, I’m guessing this was their team’s logic, lmao). Technically, alongside Team BAE, they also count as a mixed-race team. However, the wasabi bomb proved to be too much and she was still chewing when the time ran out.

However, she was given another chance to redeem herself immediately as the wasabi landed at her once again. She hadn’t had a moment to cool down from the previous one, but was now forced to gobble even more. This time, however, she improved on her original time, and they left in 5th place.

Then it was time for Brian to have a go, and I looked to the team member I was living vicariously through to knock it out of the park. Surprise, surprise, he fuckin’ sucked, spitting out the giant bite he had originally taken before trying to take it more slowly. Despite Ericka’s desperate encouragement, he failed and had to sit and watch every other team complete the goal before he could try again. This is really the team I chose to back?!

Meghan and Cheyne, first out, were the first to reach the pit stop, winning a trip to Aspen and Vail in Colorado (I don’t reckon we’ve seen Travelocity hand out a vacation to one of the contiguous 48 states before). They were the only team to keep their place surprisingly. Despite leaving 11th, Brian was able to befriend a local who brought their group straight to the Shrine, shooting up 5 places and arriving 6th. I whooped for joy.

Lance and Keri also did well, going from 7th to 3rd, while Garrett and Jessica had navigation issues, dropping from 4th to 8th. On the tail end, Mika and Canaan arrived at the mat 10th but were missing a trailing group member, preventing them from being able to check in. Fortunately, she was just around the corner, and Canaan carried her up the stairs. Marcy showed her energy by encouraging her team frequently with the megaphone.

The Poker players were not as lucky, and, on top of having navigation issues, managed to lose two of their group at the Shibuya scramble, and had made it as far as the pit stop before realising they needed to backtrack. After a bit of backtracking, they realised their group was getting fed up with all the walking, and decided to go check in (did production look after the lost group members, or did they just go home?) With heads hanging, the 200 audience extras formed a crowd to witness Phil addressing them on the mat. When he noted that they had gained two hours for not completing the task with all their extras, I realised this was going to be a non-elimination leg. Last season, I was even saying I wanted to see a non-elimination happen on the first leg, but it doesn’t count when YITH were already eliminated.

For the first time in quite a few seasons, this was a mega episode, with two legs back to back. After a 12-hour rest (not as common anymore), teams ripped open their clues to find they would be heading to Vietnam. The start times revealed that all teams arrived within roughly an hour of each other, but Maria and Tiffany got to have a 14-hour rest instead. Their penalty didn’t affect them at all, as the first plane was at 10:30, and somehow everyone got on.

It wasn’t originally going to be that way, as the plane had run out of economy seating. Brian started begging the desk clerk, “Can we sit in business but pay for economy?” Of course, why did I never think to ask if I could get a business class ticket while paying for economy? Could I buy Buckingham Palace while paying for a cardboard box?

Somehow, the begging worked. I still don’t get it. Naturally, the pokers turned up later, and they were recognised by a poker fan at the terminal… I guess they must be pretty good at what they do. Just as Sam and Dan were trying to hide their homosexuality from the teams, Maria and Tiffany were also trying to hide their profession, and instead pretended they worked for a non-profit organisation. Marcy and Ron had been tricked on the previous leg and had called them wonderful people.

However, Sam and Dan somehow overheard the fan’s comments and realised they had been duping the other teams, and soon everyone knew and had opinions about it. I just found it weird that they would lie about it. It also shows they weren’t particularly good at keeping information close to their chests.

Next, teams had to reach the bus station in Ho Chi Minh City to travel to Cai Be. It wasn’t extremely clear what was going on, but it seemed that Zev and Justin arrived on time for the first one but decided to wait until its actual departure time to get on board, but the bus actually left as soon as it got full, leaving them stranded for the second bus. Realising they’d have to wait over an hour and a half for the next bus, Brian rallied the trailing teams to pool their money to bribe the bus to leave sooner…

It was a fruitless effort, though, as both buses came too late and the dock was closed, equalising everyone yet again. In the morning, everyone set off on sampan boats except for Maria and Tiffany, who had a speed bump to complete. They needed to make a bowl of pho for the dockmaster to his approval. He didn’t seem very fussy, though, as they simply threw the ingredients together and he gave them the clue.

All the other teams were already at the fruit farm mud pits, where a messy challenge involved them getting stuck in the mud and filling a basket to a line. I wondered if this was part of a failed detour, where either the other challenge hadn’t been ready on time or everyone simply chose this task. Meghan and Cheyne, still first, blasted through the task and remained in first. Garrett and Colombian Jessica finished strong in second, and team BAE pulled out of 8th and finished 3rd. Proud of them.

Next, teams went to a local sports ground for an utterly awesome challenge: herding ducks. Each of them had to herd 150 ducks over a narrow bridge and back again. I’m wondering what stopped the ducks from flying off. It was a pretty hilarious sight as some of the contestants got very flummoxed and started screaming at the birds, or using their flagpoles rather violently to scoot them. Matt, Flight Time, and Sam did very well, while Tiffany (who had arrived last) revealed that she’d had ducks earlier in her life… there’s always one contestant who has some coincidental related experience to the task, no matter how random. Pinky and the Brain finished the roadblock second, but would make it to the pit stop on a boat first, where they would receive a kayak each.

Meanwhile, things weren’t going well for Ericka or Jessica, and Garrett was practically flipping his lid, which was pretty ugly to see. Asperger’s Zev managed to pull out the ‘duck whisperer’ technique by showing he could be calm under pressure, and did a pretty much perfect run of the task, keeping the ducks calm as well whilst guiding them where they needed to go. Other teams took his lead afterwards. Marcy also had a whale of a time.

Fortunately, team BAE just clinched the lead over Garrett and Jessica, and a nerve-wracking taxi and footrace revealed that they just kept their lead over the hotheads, leading Garrett to slap the boat in anger when it was revealed they were the last team to arrive. Brian and Ericka might have gotten away with it, but I’m still pretty appalled with their performance so far. Why are they stressing me out so much?!

At Elimination Station, Garrett and Jessica touched down somewhere else in Vietnam… and I was expecting them to run into Eric and Lisa (aka, the YITHs). But they weren’t there. Apparently, getting eliminated right on the starting line is such a disgrace that you don’t even get to go to elimination station. Brutal.

Well, G+J had all the usual feelings about being eliminated first, and wishing they were still racing instead of lounging at a resort (I honestly wouldn’t take it that hard; there are worse things you could be doing instead). They pondered who might leave next whilst playing Scrabble, and one of the words was “VOW”. Foreshadowing.

Next, Garrett did something completely unexpected. Realising his partner was feeling down and frustrated because of her poor performance at the duck roadblock, he decided to propose to her on the beach. Except, he didn’t get on one knee (from what we saw, anyway). So I almost didn’t believe he’d actually done it until I saw the giant rock on her finger. Well done, Garrett! I didn’t know if they were really meant to end up together, but here’s hoping they make each other happy.

All in all, a very fiery, very different start to the season, but one that’s given it a lot of energy and drive to make me watch more. This show is just such a good format that it doesn’t even feel stale after 15 seasons.

I had read about the news of a lawsuit filed by a Kilimanjaro airport employee for filming without her consent years ago but didn’t find out till now that a Tanzania court actually ordered CBS to pay this lady $35000. It’s absolutely ridiculous that a court would find unpaid appearance is tantamount to slavery. This lady was doing her day job. She’d have a better case if she was interviewed by Billy on the Street where it’s actually getting a reaction from random people.

Initial allegation: https://www.tvsa.co.za/user/blogs/viewblogpost.aspx?blogpostid=11717 An employee of the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) in Tanzania is suing CBS, broadcasters of The Amazing Race, for footage of her the show used when they visited the country in 2004. Stella Mwanyika "is employed as a ground hostess at (Kilimanjaro International Airport)" and claims CBS "without any lawful cause infringed the fundamental human rights of the Plaintiff," and she "has suffered loss and damage to feelings and dignity and likely to suffer further loss and damage," according to a report in the weekly Tanzanian publication The Arusha Times. She is suing the broadcasting giant for $2-million. So what actually happened? Why is Mwanyika so upset? Firstly, the context: it was sometime during the 7th or 8th leg of the 5th Race (which was later won by Chip and Kim McAllister). The teams flew into KIA via Kenya from Egypt, and later left via the same airport. The leg was memorable for an incident involving race villain Colin Guinn (of Colin and Christie fame), in which he refused to pay a taxi driver the agreed-upon fare and was almost arrested for it. At some point the contestants stopped by at KIA and Mwanyika was filmed and included in the final footage. In her civil suit against CBS she says photographs of her were taken against her will, they were published on the Race against her will, and in fact the entire broadcast of the show was done so without her consent. That's right. It says so right there in her submission: "...broadcasting the documentary 'The Amazing Race' without her consent or knowledge." Apart from special and general damages, Mwanyika is claiming aggravated and exemplary damages in view of "the fact that the defendants (CBS) gained profits from the said publishing and broadcasting worldwide." Ever heard anything like that? She may have had a case if she wasn't a) lying, or b) a whackjob. CBS, no doubt, intend to prove both if called upon to actually do so. Responding on behalf of CBS, REX Attorneys of Dar es Salaam claim that, "the raw footage we have reviewed does not include your client's refusal to be tapped. "Instead, it shows her staring directly into the lens of at least one of the production crew's very large and visible cameras without any objection and also smiling and acknowledging the camera. "She among other things, asked whether she could get a copy of the tape for herself ... all of which amount to a very clear implicit consent for the program to tape and use her image." Accordingly, the attorneys concluded, CBS will not agree to meet the demand to pay her that amount of money. Hearing of the case is scheduled for May 31 this year.

Ruling: https://elibrary.matrix.co.tz/product/stella-mwanyika-v-cbs-high-court-arusha-2009/ Signing of a pleading by any person duly authorised – express authority to sign a pleading – powers of an advocate to sign a pleading – mere knowledge of an impending wrongful act – consent – express or implied agreement – filming, publication and broadcasting of the plaintiff without her consent – infringement of privacy – use of the plaintiff’s image for business purposes – enslaving – violation of dignity – violation of the human rights – payment commensurate to a lawfully work done – an officer able to depose the facts – claim for damages for feelings and dignity – mental torture – aggravated damages –an unconsented publication and broadcast – an award of a total of USD. 35,000 for an unconsented filming, publication and broadcasting. • By reason of absence or for other good cause a pleading may be signed by any person duly authorised by the party to sign the same, or to sue or defend on his behalf (p. 8). • The defendant’s previous lawyer signed a written statement of defence and simply stated that she had been authorised to sign – it was held that the advocate’s statement was not enough and that there ought to be produced a specific authority from the defendant to support that authority (p. 8). It was also held that the written statement of defence was signed without the party’s express authority in terms of the law (p. 9). • A person signing the pleading must possess an additional qualification of being conversant, able and authorised to depose the facts. In other words, he should be in a position to feature as a witness (p. 8). • An advocate cannot be both an advocate and a witness in the same case (p. 9). • If an advocate should sign a pleading on behalf of a party, he should possess express instructions from either of the three officers covered by Order XXVII Rule 1 of the CPC, so that in the event of the need of clarification on any issue, such officer can be consulted (p. 9). • Powers conferred to the advocate are limited to signing of the pleading and not to the deposition of the facts of the case (p. 9). • The plaintiff claimed that she was filmed without her consent but the defendant argued that she consented because she knew she was being filmed but she did not protest. The court rejected the defence on the basis of the remarks in Salmond & Heuston Law of Torts book (21st Edition) that mere knowledge of an impending wrongful act, or of the existence of a wrongfully caused danger, does not in itself amount to consent, even though no attempt is made by the plaintiff to prevent or avoid the act or danger. Consent involves an express or implied agreement that the act may be rightfully done or the danger rightfully caused (p. 10 and p. 11). • Filming, publication and broadcasting of the plaintiff without her consent was found to be an infringement of the plaintiff’s privacy (p. 14). • It was held that The defendant’s use of the plaintiff’s image for business purposes without payment amounts to enslaving the plaintiff hence a violation of her dignity and a violation of the human right of payment commensurate to a lawfully work done (p. 15). • The defendant did not bring an officer able to depose the facts to court for examination in terms of Order X Rule 3 of the CPC – it was held that there was a failure from his side to disprove a claim for damages for feelings and dignity (p. 16). • The defendant refused to pay the plaintiff for broadcasting her image without her consent – it was held that the defendant’s refusal to recognize the plaintiff’s contribution subjected the plaintiff to a mental torture, which is more harmful than personal injury (p. 16). • Aggravated damages – by an unconsented publication and broadcast, the defendant acted with undue consideration warranting an award of aggravated damages (p. 17). • The plaintiff was awarded a total of USD. 35,000 for an unconsented filming, publication and broadcasting of her image by the defendant (p. 17).

What prevents teams from speeding when doing self-drive? Is there a time penalty for it? Or is it just a risk they take that local police won’t pull them over?

Rumors are they are supposed to be filming this month?

I watched this show as a kid but don’t remember really anything and I am absolutely cracking up at this season. The one thing I love about these reality competition shows in the early days (90s/00s) is that people were very much themselves. There’s no façade or social media fame to cling onto. I lost it when they have to burn the car in Thailand and Gary/David apologize to his dead grandpa for sending a German car.

September 5th, 2001 was the premiere of the greatest reality tv show in the world.

I watched this season way before Season 3 & 5. (I already watched most seasons beyond 11 many years prior so the first 10 are like new experiences for me)

Yes, at the beginning the show was moving at a slow pace, the editing was at its infancy (lack of music in the first leg) and the tone can be boring. But as the season progresses, the show starts to improve and as a result, they were able to present the show as good as other future seasons.

The teams are really competitive too. My favourite was Rob & Brennen, Nancy & Emily and Frank & Margarita. R&B is the strongest team and also the team that rarely cause too much fuss unlike Paul & Amie and Lenny & Karyn. I wanted N&E to progress further but man....they were never really the same after being harrased by Team Guido. The trilogy episodes from India to Thailand just felt so depressing from the POV of N&E. They both got trapped and lost in the sea of people in India, finishing last in the NEL of India second leg and then losing the Fast Forward task to Team Guido in Thailand. They were so done that they gave up and just went straight to the pit stop and received a 24 Hour Penalty. You just gotta feel for the ladies.

F&M wanted to reconcile after breaking up and the race was able to bring them back together. However, they can be annoying with their bickering but at least they were able to sort them out unlike Lenny & Karyn who were just so clueless at everything.

I also somewhat like Team Guido, yes they were the villains but they were also cunning like holding up all the teams at the airport and working on their own without telling other teams. They can be ruthless because it's a race afterall and i guess the show producer knows it as well since in the Final 3, Team Guido was so far behind that they were barely shown unlike the other frontrunners. Even when R&B, F&M crossed the line, all of the teams celebrated without them and i just couldn't stop laughing because i'm sure none of the teams wanted them to be there since they failed to eliminate that team during the race and most teams hated them.

So many first time in the show like -

• Phil Keoghan only appear to greet the last place team in each legs

• The pit stop mats were different in each legs

• The first time where one of the final 3 team didn't appear at thr finish line

• The first time where completing the final task finishes the leg of the race as what we seen in Tunisia Colosseum leg.

My top 5 seasons would be 3,1,12,17 and 20. (Still halfway through S5)

A great start to the show and the rest was history.....

when they start a new leg in the evening and secure a flight that’s not until the morning, do they go back to a hotel for the night?🤔

The penultimate Big Brother episode has been extended to 90 minutes on Thursday, September 25. So the TAR38 premiere has been nudged over to 9:30pm from its original 9pm start time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBWa-tENeLc I had so much fun with this one, chatting about performing on reality tv and how that informs other creative work, what one can learn from being on a reality tv show, what these two learned in particular! We also chatted about fantasy canadian reality television shows and now I want them to be real. I would love to hear peoples thoughts on the series ! You can find my other epsiodes of Facing Reality on my youtube in the same playlist as this video!

I took a short break from making these, as college started back up for me, but here is my cover for TAR 34. I remember liking this season when it aired, but now I think it is a little dull. Although I do remember loving the cast. After I finish all the seasons I've never seen, I might have to give this one a rewatch.

Also, is there any one who knows what season cover I used as the template?

Episode 8 - Discussion Thread

Episode Name: I'm Just Practicing Falling

Air Date: September 2, 2025

Tensions rise and fears are tested as teams race through Mississauga, Ontario and face a heart-pounding skyscraper traverse high above the city skyline.

i know there’s a LOT of seasons, but me and my partner have just become obsessed with this show after wanting to watch the clip of the watermelon slingshot 🤣 then realising it was a really good show! so we’ve watched season 17-21 but we’re wondering is it worth starting from the beginning? I’ve seen good things about the earlier seasons!

for context, we’re from the uk which is why we had never heard of this before! we have race across the world, but this is way more exciting.

Another finale. I didn’t really have strong feelings about who I wanted to win, just that I wanted them all to do well for themselves.

The start times for each team showed just how long the detour (or, to be more precise, finding the U-turn) took for each team:

Tammy & Victor (9:15 pm)

Margie & Luke (11:24 pm)

Jaime & Cara (2:04 am)

More than two hours between each team. No wonder Jaime and Cara were so frustrated by the end.

All that extra time wouldn’t help team TV, though, as they would get equalised on a flight to Hawaii.

First of all, teams had to make it to a beach, then carry a 145 lb pig 200 yards. This really didn’t sound like such a hard task if shared between two people. However, Tammy seemed to have absolutely no arm muscle whatsoever and kept dropping it every few steps. Jaime and Cara also seemed to have terrible technique and kept dropping the pig. Watching the pig get covered in sand and seawater was actually quite disgusting… I hope nobody had to eat that.

Although Margie and Luke came last, they powered through, overtaking both teams in a show of technique and strength. I was really impressed with Margie, who seemed to be a strong woman indeed.

I just read that this was apparently a detour… I can only assume that the other task was long and arduous, and production didn’t want to seem daft for setting such a silly detour. Who knows. They make weird editing choices on this show. Maybe they wanted as much time for drama and decided to cut out the minute or so of Phil explaining both detours to the viewer.

Then, teams had to head to McGregor point and ride a water craft to search among 100 buoys. I barely even remember the teams doing this task, as it didn’t seem to take that long, but Jaime and Cara managed to get away before Tam and Vic.

Margie and Luke were hurtling ahead, and I was really proud of them. They got to the roadblock first, and Luke had plenty of time to start building the wall of surfboards that contained images from the previous 11 legs. I have to admit, I was confused, because they presented the China mega leg as two separate legs. I would have been expecting to see a surfboard with a pig on it to represent the Hawaii leg, but I suppose if it was part of a detour, they couldn’t have done that anyway. With no other teams nearby and Luke making strong progress, it seemed clear that the first deaf person in the race would win the million.

Tammy and Victor were stuck behind a slow driver in a yellow Jeep while Jaime got to have more of her signature taxi beef (although this time it seemed more justified) as the cab had absolutely no clue where to go, taking them to the wrong place first. He then called his manager, who rudely told the ladies she was not their personal concierge (Don’t you want the people in your taxis to get to their destination?) Afterwards, they called the police, and I wouldn’t have expected them to help out people on a TV show, but nonetheless they did explain the way to get there… Then the cab driver had to get gas. How frustrating for them.

Suddenly, Luke hit a wall. He had the first 9 surfboards correct, but then mysteriously chose to put a surfboard with a skull in the 10th place. Eh? And then, he started cycling through all sorts of other surfboards, which I simply couldn’t fathom how they connected to the race. Clearly, he understood the task as he got the first 9 right, and he never changed any of those… So what gave with the final two?

I’ll say, I noticed some shenanigans, and I wondered if they recycled footage as I saw Luke place the squid surfboard in the 11th place twice… why would he do the same thing twice if he was told it was wrong the first time? Maybe his brain was just severely stress-addled and sleep-deprived, but it was frustrating to watch all that progress go down the drain.

Victor had arrived and was fast putting the pieces together, and not making mistakes like Luke. Eventually, Jaime came on the scene as well, but she seemed to have no chance of getting ahead. Luke had all but given up when Victor happened upon the red Lada surfboard, unlocking the clue to head to the finish line. No other route markers between the big final task and the finish line, like S12 or S13 then?

Margie encouraged her son to work together with Jaime, as they were both missing one. Jaime was missing the first surfboard (which I had to admit, seemed a bit abstract to me… how am I supposed to remember a random church from the leg that had the GoldenEye bungee jump in it?) while Luke was missing the last one (perhaps because he didn’t eat the scorpion himself, he forgot about it?) Jaime completed her task first, but then was considerate enough to show Luke her results so he could also finish. 

In the car, he was a wreck. I can’t imagine being so close to victory and then your frustration and stress cause you to be blind to what was quite an obvious clue. Margie was nothing but supportive and proud of him, and to me, it felt like another Kisha and Jen moment, where one team member was very loving and supportive after the other made a massive fuck up. I just felt really sad for Luke.

As it was, seeing Tammy and Victor arrive in first place wasn’t so easy to watch, cos they were the more ‘route one’ team to win. Seeing a team with a deaf person rise to the top could have been inspirational. Seeing the first all-female team win could have been satisfying. Instead, we had a pretty bland team (although they were very entertaining at times) win this season, all because Luke suddenly had a brainfart at the roadblock.

Still, it was hilarious when Phil asked Tammy how she felt standing at the final, and she just said, “I’m not wearing pants!” Later, she commented that the race won’t have changed their entire 26-year relationship, but that it could be the start of him treating her more like an adult. I certainly hope so. But also she needs to start lifting weights, cos her performance with that pig was shocking.

Jaime and Cara came second, and I literally don’t remember a single thing they said.

Margie and Luke came in third, and Phil tried to tell Luke that his mum was a bionic woman. Seriously, she physically kicked ass for a 51-year-old…  Researching this, I found out they appear on some sort of spin-off, which does make me excited. Luke explained that he was lucky to have a mum like her because a lot of deaf people’s parents don’t learn to sign, which actually shocked me… why wouldn’t that be something most people would learn for their kids? Margie was perhaps the hero this season as she stayed resilient for her son, who lost it a few times, but also was a very capable racer. I guess it’s clearer to me now that I wanted them to win the most, and I’m really just gutted that something clouded Luke’s judgement at the last moment. Was it the pressure of Victor's arrival? That is when it all seemed to change for him.

In my review, I’ll say that, while Luke was clearly quite a physically capable and intelligent racer, I did think he seemed a bit immature at times and had a habit of giving up when things got hard. I can only imagine the world is a very tough place to be deaf, but some of his outbursts seemed to betray a rather teenage version of himself. It started to happen towards the end there as well… I said it before, but it just made me sad.

Still, though, I can’t believe some people said they ‘hated’ this season. Like, what is there to hate? You have a pretty great, memorable cast, a decent-ish route and AMAZING drama. This has to easily crack the top 5 seasons for me in terms of race drama. Let’s go through the highlights, in rough chronological order:

Linda getting lost in Germany and fearing Steve shouting at her

Victor getting lost in Romania because he can’t admit he’s wrong

Mark and Michael getting penalties two legs in a row

TWO teams leaving their bags behind in Thailand and needing to go and fetch them

Luke and Jen getting involved in Bitch-gate in Guilin

Jen’s meltdown at the Natatorium, followed by a surprise non-elimination

Kisha and Jen getting eliminated anyway because of a pee break

And finally, Luke tragically going from first to third because of brain fog at the last hurdle

To me, that’s a pretty great season right there. I mean, it’s as good as you can get without Fast-Forwards and airport drama, which this season seemed to have none of. I didn’t miss either of them too much, as the lack of airport drama meant more time actually racing, but sometimes good airport drama can be so juicy.

So why don’t people like this season then?

In the most recent season, we saw Carson & Jack become the winners. On their journey to that point they had to moment where they were an extreme danger of being eliminated. In Leg 7, Nick & Mike were one kilogram short of completing the wood detour. This cost them extra time and led to them being u-turned. This allowed Carson & Jack to catch up. One kilogram of wood more and comeback would've been impossible. That is how close Carson & Jack were to being eliminated.

This led me to ponder what other winners advanced by this thin of a margin. I think you'd have trouble finding one. Of course, other winners had been saved by non-eliminations, but they were never in any true danger of being eliminated due to that fact.

Generally throughout history if a team has advanced in the way Carson & Jack did it's usually a much bigger mistake by another team or misfortune that occurs. Examples, being a lost passport, missed flight, wrong directions. Not one kilogram of wood. Yet that one kilogram of wood ended up holding the same weight as a lost passport. Best example in the show's history of a little thing becoming a massive thing.

Anyways. What are your thoughts on this topic? Could this be the thinnest margin for an eventual winner? I think it's at least a contender for it. Super strange too. Carson & Jack were a phenomenal team outside of that leg. Which is not something that can't be said for most of the other winners that had a moment like this.

Wow, this season has been anything but dull.

At the mat, we got to see the other teams check in to find they still needed to race, including a highly emotional Jen and Kisha who were incredibly happy to have been spared elimination… Just wait.

Next, teams had to head to Beihai Street Mall and find a Travelocity Roaming Gnome… I love those little guys. Margie and Luke managed to be the fastest, knocking the redheads from first place. Subsequently, they would get in another cab with a driver who didn’t know where they were going, and Jaime would complain loudly… par for the course, really.

Then there was a little task that involved riding bicycles past Tiananmen Square, known famously for the 1989 massacre, but also for its splendid views of the front of the Forbidden City and the mausoleum of Chairman Mao. I’m pretty sure this is also where the beardy muslims got eliminated at the start of Season 10. I’m so glad they didn’t bring back that mid-episode elimination again. That was so weak.

Teams then found their detour of Beijing Opera or Chinese Waiter (3/10). Chinese Waiter made a ton of sense for Tammy and Victor, and the only thing they got wrong in their order was that they said ‘squid’ instead of ‘fish’ the first time around. I find it wild that even Chinese speakers could mess this up; it’s such a crazy difficult language. They zipped to the U-turn, and to my shock and horror, U-turned Kisha and Jen. They explained that they had already planned this ahead. I was mortified that, after surviving a non-elimination, the sisters now had to be faced with an extremely tough challenge for a non-Chinese speaker.

The others had obviously chosen the Beijing Opera, where they had to paint each other’s faces. Margie was furious at Luke for doing the make-up badly, and Luke kept threatening to rage quit (he can be a little drama queen at times). During the ordeal, she said he made her look like Alice Cooper (titling the episode), and I have to say she wasn’t wrong. Indeed, she continued to resemble him more and more as the episode went on, and her sweat caused the make up to melt.

And then… madness as the three trailing teams COULDN’T find the Wenchang Pavilion, seemingly right next door to the Opera house (it’s worth mentioning that Jaime and Cara were taken by taxi to another, much grander opera building, losing time in the process). At one point, all three teams were on the street just hunting up and down, unable to converse with the majority of the locals.

Incredibly, Kisha and Jen got there ahead of Jaime and Cara, finding they had been U-turned, and went, still in their make-up, to fetch some orders. Of course, they got most of these wildly wrong (“Oil comes again to please the mouth” and “Light Competition Red Dishes I’ve Played Before” were my favourite picks… I’d love to know if any Chinese speaker can verify if this kinda what they said?) But on the third try, they actually managed to get it! That, or the chef was lenient enough to see that they were trying.

All this while Jaime and Cara were STILL looking, saying they’d been hunting for the Opera for three hours. Absolute insanity. At one point, they said, “This is why we don’t want to come to China. Because it SUCKS!” When I saw that in the preview, I thought it was a wild thing to say, but I could give a pass to anyone for being that frustrated after looking for something for three hours without any clue.

Tam and Vic had already completed the roadblock of eating fried local delicacies. Bugs and scorpions? Sure, why not? But I was surprised to see a starfish there, a creature I’ve never considered eating. I wondered even how one was supposed to eat it. Do you just take a chomp out of its limb? No, apparently, you crack it open and devour the insides. Good to know! They were pleased to win a trip to the Galapagos Islands at the Beijing 2008 stadium (which actually looked familiar to me).

Margie and Luke secured their second spot, and it’s pretty cool to see a team with a deaf person on it make their way all the way to the final. How old is Margie, she’s also pretty great for keeping up with younger teams. She said at the beginning of the race she’d been doing it for Luke, but had begun enjoying it so much that she was now doing it for herself too.

In the back, Jaime and Cara went back to where they started and realised the U-turn had been right there all along (it was confusing to understand the layout as a viewer, but it seems as if they missed something obvious). They were now about to catch up to Kisha and Jen at the market stall where Jen was slowly but surely munching on her starfish, sipping water with each bite. Cara began the task and ate ravenously, mirroring Drew in Season 1 (“He’s a guzzler!”). I also just found out this was the exact same market from that very task in 2001! What threw me off is that Kevin and Drew (and the other teams) were eating INSIDE while the teams in Season 14 were eating outside. What a throwback.

Jaime was quite shocked at how fast Cara was finishing her food, but the sisters still came away first, getting a cab to the stadium. Jen mentioned that she was bursting for the toilet after having ‘chugged four bottles of water’. Oof, yeah, that would not be a great feeling, but probably best to hold it until you get to the mat. I noticed them run past the Water Cube that I just commented on in the previous recap, "Hey, I know that place!"

Jaime and Cara zipped after them, and at the stadium… Jen nipped into a portable toilet. “Okay,” I thought, “This has to be some producer-led drama, or they’re making it look as if the race is closer than it is, because there’s no way Jen would actually stop to use the bathroom if J+C were that close behind them, right?” Right?

Wrong. The next shot showed the redheads bouncing onto the mat. I was dumbfounded. Phil faked them out again with an “I’m sorry to tell you… You’re going to have to keep racing because you’re team #3…” 

My wife and I were speechless. How on earth could Jen let her bladder come between her and a million dollars?! That’s the most expensive piss she’s ever had in her life. After being spared elimination in the first half of this leg and even coming away from a U-turn that seemed sure to finish them off… it was the call of nature that finished off these two?! It could have been the biggest comeback story ever, but… she had to go number one… Well, now they’re number four. If a meme could sum up my feelings, it’s the “We were ALL rooting for you” meme.

Kisha was very kind, saying, “I’m not gonna hold it against her. She’s a big part of why we got so far.” Yeah, I just don’t think I could be as generous under the same circumstances. I’d be absolutely fuming.

At Elimination Station, the previous episode had a rather unremarkable bit of teams leaving to head to Hawaii, saying how they’d miss elimination station. Steve still felt like an outsider, and Preston and Jennifer were surprised at how well they’d got along. Surely they didn’t stay together?

After enjoying the beach in Maui, teams got on a phone call with Kisha and Jen and were clearly quite saddened to hear they were going. They seemed to be the favourites amongst the eliminated teams. It’s a shame that Mark and Michael weren’t also on that phone call. It was interesting to see the timeline, as Kisha and Jen must have phoned them straight after being eliminated, as they still had the face paint on outside the Beijing stadium. They didn’t mention the bathroom at all, but simply mentioned that they were U-turned by Tammy and Victor, but said that they were okay with it because of the note on the side of the picture that said “We can’t outrun you.” Does that magically make it better?

I’m excited to see who wins. I suppose my favourite team at this point is Margie and Luke, but I also wouldn’t mind seeing an all-female team get first for once. And Tammy and Victor, I don’t mind too much either, although Victor needs to work on his personality.

,

Fun Fact, Derek & Drew's birthday were yesterday (on August 30th)

Just done watching season 3 and wow (it's been a long time so i don't remember much), i love it so much. Not just the places they went to for the first time but the teams that took part.There are few that i actively supports to make it into the Final 3. Imo, a season is good if there are lot of great teams that i can support along the way.

Those teams consists of - Aaron & Arianne - Andre & Damon - Derek & Drew - Teri & Ian

Aaron & Arianne. Such loveable couple that can be serious and funny at the same time. What makes me like this team even more is the one where their car broke down,Aaron thought it was all over and wasn't afraid to let his emotions out and i felt bad for him too. Sadly the very next leg, they got eliminated.

Andre & Damon, the Team 911 was my favourite too. Being a cop and a firemen, they had the potential to go further into the race and when they partnered with The Twins, i'm so happy seeing my two favourite teams working along well to make a stronger alliance. Unfortunately, the incident in Morocco where they got detained pretty much ruined their chance to recover and i was like...."sigh, noooooo, why there's no time credit for them?" It's a situation they cannot control.

Teri and Ian the oldest couple at that time makes me feel heartwarming. Despite their age being a disadvantage especially with some tasks forcing the teams to run to foot, they never show any signs of giving up. In every legs, the couple were struggling to catch up and in Scotland when Andre & Damon finished ahead of them, i was about to say "Yeah, that's it for them, they're just too old" but lo and behold, they managed to finish in each legs. I was so worried for each episodes because i thought it would be the last one but no....they preservered and ended up 2nd which was fantastic and i was so happy for them. Top 3 is already fantastic result for them.

I gotta be honest, i was rooting for Derek and Drew aka The Twins the most since the beginning. Every other teams were literally ganging up on them and it makes me wanna root for the twins even harder to win. They won Leg 2 with FF and then Leg 3 to prove other teams that they were not to be messed around with. It's so funny to see the alliance slowly falls apart as The Twins continue to outsmart them all. I was rooting for them to get at least into the Final 3 but the Vietnam Cyclop task....man, it's so gutwrenching to see them turning back from pit stop to finish the task and then gets eliminated.They were my favourite team other than Teri & Ian to reach the final leg.

On the other hand, never really care for Flo & Zach. Flo gets very annoying in the final few legs and her tantrum was insufferable and Zach was forced to deal with her. Her saying she wanna give up and quit during the midrace makes me skipped her scene and only focus on the other two teams.

"If i can't get a train with air conditioner, she's gonna kill me" makes me outright hate her. I'm so glad that Zach kept his cool because he could've snapped at any moment.

Overall, still a great season and i can see why people liked it too. Onto to Season 5 next.

Another leg and new thrills. The four remaining teams were heading to Beijing. Hey, that’s the second time we’ve visited a city from the first season! Are they going to finish the race in New York again too?

There was a frosty atmosphere at Guilin airport, and I’m not talking about the winter weather. Kisha and Jen and Margie and Luke were still in their feels about the shenanigans of the previous leg, but turned up roughly at the same time. Live and let live, people. I was glad to hear they resolved their differences after the race. I have to say, I was impressed at the local staff being able to speak English here. How many foreign travellers come to Guilin? (WHAT THE? Apparently, 100 MILLION people visited Guilin in 2018… that’s absolutely absurd IMO, to a place I’ve literally never heard of).

Teams flew to Beijing, and Tammy and Victor were the first team out of the plane, once again hoping to use their knowledge of the Chinese language to their advantage. However, they got a duff cab driver (they exist everywhere, it seems) and only turned up at the massage parlour in 3rd place.

There, at the roadblock, teams had to endure a painful foot massage (I wonder if there were actually any health benefits). I know massages can sometimes be rough, but I really couldn’t see why anyone would pay for this sort of service. Teams had the option to yell a safeword - ‘uncle’ - if they felt the pain was too much, but fortunately, no one did; everyone just sucked it up.

What was more interesting was seeing how the supporting team member coped. Jaime initially whined that she had to do a bungee jump while Cara got to do a foot massage (You’d never catch me whining about the GoldenEye bungee jump). Then, as Cara was clearly suffering, Jaime’s advice was “Don’t say Uncle or I’ll hurt you.” She said it over and over until Cara rightfully told her to shut up. Margie’s mothering instincts kicked in whilst watching Luke, and it was hard to her for watch, but I thought it was sweet that Tammy held his hand during the ordeal.

Then, teams had to make their way to the Guangcai Natatorium, a word I’d never heard before, but Kisha and Jen figured out it meant swimming for them. I presumed this was where the Olympics had been held the year before, but that was not the case: the Olympic swimming was held in the gigantic Water Cube, which looks extremely impressive both inside and out.

Here, teams faced a detour of Sync or Swim (9.5/10, name is a good pun, and it appropriately fits the task). When I realised he said “Sync” instead of “Sink”, I thought that was clever. To me, Swim seemed like the obvious task… just swim 200 metres each, can’t take too long, right?

Well, Tammy and Victor, who arrived first somehow, thought that Sync would be faster. They didn’t realise quite how exacting their judges would be. Their first pass was awful, but afterwards they seemed to get better and better, but never quite nailed it. I don’t understand why they didn’t try counting together. Same goes for Kisha and Jen; we never heard them count. Maybe they had to take off their microphones? Anyway, having to rely on your team member to mirror your movements perfectly is clearly not the right way to go.

Jaime and Cara chose the Swim option and produced a time of 9 minutes or so, compared to Michael Phelps’s 4 minutes and 3 seconds. The show got pretty obsessed with Michael Phelps this time, and it hasn’t aged well since Phelps has had multiple controversies since 2009, both sporting and otherwise. There was even a green line that showed Michael Phelps’ speed vs the racer’s speed. Margie and Luke arrived later and produced an impressive time of 8 minutes and some change… I thought for sure the two young, in-shape cheerleaders would beat them.

Kisha and Jen expressed that they were uncomfortable with water and had a fear of drowning. They initially considered the Sync option, but realised that it would cause them to be fully submerged underwater and chose not to do it. Then, Kisha did two laps of the pool to make 100m, and Jen wimped out, so they went back to the Sync option.

For a while Tammy and Victor and Kisha and Jen were taking turns jumping, getting pitiful scores from the judges, even when they were just a split second apart. This repeated exposure to the water broke Jen’s spirit, forcing her to face fears of being eliminated right before the final leg. She felt as if she could do neither challenge and sat on the floor sobbing. Kisha urged her to get up, do the Swim challenge and finish strong, but it took a lot of time and effort, enough for Tammy and Victor to finish their own swim challenge (10 minutes, I seem to recall) and leave.

For Kisha and Jen, hope seemed to be lost. I really felt sad for them because I can’t imagine seeing a dream of one million dollars slip away just like that because of a fear of swimming. Eventually, Jen did get up, completed the Swim challenge and produced a time of 18 minutes, I think partially just dragging themselves along the lane dividers. I’m sure the task is even more tiring and more depressing the longer you do it, and more awful if you have to do something you’re afraid of for longer.

Teams were going to the pit stop at the Drum Tower, and Jaime and Cara were excited to be the first team to become part of the final three. I couldn’t understand why there was no greeter, however. Phil then said to them, “This leg is not over, you’re still racing. Here’s your next clue.”

AHA! Classic Phil fake-out! What a relief for Kisha and Jen. In my timeline, they’re still in limbo, believing they’ve lost the race, but they’re in for a nice surprise that they’ve been saved by a mega leg. It just shows you should never give up on The Amazing Race. I do think it’s cheeky that teams were told to head to the pit stop when it wasn’t actually a pit stop, but this is an awesome surprise nonetheless.

If there’s an Elimination Station for this episode, I haven’t seen it, as I’m afraid there might be a spoiler. Maybe they only do one ES episode per leg, I don’t know, but I’d rather wait.

Hello! I’ve been working on a big project analyzing statistics from The Amazing Race, and I just finished compiling a section focused on U-Turns and Yields from the flagship American version.

• First two images are just brief statistics, third image dives deeper into U-Turn statistics.
• In short, the U-Turn Survival Rate is 48% while the Yield Survival Rate is 79%
  • (i.e. 52% of all teams that were U-Turned got eliminated in the same leg.)
  • This includes all successful U-Turns (Single, Double, Blind, Vote, Penalty). Teams that were Yielded and placed last on a Non-Elimination Leg are still considered "survived"
  • The survival rates are a lot higher than ppl would expect, especially considering that there have been no aired U-Turns on a Non-Elimination Leg. I lowkey thought a U-Turn was a death sentence but I guess not.
• If you’re curious, you can access my full spreadsheet here. It has a LOT of other statistics.

Let me know if there are any comments, questions, or concerns! Thank you! :)

Ever since The Amazing Race returned from COVID and gotten rid of Covid protocols, the show has underwent budget cuts and have mainly gone with 2 continent routes for 35 and 37. Do you think we will ever get a route that contains more than just 2 continents again?