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puddin:
Amazing Race Heats Up
By Erika Rohrssen
Published: Wednesday, May 4, 2005
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With four teams left, the seventh season of CBS's The Amazing Race has some viewers wondering how far would one go to win a million dollars.
The show began with 11 teams of two racing around the world in order to win the large sum of money and other prizes. This year the teams ranged from a mother and her homosexual son to a pair of brothers to a former POW and his beauty queen girlfriend to Survivor: All Stars winner Amber and her fiancé Suvivor: All Stars runner-up Rob.
From the beginning the other teams resented the Survivor cast mates, because they felt they should not win another million dollars. Rob, who was commonly referred to as Boston Rob, was known as a schemer on his previous show and his reputation preceded him as many of the Race's contestants stood clear of Rob and Amber, knowing that Rob would do anything to get his way. However, this did not stop Boston Rob from scheming his way into and out of many situations in different countries, angering the other teams. In many instances already this season, members of the local communities recognized the duo from their popular TV show and offered their assistance to the team. Although the pair has been lucky that locals have helped them, Rob's own instincts and plots have been the driving force of their success. During one challenge, team members were forced to eat four pounds of meat, Rob decided to quit and take a two-hour penalty. Knowing that he and Amber would be eliminated, he convinced other teams to also take the penalty, assuring his own safety in the race.
Rob and Amber are not the only strong team this season that is willing to do anything to win. Retried couple, Meredith and Gretchen, was the last to arrive at one of the pit stops, but were fortunate enough to have landed on non-elimination round. Although this kept the duo in the game, they were not only stripped of all their money, and not given any the next round, but unlike previous years, all their belongings were also taken away. Being left with no clothes or money the other teams assumed Meredith and Gretchen would be eliminated right away. Even after Gretchen had to receive stitches after falling in a mineshaft, the team continued on and surprised the other teams by being in the final four. 

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puddin:
Racing up the ratings
May 5, 2005

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Phil Keoghan's The Amazing Race is set to surge ahead of other reality shows.
Photo: Supplied
A near death was the start of a great career, writes Paul Best.

At 19, Phil Keoghan nearly died. On a dive to a sunken liner for a New Zealand TV adventure show, he passed out and almost drowned.

For the host of today's TV reality-slash-game show The Amazing Race, the near-fatal experience was an epiphany - which the New Zealand-born 37-year-old has been living off ever since.

"When you're 19, you just don't think you're going to die," Keoghan says.

Immediately, on a brown paper bag, he compiled a wish list of things to do before he did die, which included, without hesitation, diving again to the shipwreck.

"What you have to understand is for more than 15 years before Race started, my list was my entire career," he says.

"I strapped on anything that moved, broke an unofficial world record diving the world's longest underwater cave - not bad for a claustrophobic - swam the Bosphorus Strait from Asia to Europe, got my reindeer skiing licence, joined the Polar Bear Club, scuba-dived with a dog. I did crazy **** for 15 and a bit years."

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AdvertisementFor this born adventurer, life accelerated into one great adrenaline rush. It led to creating his own TV series, No Opportunity Wasted, which he hosts and co-produces with his Australian wife, Louise, and writing a book last year based on the show, which he was recently here to promote.

Before that, though, his credentials almost got him the job as the host of Survivor, pipped at the line by Jeff Probst, and landed him the plum gig fronting The Amazing Race.

For the uninitiated, The Amazing Race - created by Bertram van Munster and his partner Elise Doganieri - has 11 teams of two criss-crossing the globe for a $US1 million prize.

Pairs are whittled down as the last team to check in at each pit stop is, most times, eliminated. It's the moment, too, fans love when a po-faced Keoghan delivers the coup de grace: "You're the last team to arrive. I'm sorry to tell you, you've both been eliminated from the race."

Each season involves some 2000 staff, including a cameraman and sound recordist per team who shadow its every move, and months and months of planning and scouting for locations.

Teams over the 30-day odyssey must complete all manner of hair-raising tasks - "Detours" and "Roadblocks" - which might involve rolling down a hillside in a giant inflatable ball called a Zorb, bungee jumping from a cable car, drinking blood or being dragged behind a bullock team through a muddy field.

Although tight editing helps, the show's strength lies in the drama generated by the raw emotions of competitors as they jockey for scarce seats on airlines, negotiate street maps for foreign cities, try to be understood by cab drivers, and generally bicker, cry, scheme, declare their love and occasionally their hate.

The last season was notorious for Jonathan Baker, who reduced his wife, Victoria, to a sobbing wreck before the camera.

At the other end of the spectrum, season five, Keoghan's favourite, had Charla Faddoul, a gutsy dwarf, who showed what she was made of by hauling a side of Argentine beef across her shoulder while her regular-sized cousin Mirna schlepped behind.

Keoghan's sensitivity to the different cultures Race encounters (reflected also in the disparate backgrounds of contestants, albeit all American) was learnt growing up in the Caribbean in a household that celebrated diversity.

"Race exposes particular Americans to a world they don't see in primetime TV. Most of what they see is a war here, a person killed there, a natural disaster over here. We present a world that seems inviting, with people who are warm and helpful, not this big scary place that if you get in a plane you're going to be killed by travelling to some foreign land."

But if we're honest, there is also a guilty pleasure in watching Americans bumble along, displaying scant respect for or knowledge of their foreign hosts. It's a fascination Keoghan struggles to fathom, especially given how gruelling Race is. It's a non-stop sprint that lasts, on average, 32 hours from pit stop to pit stop, with 12 hours down time in between. Keoghan says it's no armchair ride for him either, one of only four people to have completed all 91 pit stops, to date.

"It knocks the crap out of people. It's pretty tough. I lost seven kilograms in one season. You don't sleep. You look like crap." On top of that he does his own make-up, wardrobe and filming and had, by his own admission, two days off last year.

While the show, now in its seventh season, has enjoyed a core, and ardent, following in Australia, it has only more recently, in the 9.30pm Thursday timeslot, started to find a primetime audience, with finishes in the top 10 Melbourne shows this year and twice as many viewers as it had four years ago.

But in the US, it also took time to find its legs after something of a false start. "The Amazing Race launched three days before September 11," says Keoghan.

"There was a huge campaign. Every bus in Manhattan was promoting it. It was a massive push and we got a solid rating. Then 9/11 terrorist attacks happened and the world focused on other things, and rightly so. The marketing was eroded overnight (and) from that point, we were playing catch-up."

However, the breathless pace of the show, the exotic locales and quirky mix of teams have seen the program, which has picked up two Emmys for best reality program, endure and gain traction while other reality shows have stumbled, or tired.

Such has been the worldwide success that producers run decoy teams (including eliminated ones) to throw bystanders off the track.

The formula has altered little over the past seven seasons, but change is inevitable, and season eight will introduce teams of four from the same family, acknowledging the show's key demographic.

Meanwhile, Keoghan is hoping his new show, No Opportunity Wasted, in which people are given $US3000 and 72 hours to turn their dream into reality, will be picked up by Channel Seven.

He also has ambitions of hosting his own chat show. One of the most-loved aspects of Race is the mat chat, the half-hour debrief he has with each team as it finishes each stage.

"I love interviewing because I love learning about people. My parents taught me if you look hard enough, you'll always find something special."


http://www.theage.com.au/news/TV--Radio/Racing-up-the-ratings/2005/05/04/1115092506666.html?oneclick=true

puddin:
Racing to Abbey Road



The image has popped up at least 1000 times since 1968. The album cover to the Beatles Abbey Road featured John, Paul, George and Ringo walking across Abbey Road, which is the street right near the famous studio where they conducted some of their famous recording sessions.

Since then, everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to the comedians across the world have tried to spoof the famous scene. It's a bit perplexing to know what's been so fascinating about that scene where it's been reproduced as many times as it has, but many people flock to it for source of inspiration, usually from a comedic perspective.

But the producers of The Amazing Race didn't really use Abbey Road as a source of comedy, instead using it as not only a challenge of intelligence and resourcefulness, but as a way to get to know London as well.

One point Jonathan felt has been missing from this season's The Amazing Race, and has addressed several times in these columns, is the absence of the GAME aspect of this competition instead of just running a RACE, noting there is a significant difference between the two.

He liked that the players had to use their brains a little bit and had to figure out what the picture was and how they were going to get there, instead of utilizing these tasks that, while cultural in nature, really didn't take much mental wherewithal to get through. It's all about The Amazing Race being more than just a race. After all, if viewers wanted to watch a race, they'd watch NASCAR.

"That was the game," Jonathan said. "Bring the game forward. There needs to be more of this. It needs to be more of a scavenger hunt."

After all, whether it's milking goats, sucking water out of a spring, or racing stubborn camels around a round, dirt track, this season's The Amazing Race featured a lot more "doing" and a lot less "thinking."

"Instead of just doing something, they should be doing something with the information of the area," Jonathan said referring to way the producers set up the tasks requiring the contestants use their heads and know something about London too.

Jonathan appreciated the way London was utilized through out the episode, first in the detour, especially in the "Brains" section of the detour.

For example, look at the Sherlock Holmes part of the detour. Holmes is the fictional detective chronicled in mystery stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who, according to the stories, lived at 221b Baker Street (perhaps a tribute to our own Jonathan Baker?) for more than 20 years at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. He frequently smoked a pipe, wore his famous detective hat and used a magnifying glass at the scenes of the crimes he investigated.

The address, the pipe and the hat were all part of the detour and not only made the contestants think about where they had to go next, but gave the task a certain London feel that most of the episodes this season have sorely lacked.

"They really took the best parts of London and they've never done that before," Jonathan said. "They've never taken the best parts of it and put it in the game like that before."

That included the roadblock as well. Forcing the contestants to maneuver a double-decker bus through a controlled course took some skill and also reminded those at home that mode of transportation is primarily popular in the larger cities in England rather than anywhere else. Did you know the double-decker buses in London were developed as a response to a 1950s effort to clean up the city's dreadfully dirty air at the time and originally ran on electricity? And did you know they eventually moved to automobile buses but kept the double-decker style to accommodate more people without creating a vehicle that was too long by law?

The Amazing Race didn't tell us that, but being reminded that the double-decker bus was such a staple to London led to a little original research on our part. It's one of the few times this season that that an area's culture was reflected so well in a task it was worth looking more into and learning about.

"I commend them that they took an environment and really did something with it this week," Jonathan said. "They haven't done that all season."

It was almost as if The Amazing Race did what the producers of Sex in the City and Las Vegas did in creating their shows. Those people made the cities those shows took place in an important character in the show and formed storylines around them. The producers of The Amazing Race have really failed to do that for the most part this season, at least until this week when the city of London really shined.

"London was the star last night," Jonathan said. "We really got a good flavor of it. That was a good representation of London. The only thing they didn't do was to put a box in front of Big Ben and use Piccadilly Square."

The city of London wasn't the only star of the night though. As usual, Rob and Amber showed how smart and skilled they are playing this game, along with being a little lucky.

First, they took a calculated risk (along with Ron and Kelly) to get the flight to Frankfurt from Istanbul hoping they could get another flight to London from there. They went ahead and did it anyway even though they didn't know if they would be able to get the flight to London or not.

When they got to London an hour-and-a-half before Uchenna and Joyce and Gretchen and Meredith, they hit the ground running and even got ahead of Ron and Kelly in the London tasks. They made their most shrewd move when they convinced their new British friend, Stuart, to be their guide in London for the day. Without him, there's a good chance they'd still be stuck in London trying to solve some of those riddles that Stuart had the answers to so quickly. He helped them finish the tasks and get to the pit stop first giving them an advantage before the last leg of the race and the final episode of the season.

This is not the first time Rob and Amber have used a guide and Jonathan likes the strategy, as he used it many times himself last season. He sees himself and Rob thinking alike, possibly due to their east coast upbringing (Jonathan being from New York and Rob being from Boston).

"When you have a guide, you don't have to worry as much," Jonathan said. "When the guide left, you see the stress level go up. Maybe it's because I'm from the east coast, Since we're from the same demographic, I see us thinking alike."

No matter what the situation, it's just another example of Rob and Amber PLAYING THE GAME that Jonathan has talked about so many times before. None of the other teams have thought to get a guide to help them through cities they have never been in before, but Rob, always the charming, confident salesman, gets people to help him every leg of the race when the others don't bother to utilize that strategy, instead just RUNNING THE RACE.

The GAME aspect of The Amazing Race was prevalent in a couple of ways this week. First, the producers really injected a little life into this season with the episode set in London with competitors having to use their heads a little more and focusing more on what these fabulous cities across the world have to offer. Watching people solve puzzles and trying to find certain locations is often more interesting than watching them milk goats or move tree trunks off the side of a dirt road.

And, impressively, Rob and Amber took advantage of what the producers set up by getting their new friend Stuart to be their guide for the day. Playing the game by taking the risk with the flights and securing a guide led them to the finish line first this week. If they continue to compete that way, they could be tough to beat...


And the teams...

In speaking to Jonathan this week, he didn't have that much to offer about the teams left in the field. He summed it up by saying the coming attraction/teaser for next week really describes how he feels about the rest of the teams.

Uchenna and Joyce are "in the game." They have stuck it out all the way through and have shown they will do anything to win and try their best in the process.

Ron and Kelly will "cancel each other out." It's pretty obvious these two are an absolute disaster. She is demanding apologies from him about the way he is acting when she has been ten times worse through out the season. It doesn't look like their relationship survived after the show was over. Frankly, it will be a miracle if they even finish next week.

Jonathan definitely isn't a fan of Kelly at all. Can you blame him?

"I do think she's a bitch, period," he said. "She's just gone off on (Ron) way too many times."

And Rob and Amber? "Losing is not an option." They've proved they will do anything to win and that certainly won't change as the final leg of the race comes up and they head back to the United States.

But even though it may be an option for them, is it their fate?

Jonathan's theory, looking at teams from the past, is that the team who runs the race (and plays the game) the best and the most flawlessly generally don't win, they'll end up coming in second.

We've seen Rob and Amber stay focused, be a good team, remain full of energy, take guides with them on the tasks and even take part in a little healthy underhanded, but not illegal, play to get where they are. They aren't necessarily the most skilled mentally or physically, but they've run the best race to this point.

That's why they won't win.

"Anyone who was run the race flawlessly, they have come in second," Jonathan said. "That's the curse of The Amazing Race. That's why Rob and Amber won't win."

That's why as we head to the finale, Jonathan's final predictions are as followed:


Third Place: Ron and Kelly

Second Place: Rob and Amber

First Place: Uchenna and Joyce


Will his Amazing Race instincts lead him to being correct?


We'll find out next week!


Enjoy the finale!


-- Steve Coogan
InsidePulse.com


-- Jonathan Baker
The Amazing Race 6

http://tv.insidepulse.com/articles/37330

puddin:
It's a race to the end

STEVE TILLEY, EDMONTON SUN

 
In Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts's character was so sweet and cute and clever and spunky, you almost forgot she made a living by sleeping with any man who'd lay cash on the bedside table.

The Amazing Race is reality TV's version of the hooker with a heart of gold. Sure, it still belongs to the genre that's lowered the collective IQ of televised entertainment as a whole - something of a feat considering we're talking about the same medium that's given us According to Jim and Yes, Dear.

But when it comes to realiteevee, The Amazing Race is the show you can watch without feeling like you need to shower afterwards. It's a semi-genuine, pseudo-educational and consistently entertaining mix of travelogue, soap opera and game show, and viewers have responded (particularly in Canada, where the galloping globetrotters routinely finish near the top of the ratings).

Throw in some sort of cheeseball singing component and you'd have the mother of all unstoppable TV juggernauts.

Season 7 of The Amazing Race, wrapping up its run Tuesday night at 9 on CTV and 10 on CBS, sees Survivor alumni Rob and Amber leading the final three teams sprinting for the finish.

The Romber's good fortunes might seem a little suspicious, given that CBS's clever bit of stunt casting has made this one of the most talked-about seasons of The Amazing Race ever, but their continued success could simply be because they're the only ones actually playing the freakin' game.

Or are they? All it will take for bickering couple Ron and Kelly and down-on-their-luck spouses Uchenna and Joyce to slip past the chowderhead and his blushing bride is one small mistake, one lucky break or one bit of divine intervention on behalf of the producers. Not that anyone would ever accuse a reality TV show of being open to behind-the-scenes manipulation. Heck, no.

As the race has wound its way through South America, Africa and India, we're genuinely bummed that some of the most interesting teams were eliminated relatively early in the proceedings. It would have been sweet to see fun-lovin' brothers Brian and Greg, vaguely Sapphic hotties Debbie and Bianca or even the almost creepy mom-and-son pairing of Susan and Patrick still in the running.

But as the teams shoulder their packs and prepare to leave London on the leg's last race, all eyes are on the final three. Who will win? Who deserves to win? And what does that prissily annoying Travelocity gnome have to say about it?

ROB MARIANO, 29, AND AMBER BRKICH, 26

RELATIONSHIP: Engaged Survivor alumni who married post-race in a soon-to-be-televised ceremony. Gack.

POSITION LEADING INTO THE FINAL LEG: 1st.

WHY THEY ENTERED THE RACE: 'Cause CBS asked them to. And why not? Survivor: All Stars' million-dollar winner Amber and her runner-up beau have turned the spotlight on this season's race in a big way, with viewers divided between those who want to see them repeat their Survivor success, and those who want the smirking Robfather and his dimply doll to go down in flames.

WHY THEY SHOULD WIN: They're the one team that has truly played this race like a game. Deception, bribery, milking their fame to get help from the locals ... no tactic has been too underhanded for the Romber.

WHY THEY SHOULDN'T WIN: Because they've already got a million bucks from Survivor and way more than their 15 minutes of fame. And because there's a fine line between playing well and being a pair of obnoxious cheaters.

DEFINING AMAZING RACE MOMENT: Rob's back-to-back bribes in Santiago, Chile, where he first paid a local to keep quiet about an earlier bus leaving the airport, and then paid the bus driver to only open the front doors so that Rob and Amber could get a head start on the other teams.

WHAT THE TRAVELOCITY GNOME SAYS: "My word! This Romber makes a common troll look like a desirable companion for afternoon tea. Such despicable behaviour is rarely rewarded in the end!"

ODDS: 2 to 1

- - -

RON YOUNG, 28, AND KELLY MCCORKLE, 26

RELATIONSHIP: Dating couple in the early stages of their relationship.

POSITION LEADING INTO THE FINAL LEG: 2nd.

WHY THEY ENTERED THE RACE: The former Iraq POW and his Miss Carolina 2002 honeypie figured the race would allow them to spend a lot of time together under stressful circumstances and decide whether or not their relationship could work. I think we have the answer.

WHY THEY SHOULD WIN: Ron deserves to win simply for putting up with his cranky, chilly, God-fearin' girlfriend for this entire globe-spanning trek. How he's resisted the temptation to tie her up and leave her on some dusty roadside in India is beyond fathoming.

WHY THEY SHOULDN'T WIN: They're neither the strongest of the final three (that would be Rob and Amber) nor the most genuinely deserving (Uchenna and Joyce.) Considering how poorly they function as a team and as a couple, it's amazing they've even made it this far.

DEFINING AMAZING RACE MOMENT: When Kelly took Ron to task for his lack of commitment to anything, citing the example of how he managed to get out of the army by being taken prisoner in Iraq. Wow. Just ... wow.

WHAT THE TRAVELOCITY GNOME SAYS: "Stuff and nonsense! If you can't embrace the spirit of the adventure without quarrelling like children, then surely the spoils shall go elsewhere."

ODDS: 4 to 1

- - -

UCHENNA AGU, 40, AND JOYCE AGU, 44

RELATIONSHIP: Married couple that's fallen on hard times, financially and emotionally.

POSITION LEADING INTO THE FINAL LEG: 3rd.

WHY THEY ENTERED THE RACE: They clearly figured their luck was in need of a drastic turnaround. Uchenna worked for Enron (d'oh!), Joyce worked for WorldCom (D'OH!!), and several attempts at having children, including through in vitro fertilization, have failed. What's the worst that could happen?

WHY THEY SHOULD WIN: Of the remaining teams, they're the most deserving, both for their situation outside of the realm of the race and for their generally upstanding behaviour during it. And let's not forget that interesting news item that broke just before the race began. If you don't know what we're talking about, you don't want to. Yet.

WHY THEY SHOULDN'T WIN: There's really no reason why they shouldn't, except that they've occasionally allowed their soft hearts to slow them down, like lending a hand to struggling seniors Meredith and Gretchen. Also, they enter the final leg of the race in last place.

DEFINING AMAZING RACE MOMENT: Arriving at a Fast Forward challenge in India, only to learn it involved both team members shaving their heads. The already smooth-pated Uchenna comforted his distraught but determined wife as she bit the bullet and allowed her lengthy locks to be shorn.

WHAT THE TRAVELOCITY GNOME SAYS: "One couldn't ask for two better challengers, noble of spirit and strong of body. Pip pip and tally ho!"

ODDS: 3 to 2


http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Entertainment/2005/05/08/1030574-sun.html

puddin:
Three teams left for an 'Amazing' finish   

Monday, May 9, 2005

By MARC SCHWARZ
STAFF WRITER

 
 
After 40,000 miles and five continents, "The Amazing Race" comes down to this:


Will "Survivor All-Stars" champ Amber Brkich once again ride Rob Mariano's coattails to become the first person to win $1 million on two different reality shows?


Will Kelly McCorkle use the money she and Ron Young receive at the start of the next leg to replenish her cosmetic supplies, or will she once again skeeve out millions of viewers by borrowing lipstick from way-too-friendly airline ticket agents?


If Uchenna and Joyce Agu manage to win, will they actually receive the $1 million? Twice they won a leg and earned nothing except the right to be the first to depart on the next. Only one other time during the race has a leg winner not received a prize (Lynn and Alex). Rob and Amber, on the other hand, have won three trips and a home entertainment system.

Here's a look at the three remaining teams in reverse order of how they finished the last leg. The two-hour finale airs at |9 p.m. Tuesday on CBS:

Uchenna and Joyce

 
Relationship: Married.

Will win because: If there is such a thing as good karma, they'll cross the finish line first. They don't bicker, they play clean and have even helped out other teams along the way. Plus, they should fare well in physically demanding tasks.

Won't win because: The small time-saving things have not been their strong suit - the best example came last week, when they settled for the direct flight to London instead of exploring other possibilities.

Prediction: As was the case last season with Kris and Jon, nice couples don't finish first.

Ron and Kelly

Relationship: Dating.

Will win because: They decide to stop fighting and focus on racing, or more likely, the other two teams self-destruct.

Won't win because: No good reason other than we don't want them to. What started as the feel-good story of the season - he was a POW in Iraq, she was Miss North Carolina - has degenerated into the tedium of watching a couple that clearly doesn't belong together.

Prediction: Finish third and then break up.

Rob and Amber

Relationship: Engaged before the race, they married last month.

Will win because: Destiny and luck appear to be on their side. Not only have they always found someone to help them out, they've been smart players and very supportive of each other.

Won't win because: At some point their luck has to run out ... doesn't it? And maybe Rob's mouth will finally get him in trouble; previews of the finale suggest that they might be involved with some sort of run-in with the law.

Prediction: Of course they'll win. Do you think CBS would air the wedding of a team of losers? ("Rob and Amber Get Married" airs at 9 p.m. May 24.) :]

E-mail: schwarz@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNjcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2OTA1ODAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

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