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puddin:
This article is so one-sided :lol: , maybe the writer should check out the insider clips:}

puddin:
Amazing Race 9
If we did some sort of analysis of all the Races' results, which would turn out to be the biggest factor in determining winners and losers: uncooperative airline-ticket agents, taxi drivers' senses of direction or contestants' ability to read a map? In this leg of the race, it really looked like the former two would be the undoing of someone, between the cabdrivers who couldn't find the trolley park and the two separate Russian ticket agents who refused to issue tickets just seconds after another team had bought some. But things nearly evened out again at the Mercedes-Benz test track. Who else was disappointed that the racers themselves didn't have to drive on it? I guess even Jerry Bruckheimer doesn't have that kind of insurance. Interestingly, all teams trying to get a leg up by forming alliances or at least following each other actually hurt their chances. First, what were MoJo and Dave and Lori thinking, sharing a cab to the "psyching out" pit stop (as Dave called it)? Love Team Nerd, but I hope they had no illusions that they could beat the others in a foot race. And then Dani and Danielle had the sorely wrong impression that Wanda and Desi knew where they were going. Desi complaining about her mom's insistence on pronouncing all foreign words with a Spanish accent cracked me up — my mom does the same exact thing. Language barriers meant very little in Germany, where everyone speaks better English than I do. (Though it looked like the Deutsch-speaking B.J. got to do some good flirting!) Even that drunk local who helped Lake and Michelle find the gnome farm was relatively articulate. The detour choice between bottle smashing (Ow!) and learning that dance seemed like a tough decision. Eric and Jeremy made the bottle-smashing look fun, but the dancers were letting everyone off rather easily — I'm sure I saw people slap the wrong knee and still get a round of applause and a clue. But as I predicted, Wanda and Desi's relentless pessimism (and probably lack of sleep) broke their concentration and spelled out their doom. Sadly, that means two all-female teams lost in a row. C'mon, Pinks, it's time to step it up! — Sabrina Rojas Weiss

http://www.tvguide.com/TV/Watercooler/default.htm?cmsRedir=true&rmDate=03222006&cmsGuid={34A29F27-BDBB-4CCA-98E0-B400730B5C62}&cmsSrch=true

puddin:
EPISODE 4 Phil's Blog

   Eric & Jeremy still look like they’re cruising. Lake & Michelle sure like being in the front. Lake is getting more and more competitive. Great reaction from Fran & Barry, they are just so excited to be in this Race. The teams are separating a bit. The longer it takes for the last team to get in the more challenging it will be to catch up to the first teams. I really hope we can keep up otherwise our schedule will really get messed up. This has been the craziest schedule I can remember next to Race 3.

A real achievement for Wanda to get through the Roadblock challenge today. There is something wonderful about seeing people do more than they think they are capable of. Hearing people saying that they can’t do something only lessens the chances that a person will push themselves. Obviously, it is easier to just say, “I can’t.” On the Race people seem to step up like they never have before and I really don’t think it’s just about the million dollars.
 
   Dave & Lori were the last team to check in at the virtual Pit Stop at about 7:10 pm, don’t think they liked the dramatic way I delivered the news…hey we’re making TV. Got to get moving to catch up. I have been told there is a lot of traffic between here and the airport, the first teams have a good lead on us. Our driver is driving safely, but certainly pushing it. We will really get behind if we miss our flight. We have a nice Mercedes, so at least we’re comfortable. Looking out the window I see a family eating ice cream and it’s freezing cold outside…that’s a little weird. They sure are used to the cold weather here.

We are all pretty chilled after a day in cold. Saw a funny sight tonight just before we left. One of the many couples getting married were having their photos taken not too far away from the mat. Their photographer was yelling out directions while snapping away various group shots. Finally they get to the bride and groom’s close ups and just as they’re about to kiss for the cameras, the groom’s phone goes off. He just stops everything, walks away, talks for a few minutes and then comes back, lifts up his brides veil and launches into the heaviest kiss I have every seen. They literally kissed for minutes while their friends snapped photos and cheered.

We stopped outside the airport, the driver said there is some kind of political event going on. There are fireworks going off all around us right now. There is no way we are going to make it into the airport so we’re going to walk in. Our driver is stuck and said it could take him hours to get out of here. Got to run to get this flight. Word is that there is a lot of confusion going on at the airport with the teams, some slow lines. Eric & Jeremy pretty much cruised through, luck is going their way right now. Others feel like nothing is going their way.

Our advanced time has got us hooked up with some tickets, so even though we got to the airport later than some of the teams we are on and will catch up to the lead teams.
 
   The first teams at the Mercedes ‘Wall of Death’ loved the ride. Wouldn’t mind having some time to take a drive myself. It is awesome. Coming into the wall at over 100 miles an hour…we’re getting some fantastic reactions from the teams. Joseph went nuts.

We are headed straight to the Roadblock. A field full of “Travelocity” gnomes hats and feet. A fantastic set up. Just got a phone call, Wanda & Desiree are going the wrong way. They are apparently having a few words with each other. Danielle & Dani are following them and they are going around in circles.

We are only slightly ahead of Eric & Jeremy, trying to get our shooting finished before they get here. Loving the autobahn, driving at some incredible speeds…legally we are keeping ahead of things nicely…very good drivers. Read a piece in the paper this morning about Japanese tourists who come over here to drive without limits. They hire a fast car and then go all out on the autobahn. The roads are perfect here. Unfortunately, many are only experienced at driving at average speeds of 15 mph and so there have been a lot of terrible accidents.

The country-side is showing off this morning, a lovely fog is slowing burning off. Cars on the side of the road are covered in frost. A hot air balloon is ahead of us…the perfect day for a flight. Lots of hay bails scattered all over the rolling hills…can’t help thinking about the Roadblock in season 6 with Kristy & Lena. Another very quick trip through the country again.
 
   We are right on track to get to the Pit Stop before the teams. The Bavarian Film Studio events were brilliant. A lot of laughs. Eric & Jeremy flirting with the locals as usual…they are constantly on the look out for the local “Hotties.” Can’t say they’re not having fun!
 
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race9/shows/ep04/phil/blog/

puddin:
This one's for immunity!
 
Mike Sauve
National Post


Thursday, April 06, 2006


Ever wonder how they cook up challenges for hit reality television shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race?

While Jeff Probst is the one to yell "Survivors ready? Go!", it's a team of producers who spend months conceiving and producing challenges.

Victoria-native Alan Bishop is among the best in the business. He's produced challenges for several Survivor seasons (Vanuatu, Panama and Guatemala), and this fall he begins his first stint as a challenge producer for The Amazing Race.

"With Survivor, we set up somewhere for six months on a closed set. With The Amazing Race you're basically racing the contestants. We've got to be two days ahead of them."

Planning begins several months before a season of Survivor shoots, Bishop said, explaining that his team brainstorms a few hundred concepts for challenges.

"Once you get on location, you find out what works and what will really stand out."

Challenge producers collaborate with the art department to design the structures. Bishop tests the tasks himself. Then, while the show is being filmed, Probst explains the challenge to contestants, cameras are turned off and Bishop's team explains the rules and safety concerns in detail.

He's witnessed wild stuff on white sandy beaches with castaways plucked from their daily lives. Once, while explaining a challenge, he noticed a female contestant urinating right beside him.

Safety is a major concern, but so is creating riveting TV, so Bishop's job is a delicate balance.

"You can't hurt people just because they're playing for a million dollars," he says. Challenges he's particularly excited about are often nixed due to safety concerns. Fairness also comes into play. "If you have three really athletic people and three who aren't, but they're all good characters, we can't always do the athletic challenges. We walk a fine line."

But friendly castaways make for boring TV, so producers sometimes ask Bishop's team to add conflict by pumping extra drama and excitement into elimination and reward contests.

The father of two is sworn to Survivor secrecy by "massive" CBS confidentiality agreements, so all he can reveal to his sons about his work is which episodes they might not want to miss.

"Their friends ask for inside information, but they like saying, 'No, I can't tell you,' even though they don't know."

His family is used to Bishop being away up to nine months a year. Before his reality gig, he participated in international Eco-Challenge expeditions and was a paratrooper in the Canadian Armed Forces.

When he is at home, Bishop organizes corporate team-building exercises, which he's been doing since the early 90's.

Today Bishop is organizing an Amazing Race-style event in Toronto for Electronic Data Systems.

"When I take a corporate group to an island these days, they think I'm stealing the idea from Survivor, but I've been doing that for years."

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=3b276d85-3e12-41ec-b3a8-a84984118d55&k=61500

supsandalee:
Here is the final article from the Hattiesburg Newspaper about Lake and Michelle. They interviewed them. These peeps are in major denial!

It's all in editing, rueful Garners say
By Steven Godfrey


He cursed, he complained and he argued with his wife - all on national television - but "The Amazing Race" contestant Lake Garner promises he's no villain.

"Looking back, I see that I was too naive to realize I got cast in that part," the Hattiesburg dentist said Thursday morning, just hours after appearing on a nationally televised morning talk show with his wife and teammate Michelle.

The couple were eliminated Wednesday night as contestants on the ninth season of the CBS reality adventure series. Just hours after their elimination episode aired, the pair started a press junket in New York City to talk about their experience as the "Bad Guy" couple.

"I think they [the press] were surprised," Lake said after "The Early Show" taping. "We kind of played it low key. They were probably expecting us to be more excitable."

That "excitable" nature has garnered the Garners more attention for their marriage than for their chance to compete for $1 million in "a race around the world" on national television.

"We thought we were getting along good during the show. I think in retrospect that after the second or third episode (Michelle) was wanting me to take the lead. After the first two or three legs I like to think I was listening to her sometimes," Lake said.

Michelle said the couple tried out because they wanted to play the game, not deal with the subsequent attention from the media and viewers. But a week before the season premiere on Feb. 28, Michelle read an article in Entertainment Weekly labeling Lake a "villain" character for the season. Before the show debuted, Lake was described as "highly competitive" on the "Amazing Race" Web site at www.cbs.com.

"I didn't expect (the attention) at all. I did the 'Race' because I wanted to; there was no other motive. I wasn't prepared for as many people to talk about it and know about us," Michelle said.

Once the show debuted, the Garners got a chance to see what footage "Race" producers had decided to air. In the seven episodes the pair appeared in, each installment had at least one scene where the couple had heated arguments. A constant point of contention was navigation, as teams are responsible for finding their way though various foreign countries to complete different tasks.

During Wednesday night's episode, the Garners were shown having a fight over directions while driving through rural Greece. Lake cursed at his wife, but Michelle then was seen calming down an "overstressed" Lake on the side of the road.

"They could have tried to show a softer side a little bit because it was there. But you get in the heat of the 'Race' and that competitive spirit can take over, and Lake is very competitive," Michelle said.

That spirit drew the attention of fans and Hattiesburg residents alike. Lake was a constant subject of scrutiny in online forums on "Amazing Race" fan forums, and the Garners' behavior became the subject of several letters to the editor at the Hattiesburg American. Lake said that the response he's received from friends and family has been overwhelmingly positive.

The Garners' immediate family have remained supportive of the pair throughout the experience. Michelle's mother, Pam Poston, and Lake's mother, Diane Garner, helped look after the couple's three children while the Garners were on the five-week shoot.

After their elimination, the couple was sequestered at an undisclosed resort for nine days. On the final episode, the pair will appear with all 11 teams at the finish line.

"My reaction (last night) was that it's over. The suspense was killing me," Poston said.

Poston said she thought the show's producers created stock characters with their portrayal of the couple,

"I think that they did something typical of a TV show. They had to give personalities to different couples. Unfortunately (Lake and Michelle) got the 'Bickering Couple,'" Poston said.

"Even though I knew it was a show I didn't like seeing anything that hurt my daughter and her family. It hurt me when they did (argue) because I knew there'd be a backlash on that."

Still, Poston stands by her son-in-law and daughter, who have been married for 15 years.

"Lake is very energetic, he tends to leap before he thinks, but in real life they are a close couple with their ups and downs and they always seem to get over them. Michelle is very sure of herself, too," Poston said.

"We enjoyed doing this," Michelle said. "(People) would be surprised that we have a great relationship, that we get along in everyday life as much as we do."

And Poston backs up her daughter's quiet reaction to her husband's on-air arguing.

"Michelle was always aware there was a camera on, so she was very gracious," Poston said.

"Trust me, at home she would've put a stop to all that pretty quickly."


Originally published April 14, 2006

 

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