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| Eleven teams of two, joined by family or relationship, follow a path of twists and turns in a frenetic race around the world for $1 million. Who will be the first to cross the finish line? Recaps by Chris Wolvie, GSNN
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Tears of a Clown Nineteen times before, CBS has sent pairs of Americans - linked by blood, marriage or friendship - on a Race around the world. Through all six inhabited continents, over eighty different countries and over a half-million miles, teams have Raced from PIT STOP to PIT STOP, losing some along the way. Tasked with DETOURs and ROADBLOCKs, YIELDs and INTERSECTIONs, FAST FORWARDs and U-TURNs, HAZARDs and SPEED BUMPs, the Earth was circumnavigated, cash, cars and Travelocity(TM) trips were handed out...and, of course, nineteen of those million-dollar checks were awarded. Now, once again, eleven teams of two are being brought to the STARTING LINE for this, the historic twentieth incarnation of the worldwide phenomenon that only Survivor has lasted longer than! It's time for THE AMAZING RACE 20! STARTING LINEBRIDLEHOOD ESTATE WINERY SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, USA Ah, California wine country. Great for winers...and great for bikers like host Phil Keoghan. But who are the bikers BEHIND him? Well, I'll be...it's this season's teams! From twins to cousins, from clowns to golfers, from feddies to border patrollers, these teams are ready to hop off their bikes and hop on a plane to their first destination. Let's meet 'em, shall we?: Dave & Cherie Gregg (Team Married
Clowns) - Married couple from Tampa. They both clowns...er,..."ambassadors
of laughter" for Ringling Brothers bringing their routine to
those kids who may not get the chance to see the full circus. Out of their biking gear, the teams run to meet Phil at one of the most beautiful wine orchards in the country. He gives teams the usual rundown: follow ROUTE INFOs from one to the other all the way around the world, dealing with Detours, Roadblocks and the like along the way. At twelve points, you get to rest at a PIT STOP...though, at most of them, the last team to check-in goes home. At ALL of them, the FIRST team gets a prize...but at the FIRST one, the winning team gets this:
And at the LAST one, aka the FINISH LINE!! somewhere in the US, the first team there wins ONE MILLION DOLLARS!! No HAZARD in this Race...but there IS a primary task to complete. See those 100 small red-and-yellow balloons floating above the orchard? Well, eleven of them have the first ROUTE INFO in them. Pull the balloons down and, once you grab a clue from one of them, head to the Ford Taurus(TM)es in the parking lot and get to Racing. OK, Phil, let's get this party started! "The world is waiting for you... "Good luck... "Travel safe... "GO!!" For the first time, the Racers don't run PAST Phil...as the balloons are BEHIND them. They run around the small lake and into the grapevines. They start tugging down balloons one by one...but the initially get nowhere. And Dave & Cherie...well, being the elders of the Race, you have to figure they'd be last up the hill into the vineyard. Elliot & Andrew are the first to find a balloon with a clue...with Joey Fitness & Danny and Vanessa & Ralph shortly behind. Time for the first rip-and-read of the Race:
(Uh,...they're IN Santa Barbara. Dubya Tee Eff?) As they run off, Kerri & Stacy find their clue in fourth, followed quickly by Brendon & Rachel and then Rachel & Dave. Nary & Jamie find the seventh clue. At the cars, Team Twins? Really? get in their Taurus and start hauling as Phil clues them in via the GPS screen. Essentially, the clue goes as such:
As the first seven teams start driving to the airport to try to get the first advantage of the Race, the other four fight just to get out of the winery. The next ones to find a clue in a balloon are, oddly enough, Team Married Clowns. Art & JJ are ninth to find the clue, leaving clue clues, a hundred balloons, Team Sons of Anar-KY and Team FORE! behind. Who will find themselves at the tail end of the pack? After a dry heave by Mark, he and Bopper find one! They depart in tenth (and Mark WET heaves en route to the airport), leaving the golfer sisters to scramble to find the last one. At least they won't have an extra task when they get to Argentina. It takes them over 1 hour, 45 minutes since Phil said "GO!" to finally find the clue, screaming, "How did we miss that?!?" LOS
ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT It's nighttime at the third busiest airport in the US of A as the teams show up. They're all on the same flight to Buenos Aires, but they'll be split into two groups heading to Salta: FIRST
FLIGHT TO SALTA: Let's not dawdle! We take you RIGHT to...... SALTA, ARGENTINA Upon landing, Team Border Watch jump out to an early lead on the highways of Argentina...and they agree it's better being in first than in last. That's because, back in Buenos Aires, the other five teams are just getting on the PLANE at this point. The Sons of Anar-KY comment on Team Double Trouble's "ba-donk-a-donks" before they get on board. SANTA BARBARA, ARGENTINA Having left one Santa Barbara behind about 18 hours ago, the teams start to arrive at ANOTHER Santa Barbara. Art & JJ are first to the basket, with the other teams right behind. The next clue stands as thus:
In order (like it matters much being they're seconds behind one another), the teams grabbing the clue are: Border Watch, Party In the CIA, Oh Brother!, Yellow Ribbon, It's Complicated! and Twins? Really?. They hop back in their cars and haul, using the maps in their clues to help. Back at Salta, the second plane lands and the back five teams run for their cars. Four of them head off for Santa Barbara...but Dave & Cherie have issues with THEIR car. Apparently, it's been a LONG time since Dave has driven a stick-shift. Cherie is a little upset that she sees no other teams...but Dave tries to stay optimistic, wanting just to run the best they can. Cherie starts to cry...and a Smoky Robinson song (and title of this episode) gets spoken by her. AERODROMO
GILBERTO LAVAQUE VALLA DE CAFAYATE You'd think they wouldn't be TOO surprised to find they're at an airport, given the "aero" in the clue. But, nope, they're pretty much in awe. Art & JJ reach the Clue Box (a rarity these days) and encounter their first:
Your navigators are Art, Brendon, Dave, Jamie, Ralph and Andrew. Dave's KINDA bummed about this. JJ's not too thrilled either because he's (you GUESSED it) afraid of heights! Art and Dave, both having worked for the U.S. Government, find a common "alpha male" bond between them and coordinate so that they can find their partners first. Brendon seems to have a good idea where the "X" is as well. When the planes takes off, so do the navigators. As the planes approach jumping altitude, Brendon, Art and Dave arrive at where they're supposed to park, do so and look for the plane so they can have a good idea where their partners will jump out. The two Rachels are having a blast and are psyched to be doing this. JJ...he looks almost ready to pass out as they get to 10G feet. JJ's the first one out of the plane...and he OMGs all the way down! When his chute is pulled, Rachel R. exits...and SHE screams for being scared at first...but she then smiles and enjoys the wonderful view of the Argentine countryside on the way down. Rachel B. is next out and she gives the "shaka braugh" salute all the way down. Once all chutes are deployed, the navigators take a good look-see as to where they're landing and sprint out on the bare field to meet them. JJ sums up the experience for Art pretty much the same way I summed up my first ride on the Rockets at Disneyland at age 5: "It was fun but it wasn't fun." The GOOD news is that he and Art leave the ROADBLOCK in first with this clue:
As Team Border Watch lightly jog on the sand back to the car, Team Oh, Brother! reunite and get the clue in second...though Team Yellow Ribbon are RIGHT behind them in third. Back at the roadsign, four other teams arrive at the clue that will lead them to the ROADBLOCK. Team FORE! is the first there, thus making them 7th. Team Double Trouble grab it in 8th, the Sons of Anar-KY in 9th and Team Clubbers in 10th. Aaaaaand STACY is terrified of heights as well! Where does CBS find all these acrophobes?!? Team Married Clowns aren't THAT far behind, really. Still in LAST but... To the second plane. Nary is first out and SHE'S psyched. Elliot is next and HE's psyched. Vannessa is last and she's...well, she likes the trip but she still thinks this is crazy! She gives the comment of the Leg as she floats down: "My uterus is in my throat." Here come the teams in the rear...apparently having made up more time than we thought. The navigators for the second group are: Danny, Bopper, Maiya, Kerri and (eventually) Cherie. Stacy TRIED to get out of this by letting Kerri do the task...but she was STUNNED when she learned that SHE was the one to be jumping! To say she's scared $#|+less is an insult to empty rectums everywhere! Oh, and Danny can't drive a stick-shift. Where does CBS find THESE guys? PATIOS
de CAFAYATE WINERY Art & JJ arrive at a familiar place with Brendon & Rachel hot on their heels (Brendon says he hates them on principle as he's half-Mexican; Rachel disapproves of that mentality). As the agents get their bags, the Big Brother two-timers run past them and get to this clue first:
As Team Oh, Brother! makes their way to the demo stand, Team Border Watch goes right behind them. The men watch the meat empanada made...and then seem to depart to make them. As they start, the couple continue to watch...and they NOTICE the different crimping patterns. They decide to split the work: Brenden doing the cheese and Rachel doing the meat. As both teams get busy, Rachel & Dave arrive to start the task in 3rd...and THEY notice the difference as well. Ut oh, Art & JJ... Back at the aerodromo - or, rather, ABOVE it - Mark screams as he jumps...but seems to enjoy it. Joey "Fitness" is having a BLAST as he falls and Misa enjoys the "priceless" adventure. This leaves Stacy and Dave to do the drop. Nary & Jamie arrive to make empanadas in 4th...just as Team Border Watch are about half-way finished. But the champion shakes her head as she looks at the empanadas. They run back to the demo table and FINALLY get the idea of the different crimps. As they start again, Vanessa & Ralph arrive in 5th. They apparently get the gist and get to work...but they're kinda hungry as they fight the urge to EAT the empanadas. Aaaaaand there's Stacy OMGing on the way up, holding her head. Dave seems cool with it. Meanwhile, the navigators are having a LITTLE more trouble than their predecessors in finding the "X"...and Maiya actually gets her truck stuck in the sand a fair ways away. Bopper has little trouble finding it and reunites with a rather green-looking Mark. But, hey, they leave the ROADBLOCK in 7th...whatcha want? As Joey "Fitness: and Misa await their navigators, Dave leaps out next...because, obviously, Stacy is STILL not comfy. In fact, she's fairly PANICKY. However,...she thinks of her kids at home...and doesn't want them to feel it's OK to run from their fears. So...she sucks it up, closes her eyes...and SCREAMS as she descends. She feels liberated...but she'll NEVER jump out of a plane again. And only now does someone come by to pull Maiya's truck out of the sand. And, with Danny still a bit lost, Team Married Clowns is able to depart the ROADBLOCK in 8th. Then Danny DOES arrive, meaning Team Clubbers departs in 9th...and Misa is QUITE worried now, especially with Stacy touching down. Team Double Trouble quickly leave in tenth...and leave Team FORE! in one helluva sand trap! At last, Maiya shows up and apologizes for making them leave in last. Back to the winery, where Elliot & Andrew arrive in 6th to start THEIR empanada-making. Brendon & Rachel are the first to ask for a ruling...but the champion says they're not correct. Art & JJ ask next, but she determines the meat ones aren't correct, much to their chagrin (in fact, they call the champ an "Empanada Nazi"...which makes sense 'cause, if they don't do it right, NO EXPRESS PASS FOR THEM!). The first ones to pass the test...is Team Yellow Ribbon! The champ nods her approval and send the couple on their way to the PIT STOP. A minute or so behind is Team Oh, Brother! and they sprint outside heading for... PIT
STOP #1 More than 6000 miles from the STARTING LINE, Rachel & Dave hit the mat in front of Phil and a pair of Argentine greeters. And Phil gladly announces them as Team # 1 and the winners of the EXPRESS PASS!" Sadly, Brendon & Rachel are a minute late and an EXPRESS PASS short; they're Team # 2. As Team Border Watch prays in Spanish, the champion FINALLY gives them permission to depart. They hit the mat as Team # 3. And, some minutes later, Party In the CIA check-in as Team # 4. More teams check-in: Team It's Complicated as #5 and Team Twins? Really? as #6. So, that's the front pack...let's get to the others. Bopper & Mark are first (AKA 7th) to the winery, watch the demo carefully and start on their empanadas. Dave & Cherie show up in 8th, Joey "Fitness" and Danny in 9th, Kerri & Stacy in 10th. All four teams work feverishly. Bopper calls them "piñatas", Danny always eats out and as such is all thumbs, Dave's a "good microwaver"And Misa & Maiya finally arrive...but leave their bags behind. Hmmmmmm...well, at least the empanadas are similar to wontons that the sisters sometimes makes. Team Clubbers are having SERIOUS issues with their empanadas as the champ keeps rejecting them. Once Kerri finished HER 60 empanadas, she and Stacy went into "beast mode" with the rest of them. The others just concentrate and keep crimping. And the first out of this group... ...is Team Double Trouble! They quietly leave the contest and run to Phil as Team # 7 (complete with victory dance on the mat). As they leave, Team FORE! realizes the cousins HAVE their bags...and feel they have to get THEIRS from the car before they can be checked-in. Team Married Clowns are the next to get approved and they are Team # 8 (and Joey "Fitness" & Danny are NOT happy about being out-cooked by a couple of {literal} clowns). And the Sons of Anar-KY prove that country boys can survive as THEY get approved and check-in at # 9. So...the golfer sisters and the clubbing friends fight to make their empanadas good-looking and delicious. They're both close...but Misa & Maiya finish first and get approved! HOWEVER, they run back to the car to get their bags...even though it seems unnecessary! Team Clubbers finish up, all but certain that they are goners. But, then, the unthinkable happens. Team FORE! head out to the courtyard after getting their bags (while Joey "Fitness" & Danny are down to two left to do)And they TOTALLY miss Phil! Phil actually points the girls OUT to the greeters! The sisters then turn around and head back to the parking lot! OUCH! That's like forgetting to sign your scorecard on the LPGA!! And, just like that, it cost them the Race. Team Clubbers finish their empanadas...and get the nod from the champion. They run out to the mat and Phil puts them in a bit of shock as they are announced as Team # 10...and the final team to continue this Race! Team FORE! finally sees Phil...and realize what happened and how they missed him. As they hit the mat, Phil give them the bad news: "Misa & Maiya,... you are the last team to arrive." No reprieve THIS time (unlike the last two Races); they (in their parlance) failed to make the cut...and they are Philiminated. Phil points out where he saw them...and they blame it on being too focused and having "tunnel vision". The sisters hug and cry. They had heart...but that wasn't enough today. Head for the clubhouse, girls; you're going home.
To see this episode in its entirety, or to apply to be a contestant on "The Amazing Race", visit the official website at www.cbs.com/amazingrace. |
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