THE AMAZING RACE 9

The Final Episode

BJ and Tyler (First Place)
While this team benefited from a number of bottleneck points in this final episode, the simple fact of the matter is that it’s really quite easy to figure out why the producers would be actively pushing for a final push for the last pit stop where at least two teams were in the running, and the simple fact of the matter is that Eric and Jeremy had a lead going into the final flag challenge, so BJ and Tyler’s victory is the direct result of their knowledge about the flags of the countries that they visited. In fact this episode is full of moments where it’s clear that the hippies travels around the world give them a bit of an edge in this race, with the most notable example of this being Tyler’s vast knowledge of Japan which allowed them to speed through the opening leg of the race, though they very nearly ran into trouble when the clerk at the airport seemed to misunderstand the rather simple request of being on the earliest flight. In any event while there were moments when the hippies got a little caught up in trying to play the psyche out elements of the game their efforts were largely unsuccessful, and the only real mistake that they made during the second leg was their brief headless chicken routine when they ran around looking for the snowshoes. Happy to see this team win the race as they are perfect representatives for the Amazing Race.

Eric and Jeremy (2nd Place)
They ran a very strong race and if not for their lack of knowledge about the flags of the countries that they visited, they could’ve easily have walked away as this season’s winners. In any event they ran two very strong legs, with their performance in the opening leg being the most impressive given Tyler’s mastery of the local language which gave the hippies a decide edge over the other teams. In fact they were running neck and neck with the hippie for pretty much the entire race, and if not for an extremely long layover in Taipei they could’ve had themselves a huge edge over the other teams. In fact with the notable exception of the final challenge, Eric and Jeremy out performed all the other teams in the various challenges as the ice drilling challenge was no contest, and they also seemed to have a far easier time with the snow show challenge. However, they certainly earn points for giving it the best shot, as they in spite of their lack of knowledge about the flags, they built up enough lead time that they almost lucked out into the correct placement, and this made for a very exciting final moments. In any event they were a likeable team, and I wouldn’t have been crushed if they had won. In fact the only compliant that I’d make about this team is that about half their jokes were of the "is this thing on" variety.

Ray and Yolanda (3rd Place)
I’ll have what she’s having. Yes this final episode featured Yolanda at her best and at her worst, as over the course of these final two legs she swung back and forth from outright giddy to downright grumpy, and if this is her usual temperament than Ray has an interesting life ahead of him. I mean when she’s in her good mood than she is very likeable, and prone to find humour in the most unlikely of places. However, when she’s in a bad mood it seemed like she was able to take offence at even the smallest perceived slight. In any event her Jekyll and Hyde like mood swings didn’t really impact this team’s performance, but rather it was their obsessive need to stop and ask for directions. I mean while they were in Japan this resulted in several very funny moments, as Ray’s looks of utter confusion couldn’t help but make me smile. However once they got themselves back to America, they continued to stop and ask for directions while the other team barrelled ahead, and this dropped them to the back of the pack in pretty short order. So much so that the other teams had enough time to finish the ice drilling challenge before they made their arrival. In the end they were a team that was very strong when they were on their game, but when they were off one was left to wonder how they managed to last as long as they did. Still they did provide a number of very funny moments, and their presence in this final episode made it all the more enjoyable.

4 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Eleven

CBS Production

BJ and Tyler (First Place)
This was probably the best single use of the fast forward that I’ve seen from a team, and while the challenge that these two had to overcome looked quite daunting in the early going as the level of insects in the bowl never seemed to go down, BJ and Tyler took full advantage of this shortcut to ensure their involvement in the final episode would be more considerable that welcoming the winning team at the finish line. Now since they took the fast forward they didn’t take part in the monkey feast, so I can’t help but express my disappointment that we never got to see these two interacting with monkeys, and their humorous edge was quickly put aside as they discovered eating deep-fried crickets and grasshoppers quickly becomes tiresome. Still, once they completed the challenge and provided the editors with a nice cut to commercial moment where it looked like they were going to give up, the high spirits of this pair returned and once again they provided the most enjoyable pit stop interaction with Phil. These two also manage to make the rather tiresome task of panhandling into high entertainment. Happy to see this team in the final episode, and it would appear that we have a final leg that is devoid of any team that doesn’t deserve to be there.

Eric and Jeremy (2nd Place)
This episode further reinforces my lifelong belief that everything is better when you add monkeys. In fact watching the players force to contend with food stealing monkeys left me wishing that the producers added monkeys to the remaining challenges, as gold-leafing Budda statues, or transporting clay pots on a board would’ve been far more entertaining if only they had the foresight to include monkeys. As if stands the entertainment value of the monkeys was nicely telegraphed when this team decided to share their Pringles with their simian ancestors and discovered monkeys are rather aggressive when it comes to free food. Now since these two already successfully completed a fast forward, they got a bit of a jump on the others teams that took part in setting up the monkey feast, and they also made a rather strategic move by picking the non-physical challenge, which allowed them to hold on to this slim lead. It’s also worth noting that this episode reminded me why I was a fan of this pair in the early episodes as they get back to making jokes that had me smiling, and their interaction with the other teams was decidedly less snarky, which makes them considerably more likeable. A very strong team that has shown all season why they belong in the final episode race for the million dollar prize.

Ray and Yolanda (3rd Place)
This back of the pack regular has gotten stronger as the season progressed, and they certainly picked the right part of the race to find their legs. Now the editors must love this team as they are a very easy team to cheer for but they make a regular habit of becoming involved in a race to avoid being eliminated, and while it was pretty clear that Joseph and Monica weren’t breathing down their neck, I have to confess I found myself a little concerned when Yolanda was stopped at the entrance so her arms could be covered. In any event while this team lost a bit of ground when they went for the fast forward, the increasingly cheerful Yolanda did a masterful job of laying out her monkey feast so that they were nipping at Eric and Jeremy’s heels during the second half of the episode. In fact if not for the fast forward detour I could easily see this team pulling ahead of the frat boys, and since there’s no more yields or fast forwards in the game, I don’t see any reason not to look upon this pair as more than equal to the challenge of keeping up with the other two teams who have uniformly finish in the top two positions for pretty much the entire race. The simple fact that Ray and Yolanda look to be getting along famously in spite of the pressure of the race also can’t help but sell the idea that they have a very good shot at the million dollars. Plus, I rather enjoyed that this team had the secret golden gnome.

Joseph and Monica (Last Place ... Eliminated)
It couldn’t of happened to a nicer team, and while I’m a big believer in the idea of having a villain team in the final episode as they serve to heighten the drama simply by providing the threat that a thoroughly unlikeable team could walk away with the million dollar prize, the simple fact of the matter is that these two were more annoying than villainous. In any event this team only has itself to blame for it’s demise as they were on the early flight with two other teams but I suspect the fact that Joseph was openly accusing his cabbie of ripping him off before he had finished loading his bags in the back of the cab resulted in them arriving at the bus station after the early bus had already left. Than they made the mistake of heading to a hotel instead of waiting at the bus station to see if another team managed to local an earlier bus, and this put them one hour behind the final team. However a bottleneck point pretty much brought them even with the rest, and in an effort to get the jump on the other teams they decided to pick the physical challenge rather then get involved in a race with two other teams goldleafing a Budda statue. However, this proved to be a mistake, as Monica buckled under the pressure, and forced a third trip, which proved to be enough to knock them out of the race. In the end this team had the tendency to blame other teams for their lack of success and didn’t pay enough attention to their own shortcomings.

4 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Ten

CBS Production

Ray and Yolanda (1st Place)
Thanks to a pair of bottleneck points this leg of the race, all four teams bunched together for most of the episode, but Ray and Yolanda did secure themselves a bit of a lead over the other teams thanks to of all things Yolanda’s inability to swim, which had them immediately pass the prospect of a mile long trek down a river. This is also one of those rare cases where the length of time that each detour challenge takes actually made a notable impact on the game, as it was all too clear that the mile long river hike was more time-consuming that the hunt for the didjeridoo playing Aborigine, and this in turn allowed Ray and Yolanda to get the jump on the teams that picked the river trek. They also look to have resolved the one weakness of their race as this episode they managed to secure a tourist map, which given the Amazing Race loves to place their clue boxes in tourist traps mean this type of map is far more valuable when it comes to getting teams where they want to go. A well run leg and I have to say as they move further in the race Yolanda’s becoming far more endearing, and her gleeful observations are perfectly balanced by Ray’s more surly temperament. In fact I have to say these two would make a perfect comedy team.

Eric and Jeremy (2nd Place)
While their attempt at building some lead time in the early part of the race had them falling victim to the unseen force the control the game I have to say I rather enjoyed the gleeful manner in which these two attempted to sabotage the efforts of the other teams by cancelling their cabs. This episode continue to show us this team is getting itself distracted by elements that don’t really help them in the race as both of them are unwisely making time with the women of the other teams, and if you’re looking for something to inspire another player to want to beat you in this race you need look no further than making the other guy feel like you’re making a play for his girl. They also made the mistake of picking the river trek which on paper sounds like the more time consuming challenge and wouldn’t you know it that's exactly what it was. Still, barring a major wipe out I pretty much knew that as the three teams pulled into the parking lot, Eric and Jeremy would be the winners of the foot race. In any event, it should be very interesting to see how the next race starts out as we should have three teams leaving the mat at pretty much the exact same time. In closing these two are starting to look quite beatable, and this should make to a nice down to the wire finish to this season.

Joseph and Monica (3rd Place)
These two are allowing the behaviour of the other teams to get the better of them, and based on past seasons this is not a wise move, as the reason why the other teams are making these plays is to pull your head out of the game. In fact I have to say I’m continually surprised that players in this game are upset when another team doesn’t lend them a helping hand or does something that actually impedes their progress in the game. I mean it’s a race for a millions dollar prize, and now have a one in four shot at winning, and yet you are still crying foul when another team takes the opportunity to get a step ahead of you? I mean I’m sure the race has some rules about what you can do to impede the progress of the other teams, but you really shouldn’t be expecting the other teams to play nice at this stage of the race. In any event this team managed to recover nicely from being yielded as they wisely picked the less time consuming didjeridoo detour, and this allowed them to make up ground on the teams that they were chasing. I also have to give Monica full marks for keeping her little legs moving in the final foot race, as thanks to a bit of a blunder by BJ she was able to slip ahead of him and stay out of last place. However, it would appear the inevitable meltdown will be taking place in the next episode.

BJ and Tyler (Last Place ... Not Eliminated)
Given their stated fondness for embracing the cultures of the world I was a little surprised that these two picked the river trek detour challenge, as the didjeridoo hunt seemed like exactly the type of challenge that they would gravitate towards. However, these two paid the price for this choice as instead of taking advantage of the lead time that yielding Joseph and Monica managed to secure, picking the more taxing/time-consuming river trek placed them in a three way foot race to avoid being the last team on the mat. BJ also made a bit of a mistake when he decided to take a short cut in the foot race, and since Monica was clearly bringing up the rear he would been far better served to simply stick with the group. This episode also brought out the ugly side of this team, as while I understand why they decided to yield Joseph and Monica, truth be told it wasn’t a real bright move, as Eric and Jeremy have been far stronger competitors, and using it against them wouldn’t come across as looking quite so petty, especially given the stated reason for why they decided to employ the yield would’ve also applied to Eric and Jeremy. Tyler’s attempt to generate animosity using the flirting between Monica and Eric was also an ill-advised move, as tension already exists between all teams at this point of the race, so there’s no real need to stir the pot.

4 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Nine

CBS Production

Eric and Jeremy (1st Place)
Back in first place, but in spite of having a pretty considerable lead over the other teams thanks to a bit of lucky timing when they arrived back from the detour challenge just in time to catch a departing ferry, Jeremy’s rather uninspired performance at the roadblock challenge meant almost all of the teams had arrived before they made their way to the pit stop. It is worth noting that these two were at their most annoying this week as they spent most of the episode making painfully clich� comments about how competitive their race has become. However, they managed to make quick work of the detour challenge which in turn allowed them to slip on to the early ferry, and as such Jeremy was given the extra time so his chicken with his head cut-off imitation at the roadblock didn’t cost them all that much. Still this performance does mark yet another time that this pair has looked rather pitiful when it comes to locating something that requires them to actually look for it, and this weakness could very well come back and trip this team up as you know the producers love the mounting frustration of these search challenges.

Joseph and Monica (2nd Place)
I don’t have a problem with aggressive teams that are in this game to win it, but if you’re going to take this approach to the game than you can’t complain when other teams adopt a similar approach. I also have to say I find it a little difficult to believe that BJ and Tyler would be serious about the threat of yielding any team that didn’t leave them any money, so watching Monica use this as the qualifier for why she hates the hippies got old rather quickly. Than again perhaps BJ and Tyler are monsters when the camera isn’t rolling, and the editors have only decided to focus of the clips that makes Monica out to be a petulant child, while editing out any moments that make her seem even remotely likeable. Now they ran a pretty good race though their sense of direction and continual inability to fully read the clues does resurface in this episode. Still, Joseph made pretty quick work of the roadblock challenge and only their inability to beat Eric and Jeremy in a foot race kept them out of first place. However, at least they got to be on hand to hear what cool prize they just missed out on winning.

BJ and Tyler (3rd Place)
Panhandlers take note of BJ and Tyler’s success in dealing with the no money element that they were faced with on this leg of the race as they raked in close to $300 U.S. on the plane flight. Now that I think about it though an extended plane flight is the ideal local to pester people for money as they can’t really get away from you and most people would be more inclined to give you a bit of money simply to get you moving on to the next person. In any event while these two made a bit of a mistake taking the second ferry and deciding to take a taxi down to the prison, they didn’t lose that much ground, and Tyler made pretty quick work of the roadblock challenge so they jumped past a couple of the team. They also ran into a surprisingly co-operative clerk at the airport who let them by tickets on a plane that was boarding, though perhaps the fact that they had no possessions to declare proved to be a decided advantage. In any event it’s nice to see these two back in the race, as if any team can knock Eric and Jeremy off their high horse it’s these two. In fact the only real trouble I can see developing for this team is that they’ve gotten on the bad side of Team Mojo, and if they don’t arrive at the next yield point before their rivals they’ve earn themselves a guaranteed yield, though I guess the same hold true for Team Mojo.

Ray and Yolanda (4th Place)
These two is back comfortably in their second from last place finishing position, and once again they impress me with how well they handle the stress of staying one step ahead of being eliminated. I mean they had a bit of an emotional breakdown in the previous episode, but it doesn’t really looked to have impacted their overall performance, and while they’ve never done better than a pair of third place finishes I have to say that I wouldn’t be surprised to see these continue their slow but steady climb up the ranks with their second from last finishes, as Team Mojo looks like a team that is ready to crumble from the strain, while this pair keep a level head even when they know they are in the back of the pack. They also earn points for not being jerks when it came to leaving money, and not sulking when BJ and Tyler made it on the plane, as while I’m pushing for the hippies, this pair would make an ideal second choice as they are not annoying me with continual reminders of how they’re looking to win the race. In fact I love the fact that they’re delighted with their fourth place finish, rather sulking about the back of the pack finishes. I also have to give Yolanda full marks for her strong individual performances on the roadblock challenges, as they aren’t losing ground at the challenges, but rather they lose most their time making their way between the various clue boxes.

Fran and Barry (Last Place ... Eliminated)
While I never completely warmed to this team I have to say the most recent episodes did instil a begrudging respect, and in their final episode they managed to win me over. Now they running pretty much neck and neck with the others, and they even had the foresight to call ahead for a taxi that would speed them to the prison once they got to the ferry terminal. However, they managed to secure a taxi with the one cab company that isn’t all that big on customer service as while Joseph and Monica got their pre-ordered cab, poor Fran and Barry were left stranded at the terminal with no taxi in sight. This in turn had them arriving at the road block challenge in last place, and while the editors made it look pretty close, I really wasn’t fooled. Still there’s a good many teams over the seasons who have been knocked out of the race through no real fault of their own, so Fran and Barry can at least walk away from the race knowing that they did far better than I suspect most viewers expected them too, and they also managed to come across as one of the good guy teams on a series that often times brings out the worst in it’s players.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Eight

CBS Production

Fran and Barry (1st Place)
Fran is the best darn navigator that has ever been on the Amazing Race, and if you’re looking for the reason why these two are still in the race, let alone snagging first place than you need look no further than her ability to get her team from point A to point B. They may not be the fastest team when it comes to the challenges, but they more than make up for any lost time with this uncanny ability to beeline their way between the various clue boxes. They may occasionally get stuck in traffic and when they’re looking for a clue box one will never accuse them of having eagle eyes, but give Fran a map and a destination she’ll get you there like nobody’s business. In fact if I was running this race my entire strategy would be to simply follow Fran and Barry’s car from challenge to challenge, and than beat them in the final foot race. I also have to give this team credit for their ability to complete the challenges in spite of how physically exhausted they look, as how could one not feel for poor Barry even after he had found his buried oven. Still, now that they’ve grabbed a hold of first place, barring a challenge that is beyond their somewhat limited physical abilities I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see them hold on to first.

Joseph and Monica (2nd Place)
One would think that finishing in second place at this stage of the race would be welcome news, but Joseph and Monica did look to have first place in the bag as they were the first team to head toward the pit stop, but they got lost, and had to settle for second place. Now one could blame Monica for failing to provide the proper directions, but she earned herself a free pass because she is directly responsible for getting them headed toward the pit stop first thanks to a lucky early strike at the road block challenge. In fact I do have to say Monica does seem to be performing most of the road block challenges which I guess could be strategy, but since the don’t seem to be keeping score like on previous seasons, I’m not sure why Joseph is sitting on his hands. In any event, this team really needs to take a moment to pull over to the side of the road so Monica and Joseph can study the map, as the back and forth communication between the two is awful, and while I’ve been proven wrong thus far, I expect the wheels will fall off this team very soon. Still, they ran a pretty good leg, and if not for a late misstep they would’ve grabbed first place.

Ray and Yolanda (3rd Place)
This team looks to be coming apart due the simple fact that no matter how good your relationship with somebody might be, there comes a point where you just get sick of them. I mean on a scale of one-to-ten when compared to previous hostilities that we’ve seen on the Amazing Race, Ray and Yolanda’s disagreement is about a two, as Ray seems completely disinterested in actually becoming involved in this fight, and Yolanda doesn’t really have much ammunition that she can fire as Ray’s cussing didn’t even require the infamous censor bleep, though his flipping her the bird did require the use of the censor blur. In any event their fighting didn’t really hamper this team’s performance so much as the return of their inability to get themselves between the various challenges. I mean they’re a formidable team when it comes to the challenges themselves, but perhaps they should swap positions and have Ray sitting in the back-seat acting as the navigator, as the arrangement they have going now really doesn’t seem to be working. In fact the only reason they held on to their third place finish was because of Eric and Jeremy’s shortcut, and BJ’s horrendous luck finding the hidden oven.

Eric and Jeremy (4th Place)
Behold my power. Yes having notice that any of the teams that I declared my personal favourites were quick to fall back in the race I decided to experiment in my previous review by declaring this team my favourite, and how can one not take notice of my reverse Midas touch. Now one could argue that this team’s decent down the ladder was due more to an exorbitant amount of bottleneck points that bunch all the teams together, so that a single mistake would have such a profound effect on their race, but I much rather prefer to credit it to my amazing gift. In any event this team made the mistake that has taken many teams out of the race, as instead of backtracking when they get the sense that they’re not heading in the right direction, they continue to barrel ahead and make the problem even worse. I mean more teams have been knocked out of the race by this mistake than any other, and they almost compound this near escape later in the episode by trying to take a short cut, a move which never ever works in the Amazing Race. In any event this team could use a further helping of humble pie so they remain my favourite team.

BJ and Tyler (Last Place ... Not Eliminated)
While things seem to be going rather smoothly for this team thanks in large part to a pair of bottleneck points that erased a pair of hour behind delays that they encountered in the early part of the race, someone should’ve told them about the great unwritten rule when it comes to the find a single item hidden in the midst of hundreds of potential hiding spots challenges, as the guiding force behind the game loves to have the first team tackles this challenge be the last team to leave, so he really should’ve let Barry be the first one to break ground in this search. However, you can’t really fault BJ for his poor performance on this roadblock challenge as it’s more the result of dumb luck than skill, and while they’ve been extremely lucky in previous challenges of this type, one can’t count on luck to carry you past challenges like this one, as she’s an extremely fickle companion. However, I was delighted to see these two were not eliminated, as they are easily the most entertaining pair, and while BJ looked about ready to strangle Tyler for his less than effective sideline cheering, the rest of the episode they looked to be their usual happy-go-lucky selves, with their "invoking the spirits of their eliminated opponents" act being the highlight of the episode.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Seven

CBS Production

Eric and Jeremy (1st Place)
You can’t really fault a team for picking the Fast Forward challenge, and given these two are the golden boys of the unseen force that guides how this race plays out, their gamble paid off. Now since the Fast Forward had this team arriving at the pit-stop before the episode was even halfway done I can’t really offer to much comments about how they ran the race. I guess the only thing I can say is that they dealt with this leg’s numerous bottleneck points quite nicely as while they were the first to arrive at these various stopping points, which would seem to suggest that of the teams left in the race these two are the team to beat. Than again the fact that they’ve run a stress free race does leave a bit of a question mark around this team, as we don’t know how they perform under stress as they haven’t really encountered any real problems. Oh and in the interests of performing a little experiment I have to say this is my favourite team.

Joseph and Monica (2nd Place)
Well, it’s nice to see that Monica is aware of her personality disorder, as she opens to episode with a nice little speech that deftly sold the pressures of the game. She also spent a good part of the episode spouting of historical facts that I’m assuming are correct, as she certainly sounds like she knows what she’s talking about. In any event these two ran a pretty solid leg and while it was interesting to note that Monica didn’t even bother to help Joseph with the wrestling part of the Detour challenge, she does earn points for having the most genuine scream of delight during the bungee jump, as opposed to Fran’s scream of abject terror, and Monica deserves a big hand for taking the time to reassure Fran before her bungee jump. This pair also recovered quite nicely from their bit of bad luck at the Fast Forward challenge, which actually turned out to be a good move, as they ended up on the second train and as such they didn’t receive the penalty that was imposed on three other teams, and this in turn allowed them to jump up a position. A strong team as long as they don’t face any real stress.

Ray and Yolanda (3rd Place)
These two ran a great leg and if they hadn’t made the mistake of following the others teams when they got off the train at the wrong station they would’ve held on to their second place finish. More interesting though is that the one thing that has held this team at the back of the pack has been their ability to get lost as they travelled between the various challenges, and while they left the Detour challenge after Joseph and Monica, they arrived at the pit stop ahead of them, and they almost had the fifteen minute gap covered. In any event these two smartly decided to avoid taking on the fast forward challenge, as they have had absolutely no luck with the find the hidden clue tasks that they encountered in this race, so they should avoid them at all costs. Ray will probably be cringing when he watches this episode, as his javelin throwing provided some of the episode’s the biggest laughs. In any event this was their best leg, and if they’ve managed to solve their navigation woes than I can easily see them challenging for first place.

Fran and Barry (4th Place)
This team made a odd mistake when they decided to tackle the Fast Forward challenge, as they were the last team to locate the clue box, and they spent pretty much the entire episode reminding viewers that they can’t keep up with any of the other teams in a foot race, so they had two glaring reasons not to try. However, other than this mental blunder this team managed to hold on to their regular fourth place finish because this leg featured two teams that made even bigger mistakes. They also have wisely held on to the lesson they learned the hard way in the early episodes, as while it might’ve been interesting to have seen these two take on the Olympic events, they smartly choose the non-physical challenge, and made pretty quick work of it, which got them headed to the pit-stop with a bit of a lead over a couple other teams, and since this team doesn’t seem to get lost I wasn’t overly concerned for them. Another moment of interest was Barry’s little accident with the tree, as his casual reaction was equal parts amusing and disturbing. Oh and Fran’s bungee jump was very impressive, as her terror did seem to be genuine.

BJ and Tyler (5th Place)
I really need to stop declaring a particular team as my favourite, as my fondness for a particular team seems to be the kiss of death, and the preview for the next episode doesn’t make things look good for this pair. Still these two did a solid job of recovering from a costly mistake that nearly knocked them out of the game, as they spent a good hour driving in the wrong direction. It’s also worth noting that even when they were in last place these two did seem to find the time to enjoy themselves. Now the editors make a valiant effort to sell the idea that the fifteen minute penalty that BJ and Tyler receive when they arrive at the pit stop could potentially cost them the game, but here’s where having a somewhat good memory robbed me of this potential nail-biter finish, as Lake and Michelle would have faced the exact same penalty. In fact the only real regret is that Lake and Michelle didn’t arrive until after BJ and Tyler had finished with their penalty, as that would have been a wonderfully awkward moment.

Lake and Michelle (Last Place ... Eliminated)
This team’s exit was pretty easy to see coming, as they spent the entire race struggling to find their way from one challenge to the next, and this team has managed to avoid elimination in a vast majority of the episode more because of the mistakes made by the other teams rather than anything they did. However while they started the episode with the usual bickering and sniping I have to say this episode did mark the first time that I got some sign of why this relationship works, as there’s a eye-opening moment where we see Lake is on the verge of a panic attack and Michelle is able to step in and act as a calming influence. This pair also exits the game in fairly classy manner, and the final speeches to the camera were probably the most likeable moment that they’ve offered up. Still, they really must have gotten themselves turned around to allow BJ and Tyler to catch up to them.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Six

CBS Production

Eric and Jeremy (1st Place)
This team benefited from the one minor bottleneck point that this episode offered up as a locked gated allowed them to catch up to BJ and Tyler, and it is worth noting that for the rest of the race the two teams ran pretty much neck and neck, until these two managed to pull ahead. I mean this was a rather easy leg so I was a little surprised these two didn’t try and woe any of the local female population, but than again as Phil observed at the pit stop perhaps reeking of fish guts was enough to discourage this extracurricular activity. In any event this was a rather boring leg with rather simplistic tasks that they were able to perform without any real trouble, and the only behaviour that I found noteworthy was their spoiled kid routine at the pit stop, as I almost found myself wishing Phil told them their was no prize being awarded for their first place finish.

BJ and Tyler (2nd Place)
With Dave and Lori eliminated from the race these two become the team that I’ll be pulling for, as how can one not love how much these guys seemed to be enjoying the race. I mean even their attempts at cheating are fun, as the fake sign up sheet provided the most enjoyable moment is a rather uneventful leg, and one has to love how Eric and Jeremy momentarily debated the authenticity of the sign up sheet. This team is also extremely good when it comes to securing help from the locals, and one has to imagine this is largely due to the fact that they never seem to be in a bad mood. Now this episode provides some moments where it’s pretty clear that the two understand they are in a race, but truth be told their success hasn’t really made it necessary for them to take the race too seriously. There’s also a nice moment where they actually welcome the sight of another team besides Eric and Jeremy.

Joseph and Monica (3rd Place)
If I was looking for the team where the wheels to be on the verge of falling completely off it would have to be this pair, as Team Mojo is a disastrous combination of personalities. Monica performance at the market, and Joseph’s complete inability to deal with her when she’s in this state has me looking at this pair as being perched on the edge of elimination in spite of their continual front of the pack finishes. I mean I already pointed out Monica’s frail temperament in my previous reviews, but this episode makes it even more apparent that it takes very little to set her down the road where she becomes completely useless in a challenge, and Joseph doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in his ability to get her head back in the game. Still, in spite of the troublesome sign at the marketplace, these two held on to their 3rd place position thanks to the simple fact that this was one of the easiest legs the Amazing Race has ever offered up.

Fran and Barry (4th Place)
A fairly easy leg, and Fran and Barry made it even easier on themselves by picking the non-physical challenge. In fact they seem to have learned their lesson from their disastrous choices the early episodes, and their success in the recent episodes should only reinforce this behaviour. Now they didn’t get a little flustered in the early going of this episode as they got caught up in the traffic, and got themselves turned around in the maze of streets but most of the other teams had similar difficulty so they didn’t lose any ground. In any event this team stands a very good chance of making in into the final four, as most times that are extremely good at making their way between the various clue boxes, and they’ve wised up considerably when it comes to picking the proper detour challenge. In fact the only real problem area this team still looks to have is their ability to spot the clue boxes.

Lake and Michelle (5th Place)
High strung is the perfect description of this team, and while Michelle looks to have the right personality to deal with Lake’s alpha male personal, one can’t help but feel that Lake ability to get overly worked up over the smallest of problems is going to knock this team out of the race. I also have to say that of all the teams that are left in the race these are the only two who seem to have difficulty knowing where they are headed before they get there, though I have to say Lake’s ability to see the word pit-stop inside every clue that they rip open is rather charming. Still, the simple fact of the matter is this is more a team that benefits from the mistakes of other teams rather than one that overpowers the competition, and as the race starts to weed out the more mistake prone teams, I really can’t see this team making up any ground on the teams they are chasing, especially given Lake’s tendency to build a mountain out of a mole hill.

Ray and Yolanda (6th Place)
You have to give this team credit for making the most of the slim degree of wiggle room that this episode provided the players with to actually move up from their last place finish, as they managed to arrive at the detour challenge before Dave and Lori, and they ran a mistake free second half to hold onto this slim lead. In fact I have to say I’m becoming more and more impressed with this team’s composure, as they don’t let their back of the pack placement throw them off their game, and the ability to keep a cool head when the pressure mounts has allowed them to pull themselves out of last place for the second episode in a row. Now one could argue that the lack the sense of urgency one need to win the million, but frankly I’d put my money on the team that never gets too high or too low when it comes to dealing with the pressure points that are built into this race.

David and Lori (Last Place ... Eliminated)
It’s a little difficult to fault their performance on this leg of the race, as this was one of those rare sections of the Amazing Race where the various challenges didn’t stall the forward progress of any of the teams, and since all the teams seem to have gotten it in their heads to check their various maps before rushing headlong toward the next clue box the teams pretty much head the order they had going into this leg of the race. Now David and Lori took a bit longer to make it to the detour challenge which allowed Ray and Yolanda to slip ahead of them, but truth be told the reason why David and Lori was due to the fact that this leg didn’t feature any hurdles or bottleneck points that would’ve slowed down the teams they were chasing, so their back of the pack finish in the previous episode was more than enough to do them in.

3 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Five

CBS Production

BJ and Tyler (1st Place)
These two owe a great deal of their success to dumb luck (e.g. getting themselves on the early flight, the quick discovery of the clue hidden in the laundry), but one also has to give them full marks for running a race that is from all appearances entirely mistake free. Now given they run such a smooth race that we never get to see how these two deal with a stressful situation, but one gets the sense that their happy-go-lucky personalities would get them past any and every obstacle. Yes their relentlessly cheerful attitude is a bit grating at times, but most of the time they are able to bring a smile to my face, and I always look forward to their always entertaining arrival at the pit-stop.

Eric and Jeremy (2nd Place)
These two have become a bit of a one trick pony when it come to their continual pursuit of women, though a comment about Danielle and Dani’s poor performance in the early part of this episode does reveal a less charming aspect that I couldn’t help but take note of. Their casual attitude at the pit-stop, and their less than charming interaction with Phil also leaves one hoping that these two will fall to the back of the pack for a few legs, if only to deflate their swollen heads. However, I suspect that these two will be continual front of the pack performers, as they run a rock solid race, and deftly avoid all the pitfalls the derail the teams chasing them. Yet another solid leg from these two.

Joseph and Monica (3rd Place)
While I still say Monica is a serious liability with her frail temperament, and Joseph’s quit being a cry baby treatment of her is a recipe for a future meltdown that could very well derail this team I have to say they ran a pretty solid race in this episode. I mean they wisely avoided the time consuming laundry clue hunt, which put them at the front of the second wave of players, and while her easily frustrated persona emerged briefly when she was putting together the statue, it didn’t really slow her down, and as such they were rewarded with a strong finish. Still, the preview for next week’s episode makes it fairly clear this team is in for a rough patch.

Fran and Barry (4th Place)
This team is doing far better than I ever expected them to based on their early performance, but once again I have to say they are a very good team when it comes to making their way between the various challenges, and in one of the shrewdest moves of this week’s leg we see Fran smartly asks if there is a faster connecting flight, which several other teams quickly made use of, and how can one not love any bit of game play that knocks Lake down a peg. They have also figured out that they are not good at the physical detour challenges, which is an invaluable bit of insight that could keep them in the race for quite some time. Not the most likeable of personalities, but one can’t deny they run a very solid race.

Lake and Michelle (5th Place)
I bet the editors love it when an egomaniac like Lake steps up to the plate with bold claims about how they are going to roll over the competition and than proceed to spend the rest of the episode making a series of boneheaded blunders, with my personal favourite being his unerring sense of direction as he leads them up the wrong hill. However Lake also possesses the uncanny ability to point out all the costly mistakes that Michelle makes, while completely forgetting his own, which helps him to cling to the illusion that he’s the greatest player to ever take part in the Amazing Race. Still, one does have to admit he does power his way through the road block challenges, and while it’s a little early in the game to be using the yield, their willingness to use it on Danielle and Dani does expose a ruthless edge that makes for a good villain team.

David and Lori (6th Place)
A good scare episode for this team, and Lori’s meltdown also reveals the first real flaw in this team as their inability to consider that the producers might enjoy messing with the players by including a couple spare pieces in the road block puzzle makes it clear that this team isn’t big on thinking outside the box. This episode also reveals that these two will let the stress of the game get the better of them, though they get a very touching fence mending moment at the pit-stop that speaks volumes about the strength of their relationship. Now these two do seem to have some trouble getting themselves between the various challenges, and this episode they struggled with the challenges, but I’m pulling for them so this episode made for a nerve-racking experience.

Ray and Yolanda (7th Place)
I want this team to do better than they have but they really need to stop rushing toward the next challenge without taking a moment to make sure they know where they are heading, as this team loses far too much time while they stumble blindly between the challenges. Still there is an encouraging sign in this episode as even with Danielle and Dani dogging their heels, they took a moment to check a map, to figure out where the pit-stop was. One also has to give Ray a big hand for his individual performance in this episode, as he made up considerable ground at the road block challenge, and this allowed them to pull ahead of Danielle and Dani. Yolanda’s question at the pit-stop mat also made me smile thanks largely to Ray’s embarrassed response.

Danielle and Dani (Last Place ... Eliminated)
One couldn’t help but feel sorry for these two as no matter how hard they tried to pull out of their continual back of the pack finishes they never quite managed to pull it off. Now this episode they stood a very good chance of jumping out of their regular second to last postion, as they were still very much in the race when they arrived at the road block challenge only to discover they had been yielded, and a minor mistake on the final challenge pretty much finished them off. Still, they were extremely good sports when they discovered they had been eliminated, and one can’t help but hope these two latch themselves onto Eric and Jeremy if those two manage to win the million dollar prize.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Four

CBS Production

Eric and Jeremy (1st Place)
This team did a lovely job of holding on to it’s lead, as while the early head-start they managed to secure by lucking their way onto an early flight quickly evaporated at a bottleneck point, they quickly pulled ahead of the pair of teams that managed to catch up to them. Now they did run into an amusing hurdle as they found the smashing bottle challenge quickly lost it’s early charm, but if nothing else their growing annoyance with this challenge did a nice job of setting the stage for all the teams that followed. In any event this episode makes it pretty clear that these two are quickly the team to beat, and the only thing that I can see slowing them down is if they start making an active effort to help Danielle and Dani.

BJ and Tyler (2nd Place)
Of all the teams that took part in the bottle smashing challenge, I have to say these two were almost scary in how much they embraced being able to smash each other across the head with a bottle. Of course the sadist in me couldn’t help but crack a smile as these two made a contest out of seeing who could hit each other harder, and their girly-man screams certainly added to the amusement factor. In any event this team makes the most of their camera time, as they seem to be having a grand old time taking part in the race, and their enjoyment of the game seems to gift them with some extraordinary luck, from securing a seat on an early flight, to their uncanny ability to find hidden items when they openly ask what the items they’re hunting for look like.

Lake and Michelle (3rd Place)
These two ran a great leg and while their poor sense of direction allowed BJ and Tyler to slip past them, and Lake’s overly aggressive personality isn’t going to do this team any favours if they run up against an obstacle in the race that proves difficult (e.g. the laundry clue hunt we see in the next episode), I have to give this team credit for doing far better in this game than I expected them to. There’s also a revealing moment where we see Lake throws a minor hissy fit, and Michelle’s response makes it pretty clear that this team had best hope that they don’t run into any real trouble, and there seems to be some real hostility lurking just below the surface between these two. Still, these two managed to get themselves on an early flight, and they didn’t make any costly mistakes, so a top three finish was all but assured.

Fran and Barry (4th Place)
I have to confess I didn’t know this team had it in them, as they’ve made a habit of picking the worst detour challenges, but while they struggled with the nesting doll challenge, they would’ve had a rougher time with the bus cleaning, and this episode they wisely avoided the bottle smashing challenge, so they look to have turned their game around. It’s also worth noting that of all the teams in the race, these two are proving to be the best navigators, as looking back on the previous episodes I think these two have ever lost any time making their way between the various challenges, and as long as they continue to pick the right detour challenge I don’t see them dropping out of the race any time soon. A great second leg fro this team, and they keep it up I fully expect these two could very easily crack the top three.

David and Lori (5th Place)
While they had a disastrous opening leg in the previous episode which had them arriving at the halfway point of this leg in last place, they made up considerable ground over the other teams thanks to a bit of luck at the bottle smashing challenge, and not getting overly worked up when they found themselves chasing all the other teams. Now it would appear that they’re going to hit a rough patch in the next episode, as Lori has a meltdown at a road block challenge, but my fingers are crossed that the season keeps up the pattern of having the individual road block challenge take place before the detour challenge, as we see David and Lori are neck and neck with Lake and Michelle at the laundry clue search. Still, this team has run does seem to be struggling a bit lately thanks more to bad luck than any real obvious mistakes, and my fondness for this pair hopes that they are able to reverse their slow decent toward the back of the pack.

Joseph and Monica (6th Place)
This team does seem to be a little high strung, and Monica seems to get frustrated far too quickly when she is faced with a difficult task, which is likely to hinder this team. However, I have to say these two did make the right choice when they decided to switch detour challenges, as they breezed right though the slap dancing task, and this got them to the mat ahead of Ray and Yolanda. Still this team does seem to switch over into panic mode a little too readily, and while it didn’t really cost them in this leg, one of the keys to success in this game is the ability to keep a cool head, and not get overly worked up over the little details of the game that one doesn’t have any control over, but this team gets itself worked into a state over the slightest problem. They have the potential to be running at the front of the pack, but I simply don’t see them lasting much longer in the game. I could be wrong though.

Ray and Yolanda (7th Place)
I like this team, and I’m a little surprised they are a continued back-of-the-pack performer, as they seem to have a good chemistry, and while they are a bit unlucky when it comes to the detour challenges I have to say if I was these two I’d stop picking the detour challenges that call upon them to hunt among a wealth of objects for a hidden clue, as they have a very poor track record. Still, they keep a cool head even though they have spent most of this race bringing up the rear, and I don’t really see any real problem with this team that prevents them front moving ahead of several other problem plagued teams. Plus it doesn’t hurt that these two look to be handling the stress of the game far better than most of the other teams, as they didn’t panic when Joseph and Monica finished the detour challenge.

Danielle and Dani (8th Place)
This team has some serious problems as they are far too dependant on receiving help from other teams, and here’s hoping that their near elimination in this episode has cured them of this habit. I mean instead of cracking open a map and figuring out how to make their way to the next clue box the girls decided to follow Wanda and Desiree, even after it became clear that they were not the team anyone should be following. Still, these two managed to pull ahead of Wanda and Desiree at the gnome hunt, and they made quick work of the slap dance detour, so they managed to once again stay one step ahead of being the team that was eliminated. Still, this team is a mistake prone pair, and while they seem to be learning from their mistakes (e.g. Dani made sure that Danielle didn’t forget the gnome as they closed in on the pit-stop), they also make a habit of coming up with a new mistake in every episode that nearly knocks them out of the race.

Wanda and Desiree (Last Place ... Eliminated)
This team simply made a mistake that made it a two horse race and this episode made it all too clear that the stress of the game was getting to both of them, which wasn’t as big a problem with Dani and Danielle, which gave them a bit of an edge over this team. I mean missing the exit once was a pretty costly mistake, but when they missed it a second time you could pretty much see the writing on the wall for this team. This team also struggled with challenges that other teams handled pretty easily, though to be fair the gnome hunt would’ve got progressively more difficult, Plus, they almost caught up with the girls so they must’ve made pretty quick work of the slap dancing detour. Sad to see them go but truth be told they fell to the back of the pack, and made a mistake that all but knocked them out of the race.

4 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Three

CBS Production

This is one of those episodes where the teams arrive at the pit-stop to be told by Phil that this leg of the race isn’t over, and with a number of teams bunched together at the bus cleaning challenge I’m simply going to leave the teams in the order that they finished the last leg.

BJ and Tyler
Another strong leg for this pair, and while they lost some ground when they tried to find their way to the bus cleaning challenge, they ran into a bit of luck at the nesting doll challenge which allowed them to keep up with the front runners, and I fully suspect they’ll catch up to the teams ahead of them before this leg wraps up. Now they did suffer a bit from an early bottleneck point at the airport, as all the teams ended up on the same flight to Russia, but they spent most of this episode in front of the other teams, and they also managed to provide a laugh aloud moment in the early going as they decided to give Eric and Jeremy a good scare.

Eric and Jeremy
The first team to arrive at the mat and be told by Phil that this leg of the race wasn’t over, so they are first out of the gate for the second half, and given they are a fairly strong team the teams behind them will likely need a bottleneck point to catch up with them. On the other hand this team has decided to enter into an alliance with Danielle and Dani, so there were a couple moments in this episode where they were waiting for the girls instead of racing, and given the girls are a rather mistake prone pair it might be best to bring this alliance to an end before they discover why the Amazing Race format does not lends itself to alliances.

Joseph and Monica
Oddly enough this team has entered into a loose alliance with David and Lori, as the two teams decide to share a cab to save on money. However I’m not quite sure this was a smart play, as both teams found themselves saddled with a taxi cab driver who didn’t really see to know the city all that well. Now it’s true that the majority of the cab drivers didn’t know how to get to the bus yards, but once again the Amazing Race isn’t a game where a team gains much of an edge by teaming up with another team. In fact the only advantage I can see is that David’s calm temperament, kept this team from getting too worked up when the cab driver took them everywhere in Moscow except the place they needed to be.

David and Lori
If I had any concerns about this team doing well in the race than this episode pretty much put them to rest, as this episode marked the first time that this team ran into some difficulty, and David maintained such a calm and even temperament that this team should have no problem dealing with any future difficulties. Plus it also helps that the previews for next week’s episode show this team laughing it up during one of the challenges, which would seem to suggest that they are not sitting in last place when this scene was filmed. It’s also worth noting that of all the teams at the bus cleaning challenge they seem to be the only one with a grasp on how to speed through this challenge, as Lori is cleaning the inside of the bus while David works on the outside. However, I do think the nesting doll challenge would been better suited for these two.

Ray and Yolanda
The first team to arrive at the nesting doll challenge but a couple other teams lucked out and managed to slip past them. Still, they do look like they’re one of the front running teams at the end of this episode, and if they can avoid costly future mistakes like having Yolanda perform the high dive challenge when she is terrified of water and can’t swim than this team should stick around for quite some time. Now they didn’t really get much camera time after Yolanda confronted her fear of water, so this would seem to suggest that they ran a pretty mistake free second half, and if not for a bit of bad luck finding the hidden clue they could’ve been the first to discover this leg wasn’t over.

Wanda and Desiree
This team really need to take a moment to read what the challenge entails before they commit a member of their team to a road block challenge, as while I realize that there is likely a limit to the number of challenges that a single member can perform, Wanda’s fear of deep water very nearly knocked these two out of the race. Now I imagine they were thanking their lucky stars when they saw Danielle and Dani return to the pool, and thanks to a cab driver who knew how to get to the bus yards they leapfrogged over several teams. Still, as much as I like this team, it would appear they are going to have to really work to advance in this game.

Lake and Michelle
While this team lucked out thanks to the bottleneck point at the airport which completely erased their disastrous start out of the gates, the simple fact of the matter is that they ran a solid race once they got to Moscow, and I was a little surprised that Eric and Jeremy were able to beat them to Phil’s mat. Now they had a bit of luck at the nesting doll challenge, and the fact that their cab driver seemed to have a pretty good idea of how to get them around the city didn’t hurt. Plus, if Lake was able to keep his head during the mind boggling nesting doll challenge, than perhaps his alpha male personality isn’t going to be as big a problem as I had initially expected it would be.

Danielle and Dani
Not the brightest team in the race, and while their looks and bubbly personality are probably the reason they were picked to be in the Amazing Race, this team simply makes far too many mistakes to for me to imagine they have any hope of winning this game. I mean teaming up with the guys was a very smart move, but this is completely undone when one of the girls forgets their clue pack back at the swimming pool, which has to tell Eric and Jeremy that hitching their wagon to this pair is only going to slow them down. Now if this was their first mistake than I simply write it off as a bit of bad luck, but it seems every episode has these girls are making decisions that ensure their back of the pack finishes.

Fran and Barry
In my previous episode reviews I jumped on this team for it’s uncanny ability to pick the wrong detour challenge, but given their problems at the nesting doll challenge I’m beginning to suspect that they would have a hard time with most of the challenges, as frankly this team gets a little too flustered when they are faced with any real difficulty, and when they do manage to pull ahead of the other teams, their lead quickly evaporates at the challenges. I really don’t think things are going to get any easier for this pair, and I suspect the other teams are glad that these two are still in the race, as it means there will always be a team behind them.

4 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode Two

CBS Production

BJ and Tyler (1st Place)
A team on the Amazing Race that seem to get along famously with each other and the other teams makes BJ and Tyler the team to beat, and based on their early performance I fully expect these two to finish right near to top of the pack in every leg. If nothing else they seem to be breezing their way through the early legs of this race with little to no trouble, though based on what I've seen thus far even if this team did run into trouble, I suspect they would be able to overcome it with a smile on their face. A likeable pair and one that seems to be exceptionally well suited for the upcoming rigors that are to come of this season’s race.

Eric and Jeremy (2nd Place)
While I seriously doubt these two are winning many fans among female viewers as both they spend an inordinate amount of time exposing their high school jock mentality when it comes to females, I have to confess these two did make me smile a couple times in this episode (e.g. Eric’s boyfriend), and I can’t help but think that even their most offensive comments come from a well meaning if somewhat juvenile place. If nothing else viewers should become accustomed to these two being in the race as based on their early performance they aren’t going anywhere soon, and the editors do seem to love these two guys, as they get quite a bit of camera time.

Joseph and Monica (3rd Place)
Team Mojo benefits from an early bottleneck point, as well as the fact that Joseph was able to shoot up their stairs on the roadblock challenge, which got them on the first bus. This in turn afforded them a top three finish, as they didn’t make any costly mistakes during the second leg. It’s also worth noting that they did a pretty good job of keeping pace with the hard charging teams that were with them on the first bus, though I still have some doubts about Monica’s rather fragile temperament. Still, they haven’t really faced any real problems in the race so it’s a little hard to say how big a problem it might become.

David and Lori (4th Place)
This episode pretty much cements this team as my personal favourite, as any time these two are on camera I find myself smiling, and I’m even willing to expose my own inner nerd by admitting that I understood every single one of their pop-culture references. This team also has the added advantage of being one of the only teams who seems to be enjoying the race and more importantly each other’s company. They are also very good when it comes to picking the right detour challenge, and the only reason why they finished fourth is because the roadblock stair climb put them on the second bus.

Ray and Yolanda (5th Place)
These two ran a pretty solid leg, and they jumped up a couple positions as a result. Now like a couple other teams these two didn’t really get much attention in this episode, as the only real memorable moment that springs to mind is when I found myself agreeing with Ray that Yolanda has very strong looking legs. In fact they’re so impressive that I found myself wondering why Ray didn’t let her tackle the road block, as I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have much trouble making her way up those stairs. Still, I really don’t have much else to say about this team as they were barely on camera.

Wanda and Desiree (6th Place)
I like this team a lot, and while they got lost on the way to a challenge, they made up for this mistake by wisely picking the non-physical detour challenge, which allowed them to keep ahead of the teams that arrived on the final bus. Now these two didn’t get much camera time in this episode, which would seem to suggest that they ran a leg that was largely free of mistakes, and I suspect these two will move back to the front of the pack in spite of the scene from the next episode preview which has Wanda confronting her fear of deep water, though it does beg the question of why didn’t Desiree tackle this detour challenge?

Lake and Michelle (7th Place)
It’s pretty clear that Lake’s performance in the opening episode wasn’t simply early race jitters, as he’s just as loud and abrasive in this episode in this episode. Still this hyper-aggressive approach to the race doesn’t appear to be doing them any favours as they dropped back a couple positions on this leg, though I’m guessing that Lake would probably place the blame on the locals who annoyingly don’t speak English, and even worse have to stop for gas while going out of their way to lead them to the pit stop. Still, I’m sure his incessant screaming helped Michelle work her way up the waterfall.

Danielle and Dani (8th Place)
I keep expecting this team to do better than they have as they seem to be in reasonably good shape, but they seem to lack the sense of urgency that one needs to succeed in this race. I mean there’s a telling moment in this race where we see they pull up at the pit-stop at the same time as Lake and Michelle but it seems like they didn’t even bother to make a go of it when it came to the race to the mat. Now I realize that these two spotted Fran and Barry stalled on the side of the road on their way to the pit-stop, so they knew they weren’t in last place, but they really should’ve won this foot race. Still they did provide a funny moment on the mat.

Fran and Barry (9th Place)
This team ran into a spot of bad luck when their car broke down which allowed Danielle and Dani to slip past them, but until this team gets it into their silly heads to stop picking the physical detour challenges I don’t expect them to move up from the back of the pack. Now one has to admire both Fran and Barry for how they managed to deal with this challenge, and they also seem to have an easier time than the other teams when it comes to getting themselves between the various challenges, but they’re two for two when it comes to picking wrong detour challenge.

Lisa and Joni (Last Place ... Eliminated)
It was pretty obvious right from the word go that this team was going to have a difficult time, but I have to ask the obvious question if Lisa was really the big fan that she claimed to be than why in the world didn’t she learn how to drive a stick shift? I mean even single season features a team that struggles with this rather basic driving skill, and one would think that future contestants would quickly come to realize this is a trick that the Amazing Race producers love to throw at the players. Still, even without Lori’s problems with the car, this team was clearly the weakest link in this chain.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

AMAZING RACE 9

Episode One

CBS Production

Eric and Jeremy (1st Place)
This team offers up the most entertaining opening speech, as they don’t even attempt to disguise the fact that they are running in the Amazing Race because of their aversion to real work. Now their non-existence work ethic might cause them problems during the more challenging sections of the race, but they both look to be in good shape, and their first place finish was no happy accident as they ran a great leg. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Danielle and Dani will hitch themselves to this pair.

BJ and Tyler (2nd Place)
Based of the opening issue this looks to be one of the strongest teams in the race, as they ran a mistake free race, and when they were dealt a bad hand such as their plane being delayed 40 minutes, they didn’t lose any steam. The ability to ride out the highs and lows of the race is an invaluable advantage in this game, and the team also managed to earn points by being friendly when they were dealing with the other teams.

Wanda and Desiree (3rd Place)
Wanda seems to be easily flustered, but Desiree seems to be aware of this fact, and she has taken it upon herself to calm her mother down. Now they had a problem free leg so it’s difficult to tell how successful Desiree is in this role, but they do seem to get along with each other famously, and Wanda’s ability to speak the local language did give this team an edge over the other teams. I like this team, and there’s teams with far bigger problems than Wanda’s high-strung temperament.

David and Lori (4th Place)
My favourite team and while it’s a little early in the Race to become too attached to a team, this team looks like they have what it takes to succeed in this game, as while they made a bit of a blunder when they entered the wrong gate at the pit-stop, which allowed Wanda and Desiree to jump ahead of them, they ran a pretty solid race. What’s more they seem to be a perfect match of personalities, and in this game one’s ability to get along is an invaluable advantage. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that they are one of the more likeable teams running the race.

Lake and Michelle (5th Place)
If one was looking for the first Amazing Race contestant to drop dead of a massive stress induced heart attack than Lake "like the Ocean" is your man, as even Michelle looks concerned when he tackled the motorcycle building challenge. Now this could be early race jitters and that he’ll calm down, but right now Lake looks to be a little too high strung to succeed in this game, as chances are he’ll encounter challenges where he won’t have to manufacutre the heightened stress level.

Joseph and Monica (6th Place)
Team Mojo look like they’re going to have a pretty rough time in this race, as while most of their annoyance in this episode was directed at a cab driver who drove past the heliport, what little camera time these two did receive in this episode made it fairly apparent that they don’t handle stressful situations very well, as she looks to be quite fragile emotionally, and he doesn’t come across as the type of personality that handles problems in a clam, reasonable manner.

Ray and Yolanda (7th Place)
If looks could kill than that entire crowd of young men at the motorcycle shop would be lying dead in the street, as Ray clearly didn’t appreciate their leering stares and wolf whistles being directed Yolanda’s direction. However, this team did manage to overcome a pretty shaky start, and I expect them to do quite well in this race, as they both seem to be quite capable when it comes to the challenges, and they seem to get along quite well, though it is a little early in the race for any cracks to make an appearance.

Fran and Barry (8th Place)
I normally find myself pulling for the older couple on the Amazing Race, but I have to say there’s something about this pair that doesn’t sit well with me. Still it’s not important that I like a team for them to succeed in the Amazing Race, but rather they need to figure out far sooner than this team did that they aren’t up for a challenge. I mean standing around lamenting about how difficult a challenge is will not get you anywhere in this game.

Danielle and Dani (9th Place)
The blonde leading the blonde would seem to be the perfect description for this pair as they got lucky that their were a pair of teams in the race that were even more clueless that they were. However, these two seem likeable enough, and watching them try and assemble the motorcycle made me smile, as did their reaction to the goofy pickup attempt by Eric and Jeremy. Still, one has to hope they learned their lesson in this episode and stick to the physical challenges.

Lisa and Joni (10th Place)
Loud and grating doesn’t even begin to describe this pair, as they shrieked when they accomplished even the smallest of tasks, and they also provided the prerequisite ugly American attitude, as they share the insight that Sao Paolo, Brazil smells like somebody farted. Still, their poor performance in this episode does leave one hopeful, as right now an early exit for this annoying pair would be a welcome relief.

John and Scott (Last Place ... Eliminated)
A fairly likeable team, and it’s a shame to see them eliminated so early in the race as they provided a number of the episode’s more amusing moments, with John’s genie impression providing for a laugh aloud moment, but I have to say it’s a pretty darn good impersonation. Still this team suffered from a lack of leadership, as they wasted considerable time trying to figure out what to do once they figured out their cab driver had no idea how to get them where they needed to be.

3.5 out of 5 Stars