I commented in the Amazing Race 12 thread that we should start an Amazing Race 13 thread. And so...

One thing I wish there was is a good TAR Facebook application - one that allows you to track teams and locations and stuff.

I saw a couple of apps on FB, but neither one looked like what I wanted.

Meet the cast of The Amazing Race 13!

Amazing Race Cast - CBS.com

Amazing Racers Ready to Roll - E! Online

The Associated Press: Meet the new teams on 'The Amazing Race'

From the E! article:

Without even having seen any of the racers, I already have my favorites. How can you not pull for a team whose last name is "Imbimbo"? Does anyone know if the first "I" is long or short?

And a former NFL cheerleader named Starr? I'm ready to throw the Nerf brick at my television set already.

I'm already tired of the Southern Belles. Ken and Tina will melt down and file for divorce by week 4

Frat brothers who call themselves team "Superbad". Tell me these guys aren't going to be annoying.

And do we really need another estranged couple using The Amazing Race as some kind of therapy? I mean, it's worked so well before.

I do remember Ken Greene from his days with the St. Louis Football Cardinals. But can any former NFL player ever reach the reality show heights reached by Gary Hogeboom on Survivor? Why would anyone even try?

I'm pulling for the married beekeepers. And the Comic-Con treasurer, as long as he doesn't compete wearing a SpiderMan outfit.

Her name is not just Starr - it's Starr Spangler!

I'm pulling for the Comic-Con guys. They won't be wearing suerhero shirts - if they did, I'd be happier...

FWIW, very hetero, it would seem.

MORE pink-clad blondes? Where do they COME from?

My prediction: The first team out will be Mark and Bill (alternate: Andrew and Dan).

We've seen them all before, right?

Mark and Bill - the "redshirt" geek team, usually the first to go (if Martin and I played, this would be us)
Anita & Arthur - the old folks, with a "nutty" twist; two teams will hate them, everyone else will love them
Terence and Sara - the lopsided-relationship team; expect fireworks
Marisa and Brooke - The blonde/princess/pink-ladies team; expect pep
Andrew and Dan - The obnoxious males; expect ogling
Aja and Ty - the Black team, with a relationship twist; expect the producers to stereotype them and find some African connection they'll milk
Toni and Dallas - the intergenerational team; expect conflict resolution resulting in the younger expressing admiration for the older
Nick and Starr - the siblings; everyone will hate them; expect hyper-competence
Kelly and Christy - the non-blonde BFF, SITC team; expect bravado with meager results
Ken and Tina - The troubled marriage; expect fireworks and either divorce or rediscovery
Anthony and Stephanie - the potentially engaged couple; expect a split-up

What, no commentary on episode 1? You people got me into this show--I expect discussion!

I was wrong. The old folks went out first. Is that a first?

Too bad about the beekeepers, but it's too early to feel much of anything over the loss of any one team. I find myself gravitating toward that woman who wants everyone to be nice to her. Very annoying, and yet I find her optimism about the human race -- which is already being shot down -- refreshing, if naive.

BTW, expect to hear a lot of reference to "that woman" and "that team" and "those guys" from me until I can place names with faces -- usually about six weeks into the season.

Watching "those guys" crawl up the steps to the church I kept thinking that the most obvious question they could be asked when they reach the top was, "How many steps did you just climb?" I also thought it would be the most cruel question to ask because, in the midst of heated competition, who would think count?

The old folks didn't seem to be very gung ho about the competetive nature of the race, so it wasn't a shock to see them lose, although for most of the show I thought "the pinks" were going to blow it.

I thought the mystery question to be asked at the top of the stairs was obvious. Even frat boys ought to be able to figure that out.

I liked the beekeepers. They were peaceful and loving, and liked to hug people. Sadly, on a show called The Amazing Race, it is important to rouse oneself beyond a waddle.

It is too early to choose favorites. I liked the nerds, who were more competitive than I thought they might be. I still think they might be eliminated next. I did not like the Iraq War Veteran team in camo clothing, who looked liked they wanted to take out anyone near them with friendly fire. I did not like NFL Ken and his wife. The frat boys are stupid and slow, and have no chance. They're not even particularly irksome; just mildly irritating. Nobody else made much of an impression.

The climb down the cargo net was kind of fun. The candy cart was fairly lame. I thought the guitar players at the top of the church steps were the stars of the show.

I liked Nick and Starr, the brother and sister team who finished first this leg; I thought that they were positive, and great competitors. I thought that Aja and Ty, long-distance daters, competed well and had a great attitude towards each other. Mark & Bill (the comicbook geeks) were fun and inventive, and I didn't mind mother-and-son Toni & Dallas.

Teams that left me with a negative impression: Terence & Sarah (mostly Terence, who seems like a searing ball of need), Andrew & Dan (the fratboys - a stereotype that I hate; if they are planning on living "up" to it, they are wastrels, and if they're not, why reinforce it at the start?) and Ken & Tina (divorcing husband & wife, but mostly Tina, and it was only a mildly negative response).

Teams that left me with a solid "meh": Marissa & Brooke (southern belles), Anita & Arthur (beekeeping hippies), Kelly & Christy (recent divorcees) and Anthony & Stephanie (who?)

And confessionally, I don't remember many of these names. I glommed them off of CBS.com.


As soon as Phil said they'd be asked a "mystery question," I turned to Mrs. Line and said, "how many steps did you just climb?"

It's like these guys have never watched this show. Although, I was not in the heat of the Race...

Perhaps they were expecting something like "What...is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?"

African or European?

IDIOTS!!! Comic book nerds world wide will feel the shame.

Just shows ta go ya, if you're on the Amazing Race, ya better take the time to READ THE CLUES.

I personally did not mind Starr's attempt to get Aja & Ty to U-Turn the divorcees. The divorcees would have U-Turned Nick & Starr if they'd had the chance. U-Turning someone is not morally wrong or cheating, neither is trying to persuade someone else to do it for you. That's all fine, I think.

I really enjoyed the Lucha Libre road block. Yatta!

Very disappointing. I liked them--maybe because I AM one of them?--but they made the game more interesting than most of the rest of the (bland) teams.

Yay, Phil's dad!

Boo, Star injuring her arm - I hope she's okay. I'm sure next episode will start with a report from the Pit Stop, telling us her medical condition. Poor kid.

Way to go, Ken and Tina for climbing that tower.

Yay, Maori dancers!

Boo, vindictive paranoid divorcees!

Yay, "they really irk my nerve."

Those weren't just Maori dancers, those were Maori warriors! I kept hoping that one of them would rip out the heart of one the divorcees, put it on a skewer, dip it in honey mustard sauce, and eat it raw. Hey, people takes risks when they sign up to race. Alas, it was not to be.


I miss the nerds. They were one of the few racing pairs in this edition of the series that actually had personality and wit. The divorcees, who clearly hold the coveted "people you love to hate" slot, will probably be bounced within the next couple weeks. That will leave a bunch of people whose names I don't remember.

Combining different A&F threads, the thought also occurred to me last night how much fun it would be to watch The Amazing Race for the Oval Office. Imagine McCain and Obama squishing kiwis with their bare feet and competing for trips to Washington D.C. in January.

That, my friend, would be change I could believe in.

Ding Dong! The divorcees are history! And in some ways, it's their own cultural cluelessness that did them in. If the one had not been so fed up with the Holi Ceremony, she might have taken the opportunity to actually read the clue and figure out what she was looking for.

I don't want to judge people based on their TV edit, but I was glad to see them go. They seemed shallow and annoying. I never thought I'd be rooting for the Frat Boys to beat anyone...

Nick and Starr and Dallas and Toni did great, and HOW ABOUT KEN and TINA?? Wow. Recovering from the Speed Bump and keeping high spirits and team work going. This was a great episode of the RACE.

Yeah, the Detour -- or was it the Roadblock? I can never keep 'em straight -- was pretty hilarious.

I had nothing against the divorcees, but knew they or the Fanboys would have to go. The Fanboys annoy me much more because they blame each other during the racing footage, and during their individual on-camera interviews. Ken and Tina, who I'm not officially rooting for, did them a huge favor.

Of course, it would have helped if they ** read the clues **

While there are those I want to see gone as soon as possible -- last night was a toss up, if they eliminated the last 2 to arrive I'd have really been happy -- so far this season there's nobody that is really ringing my chimes. Don't care who wins (as long, at this point that it isn't the fat boys frat boys). hope the destinations are worth watching to keep it interesting.

Missed opportunity: Here they are in New Delhi and they haven't made them go to the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets. Has a collection of artifacts, pictures, and objects dealing with the historic evolution of toilets since 2500 BCE

the museum is the subject of today's "Why Do Men Have Nipples" calendar.

I'm glad that the divorcees are gone, although they never quite reached the Freddy and Kendra-level of model drama-queen harpiness. Hopefully they'll get some therapy for their emotional baggage they've been trucking along with them. But it was priceless seeing what's-her-name getting pelted with dye so she looked like a an extra for the film Apocalypto.

I was impressed with Ken and Tina that they fought to stay in the race even with the Speed Bump. Ken really comes across as a likeable guy, and Sunday he and Tina each showed more spunk than the entire St. Louis Rams team put together. He looks like he's in pretty good shape, he could probably get back into the NFL and start in the Rams secondary right now.

I'm pulling for Toni and Dallas at this point. It's awfully hard for a twenty-something guy to look cool when he's running around with his Mom, but Dallas has a genuinely likeable demeanor, and the both of them are geniunely supportive.

The Fanboys are purely, meh. I'm not crazy about them, I don't hate them, they're just, there.

I'm betting that Nick and Starr will win the whole thing, though. It's not that I don't like them, but the two of them seem to have the automated spunky upbeat-ness that the hosts of daytime talk shows have.

Yeah, they drive me a little crazy, as do all obvious front-runners. Something about Nick bothers me, although Starr looks increasingly attractive (to me) as the race goes on.

I do wonder if the Dallas/Starr flirting will continue, and/or be played up by the producers of the show.

If the Wonder Twins ever gets made into a live-action movie, Nick and Starr could, um, star. Every week I keep waiting for them to bump their fists together and say: "Wonder Twin powers, activate!"

I've also figured out who Sarah reminds me of: Mary Katherine Gallagher (SNL character played by Molly Shannon).

I have a hard time figuring who was/is more annoying: the whiney frat boys who can't read clues, or the supremely stupid Terence (I'm a friggin' staunch vegatarian! Hey, let's go to some unknown restaurant!). At least after next week the frat boys will be gone, and the three remaining teams will all be somewhat deserving and likeable.

Who thinks the preview for next week's episode, in which a disoriented, panicked Star says, "I just don't want to come in last," is nothing but a dirty trick to keep people invested in their defeat watching?

Maybe I'll be OK with their ultimate victory if they don't come in first on one more leg of the race before the final leg.

Does the final leg begin with four teams or three? We've got one more non-elim leg, I think, which would have to be next week, right? And then the finale?

Or people invested in their victory, no?

The thing is, one bad leg can screw up even the best of teams.


The final leg begins with three teams. The non-elimination leg is either this coming week or the following week.


Hee hee! Never thought of that, but it's right on!


Oooh. Deadly accurate.

Nick and Starr actually did the fist bump this week. LOL!

What I miss this season is the occasional extra long leg, when teams arrived at the check-in mat only to hear Phil tell them that the leg is not yet over and then he gives them the next clue.

The frat boys must not be eliminated. They must make it to the final leg of the race. Of course, they'll never win it. They are among the least physically fit and mentally acute contestants ever in the long history of this show. They can barely read or walk. But they are, I'm figuring out, the real stars of this race. Watching Frat Boy #1 (who is either Dan or Andrew, I can never keep them straight) swing his arms in an exaggerated fashion and march like Woody Allen in Love and Death was the funniest thing I've seen since, well, probably Woody Allen in Love and Death. I mean I was rolling on the floor and gasping for breath.

Let Ken and Tina go. God bless 'em, and I hope they patch up their marriage, but they just don't have the clout of Dan and Andrew. Dan and Andrew must make it to the final leg.

Hm. Andy's comment is making me reconsider what I said back to the TV at the end of this leg of the Race.

Dan (or Andrew) said, "We like being the underdogs. Everybody likes to root for the underdogs." My response, "unless it's you guys."

But maybe I'll amend that to say, "Okay, Andy Whitman'll root for ya."

In other news, based on the previews, we now understand what the producers were talking about in their pre-airing interviews, when they said that one team will not make it to the finish line. According to the previews for the next episode, one team will lose their passport and all their money. That would sure make you unable to finish the Race at all.

I'm just amazed that an airport in Kazakhstan has a 24-hour shoe store.

That blew me away, too.

Well, I'll root for them to make buffoons of themselves. No way will I root for them to win. But I don't think we need to worry about that.

But they're great buffoons. That was easily the worst/funniest military marching since Bill Murray in Stripes, and maybe going back to Woody Allen in Love and Death. And it was real, and not intended to be funny, which made it truly hilarious. They tried so hard.

What did they end up giving the taxi driver? I couldn't tell...

It seemed to me like they gave him all their money, which was about half of what they owed.

I couldn't tell. It looked like he had a decent stack of USD, which goes a very long way in Russia.

Best episode ever. Surprising plot twists! Stalin! (or was that Lenin?) Lenin! (or was that Stalin?) Phil leaving the cozy confines of the pit stop! Traditional Russian Kalinka from the frat boys!

I feel bad for Toni and Dallas, who seemed like decent human beings. But I am so happy that the frat boys have survived, presaging possible marching and/or dance routines in other European locales. I am hoping for flamenco in Cadiz.

I'm sad to see what happened to Toni and Dallas. I can see how all that travel and sleep deprivation can mess with people, where Dallas left his money and his passports in the cab as it drove away. Of course, that meant that they were totally screwed, since they couldn't go anywhere without their passports. Then again, if Tina hadn't helped Dallas out at the bookstore, Dallas would have been there all day long guessing numbers at random, and he never would have made it to that taxi.

Toni is a sweet mother who loves her son, but I'm amazed that she sent him out to look at statues of Lenin and Stalin when he had no idea who those people were.

Dan and Andrew did manage to capitalize on the critical mistakes made by two of the other teams, by managing not to screw up. And they did much better at Russian dancing rather than military marching. I expect at least one of those two to show up on Dancing with the Stars next season.

For next week's finale, seeing Dan and Andrew in a competition where they are clearly unqualified and not in the same league as Nick and Starr should be amusing. Like watching Mizzou in the Big 12 Championship game.

The clues/tasks were amazingly complex last night. I am sorry to see Toni and Dallas gone, and more sorry to see the 2 idiots taking up room in the finals.

It was a fun and tragic leg.

OTOH, the dominance of Nick and Starr continues, and continues to amaze.

They didn't show the time of departure in this leg, so I wasn't sure how much of a head start the lead time had. Nor am I sure how far ahead of the others Nick and Brenda Starr finished. Do you think the producers will tip us off at the beginning of the final leg?

You folks are way too hard on the frat boys. Yes, they're idiots. Yes, they have no business being in the final leg of the race. But they're the only source of comic relief on a show that sometimes badly needs comic relief. Granted, the comic relief only comes when they attempt physical coordination, and not when they open their mouths. But I predict we'll see more Dancing with the Wannabe Stars before the end of this season.

Seeing those frat boys make the final leg, reminds me of an old jalopy going 35 miles in the fast lane, with the bumper sticker "Yes, I'm slow. But I'm ahead of YOU."

Consider that they not only advanced from last place, with an extra task to boot, to second? It's not just Dallas' mortal error that brought them in the fold, but they also advanced ahead of Ken and Tina. That says something.

I'll be rooting for Nick & Starr, not because they're the ones to beat, that it's theirs to lose... but because I rooted for Toni & Dallas (after the cow episode), and I know that they will be rooting for Nick & Starr.

As for the frat boys--if ever there was existance of a God, it's that these two have made the finals...

Nick

Wow. At this stage it's amazing to see a leg being won or lost, not on cleverness or speed or luck, but on basic travel skills:

1) Your passport and money should be carried in a money belt or passport bag that never leaves your person unless you are taking a shower. (I could tell you a related story about an unsuccessful attempt on my part to climb a drainpipe to get into a second-floor window in Edinburgh. Or another story about my making a flight from Venice to Rome for the sole purpose of returning a passport my friend Jane left behind in the hotel safe. But I won't bore you with the details.)

2) Metro trains are faster than buses. (But it's good to finally see an Amazing Race that gets into a Metro system.)

Intellectually, I guess I can believe that 3 out of 4 Americans can't tell Lenin from Stalin, but actually watching it happen still leaves me dumbstruck.