The Amazing Race 13: Episode 1

There’s a certain thrill that I get when I watch The Amazing Race. Unlike any other reality show, it has the power to get me worked up and have me on the edge of my seat almost the whole time. Maybe it’s because everyone is moving at such an adrenaline filled pace or maybe it’s just because it is, without a doubt, my favorite reality show of all time. I absolutely have to make it the first show I watch on Sunday nights because it takes me at least an hour to ramp down after getting very excited for my team to make it and/or the team I hate to go home. Amazingly enough, I already have *two* teams I’d like to see go home and maybe one team that I’d like to see make it.

Last night, we got to meet the teams. A funny thing happened during that point in time. You see, a friend of mine told me that he likes to see if he can pick who will get eliminated during the first round and who will win the whole thing. So in playing along, I sent him a text message letting him know who I thought was going home last night. Later on, I will tell you if I was right and also will pick my winner for this season! Anydoodle, here is a very brief synopsis on each team (for full bios, go to the CBS website). Included in this rundown? My opinion of each team, of course!

Aja & Ty: A young couple involved in a long-distance relationship. They actually didn’t strike anything in me.
Andrew & Dan: Two young fraternity brothers that lack common sense and couth.
Anthony & Stephanie: Been dating for seven years and are back together after a year-long break-up. She wants to get married, he doesn’t. She’s bossy and he’s a tool.
Kelly & Christy: Two divorcees that like to face challenges and life together. For an all female team, they are very non-annoying.
Marissa & Brooke: Two Southern belles that like to dress well and all that goes with it. We didn’t get much face time with these two so we shall see how they are in the upcoming episodes.
Mark & Bill: Your resident geek squad and friends for over 20 years. I was worried at first that they would not be able to hold their own but they did…and they seem like nice enough fellas.
Toni & Dallas: The mother/son team from Northern California. I have to say that I love the respect that Dallas shows towards his mother.
Nick & Starr: Brother and sister who live on opposite sides of the US. In my opinion, this is the team to watch. They are not only athletic but also high spirited and fun to watch run the race.
Ken & Tina: The token married couple who wants to use the race as a way to see if their marriage is completely broken or can be fixed. Who thinks that is actually a good idea? Yeah, me neither.
Terrence & Sarah: Dating for under a year, this couple is the complete opposite of each other. By day, she’s on Wall Street and he’s a free spirit. By race, the most annoying thing by far this season.
Anita & Arthur: Married hippies and beekeepers. They fill the “older couple” quotient.

Now that we have that out of the way, come with me under the jump as we talk about last night’s episode…

The race started out in Los Angeles and immediately people were pumped and ready to go.  The fun thing about living in Southern California was knowing exactly who did and did not head the correct way to get to Park One (where they were to catch their shuttle to the airlines).  It looked as if Aja and Ty had a huge lead on everyone else at LAX but we found out later that they did not get in the correct line to purchase their airline tickets.  Eventually when everyone made it to the correct place,  Mark and Bill took the lead with Anita and Dan then Terrence and Sarah right behind them.  The other teams to make it on the first flight got their tickets and somehow the frat boys managed to piss almost everyone off within the first hour of being on the race!

Fast forward to Salvador, Brazil.  The teams had to take a taxi to O Rei Do Pernil, where they had to “become a barista, old school style”.  This meant that they had to drive a little vending cart (that looked like a truck) through the narrow  streets and deliver their carts to Indo in Praca Da Se.  The hard part about this task is that the very narrow and wobbly carts led to the teams dropping a lot of the candies on the ground and having to stop and pick them back up.  Ingenuity points to the geek squad team…Bill tied his jacket around the goods so that they would not be able to move!  This challenge is also where we saw some teams’ true colors start to show.  For example, Terrence thinks that his “therapy speak” will mask the fact that he talks to Sarah like she is an asshole.  I mean, he should have been happy that she was able to communicate in another language and just let her do her thing.  Of course this is the same man that got upset with Sarah for chit chatting with the other teams by saying, “Here *I* am.  I want you to hold me.  I want you to connect with *me*.”  Um, needy douchebag much?  Also?  At that overnight camping area?  A little bit of flirting between Dallas and Starr.

The detour for this episode was actually quite fun.  The teams could either climb up a long set of outdoor stairs on their hands and knees, then answer a mystery question OR they could climb down a cargo net (240 feet down) onto the street.  Interestingly enough, every team except one decided to head to the tower and climb down that net.  I’m sorry but if I were in the race, I would have done the stairs.  The frat boys had to do it twice because they  mystery question was simply “how many stairs did you just climb?”.  Lucky I have stair OCD and would have been counting on the way up anyhow!  So, heading to the tower, Terrence and Sarah were in the lead.  However, because they failed to look for the entrance with the flag, Nick and Starr took first place with Ken and Tina right behind them.  This seemed sort of fitting since Nick and Starr had decided to align with Ken and Tina and also call them “mom and dad”.   Next down were Mark and Bill, who actually pleasantly surprised me with their tenacity in this first leg of the race.  Everyone was very supportive of their partner on the way down, except of course Terrence, who told Sarah that she could not climb and talk at the same time.

After several grueling minutes worrying about who would check in to the pit stop first, we actually got to see some of the other teams in action.  Because it was the first episode, we did not get to know many of the teams unless they were in the first six teams to arrive to the mat.  I know that once more people get Philiminated, we’ll get to know them better but for now…not so much.

In any case, Nick and Starr were the first to check in to the mat (yay!) and they won a trip to Belize as well as the coveted first place.  Not far behind them were Ken and Tina then Terrence and Sarah.  The rest of the teams checked in (in this order): Mark and Bill, Kelly and Christy, Toni and Dallas, Andrew and Dan, Aja and Ty, Anthony and Stephanie, then Marissa and Brooke.  As I had guessed (but not hoped). Anita and Arthur were the last team to arrive and were sent home.  Yeah yeah, I am a rock star guesser!

There are so many things that I could say about some of these teams but I’d love for YOU to chime in.  What did you think of the show, the teams, and who do you like/dislike.  Also…who do you think will be the winner of the whole shebang?  My money is on Nick and Starr.

Hilly