CBS decided they’d had just about enough of The Amazing Race and relegated it to once a year status while leaving it off the fall schedule last year. It took all of about two weeks to realize that was a really stupid idea, and this year the show’s back right where it should be after an 8 month hiatus. We ended last year with TK & Rachel as The Amazing Race 12 winners, in a less than climactic finale, though at least the best team won for a change.
The Amazing Race 13 cast is a new group of 11 teams racing around the world for the $1 million prize. Tonight’s one hour premiere should be every bit as confusing as every other time they’ve tried to jam way too much into one hour, but it should still be entertaining nonetheless.
The LA Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA is the departure point for the race. Ken & Tina are trying to use this race as a way to see whether they should get divorced or not, meaning they’ll probably be fighting the whole time. Anthony & Stephanie, likewise, are a big risk to be the bickersons. Mark & Bill view this as just a game on the biggest game board you can imagine.
8 of the 11 pitstops are elimination points. It’s time to start with a mad dash up the LA Coliseum steps. When the get to the top, they find out that their first trip will be Salvador, Brazil, and they will only be able to travel on one of two flights.
Anita & Arthur believe they’ll be seen as old hippies. Yeah, well, pretty much.
Tina has Ken driving very aggressively. It gets them pretty close to the front of the pack, but this type of aggressiveness has a tendency to backfire eventually. Aja & Ty don’t get aggressive… they just get smart and take the carpool lane.
The concept of a marked counter proves too much for Aja & Ty, though, which allows a bunch of other teams to get ahead of them. Other teams have the same problem.
First flight: Mark & Bill, Ken & Tina, Terence & Sarah, Nick & Starr, Aja & Ty, Kelly & Christy
Second flight: Toni & Dallas, Andrew & Dan, Anita & Arthur, Marisa & Brooke, Anthony & Stephanie
Teams on the first flight via American are expected to arrive three hours prior to teams on the second flight via United. Typically, on the first leg of the race, anyone on the first flight is safe, while the others battle for elimination. The good news, though, is that the American flight has been delayed by about an hour and a half, but it’s still quite a gap.
Starr pitches an alliance to Ken & Tina, a “loose alliance” for “two legs.”
When they arrive in Brazil, teams will make their way through the busy streets to find a sandwich shop, O Rei Do Pernil, where they will become baristas. They’ll take their carts through the streets and deliver them to a waiting local, without anything falling off. The next trick is to figure out that they’re speaking Portuguese rather than Spanish. Lucky thing the two languages are close enough because nobody seems to get this.
They’ll spend the night outdoors at a military base, where they’ll get one of three departure times upon arrival. Nick’s just happy to be in front of Ken & Tina, their alleged allies.
Andrew & Dan are the lucky team to not still be stuck with the second plane, the rest of whom get the last time slot.
9:00 – Terence & Sarah, Nick & Starr, Mark & Bill, Ken & Tina
9:30 – Aja & Ty, Kelly & Christy, Andrew & Dan
9:45 – Toni & Dallas, Anita & Arthur, Marisa & Brooke, Anthony & Stephanie
Dallas takes his shirt off, which leads Starr to want to jump his bones. Terence, meanwhile, appears to have issues with his girlfriend not paying enough attention to him and gets jealous about her talking to other teams, including the old hippies.
The next destination is Pelourinho, the historic center of Salvador. The next clue is located at a church. On the way there, Sarah decides she hates Nick & Starr. I’m not really sure why. Apparently she thought they were ignoring her or something (because they’re in a race or something).
The detour is a choice between hard way up or soft way down. In hard way up, teams make their way to a stairway that they must climb on their hands and knees. When they reach the top, they must answer the mystery question correctly, or walk around the city streets back to the bottom of the stairs and try again. In soft way down, they must climb down a cargo net to the street 240 feet below, an easier task if they can overcome the fear.
Soft way down (in order of arrival): Nick & Starr, Ken & Tina, Mark & Bill, Terence & Sarah (having wasted some time looking for the staircase), Kelly & Christy, Toni & Dallas, Aja & Ty, Marisa & Brooke, Anthony & Stephanie, Anita & Arthur
Hard way up: Andrew & Dan
The mystery question turns out to be: how many steps have you climbed? Most times contestants have difficulty with that even when they’re climbing standing up. Andrew & Dan are wrong the first time, but they get it right on the second go. This doesn’t look like quite as dumb a decision as I thought initially, but it was still silly to pick hard way up.
The pitstop for this leg of the race is Forte Sao Marcelo, which once defended the city from pirates.
First: Nick & Starr (win a trip for two to Belize)
Second: Ken & Tina
Third: Terence & Sarah
Fourth: Mark & Bill
Fifth: Kelly & Christy
Sixth: Toni & Dallas
Seventh: Andrew & Dan
Eighth: Aja & Ty
Ninth: Anthony & Stephanie
Tenth: Marisa & Brooke
Eliminated: Anita & Arthur
I wasn’t expecting a lot from Anita & Arthur, but I expected them to make it past the first leg.
Nick & Starr look like they’re going to be a strong team, and Ken & Tina will be as well, particularly if they stick with Nick & Starr. Terence & Sarah should also be strong, but they are showing the most potential to implode. Mark & Bill were more impressive than they may have appeared at first glance.
Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Amazing Race 13 Episode 2 Do You Like American Candy?, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on CBS.