Team Soccer Mom - thank God they're gone, I don't think I could stomach them breaking down and crying at the sight of any children. Can you imagine their reaction to India, when all those kids chase you around begging for cash?

Team Ken Dolls - great comedy duo, I look forward to more of them in future episodes

Team Law Hotties - "we're planning to exploit men". Kill me now. Maybe they should add donkeys to their exploitation list to avoid being dumped head first into the pavement again.

Why the hell is Eve on Amazing race if she doesn't like flying?!

"It's unnatural!"... shaddup already.

But I hope they remain in the top three, since:

That was pretty smart. You never know when a little extra cash is going to come in handy. US dollars spend well in Mexico. To me it shows that they are gonna be pretty savvy players who will do what it takes to win.

Great show !

The twin models were a joke. They were sooooo slow in everything they did.
They won't last long.

I didn't get why Team Hottie was begging for money already.
(btw Heather is hot but Eve is not)

What's with all the guy guys this time ?
They usually only have 1.

Ah. That makes sense. I don't think they explained that last night.

Another question for those who have seen the show before: do they always give a prize for first place? Last night the two guys won a cruise, for example. Yeah, I really want to go on a seven day cruise with my BROTHER. Also, does your place in this round help you in any way in the next round?

So far I like the show better than "Survivor" (which I've stopped watching), but not as much as "The Mole." The one thing I would have liked to have seen more of would be the teams interacting with each other and the other teams in calmer situations (like at the hotel). Obviously, that's hard to do in the first episode with so much going on.

They don't always give a prize for first place, but on certain legs they do. It seems pretty random. And the order you arrive at the finish (Pit Stop) for each leg is the order that you leave for the following leg, so you get a head-start on other teams.

There will definitely be more interaction between the teams in the upcoming episodes. Teams usually hang out with each other at each Pit Stop, so there will be interaction there... they haven't had an opportunity to have something like that yet.

Usually it's just the first leg that has a prize attached. In any event, it's pretty rare.

And teams can start the next phase 12 hours after they arrived at the previous stage, so it does matter what time you arrive.

Best picture: When the two Havad lawyers were skydiving and they showed Eve (the one scared of flying?) in the air with her mouth open so the wind was rippling it. ::

This was by the far the funniest show they've had with the D & D twins, the donkey cart breaking, the brothers making fun of the twins, etc. The only thing that I didn't like was that we didn't get to see everything that happened like when the twins got their bags back. But it was the first show so what can u do?

But the question I had kept asking myself was why did 5 or 6 groups decide to take the donkey carts? And what are the two Havad lawyers going to do with all of that money?

I can't wait for next week's episode.

So exactly how many gay people do we have this show? I hope the cheerleader stick around because the difference between him and his Dad is just hilarious.

I also didn't get why Team Hottie (this is the official name now) was begging for money. It looked like they were doing it before they even got their tickets? Strange...and lame. I don't remember money being too much of an issue last year, maybe once or twice.

Team Fat&Bald Brothers was pretty dang funny. I think they were kind of stupid for using the fast forward though.

Sooo glad Soccer Moms are gone. They were ALREADY getting annoying. "I told my kids that they can do anything they put their mind to and I was right because . . . wait, what's that?, I lost? I failed? Oh THAT doesn't matter because I tried!" Hope she understands when her kid drops out of school and starts smokin every day. "Mom I TRIED to get up today but the one Three's Company was on where they have the misunderstanding and Janet thinks Jack is boinking Chrissy!"

Anybody else disturbed by "John Vito". I think you've got to be a pretty big ass not let people just call you "John". And I really really hope that his girlfriend stops talking about her brother that died at the WTC.

I thought last year they had more 'introduction time'. Its cool that they jumped right into the race.

So far my money is on Cop & Fireman. LA brothers don't mess around.

Why is everyone questioning the Law school Hotties begging spree? Isn't it obvious?

The answer: The Location they were in.

How would they beg for money in any country that's populated with a majority of people that don't speak English?

They did the smart thing and begged early on in America. I would wager they will do the same in any area that has a large English speaking, fairly wealthy population

I wonder if we're going to get Roadblocks again this season. Didn't have one last night. Probably just because it's the first episode.

I thought they did much more for introductions this year than in the past. I don't think the teams got to say anything in the other 2 races. I have a vivid memory of "Team Guido" from AR1 simply smiling at the camera as they toasted their champagne glasses in front of the fire...creepy...

BTW, Team Havard aint going nowhere. All the begging and hooching they'll do will be for naught mid-way through the race. Crying at the THOUGHT of skydiving means you should've tried out for Big Brother.

My early picks are Aaron and Arianne & Tramel and Talicia. Both have great attiudes, chemistry and strength.

Are there specific rules regarding money? i.e. - you can't use your own cash or ATM/credit cards?

As for the twins being called Team Zoolander --->
That must become the official name!

I believe they take all your credit cards and cash before the trip. The cash you get at each pit stop (or by begging) is all you have. How easy would the game be if you had a credit card?

Yeah, I doubt people can use their own money. That would give richer teams more of an advantage.

It was an okay beginning. Its always better after a couple of shows once the teams begin to be whittled down and the personalities really come out.

The Weasel Twins are idiots, the highlight was the Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee Bros making fun of them. Flo and Fro and the other young friend duos seem the most amiable- which seems to be a key past two seasons to winning. John Zito and his tiny Cro-Magnon head is scary; its clear he and the girl got on because of their sob story. I think the couple that doesn’t know one another could be the bitchy/fighting pair this year.

I dont think Tramel and Tralicia- who because of their silly names I refer to as Tramelica, the old parents, the preacher and the gay son have a chance. They get my vote, along with the Weasel twins for early elimination... My hope is that the black cop/firefighter team wins this year since the first two races had the affluent, good looking, young white guys as winners.

The Soccor Moms final speech was great. “I accomplished what I came here to do, and my children can learn a lesson from that.” What? You came on the show to fail? Get over it, get home to your infants, thats where you should be anyway.

Another n00b question, sorry: what's a roadblock?

My name for the Harvard girls is Team Skank. "We'll show those men that attractive women are more than capable of...what's that you say? Skydiving? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

a roadblock is when a challenge is presented that only one of the pair can perform. the other person of the pair is forced to watch as their partner performs the task at hand... sometimes with a GREAT deal of difficulty!

i am pissed because i missed this episode. i set the VCR (yes, my family is still stuck in the world of VCRs) and told it to set its time via the local PBS station... and it set it an hour fast. so i recorded the first two minutes of the show. crap crap crap. (i also wanted to tape Ed, but got ET and Access Hollywood instead... ick..)

oh well. i'll catch it from here on out. period. no missing it.

-di doctor-

I think grubbing for money was very wise. You never know what you might be able to buy down the road and those girls knew it would be easy for them to do that. Looks interesting again this time, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be someone to hissssss... maybe soon.

I loved when the soccer mom said something like "being a stay at home mom is the hardest job in the world." HAHAHA. Shows you how far from reality they are. Maybe they should spend a week in the shoes of a single mother who has to work 2 minimum wage jobs AND take care of her kid(s). These 2 apparantly are supported by husbands who have decent income. As far as parenting goes, they have it easier than most.

You missed Amazing Race AND Ed? You poor bastard!


Groucho: Another interesting thing about the Roadblock -- the pair has to decide who will do the task based on a really vague clue, BEFORE knowing what the task is. This makes it pretty interesting sopmetimes.

Yes. You cannot bring your own cash, CC, or ATM cards. At the beginning of each leg of the journey, you get a specific amount of money which has to pay for everything along the way with the exception of the airline tickets. You can earn additional money along the way (begging seems to be OK). So, basically, everyone started out with $100.

There are also restrictions on airline tickets. You cannot use first class, only economy or coach.

The credit card is a important part. During AR2 in Africa, the teams were unable to rent a car from the airpoint to the checkpoint.

How about this - can the leftover money from each leg (either given to the team or begged for) be carried over to the next leg?

I believe it can, but I don't know officially.

Chris

I can't imagine they would take the remaingin money away from you, but last seasons it did seem like teams were short on money a lot. I wonder if they have to pay for gas themselves.


Also wondering about the cameramen who work on the show, it starts of with 12 cameramen say in the jeeps in florida.

Does that mean that as each team is out a cameraman is sent home too? that would mean the cameramen having to choose a team at the outset. could be fun... Then helping your team win.

Yeah, it baffles me. What?, have they, the cop/firefighter, the geriatric parents, never seen Amazing Race/any reality contest tv show before? We all know they will run into the standard skydiviing, swimming, eat something gross, spelunking, swimming, bungee jumping stunts. If you turn to goo at the thought of any of those things, why sign up?... Well, she did complete the stunt anyway, even if she had to be a sobbing and snot-nosed in front of millions.

Actually, there were quite a few Pitstop Prizes awarded during AR2. According to http://members.cox.net/amazrace/index.htm they were:

Leg 1 - Hawaii Vacation (won by Tara & Wil)
Leg 8 - 7-day Cruise (Oswald & Danny)
Leg 10 - Puerto Rico Vacation (Blake & Paige)
Leg 11 - Los Cabos Vacation (Tara & Wil)
Leg 12 - London & Paris (tie: Blake & Paige and Tara & Wil)