I thought I would start out the discussion thread with an interesting article from Zap2It.

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?28274

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - When "The Amazing Race 3" premieres Wednesday (Oct. 2), viewers will once again see a dozen two-person teams running all over the globe in pursuit of $1 million.

What they won't see is host Phil Keoghan and his crew working to stay ahead of the players.

"I don't know if people realize just how long it takes to do what we have to do," says Keoghan, 35, who's taking his third trip as host of the CBS series.

Granted, Keoghan has the advantage of knowing where he's going beforehand, and he doesn't have to complete any of the challenges the teams do. But because he has to greet each team as it arrives at a checkpoint, and the gap between first and last place is often hours apart, he often finds himself having to play catch-up.

"The spread [between first and last place] can be a half day or longer ... and if it's only a 12-hour pit stop, sometimes the first team is leaving before the last team comes in," he says. "That means I have to finish with the last team and then leap ahead of the first one to get to the next destination. So there's a constant pressure of trying to stay ahead."

The constant movement can lead to long stretches of sleeplessness. During the filming of "Amazing Race 3," for instance, he stole a one-hour nap on a plane in the midst of 72 hours when he was otherwise awake. Upon arrival, he welcomed the last-place team at 3 a.m.

Then, he says, "I got in a van and drove eight hours to the next location, got out of the van and went straight to the pit stop to welcome the next team for the next show. So I don't know how many days it was that we went without sleep."

Not that he's complaining. The New Zealand native's current gig continues a career in which he has traveled all over the world as host and producer of adventure-related shows, including "Phil Keoghan's Adventure Crazy" on the Travel Channel and Discovery's "Go for It."

What sets "The Amazing Race" apart, he says, is its unpredictability.

"I don't turn up at a studio or on location and just cruise through it," he says. "You're always working in the moment, which is incredibly exciting. You can't help but feel like you're caught up in this exciting adventure because it's right in front of you."

The teams competing in "Amazing Race 3" were an interesting bunch, Keoghan says. They include Flo and Zach, longtime friends who've shared a mutual attraction but never acted on it; Andrew, a conservative Baptist businessman and Dennis, his openly gay son; and Michael and Kathy, a long-distance couple who had never spent more than five days together.

Naturally, Keoghan isn't saying who did well and who was eliminated early, but in general, he says teams that are open with one another tend to last longer.

"Ultimately, whether they're yelling and screaming at each other or having a great time, it comes down to teams that communicate," he says. "Tara and Will [from 'Amazing Race 2'] were dysfunctional, but they were communicating, and nothing was left unsaid."

There may or may not be a Tara-Will kind of team on the new show, but Keoghan does promise that the teams will engage viewers in some way, be it positive or negative.

"What people should expect is to see really interesting relationships," he says. "Hopefully there will some they'll love, and quite frankly, some they really dislike but find interesting to watch."
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"The Amazing Race 3" premieres at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, Oct. 2 on CBS.


My apologies if there is someone else who usually starts this discussion thread. I promise I won't do it anymore. Can't wait for tomorrow nights episode.

Chris

I'm SO jazzed for this! It's still the most entertaining of the reality shows. And I love that they're filming season 4 laster this year. Keep 'em coming!

I can't wait either, it's a great show !

Tivo is locked and loaded for this, I can't wait.

waiting for the first episode too

TIVO season pass, baby!!

Great show. The teams are a hoot.

Wow I never thought about what the host dude must go through. Thats got to be pretty intense.

Can't wait. This show is consistently good week in and week out.

Didn't it start yet? Damn.

Stupid clock, move faster!

Patience, grasshopper!

Chris

It's first-come, first-serve, so if you want to do threads for other episodes, you're welcome to do so. Just don't start them outrageously early... like, starting a thread next week anticipating the season finale of The Amazing Race would be too early.

It's TAR night, baby... whooooo!

I've never seen the show, but you guys rave about it a lot so I'm going to break my cherry tonight.

Be gentle though!

Chris

The Amazing Race, Alias, oh how I missed you. It's good to have you back. My Replay, yes that's right REPLAY (sorry all you Tivo fans) is working overtime lately.

You should give it at least two shows because the first one we will have to sit through all the introduction BS.

WHY would they leave their bags in the TAXI?? Have they never seen the show before? That's like the #1 rule... there's models for ya..

Are all male models that stupid?

Question, since I'm new to the show: why did only two of the teams go for the "Fast Forward"? You'd think everybody would want this, especially those slated to be on the last bus.

The male models sure made a lot bonehead mistakes, but the same could be said of last years winners who made their share of mistakes and also had major difficulties in navigating with a map but somehow, someway they always survived to race again and pulled off the win at the end. Maybe the twins this year are using the same strategy

I've been on hiatus from DVD Talk for about a month, so that's why I haven't opened the thread.

DVD Talk, unless I'm mistaken, limits it's polls to ten options. Since we're have more than ten teams at the moment, there is no poll. However, after next weeks episode, I will open a poll for the following week's episode. A minor change that I will be making is that the question will be which team finishes last. There will not be an option as to whether or not the checkpoint is a "non-elimination point", just who arrives last.

I'm watching the episode... this is an interesting mix of teams.

Once a team uses a Fast Forward, they can no longer go for a Fast Forward for the rest of the race. So a team would have to choose wisely as to when to go for it.

By the way, was anybody else surprised by how many teams decided to ride with the donkeys instead of skydiving? It looked like four or five teams went that route, including the fireman/policeman pair.

The same goes for those on Survivor. You'd think they'd learn from other contestant's mistakes but I guess not.

I'm not sure who I want to win yet but I'll be happy to see the male models 86'ed.

Favorite line from tonight's show:

"What if both parachutes don't open?"

Favorite move from tonight's show:

Panhandling this early in the game.

I thought the donkey was going to end up in back with the older guy and his wife out pulling the cart.

Some stupid mistakes early, I loved how the 2 fat bald guys were taking off the male models with their perfect calves etc.

hilarious... its the new kevin and drew.

VERY surprised. It's The Amazing Race: The Weenie Edition.

What was up with Flo dropping the f-bomb every time she got on camera? Is that what a Vassar education gets you? Team Flo + Zach just became Team F***! for me.

I couldn't believe D & D... which could stand for Derek & Drew, David Duchovnys, or Dumb & Dumber... left their bags in the taxi. They're in Mexico, for cryin' out loud! And it was the first leg, and they're already all, "I don't know if I can keep this up." LAME. Quit already, Team Zoolander (not my idea, but frickin' perfect).

The gay cheerleader was... it's like they paid a straight guy to act really, really gay.

Heather/Eve totally busting it in the donkey cart was comedy gold, after it was made clear that she was okay.

And buh-bye, Soccer Moms. It looked like Phil was getting a little bored during their goodbye speech, too. "Are you still talking?"

It's hard to get a real sense of the teams from the first episode, but I already don't like Andre & Damon (the cop & the fireman). First, they pulled this aggressive BS at the Miami airport, but then showed their true colors when they opted for the donkey cart ride.

I actually hope that D&D hang around for awhile. Their particular blend of good looks & utter stupidity could make for some pretty entertaining television.

What's up with the two lawyers hitting up guys for money? Soon you'll see them at topless bars during stopovers to make a few bucks. Pretty sleazy, IMO, but not a bad strategy.