Bill Needle

Delayed, yes. That happens all the time. But the doors were closed and the plane about to taxi away and then they stopped everything and re-extended the jetway and unsealed the plane for you? That is highly, highly unusual.

Bill Needle

That's right! I forgot they were only standby passengers to boot! This really smells.

_tony_

The more I think about it the more I think the plane thing was definitely "arranged" by the producers. This is the first time I've seen this show, does it always come to a very close ending between 2 or 3 teams?

briank

I also call shennanigans on the ending......

I really like Uchenna and Joyce and they'll use the money to good use, they are good people you can tell.

However, Rob and Amber deserved the win because of the flight situation.
They were crafty enough to find out about it and make it on time.
The flight was CLOSED, and actually pulled from the gate.

There is NO WAY, a counter attendant "calls" the pilot and then him say "sure, let me just back on up".
I guarantee there is more to that story...............
Either CBS got envolved, the whole plane was full of CBS shills and they already "arranged" the lets "close the gate, leave, back up, re-open" scenario or something......... There is no way CBS let Rob and Amber on that plane without Uchenna and Joyce on the same plane knowing it was pretty straight forward smooth sailing after that.

But, congrats Uchenna and Joyce, finishing first in a leg of the race finally paid off. (......the ONLY reason I was slightly rooting against them was due to the fact the Team Gay Duo was "praying" for them at the finish line).

LorenzoL

I'm glad that Uchenna and Joyce won. They handled themselves with class throughout the race and they had a "never give up" attitude which was very endearing. I don't know how close behind Rob and Amber were but begging for more money to pay the cabbie could have cost them the race but I give them a for doing the right thing. I don't know if I would have done that if I were in their shoes.

However they were not the best racers...

That honour belonged to Rob and Amber (Rob for the most part). I hate to admit it but he brought a whole new level to this game which hasn't been seen in previous versions. It will be interesting to see if upcoming teams will try to use this type of strategy on future versions of the show.

Ron and Kelly, the less said about them, the better it is. Their interaction with each other was painful and it felt like watching a car accident, you knew it was wrong to stare but couldn't take your eyes off it. I hope that they are not together for their well beings.

LBCrazyFool

I have been watching TAR the past few seasons and it has usually come down to 2 teams fighting to the finish, while the 3rd is behind.

Congrats to Uchenna and Joyce. It seems like they needed the money more than Rob and Amber. I was rooting for Rob and Amber just because Rob brought a whole new level to the game, as mentioned above. I am sure they are getting a nice paycheck for their wedding special in a few weeks, as well as specials to come... In the summer, Rob and Amber buy a house... And in the fall, Rob and Amber try to have a child...

This has been my favorite reality show and the only one I really watch every week. Not sure what to think about the upcoming Family version of the Amazing Race...

Darq

Yep. I'd be willing to bet a ton of money that there's a TAR rule that says you can NOT break any laws. Running out on a cabbie would be breaking a law.

I'm also assuming that the producers fixed the rules this year to DISALLOW racers from giving IOU's out to be repaid after the race. (In order to avoid the situation that the winning team used from a previous season.)

Bill Needle

Who's to say if R&A had come rolling up the street they wouldn't have dashed away then? As long as no one was showing up, they weren't losing anything.

Actually, as I think someone mentioned, I'm fairly certain they are required to settle, whether by payment or whatever else they can barter. After all, how would it look to see a bunch of CBS showpiece contestants ditching cabs and dining and dashing around the world for an hour each week?

That's why despite what the R&A bashers say, they would not even have been allowed to stiff the cabbie had they been in U&J's place, and nothing R&A did during the course of the race even hinted they would if they could. They pranked other racers within the confines of the race, but were never anything but respectful to anyone else they met.

Darq

Yep. The more i think about this, the more I'm getting annoyed. "Let's ask the pilot to back up for STANDBY passengers!" Yeah -- RIGHT.

Pharoh

Another vote for shennanigans on the ending. Very disappointing, not that U&J won, but how they won. Hell, even the forced wait this late in the game was wrong, but the plane thing was way out of line. Oh well.

Schloob1

Thta thing with the flight I would say was definitely rigged, a boo to that, but of course it would of killed all suspense.

As to a previous post that mentioned about wondering if they had to take a specific airline the answer to that is no. Case in point was the last season when the final leg the one team asked AA I believe if this was the earliest flight to get to Chicago and they said yes, none earlier. The other team got on a United flight that got in about 20 minutes earlier. Hence different airlines and something that was discussed ad nauseum last season about how the ticket person would lie like that. My thought was that the agent was telling the truth in that there were no AA flights arriving earlier.

Back to this one, happy to see U&J win as they definitely will use this money for good purposes. Still think Rob was the best racer and just got bad luck in the very end. Thankfully Ron and Kelly had their great moment of misdirection
taking a left instead of right. They should not get married, but they so deserve each other.

BudSeriously

Ok, maybe a stupid question...but haven't contestants in the past begged for money during the manditory rest period? Is that a new rule or were U an J dumb for wasting great daylight hours at a plush resort to gather funds instead of trying to find money at 3am? Just asking....happy they won, exciting finish.

briank

Well the "forced wait", although disappointing, it was somewhat expected.

It's all in the editing, as any reality show really is.
I think CBS made it "look like good tv" with the plane backing up. But I think it back fired (atleast on a few of us). they should (and could have) made it look more straight arrow and both making it if they wanted to, and less like shennanigans.

I think CBS got exactly what they wanted.....Rob and Amber in 2nd place.
It would have raised "unfair" questions if they won both CBS shows Survivor and Amazing Race...and then the wedding special.
But this way they still had them for viewership EVERY LEG of the race.

I think the plane should have taken off as it would have done without CBS intervention (you know they were inovlved, with sponsorship and advertising the whole way) then they could have just edited the last leg of the race differently (such as showing more of Rob and Amber "lost" looking for the cigar shop).

I'm now looking forward to a story where some people are at an airport just after the gate closed and they are standing there without reservations, and throw a fit and claim "you had the plane turn around for Uchenna and Joyce, why not us and demand the attendant 'calls the pilot'"

Darq

Yep. It definitely seems like a new rule, as Phil made a point (each non-elim round) to mention that they had to START the leg with $0. I always thought that was unfair in the past to beg for money (basically continuing on with the race) while everyone else was on the 12 hour rest period.

BudSeriously

Thanks, need to learn to pay better attention.

Bill Needle

I think this was brought up in a previous leg, and it also appeared then that they had to wait until the next leg started (Team Geezer). Maybe the producers became pickier about the fact that the first clue after a non-elim states "one team begins the stage with no money" when in fact they would have a fistful of bills from begging during the rest period. I never understood why a team wouldn't constantly beg during the rest period if it is allowed. Money = power = advantage.

mgbfan

FIX - You know CBS was on the phone there. One team pulling in 1.5 hours ahead of the other two doesn't make good TV. At the VERY LEAST, somebody told U&J to go check the other counter (1 minute before, the were 100% satisfied with the tix they had, then suddenly they were sprinting).

I really enjoyed this season, but felt betrayed by the ending (even though I was rooting for U&J). It absolutly makes me question my desire to watch another season.

A few seasons ago, something similar happened on the final flight (I don't recall exactly what, but I remember that I raised an eyebrow). I'd forgotten that, but now ... now I'm pretty sure the fix was in.

mookiemeister

I also like how Uchenna&Joyce make sure the cab driver got his money before running for the finish line even though it could cost them the game. Shows what's more important to them and not screwing people at the expense of winning.

JasonF

They're going to use the money on in vitro. Notwithstanding the fact that:

1) Uchenna said they've been having marital problems, and
2) They saw firsthand that there are kids who need good homes.

Screw them.

Bill Needle

I like U&J too, but as it's been mentioned race rules apparently require them to take care of the cabbie. They would likely have been penalized had they not. And they did try to talk him into taking less money several times. So implying they were willing to dump a million bucks to take care of the cabbie might be a bit of a stretch.

Elldubtoo

CBS was hoping for a photo finish (figuring the King thing was easy to find) and that's why they let Uchenna and Joyce on that plane.

Patman

I'm going to have to give a to how it ended given the "help" that U&J got to get on that flight to Miami.

Oh well, the other being the misfortune of getting a bum taxi driver (but I would have had the driver call into his taxi company to get directions, or stop and call information or chamber of commerce (something!) if they didn't know where the cigar shop was.

But I will give U&J props for never giving up, and always finding ways to move forward, even it got grim for them, having to beg for money.

mytzplyx

Is it just me or do others think Amber would make the perfect wife. The way she treats Rob is so nice. She doesn't yell and pick at him and stuff. She never loses it, and always gives her all. Man, i fell in love with her this show.

Elldubtoo

She's been my favorite reality show contestant since Survivor 2.

QuikSilver

I thank the lord that Uchenna and Joyce won. They truly deserve the win. Way to go. And what a great ending. I was on the edge of my seat.