Shannon Nutt

The previous posters are correct, and I'm glad to see the wool wasn't pulled over anyone's eyes. The Amazing Race people may not be picking the winner, but they certainly are manipulating events to keep the race close. The plane boarding the couple after the people-mover had been removed and the doors close was the most obvious...that NEVER happens, especially post 9/11, and even if you're a VIP. The flat tires, police stops and clueless cabbies were also pretty obvious manipulations.

Bottom line is if The Amazing Race staff hadn't manipulated the contest, Rob and Amber probably would have ran away with this thing.

astrochimp

Yep

Chew

Well, count me in as also disappointed in the "behind the scenes" stuff. It lessened my enjoyment of the episode quite a bit.

Having said that, congrats to the winners.

movieking

We have to keep in mind that the flight that both teams got on was delayed, and no doubt CBS figured that it would have been left by the time the teams got there. The 30 minute or so delay really threw a wrench into the plans of CBS, so they equalized it. I think that based on the timings of the teams, etc, CBS figured that all three teams would make the 11:10 flight (or whatever time it was).

I am thrilled that Joyce and Uchenna won.

I expect Rob to hunt down the person who told him the cigar shop was on 27th street when it was really on 11th. That ultimately is why they lost.

U&C should have had enough sense to check to ensure that there were no other earlier flights. Have they learned nothing from past experiences?

Surprised that no one mentioned it, but did anyone else notice the brothers circa 1970 porn star moustaches? I cracked up whenever it panned to them. I kept thinking about Ron Burgundy.

movieking

As it was almost a week before your post when I first posted it

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413477

Chew

Here's a spoiler I remember reading waaay back before it was spoilerized:

Link

I guess they were in Toronto for something completely different then?

movieking

I think that I posted the original thread as well. If not, I read about it and confirmed it. It was being reported in the Canadian media that R&A were going to be on the Amazing Race weeks before I read it on this board (because they were seen in Toronto with crew I think). Maybe it was after the race and they were just doing PR. Who knows?

It was rumoured at that point that Toronto would be the next to last stop, as was Calgary a previous Race.

movieking

Found the thread that I posted in, but not my original thread:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=406204

That thread deserves attention again if nothing more than the hot pictures of Amber.

Patman

Anyone noticed the look on Phil's face when he was asking Ron and Kelly what the status of their relationship was, and they told him they were not wanting the same things at the moment, it was a rather uncomfortable moment/topic for the otherwise joyous ocassion. Phil had to be thinking "Eek, I guess I shouldn't have asked that question just right now..."

dvdmovie1

Where do I get one of those "a" shirts?

Chew

Maybe the R&A Extra Special 2 Hour Sweeps Stunt Wedding Special was partly filmed in Toronto?

Patman

Amber's got a good temperment, and she rarely questioned Rob's lead on things. So, yes, she's compliant, and cool under pressure, knowing that Rob's already worrying for 2 people as it is, so she just coasted and stayed supportive, always looking at the long-range goals, but her intangibles were helpful for the team racing aspect. Also, it looked like she could read a map, unlike some of the racers this season. And she's still cute too.

Groucho

I guess I'm the only person here's who's not a conspiracy theorist. I don't think any element of the race was fixed.

LorenzoL

Why wouldn't you think she's the perfect wife since the way she appeared in this show is that she does whatever Rob tells her to do. Frankly she didn't bring anything to the team.

Groucho

I wouldn't say that. She did fine in all her challenges, with the exception of last night's diving debacle. At least she wasn't dead weight like Flo.

LorenzoL

I agree with you that she did her challenges very well however in terms of decision making, she provided nothing. The incident that sticks out for me is the fast forward when R&A arrived after Ray and Deanna. Amber couldn't make up her mind whether to wait for them to fail the fast forward or to leave and do the roadblock.

Chew

I did read the whole thread, but I can't remember if anybody brought this up again: seems like the discussion last week about how Romber should've yielded Y&J over R&K turned out to be completely correct.

das Monkey

While not a conspiracy theorist and someone who was happy to see U&J win, I was none too pleased with this episode either. At nearly every stopped position, Rob and Amber had a massive lead, and yet they found no fewer than three ways to squash it, the last being the stunt at the airport. Whether it's willing producer manipulation or not, it's still a shitty way to end the race. Because of all the bunch-ups, the final leg was essentially determined by who had the most knowledgeable cabbie. Conspiracy or not, it really removed the whole "race" thing.

I say it every season, but the final legs of this race should be determined by heart and desire, not travel agents and cab rides.

das

Khalid

I call bullsh*t on the flight coming back on U and J, also. Remember, the teams parked their Mercedes' right outside a ticket office so I think CBS wanted them to get the tickets from that office to make sure all the teams made the same flight. It was only outside the office that R and A got the information on the other flight.

Next time CBS, should just mandate which flight they should catch so it doesn't seemed rigged. Sort of like saying on the clues "teams have the option of catching flight A or flight B."

I really enjoyed R and A but was turning on them in the later episodes just a bit because of Rob's unnecessary comments ("blind leading the blind," etc.). They definitely raced well.

Uchenna and Joyce just won me over so I was glad they won it. They are great partners for each other.

Ron and Kelly, what is there left to add? I rolled my eyes when he said something like, "ah, the smell of a third world country," in Jamaica. Ah, the smell of a third place finish.

TruGator

Yep, it leaves a lot of the race up to "OK, who's gonna be the lucky one today," and when that occurs on the final leg, you have a winner.

mugwump

Well they're forever stiffing the cabbies in third world countries so I don't think that paying the cab fare in full is a strict rule. I recall Kendra's whipping boy from the last race refusing to pay a cabbie in Africa and then there was that other uptight dude from the previous race who almost got arrested for refusing to pay his cab fare to the airport in Africa yet again.

Anyhow, I thought the ending of this race was the lamest yet. You go through all of that travel to have it come down to which team can make the earlier flight. On top of that, there were no real challenges in Florida that would have allowed other teams to catch up. Searching for a cigar shack doesn't count as a challenge -- although Rob would likely beg to differ.

If it wasn't for the interplay of the teammates I would have given up on this show long ago as the race itself is pretty weak.

Khalid

Hey JasonF don't hate on U and J.

1) Uchenna said that the race brought them closer together. All the evidence points to a healthy relationship. I don't remember them yelling at each other or being unsupportive to each other or other teams.

2) at the finish mat, they said they would try in vitro, and if that didn't work, they'd adopt.

GuessWho

mookiemeister

Sure. Amber may have some problem making decision in those tough situations. Who wouldn't? I think the point is that Amber performs well in challenges so is pulling her own weight and not totally relying on Rob. Also, you don't see petty bickering with them like other couples we see throughout the different races.

Red Dog

Hats off to the Baldies. Deserving winners even though the victory came down to having a Spanish speaking driver while Romber gets the one driver in Miami who can't speak Spanish.

That being said, an extremely lame finale. Of course, this is nothing new with TAR. The first 90 minutes were completely pointless. Then, like in past seasons, only one task after the final flight. They really need to put a Detour and/or Roadblock after the last flight.