Yay for a New Season - Amazing Race! 9/28/08

Let me start off by saying that I really dislike when sports interfere with my shows. At least I am watching it live, so I can extend the end time accordingly.

Moving on, let's meet the teams:

Toni & Dallas - mother and son from Northern CA. She's a single mom, and has been his whole life.

Nick & Star - siblings from NY and TX. They look plastic.

Ken & Tina - separated husband and wife from Tampa, FL. He was a professional football player and he cheated on her.

Aja & Ty - dating long distance. They are cute, and claim that their distance means that they don't take their time together for granted.

Marissa & Brooke - Southern Belles. They claim to like to shop and bake cupcakes, both of which should really help them in the race.

Andrew & Dan - Fraternity brothers from Phoenix, AZ. They sound like stereotypical frat boys, and I predict ogling at Marissa and Brooke.

Anthony & Stephanie - dating 4 years, from LA. She says she wants to get married soon, or they are done.

Anita & Barker - married bee keepers. This is the obligatory old couple and look like old hippies.

Kelly & Kristy - recently divorced friends from TX. Could be tough.

Terrance & Sarah - newly dating from NYC. They are cute, and I hope they do well.

Mark & Bill - Best friends from San Diego. They are self-confessed comic book geeks. Hmmm.

They meet Phil, and he tells them that their first clues are on top of their bags next to the marked cars. There are 11 legs and 8 eliminations.

They are heading to Salvador, Brazil, on one of two allowed flights. And they are off! Initially, everyone seems to be doing well. Anita & Barker admit that others might see them as old hippies, but that's not true. We'll see about that. There's lots of love between the couples. Aja & Ty get a major break by (mis?)using the car pool lane, and they get in first, but get messed up in the wrong line. There is some more confusion when teams have to search for marked lines, but people seem to get it figured out pretty quickly.

On the first flight out and due to arrive 3 hours earlier than the second flight are:

Mark & Bill, Ken & Tina, Nick & Star, Terrance & Sarah, Aja & Ty, and Kelly & Kristy.

On the second flight are:

Toni & Dallas, Andrew & Dan, Anita & Barker, Marissa & Brooke and Anthony & Stephanie.

Once they get to Salvador, Brazil, they have to make their way to a sandwich shop, and get their first mission.

Typically, the first flight was delayed en route to Salvador, but they still got their about 1 1/2 hours ahead of the other flight.

The first mission is to become an old school barista - where they have to wheel a cart with lots of stuff on it through cobbled streets to deliver to a predetermined spot to get their next clue.

Mark & Bill arrive first and tie a coat around their merchedise to keep it from falling off. Terrance & Sara are doing well - it seems she speaks Portugese, but she seemed to be giving directions to him in Portugese, so that's not good. They arrived first, and go the next clue, followed by Mark & Bill, then Star & Nick, and then Ken & Tina.

They have to travel to a Brazilian military base and sleep under mosquito tenting overnight, signing up for one of three departure times the next morning - 9 AM, 9:30 AM, and 9:45 AM. Terrance & Sarah got their first, followed by Nick & Star, then Mark & Bill, then Ken & Tina. They all got 9 AM times. Aja & Ty got a 9:30 time.

The second flight arrived, and Kelly & Kristy and Andrew & Dan got their tickets to the next clue first, then Anita & Barker, and then Dallas & Toni, followed by Anthony & Stephanie, and finally Marissa & Brooke. Kelly & Kristy and Andrew & Dan snag 9:30 times. Everyone else gets 9:45 AM times.

The next morning, they hav to go to Pelorinho, the historic center of Salvador, by taxi. There is some crazy competition for taxis. Ken whips out a whistle to get a taxi to stop for them, and I am annoyed by him. I am also annoyed by Sarah & Terrance, because he seems to have started nit-picking her already.

The first Detour is Hard Way Up or Soft Way Down. Teams must choose between Hard Way Up - crawling up a giant stone staircase on their hands and knees and have to answer a mystery question. If they are wrong, they have to start the climb all over again - and Soft Way Down - taking a giant outdoor elevator and then scaling down a cargo net all the way to the ground, 240 feet below. Only three teams can be on the cargo net at the same time.

I would take the Soft Way Down. Everyone seems to be choosing that one, too. Nick & Star got there first, but Terrance & Sarah went up the wrong way, and had to start over. Ken & Tina (who Nick & Star have dubbed Mom & Dad) are second on the cargo net.

Nick & Star get down first, followed by Ken & Tina and then Mark & Bill.

They are all headed to the pit stop next.

Terrance & Sarah passed Mark & Bill, and Terrance complained that Sarah was talking while climbing. Seriously. He is already annoying me.

Nick & Star get to the Pit stop first and win a trip to Belize. Nice.

The frat boys chose the Hard Way Up. We'll see how that goes. I always feel badly when the production team goes to all the trouble of arranging a Detour only to have no one choose the option, so I'm glad that the Frat Boys did the Hard Way Up. It looked like hell, so I think the others chose better. The mystery question is How many steps had they climbed, and they get it wrong and have to start over. Oops. At least they got it right the second time.

Marissa & Brooke come in second to last, but Anita & Barker are sent packing back to their bees.

Next week, Terrance looks like he's getting pissy about the loose alliance between Nick & Star and Ken & Tina. And Sarah's just hurt that they didn't talk to her. Ok, so she's annoying me, too.

It's too early for me to choose favorites, but I have some un-favorites. That would be Ken & Tina and Terrance & Sarah.

Your thoughts?