The Amazing Race 2011: Unfinished Business

I suppose the bike race was brutal, but we saw so little of it we didn't really get that understanding; I would have much preferred the traditional brain-teaser ending.

Last season, the challenges were terrible. This season, they were better, but I thought outside of the rescue one the challenges the last couple of weeks were pretty lame. Make 100 cocktails? WTF?

My wife and I were trying to figure out how many calendar days pass between Day 1 and the final challenge. We came to around 21. Anyone else care to offer a total?

 

Funny how it worked out that Kisha and Jen won and wanted to do something for their mom ... and the finale aired on Mothers Day (you know, if I wasn't such a cynical bastard, it would warm what little heart I have. Ah, what the hell, it was a great moment.)
Couldn't help but to feel bad for Zev and Justin at the body waxing (forget which team said as much while they were undergoing it) and for Gary and Mallory in the cab. They probably wouldn't have won, given that awful bike ride at the end, but it would have made for a helluva finish.
And if Mallory needs a hug, I am available. Oh, come on, she's kind of endearing. Love the way Gary and Mallory and the Cowboys approached the race from start to finish. Same goes for Kisha and Jen and the Globies.

 

That was my guess for the reason why they decided to do a two-hour finale and finish it last night so that it could be on Mother's Day.

I think it's a bit over 21 -- closer to 30 days. Plus, when you get eliminated, they send you to a resort to wait out the rest of the race until you get to go and wait at the finish line so it doesn't immediately give away to your family where you finished. I would imagine the extra nine or so days are spent in airports, on day-long flights and waiting overnight to get into attractions.

 

The show has had issues before with racers exhibiting very erratic and dangerous driving habits on the final leg due to extreme sleep deprivation and travel fatigue.

It was 22 days exactly - filming commenced on November 20 and wrapped on December 12. Technically I supposed it qualifies as 23 days, since they jumped the international date line at the beginning of the Race. The filming schedule has held steady at approximately three weeks ever since TAR 12. It's pretty easy to get a good sense of timing whenever they're showing scenes of the Racers at the airport - you can freeze-frame the agents' computer screens and tell exactly what day it is.

 

It's already been answered, but I talked to Mallory at the state wrestling tournament finals the night before the season debut. She couldn't say much about the show, obviously, but I asked about how long they might expect to be away from work and home, and she said about three weeks.

 

Here's a question: Since each team has a cameraman (or woman), is the cameraman paid a flat rate, not based on how long their team is in the game? If they're paid by how long their team is in the game, what's to keep the cameraman from pointing out when they're making a mistake, like when the Goths rode a bus to the pit stop rather than walking, even though the instructions said for them to walk? I imagine that safeguards are built in.

 

Ah, it's been cut down, then. I interviewed a couple who ran in TAR 9 and they said they were gone almost 30 days exactly. Plus, they have to make themselves available for CBS interviews in New York after they get home.

 

The bridge is called the old seven mile bridge and in its current state hads a large hole in the middle for boats to pass through without raising the draw. The ride wasn't easy but it was no more than three and half miles.

 

Just don't send the same cameraman with the same team every time.

 

Good thing there wasn't a porta potty or the Globetrotters might have won.