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Freckledgrl
Member
08-27-2003
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 12:15 pm
That was an interesting article...thanks Kitt! Poor Phil, running around that much 
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Gina8642
Member
06-01-2001
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 12:50 pm
Hey - The Amazing Race made it onto the front of the Washington Post's online edition!!!! Wow! Warning - mild location spoilers for finale contained at bottom. Link to Article - Link to Front Page (I don't know how long it will last there - I NEVER see entertainment news on the front of the Washington Post - never, ever, never!!!!!)
quote:'Amazing Race' Gets a Move On In Its Fifth Edition, CBS's Reality Show Is a Contender By Jennifer Frey Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, September 21, 2004; Page C01 Will it be Chip and Kim, the wholly likable, ever-friendly marrieds with kids back home in California? Or will vile Colin and Christie (young, pretty, dating) claw their way to the top, despite all their callous insults to the natives and general rudeness to any and everyone, including each other? Or maybe it will be an upset: Can Karen and Linda, aka "The Bowling Moms," pull it off in the end? Is there a chance for faith-professing Christians Brandon and Nicole -- who are also young, pretty and dating, only with decidedly less interpersonal bile? Maybe those names are familiar, maybe not. No, they don't have the eyebrow-raising recognition of a Donald Trump. Nor, for that matter, the grocery-store magazine-rack exposure afforded Survivors, Bachelorettes and (American) Idols. What they do have, though, is the cachet of being contestants on a show that just earned its second Emmy Award. "The Amazing Race," now in its fifth incarnation, is getting some long-awaited buzz and, in the process, its best ratings ever. The show's two-hour season finale, on CBS at 9 tonight, opens with the final four two-person teams -- the competition started with 11 -- in Manila, ready to fly or skydive or parasail or walk barefoot through mud pits or eat ostrich eggs. And loyal viewers are desperate to know: Who will be first at the final "Pit Stop," the winners of the $1 million reward? For those who are not among the 10 million-plus who regularly watch, though, the question has to be this: "What's with this show?" Surely, that has to be on the minds of the millions more viewers who tune in to "Survivor" or "The Apprentice" or "American Idol" -- each of whom has lost to "The Amazing Race" over the last two years when the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has handed out its Emmy for Best Reality-Competition Program. Sunday, the TV academy chose, once again, to reward the reality show that, wire-to-wire, thrusts its contestants into more real-world experiences than anything else on television. This is not Trump hogging the spotlight in the boardroom. This is not a bunch of bored twenty-somethings locked in a faux house, carping at each other (hello, "Big Brother"). It doesn't have a tribal council or a snarky Simon Cowell to call out its failures. Nobody's pulling out engagement rings or handing out roses. It's not the classic example of popular reality TV. Instead, this show puts its contestants in direct contact with people from all different cultures, in all manner of environments, and then just lets them go. There's no way to stage-manage what comes out. "It's a wild adventure which we have little control over most of the time," says Jonathan Littman, an executive producer. "We can't control their environment. They are interacting with foreigners, and there is no control over that. There is the mystique of the travel, and where they are going, but then there is all this realism." There are two ways to look at its Emmy success. As one network executive puts it, the academy was basically rewarding a travelogue that is masquerading as a reality show. Call it the spinach argument: Voters wanted to pick something that had the appearance of being smart and good for viewers. But "Race" co-creator and executive producer Bertram van Munster argues back that his show is more real -- "it isn't a show created in the editing room," he says -- than most of what is on television. The concept is deceptively simple: It's basically a journey from point A to point B, with a few detours -- and a few native tasks to be completed -- on the way. The race begins with 11 couples, be they friends or lovers, married or single, siblings, twins or whatever. Each team tries to find the fastest flight, hire the most savvy cabbie, adroitly navigate the muddy roads or sandy desert -- and figure out how to paraglide/drive an ox/decorate a Philippine jeepney in order to earn the clue to the next destination. At the end of each elimination round, the last couple to reach point B is booted from the competition. The execution behind all of this, though, is wildly complex. In the current incarnation alone, teams have gone from Uruguay to Argentina to Russia to Egypt to Tanzania to the United Arab Emirates to India to New Zealand to the Philippines. They start their final leg there tonight, in Manila. Each location requires meticulous advance planning in terms of customs, permits and logistics. Each team needs its own camera crew, which often learns only on the fly which flights and other modes of transportation its contestants will employ. Co-produced by Hollywood heavyweight Jerry Bruckheimer, the show was given a whirlwind of publicity leading up to its debut, then found itself airing immediately after the events of 9/11. Van Munster remembers looking at television images of the wreckage in New York and seeing city buses that were plastered with "Race" promotional posters . . . and covered in debris. "I thought that was the end of it," van Munster says. "I had my crews all over the world. I had a crew in Morocco. Another crew in upper Egypt. I just couldn't see it happening." The show wasn't canceled, but Americans tuned in to comfortable, familiar shows like "Friends" and "Law & Order," and showed minimal interest in test-driving a new offering, particularly one built upon the idea of international travel. Airing at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, the first edition was a ratings disappointment. The next season had an uptick in viewership, then the show started to slide, and by the time it was in its fourth incarnation, it had been moved to summer and was dangerously close to cancellation. "Race" had a very loyal core viewership, but it was having a hard time getting new people to tune in. Last year's Emmy appears to have helped solve that problem. In July, the latest "Race" opened in the weekly top 10 and remained there throughout the summer. "Usually after five cycles, the show goes down," van Munster says. "Ours goes up. It is fantastic. I'm glad that people are catching on that the show is a lot of fun and it is a great show and has a tremendous variety of emotions." Ah, yes, emotions. Like those exhibited by the easily angered Colin, who gave the series one of its tensest moments this season by refusing to pay the full cab fare, then arguing his way into trouble with the Tanzanian police. (Colin, by the way, also likes to tell Christie that he "hates" her in high-pressure situations.) "Of course there are situations where I'm a little nervous," says van Munster, who called Colin's behavior in Tanzania "horrifying." "I tell them to respect the culture, respect the people, and you can travel anywhere. There are certain countries where you can't run around in halter tops. Please do yourself a favor and appreciate that." Where is "Race" heading next? All that is under wraps. Indeed, the planned sixth edition is up in the air -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Last week, CBS pulled it from its scheduled Saturday 8 p.m. time slot, where it was supposed to appear starting in early October. Kelly Kahl, CBS's head of scheduling, says that decision was based in part to put more space between the two editions. "We wanted to have more time to promote the new characters," Kahl says, "and that's hard to do with the season finale still to come." Kahl acknowledges, though, that the network had been pleasantly surprised by the show's strong summer numbers, and he did not disagree with the suggestion that CBS is rethinking its plan to plug the show into Saturday, which is generally the domain of movies and reruns. "Race," it seems, is ready to go back into the big leagues, the weekday lineup, should one of CBS's new fall dramas falter heading into the November sweeps period. "Sure, I'd love to be on during the week," Littman says. "That would be phenomenal. But, hey, we're just happy to be on the air. . . . It's fairly spectacular in this day and age in television that they've stuck with us. It wasn't a smash hit. But this summer was the payoff." In the meantime, there's a race to finish, and though Littman and van Munster offered not even the tiniest of hints who will be first to the finish tonight, they did map out one detail of the show's future: For the season finale, they're returning to North America, finishing for the first time in Canada. Colin, it appears, is about to have a whole new country to insult.
- - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - -- - - Warning - mild location spoilers for finale at end of article
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Bamboo
Member
06-23-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 12:50 pm
LOL Fruitbat...now that's a good solution. 
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 2:48 pm
I get the newletter from CBS/TAR and it says tonight's episode someone will have a severe emotional breakdown. Wonder who that could be? Colin? We have seen how emotional he gets when he is trying to make bricks and drive oxen...
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:02 pm
Just please oh please do not let C and C win it. I don't think I can handle their yelling at each other all game and then at the end, telling each other how much they love each other.
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Spear
Member
08-06-2001
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:05 pm
I think the previews implied that it was Nicole who was breaking down while skiing.
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:26 pm
The previews show somebody also throwing what looks like a white paper down as if he's saying "YES!" and to me it looks like Chip. So I've kind of deducted that maybe Chip and Kim wins...but then everyone knows how those promo edits go.
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Maris
Member
03-28-2002
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:36 pm
Please let Chip and Kim win.
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:44 pm
Amen, Maris! If you look at the picture above from the Emmys, it kind of looks like there could be more money in Chip & Kim's attire than Colin & Christie's or Karen & Donna's. Brandon & Nicole's attire is nice but look at that bracelet on Kim's wrist. For some reason Kim's attire looks more designer from the dress to the handbag that is chopped off at the bottom of the picture.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:46 pm
I'm sure CBS helped them with their outfits -- it's pretty standard practice for the nets to help dress/style reality show participants (any network personality without their own stylist).
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:54 pm
It seems then they would have had continuity in the guys. Brandon and Chip are black tuxes and white shirt. Collin looks like he has some kind of wild multi-color 60's shirt under his black tux. Then they put Christie in that orangey/melon dress. It's not a froo-froo as Nicole's and Kim's dress. I can't see Karen's very well but it looks then like they were put in just back long dresses.
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Hippyt
Member
06-15-2001
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 3:56 pm
Colin looked like Jim Carrey from Dumb and Dumber.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 4:00 pm
Typically what happens is that nets give reality show personalities access to a stylist if they want it, and very often a budget for attire, etc. That doesn't mean they'll all end up looking the same nor even matching (they're not Destiny's Child LOL) -- I was just saying that, to say one person is dressing more expensively than another, may mean nothing. But hey, what do I know?!
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 4:10 pm
Well anything is possible Yankee, it may not mean anything except that possibly some couples used their budget more wisely than others. I think Kim's, Nicole's and Charla's dress were more froo-froo than Christie's, Karen's and what I can see of Donna's. But then maybe the later 3 aren't froo-froo kinds of gals. I do think if that was the case and they used budget money, it would have looked more in style of the event for Colin to have not opted for the 60's multi shirt. Even if it was a one colored shirt and not a white one, would have been better. Judge Larry Joe Dougherty of Texas Justice is from Texas and he always seems to dress nicely behind his black judges robe.
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Fruitbat
Member
08-07-2000
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 4:23 pm
I assume they did get help with clothing and maybe it was Chip that decided to put his shirt outside of his jacket lapel. That is such a HUGE gaff it makes me wonder how much help they did have.
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 4:28 pm
It looks like Brandon's one side is outside of his lapel...one his right side (the side to Nicole not Myrna). Maybe the shirt came out from behind their jacket lapel as they moved about, since the shirts aren't buttoned all the way to the top and there is no tie (regular or bow) nor an ascot.
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 4:19 pm
I wonder if in the future races, if more people will opt to use the yields now that it has been seen that Chip and Kim used it and they won their race. I was kind of surprised that nobody was opting to use the new option.
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 4:27 pm
No one wanted to look like the slimy I-took-the-easy-way-out-and-yeilded-you-to-get-ahead team. Personally, I hope in future races they eliminate the Yield and bring back the FF on every leg. I thought it was more fun that way, also, keeps the game more fend-for-yourself, and less animosity between the teams.
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Ace232521
Member
09-09-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 5:01 pm
I know that AR 6 is in the bag, but does anyone have any information on applying for AR 7? Or, if there will be one? I'm assuming yes, since ratings were so high for this past season.
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 5:18 pm
According to RealtyTVWorld.com, CBS did take applications and stopped taking them in August. From RealityTVWorld.com: As a result, CBS has recently begun accepting applications for The Amazing Race 7, with all mail-in applications due by a rapidly approaching deadline of August 11, 2004. In addition to containing a completed application form. all mail-in applications must be must be accompanied by a three-minute videotape and proof of a valid U.S. passport. Perhaps due to the tight timeframe, the casting's regional semi-finalist interviews will only be conducted in six cities -- Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. I'd imagine the AR6 will be shown and either during or after it, CBS will start taking applications for AR9. With the ratings and the Emmy, I don't think they will be cancelling TAR.
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 5:20 pm
I'd imagine the AR6 will be shown and either during or after it, CBS will start taking applications for AR9. **** Oops! That should be AR8 not AR9.
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Reiki
Member
08-12-2000
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 6:18 pm
Someone I know who applied for AR6 was contacted recently about resubmitting her application, so I assume the are looking for AR8.
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 11:31 pm
While I was watching TAR in my own timezone last night, they would say at breaks "exclusive interview with the winners" which led me to hope that it was Chip and Kim, since they or the Moms would be the "locals" for the LA CBS channel.. and after the Moms were eliminated and they promo'd the "exclusive" interview once again, I really thought.. wow!! I'm SO happy.. As for attire, Kim does own her own recruiting company so I suspect she has a very decent wardrobe. Chip's company has to do with internet.
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Meme9
Member
07-30-2001
| Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 11:05 am
I'm happy Chip and Kim won! I was pull for the Moms but they all can't win.
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Hippyt
Member
06-15-2001
| Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 12:03 pm
Chip and Kim are on the show "Best Week Ever" on VH1. They also show Nicole's meltdown again. Also,Bridgette and Flava Flav from "Surreal Life" are interviewed. Very funny show!
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