Noticias

Art Velez and J.J. Carrell won three Legs on this season of "The Amazing Race," coming in second behind Dave & Rachel's record-breaking eight Leg wins. Fittingly, Art & J.J. also found themselves coming in second for the season.   However, when it came to stirring up trouble, nobody could top the two Border Patrol Agents.    They fought with Rachel & Brendon over Team Big Brother's tendency to follow, rather than figuring things out for themselves.   They fought with Nary & Jamie, after the federal agents attempted to pass themselves off as teachers.   And they fought with Dave...

When Rachel and Dave accidentally skipped the Roadblock on The Amazing Race finale, first place seemed to be for the taking for Art Velez and Jj Carrell. The border patrol agents were already at the Hawaiian sledding and stone-tossing Roadblock and if Art could complete it, the finish line was next. Instead, they watched helplessly as Dave and Rachel arrived, finished the Roadblock and went on their $1 million-winning way. "Rachel asked me how long I had been there and I said about an hour," Art tells TVGuide.com. "She was like, 'Wow!' and then she completes it on her second try! I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?!'" Adding insult to injury: They lost to their mortal enemies, who backed out on their deal to U-Turn Brendon and Rachel. Get their take on the drama, their confrontation with Nary and Jamie and more.

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The Amazing Race Review, Season 20, Episode 8,

“Let Them Drink Their Haterade”

Airs Sundays at 8pm (Et) on CBS

If there’s one thing that unites fans of The Amazing Race, it’s a hatred of the non-elimination legs. Since the show is unlikely to expand the cast due to added costs, they’re a necessity to produce the expected number of episodes. The non-elimination penalty has varied over the years. There was nothing extra during the first four seasons, but Phil started “mugging” the teams by taking their money in the fifth season. Since that didn’t seem like enough, he also started taking their possessions a few seasons later. Viewers didn’t enjoy seeing teams lose everything, so the producers have tinkered with other variations over the years. The current penalty is the Speed Bump, which requires the last-place team to complete an extra task on the following leg.

Federal agents Nary Ebeid and Jamie Graetz started off nearly three hours behind everyone else on The Amazing Race's second Tanzanian leg, but — thanks to two Double U-Turns — managed to finish only 15 minutes behind. "I'd say it was a damn good effort!" Jamie tells TVGuide.com. "We made up several hours. It was hard for viewers to see how far behind we were with the tent thing last week, but we were hours behind. It was pretty awesome when we saw Ralph and Vanessa at the Speed Bump because it was like, 'We're still in it!' And then it was over!" Their elimination is sure to bring some smiles to the faces of Art and Jj, who are still peeved about the girls not admitting to using a kindergarten teacher's cover. "I don't understand why it's such a big deal to them that we didn't tell them," Nary says.

A Double U-Turn on "The Amazing Race" (Sun., 8 p.m. Et on CBS) created all kinds of unexpected drama. Art & J.J. felt betrayed after finding out that a team ahead of them didn't use the U-Turn, while Brendon & Rachel felt betrayed because they were U-Turned.

That said, Brendon knew going into the leg that it was going to happen. They'd simply created too many enemies on the race, so he told Rachel to prepare for it, and they would just power through. Power through with more whining frustration from Rachel, the former "Big Brother" winner.

Dave was upset that he and Rachel came in narrowly second, breaking a two-leg win streak, but it was nothing to how Art & J.J. felt about Dave & Rachel not U-Turning Team "Big Brother" as they'd all agreed on. Dave & Rachel chose not to create bad blood because Nary and Jamie were so far behind,...

A Double U-Turn on "The Amazing Race" (Sun., 8 p.m. Et on CBS) created all kinds of unexpected drama. Art & J.J. felt betrayed after finding out that a team ahead of them didn't use the U-Turn, while Brendon & Rachel felt betrayed because they were U-Turned.

That said, Brendon knew going into the leg that it was going to happen. They'd simply created too many enemies on the race, so he told Rachel to prepare for it, and they would just power through. Power through with more whining frustration from Rachel, the former "Big Brother" winner.

Dave was upset that he and Rachel came in narrowly second, breaking a two-leg win streak, but it was nothing to how Art & J.J. felt about Dave & Rachel not U-Turning Team "Big Brother" as they'd all agreed on. Dave & Rachel chose not to create bad blood because Nary and Jamie were so far behind,...

The Amazing Race Review, Season 20, Episode 7,

“I Didn’t Make Her Cry”

Airs Sundays at 8pm (Et) on CBS

During its early seasons, The Amazing Race was known as the antidote to other reality series because its cast felt like regular people. The teams generally got along, and even the fights were typically over a race infraction. As this series has evolved over the years, more bombastic players have enhanced the tension and built a more combative atmosphere. The producers have added tasks like Yields and U-Turns that encourage negative behavior and rile up the teams. Those devices haven’t played a role yet this season, but that hasn’t kept some teams from resorting to personal attacks. The main recipients are Brendon and Rachel, who have an immediate target on them because of their Big Brother past. Rob and Amber faced an equally cold reaction during their first appearance,...

We said goodbye to Joey and Danny in last week's episode of The Amazing Race, but who'd be leaving in this episode? Or could we have our second non-elimination leg of the season? We begin in Baku, and first to leave are last week's winners Rachel and Dave. But where are they going? Only to Kilimanjaro! They head straight to the travel agency and discover that the best way to get there is to catch a flight to Nairobi the next morning. They're followed by Art and Jj, Bopper and Mark, and Brendon and Rachel. But the tension's already beginning to rise - Art and Jj are annoyed by Brendon and Rachel, and when they get to the travel agency they beg the agent to keep quiet about their travel plans so that Brendon and Rachel can't copy them. Bopper and Mark are next to arrive (though Bopper's mostly...

In more recent seasons of "The Amazing Race" (Sunday, 8 p.m. Et on CBS), very little time has been spent with the teams at the airport. With most teams winding up on the same flights these days, there just isn't that much going on that makes for compelling television. Unless, of course, you've got two teams bickering like high school kids in line, as one other team compared them.

Brendon and Rachel found themselves at odds with Vanessa and Ralph, or more specifically it was Vanessa and Rachel who were taking jabs at one another. Because of their "Big Brother" notoriety, Brendon and Rachel have been the target of plenty of jabs already this season, but Vanessa made it a bit more personal after she and Ralph felt they were pushed rudely by the reality couple.

Vanessa talked about how at 38 years old she still looked younger than the 27-year old Rachel,...

In more recent seasons of "The Amazing Race" (Sunday, 8 p.m. Et on CBS), very little time has been spent with the teams at the airport. With most teams winding up on the same flights these days, there just isn't that much going on that makes for compelling television. Unless, of course, you've got two teams bickering like high school kids in line, as one other team compared them.

Brendon and Rachel found themselves at odds with Vanessa and Ralph, or more specifically it was Vanessa and Rachel who were taking jabs at one another. Because of their "Big Brother" notoriety, Brendon and Rachel have been the target of plenty of jabs already this season, but Vanessa made it a bit more personal after she and Ralph felt they were pushed rudely by the reality couple.

Vanessa talked about how at 38 years old she still looked younger than the 27-year old Rachel,...

Maybe federal agents are only impressive in the United States.

Outside of their jurisdiction – traveling the world on The Amazing Race, for example – federal agents are just like you and me. No weapons, no badges, no special powers. That was certainly the case for Nary and Jamie this week.

It is no secret that I’ve had enough of the self-promotion that fans of reality television have witnessed over the past two years. The bravado displayed by Philip on Survivor a few seasons ago was bad enough with him beating his chest about his former job. Nary and Jamie took it to another level this season feeling the need to hide their profession on the race.

Why they felt that if people knew they were federal agents it would impact their chances is anyone’s guess. No one can vote out another team on The Amazing Race, so even if people are impressed,...

The Amazing Race Review, Season 20, Episode 6,

“This is Wicked Strange”

Airs Sundays at 8pm (Et) on CBS

During The Amazing Race’s first four seasons, a Fast Forward was available on every leg. Teams had to decide the best time to go for it, and it provided an extra layer of strategy to the competition. From a production standpoint, the downside was the extra money required to set up this task. In some cases, no one went for the Fast Forward, so this investment went unused. To keep costs down when the show was struggling in the ratings, the producers severely cut back the Fast Forwards to two during the fifth season. Since that time, they’ve played a minimal role and were basically unnecessary. That trend changes this week, where two teams face off in a risky battle to gain first place. Once Dave and Rachel win this prize,...

This week’s leg of The Amazing Race wasn’t the most grueling ever run, but it may have been the most uncomfortable. Interestingly, the main components of the two challenges, oil and water, are opposites of each other - but they provided equally skittish situations.

You can’t be afraid to confront your fears on The Amazing Race!

After an uneventful beginning - which had the teams catch up to each other at the airport - and after arriving at the first clue marker in Azerbaijan. the leg immediately became interesting. Along with their next destination the teams were given the Fast Forward option.

Normally I do not like the catch up points. Certainly I understand that at times these are unavoidable. They happened in the first few seasons. With so many in recent seasons, however, they seem more contrived and against the spirit of the game.

However, if...

Stacy Bowers and Kerri Paul weathered four Legs of "The Amazing Race," including two Legs that hinged on Stacy conquering her fear of heights to jump from planes or rappel down buildings.    What did the Mississippi Cousins in on Sunday's (March 18) "Amazing Race" episode was that old standard: Bad directions. The Cousins had completed a Roadblock ahead of struggling Jamie & Nary, but faulty navigation left them in last place just minutes later.   In our exit interview, Kerri discusses her confessed navigational difficulties, Stacy talks about her fear of heights, Kerri tries to explain why she's afraid of...

The Amazing Race Review, Season 20, Episode 5,

“Uglier Than a Mud Rail Fence”

Airs Sundays at 8pm (Et) on CBS

There’s no simple formula to determine which teams will dominate The Amazing Race. It takes a certain level of physical strength to handle the challenges, but plenty of superior athletes have failed in early legs. There are also countless examples from past seasons of older and less agile contestants who’ve thrived. Arguably the most dominant team not to win is Season Five’s Colin and Christie, who won six legs but ultimately finished second. They seemed destined to take the top prize, but were passed near the end by Chip and Kim, a couple in their 40s who barely avoided elimination in the first three episodes. There’s so much luck involved in this contest that very few teams can avoid major problems.

During the past three legs, Art...

After completing the gnome-curling Roadblock in second-to-last place on The Amazing Race's Bavaria leg, Kerri Paul and Stacy Bowers seemed to have secured the final Top 7 spot. But then, they got into their car. "Kerri and I were always efficient in the challenges. What killed us in this leg was we couldn't get from Point A to Point B," Stacy tells TVGuide.com. "When we could get there, we'll kill the challenge. But then we'll get killed going to Point B!" The cousins wound up losing their five-minute lead on federal agents Nary and Jamie, and got eliminated. Why were they so bad at navigation? And why weren't they rooting for Ralph and Vanessa afterward? Find out below.

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At its core, The Amazing Race is about two main principles: completing challenges and finding your way to the challenges. The best teams are adept at both and the ones that go home are often deficient in one, if not each. This week deficiencies with directions cost one team the race.

The teams started the leg departing from Turin, Italy with instructions to make their way to Bavaria, Germany by way of Ehwald, Austria. Art and Jj were over 2.5 hours ahead of the other seven teams by virtue of their fast forward in the previous leg. Mark and Bopper, last in the previous leg, were nearly nine hours behind them.

In the past few seasons The Amazing Race has dispensed with telling us when a team got to the Pit Stop in the previous leg and how that would equal their corresponding departure time that leg. With many seemingly dubious departure times of 4:37 a.

The Amazing Race Review, Season 20, Episode 3, “Bust Me Right in the Head with It”

Airs Sundays at 8pm (Et) on CBS

In the past few years, The Amazing Race has faced criticism from long-time fans about easy challenges that involved more luck than skill. This changed slightly last season with harder clues, but the trickiest part was usually deciphering the messages. It’s been refreshing this time around to see challenging tasks that push the teams out of their comfort zones. This week, nearly everyone struggles to complete the leg and even strong teams start falling apart. In the show’s first visit to Paraguay, the excitement builds to an extremely close finish between two athletic teams. Last week’s exit for the Clowns was predictable, but the endless series of twists and turns make this a surprising classic.

“Bust Me Right in the Head with It” maintains this season...

We've said goodbye to two teams on The Amazing Race so far, with no non-elimination legs yet; will we be bidding farewell to a third team tonight? We're leaving Argentina for Paraguay tonight, with all the teams having to fly to the country's capital and largest city Asunción. Two-time leg winners Rachel & Dave leave first, but there's not much celebration when they arrive at the airport to learn the next flight is 8.45am and it's full. They have no choice but to put themselves on standby, with Art & Jj, Bopper & Mark, and Nary & Jamie following suit. > Read Digital Spy's full Amazing Race headlines The flight delay gives all the teams time to arrive at the airport, although luckily for the front four, there isn't enough room on the standby flight for everyone else, so the later five teams end up on a 10.40am flight. (more)...

Holy cow, that was a difficult leg!

This week on The Amazing Race was nothing short of brutal. Those who stayed in the contest certainly earned it and not simply by taking advantage of an early start from the previous leg. No, not finishing ninth was a major accomplishment here.

What was particularly interesting about the goal of not finishing ninth was that the teams did not realize how difficult this would be, for all of them, until they got to the Roadblock. Prior to that there was a discouraging flight followed by a very difficult Detour. At a number of points in the leg teams believed they were in a far worse situation than their competitors.

The first example of this intriguing aspect was Rachel and Dave at the Detour. After switching from Stacked to Strung and realizing the trailing teams had caught up, the pair burned their express pass.

The Amazing Race Review, Season 20, Episode 2, “You Know I’m Not as Smart as You”

Airs Sundays at 8pm (Et) on CBS

During its early years, The Amazing Race thrived on unpredictable moments that no producer could plan in advance. The first season included an airport strike in Rome that caused delays and serious chaos for the teams. It also produced a classic moment when Team Guido tried a strange blocking maneuver to delay the other teams at the airport. In the third season, a 24-hour bus ride was derailed by a blown tire that slowed down a large group of players. These moments happen regularly during the race, but they’ve been less frequent during recent installments. Part of this trend is luck, but it also relates to the overall design of each leg. The teams need to compete in unpredictable environments where anything can happen. The results aren’t always fair,...

Following the departure of sisters Misa and Maiya Tanaka on last week's The Amazing Race premiere, ten teams remain in the running to scoop the $$1 million prize. We're still in Argentina as Rachel & Dave depart first, being instructed to drive to Cafayate Town Square where a mounted postman will deliver their next clue. They know they have a target on their back but are comforted by the security of the Express Pass - although they vow not to use it unless absolutely necessary. > Read Digital Spy's full The Amazing Race headlines As it turns out, their lead means absolutely nothing when they discover the postman won't arrive until sunrise, giving the rest of the teams time to catch up with them. That gives us enough time to learn federal agents Nary & Jamie are continuing to tell the other teams they are kindergarten teachers, and clown Dave (more)...

I’m sorry; I can’t do things under pressure.

I don’t know, I’ve totally forgotten how to divide.

The above quotes are both from this week’s episode of The Amazing Race. In fact, both come from the same point in the race, at the hectic Roadblock. Why do they matter? You'd think neither would ever be uttered on The Amazing Race.

Besides the ability to read a map, the ability to do things under pressure seems like something that would be of good use when deciding to go on The Amazing Race. Apparently that’s not the case for Big Brother Rachel, though.

After not really screwing up anything at all, she broke down in tears and got mad at Brendan for not understanding this apparently obvious flaw of hers. She didn’t really make a mistake and they knew they had nothing on the line.

The critical success of a season of The Amazing Race can't be determined after just one episode. Many of the teams' personalities will not come out for several legs. Similarly, future legs could be extremely dramatic or interesting, altering our opinion of the season.

So it may be too early to pass judgement, but what fun is waiting for all the facts? Let's dive right in!

The leg itself was fairly standard. There was a fun wrinkle at the Roadblock where the language of the clue fooled the teams in to having the 'wrong' person perform the skydive, but ironically it was the person actually selected for the Roadblock that ended up costing Misa and Maiya and Joey and Dan time. Not the partner duped in to skydiving.

Interestingly, it was those two teams who were last two to finish the leg. A finish that was equally as pathetic as...

Amazing Race 20 Preview

Airs Sundays at 8pm (Et) on CBS

Premieres on February 19

After barely surviving its early days, The Amazing Race is entering its 20th season. This is a remarkable feat for what began as a low-key antidote to other reality series. The formula has been tinkered with over the years (sometimes to its detriment), but the basic structure remains the same. Eleven teams of two journey around the world and compete for one million dollars. New Zealander Phil Keoghan has hosted since the beginning, and he provides a friendly presence to explain the tasks and greet the teams. It’s an effective set-up for tense drama and great entertainment with the right cast. Each season’s success or failure may come down to chance, but interesting players is the key factor.

After stumbling with the mediocre “Unfinished Business” season last spring, The Amazing Race rebounded nicely in the fall.