Episode Recap: Amazing Race All Stars (Season 11), Episode 2

Episode: Beauty Is Sometimes Skin Deep Original Air Date: February 25, 2007 What made Drew think he could handle this race again? He's in such poor shape, it's amazing he can cross the street without getting hurt, let alone race around the world. During the last episode, not only was he outrun by a little person, the first thing he did upon exiting the cab in Ecuador was to trip on his own feet and nearly dislocate his shoulder. As this episode opens, we find out he spent the night being treated for altitude sickness. The doctors had to administer oxygen to him four times. Rob and Amber are the first to leave the Pit Stop this morning and find out they must make their way to Chile. Rob tells us the other teams don't know what they're in for with him and Amber, and says, "I don't even want the other teams to be afraid of us. I want them to be preoccupied with us, so they'll be distracted." It seems Rob is already pretty preoccupied with himself. Myrna and Charla don't get too far away from the pit stop before getting their SUV stuck in the muddy road. Kentucky couple David and Mary have already expressed their undying admiration for these two, so they stop to help. David jumps out and ties their vehicles together then tows them out. From this point on, the love is flowing both ways as Myrna says that maybe they have a "little alliance". What a good idea. That worked out real well for the teams that allied themselves with David and Mary last season. Kevin and Drew are the last to leave and also get stuck in the mud. Kevin, who has resigned himself to racing for two people, jumps out, attaches the towing cables, and pulls the SUV out himself. Drew could've gotten out to help, but he probably would've sprained something. He chose to stay behind the wheel instead, and almost managed to drag Drew behind the vehicle when gunning the car out of the rut. He started to drive off, evidently forgetting that Kevin was still attached to the SUV. Poor Kevin had better have his life insurance paid up. Any day with Drew could be his last, unless Drew gets himself killed first. Rob and Amber and Oswald and Danny are the first teams to arrive at the airport. They are able to score tickets to a flight that is scheduled to arrive in Chile at 1:30am. All of the other teams have to take a flight that is scheduled to arrive an hour later. These two teams get on their plane and leave before some of the teams even make it to the airport. Kentucky Couple David and Mary have learned a thing or two about traveling during their last race. The first thing they learned is that live bait does not qualify as carryon luggage. But seriously, David and Mary have taken to loading their bags in the overhead compartments at the front of the plane instead of where they are sitting, so as to disembark from the plane more quickly. This is actually pretty smart. I may try that on future flights. However, Drew sees their luggage in the first class compartments and decides it's not enough for him to be a useless blob, he needs to be a jerk too. So he takes the bags and throws them on the floor, saying they "aren't first class". It's surprising that he would pick up other people's luggage - after all, he might pull something. David picks the bags up and puts them back in the same spot. He and Mary are not amused. Drew has earned himself two enemies. Fear the wrath of David and Mary! Front-running teams Ramber and Danwald (I'm a lazy typist) are pretty cocky about getting such a head start on everyone else. Their enthusiasm is short-lived, however, when they find out during their layover that their connecting flight is delayed. They not only lose their lead, but they end up being the last teams to arrive. The teams must make their way from the airport to the corporate headquarters of Codelco, then find the boardroom, where they will perform a Roadblock (a task that only one team member may perform). In the boardroom filled with executives, they will find letters of the alphabet in odd places, such as on the sleave cuffs or neckties of the executives. They must unscramble those letters to find the name of their next destination. When they think they've found the answer, they are to write it down and show it to the security guard who is waiting in the lobby. If they answer correctly, he will give them their next clue. Unbeknownst to the racers, the name of their next destination can be found on one of the many pictures hanging in the boardroom. This is probably the most convoluted challenge I've ever seen on this show. For a minute, I thought I was watching Survivor. Uchenna and Joyce are the first to arrive, followed closely by Eric and Danielle. But these teams are far from being the first to figure this task out. Dustin, or maybe Kandice (can anyone tell the difference between these two?), is the first to finish this task and realize that the unscrambled letters form the name of an insanely hard to spell copper mine. Others follow, but not Joyce or Eric, leaving a very frustrated Uchenna and Danielle out in the lobby. Charla and Myrna and David and Mary arrive at the same time. The very first thing Mary does, instead of writing down the scattered letters, is to write down all of the names inscribed under the pictures on the wall. This is solving a problem working backwards, which is the second smart thing David or Mary has done this episode. Did these two grow 20 IQ points since last season? She quickly figures out the answer this way and shares it with her buddy Charla. Kevin and Drew arrive and Kevin volunteers for this task. Of course he does. All of that unscrambling of letters could cause Drew to hurt himself. Why risk it? Kevin figures out the answer basically by copying Mary's work. That's not really his fault, though. Mary blurts the answer out loud to the security guard while Kevin is standing right behind her. Too bad. That smart streak was going so well. Joyce (who was the first to arrive with husband Uchenna) and Ian are the last two racers left in the boardroom. Joyce finally figures out the answer and tells Ian. During the cab ride to the next airport, Joyce praises her own "attention to detail". Uchenna shows what a wise husband he is and remains silent. Feel free to ignore everything that has happened up to this point. All of the teams arrive at the Santiago airport to fly to their next destination and wind up on the same flight. They also arrive at the copper mine at the same time. So basically, the first 40 minutes of this episode don't matter. Their next task is a Detour (a choice between two tasks). The choices are "By Hand" (screwing lug nuts on to a massive, two-ton tire), or "By Machine" (piling gravel using a front-end loader). Once finished with this challenge, the teams are to drive to the Pit Stop. Rob and Amber are the first to finish this task and leave for the Pit Stop. Some drama ensues amongst the rest of the teams. Charla runs off to get a step stool so she can reach the lug nuts. "Charla, I don't have time for a step stool!" Myrna yells. "I CAN'T REACH IT!!" Charla screams back. "We're losing time!" "I CAN'T HELP IT!!" Surprises of all surprises, Drew isn't doing so well as he tries to tighten some lug nuts. "Unh! This is torture!" Later, Kevin, who is now working on the tire by himself, asks Drew to inspect his handiwork. "I don't know, Kev," he says, "I'm taking my medicine." All of the teams finish and leave for the Pit Stop one-by-one. Charla and Myrna hire a cab driver to lead them to the Pit Stop, and are upset to find the Evil Doublemint Twins Dustin and Kandice following them. The cab driver stops unexpectedly, and so does Charla and Myrna. And so does Dustin and Kandice. It seems the cabbie doesn't want to go any further, so he's going to draw a map for the girls. Charla and Myrna insist the other two split the cabbie's fee with them if they want to see his directions. In the meantime, Teri and Ian pass them on the road. Dustin and Kandice take off since the cabbie is taking too long. Soon, David and Mary pass them too. Out of desperation to leave and not wanting to take time to make change, Myrna pushes her entire fanny pack at the cab driver and tells him to take all of her money and her bottled water, too. She and Charla leave, but they are now in last place. Rob and Amber make it to the Pit Stop first. As a result, they win two off-road motorbikes. Oh joy. How wonderful for them. Myrna makes up for lost time by passing three other teams. Mary feels betrayed by this, since she helped Charla during the Roadblock. Maybe she doesn't understand the concept of a race. She and David decide to retaliate and pass the girls. As the teams continue passing each other, it begins to resemble the Shriners driving those little cars in a parade. Meanwhile, Drew refuses to drive faster than what he believes to be the speed limit, which happens to be 10 kilometers slower than the actual speed limit. Five of the teams make a wrong turn. Dustin and Kandice are the first to realize this and turn around, followed by Teri and Ian. Everyone else eventually turns around and starts heading the right way. Host Phil Koegan asks Mary how she feels once she and David make it to the mat, close behind Myrna and Charla. He probably expects her to say she's relieved not to be the last team. But she is not a happy camper. She's still mad about the whole passing thing. She tells Phil she's "dissatisfied". "Why?" "I'd rather not say," she answers, probably because Charla and Myrna are standing right beside her. Kevin and the lump of flesh he's been hauling around the whole race finally arrive at the Pit Stop. Kevin runs to the mat while Drew moseys along. He'll get there eventually. What do you want from him? "Kevin and Drew," Phil says, "you're in last place..." "That's fine," Drew says and starts to walk off. Kevin turns around, "Come back here, Drew!" Mr. Attitude plods back to the mat. "Be a good sport." "I am being a good sport!" "No, you're not." Phil continues, "I'm sorry to tell you, you've been eliminated..." "OK, that's fine." "Drew," Phil says, "can you wait here a minute?" But Drew needs a hat to keep the sun from damaging the delicate skin on top of his head. He finally returns to the mat after retrieving a bandana from the car and wrapping it around his head. He take this opportunity to tell Phil how he really feels, "My back hurts. I can't breathe. My feet hurt from driving. My voice is going." Hey, if you can't win, at least you can whine. Next week - Charla and Myrna clash with yet another team. Danielle freaks out when she has to pick up fish.

Episode Recap: Amazing Race All Stars (Season 11), Episode 1

Episode: I Told You Less Martinis and More Cardio Original Air Date: February 18, 2007 It had to happen sooner or later. Welcome to the Obligatory "All Star" Season of The Amazing Race. Every reality show does this sooner or later. Studio and network executives worry because viewers are starting to get burnt out on a particular show. So they look at their "List of Things to Do to Keep People Watching Your Tired Reality Show", and say, "Which of these things haven't we tried yet?": 1 Shocking Twists (i.e. host does not wear necktie some episodes, see The Apprentice) 2 SNAKES! 3 Bring back losers from past seasons and hope that they aren't the reasons viewers are burnt out on your show. Studio executives could try all of those things, if they apply. Or they could try something completely different like, oh, say, not airing two entire seasons of the show every stinking year! Helloooo!!! Give us a chance to miss the show, for Pete's sake! But I digess. This season will feature 11 teams from the past 10 seasons. We meet them right away as they arrive by speedboat to meet Phil in Miami (because, as we all know, you can't just drive to Miami). Kevin and Drew - Friends from Season 1. Both have gotten married since appearing on the show. Rob and Amber - Season 7. Why? Because they just haven't been on enough reality shows. Seriously, this has become a career for these people. Oh, and in case you didn't know, they got married since the last time they were on the show. Whoopdee-friggin'-doo! Uchenna and Joyce - This married couple actually won Season 7, but things haven't been going so well for them since. According to Uchenna, "We're growing apart. The fact that we haven't had the child has caused stress." So they're on the brink of divorce and... what? Maybe they're hoping the stress from being in the race again will push them over the edge? Dustin and Kandice - Beauty queens/souless ogres from Season 10. "Hate" is a strong word, but I'm not sure what other emotion would cause me to want to shoot my TV at the sight of these two. It's clear that the Evil Barbies still share one brain as they finish each other's sentences and tell us that they're sure the other teams will be "out for blood". Maybe we'll all get lucky this year and these two will be eaten by alligators or something. Joe and Bill - The original Obligatory Gay Couple from Season 1. Once again, they've named themselves "Team Guido", after their little rat of a dog. Charla and Mirna - Cousins from Season 8. This is probably my all-time favorite team from The Amazing Race. They proved to be pretty tough competitors in Season 8, in spite of the fact that Charla is only 4 feet tall. They know, like, 20 languages and have been all around the world. Mirna is an attorney who received her doctorate at age 23. Charla is a real estate investor (their Season 8 bio said Charla was a co-owner of a chain of sporting goods stores). They've both gotten married since they last appeared on the show, so maybe Mirna won't be throwing herself at Phil this time. David and Mary - Yes! Yes! Yes! The redneck Kentucky couple from Season 10. At least we know now this season won't be boring. Teri and Ian - Married (grand?)parents from Season 3. Ian promises to "kick butt" this season. Hey, watch your language, Ian. Oswald and Danny - "Best friends" from Season 2. These two had quite a spat a few years ago, and have since made up. "Now we're platonic husband and husband", Danny says. Whatever that means. John Vito and Jill - Formerly dating couple from Season 3. John Vito is apparently too good to have just one first name like the rest of us. He and Jill have broken up since being on the show, so they're hoping this will bring them back together. Yes, there's nothing like the stress of running a world-wide race while having your every move taped for global television for fixing your relationship. Eric and Danielle - Dating couple from Season 9. These two were actually on separate teams on Season 9. They met during the race and have been going out ever since. The teams race to pick up their backpacks and read their instructions (which tell them to go to Ecuador), then run to cars that are waiting for them. Well, I'm not sure what Drew is doing can actually be called "running". Kevin yells back at him to hurry up. He yells back between huffs and puffs that he's "doing the best" he can. Meanwhile, little Charla, and I think a few snails, run past him. Nine of the teams arrive at Miami International Airport in rapid succession and scramble to find parking spaces. David nearly runs over Charla with his car in the process. There are two flights leaving for Quito, Ecuador - one of them leaves earlier, but arrives almost two hours later at its destination. Most of the teams figure this out and immediately book the flight that will arrive earlier. Kentucky Couple David and Mary, who are not exactly known for being Mensa candidates, book the earlier flight then find out about the other flight. David tells the agent not to book the flight they ask for, but it's too late. They've already been checked in. The Evil Barbies arrive at the same counter just after David and Mary have booked their flight. They ask the rednecks what flight to take and Mary tells them with a very straight face that the earlier flight is the quickest. As Dustin and Kandace get in line, they wonder out loud if maybe Mary was lying to them. They figure out what's what and make their way to the other ticket counter. Unfortunately, the flight is full. Half of the teams are unable to book seats on the flight that arrives first. Once in Quito, the teams must take a taxi to the Plaza de San Francisco. There they find instructions which direct them to Pim's Restaurant, where they will each take a number corresponding to one of three departure times for the next morning - 7:00 am, 7:15 am, and 7:30 am. Everyone from the first flight except for Teri and Ian get the 7:00 am departure time. Meanwhile, we are treated to interviews where everyone talks about how excited they are to be racing Rob and Amber. Back at the airport, David and Mary told Rob and Amber how thrilled they were to get to meet them. Amber even tells us, "If we were asked who we're excited to be racing against, we'd say 'noone'. But if you were to ask everyone else, they'd say 'Rob and Amber'." But John Vito tells us, "I'm getting tired of Rob and Amber, and I think the rest of America is, too." I'm beginning to like John Vito, even if he does have two first names. The second flight arrives and Kevin and Drew are the last to make it to the Plaza de San Francisco. Drew, who is about "in shape" as a giant used bean bag, steps out of the taxi and immediately proceeds to hurt himself by falling down and injuring his shoulder. He continues to moan in pain after picking himself off the street and getting back into the cab. He tells Kevin he thinks he may have dislocated his shoulder. These two should just quit now. In fact, maybe Drew shouldn't even have gotten out of bed this morning. Drew's shoulder eventually feels better, just in time for him to notice his knee is bleeding. These two somehow manage to make it to the restaurant ahead of one other team, Eric and Danielle. The next morning, the teams are instructed to make their way to a national park where they will perform their first Detour (a choice between two tasks). In this case, the choices are either "Wrangle It" (lasso a horse and clip its hooves and tail) or (Recover It) put on an old Ecuadoran army uniform and search a field for three missing pieces of the uniform. Rob and Amber arrive first and choose to do the task with the uniform, only to quit in frustration and switch to the other task. Yet, they still finish well ahead of the other teams and arrive at the pit stop in first place. Phil tells them they have won a ski trip to Canada and a stay in a luxury resort. Well, good. Enough nice things haven't happened to Rob and Amber as a result of being on TV. Oswald and Danny come in second. Charla and Mirna arrive at the park, but find themselves at the South Entrance. But the instructions told them to take the North Entrance. Mirna decides it would take too long to back track and take the North Entrance, so she decides to take the South Entrance and look for the location of the Detour task. After stopping to ask directions, they find out they are an hour away from where they want to be. Drew and Kevin, who are in last place, are still looking for the park. Drew remarks how nice Peru is. Kevin points out they are in Ecuador. Eventually, Drew and Kevin, David and Mary, and John Vito and Jill enter the park, all behind Charla and Mirna. David and Mary and Charla and Mirna all arrive the ranch and finish their Detour tasks, making it to the Pit Stop at about the same time, with Charla and Mirna slightly ahead. While on the mat, David gushes about what big fans he and Mary are of Charla and Mirna. I thought he was a big fan of Rob and Kimberly? He sure is fickle. Drew and Kevin get a flat tire, but Drew says, "I'm not changing a tire," and keeps going. Soon, they're driving on the rim, but Drew isn't slowing down. It's insane, but it pays off. Drew and Kevin finish just ahead of John Vito and Jill and avoid elimination. John Vito and Jill are the first team to be eliminated this season. Next week - Everyone's afraid of Rob and Amber. Charla gets into it with the Evil Barbies.