T.K. and Rachel ran away with the million bucks – proof that nice folks can finish first. They rarely disagreed and never engaged in mud slinging with one another. As T.K. said, “We were able to run the entire race without compromising our relationship.” Aspiring runners take note: winning this race doesn’t require decimating your partner along the way. T.K. and Rachel deserved to win. Then again, so did Ron and Christina. And Don and Nick. That’s what made this race so great. In a dozen “Amazing Races” I’ve never seen three finalists with rooting value quite like this season. In a sense, they all won something.

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By Ann Tatko-Peterson

Jen spent a good portion of this race spewing about hate. Along the way, we almost bought into it. Hating her, that is. So, break out the bubbly, the whining half of this season’s Bickersons ultimately cost her and Nate a shot at the million-dollar finale. As soon as Phil said, “I’m sorry to tell you, you’ve been eliminated from the race,” I was jumping up and down. Sure, every race has players you love to hate. But in Jen’s case, well, sometimes it was just plain hate. She got exactly what she deserved. Nothing. No million dollars. And likely, no more relationship.

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By Ann Tatko-Peterson

Kynt and Vyxsin, you will be missed. Granted, the goth couple from Kentucky were odd ducks. My idea of a relationship wouldn’t be sharing lipstick with my significant other. And hello, bright pink with black stripes does not a pretty shirt make. But these two were flat out fun to watch, largely because they embraced being different. They joked about themselves — “We know we’re cartoon characters, and we love it,” Kynt quipped in an early episode — which made them easy to like and endearing, even when they had a meltdown last week.

Ultimately, they made one disasterous move. They reached the U-Turn before Nate and Jen but inexplicably chose to U-Turn Nick and Don. Huh?!?! They knew they were closest to Nate and Jen on the detour. Kynt argued that he thought Grandpa Don and Nick would be the slowest — but hello, thanks to the Fast Forward, those two had won the previous round. They were on one of the first flights into India. Even Vyxsin seemed to realize the mistake as Kynt pasted up Don and Nick’s pic. Too bad she didn’t speak up, because in the end, Nate and Jen barely beat them to the mat. Read the rest of this entry »

By Ann Tatko-Peterson
You’ve got to love T.K. He managed to sum up an entire episode in just three words: “Today was nuts.” No kidding, and I for one loved every minute of it. Let’s start with T.K. and Rachel, who survived a round of Murphy’s Law — what can go wrong, will go wrong. They left their clue behind on a table when asking for directions but escaped disaster when construction on a freeway considerably slowed down four of the other five teams. Then team after team passed them as T.K. struggled to find the name of the next destination during the airborne roadblock. Hope was fading fast, until Kynt and Vyxsin got lost, had car trouble and quickly fell behind (more on that in a minute), allowing T.K. and Rachel to grab a headstart to the pitstop. But wait, they got a flat tire en route. Yet again, as everything kept going wrong, those two kept their cool. Just imagine how much worse it would have been if Nate and Jen had been plunked down in this day of disasters.
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By Ann Tatko-Peterson
“I hate you with a passion.” Oh goody, “Amazing Race” is really heating up. Sunday’s episode is a prime example of why this show is so much fun. Even the strongest teams can get the boot after making the simplest of mistakes. And boy, were teams making mistakes left and right in this one.

Let’s start with the biggest victims of the night: Azaria and Hendekea. Ron and Christina tried to help out the pair, sharing how they’d reserved tickets on Polish Airlines. So A&H gave up their spot in line at the airport, only to fail in tracking down a number for the airline. When they ended up last in line, the other teams sent them in search of Kynt and Vyxsin (who had seemingly disappeared). That turn seemed fortuitous because they landed in a travel agent’s office where they snagged tickets on the flight that would get them to Croatia with most of the other teams. Just one problem: they had accidentally booked business class tickets when game rules expressly state they must fly economy. Bye-bye plane, hello long detour through Frankfurt. Inevitably, they never caught up and were eliminated at the pit stop.

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Here’s your recap for the latest episode of “The Amzing Race 12″:

By ANN TATKO-PETERSON
Special to the Freak
Here’s a novel concept: work together, avoid sniping, come in first. Try it the other way – bear your teeth, spew nastiness and refuse to play nice with others – and you may go home. The good news for those of us watching “Amazing Race” is that the blondes chose the latter.

Shana’s play-to-win attitude meant alienating the other players, her partner included. She may have checked her manicures, pedicures and facials at the start of this race, but clearly she was still toting her I’m-better-than-everyone haughtiness. Last week, she didn’t blink in U-Turning the pair who eventually were eliminated. This time she was demanding the other players leave the counter where she and Jen were selecting their airline seats. Even Jen told her to think before speaking. But, Shana was flying with only her ego as a co-pilot. She didn’t want to stop and ask for directions en route to the roadblock – “It takes too much time.” Yeah, so does getting lost. When the roadblock asked who listens best, Jen raised her hand. Oh, no, Shana announced, she was better suited for this one. I was actually disappointed when the bus bearing down on their car missed them. Fortunately, the You’re Outta Here at the pit stop made up for it. Another week of their whining would have been my undoing. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a recap of the latest episode of “The Amazing Race 12″:

By ANN TATKO-PETERSON
Special Correspondent
Sorry, couldn’t resist. First we have Jen “I Danced for the Clippers” incurring a 10-minute penalty for lack of creativity in the dance detour. Ouch! Guess it’s time to change professions. And what was up with her what-about-me routine at the pit stop? Did she actually think Azaria and Hendekea were going to slow down and let her and Nate finish first? She certainly expected it — “They’ve had their turn twice,” she whined.

Hello, this is a race, not a friendly game of Scrabble. It’s not really a “win” if you need another team to hand it to you.

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We are here to serve. So here’s a recap of last night’s second episode of “The Amazing Race”:

By ANN TATKO-PETERSON
TV Freak Correspondent
Here’s wishing Ron would swear so CBS would mercifully bleep him. The guy’s a salesman? Really? Who would buy anything from him, except perhaps to shut him up. It’s a pity he and his daughter Christina didn’t come in last place to spare her — and us — from even one more day of his condescending diarrhea of the mouth. Even he knows the score, calling himself “Archie Bunker” at the pit stop.

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Our efforts continue to get more episodic recaps on the Freak blog. Here’s a rundown of last night’s opener of “The Amazing Race.”

By ANN TATKO-PETERSON
TV Freak Correspondent
A friend once questioned how “Amazing Race” could keep winning an Emmy. Last night’s opener for season 12 sums it up. On “Survivor” it takes weeks to get to know participants and truly form love-hate relationships. On “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” it’s pretty cut and dry: they perform, judges weigh-in, viewers vote. On “Amazing Race” people melt down, personalities emerge immediately and the occasional donkey foils Mr. I’ll-Do-Whatever-It-Takes-To-Win.

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CBS has announced the 11 Teams set to compete in “The Amazing Race 12.” They’ll ttravel approximately 30,000 miles, covering five countries never before visited on the Race, including Ireland, Lithuania and Croatia. The five-time Emmy Award-winning reality adventure series premieres Sunday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m.

Here’s how they stack up, according to a CBS press release:

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