Rob told them and the driver that he had called for a cab, too. Face it, he’s a jerk.
I thought they were at a cab stand too. First come, first served.
Me too. I was a fan of the BQs last season, so I guess I’ll go back to rooting for them, though they don’t seem quite as competent this time around. I didn’t like Rob on Survivor, but I liked Rob and Amber on TAR. It seems to me that many people negatively reacted more to Rob’s perceived “evilness” than to anything actually done during the races.
Does that include Rob and Amber’s performance this race? Hmmm. Actually, never mind. Three firsts and an eighth place finish doesn’t help their average placing. Regardless, finishing fourth out of about 140 TAR teams across all seasons (I’m guessing) isn’t too bad at all. Certainly puts them in the excellent racer category.
Interesting Rule(s) Change(s):
I was just watching the insider videos, and in the first episode Rob and Amber are in the airport and they ask a guy to buy them a guide book.
During this conversation Rob reveals at least one rule change:
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No more begging. He tells the guy that he is not allowed to ask for money, but he can ask him to buy him the book (the man does indeed purchase the book)
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You can now tell people you are in a race. I am assuming this is a rules change because I was under the impression that revealing that you were racing was verboten. However Amber, although not releasing that they were in “The Amazing Race” (which I don’t think the man in the airport would have known anyway, since he had no idea who they were despite them introducing themselves as “Rob and Amber”) did tell him they were in a race around the world.
I also think that it wasn’t clear from the editing if Rob and Amber stole the cab. Sure Mirna and Charla had the guy call for a cab, but the cabby never said if he was there for them. Also of course Rob said he had called for one too. I can’t say that if I was in his situation (knowing you were battling for last place) I wouldn’t have done the same.
At first I picked the build it option too. Again it wasn’t clear what the exact instructions given to them were. Were they not allowed to check the map more than once? How exact was the wording. I agree with the other poster that I’m not sure it would have made a difference though, as the Navigate it teams all finished way fast.
Mirna still has a nice body, but man is she seriously loco. And way to belittle the person that I’m sure you choose to go on this race with. Charla was doing her best. I was cheering her when she dropped everything and basically said “What would you like me to do?”.
I can’t give you specific cites at this time, but I’ve heard lots of contestants tell people that they were racing. “Hurry!” they shout at the cab driver, “We’re in a race!”
(And to Otto, no it wasn’t a joke. I think it would be appropriate to give Rob and Amber a million dollar check, thank them for participating, and invite them to return next season. Rob is, to me, the Arnold Palmer of reality game shows. Arnold should be allowed to walk up to any first tee in the country and play through. Golfers owe him that. And Rob should be accorded a similar status of honor.)
I’ve seen game shows where a mistake has been made and a contestant has been invited back to have another chance. But the producers don’t just award him the grand prize. And who says a mistake was even made? There was a task, they didn’t do it right, goodbye.
And please, may I never see or hear about Boston Rob again. I don’t think he was a cheater. There’s no way the producers could foresee every situation and interaction and come up with rules for them. But just because you’re in a race, for money, doesn’t justify being an asshole.
Oh, don’t misunderstand me, Robot Arm. I’m not saying to award Rob and Amber the grand prize money. That should go to whoever wins the race. I’m advocating a second and separate award of a million dollars to Rob and Amber, just because of who they are and what they’ve meant to reality TV in general and TAR in particular. Like I said, a sort of Rupert thing (although I think his was unearned). I’m even willing to stipulate that the extended Rob and Amber celebration follow a brief celebration for the winners of the race. I’m not trying to take anything away from the winners. Maybe tack on an extra half-hour or something. There could be retrospectives and archival footage of Rob and Amber, along with an interview or something like that. Does that seem more palatable to you?
I bet it’s not palatable to anyone other than you.
They already did that, Lib. It was called “Rob and Amber Get Married”, and is far more than they deserve. Getting some housewarming gifts from CBS for winning the first three legs of this TAR is plenty of bonus and appreciation.
The Amazing Race was a successful show before Rob and Amber, and owes them nothing.
I’m guessing that’s a Survivor reference, but I don’t know the details.
No, that would be worse. I could live with CBS giving them money as long as I don’t have to see them.
Rupert’s million might have been unearned, but you’d have to take that up with all the home viewers who decided it wasn’t undeserved, since they voted for him to get the money. (It was “America’s Tribal Council,” after all.) Just “handing” Rob & Amber a $1m check seems kind of cheap and tacky to me, though, and I don’t think they’ve earned it. I would, however, be on board for a “who’s your favorite team ever?” (or even a “who’s your favorite ‘all-stars’ team?”) scheme, where viewers could vote and the winner of that popular vote would get another million dollar prize or whatever.
But just using my friends at work who watch the Race (~25 people) as an unscientific control group, Rob & Amber wouldn’t win that, either. For assorted reasons, including but not limited to “But, Amber already won a million dollars!” and “Isn’t this, like, the 6th reality show they’ve done? Wait, the 7th, if you include that ghost-hunter show or whatever it was that Rob was on? Can’t they get jobs?”
Okay, no problem. It’s not like I’ve never been the Lone Wolf before. 
Anyway, now that my favorites are out of the race, I hope whoever y’all are pulling for will take it. It’s a great feeling when the person you’re pulling for wins.
You forgot the show expecially made for them: Rob & Amber: Against The Odds, which according to Reality TV Magazine
Oh, wow, that’s great! Thanks! 
You seem pleased.
Here’s the official site: http://www.foxreality.com/show.php?id=4372
Actually, I think we did include it in our calculations. What we forgot about was the Wedding Special, because that was a “one-off” and not a series.
Don’t thank him until you’ve actually seen it; it’s pretty bad, even by Fox Reality standards. I watched most of an episode and my marked distaste for those two was the best thing about it. Seriously, it’s really bad.
But they have jobs! Check out their official bio at CBS. What I found amusing (although I admit I’m easily amused) was that while all the other contestants have normal jobs listed (bartender, student, sales…), Rob and Amber are listed as “TV Personality.”
You’re whooshing, aren’t you?
Well, I guess it would have been rude of them to list Amber as “TV Non-Personality.”
eh…while I’m tired of seeing them too, I can’t say that were I to be in Rob’s position, I wouldn’t be scheming and working the system all I could to take advantage of this temporary stardom to get all I could. Hopefully they’re building a nice savings, and not counting on transitioning into TV “stars” as their future career.