Amanda & Kris
Gary & Mallory
Herb & Nate (Globetrotters)
Jaime & Carla
Jet & Cord (Cowboys)
Kent & Vyxsin (Goths)
LaKisha & Jennifer
Margie & Luke (mom & deaf son)
Mel & Mike (White)
Ron & Christina
Zev & Justin
Prettys good cast! I don’t think I hate any of these teams.
I’m pretty excited about most of these teams. Cowboys, Goths, Globetrotters, Zev & Justin!! I like most of the other teams as well. And even some of the ones that are in my “don’t care one way or the other” grouping, I can see how they have unfinished business (Kris & Amanda, LaKisha & Jennifer).
It’s gonna be fun I hope!
I’ll third “several teams I like, and no one I hate.” Could be a fun season!
Just because almost everyone I know is rooting for the Cowboys (the one exception is for Gary & Mallory), I’ve decided my pre-race pick of who to root for is Kent & Vyxsin. I remember them running a pretty smart race, in general.
Didn’t he spell his name ‘Kynt’ before?
Great cast. Some eye candy, lots of humor, not much crazy. I hope Mel’s groin holds out.
I went to CBS.com and read the little blurbs on each team. They asked each one what their biggest mistake on the race was. Most of them answered the mistake that got them eliminated. The most interesting one was the Globetrotters, whose big mistake apparently wasn’t “forgetting I didn’t say FRANZ,” and instead was “trusting Dan.”
I really remember loving the goths, and I’m really pleased at Mel & Mike and Zev & Justin being back.
Looks like a good group, although I don’t remember Kris and Amanda at all. Nice to see most of these teams again. The only team I’d leave out is Gary and Mallory. They seem like nice people, but her personality was annoying.
I’m looking forward to seeing the Cowboys again and I hope the hot chicks (Jaime and Cara) go far. I’ll also be rooting for Ron and Christina, for Christina’s sake, but I’m afraid he’ll slow her down too much.
I’m not a big fan of Margie and Luke, but maybe they’ll be okay this time.
LaKisha and Jennifer - are they the ones who got eliminated because one of them stopped to use the bathroom?
I think the “old man” teams – Gary, Mel, and Ron – are going to have trouble keeping up with the others.
Slightly disappointed that the Poker girls didn’t come back.
ETA: Kris and Amanda - they were the couple that got U-turned at the woodpile, right? They were looking strong until then.
The only problem I have with that cast is that it looks like they might have dipped into the “drama zone” by casting Luke & Margie AND LaKisha & Jennifer. All we need is a year of grudge-nursing on either or both sides to pop out like a lanced boil…
And where the hell are Lena & Kristy?! If anyone has unfinished business on TAR, it’s them!
Don’t want to start the episode thread this early, but do want to remind everyone this starts Sunday! So looking forward to this.
I am very excited for this!
Anxiously awaiting Zut’s pre-race Taxi Assessment!!
Paging Zut!
The Amazing Race, Survivor, and American Idol all at the start of their new seasons? My reality-show cup runneth over!
Here I am!
For the last three seasons, I’ve boldly made pre-season predictions based on nothing more than the bios posted on CBS’s website. For this all-star second-chance season, we’ve seen these teams before, which makes preseason predictions easier. I’ve also gone back and figured out where each team was eliminated, and what their average placement was during their race. Armed with the information, I’ll again jump in over my head and present the fourth preseason
Taxi Assessment:
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
No one yet, but Phil hungers! He hungers!
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Zev & Justin (Season 15/9th place/6.00 average) Zev & Justin failed in a big way by violating TAR Rule #0: Don’t do something that’s so dumb that you shouldn’t have to actually be told not to do it. In this case it was Rule 0(b): don’t lose your passport. Now, on the one hand, I don’t expect a whole lot from a team that can’t keep their passports in their pockets. On the other hand, there’s no way they’re going to make the same mistake again. On the other other hand, Zev & Justin were eliminated early enough that they don’t have the experience in the Race that most of the other teams do. On the other other other hand, they might actually be better than the little we’ve seen from them. Well, no; rethinking the other other other hand, I doubt this team has much to show us. Zev & Justin will leave early, but they might be fun while they’re here. (Mini-Spoiler: check out their shirts in the episode 1 preview video on CBS’s website. Made me chuckle.)
Mel & Mike (Season 14/6th place/3.57 average) Mel, at 70, is the oldest Racer this season; Mike, his son, is the fifth oldest (after Ron, Gary, and Margie). Mel’s age will be an issue on the Race, because the grueling pace just isn’t suitable for a 70-year-old man. To be fair, their original elimination was due to getting poor directions rather than anything to do with Mel’s age, they did score three top-two finishes, and they have a good Racing strategy and attitude, so I think they could very well be in it for a number of episodes. But I really don’t think they have much of a chance to make it to the final three.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Gary & Mallory (Season 17/6th Place/4.63 average) Gary & Mallory got hugely lost in Oman to earn their elimination just last season. I admit I was originally bullish on this team, but take a look at their average placement: it’s worse than nine of the remaining teams, with only hapless Zev & Justin having a worse average.
Kent & Vyxsin (Season 12/5th place/3.63 average) Kent now knows how to drive a stick shift, so now he’s all prepared for his first Amazing Race. Too bad this is his second. I really don’t see this team as a serious contender, although they might just be surprising.
Amanda & Kris (Season 14/8th place/4.50 average) Amanda & Kris are the requisite young couple with communications problems that, along with beauty queens, seems to be the go-to demographic for the casting department. Amanda & Kris have gotten engaged since their original appearance on the show, so presumably they’re not Racing to Find Out If They’re Right For Each Other, which is something of a relief. What’s not a relief is that they were apparently cast strictly because Margie & Luke were cast: Margie & Luke U-Turned Amanda & Kris, knocking the out of the Race. Sort of. Amanda & Kris were actually in last place when U-Turned, and it’s debatable whether they would have passed any of the teams in front of them. In any case, both Amanda and Kris think their biggest mistake was “trusting other teams too much,” so although it’s not clear why refusing to “trust” Margie & Luke would have prevented the U-Turn, it is clear that Amanda & Kris have a personal vendetta this season. Good luck with that.
Ron & Christina (Season 12/2nd place/3.45 average) Ron was kind of a tool in this team’s first Race, but he repented near the end, and seems to feel genuinely bad about it even now. It should be interesting how much effort he puts into being Nice Dad instead of Mean Dad, versus how much effort he puts into Racing. Ron & Christina were one task away from winning the Race their first time around, but I think the competition this season will be a little too stiff.
"Rapido! Por Favor?" - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
LaKisha & Jennifer (Season 14/4th place/4.27 average) Kisha & Jen had a terrible pair of legs to finish off their original Race, with an awful performance at the swimming Detour, then getting U-Turned the next leg. Despite that, they wound up slightly ahead of Jaime & Cara near the mat, when Jen stopped to use the Port-a-Potty, dropping them out of the final three. This team’s statistics aren’t great, but my wife thinks they’ve got a chance to win against the other teams, and maybe she’s right. I’m tentatively ranking them here in the middle of the pack, but I could easily see them going either up or down.
Jaime & Cara (Season 14/2nd place/3.92 average) Cheerleaders, right. Yet another Season 14 team (five! teams from Season 14 made it into this season), and the second-place team at that. Second place is impressive, but I’m not so impressed with this team. They’re grating, and I don’t really think they’re all that good. Still, they made it far in their original season, and might be a dark horse this season.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Margie & Luke (Season 14/3rd place/2.75 average) I remember Luke as being something of a whiner, but this team came within a whisker of winning Season 14: like Ron & Christina, it was the very last task that did them in. I’m a little suspicious of this team’s success, but their average finish is 2.75, much better than putative second-place finishers Jaime & Cara and behind only the Cowboys this season. That makes them a notch better than most teams in my mind, particularly since I think this team is a bit more likely to learn from mistakes than others.
Flight Time & Big Easy (Season 15/4th place/3.09 average) The Globetrotters were eliminated because Big Easy couldn’t unscramble five letters. In retrospect, he says he was overthinking the challenge, and he’s probably right. If this team gets cornered into a task they have problems with, like the unscrambling, they might go down, but otherwise they look very good for getting into the final three.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
Jet & Cord (Season 16/2nd place/2.58 average) Oh my gravy! The cowboys are back, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m rooting for them. My wife thinks they’re “cute and cuddly,” which would probably embarass them all to heck, but I’m honestly hoping I’ll see them all season. And I probably will: Jet & Cord make very few mistakes, and none twice. Now that they’ve Raced around the world once, their biggest original disadvantage–lack of international experience–is gone. The early favorite to win it all.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Rating[/sub]
Oh my gravy! Zut! Fair assessment!
Maybe this year I will figure who is Jaime and who is Cara. And Who is Jet and Who is Cord. I am terrible with same sex teams. I think Jet was the red-headed cowboy. If not, he should be because “Jet” and “Red” are too similar sounding.
I can’t remember if it was Lakisha or Jennifer that freaked so much in the swimming pool. I hope they learned how to swim.
I don’t remember Amanda/Kris at all, only how they were eliminated, in Russia, IIRC.
I didn’t understand all the Mel/Mike love from this board. I didn’t like them at all, but if Mel is 70, he probably won’t last long.
I’ll be rooting from Zev and Justin, Gary and Mallory, and Kent/Vyxsin. (I remember Kent’s name being spelled K-Y-N-T.
I think Kent and Vyxsin are more of a dark horse than they’re given credit for: IIRC, they ran a pretty good race the first time around, stick shift notwithstanding.
I pretty much agree with Zut’s assessment on both Zev/Justin and Mel/Mike. As for the Mel/Mike love, I can only answer for myself: There’s just something about their chemistry that rivets me. Ditto with Ron and Christina, although Ron’s behavior grated the hell out of me the first time around.
Either the Cowboys or the Globetrotters for the win!
Is it Sunday yet?
Jamie and Cara might be the most attractive team in Amazing Race history (both are stunners) but one was quite shallow and more than a little bit nasty, while the other was pretty full of herself as well.
I don’t like Luke, but overall I felt that his mom Margie was a decent woman, who has probably been thru a lot in her life.
I thought that Gary and Mallory were nice people, who didn’t let tough tasks drive them to act poorly towards each other or their competetors.
Luke was definitely a whiner and I’m actually not surprised. Luke and I attended the same college (although I graduated a few months before he started his freshman year, so we never met) and that strain of whininess is pretty common in the (very large) deaf student body.
If you’d like to see more of Jaime, she’s added another line to her resume between season 14 and now: Miss January 2010. A little appropriate Googling of “Jaime Faith Edmondson” will get you her personal website, as well as a number of tasteful glamour photographs.