I’m rooting for Allison. She actually seemed to play smart, which is a refreshing change. Donnie will just be along for the ride. I guess he can do the physical stuff.
I know I just posted, but I wanted to reply to a couple things here:
I’ll bet, though, that it takes subsantially longer to do the zip line: gotta go upstairs, get the safety equipment, then do each zip leg (and it looked like each team member had to do it sequentially, so the harnesses have to be hauled back in between). And, if there’s a couple teams in front of you, then you really have to wait.
Mph. Not such a fan of this. I’d rather see the fast forward: your team does something to get ahead, not screw another team over. However, I’ll bet that we won’t see the yield used too much. (BTW, is this available only to the first team? If so, It’ll hardly get used at all. Best time to use if is if you’re in second-to-last place.)
Not to slag anyone else’s choice in TV, but I watched the premiere of Big Brother last night, and I was just depressed. Identify and ostracize the loser, was the name of the game. And mixed in was some tear-jerker long-lost-sibling crap. Not my tipe of entertainment, at all, at all.
As I mentioned in the other TAR thread, it turns out that none of my non-cable channels carry the show. But I knew I could depend on this forum for an in-depth episode review thread.
Oh, and I’m ordering cable tonight 
The episode this Saturday is a replay of last night.
I just got “into” the Amazing Race last year. Would MUCH rather watch this than “Survivor” or any other reality shows.
My take on the teams (with input from LilMiss):
Dennis/Erika: The booted team. Being the first off means we learn little of nothing about them. I do give Erika credit for attempting to assuage his guilt. When she said she is okay with losing because of Dennis’ nice guy moves, LilMiss said “Awwww”.
Alison/Donny: I despised Alison from BB4. Still am not liking her. Donny’s comment on how he knows they are not healthy together but he can’t be without her made me want to scream “GET THERAPY NOW!”. As was posted above, I hope they get far, then crash due to a failure on Alisons part. Karma is a bitch, baby.
Marshall/Lance: Like everyone else, their bio commented on how they planned to be “themselves”. Scary, hunh? They’ll go far, until someone sabotages them. I hope.
Charla/Mirna: I would gladly throttle Mirna. I would pay to throttle Mirna. However, I didn’t like Charla stating that one of her strategies was to play on her littleness. She said that people are more than willing to help her because of her size. I know you use what you have, but playing on sympathies bothers me.
Bob/Joyce: Don’t know a heckuvalot about them, but I kinda like them.
Chip/Kim: I like them. A lot. When they found out they had to go back Chip was kicking himself, but still hauling it to get back in time to place.
Jim/Marsha: Their relationship is much like me and my dad. Their joking back and forth, with a little edge, makes me like them. When Jim said it would have been faster if they had just cut off his leg and Marsha said “Yeah, cut it off right about here (drawing her hand across his shoulders)” is pure me and dad. I hope his injury doesn’t slow them down too much.
Linda/Karen: The shirts gotta go. I expect they will land somewhere in the middle of booted teams. They have the spirit, but not the muscle. LilMiss commented (after the umpteenth time one of them said “We’re tough- we’re MOMS!”) “Okay! We get it! You’re moms!”
Kami/Karli: They could be evil, I think. However, their arguing could cause them to burn out fast.
Colin/Christie: Their bio states (more than once) that if they can get through the Race they’ll get married. Meh.
Brandon/Nicole: As others have said, the whole “God will lead us” schitck is weird. They will go far, I believe, but not win.
Regarding the roulette wheel, please correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t they ALL win on 11? Hmmmmm…
The continued searching for the flag stands both at the marina and at the hotel made me laugh, especially when they would stand right in front of it and wonder where it’s at (the marina).
I missed the first hour due to book group and transportation issues, but got home in time to watch much of the zipping and chipping. Man, it’s good to be back. I adore Chip and Kim, so much that I’m praying they don’t do anything to piss me off later in the race. They had great attitudes when they had to go back and collect the route marker, in a marked contrast to the embarrassing franticness of Kami and Karli. Bob and Joyce intrigue me. I also liked Jim (“Nobody ever died from pain”) and Marsha, although she seemed a little pushy to me. But I’m only going on about five minutes of footage. What happened to his knee? I assume I missed how he ended up with the stitches. And what was Dennis’ fatal nice-guy move?
On a shallow note, that guy retrieving the racers from the pool was HOT.
Jim fell/was tripped/pushed in the mad rush off the pier. Ended up with a ton of stitches on his knee.
Dennis allowed another team to take their taxi, leaving them to trail behind.
I lurve this show! I have never missed a single episode!
I am yet undecided. Every season I start out with certain impressions, but they change almost wweekly until about the fifth week.
I do like Chip and Kim, but they have to play better. Even they admitted it.
I am not as anti-Myrna as it seems everyone else is. I admit se was pretty annoying with the meat, but we’ll see if that is a trend with her or just a one time thing. (BTW, I am pretty sure her blackjack comment was a joke.)
The brothers, blech.
I think right now I am rooting for the father/daughter team. The injury, of course, could prove fatal to their chances of winning.
Not diggin on the moms so much, they did well and seem nice enough, but those t-shirts??
The twins, did not like them at all, pouty,not too smart (they walked right by the box on the dock).
I cannot really tell all the other teams apart, yet.
He fell/tripped/whatever and ended up bloodied and with 25 stitches, and nearly missed the first plane out. Whichever younger guy it was that he collided with was complaining (in the car on the way to the airport) that Jim had tripped him, sort of insinuating that it was on purpose. What an ass.
Thanks, MissTake and BiblioCat! I saw a brief clip of the start on the pier and saw a couple people eat it, so I guess one of them was Jim, then.
I may change my mind later about Marshall & Lance. Most brother teams are cool, but they’re kind of assholey. I also like the black couple, but they’re going to have to prove to me that they’re not idiots. If it says across the street, it means across the street!
As always on the first episode of AR, I can’t pick a favorite team yet. Chip and Kim are promising, and they have great attitudes. Bob and Joyce have determination, but I think they might get hosed because they don’t have a clear understanding of how to interact with the other teams. Marshall and Lance look to be a repeat of the Frat Boys from Season 1, only not as funny. Kami and Karli piss me off just because of their names. (I know it’s not their fault, but someone should smack their parents upside the head a time or two.) Charla is determined and I like that, but Mirna’s far too whiny–if she doesn’t learn to suck up and deal, they’re gone. Colin and Christie do seem to be lacking in the personality department, but I think they look promising. Jim is the man, and I seriously hope his leg doesn’t blow the whole thing for him.
After one episode, I’m initially rooting for Jim/Marsha, Colin/Christie (because they didn’t make me mad–just give them time), and Chip/Kim. I’ll probably change my mind next week.
Oh, yes, indeed. 
Whew, lordy, he sure was.
I thought it was funny how all those skinny girls ended with their butts still above the water, and had to be lowered into the pool. But those moms, went WHOOSH!
As Jon Stewart said recently (in a Middle East context)…“God is saying, ‘Hey, leave me out of this.’”
I have to wait a few weeks for the dating couples to sort themselves out in my mind, before I get any strong opinions about who I hate and who can stay.
I had formulated a law about First One Out: it’s always either the middle-aged Moms or the married couple. So I was pleasantly surprised when both Kim & Chip (despite blowing the route marker) and Bowling Moms made it.
I was also surprised that all 4 roulette players got lucky. There was a 20/38**4 chance of that happening. (7%)
I thought it was a good start. So far I like Charla (and not so much Mirna), and the bowling moms.
Almost everybody else has said stuff I meant to write, but here’s a few leftovers:
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Hated Allison on Big Brother last year. Now I get to hate her again. The catch is: she’s an excellent game player. Watch out for her and Dumb Donnie. They had my favorite lines of the show last night.
a. “We’ll have to step up the paste.” (Meaning: pace)
b. On going to the island of trees: “Will we have to take a boat?” IT’S AN ISLAND, DUMMY. How do you think you’re going to get there? -
Hate the twins. They’re too skinny, frowny and determined. They’ll kill anyone in their way. Lighten up, ladies.
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The Bowling Moms are plucky, but they won’t last long.
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The Internet Dating Couple look older than dirt. I don’t think they’re too long for this gig either. Wait until they have to eat grubs or something.
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Charla/Mirna and The Meat was one of the funniest sequences I’ve ever seen on tv. I’m still giggling about it.
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I’ve got Chip and Kim in the office pool. I won last year’s pool with the Married Gay Guy team. I’m hoping I’m on a streak!
And Alison’s response to this was “That’s what a ferry IS, you idiot!” I just about fell off the couch laughing. An IQ of about 60 is one way that Donny continuing to go back to that bitch makes sense…
Actually, they did ask Jim & Marsha if they wanted to work together and Marsha blew them off.
I’m thinking what almost everyone else seems to be thinking. I really like Jim, but Martha not so much, and I really like Charla, but Mirna not so much. Chip and Kim rock. As for everyone else - meh.
I hope the twins bite it soon because they don’t play nice with others, and they’re not funny while they’re being mean. Also, I kept hoping that God-boy fell off the ferry and was eaten by pirhanas or something. He bugs me.
This season’s demographic breakdown: 4 teams of Relatives; 1 team of Just Friends (bowling Moms); 6 teams of Married/commmited relationship/dating. They usually have more Friends, including a frat boy pair (like the Fatties).
And no openly gay teammates this time, for the first time ever (I think). They’ve never had a lesbian team. Definitely missing an opportunity there.
From the Leaderboard:
Allison and Donny(BB veteran and on/off boyfriend): Right about the middle of every race, it comes down less to whether you can perfromthe challenges than to whether you can trust each other and push each other to do them at all. These two lucked out early, I predict they won’t be with us at the end, however.
Marshall and Lance (Pizzeria Bros from Texas): A pale imitation of teams past. These two dicks might get to the end, but I will be sad if they win. All that pizza tossing might give them cardiovascular stamina, so you never know.
Linda and Karen (Bowling Moms): During the introduction of the teams, they were my pick to be the first elimination. the fact that not only were they NOT eliminated but came in THIRD (which still mighta been FIFTH if the two teams hadn’t loused up the detour box) leads me to believe they have a little bit more going on than I gave them credit for. Dunno if they can actually win, but we’ll see.
Bob and Joyce (internet widows): It will be interesting to see if Joyce’s plastic surgery holds up through the next couple of episodes before they are eliminated. She has no hustle, and he has little patience for her in the trenches.
Charla and Mirna (little person and cousin): I won’t condemn Mirna until I’ve walked a mile in her shoes (carrying, past a bunch of hungry stray dogs, a fresh side of beef whose weight was obviously far beyond the abilities of the tone of my body). Kudos to here for getting as far as she did. I expect we will see more sportsmanship from her later. However, this team TWICE lost track of where they were and where they were going, which may spell doom for them in the end.
Brandon and Nicole (christian couple): These two will be a welcome departure, and should just go back to their day jobs (which, from the look of them, could only be doing “The Blue Lagoon” as dinner theater).
Colin and Christie (Mr. “INTENSE” and date): He’s sort of a dick, and she’s a non-entity, but they are both very fit, and seem to have a strong bond, which on this show, can make up for a complete lack of personality (cf. Reichen and Chip). they ended up mired in the middle-back of the pack (read: no on-camera time), but I expect interesting things from them if they can catch up.
Chip and Kim (married business partners from OC): I hope the show has HUGE ratings this year and that these two win. Not only are they a great team, but it will be fun to see the bigots of Orange County (who recently demanded a recount in an election because they couldn’t imagine how they ended up with a non-white elected official) have to hail these two as local kids who made good.
Kami and Karli (twins): The sooner these two are back waiting for a phone call from Wrigley’s Gum, the better.
Jim and Marsha (Major Dad and daughter): An early standout! Gotta love a guy who’ll carry a side of beef and go down a 17-story zip-line with 25 stitches in his aging knee, and still be gracious about it. I’d like to see them win just for the sake of that, but unless there are a lot of what I call “moments of equalization” next week, they’ll never catch up.
Donny and Erika: Thanks for making it easier to not confuse you with Allison and Donny. A kiss, perhaps the promise of a reconciliation, and…Buh-bye!
Other thoughts:
Uruguay: For some reason this country has been popping up on my radar recently. May have to go. Gotta love a beach with an homage to drowning, and a giant mansion made out of lemon merengue.
Oh, and fellow posters? As far as comparing AR to such swill as Big Brother and Survivor goes, to quote the Perfect Master,
I’k thank you not to contaminate this thread with any more mention of other shows than is strictly necessary to a discussion of the Race leg at hand.