Tammy & Victor Cross the Amazing Race's Finish Line First

The teams travelled over 5,000 miles from China to Maui, Hawaii for the race to the finish. For their first task, teams were required to season a 145 lb pig and then carry it dangling from a pole 200 yards to a luau. Margie & Luke although arriving in last place were smart and got the pig pole up on their shoulders. They passed Tammy & Victor and Jaime & Cara who were attempting to carry it at waist height instead. The other teams dropped their pig several times en route.

Moving on to the second task, Margie & Luke were in first place. They travelled to a beach at McGregor Point and swam out to a waverunner (jet ski). Margie drove with Luke behind her to a buoy field where they had to search among 100 buoys to find their next clue. They found one and were going back when they passed the other two teams. Jaime & Cara found their clue next putting Tammy & Victor in last place.

The clue directed teams to the final Road Block that would test their memory of race events. One member from each team was required to search through a large pile of surfboards looking for 11 boards with logos associated with an event on the race. Most of the surfboards in the pile had logos completely unrelated to the show. After finding the right ones they had to be lined up in the correct order to create a surfboard "fence".

Margie & Luke arrived first and Luke took the task. I thought they had the race in the bag at this point. As an avid fan of the show, Luke knew that the final leg would involve recalling previous legs in the proper order and Margie interviewed that he had studied up on everything they had done. Indeed Luke got off to a tremendous start having most of his surfboards in the right place before Tammy & Victor showed up next. Unfortunately, Luke had two incorrect boards in place and got hung up on that point. Victor quickly found the boards he needed and put them in the right order. Meanwhile after more cab trouble, Jaime & Cara had arrived and Jaime had taken the task. Victor finished and the brother/sister team leave for a triumphant finish at a golf course.

Luke found one more of the boards he needed. Jaime had all of hers but the first one. We weren't told how much time had passed since the siblings left but eventually Margie suggested that Jaime & Luke work together. Luke showed Jaime what she needed and she finished second. Before leaving Jaime showed Luke all her boards until he discovered he had been missing one with scorpions on skewers. Margie & Luke leave last.

There wasn't much suspense when Tammy & Victor crossed the finish line first in the presence of the other teams. Some time later Jaime & Cara arrived second and Margie & Luke came in third.

I was sad that my favorite team didn't win but I am proud of the great race they ran. At the finish line, Phil asked Luke to admit that his mom is the Bionic Woman. He then asked Luke what was special about Margie. He responded that not all parents of deaf children sign and he was happy that she learned to sign so they could communicate with each other. Tearfully, Margie interpreted what he said for Phil. Margie reiterated how very proud she is of her son and how wonderful it was to see his dream of competing on the Amazing Race come true.

Awww, Happy Mother's Day, Luke & Margie. Congratulations, Tammy & Victor. Well done! Jaime, stay out of taxis and Cara, pat yourself on the back for putting up with Jaime and finishing second.

Margie & Luke Make It to the Final Three

Last week's episode ended with Phil announcing that this leg of the race wasn't over yet and handing the next clue to the cheerleaders. Their task was to search a marketplace for a Travelocity Gnome (groan...isn't it time for a gnome target practice task? Oh, but I guess the sponsor wouldn't like that.) Jen & Kisha are stunned to discover they are still in the race. Phil tells them not to give up. All teams find their gnomes without much difficulty. The only purpose for the gnomes appears to be that clue directions are printed on the bottom. All racers carry them to the Pit Stop but Phil makes no mention of them there.

Next teams locate electric bikes and ride past Tiananmen Square. Tammy & Victor are fortunate enough to see a procession of guards and raising of a flag ceremony. When Luke gets on his bike he almost runs down Jen (not on purpose).

The Detour choice is Beijing Opera or Chinese Waiter. For Beijing Opera, teams must apply makeup to each other and dress in costumes to match example performers made up and dressed as a princess and a gentleman. For Chinese Waiter, teams must take the orders of 6 customers given in Mandarin and repeat them correctly to the cook. Once the dishes have been served to those customers, they receive their next clue.

Tammy & Victor who speak Mandarin opt for Chinese Waiter. They get the orders almost exactly right on their first try missing only by saying squid in place of fish. Well done!

All the other teams choose Beijing Opera. Margie is totally disgusted with Luke's efforts to make her up as a princess. She keeps turning to look at herself in the mirror frustrating Luke in his attempt to finish. He apologizes, "Sorry, Mom that I'm not a girl!" Heh. The all girl teams have no difficulty with this task but have a great deal of trouble finding the next clue box where a U-turn is posted!

Here Luke's knowledge of the game pays off. He tells his mom, the U-turn is always located close by the task. He's right. It's in the opera house. When they find it, they see that Tammy & Victor have already been there and U-turned Jen & Kisha. The sisters' photo has a scrawled message, "Sorry, but we can't outrun you." Ha. It's a lucky break for Luke & Margie that Jen & Kisha didn't get there before them!

The next clue directs the racers to a Road Block task. Who has a taste for adventure? Perhaps it should have read who has an iron stomach. The task is to eat grasshoppers, larva, scorpion, and starfish. Ewww. If it helps any, the food is fried and served on skewers. Victor takes the challenge and asks for ketchup. Heh. He does a great job eating these Chinese delicacies he had never tasted before. Next come Margie and Luke and Margie eats for her team. She also seems to have no problem eating these unusual foods.

Meanwhile the sisters and the cheerleaders lose time looking for the clue box. Jen & Kisha find it first and are not pleased to see themselves U-turned. They hurry on to the Chinese restaurant. This part was fun to watch. The girls write down the orders to the best of their ability and then say them back to the cook. The amusing part is that CBS posts what they really say in Mandarin. Total nonsense of course. The girls persevere and eventually get the orders right. I have to admit I was impressed there.

They go on to the food challenge while the cheerleaders decide to retrace their steps from the opera house. Fortunately they check inside and discover the clue box. They wonder if the sisters have had time to complete the second task while they've been wandering the neighborhood. The answer is yes and Jen is nearly done eating the food. When the cheerleaders show up, she is starting to gag. She drinks alot of water to get the food down while her sister looks on in concern.
Cara steps up for the cheerleaders and eats like she's on a race for a million dollars. Whew. I was impressed for the second time tonight.

Meanwhile, Victor & Tammy have arrived at the mat and received the news that they are team #1 and will be competing in the final leg of the race. They also find out from Phil that they have won a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Nice.

Margie & Luke arrive second. Hooray! They are in the final three. This is what I've been hoping for this whole season. Way to go, Margie & Luke.

Now it's a cab race between the cheerleaders and the sisters. The sisters arrive first but Jen has to take a potty break due to all the water she drank while eating. It's a costly stop as the cheerleaders make it to the mat seconds before they do. Jaime & Cara are in the final three. Although disappointed, Kisha insists she won't hold their loss against her sister's urgent need for a bathroom break. She says they wouldn't have made it this far without her sister's strong performance other times. Wow, what a nice sister.

There are three strong teams for the finish. Of course I'm rooting for Margie & Luke. My second choice would be Tammy & Victor. I'm glad they did so well in China as they felt it would be important to their parents. Jaime & Cara are a team I am not that excited about with the exception that they were the first team to become friendly with Margie & Luke. Phil pointed out to them that they have an opportunity to become the first all female team to win the Amazing Race.

Go, Margie & Luke, go!

Carrying a Grudge Doesn't Slow Down Margie & Luke

In last night's episode, it was apparent that Margie & Luke are still upset at Jen & Kisha. Luke stated, "I'm done. I'm not going to talk to them." The sisters said in an interview they were ready to move on and be over it. The two teams kept a wary distance from each other during this leg of the race.

With four teams left, everyone was focused on making it to the final three for the race to the finish line. At the airport, Tammy used her Chinese language skills to arrange for a seat near the front of the plane while requesting the other teams be seated near the back. Game on!

The racers flew to Beijing, home of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Tammy & Victor had just been there to attend the games! They said, "If we don't survive the Beijing leg, we will bring disgrace to the Chinese people." Could this be foreshadowing?

The first destination was a foot massage spa where racers were asked, "Who's feeling manipulative?" For this Roadblock, one team member must drink Chinese herbal tea and receive a foot massage. Sounds easy enough but there was a twist. The foot massage was extremely painful and if a racer cried "uncle" before 10 minutes had passed, the massage would start again. This was unpleasant to watch. I think someone at CBS has a sadistic streak. First racers had to run in their underwear in Siberia and now they had to endure a massage that brought them to tears. CBS, on behalf of your viewers I'm crying "uncle" here. For the record, Cara, Kisha, Tammy, and Luke got the massages and all made it through their ordeal.

Their next stop was a nautatorium where Michael Phelps swam in the Summer Olympics. Racers were given the Detour options of Sync or Swim. In sync, they were required to jump off diving boards and hit the water at the same time. In swim, the teams must swim 400 meters and compare their time with Phelps'. Yeah, right.

Tammy & Victor chose sync but after numerous tries were unable to hit the water at the same moment. They gave up and switched to swim. Jaime & Cara who are strong swimmers had already powered their way through this task. Margie & Luke also put in an excellent performance in the water, finishing second.

As seen in last week's preview, Jen has a strong fear of drowning. She & Kisha first tried the diving task. Looking down at the water from the diving board, Jen backed out and insisted on the other task. Her sister swam her lap but when it was Jen's turn she just couldn't do it. She told Kisha they need to go back to diving. After unsuccessfully diving, Jen was in tears saying she wanted to go home. To her credit, Kisha was extremely patient with her sister. By now all the other teams had completed the Detour and gone on to the Pit Stop destination. Kisha urged her sister to "finish strong" by swimming. She wore a life jacket even though she didn't need one to show support for her sister who did. Certain they were out of the race, the sisters nevertheless completed the swimming task without quitting.

Meanwhile in their taxicab, Jaime and Cara recalled other times on the race they had left a Detour first only to arrive at the Pit Stop after another team. This time, they get to Phil first. But something was wrong. He didn't proclaim them "team #1". Instead he handed them a clue and told them the leg wasn't finished! The words "To Be Continued" appeared on the screen and that's the last we saw of this episode. I guess we can't count Jen & Kisha out yet. I would have liked to have seen their reaction to Phil's surprise.

The preview for next week showed teams sampling Chinese delicacies and the cheerleaders struggling with the language barrier. Go, Luke & Margie, go.

Conflict at the Clue Boxes and Confrontation at the Pit Stop

In tonight's episode the teams travel to China. This is a welcome development for Tammy and Victor who speak Chinese. Margie comments that traveling in countries that don't speak English is an eye opening experience for her. Luke states he would like to go to a country where everyone is deaf and signs. That's where he would have the advantage.

In last week's preview we saw that conflict erupts between Margie & Luke and Kisha & Jen. While riding in a cab, Jen interviews that if she sees someone in front of her, she is going to knock them over. Both sisters recall that Margie & Luke's taxi driver in Bangkok purposely gave their driver wrong directions and they are still sore about it.

At the clue box, Luke and Jen race to arrive first with Luke edging out Jen. She comes right at him (instead of waiting a second for him to get his clue and move out of the way) and he elbows her out of the way. Jen then calls him "bitch" saying it was a bitch move he used on her. Of course Luke doesn't hear her but Margie does! She fills him in on their cab ride to the roadblock. Luke tells her, "Good thing I'm deaf, if I had heard her call me bitch, it would have been on!" He is obviously very angry at this turn of events.

All the teams except the stuntsmen arrive at the roadblock around the same time. For this task, appropriately named Fowl Play, one team member works with a local to toss fish in the water for a trained cormorant to retrieve. Jen & Kisha finish first and are pleased when they see Luke has been bitten by one of the birds. Ouch! "Bad duck" Luke says while the sisters think aloud "karma."

Meanwhile the stuntsmen are working on their Speed Bump task of washing and drying two customers hair outside a salon while locals watch. The guys enjoy shampooing, rinsing the ladies' hair with water from a tea kettle, and giving them a vigorous towel dry. They finish quickly and hurry to catch up with the others.

At the next clue box, Luke and Jen collide again. This time Jen arrives first and the clue box slides over a few feet upon impact. Jen nearly loses her balance. Margie & Kisha hurry over to intervene.

There's no time to argue as the racers move on to their Detour choice of Calligraphy or Choreography. The cheerleaders opt for Choreography while Margie & Luke, Jen & Kisha, and Tammy & Victor choose Calligraphy. For the Choreography task, Jaime & Cara learn a complicated dance routine and perform with other couples. They are stunned when they have trouble getting the judges to approve their performance. They walk away to switch tasks when they realize that perhaps they only needed to perform the routine for the whole song rather than only one time.

Meanwhile, Tammy & Victor's fluency in Chinese helps them communicate with the four local artists who paint Chinese characters for the racers to copy. Kisha & Jen and Margie & Luke follow closely realizing the siblings have the advantage here.

In a footrace to the Pit Stop, Kisha & Jen arrive first and win a trip to Barbados. Tammy & Victor arrive next with Margie & Luke coming in right behind them for third place. A confrontation between Kisha & Jen and Margie & Luke erupts as each tries to explain to Phil what happened at the clue boxes. At one point Luke walks away and calls out "bitch" over his shoulder. Phil asks him to come back and tell his side. Margie becomes extremely upset when it's Luke's turn and she believes the sisters are laughing at his way of communicating. She and Luke explain how difficult it is when all his life hearing people have tried to put him down for being deaf. Kisha denies she was laughing, only smiling because of the tense situation.

Oblivious to all this, the cheerleaders arrive and are pleased to learn they are still in the race. Later the stuntsmen arrive (they chose the Choreography option, by the way) and are eliminated from the race.

In next week's preview, Jen is shown breaking down when faced with a swimming task due to her fear of water. Could it be karma?

What did you think of tonight's episode?

Margie Recovers for Another First Place Finish with Luke!

Last week Margie frightened me when she fainted at the pit stop. She appeared to be suffering from heat exhaustion. I wondered all week whether she would be able to recover her stamina and continue this grueling race. Well, I need not have worried as Margie lived up to her "Bionic Woman" reputation by rocking all the tasks on tonight's episode.

She easily assembled a propeller at the Roadblock. Then at the Detour she searched through bowls containing 50 dentures to find perfect matches for 5 dental patients. Eeew, I would have trouble overcoming my squeamishness but Margie's background as a nurse helped her here. I say her because she found all 5 matches. Luke was not much help. At one point he even tried to put bottom dentures on a patient that needed uppers - oops. The other Detour option chosen by everyone else looked a lot more fun. They got to take a ride in a "party taxi" while singing a repetitive karaoke song in Thai with three locals.

Throughout tonight's episode Luke & Margie made smart racing decisions and finished first again. Whoohoo! Their prize tonight was a trip to Puerto Rico. Cheerleaders Jaime & Cara finished second even though they had their usual difficulties with taxi drivers. Tammy & Victor fell behind early in the race when Victor struggled to put together the propeller but ended up finishing just behind the cheerleaders.

The other two teams, Mark & Michael and Kisha & Jen, made the very poor decision of leaving their belongings behind with their waiting taxis at the Roadblock. Their assumption that they would be returning to that spot proved wrong. Even worse, the sisters left behind their passports and money on a dock. Yikes! Luckily the sisters were able to convince a taxi driver to give them a free ride back to their starting point. That driver's generosity kept them in the game.

In contrast, the stuntsmen used personal possessions to pay fares on two taxi rides which was a violation of race rules. Even though they checked in ahead of Kisha & Jen, they were given two 2 hour penalties by Phil at the mat. Apparently they didn't learn their lesson from last week. Kisha & Jen finished with more than 3 hours remaining on the brothers' penalty clock. Fortunately for the guys it was a nonelimination leg.

Mark & Michael will face an uphill battle next week with their departure delayed by the remaining penalty time and a Speed Bump task only they will have to perform. I wonder if we'll see another U-turn opportunity? The previews showed Luke and Jen colliding twice at clue boxes and each calling the other a b rhymes with witch. Temper, temper! Phil's eyebrows are raised at this turn of events. Stay tuned and continue to cheer on Luke & Margie. Go, Luke & Margie, go!

Margie Frightens Me When She Faints in Thailand

Margie in India CBS photo credit
In tonight's episode, teams travel 2,000 miles from Jaipur, India to Phuket, Thailand. Margie interviews that she is exhausted. She looks really worn out from the rigors of this race but she's determined to press on to the finish.

The racers' first challenge is to locate a gorilla statue's location using only a photo. All the teams except Mike & Mel soon discover the statue is at the Phuket Zoo. Mike & Mel's cab driver mistakenly takes them to a beach. Uh oh.

At the zoo, the Roadblock Task is to "take a walk on the wild side". Teams pose for a photo with a live tiger. Oooh, they must be brave here. Especially when the tiger's handler only has one arm! Not too reassuring that, but all the teams remain intact and seem thrilled by the experience. Next, they participate in the elephant show by lying face down on the ground and allowing an elephant to tap them on the back and squat over them. Margie gets tapped which seems to tickle her fancy while Luke gets squatted over which looks a little nervewracking for him.

Next teams are directed to Old Phuket Town where they visit a shopowner with a large cabinet of drawers behind the counter. Teams must direct the shopowner to open a drawer for a peek inside for their next clue. Margie and Luke luck out when Luke's choice reveals a clue on their second try. Way to go! Random tasks like this can be really annoying. Just ask Jaime and Cara who arrive first at the shop but see several teams leave before they choose the right drawer.

Now teams must participate in a Detour of physical labor. Their options here are 100 barrels or 2 miles. The 100 barrels task involves lifting 53 empty barrels from the main deck of a boat to an upper deck and filling 47 barrels on the dock with water using a hose. For the 2 miles option, teams must travel in a rickshaw (one partner pulling, the other riding) and navigate their way on the streets to a designated park.

Only two teams choose 100 barrels: Jen & Keisha and Mike & Mel. Meanwhile, the stuntsmen are the first to arrive at the 2 miles task. One of the brothers decides after pumping up the tire on their rickshaw to hide the provided pumps from the other teams. Then they hire their cab driver to drive in front of them to the park violating the instructions in their clue. Oh dear. Mark & Michael arrive first at the Pit Stop but Phil informs them sternly they must wait out two 30 minute penalties for their misdeeds. Will they be eliminated tonight?

Tammy & Victor arrive at the mat next while Mark & Michael are still waiting and they are team number one and recipients of a trip to Oahu, Hawaii. Cara & Jaime arrive soon afterwards and are declared team number two. The stuntsmen's penalty time runs out and they check in as team number three. They are disgusted that they lost their chance at first place and a lovely trip. Perhaps they learned a lesson in race protocol. Next to arrive are Luke & Margie. Luke tells Phil urgently, "We need water." While Phil makes a comment about the "Bionic Woman", Margie swoons and Luke holds her up. A chair is brought over and water is poured on her. An ambulance is summoned but by then Margie has recovered enough to wave it away saying she's embarassed. It is frightening to me to see her affected by the heat in this way. Take good care of yourself, Margie!


Keisha & Jen and Mel & Mike battle it out tonight for last place. Ultimately the sisters arrive first and fan favorites Mel & Mike are eliminated. Mike comments on how they had never been teammates before the race and how this has brought a new camraderie to their relationship. Awww, even Phil says he's sorry to see them go. They were a class act who really seemed to enjoy their race experience and appreciate each other.

The preview for the episode airing in 2 weeks shows the teams performing karaoke and hints that the stuntsmen make a critical mistake involving their backpacks.

Recover, Margie, recover. We want to see you and Luke keep racing!

Luke & Margie Caravan Through India

Something new from the show producers: The opening sequence has spliced shots of the teams while on the race in with their publicity shots. Cool!

In tonight's episode, teams leave behind the bitter cold of Russia for the welcome heat of India. Their destination is Jaipur known as the "pink city". Their challenge is to travel to a sacred tree and find their next clue. En route, teams see cows in the streets, monkeys on rooftops, and children eating garbage. Luke is so moved by the poverty he sees out the cab window that he cries.

At this point in the race almost all the teams are traveling as a caravan of cabs on a one lane road. When they arrive at the tree, they have to search for their clue. Underneath the tree are two men sitting by a table with a red telephone on it. Once teams recognize the incongruity of the phone's presence, they examine it closer and see that they need to call a number and listen for the name of their next destination. Hmmm, another listening task. Seems a bit unfair to Luke. Of course Margie listens, but she is unable to decipher what was said. Instead of listening again, she makes the risky move to leave with the others and continue traveling in the caravan. Oh Margie, I hope you two stay with the pack!

Fortunately they do and most of the teams arrive at the Roadblock together. Their challenge now is to feed and water a group of camels. It's one of the Amazing Race's perennial tasks: performing hard manual labor in the hot sun. Unfortunately, Mel chooses to do the task for him and Mike, not knowing what's involved. At 68 years old, he struggles to carry the water to fill the camels' trough. He catches a break when he notices the equipment provided for carrying the hay to the camels. The other teams overlook this and he moves ahead of them. Hurray for Mel. Mike is so proud.

Margie takes this task for her team and finishes around the same time as Jaime and LaKisha. Victor and Tammy have long since left. They are in first place throughout the whole episode. Meanwhile the stuntsmen and flight attendants have fallen behind the rest of the pack.

The teams race on to their Detour choice of movers or shakers. Movers involves riding a bicycle like vehicle with large barrels strapped on the back. Once the barrels are delivered to their destination, the hay filled containers must be searched for a tiny silver elephant charm which can be traded for their next clue. Ugh, it's partially a "needle-in-the-haystack" task. The shakers option sounds like much more fun. For this one teams put on makeup and dress up in a cow costume. They join a band and dance in the streets begging for money. When they've accumulated 100 rupees, they can exchange the money for their next clue. All the teams except for the stuntsmen choose shakers and have a lot of fun with the task. The Americans notice how amidst the poverty of India, the people are generous and they have no trouble collecting 100 rupees. Margie points out that Luke is unable to hear the music from the band. He watches the faces of the onlookers instead.

Before starting on the Detour, the flight attendants are forced to complete a Speed Bump task as their penalty for checking in last on the previous leg. Their job is to paint an elephant. Oh, I would love to do that. The elephant looks so festive when they're done painting colorful designs on its trunk and face.

Unfortunately for them, the Speed Bump puts them behind just enough for the stuntsmen to finish ahead of them and they are eliminated. Here's the standings at the end of the race:

1. Victor & Tammy (The brother and sister win ocean kayaks. How appropriate since they both live in California.)
2. Mel & Mike (father/son team)
3. LaKisha & Jen (sister team)
4. Margie & Luke (our favorite team!)
5. Jaime & Cara (cheerleaders)
6. Mark & Michael (stuntsmen)
7. Christie & Jodi (eliminated)

Teams 3,4,and 5 finished within seconds of each other. Luke signed tonight that his mom is doing the communicating and he is doing the strategizing. They need to step it up for the next leg of the race. Unfortunately the preview shows Margie fainting in the heat. Phil is nearby so perhaps it happens at the pit stop. I hope she's okay. Go, Margie & Luke, go!

Margie & Luke Finish First Again!

In tonight's episode, teams board the Trans Siberian Railroad to travel to Russia. Only one train leaves that day for their destination and it's scheduled in the evening. This allows all the other teams to catch up to the flight attendants who were the first to depart from the pit stop. For AR fans, this is known as an "equalizer". It can be frustrating when your favorite teams are ahead but this time it proves a wonderful advantage for Margie & Luke who came in fourth on the last leg.

As they board the train that night, the teams comment on how cold the weather is. Brrr. Next we learn that Mike, Tammy, and Victor are all aware that Margie & Luke were responsible for the blind u-turn. Mike says that Luke will create a new archetype for the show as "the sinister deaf kid". Nah, I don't buy into that. Luke & Margie do not fit the mold for Amazing Race villains. Indeed, Mike admits that he now realizes they are "power players". They are racing well and their determination to win is plain to see.

In Russia, the teams face a Detour choice of bride or snowplow. Interesting combination there. Luke strategizes that the snowplow task is less complicated and predicts it will be the faster option. He & Margie, their closest allies Cara & Jaime, and Victor & Tammy (who are there when they are choosing) all go for the snowplows. It appears that the three teams are going to work together. But no, while pulled over at a gas station as the cheerleaders ask for help, Victor secretly gets directions from a cabdriver filling his tank, and pulls away from the pack without sharing his information. Luke & Margie manage to follow, while Cara & Jaime are left behind. En route, Victor gets additional directions and shakes off Luke & Margie. Any goodwill the other two teams felt for this brother/sister duo has evaporated. It's "game on", as Margie says.

I wonder if Tammy & Victor may have forfeited that goodwill for nothing as the other two teams quickly catch up to them at the Detour site. All three teams are successful at driving their snowplow through a short curving course as their partner directs them. I'm excited to catch Luke signing "stop!" emphatically to his mom. That's one of the signs I use often at my house. Just ask my son...The teams' next clue directs them to a biblioteka (not sure on spelling) which Margie recognizes and signs to Luke is a library. Another sign I know!

Meanwhile Mel & Mike have chosen the Russian bride detour. The father & son drive themselves to an apartment complex, find their bride, and drive her across town to meet her groom at a church. The two sweetly compliment the beautiful bride. Mel marvels at how well his son navigates through Russia. Falling behind, the stuntmen choose snowplows, while the flight attendants and the sisters choose brides.

The library Roadblock turns out to be the outdoor "run in your underwear" task we saw in last week's preview. Luke & Margie arrive first at the library. Luke takes the task much to Margie's relief when she finds out that he has to run 1.4 miles in his underwear accompanied by a group of marathon runners. Is this CBS' idea of humor? It is terribly cold out and rather humiliating to have strangers see you in your undies and laugh. I think I would have preferred watching a Travelocity gnome task, an unpopular commercial tie-in staple of previous races.

While Rocky theme music plays and Luke jogs, Margie is shown giving encouragement from a cab as she passes Luke. He says he pushed through his embarassment by not looking at anyone as he ran. At the end of the race route, Luke is reunited with his mom at a performance center. The two race up several flights of stairs to find Phil at the mat while ballet dancers twirl on a stage in the background. Still in his underwear Luke is thrilled to see Phil sign that they are team number one! Their reward is a trip to St. Lucia after the race.

Victor & Tammy finish second, the cheerleaders third, Mel & Mike fourth, and the stuntsmen fifth. The first and second place teams from last week are now battling it out to not finish last. In the end, the sisters arrive before the flight attendants. The blondes are sad to hear Phil begin to say "I'm sorry to tell you..." but are pleased when he finishes with "you'll be the last team to leave on the next leg of the race." Aha, this is the first nonelimination leg of the race. The flight attendants have been spared for now but they will find an additional challenge known as the Speed Bump - a task only they will have to perform - on the next part of the race.

Margie & Luke are the only team so far to have finished first more than once. Go, Luke & Margie, go!

Margie & Luke Use the U-Turn in Siberia

Tonight's episode began with Margie & Luke discussing the newest twist in the game: the blind U-turn. On the Amazing Race, when a team is u-turned by another team, they are forced to go back and complete a second detour task. In past seasons, the team using the u-turn option had to post their photo up so everyone knew who was responsible. Hard feelings often ensued. Now teams can play this move anonymously. That's brilliant, CBS producers!

The eight remaining teams moved on to Siberia (brr) in this leg of the race. They were allowed to choose their own flight from Romania to Moscow. This divided the teams into two groups - those whose connection made the first flight to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia and those who missed it. The stuntsmen, the sisters, and the flight attendants were the lucky ones who made it to Siberia first. Margie & Luke and the remaining four teams travelled on the next flight.

In Siberia teams directed their cab drivers to take them to a hydroelectric dam pictured on a ten ruble note. There they encountered a detour choice of stack (a huge pile of firewood) or construct (shutters and install them). The stuntsmen blew their lead when their firewood pile collapsed. They quickly switched to the second option of making shutters but got sidetracked looking for the marked home where they would install them. The sisters and the flight attendants successfully stacked their logs and took the lead. Both teams chose to forego the u-turn knowing they were well ahead of the pack.

Margie & Luke chose to stack along with the cheerleaders, dating couple Kris & Amanda, father/son team Mel & Mike, and Victory & Tammy. With all the other teams' (except for Victor & Tammy) piles falling, Margie & Luke arrived at the u-turn with an important choice to make. Agreeing that "It's just part of the game", they u-turned Kris & Amanda, one of the strongest teams left. Excellent strategy! Coming right behind, Victor & Tammy were relieved to see the u-turn was already in play.

While the cheerleaders rebuilt their fallen pile, Mel & Mike, and Kris & Amanda switched tasks meeting up with the stuntsmen who were still clueless about where they were supposed to install their shutters. The teams joined together to work cooperatively and completed the task successfully. Back at the clue box Kris & Amanda were angry to discover they had been u-turned and forced to return to stacking wood.

Meanwhile the other teams had gone on to their next destination, a Roadblock. Here one team member was required to ride a bobsled over a rollercoaster like track. Posted along the route were seven letters they needed to solve a puzzle at the end of the ride. If they missed any of the letters, they had to ride again. Their final task was to arrange the letters to spell the name of a famous Russian playwright.

Luke struggled over this last part as he had never taken any Russian literature courses. He tried four times unsuccessfully to guess the right answer. Unable to help, Margie continued to encourage him to "keep trying". Her positive spirit paid off as his next try was correct. The answer: Chekhov. I bounced up and down on the sofa with joy and my son raced over to hug me. Hurray for Luke!

Amazingly, the flight attendants hit the mat first followed closely by the sisters. Victor (who immediately thought of Chekhov) & Tammy came in third. Margie & Luke finished fourth for the third time in a row. After them were the cheerleaders, their closest allies. Last to arrive were Amanda & Kris who were eliminated. They never suspected that it had been Margie & Luke who had u-turned them.

Next week's preview shows Mike discussing the u-turn with Luke. Hmmm. How did he find out? The preview also highlights the teams racing around Siberia in their underwear (huh?). I'd much prefer a parka myself.

Go Luke & Margie, go!

CBS Amazing Race and Captioned Video Clips

Today I was on the CBS Amazing Race site and noticed that some of their videos are now offered with closed captioning. The only ones captioned so far are for clips of Elimination Station (where eliminated teams are sequestered until the end of the race). It's a start and I hope that CBS will caption more of their Amazing Race videos soon.

Margie & Luke Race Through Romania

Bran Castle

This week's episode brings the racers to Bucharest, Romania. When their destination is announced, I'm confused. Margie echoes my thoughts exactly: "I thought Bucharest was in Hungary!"

Luke is shown interviewing that he doesn't want to rely on his mom for all his communication on the race. He wants to know for himself what the other teams are thinking. Later the cheerleaders Jaime and Cara tell the camera that some people might be put off by Luke's deafness but they enjoy communicating with him. One of them is shown fingerspelling a word to him and writing notes on a pad of paper.

The first task of this leg of the race is to get in touch with one's inner Nadia. For this roadblock inspired by Nadia Comaneci, one team member is required to don a leotard and obtain instruction on the balance beam, parallel bars, and a floor routine. When Margie asks Luke if he wants to do it, he emphatically states, "I'm not wearing that girl's leotard." (CBS uses his comment as the title of tonight's episode.) Margie takes the road block and does a great job. She even looks good in her leotard!

As team after team completes the task with ease, I'm thinking that the judges for this task seem pretty lenient compared to some judges from past races. But then Tammy (of brother/sister team Victor & Tammy) takes her turn. She struggles throughout the task having to try again and again to win her judges' approval. Little sister Tammy is fit and trim so that is not the problem. No, she struggles because she is mentally distracted by her team's difficulty in getting to Bucharest. As team number one from last week, she and Victor had secured the first flight out of Munich. Unfortunately for them, their plane had mechanical problems and had to return to the airport. They got on the next flight out with several other teams.

Brad & Victoria

Their problems were not as bad as Brad's and Victoria's (the older husband/wife team) airport fiasco. Booked on the last flight leaving Munich with some of the other teams, they take a chance by booking an alternative flight that arrives earlier. Missing a tight connection in Amsterdam strands them at the airport until morning. As teams have learned before on the race, sometimes it's safer to stay with the pack.

Once teams receive their clue from their gynastics judge, they are directed to the next stop on the race Brasov, Transylvania. Cool! There they have a Detour choice of two tasks: Gypsy Moves or Vampire Remains. Gypsy Moves involves locating a gypsy settlement, packing up a gypsy family's belongings on a cart, and transporting them on the horsedrawn cart to another gypsy camp where everything is unloaded. Kris & Amanda (photogenic dating couple) are first to arrive and have no trouble with the task. Until it's time to leave and they can't locate Kris' fannypack with their money and passports. Yikes! Not another Toni and Dallas scenario! No, all's well here when the fannypack is recovered. Phew.

Kris and Amanda's delay while searching for their lost items allows father/son team Mel & Mike who surprisingly also chose the gypsy moves task (doesn't Mel have a groin injury?) to forge ahead. This week the father and son are first to the pit stop winning a trip to Costa Rica.

Meanwhile Margie & Luke choose Vampire Remains along with the cheerleaders, Tammy & Victor, and the flight attendants. This task involves following a marked path, locating a coffin, dragging it down a hill, unlocking it, and opening it to obtain wooden blocks inside. These blocks must then be impaled on a stake. One of the blocks contains a red/yellow flag which can then be exchanged for a clue from the watching "vampire". I would definitely have chosen this option!!! Margie & Luke breeze through this task and offer their closest allies, the cheerleaders, some advice.

Tammy & Victor

Unfortunately for Victor & Tammy, this task is not so simple. They are misled at the very first step when Victor spots some red and white paint markings on trees and declares they show the way to the coffins. Tammy points out that markings on previous races have always been in the form of red and yellow arrows but Victor doesn't listen. They walk on and on climbing up and up even though the airline flight attendants who were just behind them never make an appearance. Tammy questions Victor repeatedly but he insists that he's right. Meanwhile all the other teams except for Brad and Victoria have checked in at the pit stop. Luke & Margie have placed fourth again.

Eventually Victor and Tammy return to their starting point where Victor notices the arrow pointing to the correct path. Their troubles continue when they lose their key to the coffin while dragging it down the hillside. Their persistence pays off when Victor recovers the key in the grass. Where are Brad and Victoria? Do they have any hope of catching up? No, their choice at the airport is fatal and they are eliminated from the race. I thought they were a team that would stay around much longer. I would not count Victor and Tammy out even though they are at the bottom of the pack. Teams have gone from first to last in previous races and moved back up in the standings on the next leg.

The preview for next week's episode shows Luke having a frustrating time solving a code. I wonder how that dilemma will be resolved. We know you're smart, Luke. You can do it. Yes, you can! Go, Luke & Margie, go!

Margie & Luke Earn the Respect of the Other Amazing Racers

Photo by CBS.

This week's Amazing Race episode begins with reactions from the racers to Luke & Margie's first place finish. Margie is hailed as a "Bionic Woman". She is racing like a much younger woman! Luke was complimented by Tammy for being wonderfully observant. They are definitely a team to be reckoned with agree the other racers.

Tonight the racers move on to Germany and start by riding a cable car up a mountain. At the top they encounter a Roadblock challenge to "Fly Like an Eagle". One team member has to paraglide off a cliff. Margie agrees to take it for their team. Unfortunately the wind conditions are currently unsafe and the racers have to choose whether to wait for the wind to change or to hike (run) down the mountain following a marked trail. Their teammates get to ride the cable car and enjoy the spectacular view a second time.

Eventually all the racers except for Mel choose to abandon the wait for the wind to change. Mel is stuck waiting because on the previous leg of the race he injured himself climbing the muddy hill and doesn't feel capable of hoofing it back down. Frankly, I was surprised he chose to do the roadblock for the team in the first place. Fortunately for him the wind changes and Mel is able to soar like an eagle and get his team back into the race.

Margie makes it down the mountain on foot with no problem as does everyone else except for Linda. Sadly, she overlooks a crucial trail marker and takes a wrong turn. When she realizes her mistake what makes it harder for her is that she is certain her husband will be angry or disappointed with her. With the help of a passing motorist she hitches a ride back to where she needs to end up. [I wondered if their team would be penalized in any way for this at the Pit Stop but they end up eliminated in the end so it doesn't make a difference. More importantly, her husband isn't mad at her.]

The racers now move on to a Detour where they can choose to navigate an obstacle course on Segways or throw pies at a target until they find one with cherry filling. As a longtime fan of the show, Luke knows that "needle in the haystack" type tasks often derail teams. He wants to do the obstacle course. But his mom wants to throw pies. He acquiesces and is only shown to urge his mother to switch tasks once. I think this scene gives us some insight into their relationship and their team dynamics. Letting Margie have her way empowers her as an equal partner on the race. Meanwhile brother/sister team Victor and Tammy and sister/sister team LaKisha and Jennifer struggle with one partner taking control and limiting the other's input.

As we saw in the preview for this week, the target for the pies turns out to be their teammate's face. But that doesn't seem to deter any of the teams that choose the pies and in fact they all seem to have fun with it. Interestingly we only see one team at a time throwing pies. I wonder if they had to wait for each other to finish or if it just ended up that way. Margie and Luke go through many pies before they find one with cherry filling. This actually seems to make the task easier for the next team, Brad and Victoria, as they are shown only tossing a few pies. Only three teams choose the obstacle course and they seem to have no difficulty managing the Segways.

Victor and Tammy who are in first place the whole leg of the race easily come in first to the pit stop. To their delight they're rewarded with a pair of hybrid go karts. Margie & Luke come in fourth place. But this belies their good performance as most of the teams after them come in much later time wise. At one point CBS even notes that 14 hours have passed since the start of the race.

The CBS website is running a poll on whether Margie & Luke can keep it up. When I looked at it there was an overwhelming majority of yes votes and numerous positive comments posted. Luke & Margie you have earned our respect. Go, go, go!!!

First Place Finish for Luke & Margie

Hooray for Luke and Margie! The deaf son/hearing mother team on the Amazing Race arrived at the Pit Stop first. I was thrilled to see host Phil Keoghan sign "You are team number 1" to Luke!

On tonight's premiere episode teams left Southern California for Switzerland. Along the way one team member was required to make a leap off a dam at the second highest bungee jump in the world. Scary! Luke took that one for his team and did great. Actually it may have been more frightening for his mother to watch him jump.

Arriving in Interlaken, Switzerland teams had to climb a steep hill slippery with mud. At the top were wheels of cheese weighing 50 pounds each that had to be transported back down the hill. For this Roadblock task, each team had to bring 4 wheels (200 pounds total) of cheese down the hill. This task offered some amusement as the flimsy wooden contraptions provided for carrying the cheese quickly snapped into pieces. Runaway cheese wheels rolled down the hill to the laughter of locals. An older racer hit on a solution by sliding down the hill on his butt grasping his cheese tightly. Another team coming from behind thought the task out and used the wooden materials to carry three wheels at a time by the stronger team member with the remaining cheese wheel scootched down the hill by the weaker member. Most teams required two trips up and down the hill to complete the Roadblock.

The racers' final challenge was to locate the Pit Stop by listening for a group of yodelers. Wait. That's not fair to Luke, I thought aloud. My husband said it was fair because his mother was able to hear. It didn't matter in the end because they came in first. I had tears in my eyes seeing the pride Margie and Luke had in their achievement. When Luke told Phil (through his mom) that he came on the race to show that deaf people can do anything, I saw one of the racers from another team wipe his eyes.

I hope this show will open America's eyes to the potential in deaf people. Go Luke and Margie! I'm rooting for you!!!

Deaf Contestant on the next Amazing Race

The Amazing Race begins again on February 15th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern (7:00 p.m. Central). I'm very excited that this season features Luke, a 22 year old deaf contestant, running with Margie, his hearing mother. On their bio page at the CBS website it says "Luke hopes to be a role-model for deaf people everywhere while proving that the deaf can do just about anything and to never think otherwise."

The website also has an interview video where the pair discuss (Margie signs as she speaks and interprets her son's responses in ASL) their team strengths. I loved their comment, "We can strategize in front of other teams. They won't know what we're saying." That should be fun to watch!

Luke is a huge fan of the show and is very knowledgeable about how the race works. His mother Margie comments in the interview video that he will be good at reading the clues and remembering every part of them. Last season's racers struggled with that crucial part of their performance so I think that bodes well for this team.

I'll see you at the starting line to cheer on Luke and Margie!