The Amazing Race is back for it’s 20th season, and I’m happy to report things got off to a pretty great start. First, the cast. With just one glaring inclusion, this season’s cast is, well, amazing. We’ve got married clowns (I had to giggle when Phil said those two words), border patrol officers, Federal agents, twins … just a great collection of real people. No celebs of any kind, no well-known athletes, just real people. And then, of course, there are Brendon and Rachel, or Brenchel as fans of Big Brother call them. Yes, even after being on Big Brother twice, someone felt it was necessary to infect The Amazing Race with them. Oddly enough, I rooted for Rachel to win last season’s Big Brother … but only after she had been separated from Brendon. Together, they are a toxic combination when faced with adversity, but they work surprisingly well as individuals. Unfortunately, as CBS has been showing in their promos, we will be subjected to more than a few of Rachel’s spectacular meltdowns. Oh joy. With no possibility of just one of them being eliminated, this could turn into a gruelling season (although their BB friends Jeff and Jordan didn’t fare very well on their TAR season, so there’s still hope). The only other team I won’t mind seeing go soon is Bopper & Mark. Bopper is just a little too loud and rednecky for me (sorry Mark).
The challenges in this first episode were pretty spectacular as well, at least the Road Block was — one team member had to jump from a plane while the other tried to find the landing zone to receive the clue. It was pretty funny watching the teams put together the pieces that the challenge involved being up in the air, and how some of them were not liking the idea. They didn’t know for sure, and the clue wasn’t any help, and naturally the one who was most scared of flying was the one who blindly chose that portion of the task. One of the border patrol agents, JJ, was terrified of jumping from a plane, and it almost seemed that Misa was going to force the plane to land before she gathered her wits and did it.
Teams were also required to make 120 empanadas, correctly, before they could advance to the pit stop. The first two teams to make it to the empanada contest were Art & JJ and Brendon & Rachel. We got our first taste of Brendon’s idiocy as he made a couple of inappropriate comments regarding Art & JJ’s profession and his own Mexican hertiage, even implying the Argentinian woman judging the empanadas was giving the guys a hard time like she has any clue about their jobs. Of course, Brendon & Rachel made it to the Pit Stop in second place so we’ll have to put up with them a while longer.
First place went to Rachel & Dave (who started making empanadas in third place), and they also won the Express Pass which they can use anytime up to the eighth leg of the race. Art & JJ came in third. Unfortunately, nothing went well for Misa and Maiya and they were eliminated after they made one of the worst mistakes in Amazing Race history. After completing the empanadas with one team behind them, they ran out to find the Pit Stop, ran right past it, Phil and a camera crew, wandered around, tripped over each other, and then by the time they saw Phil, the Jersey Shore guys had just squeaked past them. It was a sad turn of events for a team that had already overcome a few obstacles on the first leg. But, it was a good start to the season, and I hope they can keep it up!
“My uterus is in my throat!” — Vanessa in mid-air during the skydiving Road Block
“I’m half Mexican and I hate them for a reason.” — The ever-charming Brendon trying to catch up to the first place border patrol officers
“This is the first time I have made a pinata.” — Good ole boy Bopper, making an empanada
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Feb 19, 2012 @ 23:09 EST5EDT
Vanessa was comedy almost every time she had screen time. I’m sad that Misa and Maiya were eliminated. They seemed promising.
I worry about momma clown. Having a breakdown so early does not bode well for their future in this race.
I so wish Rachel could run the race with someone besides Brendan. Like with Jordan. I liked how she corrected him in the intro when he said “we won big brother.”
*POST AUTHOR*
Remember, the old couple last season didn’t seem like they’d make it past the first leg either, but they recovered nicely. I won’t count the clowns out just yet.
And I like the idea of Rachel and Jordan running the race together, although I don’t think Jordan was really much help when she and Jeff did the show. But Rachel and anyone besides Brendon would be fine. I can’t take the two of them together. They bring out the worst in each other in tough situations. Brendon’s only contribution to winning Big Brother was getting himself voted out … twice in one season!
I loved the old couple last season. And I don’t remember them having a breakdown in the first episode. They were always push through until the end. My concern isn’t their age, it’s that momma clown won’t be able to keep it together. Poppa clown used the word “jaunt” so I’m hoping they stay. I’m just not putting money on it.
*POST AUTHOR*
I was rooting for the old couple. It’s not that they ever had a breakdown, but they didn’t seem that they would ever find the first clue to move on. It took them a while to gather their wits about them and really turn it on, so maybe after the initial stress the clowns will find their groove. It’s not about finishing first right now, it’s just about not finishing last!