The Amazing Race: Not My Ideal Ending (5/6/07)

Last night’s Amazing Race: All Stars finale has Charla & Mirna, Dustin & Kandice, and Eric & Danielle in the race for a million dollars. The Beauty Queens were the first team to arrive at the last pit stop so they leave first. All teams are traveling from Guam to Hawaii via Tokyo. Upon reaching Tokyo, Charla & Mirna snag a better connection flight, putting them in Honolulu 40 minutes earlier than the other two teams.

All teams head to the Kamaka Air Hanger where they must sign up for helicopter rides. Charla & Mirna arrive first followed by Eric & Danielle and Dustin & Kandice. They drive themselves to find a Detour – Under or Over. In Under, teams must swim into an underwater cave to retrieve their clue. In Over, both team members must stand on paddleboards & paddle their way to their next clue. Charla & Mirna choose Over while Eric & Danielle and Dustin & Kandice choose Under.

Teams have to drive themselves to Shipwreck Beach to get their next clue with Charla & Mirna in first – but not for long. The other teams catch up, even passing them in a foot race to the next clue. They all must choose kayaks and paddle to retrieve their next clue. All teams struggle against the current but Eric & Danielle complete their task with greater ease than the all-female teams.

The final destination city is San Francisco & when teams arrive, they must head to the Old Mint. On the way, a breakdown in communication between Dustin & Kandice erupts while Charla & Mirna try to push their way through exhaustion. Teams catch up at the airport & everyone is together on the flight to Oakland. At the Old Mint, the teams find their final challenge which tests how well they know their partner. Surprisingly, Eric & Danielle finish first and teams must now head to the finish line – the San Francisco Botanical Gardens.

And the winner of the Amazing Race: All Stars is … Eric & Danielle. I can’t freakin’ believe it. Dustin & Kandice came in 2nd with my girls, Charla & Mirna taking a 3rd place finish.

The Amaing Race: Teams Get Patriotic (4/29/07)

Marked for elimination, Danny & Ozzie set out on the 12th leg of the race determined to finish first & secure their spot in the final 3. Their next destination is Guam, an island in the South Pacific. All teams board a flight together, with the exception of Cha Cha. However, they board a different flight which should put them in Guam at the same time if they can make the 45 minute connection in Tokyo. They are successful & all teams now have an even playing field.

Teams travel to the US Air Force Academy & are driven to a tower where they find a detour. Teams choose between delivering a care package or scour clean a B-52 bomber. Everyone chose the engine except Charla & Mirna who chose the care package because it was a humanitarian challenge. I like them more & more each week. Dustin & Kandice finish first, followed by Eric & Danielle, Ozzie & Danny, and Charla & Mirna now in last place.

All teams find their next clue at the US Naval Base – it’s a Road Block. Teams have to navigate through the jungle to find one of four officers using a GPS device. Dustin completes her task with ease while Danielle & Charla struggle. Ozzie & Danny arrive last but set out right away on the Road Block. Danielle & Charla finally get it together, finishing their task while Danny & Ozzie end up last again.

The 12th pit stop is Fort Soledad & the last team to check in will be eliminated. The Beauty Queens arrive first & have a chance at becoming the first all female team to ever win The Amazing Race. They also won all terrain vehicles as a reward for the first place finish. They are followed by Eric & Danielle in 2nd place & Charla & Mirna. Just as they thought, Ozzie & Danny are eliminated.

This leaves me to root for Charla & Mirna in the final leg. Danny & Ozzie also express their support for that team, calling them a class act. Who will win? Be sure to check out the finale next week on NBC at 8pm EST.

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The Amazing Race: Bad Karma Vs. No Money (4/22/07)

Tonight’s race started with Eric & Danielle marked for elimination. Ozzie & Danny were out of money & desperate to get their hands on some. They made a deal with Dustin & Kandice (or as Mirna called it, "a deal with the devil") to yield Eric & Danielle in exchange for $45. Since the beauty queens already yielded once on the race, they were unable to again. Teams headed to the Mulau Tower where one team member had to sky jump off the 61st floor. Danny, Dustin, Charla, and Eric all took the leap of faith. In the detour, teams chose between making pasta or carrying a wooden dragon & drum ¾ of a mile to a boat. Everyone chose pasta except Ozzie & Danny. Earlier in the episode, they felt guilty for exchanging a yield for money.

Bad karma followed them as Eric & Danielle pulled ahead to 1st place upon completing the detour while Ozzie & Danny found themselves at the bottom of the pack, lost on their detour. Teams then had to drive what looked to be like a golf cart to their pit stop. Dustin & Kandice had no trouble with the shift stick while Charla & Mirna struggled greatly. Eric & Danielle came in 2nd but had to serve their 30 minute penalty before being allowed to check in. During the 30 minutes, Charla & Mirna checked in 2nd since Eric & Danielle were still waiting. Ozzie & Danny did not make it back in time so Eric & Danielle were allowed to check in 3rd. HOWEVER, it was the final non-elimination round. Therefore, Ozzie & Danny were allowed to stay but are now marked for elimination.

The Amazing Race: The Standby Fairy Doesn't Like Us (4/15/07)

There's a conspiracy to get rid of the blondes & it's being led by the "other blondes" - Charla & Mirna. Seems nobody would mind getting rid of Dustin & Kandice so teams join forces to try to oust them from the top 3. Teams need to head to Hong Kong & all flights are full. Ozzie & Danny secure themselves on standby before all other teams despite coming in 3rd on the last race. When they get the earliest flight, they give their priority code for the 2nd flight to Charla & Mirna, putting them ahead of Dustin & Kandice (who have a hissy fit). Once again, Eric & Danielle are left behind, ending up on the 3rd flight & hours behind.

Upon arriving to Hong Kong, Ozzie & Danny find themselves the 2nd of only 2 Fast Forwards in the game where they must complete a movie action stunt. After rolling in a car, they have completed their task & head first to the finish line. As the winners of this leg of the race, they receive a trip back to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year (note: I'm jealous).

The others must continue along on the Detour choosing between Kung Fu Fighting & Lost In Translation. The Beauty Queens head to kung fu and after hemming & hawing, Charla & Mirna opted to do the same. The decision is not a wise one as their taxi driver gets lost, costing them precious time. You would think a little person would have troble climbing an 11 story ladder fighting off ninjas but Charla never ceases to amaze me and Too Hot To Handle finishes without further problems. However, it doesn't last as they get lost heading to Hong Kong Island.

Eric & Danielle finally arrive in Hong Kong & head to kung fu fight. All remaining teams find themselves kicking down doors Hong Kong style in their detour. One more stop to complete a task & teams can head to the finish line. (Side note: The Travelocity gnome had a nice cameo tonight.) Dustin & Kandice finish 2nd. Hours behind, and after day has turned to night, Charla & Mirna (having gotten lost for the BILLIONTH time) make it to the pit stop to check in 3rd. Last to arrive is the fake team - Eric & Danielle but it's a non-elimination round & they are now marked for elimination.

Next time on The Amazing Race, Charla rises 660 feet above the ground & teams must make a decision regarding a Yield. The Amazing Race airs Sunday nights at 8pm EST on CBS.

The Amazing Race: Charla Gets Her Ass Kicked By Horses & Sausage (4/1/07)

Tonight's 2 hour episode took the teams on a tumultuous journey to Poland. Team Guido & Eric/Danielle (known as Team Shut Up in my living room) were left behind after missing a flight. This put them more than 12 hours behind the other teams. The Beauty Queens finished 1st & actually started their next leg before those two teams had finished the previous one. Team Guido ended up in last place but it was a non-elimination round. They are now marked for elimination and will incur a 30 minute penalty if they do not come in 1st on their next leg.

Teams the made an emotional journey to Auschwitz where they had to observe a moment of silence. Afterwards, they found themselves "intersected". Each team had to pair up with another to complete a task until they were given further notice. Ozzie & Danny teamed up with Uchenna & Joyce to finish a Fast Forward. Successful, they were able to go right to the pit stop where they found out that while they tied for 1st place, only one team could have the prize associated with it. Ozzie & Danny, generously & without hesitation, let Uchenna & Joyce have the trip to St. Lucia. The Beauty Queens begrudgingly joined forces with Charla & Mirna while Team Guido had no choice but to team up with Team Shut Up. They hit a Detour & both sets of teams decided to do a task where they had to eat 2 feet of sausage. Dustin & Charla both threw up ... and I prefer never again to watch Charla shove utensils down her throat in order to force herself to puke. That image is now burned in my brain ... thanks, CBS. It hurts.

The remaining four teams were released from being intersected and hit a Detour where one team member had to lead a horse through the woods. On the way there, Charla & Mirna screamed at a taxi driver who wouldn't let them follow him for any less than $100. An episode wouldn't be complete without Mirna melting down, crying, and screaming in broken english. They finally made it to the challenge. Charla, having previous bad luck with horses, did not find much change in Poland. Dustin & Kandice had no trouble finishing 3rd with Charla & Mirna close behind. Team Guido finished 5th but since Eric & Danielle finished during the 30 minute penalty, they were eliminated.

On next week's episode, Eric & Danielle butt heads with Charla & Mirna while Ozzie & Danny have a meltdown.