Amazing Race Season 1 Episode 2 - "Near or Far"

The second episode of the series. (slight wince) It's still trying to find its bearings. The emotions are a little too high and the tasks are a little too DIY, but it does make for some entertaining TV.

Places Visited

- Songwe Museum, Zambia
- Mosi-oa-Tunya, Zambia

Image: here

- Mukuni Village, Zambia

Image: here

- Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Image: here

- Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France

Image: here

Tasks

• Detour - Near or Far
• Choose between photographing African wildlife from a place that's near or far away. In Near, contestants had to photograph 5 animals while in Far they only had to photograph one elephant.
• Roadblock - Go up the Eiffel Tower, look through the telescope, and find the white and yellow flag on the Arc de Triomphe.
• Fast Forward - Bundu whitewater rafting on the Zambezi River

Stray Observations

• Alternate Titles for this Episode - Songwe Museum, Where You At?
• Rob and Brennan, Frank and Margarita, and Team Guido teamed up at the beginning. Yeah, that was short lived.
• Karyn starts the episode talking about how she wants to marry Lenny and ends the episode by verbally berating him and calling him a disappointment.
• Dave thought to ask someone in the actual village. Then, we never see him and his wife again until the end of the episode.
• Everybody’s helping each other out at this point.
• Team Guido axes Frank and Margarita first due to their uncontrollability and Rob and Brennan second due to their lack of travel knowledge. Needless to say I'm not a huge fan of Team Guido.
• Chief spits on the contestants as part of ritual which a quick Internet search says is a type of blessing ceremony.
• Airport lady telling Amie to chillax. “She doesn’t understand we’ve got a race going on.” - Valid point, Amie.
• So MUCH airport drama in the early days. Oh the drama!
• Another random person greeting contestants at the mat. This time it's a yellow mat.
• Clues were way harder and kinda cryptic back in the day.
• Not a fan of the teacher’s game. Really cutthroat and ruthless cutting in line and taking someone’s taxi.
• Paul makes a valid point about going home if all you’re going to do is cry while on the race. Although him threatening to leave was a bit jerk-ish. Also, way to have anger issues at the Eiffel Tower. It's the City of Love not the City of Rage.
• Wow, Karyn was pretty darn demoralizing. I really felt for Lenny. This is a brand new game. He's one of the first people to do this. It's not like there were dozens of episodes to watch beforehand to give him a clue on how to play. Cut him some slack, Karyn.
• Awww, Lenny and Emily became Roadblock buddies.
• I like how the teams hang around to say goodbye. They don't do that anymore.

End of Leg Two Results

1st - Pat and Brenda - Fast Forward Winners

2nd - Joe and Bill - Team Faceplant (Bill's spill at the mat was hilarious)

3rd - Rob and Brennan - "We're Not Bitter" 

4th - Frank and Margarita - Team Aggressive High Five (I mean Frank seriously could have knocked her hand off with that high five)

5th - Kevin and Drew - Still My Favorites

6th - Dave and Margaretta - "Where'd you go? You were gone for half the episode!"

7th - Paul and Amie - "Just Quit Already!"

8th - Nancy and Emily - Bickering Bettys 

9th - Lenny and Karyn - Bad Romance

Eliminated - Kim and Leslie - Taxi Thieves

Favorite Quotes

“Which camera is on?” - Kevin and Drew, picking out supplies for the detour

“Get that Ame. There’s a jack-o-lantern, too.” - Paul, pointing at a jackal

“There are no friends here.” - Joe, after deciding to delete Rob and Brennan from his alliance

“You’re the stairmaster man.” - Rob and Brennan, deciding on who should climb up the Eiffel Tower

"There's no need to run." - Leslie and Kelly, vying for last place

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

1. Would you play dirty to get ahead on the Amazing Race?

2. What do you think of the clues? Too cryptic?

3. What do you think of the airport drama? Boring or interesting?