The Amazing Race Season Finale 12/10/06

pdhenry · 12-10-2006, 07:42 PM

So there's a 24-hour requirement for online flight booking?

Martha · 12-10-2006, 07:57 PM

I think I replayed Kimberly falling into the clue box 5 or 6 times. Priceless!

pdhenry · 12-10-2006, 08:04 PM

Bama gambles for Orly a second time - will it pay?

EDIT: Guess not...

scottykempf · 12-10-2006, 08:10 PM

Rob and Kim on first flight.
Bama and Models on stand-by for same flight. Model: "There's no way, dude. " Of course, this means that they will make the flight FOR SURE.

We come back from the break, the producers release two extra seats on the plane for the Models (you would find it pretty boring to watch Rob and Kim win all by themselves, now wouldn't you?), but Bama is SOL.

Cool to see them go back to Paris. (I don't think that they have been there since season one, and if they have, I'm sure that it's the first time that they have been back to the Eiffel Tower since the first season. Hmmm, why haven't they ever gone to Ireland? Have they ever been to England? I don't think so. )

Cool to see them go to Bayeux, Caen, and the Normandy beaches. I was there in 2000 and it was neat to see it again.

TomK · 12-10-2006, 08:26 PM

What a bummer for one of the teams to miss the most important flight of the whole race, but that is what makes it a race.

scottykempf · 12-10-2006, 08:28 PM

Models win. First question they will ask: "Exactly how much crack does $1,000,000 buy us, anyways?"

Interesting commercial for TAR All Stars at the very end. The announcer states: "The toughest teams will compete...." yada yada. Oh really, the toughest? We'll see, we'll see.

scottykempf · 12-10-2006, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdhenry

So there's a 24-hour requirement for online flight booking?

Apparently, from what the boys said. But one still wanted to go look for internet, and the other one said "what's the point?". Well, you could get on the internet and find the fastest way to get from the airport into downtown NYC for instance. Look up roads, expressways, etc. I don't know if they had the exact place in NYC that they were going or not. If they did, they could find out exactly where that was. Dummy.

pdhenry · 12-10-2006, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomK

What a bummer for one of the teams to miss the most important flight of the whole race, but that is what makes it a race.

Don't forget that the flight was soon followed by a 2-mile run. I don't think the outcome would have been different had they made the flight.

scottykempf · 12-10-2006, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdhenry

Don't forget that the flight was soon followed by a 2-mile run. I don't think the outcome would have been different had they made the flight.

True. It has been proven that Bama cannot run.

scottykempf · 12-10-2006, 08:42 PM

Be sure to watch the Early Show tomorrow for the inevitable proposal of James and Tyler.........ooops, I mean Rob and Kim. LOL

eddyj · 12-10-2006, 08:43 PM

I was very disappointed that there was not a task right before the finish.

Anubys · 12-10-2006, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottykempf

Have they ever been to England? I don't think so.

Yes, they have 1 or 2 seasons ago...

I was annoyed how Lynn kept saying she's made too many sacrifices...what sacrifices is she talking about?

very glad the models won...they were my second favorites after the Blondes...Rob and Kim did a good job and raced well...

ElJay · 12-10-2006, 09:01 PM

I don't get why Bama went back to Orly... I mean it didn't really cost them anything in the long run, but still it made no sense. Charles de Gaulle is the second largest airport in Europe, and it should have been obvious to them when they were at Orly that the airlines represented there were European-centric.

The entire airport thing while the teams were trying to get to NYC looked really suspicious to me. I didn't like how that was handled at all. BS BS BS.

Is this the longest cab ride yet to the finish line? I recall previous years' being much more exciting... this was like a Sunday afternoon ride by comparison.

I'm not terribly excited about the "all star" season coming up. Most of these teams were barely tolerable the first time around.

InterMurph · 12-10-2006, 09:01 PM

So are there no flights from De Gaulle to the USA in the evening?

They arrived at the airport before dark, and ended up taking an 8:25 a.m. flight. Couldn't they fly to any city in the US (Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Baltimore, even Chicago) the night before, and then take the first flight to NYC the next morning?

I have to go t

InterMurph · 12-10-2006, 09:02 PM

And no puzzle at the end? That was the best part of last season, when the (non-)frat boys arrived at the flag puzzle first, but the hippies figured it out and won.

cyke93 · 12-10-2006, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottykempf

Be sure to watch the Early Show tomorrow for the inevitable proposal of James and Tyler.........ooops, I mean Rob and Kim. LOL

oh low blow hehehe

wow that was an incredible episode, im so glad that James and Tyler won. i travelled through france extensively and know paris like the back of my hand and i live right by nyc so i knew what the teams were up against. When that train in Caen left 10 minutes earlier, i felt so worried because some towns have two train stations and the bama and the models could've gotten on the wrong train. i've always rooted for james and tyler and i was on my knees waiting to see if they were able to get to that 825 flight. bama made the wrong choice by going back to orly. i want to know what the time difference between the models and rob/kim.. it goes to show you.. it pays to have ez-pass haha

ElJay · 12-10-2006, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InterMurph

So are there no flights from De Gaulle to the USA in the evening?

They arrived at the airport before dark, and ended up taking an 8:25 a.m. flight. Couldn't they fly to any city in the US (Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Baltimore, even Chicago) the night before, and then take the first flight to NYC the next morning?

That made no sense to me AT ALL given the size of CDG... They had a dozen+ airlines to choose from for a flight to NYC and I find it really hard to believe that Air France and Continental were the only two options that were explored.

Raj · 12-10-2006, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddyj

I was very disappointed that there was not a task right before the finish.

Getting a cab to drive you all the way from the city to Putnam county is a task all by itself.

Also remember they had to WALK from 42nd street to the village through NYC streets to get to the clue. That's about 37 blocks. I've walked that kind of distance through the city before but it's not exactly trivial, especially if you're racing. (fwiw, longest walk I did was from spring street, close to chinatown, to my apartment in astoria, queens during the 2003 blackout).

TomK · 12-10-2006, 09:13 PM

Yea, I knew I was missing something at the end of the race...the usual task at the end. Is the finale always an hour? It seems like it's been a two hour show before and tonight's conclusion show seemed bland for some reason.

Neenahboy · 12-10-2006, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomK

Is the finale always an hour? It seems like it's been a two hour show before and tonight's conclusion show seemed bland for some reason.

I think almost every finale up until last season was two hours. It was 90 minutes last season, and they chopped it further tonight. You're right, it did seem very rushed, and I was disappointed.

Raj · 12-10-2006, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomK

Yea, I knew I was missing something at the end of the race...the usual task at the end. Is the finale always an hour? It seems like it's been a two hour show before and tonight's conclusion show seemed bland for some reason.

I agree, but don't tell me you didn't see a 1 hour finale coming. The two hour finale would have had a non-elim. They used up all three of them already.

But I agree, 1 hour finale, no real final task, boring. I wasn't impressed.

pdhenry · 12-10-2006, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InterMurph

So are there no flights from De Gaulle to the USA in the evening?

They arrived at the airport before dark, and ended up taking an 8:25 a.m. flight. Couldn't they fly to any city in the US (Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Baltimore, even Chicago) the night before, and then take the first flight to NYC the next morning?

I have to go t

I found these on Orbitz for Tuesday 12/12:

Paris - Amsterdam: Lv 3.25 Ar 4.40 (Air France) ; Amsterdam - New York: Lv 620p Ar 8:25p (Northwest) (probably too late to make this)
Paris - London: Lv 510p Ar 525p (British Airways) ; London - Newark: Lv 810p Ar 1050p (Virgin Atlantic)
Paris - New York: Lv 5:50p Ar 8:15p Nonstop on American
Paris - New York: Lv 650p Ar 900p Nonstop on Air France

ElJay · 12-10-2006, 09:24 PM

Yeah, were they required to take a direct flight or something? There are connections through Amsterdam, Munich, Geneva, London, Milan, Detroit, Chicago, DC...

cyke93 · 12-10-2006, 09:35 PM

I was very surprised myself that CDG did not have any flights to nyc. you could've taken a flight to london -> nyc .. nyc area has 3 airports, they could've found something sooner.

i was also in barcelona too, daym if i was on that last leg, i would've been all on it haha

TiVo'Brien · 12-10-2006, 10:07 PM

Definitely the tamest finale in TAR history -- a very simple final leg, nothing special really.

I was really surprised by the phone call (the Sprint phone call

) at the very end. I'm amazed the producers allowed the final results to leak out. That's a first in race history. I wonder if it really happened or was it dubbed in later?

scottykempf · 12-10-2006, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiVo'Brien

Definitely the tamest finale in TAR history -- a very simple final leg, nothing special really.

I was really surprised by the phone call (the Sprint phone call

) at the very end. I'm amazed the producers allowed the final results to leak out. That's a first in race history. I wonder if it really happened real time?

I'm sure that they had the parents sign non-disclosure agreements, just like they do for all the contestants. Basically, if you leak the results and we can trace it back to you, you give up the million dollars.

Oh, and everyone watch TAR: Asia, avialable on bitorrent now!!

cyke93 · 12-10-2006, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiVo'Brien

Definitely the tamest finale in TAR history -- a very simple final leg, nothing special really.

I was really surprised by the phone call (the Sprint phone call

) at the very end. I'm amazed the producers allowed the final results to leak out. That's a first in race history. I wonder if it really happened or was it dubbed in later?

this was my first TAR finale so haha, it was the most suspensful i've ever seen haha. i wonder that since bama didn't get on the flight, did they even do the other challenges in nyc or did they just taxi it straight to putnam county. once it was def. that they werent going to catch the flight, they didn't even bother to even show them anymore.

pantherman007 · 12-10-2006, 10:38 PM

Yawn. The final stage is a 60-mile cab ride? No final challenge/puzzle? Of the remaining teams, I'm happy with the models winning. But the producers couldn't have put less effort into the finale.

I bet there was a restriction on which flights to take. Getting out on that last AF flight would have meant arriving in NYC around 9-10pm. Then the producers would be faced with either someone crossing the finish line at night, or inserting an equalizer/delay on the last day and really skewing things. For the season that finished in Chicago, I thought I remembered reading that the producers made some changes at the last minute (specifically the pizza eating roadblock) to either speed up or slow down things.

Steve_Martin · 12-10-2006, 10:56 PM

What was up with the old man's eyebrows (during the phone call)?

FourFourSeven · 12-10-2006, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdhenry

I found these on Orbitz for Tuesday 12/12:

Paris - Amsterdam: Lv 3.25 Ar 4.40 (Air France) ; Amsterdam - New York: Lv 620p Ar 8:25p (Northwest) (probably too late to make this)
Paris - London: Lv 510p Ar 525p (British Airways) ; London - Newark: Lv 810p Ar 1050p (Virgin Atlantic)
Paris - New York: Lv 5:50p Ar 8:15p Nonstop on American
Paris - New York: Lv 650p Ar 900p Nonstop on Air France

They could have arrived too late for the 6:50 flight It's light well past 6:50 in Paris in the summer.

However, couldn't a team have flown to, say, Heathrow, and take an early flight from there the next day? Did it have to be non-stop?