TAR21, Recap Leg 0, 9/23/12

Welcome back to the Amazing Race!  Miss me?  I thought so.  First off, we have some excellent countries on the list, including return visits to China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey and the Netherlands!  We’re at eleven teams, so no monkey business from the producers, although I hear there is a potential TWO MILLION DOLLARS on the line, and a Switchback Task in the Netherlands. And Toyouke is nearby to throw in her two cents. (Toyouke: “Let’s do this.  Quickly.”)  The eleven teams are:

Abbie and Ryan, are dating divorcees from California.  Ryan is Ryan of The Apprentice Martha Stewart fame.  For those of you who actually watched the show (all five of you), he was Tide-To-Go Joe.  Why I remember this, I don’t know.  And as usual, they are deciding if their relationship can hold up to the race.  (Toyouke: “If you are using the race to decide if you want to be together, the answer is DTMFA.”)  Prediction: Eighth Place.

Amy and Daniel, are a YDC from Colorado.  Amy is a double amputee, and it sounds like her man is less of an ass than Peter of Peter and Sarah from TAR10 (Sarah was a single amputee).  (Toyouke: “His pet peeve is "She changed her legs and now she's taller than me." Hee!”)  I think a double amputee snowboarder was meant to kick some serious tail.  Prediction: Sixth Place.

Caitlin and Brittany, are best friends.  Interestingly enough, they are from two completely different cities, which is a rarity unless they are a long distance dating couple.  (Toyouke: “See? You can't have a season without two blonde girls who look alike and want everyone to know blonde girls are smart too. I think one of them is the beauty queen this season.”)  And Caitlin is originally from Saint Louis!  (Toyouke: “I'm not rooting for Caitlin just because she's from St. Louis.”)  But they are the blonde girls, so probably early exit.  Prediction: Eleventh Place.

Gary and Will, are best friends and substitute teachers from Michigan.  I kinda have to root for them now because they are teachers.  Will is small, but I can’t tell from his picture whether he’s a little person like Charla, or just short like Jon and Al from TAR4.  (Toyouke: “I don't know, as a former substitute teacher, the part about being able to adapt and make things up on the fly is true. I'm just not sure how herding a class of 25 students who have decided it's a day off because you aren't a real teacher is going to help you accomplish Detour options.“)  Prediction: Seventh Place.

James and Mark, are an interesting pair.  James is a musician for two different rock groups and Mark is an entertainment lawyer.  (Toyouke: “Immediately I like them because they asked "What famous person reminds you of yourself?" and James put "Me."”)  They look like they are going to a lot of fun to watch.  Prediction: Fifth Place.

Jaymes and James, have no words that I can really say about them.  They are Chippendales.  They are shirtless in their bio photo.  And I don’t want to like them, but they are shirtless.  (Toyouke: “They're not even hot, seriously. The cowboys are hotter than they are. They just have bigger muscles.”)  Plus, they are BOTH named Ja(y)mes, and there's a gay one (because even though I don’t know if he’s gay, he has a y in his name which pretty much tells the whole world “I’m a flaming queen because I spell my name with a y”), which just makes it difficult for me.  Oh, and therefore, does that make their team color “Caucasian”?  Pretty boys or no, they need to go.  Soon.  Prediction: Tenth Place.

Josh and Brent, are the Fabulous Beekman Boys!  Hot capable gay men.  I like this.  (Toyouke: “He says Brent is like Martha Stewart, and Brent says he is like Martha Stewart, but you just know Brent means it in the "media empire" way and Josh means it in the "control freak" way. “)  This is going to be a great season.  Prediction: Second Place.

Natalie and Nadiya, are twin sisters from New Jersey.  (Toyouke: “And they play rugby! So that is extra points from me already. They seem pretty competent, if they don't have a giant screaming fight and like, miss a train or something. “)  And unlike most twins, they don’t look like twins so I may be able to tell them apart, you know, by having different enough names and everything.  I like them.  Prediction: Winners, TAR 21.

Rob and Kelley, are married monster truck drivers in their late 40's from Georgia.  Do I really need to say more?  Lori and Bolo, all over again.  Prediction: Ninth Place. 

Rob and Sheila, are an engaged couple.  He is a lumberjack.  (Toyouke: “I found out he's a PROFESSIONAL lumberjack. That means he competes in those competitions where you have to use a chainsaw to cut the ends off logs in even slices and stuff. That's even better. It's like being a professional caber tosser.”)  They could be really strong.  Plus, Alaska.  Prediction: Fourth Place.

Trey and Lexi, are a really adorable YDC from Texas.  (Toyouke: “Their names already irritate me.”)  He plays football, and she’s a cheerleader.  (Toyouke: “I'm like, obligated to hate them. And I'm not sure what to make of his answer of "Our challenge is going to be that I forget Lexi is a girl and that I have be nice to her." I can't tell if it's "I must communicate better with my girlfriend" or "Girls are so emotional you have to tiptoe around them".”)  I kinda like them.  And I think he’s going to be strong. Prediction: Third Place.

And there it is.  Don’t forget to tune in Sunday, September 30 at 7:00 pm CDT for the hour premiere.  See you with the first recap soon!