hey kids – here is a quick roundup from our new popbytes columnist jon! he breezes over all the teams appearing tonight on the 7th season premiere of the amazing race! thanks jon – excited to have someone cover this excellent show!
the new season of the amazing race premieres tuesday at 9pm et/pt and i hope it’s an amazing season. the last couple of seasons have been really dull so hopefully “lucky” number seven has something in store.
this year’s teams aren’t that diverse. there are two all-female teams, three all-male teams, and six mixed teams. there’s the normal dating people, the siblings, the family relationships, etc. i swear someone should have gone on this show with his or her “organ donor” or something. that would make my day. here’s the low-down on your teams!
brian and greg – brothers
brian and greg are both from california. brian acts and bartends (the official jobs of half of california), and greg is a bouncer. these guys are pretty athletic. they both enjoy playing sports, and, as shown by their professions, they also enjoy clubbing. cbs says the brothers have very limited traveling experience and haven’t seen much of the show, but i don’t think that will hinder them since you can’t really prepare yourself for the race aside from learning new languages and being able to not sleep for a fortnight.
debbie and bianca – life long friends
one of the two all-female teams this season, debbie and bianca are “ready to race.” bianca works as a teacher and debbie does freelance photography. these girls look pretty strong; one of debbie’s favourite hobbies is surfing. they are well traveled, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will go far since no racer has any knowledge of where they are headed.
lynn and alex – boyfriends
lynn and alex come from california. they both work as executive assistants and they both have traveled a lot. lynn lived in germany before returning to the united states. they describe themselves as “personable and calculating,” but alex says he is bad at dealing with stress. alex says lynn is smart, but extremely lazy. yeah, you can’t be lazy on this race, guys. look at last season’s lori and bolo: they were lazy reading a clue and got eliminated shortly thereafter. lynn and alex want to test their relationship. and have a hell of a time, too, i’m sure.
megan and heidi – roommates
another californian and all-girl team, megan works as a fashion designer while heidi is a full time mother. cbs says “these california[n] beauties decided to sign up for the race just for the challenge and competition.” they are both risk takers and are quite competitive. heidi already has plans for the prize money should her team win it. they have limited travel experience, but they hope they can beat all the other players.
meredith and gretchen – retired couple
the don and mary-jean of season seven, meredith and gretchen are ready to “try” the race. i’m a huge fan of the older-teams because they’re always so happy, hee. they met late in life, and hope the race can be the adventure of a lifetime. meredith is a retired executive who now teaches swimming. he is competitive. gretchen is a retired flight attendant and loves doing relaxing activities such as gardening and golf. she says she is outgoing, reliable and “loud.” they’re big fans of the show and believe they can pull it off.
ray and deana – dating on and off
ray and deana are from ohio and have been dating on and off. ray is a stockbroker and deana is a marketing/promotions executive. they, like lynn and alex, want to test their relationship. ray says he is cocky and is never wrong about anything. i foresee him being the next jonathon (of jonathon and victoria). deana is just as competitive as ray is, but she has yet to venture outside of the states. they want “answers” from the race. will their relationship last?
rob and amber – engaged
i’m surprised their title isn’t “survivors” or “on their 17th minute of fame.” yeah, yeah, yeah. they’re from here and there, they both have been on survivor twice, and they’re fans of the show, yada yada yada. we know enough about these guys already; they practically live in our house. next.
ron and kelly – dating
i sort of think this is the same team is “kelly and jon” from a few years back. jon just changed his name, or something. ron was a pow in iraq and now, understandably, does motivational speaking. kelly is a pageant queen and works as a legislative correspondent. they want an adventure out of the race. ron is competitive and is a thrill seeker. kelly is well rounded and persistent. they’re ready for an adventure!
ryan and chuck – best friends
ryan and chuck are friends from south carolina. ryan is a contractor and chuck sells replacements for boiler tubes. in short, chuck is a sales representative. they want to travel the world together. ryan and chuck are both quite religious. their names used to be millie and chuck, but millie decided to change her name for publicity. they have been dating twelve years, and are virgins. woah, woah, woah. sorry, about that. the “religious” thing throws me off every time. these guys love riding their motorcycles and are ready to race!
susan and patrick – mother/son
susan and patrick are the first mother/son team to participate on the race. they’re the opposite of last seasons’ gus and hera. patrick is a writer and susan directs the judicial affairs at miami university in ohio. they want to travel the world together. patrick’s family has always supported him, even when he told them he is gay. his mother, however, did not accept his dropping out of college. susan calls themselves “the perfect team,” and like the rest of the world, they are ready to race.
uchenna and joyce – married
uchenna and joyce have a history of bad luck. they cannot have children together and have resorted to in-vitro fertilization, which has not worked. they also have both worked for companies that have gone under after huge accounting scandals: enron and worldcom. their primary motivation to race is to regain the closeness they lost during their tough times. uchenna is competitive and joyce has no adjectives whatsoever (seriously. cbs tells us nothing about her personality). if they were to win the money, they would spend some of it on additional in-vitro fertilizations.
so there you have it! this season’s racers! be sure to stay tuned to cbs tuesday march 1st for the season premiere! and don’t forget to check back this week for a recap of the episode. – jon (from solidly spontaneous)
