Recap: The Amazing Race 17, Episode 1 – “I made it my bitch.”

Here we go!  Phil Keoghan stands on a sloping hill in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the oldest seaport in the world, ready to introduce us to the eleven new teams racing on season 17 (!) of The Amazing Race.  They’re being taken to the starting line on lobster boats!

And the eleven teams…

Brook & Claire… home shopping hosts and friends who could “sell ice to an Eskimo.”
Chad & Stephanie… dating for 8 months.  They’ve bought a home together and he’s going to ask her to marry him on the Race.
Katie & Rachel… beach volleyball partners.  They’ll “be some bitches.”

Connor & Jonathan… Ivy League a-capella singers.  They’re going to sing a lot on the Race.
Nat & Kat… doctors and best friends.  They’ve transplanted a heart together at 3am and they’re a team of nerds.
Michael & Kevin… father and son internet sensations.  (Team Jumba!) 

Nick & Vicki… dating.  They’ve got lots of tattoos, but don’t judge them by ‘em.  They’ll kick ass though.
Ron & Tony… best friends for 22 years after meeting doing The Wiz.  It’s Tony’s dream to be on the Race.
Jill & Thomas… dating.  Typical, I’m right, you’re wrong type of deal.

Gary & Mallory… father and daughter.  She’s reigning Miss Kentucky.  He’s a pilot.
Andie & Jenna… recently reunited mother and daughter after an unplanned pregnancy.

The teams are on the starting line.  Phil promises this will be “one of the most grueling Races ever.”  (More grueling than TAR10?!)  He mentions eight of the 12 Pit Stops are elimination points.  Then he drops the surprise.

The new twist on The Amazing Race.  The winner of the first leg will receive the Express Pass which will allow the holder to use before or during any task they do not want to complete.  All they have to do is hand over the Express Pass, get the next clue and move on.  

Phil goes on to say there are two flights, but the first flight arriving 30 minutes earlier can only hold three teams. 

And it’s time… “The world is waiting for you… Good luck… Travel safe… GO!”

The teams run over to their bags and their first clue telling them to fly to London, England.  There, teams will drive themselves to Stonehenge for their next clue.  The teams then get into their little Smart cars (with no cameraman and sound tech!).

Teams drive themselves to Logan Airport. Ron & Tony arrive first and Chad does a little squeal of joy seeing only one team ahead of them.  Ron & Tony are first to the American counter and are first on the flight.  But Chad & Stephanie have no idea what they’re doing, allowing Jill & Thomas to get the 2nd spot.  They get pointed in the right direction just in time to beat Katie & Rachel who, with the other teams, have to settle for the Virgin Atlantic flight.

The teams do the usual “nice to meet you” buddy-buddy intros while waiting for their flights (and before the real competition begins!).

Flight #1 arrives in London at 6:57am and the first three teams head to their cars.  Flight #2 gets in at 7:18am

Chad & Stephanie already have their first disagreement and Nat talks about being a type 1 diabetic on the Race.  Nick & Vicki and Michael & Kevin are having trouble finding their way, while Andie & Jenna are having trouble driving the stick.  “Team Glee” or Connor & Jonathan are behind them and get out to help them when the mother and daughter get stuck in the middle of the road. 

Nat & Kat arrive first at Stonehenge and get the clue telling them to “Find the castle that is the opposite of Nor’Easter” or Eastnor Castle for the next clue.  Jill & Thomas and Katie & Rachel are right behind.  Brook & Claire grab the clue and then catch up to the doctors and they decide to work together to get to the clue.

Ron & Tony meanwhile go in the completely wrong direction as Gary & Mallory and Connor & Jonathan get to Stonehenge next and team up themselves.  

Andie & Jenna, Chad & Stephanie, Nick & Vicki, Michael & Kevin trail.

Jill & Thomas, Nat & Kat, and Brook & Claire get to Eastnor Castle first and read their next clue telling them to climb a wall guarded by a mob of peasants.  They’ll grab a medieval flag at the top, run to some ancient boats, called a coracle, and use them to get across the moat to a knight in shining armor for their next clue. 

As the teams begins climbing up the wall, the peasants start yelling at them and dousing them with dirty water.  They take the flag, run to the moat and get into the little boats but easily start sinking into the water.  They have to figure out how to balance themselves in the boat and pull themselves along the rope towards the other side.

Back on the road, Gary & Mallory get a flat tire driving into a gas station.  Connor & Jonathan decide to go on and leave them.  Chad & Stephanie and Katie & Rachel get to the castle next.  They have trouble with the boats as well.

Jill & Thomas find their matching knight and get the first Road Block of the Race.In this Road Block, teams will use an ancient slingshot-type of weapon called a ballista to hurl a watermelon towards a knight standing 50 feet away.  Once they knock it over, they’ll find the Jester who’ll hand them their next clue.  

Thomas, Claire, and Nat decide to do the Road Block.  A knight on a horse takes them to the task and they begin.  Back at the moat, Chad & Stephanie are halfway across when they sink again as Katie & Rachel and Connor & Jonathan catch up.

Thomas knocks his knight over and they get their clue telling them to search the grounds for Phil and the Pit Stop.  They step onto the Mat and claim their first place finish and the first ever TAR Express Pass.

Nat smashes the knight and they head off to claim 2nd.  As Katie & Rachel arrive at the Road Block, Brook tries to encourage Claire who is having trouble… and then it happens.

       The viral smash felt around the world.  Something must have been wrong with the way she set up that particular shot, but the watermelon comes flying backwards and hits Claire right smack on her face.  The watermelon is in pieces on the ground and Claire can’t feel her face.  “You have to finish,” Brook says to her partner, “There’s no outs.”  “I can’t even see straight,” Claire says.  “They don’t call it The Amazing Race for nothin’!” Brook responds.

Claire soldiers back up and after a few more tries gets the hit on the knight.  They run to the Pit Stop, but right behind them is Connor & Jonathan who manage to slip past them, literally, to claim 3rd.  The home shopping hosts finish 4th with Katie & Rachel in 5th.

Chad & Stephanie are at the Road Block, finish, but then start running around the perimeter of and in the castle.  At the moat, Michael & Kevin are having their own trouble with the boat, falling over and sinking.  Gary & Mallory come running behind them and quickly figure out how to get across, which Michael & Kevin then follow. 

The two father-child teams finish the Road Block and they step on the Mat together, Gary & Mallory officially check in as Team #6 and Michael & Kevin are Team #7.  Chad & Stephanie finally find their way and finish as Team #8.

After being the most lost, Andie & Jenna and Nick & Vicki finally get to the castle.  Nick & Vicky don’t seem to know what medieval flags and battlements are and have trouble seeing the flags right next to them.  They go to find the boats and have no clue they are the little things right next to them on the ground.  Their cameraman must have had a lot of fun pointing out the obvious with them.

Ron & Tony are in last and hustle, but it’s no use.  Andie & Jenna finish 9th, Nick & Vicki check in 10th, leaving the best friends sunk in the water before finally reaching Phil.

Episode Thoughts
Woohoo! The Amazing Race is back!  Always awesome and exciting when Phil lets new teams go on their way around the world at the starting line.

So, the Express Pass.  Interesting new twist.  It is basically a mini-Fast Forward.  Should be interesting to see when Jill & Thomas will use it.  Like the Fast Forward itself, this Express Pass doesn’t always guarantee success in any way.  So we’ll see how it’ll turn out.

It should also be interesting to see if the Intersection and U-Turns make their return this season as well.  You never know with Bertram and Co!  And I just realized, would Jill & Thomas be able to use the Express Pass during an Intersection?  Would that also exempt the team they get partnered up with?

Seems like we have a good mix of teams this year.  Very obvious they want to have the first American all-female winners of The Amazing Race and they might just have a winner with these teams. They all have the potential to do very well this Race.  Also great to have three parent-child teams.  I do hope they can outlast the dating couples who do seem to be the least interesting teams so far. 

The episode was pretty great in the first hour.  But it seemed like it was too top-heavy as the last half-hour almost dragged on too long with the bottom half teams trying to catch up.  Wasn’t as exciting as the first 60 minutes especially since their only location after Stonehenge was the castle.  

Nonetheless, the tasks were fun even when taking away the watermelon smash.  The angry peasants and storming the castle was a hilariously genius idea.  Fresh.  I loved the little indirect nod to TAR3’s famous basket boats.  Those boats were also a genius touch.  I couldn’t help but wish the Road Block had the teams actually jousting instead.  That would’ve been a lot more fun.  The Road Block we did get was all right, but in a one-task leg, it would’ve been nice if it was more exciting.

I will definitely hold Phil to his promise of “the most grueling Race ever.”  I certainly hope so!  The Race has been pretty easy the last few season.  The Amazing Race 10 is still the most physically demanding Race ever, so I would love to see TAR17 top that.

All in all a great start to the season.