Recap: The Amazing Race Australia 7 (Celebrity Edition), Episode 1 – “I can’t remember what underwear I’m wearing now.”

Beau welcomes everyone to the first ever Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition! The celebrity teams are enjoying their last bits of luxury before heading to the Starting Line: Sunder Nursery in New Delhi, India.

The teams include married television presenters Grant & Chezzi, musician Ben and wife Jackie who can’t imagine flying economy, model Bec and sister Kate, TV host Darren and nephew Tristan who quit his job as a lawyer to come on the Race, Wiggle Emma and sister Hayley, comedian/actor Peter and daughter Frankie, radio host, actor and singer Alli and her mother Angie, Australian Survivor runner-up “King” George and sister Pam, and Too Hot to Handle alums Harry & Teddy.

Also Racing is Olympian Jana and son Cor, who at 16 years old is the youngest Australian Racer ever. Meanwhile, comedian Dane is racing with his father Bow, who at 69 is the oldest to run The Amazing Race Australia.

Beau says this experience will be worth it, especially as they Race to hopefully win $100,000 for their favorite charity.

Beau flags the teams off and they run to their first clues on their backpacks. That clue directs teams to take a marked tuktuk to Chandhi Chowk where they must find the Royal Palace Hotel. Teams get 5400 rupees/$100 for this Leg.

Teams get their first taste of the chaotic New Delhi traffic. Some teams get approached by some locals, taking them by surprise.

Jana & Cor, Darren & Tristan, George & Pam, Grant & Chezzie and Ben & Jackie are the first teams to arrive and open the next clue, the Detour: Wedding Wish or Chicken Dish.

In Wedding Wish, teams must head to Kinari Bazar and search for two mannequins wearing traditional wedding garments. They must memorize the outfits and then correctly purchase each item. They must then head to the other side of the market and have their photo taken wearing the correct outfits. In Chicken Dish, teams will get a shopping list of ingredients of the famous butter chicken. When they can purchase those ingredients (turmeric, garam masala, butter, garlic and tomatoes), they will deliver them to Mr. Aslam.

The leading five teams all chose Wedding Wish. George wants to form alliances on The Amazing Race since it got him to the end on Survivor. So he asks Jana & Cor who agree to work together on this Detour. But after they directions from a local, Jana decides to go a different way from George, which angers him very much.

Darren & Tristan get to the store first, purchase their garments and find the photographer. But they get the thumbs down when Darren has the wrong headwear for the groom. The other teams aren’t sure about whether or not they need to be exact with the details. Meanwhile, George & Pam find a wall painting, but that’s not the mannequin they need.

Later, the other teams also get the thumbs down at the photographer and have to go back to figure out their mistakes.

Meanwhile, the other teams head to the Chicken Dish Detour. Harry & Teddy, Alli & Angie and Emma & Hayley get started with their shopping. Bec & Kate, Peter & Frankie and Dane & Bow are trailing and they also choose the chicken.

The heat and heavy items begin to take a toll on Kate who has to sit and rest for a bit.

Back at the other side of the Detour, Darren & Tristan go for a second attempt with their outfits and get the thumbs up

Harry & Teddy think they have all their butter chicken ingredients, but get the wrong amount of garlic and have to go back. They still maintain their lead on the chicken side of the Detour, however, and finish first there, moving them into 2nd overall. Alli & Angie are close behind as are Emma & Hayley.

Jana & Cor, Grant & Chezzi and Ben & Jackie on the wedding side of the Detour finish next. George & Pam also get the thumbs up, but Pam needs some time to rest. George tells her to get over it. “Vomit and then we go.”

Peter & Frankie, Bec & Kate and Dane & Bow are stuck in the back of the pack as the last teams to finish the Detour.

After the Detour, teams must head to a local pool where they must learn a Hindi phrase from a local child. What teams don’t know is they will need this phrase later in the Leg: “Please help me, I need to go to Qutub Minar.” When both teammates can properly repeat the phrase, the swim instructor will give them the next clue.

Alli & Angie go for an attempt, but miss a few words. Darren & Tristan give it a few tries, but also get the thumbs down. Darren says he wonders if I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here would’ve been the better show to go on.

Harry & Teddy choose a girl they know is very smart and she helps them get the memorization down quick. They think she will be the president one day. They open the next clue telling them to repeat the phrase to a tuktuk driver to get them to the Pit Stop at Qutub Minar.

Darren & Tristan finally get the thumbs up with Emma & Hayley and Alli & Angie close behind. Next to finish are Jana & Cor, George & Pam, Grant & Chezzi and Ben & Jackie.

Peter & Frankie arrive at the pool with no one else there, so they think they are last. But Bec & Kate and Dane & Bow arrive.

Meanwhile, we are led to believe that it’s a walking foot race to the Mat between Harry & Teddy and Darren & Tristan. And it is Darren & Tristan who end up stepping on the Mat as Team #1. For their prize, they get to enjoy luxury accommodations during the Pit Stop while everyone else gets less-than-luxurious lodging. Harry & Teddy have to settle for 2nd.

Emma & Hayley are Team #4 while Alli & Angie are Team #4.

George is intent on beating Jana Pittman and her “little boy” because of what happened before the Detour. He wants to U-Turn her first chance he gets. George & Pam end up 5th with Jana & Cor taking 6th.

Ben & Jackie get to the Mat as Team #7. Jackie lays on the Mat, exhausted from the day. Grant & Chezzi are 8th.

Before the bottom three teams check-in, we get a peek at the leading teams getting to their aircon rooms for the Pit Stop.

But back to the actual Race, the bottom three teams hurry to Qutub Minar. Peter & Frankie step on the Mat as Team #9. Bec & Kate take 10th. And that means son and dad Dane & Bow are last and unfortunately eliminated.

Episode Thoughts

And The Amazing Race Australia, Channel 10 Edition, is back! So after two messy seasons, I have a bit of hope for this one. Mainly because it seems like this season brings the series back to normal. That is, no 54 teams or 120 Legs in the season. Just 11 teams and potentially a normal number of Legs. So if that’s the case, then it will have already taken care of most of the problems that have plagued the last two TARAu seasons.

When it was first announced that this would be a Celebrity Edition, I didn’t mind it. Partly because I knew that I probably wouldn’t even know who the celebrities were. And after the cast announcement, that’s exactly what happened. Lol. I’m certainly not familiar with Australian celebrities. So I can treat this season as a normal season in terms of cast because they’re all new and unfamiliar to me.

Also, based on the teasers of the season, it seems like the teams are both competitive and can provide some hilarious drama and meltdowns too.

TAR China and Vietnam have both featured celebrities. TAR China predominantly so. And those seasons turned out pretty well. That is, the teams are far from the biggest problems those seasons may have. So I can think of a similar outcome here on TARAu7.

Now for this first Leg, I think India is the perfect first Leg for these celebrities. It’s a location that is so far removed from their assumed pampered lifestyles. So the contrast is definitely made for TV. And I think the episode delivered in that culture shock sense.

The first tuktuk ride definitely highlighted that.

The Detour was good as it threw teams right in the hustle and bustle of New Delhi. The chaotic streets, the heat, the heavy items. It was a good mix of things that came together to really challenge the teams.

The wedding side was attention to detail while the chicken side was the more physical task.

I wonder though why all the second half teams choose the chicken side while the leading teams all chose the wedding side. Was it stipulated in their clue maybe? Still, I think it was a balanced Detour.

The next task, which ended up being the only other task of the Leg, was actually good too. (Hello future TARPHDME task lololol) Interacting with the kids was fun. And it was nice that the teams actually had to spend a minute or two with them before having to memorize.

But memorizing a phrase that will be their only (?) clue to get them to the Pit Stop is a creative, clever task. I say “only?” because they had an Additional Info sheet that they were holding while in the tuktuk. But I’ll just trust that the phrase really was their only clue. I’m sure the show didn’t make it too difficult so teams wouldn’t get taken to some random, potentially unsafe place. But on paper, the task was interesting.

Qutub Minar for the Pit Stop! Is this the first time on any TAR that a location has been repeated as a Pit Stop on the same franchise? Fun fact!

I do find Beau’s random conversations with the Pit Stop greeters amusing. lol

Meanwhile, TARAu7’s opening credits are definitely much better than TARUS’ openings have been recently. TARAu7 at least has non-static stock video and the teams are able to work the green screen better. I also still get annoyed when TARs put a team in after the beat drops toward the end lol

Also, TARAu7 has adopted the latest TARUS graphics. But modified them a bit by aligning them to the left and making them a bit cleaner I think. Take a look:

I think it’s a nice take on the new graphics.

Overall, I think this was actually a very strong premiere. To be honest, I enjoyed this premiere more than TAR35’s. It felt much more “normal” than TAR35 did. And this premiere used their 90 minutes a bit better. Even though the team intro section in the beginning was still too long, it was at least less forced than TAR35’s intros.

I dunno. The tasks, the editing, the fresh feeling from the teams; it all felt much more fun and enjoyable. Very interesting considering how much TARAu5 and TARAu6 annoy me lol. Let’s hope the rest of the season is like this first episode!

Team Thoughts

Again, this if the first time I’ve ever heard of any of these people. Lol But I think it’s a pretty good mix of teams.

I really like Alli & Angie. I think they could do very well this season. The perfect kind of “we’re more competitive than we look” kind of team. I was definitely impressed by them this Leg and I really like their personalities as well.

I was even more surprised by how much I liked Harry & Teddy. But in thinking about them more, they are similar to Alli & Angie in how you really can’t judge a book by its cover. They could be a physically strong team. And that might take them far. But it was nice to see them appreciate the experience and I can feel their sincerity. So that makes them a really interesting team to watch.

Jana & Cor is another team that has big potential. Cor’s age shouldn’t really be a factor. But it’s definitely an interesting aspect to their team. I could easily see them doing well and being competitive. And them being unbothered or even oblivious to George being upset with them is hilarious.

Dane & Bow are a great team. It’s sad to see them be first eliminated. But they put up a good fight in this first Leg. I would’ve loved to have seen them on the Race more. Their fun personalities would be great to watch every episode. But still, them powering through and not giving up was so awesome to see.

I liked hearing Bec & Kate saying they are big fans of the show. A bit of a tough Leg for them, but it would be great to see them bounce back in the next Legs. Emma & Hayley had one of the quieter Legs, but they did well. I feel like they could be a consistent team and possibly do well on the Race too. They have nice, bright personalities that will contrast with the other more high-strung teams. And Peter & Frankie are a nice parent-child team who I’m not sure how far they can make it on the Race. But will be nice to have while they’re here.

Darren & Tristan are okay. But they could become a bit racebot-ish, I can see. In a cast of some big personalities, they (or at least Darren) came across as the most forced. Ben & Jackie are just okay also. The show giving Jackie the first “I’m a celebrity”/diva-ish moment made me expect they could be the ones complaining all episode. But they kind of faded away after that opening intro.

I don’t know how to feel about Grant & Chezzi. Grant’s personality is kind of grating from first impressions. Certainly one of the teams I enjoyed the least this first episode.

Finally, I have not watched a single minute of Australian Survivor. So someone who has watched will have to fill me in on George. Because wow, he is definitely a HUGE personality. On one hand, I like his competitiveness. Though his Survivor pedigree could cause him to overplay on TAR. At the same time, his frantic nature and the way he told his sister to basically suck it up (or vomit it out lol) was hilariously awkward. Even if it also could feel a bit forced and for the camera. However, his overreaction to the “beggar” was such a huge turnoff. “Curse on you!” What? He probably thought that was funny, but it came off as quite ugly. And that’s really the kind of forced, contrived playing to the camera that I definitely don’t enjoy on TAR. Worse if he actually meant those things he said. We’ll see if that changes in the coming Legs.

Episode Quotes

Wow! There are actually some worthy quotes!

Bow: “Tuktuk me away!”

Grant: “It’s like we crawled into Satan’s asshole.”

Jackie: “I’m going to cry. Like, literally.”

Hayley: “That little kid just slapped my bum.”

George: “You are not that much of an invalid.”

Harry: “I can’t remember what underwear I’m wearing now.”