The Amazing Race 9: The Finish Line, Episode 3

Welcome to the third episode of this season’s Finish Line, the online talk show for The Amazing Race. Peggy Bunker and Jon Weiss (of Jon & Al) are our co-hosts. Most weeks, the eliminated team appears on the show, but since we just completed the first part of a two-part episode, there is no team appearing today.

Peggy greets us and introduces us to her guest – Al! – our usual co-host’s racing partner and one of the clowns. I’ll tell you, if there’s ever an All-Star edition of The Amazing Race then Al & Jon are shoe-ins as one of the teams!

Peggy asks Al what he thinks of this year’s teams. Al says there are a lot of exciting teams and he thinks we’re going to see more from them as the season unfolds. To no one’s surprise, Peggy agrees. Peggy now introduces us to a second special guest, Jessica Shaw from Entertainment Weekly. Jessica says she’s been a fan of the show “forever!” and that she agrees with Al that there are a lot of good characters on the race this season. Jessica also says she thinks this season is getting really good and dramatic a lot faster than most seasons – and that she really likes that!

Peggy reminds them that there was no team eliminated this week – but that she still wants the audience to call in. She then turns to the episode and the problems people had with directions. Al says he can totally relate to that frustration! He also says Russia represents a really tough language barrier for the teams. Al says he could empathize with Lake’s frustration this week. Jessica chimes in and says she thinks Lake has the worst instincts of anyone she’s ever seen on the show and he should just do the opposite of whatever he feels he should do. Peggy remarks that Michelle was sitting in the back of the car telling him the right way! Jessica says Michelle tells him the right way, but he never listens.

Peggy says it’s hard being a couple on the race and that men hate asking for directions. She asks Al how he thinks things are going to go for Lake and Michelle. Al chuckles and says he thinks it’s going to be tough and that it seems like every season there’s a man in a couple who’s like Lake. Jessica agrees, saying we’re seeing signs of Colin and Jonathan in Lake. Lake’s just that “jerk-guy” type with a weaker wife.

Peggy segues into a scene showing Lake and Michelle’s frustration as they got lost. We get to see Lake voicing his worry about Michelle slowing him down and then he tells her to shut up as she tries to give him the proper directions. The “screw-up” music plays in the background as they continue to get lost. The clip ends with a heartfelt “damn it all to hell” from Michelle that Jessica, Al, and Peggy gleefully echo.

Jessica says it looks like Lake raised his hand to Michelle at one point. I’m not sure he actually did that. Then Peggy says they’re going to cringe when they watch themselves. She says that the tension in the race is so high it can really make people do some bad things. Al agrees completely! The tension can make you say things you don’t mean. Peggy says, “but every other word?” referring again to Lake. The hosts mock the couple some more and say they think it’s only going to get worse and that the couple should consider marriage counseling!

With that it’s time for our first caller of the day, Bill from Tacoma (near my part of the world!). Bill is excited to talk to Al. He wants to know about how going from really hot Brazil to really cold Russia can affect teams. Al says it’s a good question and that it can really throw teams – and their bodies- for a loop. Peggy throws in a quick clip of Al taking the plunge into an ice-cold body of water from his season. She’s impressed at how well Al did that back then! Al says he looks at that now and can’t believe he did it… and why didn’t Jon do it anyway?

Peggy asks if the tension got bad with Jon and Al. Al says it never really did. They juggled and laughed and got along really well. Peggy now takes a call from Jeremy in Chicago. Jeremy wants to know if the hosts think there will be more double episodes this season and in the future. He also wants to know if, with their hooking up, Dani & Danielle and Eric & Jeremy are going to end up the two most hated teams this season. Everyone laughs at that. Jessica does think they’ll be hated and hates that a blatant, icky frat-house hookup would show up on The Amazing Race. Bleah! Peggy says most people are focused on the million dollar prize, but Eric & Jeremy are just focused on the “Booby” prize. Ahem. Al says it’s going to hurt them. If you’re mind’s not on the race, it’s not good.

Peggy brings us back to the subject of romance on this year’s Amazing Race. Jessica does not think it’s smart to get involved on the race at all. She then goes on to talk about team Double D losing their fanny pack with all their passports and race info at the roadblock. She then says, loathe that she is to defend them, that she doesn’t think they’ll do that again. Al says he was surprised the passport was still there. They were lucky.

Peggy brings up poor Fran & Barry never being able to find anything. Everyone thinks it’s great the two older folks are still in the race, though, and they’re glad they’re doing better so far this leg. Peggy thinks a lot of people are rooting for Fran & Barry! I’m always rooting for an older couple to really kick booty, but we can’t seem to quite get the “Rudy” of The Amazing Race. My hopes for Fran & Barry sagged quite a bit when they couldn’t find the clue on the bridge in Episode 1.

Peggy now takes a call from our normal co-host, Jon. Jon says that Al is doing a good job so far. He loved seeing Eric and Jeremy’s faces when they found out they weren’t at the pit stop. Jon agrees that the whole romance thing with Double D and Eric & Jeremy is bad, bad, bad. Al and Jon say they made some mistakes on the race, but nothing as bad as trying to hook up with another team.

Peggy shows us a clip of the romance building again between Eric and Danielle and Jeremy and Dani. It’s the same inane frat stuff we saw on the show. We also see Double D making the enormous screw up of losing their passports again. You can tell none of the hosts are impressed by the behavior of these two teams. Peggy says that losing their stuff put the kibosh on the romantic cab ride. Jessica says she can’t believe they didn’t sleep during the pit stop - it’s no wonder they left the pack. She says you can pick up guys at a bar after the race, but don’t do it now.

Peggy really wonders if Dani & Danielle are going to be annoyed when they see all the things that Eric & Jeremy are saying about them during the race. They just can’t let this subject go, can they? I can’t wait until Double D and Eric & Jeremy show up on the Finish Line for their grillings. Al says when you’re on the race, you never know what the other teams are saying. He thinks team Double D will be shocked.