The Finish Line, Episode 2
The Amazing Race: All-Stars – The Finish Line, Episode 2 by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 03/03/2007 It's the second week of The Amazing Race: All-Stars, but only the first Finish Line of the season. Are Kevin & Drew kind to our dear hostess Peggy Bunker? And what does Drew say about Mirna's penchant for flipping out? Peggy Bunker greets us for the season's first Finish Line. Apparently our dear clown, Jon Weiss, is no longer a co-host. Boo! Peggy tells us that Drew & Kevin are in the house. We then get the All-Stars montage showing all of the teams in – what else – stars. The theme music this season sounds like an homage to Mission Impossible. Peggy says that she's there to talk about all things Amazing Race with the most recently eliminated team. She reminds viewers to call in and then introduces Kevin & Drew. The guys are dressed in jeans and nice shirts – Kevin's even wearing a jacket. So cute! Peggy says she knows they'd rather be racing than talking to her now, but wants to know how the race went for them. Kevin says the race was good and getting a second chance to do it was really cool. They wish they were in on the end, but “it is what it is.” Peggy says it was clear they didn't want to leave the race – especially Drew. He looked very frustrated and angry at the pit stop. Drew says it was frustration and anger and physical pain – emotional too. At that point he was almost relieved they weren't in the race. It wasn't as much fun as last time. The altitude sickness was bad and carried into the next day. Peggy says he had health things that seemed to be plaguing him. Drew says he had a pre-existing neck and back injury and everything was getting him. Peggy asks Kevin how difficult it was to see his racing companion buckle like that. Kevin acknowledges that it was hard, but he knew Drew was hurt. What was he going to do? That's just what happened. As they show a clip of Drew getting oxygen, Kevin laughs. He notes it looks like Drew's a hundred years old in the clip! Drew says he didn't think the camera was on him while he was getting oxygen. Peggy notes it's probably not the best Drew has ever looked and Drew agrees that he really does look horrible in that clip! Yeah, it's not Drew's best TV moment. So, Peggy wonders, did the guys think they would make it in All-Stars to the end, or did they think they were out of it a bit? Drew says they thought they would have a good chance of getting to the end. Then he fell in the first leg and really hurt his shoulder. Drew says he fell over the “retaining wall” in the road. Kevin notes the “wall” was a curb and that you can't call something ankle-high a retaining wall. Snork. Peggy says that she could tell Drew was in pain. Going on with the Drew-baiting, Peggy notes the moment on the race when Drew “almost killed” Kevin by dragging him with the car when they were trying to get out of the “little divot.” Kevin says you get a divot when you play golf – this was a crater! Kevin was trying to balance the car with his weight. The guys squabble about whether Kevin was pulling the car or not as we watch Drew begin to drive away with Kevin attempting to run beside the car. Everyone laughs. Peggy says that in all of the Amazing Races she has seen, this was the time she thought that someone was going down! Drew notes that they didn't show it, but that he also sprayed Kevin with mud and “that was really great!” Kevin agrees that he had a mud bath. Peggy now replays the clip in slow motion to see if they can determine if Kevin was pulling the car. Drew continues to claim (as he did in my interview with the pair) that he rocked the car out. Peggy asks Kevin that if he hadn't been being pulled by the SUV does he think he would have been able to leap over that “small pond” otherwise known as a large mud puddle. Kevin says he was going to pull out their Evil Knievel stuff. Yay! It's time for the dreaded “speed limit” issue, where the guys read the clue wrongly and stayed at 40 kph even after the speed limit went up to 50 kph. First we see a clip from that part of the race with the other teams all passing the slow-moving Kevin & Drew. After the clip, Drew says they were screamed at by production the night before about how nobody better speed, they'd get a penalty if anyone was speeding, and they'd better not speed! So when they were told the speed limit was 40 kph, they were careful. Drew notes that his “guide” in the back didn't tell him when he could go 50 kph. Drew claims the 50 kph speed limit we saw in several clips didn't really exist. Kevin missed it and Drew missed it, so he doesn't think it was really there. Snork. Drew notes that when all the other teams were passing them, he was sure they would all get penalties. He tried to cut people off to stop people from passing, but it didn't really work. Fawna from Utah is the first call-in and says she wants to know what the producers said would happen, in terms of penalties, if they sped. Kevin says they would literally have beaten them for speeding. Then he laughs. Drew says it would have been a time penalty, but it seems nobody ever gets one. Kevin says that in first season with Rob & Amber, one team actually turned their truck over. He says the producers want racers to be very careful on the roads. It's a race, but they're on real roads and they don't want to kill themselves or anyone else. They're very careful about it. Kevin says that the sign they showed over and over was just inserted! But the guy at the entrance to the park said – in Spanish – that they had to go 40 kph through the Valley of the Moon, but then they could speed up. However, when you get into the park it looks like the moon everywhere! You have no idea what's the valley and what's not the valley. The clue was the only English they had and it said they had to go 40 kph through the Valley of the Moon. Kevin concludes that, if they made a mistake, it was listening to the producers the previous evening and trying not to speed (and missing the sign post the other teams saw – sorry, guys!). Greg from New Jersey calls in and says Kevin & Drew are his favorite racers of all. He commends Drew for staying at 40 kph when he thought that was the speed limit. He says that if he thought the teams were all speeding, why didn't they say anything to Phil at the Pit Stop – or did they and they didn't show it? Drew says they did ask about it and it took “like six hours” to figure it all out. That was part of the reason he stepped off the mat at the Pit Stop. There was a great discussion about the speed limit and driving. Kevin says they really thought the other teams were speeding. Peggy notes that every racer has had an experience that really upset them on the race. We now get a Wikipedia graphic telling us that “Santiago (Chile's capital) was founded by Pedro de Valdivia on February 12, 1541, with the name Santiago de Nueva Extremadura.” Jared from New York greets the guys and says it was so good to see them back on the race because they were the heart and soul of season one. And he loved their commentary on the season one DVD. Jared wants to know if Kevin & Drew are still friends with Nancy & Emily and if they still wanted to break the Guidos' legs. He also asks about the first two legs of their first race vs. the first two legs of All-Stars. Was it brains or luck that determined the result this time? Drew starts by saying they're still very good friends with Nancy & Emily and that they are also are friends with Joe & Bill now. Kevin notes there was no breaking of legs. Kevin says that, in both seasons, the first leg was physically demanding. In the first race they were in Africa it was hot and physically tiring. In All-Stars the altitude was hard to deal with. Drew says that the locales they got to visit in the first two legs were very different. In the first race they got to see both Victoria Falls and the Eiffel Tower in Paris – two amazing locations. They did the cool jump off the gorge and climbed the Eiffel Tower. This time, they seemed to be driving around everywhere. Peggy notes the Valley of the Moon looked pretty cool. It even had Oswald crying. Kevin says that Oswald is a drama queen. Drew does say the Valley of the Moon was beautiful. It really does look like what the moon might look like. Peggy now shows us the clip of Kevin & Drew getting to the mat and being Philiminated. Drew heads off the mat a couple of times, looking very frustrated and discouraged. He's obviously in a lot of pain. Kevin says that if he were in pain, Drew would support him too. Back on The Finish Line, Drew notes that the Valley of the Moon is also one of the driest places in the world. He had to drink water by the gallon there. Peggy says that it is The Amazing Race, it's not supposed to be the Four Seasons. But it did seem like a very difficult leg. But what can't you do after you've done that? Peggy asks if they think being older made it harder or if it was as hard the first time around. Drew says that it was a different kind of difficult the first time. He enjoyed the first season much more because of the places they went and things they got to see. A friend of Kevin's, Frank from New Jersey, calls in and says he's disappointed to see them off the show. He says when they pulled the car out of the “crater” it was the biggest laugh he's had in months – although he got nervous for Kevin for a second. But once he knew he was okay, he rewound it and watched the clip about five times! As the clip plays again, they all marvel at Kevin's agility in leaping the giant puddle. Peggy asks Frank why so many fans like Kevin & Drew. He says it's because they're real people. Frank says he's always amazed by the production of the show. He wants to know if they get to know the production folks at all during the show. Drew says they absolutely do. Kevin says it's like a big family – there's a small traveling army of people going with the show. It's a logistical nightmare traveling across all of those countries. It's really impressive. But once everyone's arrived at a Pit Stop, everyone eats again and you get to relax together. Then when it's time to go, it's all business. Perennial caller Jeremy from Chicago is now on the line. He congratulates Kevin & Drew for getting on All-Stars and says they were one of his favorite teams. Jeremy asks which team they think is the most villainous this season – Rob & Amber or the Guidos. He also asks if anyone has asked about Kevin's “infamous comment” from season one – “Swing you fat bastard, swing!” Drew just says everyone knows about that comment. Then he goes on to say that Rob & Amber aren't nearly as villainous as they seem. Rob's crafty and very cunning. He likes to dance around the rules very well and Amber's very bright. The Guidos are also very bright and in great shape for their age. Peggy asks about the teams that are already screeching at each other. Kevin says he thinks it's a new breed of villain – as in Charla & Mirna. They're getting in everyone's face and pushing people around. Peggy does agree those two have set the “screeching tone” for the season. This leads to a clip of Charla & Mirna fighting with the Beauty Queens when they follow them towards the Valley of the Moon. Mirna freaks out at everyone including the cab driver while a bunch of other teams drive by. Peggy says that Mirna gets a funky accent when she gets mad. Kevin says it's a made-up accent she uses when she speaks in a bunch of languages. Peggy felt bad for the guy trying to help them. She also thought that it was fair of Mirna & Charla to say the Beauty Queens should split the fare, but they didn't have the money and it was fair to just ask him to draw a map too. The guys agree. But then it just got out of control. Drew says that Mirna often loses her control. He says that from what he understands, later in the race we'll see something REALLY out of control from her and what we saw is nothing compared to what we're going to see “in a couple of weeks.” Hmmm... sounds interesting! Peggy now turns to Elimination Station. She notes the eliminated teams stay there and that CBS has clips of it. She asks what the guys thought of the place. Kevin says that he was actually trying not to enjoy it because he was bummed about being out of the race, but he notes that “some of us” really took to it. Drew immediately chimes in and says that he totally loved it there! With that, we see a clip of the lovely villa the teams were staying in and Kevin & Drew arriving there. Jill actually guesses that Kevin & Drew will be the team arriving because Drew was so beat up at the end of the first leg. You can read about the rest of the Elimination Station video and all the online clips right here. Peggy says the villa looked amazing. Drew says it was gorgeous and they had seven servants to wait on them hand and foot. They would give them food, drinks, and fix their room while you lay around and ate, drank, slept, played by the pool, slept, ate, etc. Kevin was still too angry to really enjoy himself. He made it a point to hike up a grueling hill every day. Kevin says the staff – who Drew called the servants – were great to them. They note they had a lot of fun hanging out with Jon Vito & Jill and Drew says he pointedly did nothing the entire time he was there. Now it's time for Kevin & Drew's post-race postcard. Drew starts by thanking his wife for standing by him and urging him to go on the race again. He thanks the fans who rooted for them and said so many nice things to them. Kevin sends his postcard to his lovely wife Sherrie who is currently expecting triplets! He wishes she had been with him in Acapulco instead of Drew! He also thanks Nancy & Emily, Jon Vito & Jill, and Rob & Brennan. It's time for a preview of the next leg. Terri & Ian argue with Charla & Mirna and Danielle flips out over some flounder. Peggy thanks Kevin & Drew and congratulates Kevin on his upcoming adventure with his triplets – two boys and a girl. Yes, congratulations and good luck to Kevin and his wife! Kevin & Drew came across as grumpily likable as always. Drew may have slipped a bit by saying that we'd see a big freakout by Mirna “in a couple of weeks.” That implies the Armenian cousins will be on the show for at least two more episodes. I'm very curious to see what really sends Mirna over the edge. Obviously, it caused a lot of gossip at Elimination Station!
The Amazing Race: All-Stars – The Finish Line, Episode 2 by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 03/03/2007 It's the second week of The Amazing Race: All-Stars, but only the first Finish Line of the season. Are Kevin & Drew kind to our dear hostess Peggy Bunker? And what does Drew say about Mirna's penchant for flipping out? Peggy Bunker greets us for the season's first Finish Line. Apparently our dear clown, Jon Weiss, is no longer a co-host. Boo! Peggy tells us that Drew & Kevin are in the house. We then get the All-Stars montage showing all of the teams in – what else – stars. The theme music this season sounds like an homage to Mission Impossible. Peggy says that she's there to talk about all things Amazing Race with the most recently eliminated team. She reminds viewers to call in and then introduces Kevin & Drew. The guys are dressed in jeans and nice shirts – Kevin's even wearing a jacket. So cute! Peggy says she knows they'd rather be racing than talking to her now, but wants to know how the race went for them. Kevin says the race was good and getting a second chance to do it was really cool. They wish they were in on the end, but “it is what it is.” Peggy says it was clear they didn't want to leave the race – especially Drew. He looked very frustrated and angry at the pit stop. Drew says it was frustration and anger and physical pain – emotional too. At that point he was almost relieved they weren't in the race. It wasn't as much fun as last time. The altitude sickness was bad and carried into the next day. Peggy says he had health things that seemed to be plaguing him. Drew says he had a pre-existing neck and back injury and everything was getting him. Peggy asks Kevin how difficult it was to see his racing companion buckle like that. Kevin acknowledges that it was hard, but he knew Drew was hurt. What was he going to do? That's just what happened. As they show a clip of Drew getting oxygen, Kevin laughs. He notes it looks like Drew's a hundred years old in the clip! Drew says he didn't think the camera was on him while he was getting oxygen. Peggy notes it's probably not the best Drew has ever looked and Drew agrees that he really does look horrible in that clip! Yeah, it's not Drew's best TV moment. So, Peggy wonders, did the guys think they would make it in All-Stars to the end, or did they think they were out of it a bit? Drew says they thought they would have a good chance of getting to the end. Then he fell in the first leg and really hurt his shoulder. Drew says he fell over the “retaining wall” in the road. Kevin notes the “wall” was a curb and that you can't call something ankle-high a retaining wall. Snork. Peggy says that she could tell Drew was in pain. Going on with the Drew-baiting, Peggy notes the moment on the race when Drew “almost killed” Kevin by dragging him with the car when they were trying to get out of the “little divot.” Kevin says you get a divot when you play golf – this was a crater! Kevin was trying to balance the car with his weight. The guys squabble about whether Kevin was pulling the car or not as we watch Drew begin to drive away with Kevin attempting to run beside the car. Everyone laughs. Peggy says that in all of the Amazing Races she has seen, this was the time she thought that someone was going down! Drew notes that they didn't show it, but that he also sprayed Kevin with mud and “that was really great!” Kevin agrees that he had a mud bath. Peggy now replays the clip in slow motion to see if they can determine if Kevin was pulling the car. Drew continues to claim (as he did in my interview with the pair) that he rocked the car out. Peggy asks Kevin that if he hadn't been being pulled by the SUV does he think he would have been able to leap over that “small pond” otherwise known as a large mud puddle. Kevin says he was going to pull out their Evil Knievel stuff. Yay! It's time for the dreaded “speed limit” issue, where the guys read the clue wrongly and stayed at 40 kph even after the speed limit went up to 50 kph. First we see a clip from that part of the race with the other teams all passing the slow-moving Kevin & Drew. After the clip, Drew says they were screamed at by production the night before about how nobody better speed, they'd get a penalty if anyone was speeding, and they'd better not speed! So when they were told the speed limit was 40 kph, they were careful. Drew notes that his “guide” in the back didn't tell him when he could go 50 kph. Drew claims the 50 kph speed limit we saw in several clips didn't really exist. Kevin missed it and Drew missed it, so he doesn't think it was really there. Snork. Drew notes that when all the other teams were passing them, he was sure they would all get penalties. He tried to cut people off to stop people from passing, but it didn't really work. Fawna from Utah is the first call-in and says she wants to know what the producers said would happen, in terms of penalties, if they sped. Kevin says they would literally have beaten them for speeding. Then he laughs. Drew says it would have been a time penalty, but it seems nobody ever gets one. Kevin says that in first season with Rob & Amber, one team actually turned their truck over. He says the producers want racers to be very careful on the roads. It's a race, but they're on real roads and they don't want to kill themselves or anyone else. They're very careful about it. Kevin says that the sign they showed over and over was just inserted! But the guy at the entrance to the park said – in Spanish – that they had to go 40 kph through the Valley of the Moon, but then they could speed up. However, when you get into the park it looks like the moon everywhere! You have no idea what's the valley and what's not the valley. The clue was the only English they had and it said they had to go 40 kph through the Valley of the Moon. Kevin concludes that, if they made a mistake, it was listening to the producers the previous evening and trying not to speed (and missing the sign post the other teams saw – sorry, guys!). Greg from New Jersey calls in and says Kevin & Drew are his favorite racers of all. He commends Drew for staying at 40 kph when he thought that was the speed limit. He says that if he thought the teams were all speeding, why didn't they say anything to Phil at the Pit Stop – or did they and they didn't show it? Drew says they did ask about it and it took “like six hours” to figure it all out. That was part of the reason he stepped off the mat at the Pit Stop. There was a great discussion about the speed limit and driving. Kevin says they really thought the other teams were speeding. Peggy notes that every racer has had an experience that really upset them on the race. We now get a Wikipedia graphic telling us that “Santiago (Chile's capital) was founded by Pedro de Valdivia on February 12, 1541, with the name Santiago de Nueva Extremadura.” Jared from New York greets the guys and says it was so good to see them back on the race because they were the heart and soul of season one. And he loved their commentary on the season one DVD. Jared wants to know if Kevin & Drew are still friends with Nancy & Emily and if they still wanted to break the Guidos' legs. He also asks about the first two legs of their first race vs. the first two legs of All-Stars. Was it brains or luck that determined the result this time? Drew starts by saying they're still very good friends with Nancy & Emily and that they are also are friends with Joe & Bill now. Kevin notes there was no breaking of legs. Kevin says that, in both seasons, the first leg was physically demanding. In the first race they were in Africa it was hot and physically tiring. In All-Stars the altitude was hard to deal with. Drew says that the locales they got to visit in the first two legs were very different. In the first race they got to see both Victoria Falls and the Eiffel Tower in Paris – two amazing locations. They did the cool jump off the gorge and climbed the Eiffel Tower. This time, they seemed to be driving around everywhere. Peggy notes the Valley of the Moon looked pretty cool. It even had Oswald crying. Kevin says that Oswald is a drama queen. Drew does say the Valley of the Moon was beautiful. It really does look like what the moon might look like. Peggy now shows us the clip of Kevin & Drew getting to the mat and being Philiminated. Drew heads off the mat a couple of times, looking very frustrated and discouraged. He's obviously in a lot of pain. Kevin says that if he were in pain, Drew would support him too. Back on The Finish Line, Drew notes that the Valley of the Moon is also one of the driest places in the world. He had to drink water by the gallon there. Peggy says that it is The Amazing Race, it's not supposed to be the Four Seasons. But it did seem like a very difficult leg. But what can't you do after you've done that? Peggy asks if they think being older made it harder or if it was as hard the first time around. Drew says that it was a different kind of difficult the first time. He enjoyed the first season much more because of the places they went and things they got to see. A friend of Kevin's, Frank from New Jersey, calls in and says he's disappointed to see them off the show. He says when they pulled the car out of the “crater” it was the biggest laugh he's had in months – although he got nervous for Kevin for a second. But once he knew he was okay, he rewound it and watched the clip about five times! As the clip plays again, they all marvel at Kevin's agility in leaping the giant puddle. Peggy asks Frank why so many fans like Kevin & Drew. He says it's because they're real people. Frank says he's always amazed by the production of the show. He wants to know if they get to know the production folks at all during the show. Drew says they absolutely do. Kevin says it's like a big family – there's a small traveling army of people going with the show. It's a logistical nightmare traveling across all of those countries. It's really impressive. But once everyone's arrived at a Pit Stop, everyone eats again and you get to relax together. Then when it's time to go, it's all business. Perennial caller Jeremy from Chicago is now on the line. He congratulates Kevin & Drew for getting on All-Stars and says they were one of his favorite teams. Jeremy asks which team they think is the most villainous this season – Rob & Amber or the Guidos. He also asks if anyone has asked about Kevin's “infamous comment” from season one – “Swing you fat bastard, swing!” Drew just says everyone knows about that comment. Then he goes on to say that Rob & Amber aren't nearly as villainous as they seem. Rob's crafty and very cunning. He likes to dance around the rules very well and Amber's very bright. The Guidos are also very bright and in great shape for their age. Peggy asks about the teams that are already screeching at each other. Kevin says he thinks it's a new breed of villain – as in Charla & Mirna. They're getting in everyone's face and pushing people around. Peggy does agree those two have set the “screeching tone” for the season. This leads to a clip of Charla & Mirna fighting with the Beauty Queens when they follow them towards the Valley of the Moon. Mirna freaks out at everyone including the cab driver while a bunch of other teams drive by. Peggy says that Mirna gets a funky accent when she gets mad. Kevin says it's a made-up accent she uses when she speaks in a bunch of languages. Peggy felt bad for the guy trying to help them. She also thought that it was fair of Mirna & Charla to say the Beauty Queens should split the fare, but they didn't have the money and it was fair to just ask him to draw a map too. The guys agree. But then it just got out of control. Drew says that Mirna often loses her control. He says that from what he understands, later in the race we'll see something REALLY out of control from her and what we saw is nothing compared to what we're going to see “in a couple of weeks.” Hmmm... sounds interesting! Peggy now turns to Elimination Station. She notes the eliminated teams stay there and that CBS has clips of it. She asks what the guys thought of the place. Kevin says that he was actually trying not to enjoy it because he was bummed about being out of the race, but he notes that “some of us” really took to it. Drew immediately chimes in and says that he totally loved it there! With that, we see a clip of the lovely villa the teams were staying in and Kevin & Drew arriving there. Jill actually guesses that Kevin & Drew will be the team arriving because Drew was so beat up at the end of the first leg. You can read about the rest of the Elimination Station video and all the online clips right here. Peggy says the villa looked amazing. Drew says it was gorgeous and they had seven servants to wait on them hand and foot. They would give them food, drinks, and fix their room while you lay around and ate, drank, slept, played by the pool, slept, ate, etc. Kevin was still too angry to really enjoy himself. He made it a point to hike up a grueling hill every day. Kevin says the staff – who Drew called the servants – were great to them. They note they had a lot of fun hanging out with Jon Vito & Jill and Drew says he pointedly did nothing the entire time he was there. Now it's time for Kevin & Drew's post-race postcard. Drew starts by thanking his wife for standing by him and urging him to go on the race again. He thanks the fans who rooted for them and said so many nice things to them. Kevin sends his postcard to his lovely wife Sherrie who is currently expecting triplets! He wishes she had been with him in Acapulco instead of Drew! He also thanks Nancy & Emily, Jon Vito & Jill, and Rob & Brennan. It's time for a preview of the next leg. Terri & Ian argue with Charla & Mirna and Danielle flips out over some flounder. Peggy thanks Kevin & Drew and congratulates Kevin on his upcoming adventure with his triplets – two boys and a girl. Yes, congratulations and good luck to Kevin and his wife! Kevin & Drew came across as grumpily likable as always. Drew may have slipped a bit by saying that we'd see a big freakout by Mirna “in a couple of weeks.” That implies the Armenian cousins will be on the show for at least two more episodes. I'm very curious to see what really sends Mirna over the edge. Obviously, it caused a lot of gossip at Elimination Station!