CBS' "The Amazing Race": the finale

Kudos to Chip & Kim, who showed that middle-aged married parents can run with the youngsters! The race ended up turning pretty much on the fortuity that Colin & Christie and Brandon & Nicole ended up being harmed by finishing the Slide/Ride detour first, because that led them to get the flight that seemed to be the earliest to arrive in Texas, but that ended up being delayed. Because Chip & Kim got to the airport much later, they learned about the delay and were able to book seats on the second-best flight, which turned out to give them an 11 minute advantage in Texas.

Like many others, I was pleased to see Chip & Kim win for a number of reasons: (1) they were always in good spirits, enjoying the travel and the experiences; (2) they were courteous and polite to all the people they met in the different countries, providing a much needed antidote to the "ugly American" that we see all too often on the show; (3) despite making occasional mistakes, they raced well overall. I would've liked to have seen Kim perform more Roadblocks, as it seemed like Chip was carrying the heavy load (but the same is true of the other two finalist teams).

I wouldn't have minded if Colin & Christie had won, because they may be the best team not to have won the Race, at least in the time that I've been watching (midway through #3). However, had they won, given the later flight, it would have been because their towncar driver (Earl) was willing to drive illegally on the freeway shoulder, and I don't think such conduct should be rewarded.

Finally, I thought the producers showed a pretty clever streak by putting up a shot of the sky/clouds whenever Brandon prayed to God for strength for Nicole. As it turns out, I think all three teams were Christians, but only Brandon & Nicole were ostentatious about it, always talking about how their faith would give them an edge. I only noticed that Chip was Christian because he said grace before eating the ostrich egg, and I only guess that about Colin because I saw a cross on a chain around his neck.

Anyway, other quick thoughts:

- I don't think Chip acted wrongly in lying to Brandon & Nicole about whether he had checked the right flag. It's a race! Stop trying to follow the other team and piggyback on their hard work, B&N!

- It was pretty embarrassing when Nicole freaked out on the bike path during the Slide/Ride roadblock. She actually ended up sitting down in frustration and tears. I guess I haven't experienced the stress of the race, but it seems to me not very good form to need to be carried down the hill on Brandon's back.

- Too bad for the bowling moms that the second to last leg had that brutal ascent, where Xtreme sport athlete Colin was able to pass Karen and avoid elimination.

- Unfortunately, "The Amazing Race" did so well in the ratings that the next edition, originally set to premeire this Friday (then next Friday), has been delayed indefinitely. Huh? Yeah, I don't get it either, but the explanation is:

By waiting until late October/early November, CBS executives hope to give viewers a breather between seasons instead of rushing back to the airwaves a few weeks after its September 21 finale. Traditionally, "Race" has experienced breaks of anywhere between three and 10 months between seasons.

Comments

[David]

When are sweeps again? Seems to me like you would want to try to start it during sweeps and end it during sweeps, if possible.

[Sami]

Congrats to Chip and Kim!! I am very excited they won!

I agree with everything you said, except I do think that Colin and Christie would have won even without the driving on the shoulder if they got the earlier flight, but they didn't get that flight and that was their fault for not checking the flights to make sure they were on time. Perhaps the only major mistake they made the whole race.

[Adam]

They still might have won had they not been so foolish as to check their baggage through to Dallas and eliminate the possibility of finding a faster connection out of Denver.

[g]

I hate C&C's personalities, but I was rooting for them in the end simply because they proved time and time again that they were perhaps the strongest racers ever on The Amazing Race. I was disappointed that C&K's mistakes in Calgary were rewarded and led to them winning the race.