‘Amazing Race’ runs through India

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April 19, 2005

Tonight’s episode of reality television show “The Amazing Race” takes its contestants to the streets of Lucknow, India:

Battle lines were drawn as Teams made their way to Lucknow, India. Boyfriends Lynn & Alex led a group against their rivals, engaged couple Rob & Amber, who paired up with former POW and beauty queen Ron & Kelly, in an uneasy alliance. Catching an earlier flight to India, Rob & Amber never relinquished their lead as they battled for first place. Winning the hard-fought match, Rob & Amber stepped on the mat and received a shock when Phil told them that he had their next clue. The leg was not over. [CBS]

The web preview hosts video vignettes, a location briefing, and a call for your own Lucknow stories. “The Amazing Race” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CBS.

POSTED BY apul @ 04:34 PM

9 comments

1 · KXB on April 19, 2005 05:39 PM · Direct link

The producers of The Amazing Race seem to have a thing for having teams go through India. This is the fourth race where a leg or two goes through the country. To their credit, the producers have really improved their India planning. Earlier India stops have shown women getting groped on trains in Bombay, child beggars reaching through open windows in New Delhi. They haven't glossed over it this time - but it is a more nuanced picture.

2 · Ashwin on April 19, 2005 09:03 PM · Direct link

So which retard is gonna go 'Can anybody speak English in this country?' this time.

3 · Anupa on April 19, 2005 10:23 PM · Direct link

i am addicted to the amazing race. i think it is the best reality show on television today. it's manage to somewhat sleaze things up with last season being a very 'photogenic' cast...but there's none of the cheap shock value of shows like the bachelor. i think they give realistic but not too "typical" views of third world countries. like you may see a bit of poverty but you'll also see happy children playing and big modern cities in what people presume to be the "bush".

india was surprisingly good to them this time around as well. no teams had any really bad experiences (i.e. the groping ) except for crazy traffic. i think they enjoyed it and it portrayed indians as very friendly and polite people.

oh i could go on. today's episode was awesome though. one of the male-female teams had to shave their heads in a good luck ritual in order to get a fast forward.

4 · Sofa King hilarious on April 20, 2005 12:30 AM · Direct link

Oh Lord, This one was a gem. I am not gonna put any spoiler alert for you Tivo ppl. Go figure. It was a hilarious episode, I was rolling on the floor laughin when Gretchen was on the elephant yelling "get outta the way " haha and her poor hubby was pulling her and the elephant thru Jodhpur.
OMG another thing that was sofa king funny was something I always think might happen- was when we saw 2 guys in a rickshaw with their hands on each others shoulder (Hum dono bhai bhai- body language) to which meredith said "look gay indian men" that cracked me up. I'm sad to see the gay men go. and i was wishing that the POW and /romber wud get to fast forward and shave the hair and their damned air-head with it, DAMN- That would be on helluva reality tv.Uchenna and Joyce gotta win the AR.
AND Yeah we women do get groped in public transit, heck Bryan Adams concert even- thats the truth.

5 · cauvery on April 20, 2005 05:17 AM · Direct link

Oh great, and there I was watching the NBC version of The Office and extolling on the virtues of Rick Gervais' version, and that how the American version sucks harder than a pacifier in a baby's mouth...

6 · Mytri on April 20, 2005 07:15 AM · Direct link

Enjoyed it greatly. Thank you for the heads up. Did not realize that the entire program was set in India. The kids were rolling on the ground everytime they said, Jaldi Jaldi. We are now trolling the Indian Railways site to see where we can go in Summer. But where do women get their heads shaved. That was weird. I have only seen it in Tirupati.

7 · KXB on April 20, 2005 10:11 AM · Direct link

I don't know about other communities, but Bengali girls usually get their head shaved when they are one or two years old.

The great thing about this show is that chance still plays such a big role. The gay guys would have still been in it, had it not been for the bad cab driver. Plus, the winners are not predictable. Past winners included a middle-aged black couple, a young gay team - and yes, even annoying people win at time too. For those who are regular viewers, remember Zach and Flo?

8 · DesiDancer on April 20, 2005 10:50 AM · Direct link

you're right, KXB, other regions also do it (punjabi, UP-walle, etc) depending on family/gotra, it can take place as early as 6 months old, I think.

9 · apsara77 on April 20, 2005 01:49 PM · Direct link

I love the Amazing Race! i got hooked on it from last season...the only thing is that I'm such a shutter bug that if i were on the show, I'd be spending half the time clicking pix of the georgeous locations! but anyway, last week's episode was also in Lucknow and it was hilarious to see the teams go into this antiquated office trying to find particular people to serve chai to! It was a good example of the bureaucracy of the indian govt as they went trudging down each floor trying to find departments that people working there didn't even know existed!

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