I thought the couple ahead of Rob and Amber arrived at 9.25 for a 9.30 flight, perhaps someone who knows Argentina could tell us, very strange these days that they could arrive so close and the plane was held, security and also checking the bags etc, and because they were last on it happened that their last laoded bags were the first off. I will make a guess that Rob and Amber will be up to the last episode but they will loose just by a minute or less. Anyway it's off to Africa next....

I, too, was initially a bit suspicious when R& A made the flight after having been so far behind at the start, however, while today's security measures would dictate that arriving so close to a flight's departure would negate boarding, is it possible that the flight was delayed and did not actually leave at the scheduled 9:30 time? Even a short delay may have made the difference. At any rate, I am (grudgingly) enjoying R&A's antics as they continue to seemingly "breeze" through the "race". I am still not sure I like them being there ... I suppose that part of the appeal of TAR was the fact that ordinary people were participating in an extraordinary adventure ... with a pretty extraordinary prize at the end. R&A are not ordinary people ... they are celebrities and CBS celebrities at that. It is also somewhat irritating to know that they are now "negotiating" the television rights to their impending nuptials. How romantic!

I can't stand Ray of "Ray and Deana, dating on and off" team. I don't think he has done a single challenge and all he does is complain. If he knows so much about riding a horse, he should have done the challenge instead of Deana. There is a reason he is at the back of the pack -- it's the right place for him.

And yes, luck is a big factor in this race. No one wants a boat that's going to break down, but work with cards dealt, not the ones you would prefer to hold.

I think the editing is very well crafted. The boat search amazed me. Turn right, now turn left....oh look, there it is. How long did that take? We see in one hour what happens over many, many hours.

I also thought it was strange that R/A made the plane. However, I do think that it was probably delayed and no one said anything about that.

I have a really hard time believing that anyone would be helping them. Certainly it will come out at some point that that was the case, if indeed it was.....and that will be the end of TAR.

Still love watching though.

I don't think the plane was delayed. If it had been ALL the other contestants on it would have been complaining loudly, especially because they all detest R & A.

I'm glad to see the last of Susan & Patrick. I also really dislike Ray and the gay guys. I don't like the way they talk about other contestants.

I watch off and on, but have seen this race 7 more than the others. But I'm at the point of not watching now. It's being manipulated by the production people and it isn't reality in any sense. If you have ever traveled in S. America- you know that the plane would not have been held except for the influence of the production crew etc. and the surrounding executive pressures. And also native participation is totally altered by the presence of the cameras.

And I'm sick of the ageism. I'm not quite there yet, but I don't want to hear any more comments about "bottom-feeders" and "old" people- repeatedly- myself. Way too much arrogance on this show for my taste now.

I think you are confuseing the arrogance being shown (or edited, or portrayed) specifically on the Ray character, as against what the show is trying to manifest as a TV program.

You are attacking the show for "ageism" but perhaps, you are overlooking that this is being a Reality/Drama show and that they have to have a "bad guy" and they do this by portraying the negative nature of Ray's stance on old folks.

Not really. They do try to "set up" the dynamic and sterotype for the marketing appeal/tension- but there is much more than that here. If you're under 40, you just don't hear the distinction. Even the host reinterates their age. And they also usually include only 1 couple or pair in that age bracket, when right now (those 49-60) are the boomers and the biggest percentage of the population in the USA and also in parts of Europe. That's why the eventual S.Security snaffu.

It's all to play to the '20's/'30's age market and as much as I like seeing the scenery, the rest is becoming too off-putting to me to be entertainment. It's not just the current "evil" character- it's the general tone of picking out and highlighting the "fights" as well. They don't ring true, primadonna's pushing for their own camera time. Phonier, and phonier.

Ray and Deana are the Jonathan and Victoria of last season. Ray was so out of line making all those comments about the older couple. I have to hand it to them to have the stamina to stay in The Amazing Race. I'm younger and don't think I would make it through week #1.

I noticed they didn't post Rob's time but he did sail through the challenge. Rob and Amber have brought some life to the show. The two gay guys that hate R&A also are good entertainment. Some of the others are downright boring.

Update: I did check the Aerolineas website, and the flight is shown as departing at 9:50. For the really curious, the duration is 1 hour and 32 minutes and it costs 740 pesos ($254).

In the interview with Lynn & Alex on the CBS website, they are not happy that Rob & Amber caught the plane, but they didn't say it was "unfair." They just say that R&A caught the plane just before it pulled away.

L&A whine so much that I am sure we would have heard about it if L&A thought the airline had bent the rules.

Keith

:-D Only on Fodors would someone check the airline website!

My wish for Ray is that when he is old and feeble and sitting in front of the television at the nursing home, they will rerun TAR7 and he will be forced to listen to his own nasty remarks and reflect on the folly of thinking one is immune to getting older.

I join Marilyn in her wish for Ray!

I told my husband last night that the only thing that made his nasty comments tolerable was the fact that if he manages to live long enough, he will someday be the same age as the couple he was insulting, and hopefully won't be as physically fit as they seem to be.

Respect for elders was drummed into me when I was a child and I did practice it. Often wish that the same would be accorded me, but it seems that's not a rule of life parents instill in their children any longer. Pity!

Giovanna, it reminds me of a greeting card I once gave a friend. The outside says: "Remember how we used to make fun of those old people?"

The inside says: "What was so damn funny?"

What a terrific card! Thanks for sharing Marilyn. I'm nursing a cold and not up to par--needed a good laugh!

:-D = the best medicine, Giovanna!

Some you take your TV Waaaaaaaay to seriously. It's TV - it isn't real.

>Some you take your TV Waaaaaaaay to seriously. It's TV - it isn't real.<

Doesn't mean that it's not fun to talk about, though.

I was one of the people viewing Rob and Amber's place on AR7 rather negatively before the season started - I felt that their place should have been given to another team of "regular" people - not some reality tv "stars".

I am surprised that I have enjoyed watching them on the show. Part of it is Rob's self directed comments - I laughed at his horseshoe remark, part of it is in response to the other teams' obsession with beating them, part of it is his shrewdness and cunning.

The boyfriends are irritating - I don't know how many different ways they can say "We have to beat Rob and Amber" and I think Ray is just a putz.

I'm wondering about Joyce and Uchenya.
I admit, I speed-watched the taped episode late last night so I may have this wrong, but hadn't they already decided to do the shipwreck task instead of the island task ? It looked to me that while looking for the shipwreck, they accidentally found the island clue and took it. Isn't that wrong ? Don't you have to complete the task that you set out to do ? I know in previous races there have been several times where contestants change their minds half way through one task and decide to do the other, but in those cases, it has usually meant that they have to go back and start the new task afresh. I realise that would not have been possible in this case since both tasks were in the same play/game area, making 'going back' redundant. So was this another 'producer gaffe' that allowed a team a legitimate, if unorthodox, advantage ? If not, they may have a penalty coming to them at the start of the next leg. Too bad, as I quite like them.

I'm glad the whiny kids gone, but I'm afraid the senior lady is starting to get on my nerves ! Is it just me ? Can't she shut-up for once ? Enough already ! If she starts singing hysterically next week, this show might just as well be 'Survivor'! :)