Hey Michelle Y,
I haven't had a Dirty Monkey for quite a while. I better go have one soon!

They don't always keep it under wraps. A lot of people see the filming and there are spoiler sites out there with a lot of details provided by the people who see the teams racing.

I was sad the Cowboys didn't win either, but at least it wasn't the awful Brent and Caite. I wasn't a big fan of the annoying brothers, but there have been worse winners.

ellenem: Flo and Zach weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend. She started a romance with another racer, one of the Wonder Twins, and that became a source of friction between her and Zach because she kept ditching him to hang out with the twins. I agree that Flo winning was one of the saddest wins on TAR, but I felt good for Zach because he both figuratively and literally carried her during most of the race. He should have been declared the sole winner because she did nothing but cry and complain the whole race.

I truly believe one of the requirements must be that you can never have traveled outside your own backyard in order to be considereed as a contestant. My 7 yr old knows more than most of these people, when it comes to travel. I am sure all Fodorites would be ruled 'ineligible'.

sf - we WERE at the game Saturday and it was definitely AWESOME!!!

And while we are on the subject of way cool stuff, my husband saw Jet and Cord at Chicago-Ohare today. He was in line behind them in one of the bookstore/convinience stores, so he got to chat for a few minutes and they let him take their picture so he could send it to me. He said they are indeed really friendly, gracious people.

My friend works at a golf course which was the finish line a couple series ago. She said everyone at work was told that there was going to be a fire inspection, drill or something that required all the employees to stay away that day and they were closing the golf course for the day. None of her co-workers knew that they were filming the finale for the race either.
I live a mile away and never noticed anything unusual.

Some contestants are less than desireable, but you know the producers main concern in their selection process is all done for the ratings.

If there was ever a vote, the Cowboy Brothers would win for the best all-around team. There should be a belt buckle for that, just like in a rodeo. Way to go guys, they truly did act like gentlemen and represented the west well.

ShellCat,

You are so right. Their parents should be proud...they did a great job raising those boys!

By the way OP, here's the story from Uchenna. It sounds like the presence of cameras and the possibility of being on TV may have had an impact, but the show itself didn't have anything to do with it:

"Uchenna says gate agent “was compelled to call the pilot” because she’d lied to them. Not that this will shut the conspiracy theorists up, but here is perhaps the final word on The Amazing Race 6’s plane-related controversy. Uchenna and Joyce talked to 96X’s BJ and Shannon (how many BJ’s work in radio? just curious) via phone. Their 17-minute interview is on the station’s site, and provides more insight into the mystery of the American Airlines plane.

First, Joyce reminds us that this exact same thing happened earlier this season, when a smaller plane “re-opened the doors to let Rob and Amber on.” So, it’s nothing new. Second, Uchenna says that Rob “told the ticket agent not to tell us about that flight.”

Then, when Uchenna and Joyce got to the gate, they found “that same ticket agent who had lied to us and said there was no flight. They didn’t air the fact that I yelled out, at the top of my lungs, ‘You lied to us.’ So she was the one that was compelled to call the pilot because, okay, there’s cameras everywhere, she’s standing there having just lied to me telling me that there was no flight.” Joyce adds, “And it looks like, you know, would American Airlines lie to the passengers?”

Whoops. That last comment was to Dayle, not the OP.

I didn't watch this season. The couple times I tried to tune in seemed that horrible girl was screaming at or about someone/something. I just couldn't get into it this time around.

I have never quite been able to get into that show -- particularly since they bill it as "reality" TV when there is nothing REAL about it.

I'm especially amused when two contestants manage to get the "last two" seats on a plane. Then the photographer shoots scenes of them flying. I guess we are supposed to believe the photographer had his seat already not even knowing what flight the contestants would get the last two seats for? Clearly there were three (or more seats) all reserved for them. And isn't it interesting that there always seems to be a full camera crew ahead of everyone -- sometimes even already in the taxi that the contestants supposedly find out of nowhere and then get into? Duh -- clearly they only need to follow the camera crew and get into the taxi that has the cameraman waiting for them. There is just so much about it that is clearly "scripted" and planned. It would be fun if the whole thing were indeed "real" but anyone who believes it is just isn't playing with a full deck.

Of course they have a camera crew with them. Duh. There wouldn't be a TV show otherwise. But that hardly makes it "scripted."

All the teams travel with a 2-person camera crew, in the cabs, on the plane, etc. I don't really think they are trying to fool anyone by not mentioning the camera crew explicitly. But they aren't in the taxi ahead of time -- they get into the taxi when the team does.

I have also read that when you see teams trying to book "the last two tickets" they are really trying to book the last four tickets. They just get in the habit of referring to their own tickets to maintain the image that the team is two people. It is still up to the team to find the taxi, find their way, complete the tasks. The crew follows them and records whatever happens, including errors as they happen. . . leaving behind important items, putting the wrong kind of gas in a car, offering no help to someone who doesn't know what a candelabra is.

There's no way the film crew doesn't fly in at least Business Class, if not First Class.

The wikipedia article answers some of these questions about the film crew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ama...U.S._TV_series)

I think the real reason the brothers won was because they got a whole night's sleep and were refreshed and mentally alert. I think they left around 7-8 am.

The other teams had left at 2:30 am just to try to get some sleep at the airport. They just didn't seem as mentally on top of their game, probably because they were more tired.

So anyway, it does stink how they are continually grouping the teams up and destroying any lead. I know they have to keep them together for the purpose of the show but sometimes it seems a little suspicious and unnecessary. Also I wonder if the non-elimination legs are planned in advance or if they just put them in when they want to keep an "interesting" team on the show.

I think I recall Phil announcing that "this is one of the non-elimination legs that was predetermined before the race began" or something along that line.

"But they aren't in the taxi ahead of time -- they get into the taxi when the team does."

I guess you've never seen any of the episodes with a camera from inside a taxi with the contestants outside asking the driver about taking them somewhere? Yes, probably it was already done once, but then they go back, put a cameraman into the taxi and ask them to "stage" the scene all over again so it looks like it was the first time. That's what I refer to about being "staged". What the audience sees is often a total restaging and the things that are supposedly happening are not happening then at all, but are being restaged. And thanks for the link, ellenem, which does explain things just like that -- as well as explaining that they really have already purchased their plane tickets (getting four of them) and then staging it to look like they have raced up to the counter and are now actually buying two tickets, when they already have purchased their tickets. Something about their pleading for seats closer up or begging to get on an earlier plane when in fact they already HAVE their actual tickets is just so phony to me. That again is the kind of "non-reality" that makes the show less effective for me.

Yes, they "stage" some scenes, but they really do buy their tickets then, they are not booked in advance for them. None of the staging affects the outcome of the Race, it just makes it more "watchable" for viewers. They may well have "pleaded for seats closer up" when they actually bought the tickets, moments before. It's a well-used strategy, especially on the last few legs.

I'd be happier with the show if they skipped all scenes having to do with airports.