The Amazing Race 7


The Amazing Race 7 was the seventh installment of the American reality television show The Amazing Race. It featured 11 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world. This installment premiered on March 1, 2005 and completed its broadcast run on May 10, 2005.
Married couple Uchenna and Joyce Agu were the winners of this season.

Production

Development and filming

The Amazing Race 7 took place over 29 days and traveled nearly. Filming began on November 20, 2004 and finished on December 19, 2004. The teams raced in ten countries, five of which were not previously visited in the series. The new countries were Peru, Chile, Botswana, Turkey, and Jamaica. Puerto Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean, also appeared for the first time.
This was the first edition to not circumnavigate the world by traveling continuously either west or east while crossing each meridian. Once teams traveled as far east as India, they returned to the United States traveling westward through Europe and the Caribbean. However, the route does approach that of a great circle on the globe.
In this edition of the Race, a change was made to the non-elimination leg penalty. In addition to being stripped of all their money and receiving no allowance for the next leg of the Race, teams were forced to surrender all of their possessions, except for their passports and the clothes they were wearing, for the remainder of the Race. They were also no longer allowed to beg for money prior to the start of the next leg. The racers could also receive or buy clothing or toiletries from other teams.
Leg 2 featured Chilean model Pamela Díaz as the Pit Stop greeter in Santiago, Chile.
Leg 3 featured a difficult Roadblock in which players had to eat of meat and organs. Four players quit this food-eating task: Rob, Meredith, Deana, and Patrick, the most to ever quit a task in a single leg at the time. Although it was not aired on television or in the DVD, Patrick quit the Roadblock but later decided to complete it. The aired portion had Patrick eating and finishing the meat and never taking the four-hour penalty.
Host Phil Keoghan greeted teams at the check-in mat midway through Leg 8 to hand them their next clue, marking the first time on The Amazing Race that teams stepped on the check-in mat to be handed their next clue, and to have their next clue handed to them by Keoghan.
Controversy surrounded the final leg of the Race: when Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce arrived at the airport in San Juan, they were both sold tickets for a flight leaving later than one whose gate was about to close. While Rob & Amber managed to get on this earlier departing flight, Uchenna & Joyce were shown through the gate as the boarding corridor between the gate exitway and airplane began to shut. After a commercial break, the boarding corridor reopened to the gate to pick up Uchenna and Joyce. No explanation was given as to why the gate reopened, which has led to widespread speculation about intervention by the production staff. In the "Revisiting the Race" special feature on the Season 7 DVD, Uchenna, Rob, and host Phil Keoghan deny the accusations of intervention by the production crew. Uchenna describes his experience with finding the same airline agent at the gate who had previously informed him that there was no earlier available flight. Rob describes Uchenna running around frantically trying to get onto the flight, which the final edited version of the show does not portray. Phil cites the fact that the decision to reopen the door rested solely with the pilot, and that intervention by the production crew would have resulted in someone leaking such information out.

Cast

Applications for The Amazing Race 7 were closed on August 11, 2004. Semi-finalist interviews were held in September 2004, and final casting interviews were held in Los Angeles between September and October 2004. Filming took place between November to December 2004.
Uchenna & Joyce were originally slated to be contestants on The Amazing Race 6. They were sequestered in Santa Monica, California but were cut at the last minute before the Race began in Chicago, and they are the first team that ever came back from no money from the last leg to winning The Amazing Race.
Joyce Agu previously appeared in ' as Ensign Gates, a background character who piloted the USS Enterprise. Brian Thomas Smith previously competed on Christmas Fear Factor and was eliminated on the second stunt. Amber Brkich originally appeared on ' and Rob Mariano appeared on '. Both were called back to compete on ' where Rob finished second and Amber won.

Future appearances

Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce were selected for The Amazing Race: All-Stars among a cast of returning teams from Seasons 1–10.
On May 25, 2005, CBS aired Rob & Amber's wedding at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, a trip they won during the season, during a special entitled Rob and Amber Get Married. After competing on the Race, Rob was later called back for a third time to compete on ', finishing in 13th place, and a fourth time to compete on ', which Rob went on to win. Rob & Amber later both returned to Survivor to compete on ', where they finished in 17th and 20th place respectively. Rob also returned for a non-participating season in ' alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine as mentors.
Brian Smith would later appear on The Big Bang Theory as Penny's dim-witted boyfriend, Zack. On May 23, 2016, Rob Mariano appeared on a Survivor-themed The Price is Right primetime special.

Awards

In September 2005, The Amazing Race 7 won the Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program", the third consecutive award for the television series. Although Seasons 5 and 6 were also eligible, producers chose Season 7 since it was the most recent installment of the show.

Marketing

replaced the show's previous regular sponsors, American Airlines Vacations and Royal Caribbean International, and would become the main sponsor in subsequent seasons. In addition to trips, the company also provided a special prize of US$20,000 in vacation money, won by Ron & Kelly, in a random drawing on Leg 9 after matching the marking on the bottom of the company's mascot gnome.
The DVD for Season 7 was released on December 20, 2005. Lynn & Alex, Brian & Greg, Rob & Amber, and Uchenna & Joyce did commentary throughout the DVD, which is an optional feature.

Results

The following teams participated in the Race, each listed along with their placements in each leg and relationships as identified by the program. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television, owing to the inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order:
  1. ^Rob, Meredith, and Deana decided to forfeit the Roadblock; their teams were all issued 4-hour penalties at the Roadblock site starting from the arrival of the next team.
  2. Uchenna & Joyce initially arrived 3rd, but they did not complete the Roadblock correctly and were required to finish it. This did not affect their placement.
  3. Meredith & Gretchen initially arrived 4th, but they missed their final clue at the end of the Roadblock; Lynn & Alex checked-in during that time period, dropping Meredith & Gretchen to 5th.
  4. Leg 8 is a double-length leg. It featured a Virtual Pit Stop, and had two Detours and two Roadblocks shown over two episodes. The placements listed in the first column reflect the order teams arrived at the Virtual Pit Stop. The Yield appeared before the first Roadblock. The leg's Fast Forward was offered after the halfway point, and thus permitted Uchenna & Joyce to skip the second set of challenges.

    Episode title quotes

Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
  1. "Courteous? This is a Race!" – Megan
  2. "The Whole Country Hates Me" – Lynn
  3. "Do You Need Some Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation?" – Gretchen
  4. "What A Gaucho You Are!" – Gretchen
  5. "I've Been Wanting A Face-Lift for A Long Time" – Gretchen
  6. "Houston, We Have An Elephant" – Uchenna
  7. "They Saved The Eyeball" – Gretchen
  8. "Mow 'Em Down, Like Grass" – Ron
  9. "We Have A Bad Elephant" – Gretchen
  10. "We Got a Gnome! We Got a Gnome!" – Joyce
  11. "The Devil Made Me Do It" – Kelly
  12. "Five Continents, 25 Cities, And More Than 40,000 Miles" – Phil Keoghan

    Prizes

Individual prizes were awarded to the first team to complete a leg unless otherwise noted. The prizes awarded were:

Leg 1 (United States → Peru)

Airdate: March 1, 2005
The first Detour of the Race was a choice between Rope a Llama or Rope a Basket. In Rope a Llama, teams had to lead two llamas to a nearby pen to receive their next clue from the herder. In Rope a Basket, each team member had to carry a basket of alfalfa two-thirds of a mile to a store called Tienda Victoria Valdivia to receive the next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: March 8, 2005
The first Roadblock of the Race required one team member to work as a shoeshiner and polish five pairs of shoes on the street for a fee of one Peruvian nuevo sol per pair. Once they had earned 5 soles, they had to find their partner at the shoeshine union headquarters to receive their next clue.
The Detour choices for this leg were Shop or Schlep. In Shop, teams headed to Mercado Central to find the Donde Augusto restaurant, where the chef gave them a shopping list. Teams then had to buy the proper quantities of five ingredients on the shopping list to receive their next clue from the chef. In Schlep, teams went to Libreria Chilena, where they had to load 180 books onto a hand truck, deliver the books to the Library of Congress of Chile, and place the books on a designated shelf to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: March 15, 2005
The Detour was a choice between Pedal or Paddle. In Pedal, teams had to pedal a bike down a railroad track in order to receive their clue waiting at the end. In Paddle, teams had to white-water raft down the Mendoza River near the same track to receive their next clue.
The Roadblock required one team member to eat a traditional Argentinian feast containing cow rib, pork sausage, blood sausage, cow intestine, cow udder, cow kidney, and part of a cow's salivary gland. When they finished eating, teams would receive their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: March 22, 2005
In this Roadblock, one team member had to complete a traditional gaucho challenge by riding a horse through a barrel racing course, then using a stick to spear a ring, within 40 seconds to receive the next clue.
The Detour was a choice of Shipwreck or Island. In Shipwreck, using only a 30-year-old picture as a reference, teams had to find an abandoned ship within a area to receive their next clue. In Island, teams used a map to travel up the San Antonio River and find a marked island with their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: March 29, 2005
The first of the two Fast Forwards of the Race required one team to go to the Orlando Power Station in Soweto. There, they would be taken to the top of one of the cooling towers and had to walk across a suspension bridge 30 stories above the ground to win the Fast Forward.
The Detour was a choice between Tunnels or Tribes. In Tunnels, teams went to Wild Caves in Krugersdorp where they had to rappel into a dark cave and search the cave for their next clue. In Tribes, teams traveled to the Lesedi Cultural Village in Broederstroom. There, teams had to deliver items representing the five tribes: Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu. For every correct item teams delivered to the corresponding tribe, they would receive a necklace. Once teams had five necklaces, they could exchange them for their next clue.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to search a marketplace and buy five items from vendors, one toy, ten diapers, one backpack, two shirts, and one blanket, to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: March 29, 2005
For this Roadblock, one team member participated in a traditional bushman hunting activity by throwing a spear into a swinging bag to receive their next clue.
The Detour was a choice between Food or Water. In Food, teams used a device called a Kika to pound corn into powder until they could fill a basket to the marked line to receive their next clue. In Water, teams had to fill 12 ostrich egg shells with water from an underground spring using a reed straw and bury them to receive their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: April 6, 2005
The Detour was a choice between Carry It or Milk It. In Carry It, teams had to carry 3 items on their heads to an area away, all without using their hands, to receive their next clue. In Milk It, teams had to select a goat from a pen and milk it until they reached a marked line in a cup, at, to receive their next clue.
The Roadblock required teams to navigate a marked vehicle across a crocodile-infested crossing of the Khwai River through the marked paths, with the selected team member having to remove two marking posts from a bush area filled with fallen trees that have been knocked down by elephants. Once they get through, they had to remove trees at the end of their path to find their next clue.
;Additional tasks
;Additional note
Airdate: April 13, 2005
The first Roadblock of the leg required one team member to search among the 600 metal boxes in the emporium for the one that contained their next clue.
The first Detour of the leg was a choice of Solid or Liquid. In Solid, teams traveled to a coal depot and had to break up of coal, load it onto flatbed tricycles, and then deliver it to K.K. Jaiswal Charcoal Merchants to receive their next clue. In Liquid, teams traveled to the Sharma Tea Corner, where they picked up a tea cart, traveled to a 3-story office building for five people on a list, and exchanged cups of tea for business cards. When they received all five business cards, teams returned the carts to the tea shop and exchanged the cards with the owner for their next clue.
;Additional tasks
in Jodhpur served as the Pit Stop on this double-length leg.
Airdate: April 20, 2005
The second Fast Forward of the Race required one team to participate in a traditional Hindu good fortune ritual at Kailashoham Gaure Shwar Mahadev Mandir on Kaylana Lake: completely shaving their head. Teams would not know that the ritual was head shaving until they arrived. Once both team members were bald, they would win the Fast Forward award. This Fast Forward would be revisited again in Season 20 as a Switchback.
The second Detour of the leg was a choice between Trunk or Dunk. In Trunk, teams had to travel to Jodhpur's old city, then ride a elephant in Khanna Niwas through the streets to the Shri Kunj Bihari Temple, where they received the next clue from the temple priest. In Dunk, teams made their way to a dyeing house in Panna Niwas, where they had to dye 25 sheets of fabric from a basket until they found the one with their next clue printed on it.
For the leg's second Roadblock, one team member had to complete two laps of a course in a camel-driven cart to receive their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: April 27, 2005
The Detour was a choice between Columns or Kilos. In Columns, teams traveled to Binbirdirek Cistern and had to find four columns using a map with coordinates. On the columns were numbers for the combination to open a padlocked box which contained their next clue. In Kilos, teams traveled to the Yeni Mosque, located at the old Jewish quarter of Eminönü, and found a man with a box of scales. Using one of the scales, teams had to weigh enough people on the street until they reached a total of. Once done, teams had to return their scale and show their weights to the man to receive their next clue.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to climb a ladder up the side of Halil Paşa Kulesi. Once at the top, team members then climbed to the top of a tower to retrieve a key, then rappelled down the side of Sarlica Paşa Kulesi. Once at the bottom, they had to use the key to open a book which contained their next clue that instructed racers to have the guard open the gate to allow their partner to enter the castle and then search the grounds for the Pit Stop.
;Additional task
;Additional note
Airdate: May 3, 2005
The Detour was a choice between Brains or Brawn. In Brains, teams had to take the London Underground and solve a series of three riddles: Teams had to find the luggage left in Waterloo station for their first item, Teams had to find the three naked men statue in Hammersmith tube station and find the second item. Teams have to find the Baker Street tube station to receive the third item. Teams then had to take the items to 221B Baker Street, home of the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and find the detective to exchange the items for their next clue. In Brawn, teams made their way to Battersea Park where they had to transport five boats from a lake to the storage area, away, to receive their next clue.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to drive a double-decker bus through a marked course. If they hit any cones, the bus driver would reset the course and would drive the bus back to the start of the course. Once they completed the course, the team member had to park the bus in the designated parking area to receive their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: May 10, 2005
The Roadblock asked one team member "How low can you go?": For this Roadblock, one team member had to do the limbo to determine their departure time from Frenchman's Cove. For every level they passed, they could depart 15 minutes earlier the next morning, starting at 9:45 a.m. with the earliest departure at 8:15 a.m. After eight attempts at the limbo, teams would receive their next clue instructing them to spend the night and then depart at the time they earned.
The Detour was a choice between Raft It or Build It. In Raft It, teams traveled up the Rio Grande on bamboo rafts with only a pole to steer, to retrieve their next clue. In Build It, teams had to build a bamboo raft using the tools provided. When their work was to the supervisor's satisfaction, teams then sailed across the river to find their next clue on top of a hill.

Leg 12 (Jamaica → Puerto Rico → United States)

Airdate: May 10, 2005
The final Detour pf the Race was a choice of Pony Up or Tee It Up. In Pony Up, teams had to ride a horse into the ocean then hang onto its tail as it went around buoys to receive their next clue. In Tee It Up, teams had to dress in proper golfing attire, go out to the driving range, and hit a golf ball onto the green, away. Once one of the team members put a ball on the green, the team would receive their next clue.
For the final Roadblock of the Race, one team member had to jump off of a pier then swim to a buoy where they would find their next clue. After the jump, they went to the waiting boats that returned them to shore.
;Additional tasks

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Canadian ratings