Sunday, January 20, 2008

'The Amazing Race 12' - Season Finale East Coast Updates

Jackie's TV Blog, Amazing Race, TAR

This is it -- the season finale. I think this might be a first for me not really having a team I desperately want to lose in the final three.

As the show airs here in the NYC area, I'll update this post with hugely important goings-on and the final Pit Stop (Finish Line) order. A full review will be posted on TV Squad later tonight. As always, your comments are definitely welcome!

UPDATE: Ron and Chris still in lead. Donald and Nicolas made a drastic mistake and will probably have to backtrack and might blow their chance of winning. They left a bag at the 6th Avenue Outfitters with needed gear inside it.

UPDATE: Ron and Christina still ahead. Nicolas/Donald are just shy of TK/Rachel despite their error.

UPDATE: All three teams in a dead heat at the Roadblock -- one of the toughest ones I've ever seen with the racer using memory and following a set amount of items to represent each leg of the race.

UPDATE: Rachel finished the puzzle first, then Christina finished but TK/Rachel have taken over the lead right now.

TK and Rachel WIN The Amazing Race!

Ronald and Christina come in 2nd, Donald and Nicolas 3rd.

32 comments:

joy n said...

Well. Ron and Cristina are making smart moves, Donald and Nick making a dumb mistake and TK and Rachel not payinf enough attention. So far, getting exciting.

joy n said...

Looks like Ron and Chris have a fair lead right now. Don and Nick have caught up with TK and Rachel.

joy n said...

Alaska looks beautiful. R and C making good time on the ice mountain. The others are catching up, though.

joy n said...

All teams are now at the Detour.

joy n said...

Whoever gets the right ten clues first is gonna win. They're all neck and neck right now. Anybody could win this .

joy n said...

Jackie, now THIS is a great finale!

Delee said...

What a horrible task...what was Ireland...so long ago...

joy n said...

TK and Rachel are done first and on their way to next clue!

joy n said...

R and C on their way. TK and R's cabdriver lost?

Delee said...

TK AND RACHEL

joy n said...

Those four on their way. It's exciting!

TK and Rachel win!!!!!!!!

joy n said...

NICE KISS !!!!!!

Delee said...

Wonderful Season Amazing Race...thank you!!!

joy n said...

Donald officially the oldest contestant to get this far in AR (3rd place).

All racers showed a lot of class in winning and losing.

I loved this ending!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing finish. As I said last week, I would be a happy camper no matter who won this week.

I have a lot of admiration for all three teams. None of the teams fought dirty. Rachael and TK maintained a wonderful relationship throughout the race. They were already winners in my book. Ron and Don were remarkable considering their age.

Well done teams and Jackie! Now, when does Big Brother begin? That and Survivor?

Delee said...

S Feb 9
BB Feb 12

lynn1 said...

What an exciting ending to the race. WTG KT and Rachel.
I thought this finale was the best I have seen. The final task was difficult and evened up the playing field.
Over all I think this season had some of the most beautiful scenery. Croatia and Alaska were stunning.
Jackie, thanks for a great blog.
Looking forward to Survivor and BB next month.

monty924 said...

What a great finish! Since I've never watched TAR before this season, I have nothing to compare it to, but it was awesome.

I especially liked seeing the look on Kynt's face when TK and Rachel came running up. How nice.

It was fun to see Ronald's growth the past few weeks, and Donald being the oldest to finish in the top three. Anyone of them would have been a worthy winner.

Thanks for making my first TAR season a fun one. :)

monty924 said...

Forgot to mention... bring on Big Brother 9. My favorite guilty pleasure, not guilty little secret. My significant other is already dreading the idea of a winter BB. :)

dla said...

Now, this was a finale!!

Definitely enjoyed the season, and would have been happy with any of the three final teams winning.

To quote TK, "nice guys can finish first!!" How refreshing!

Unknown said...

Just got done watching here on the Left Coast. Loved the finale!

1st place gets $1,000,000...what do 2nd and 3rd get?

Thanks for the great job, Jackie!

Sydney said...

What a nail biter!!! (As was last week) I was pulling for Rachel and TK but did start to feel really conflicted as the memory task was at a standstill. At that point I wasn't sure if I should be rooting for Christina or Rachel to get it right and get going.

I really admire Chris -- think her dad's ability to change was greatly influenced by how patient, sweet, respectful and loving she remained as he worked her last nerve week after week. But in the end, if it could not be my favorite pink goth's, then how great for the two kids to get such a start in life. I think they'll both be responsible with the $$...

JoyN -- you're right about that kiss... Suddenly I fast-forwarded to them getting hitched on some island in bare feet and giving that kiss!

I know Chris and Ron feel their relationship's growth is truly the more valuable prize. And even though it was clear Grandpa wanted to win, getting to run the entire race and finish was a pretty good reward, so just not sure if Nick had much to feel good about.

The final 3's sportsmanship was great til the end. Loved the 3 men were standing there waiting for the memory puzzle to be complete sharing canaraderie in their nervousness. No sour grapes or tension-generated snipes. IT proved it makes as good TV as any bitchy Omorosa verbally beating someone down. I'd say, BETTER! THIS IS SUCH A GREAT SHOW!

Anonymous said...

Let's hope that network executives are now aware that we the audience do enjoy watching NICE/NORMAL people on reality shows! Can we have more of them, please??
It was a great ending!

meb said...

FANTASTIC ENDING TO A FANTASTIC SHOW! Thanks to everybody for their comments. I so enjoy coming in and reading everyone's thoughts. And thanks Jackie for giving us a place to do just that.

Sydney, your fast forward to TK and Rachel's wedding on an island in their bare feet... reminded me of your picture of you and yours... precious!

OK BB and Survivor... bring it on! And yes Boo... I agree with you... play nice!

Anonymous said...

What a refreshing change to see an ending that made you feel good all over. Seeing six nice people,who all deserved to win,make it a down to the wire finish. I was so happy it was TK and Rachael that won,they were,without a doubt,the most compatible couple I have ever seen run TAR. I always admired Rob/Amber for the way they treated each other,but they were mean to other racers,and I never saw any meaness directed at the others by TK/R.Well done,you two,you so deserved the win. I did feel so sorry for Chris,you could just see the exhaustion and confusion in her face as she tried to recall all those past events. They all did a remarkable job.

Sydney said...

Saw Tk and Rachel on the morning show today -- He had that everpresent green bandana off and was not sporting dreads as I had supposed but has a dutch boy kind of cut (remember the old paint can picture?). Both looked good and seemed to be very happy still.

They talked about how MANY MANY months ago the show was shot, and how long they had to keep the secret from everyone. How far in advance is the show shot? More than 3 months?

The host tried to get him to propose on the show, but Rachel was wise and jumped in to spare TK having to answer... saying they were very happy in the now and were looking forward to putting the $$ to good use going forward -- something smart, positive and generic. TK jumped in to say he doesn't see his future without Rachel... and they got their giant check.

Brent McKee said...

For the last time the ratings for Amazing Race 12. All things considered (the all things being the Giants-Packers football game on Fox) not bad at all. Mark Berman at MediaWeek.com gave the numbers by half hour and I think he made a mistake somewhere with the first half hour. Times are Eastern and numbers are total viewers then the rating and share in the 18-49 demographic:

8:00-8:30 CBS: TAR 12 - 9.50 million (#3), A18-49: 3.0/ 7 (#3)
ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
- 9.01 million (#2), A18-49: 3.1/ 7 (#2)
FOX: NFL Championship – Giants/Packers - 44.85 million (#1), A18-49: 17.2/37 (#1)

8:30-9:00 CBS: TAR 12 - 9.84 million (#2), A18-49: 3.1/ 7 (#3)
ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
- 9.64 million (#3), A18-49: 3.4/ 7 (#2)
FOX: NFL Championship – Giants/Packers - 46.97 million (#1), A18-49: 18.3/38 (#1)

I think we can see where the error is - last time I check 9.01 million was less than 9.50 million so either Berman got it wrong or the viewership is wrong.

The season finale showed nice audience growth from the first to second half hour and did better in the all important (because they aren't set in their purchasing habits) 18-49 demographic than it has in the past (and on a side note, I hate Extreme Makeover: Home Edition so it's nice to see it with lower viewership than TAR).

Hopefully someone in Les Moonves's office is taking an ass-whuppin' on his behalf for not ordering two TARs this year when they knew there was going to be a strike.

joy n said...

Sidney, it seems their happy ending is continuing. I love it!

joy n said...

Jackie, just read your post over on TV Squad and loved it. What an amazing season of Amazing Race! My favorite one, EVER!

Anonymous said...

Oh,I posted in a previous post,for any interested..there's a special preview of Survivor:Micronesia on The TV Guide Channel,this Sunday at 9PM.

Jackie S. said...

Sydney -- The race was filmed last July. I'm glad TK and Rachel are happy -- they're definitely good for each other!

Sydney said...

Thanks Jackie-- so it's been about six months, assuming it took a month to do...