philkeoghan

(S15E11) Next week is the big season finale of The Amazing Race. But this week the last four teams have to battle it out for the prized final three slots racing for the finish line. So, you would think this is the time to put on the big boy (or girl) pants, step up to the plate, give it your all, and a thousand other corny trite sayings. Alas, one team tonight has a huge fail. Of all the legs to fall apart and go kerflooey, this one so near the finale is cruel indeed. Too bad, so sad.

(S15E10) I mentioned last week that the remaining teams on The Amazing Race are really feeling the pressure as they're getting closer to the win. Well, there were no fisticuffs, no elbowing, but there was an underhanded incident ... or two or three.

Unlike Survivor, this show doesn't depend on sneakiness or scheming. In the end, it's how well they run the race around the world, how well they read the clues, and how well they complete the tasks. While getting along with the other teams is always a good thing, there's no popularity vote at the finish line. But they are competing. Sometimes some sneakiness just sneaks on in.

(S15E09) Things got a bit down and dirty tonight on The Amazing Race. I'm talking more ways than one. As the promos for the episode showed, we had muddy bogs and a quasi-skirmish between two teams tonight. There are five teams left in the race at this time. Two of the teams are definitely vying for the alpha male rating on the show. And I'm not talking Brian and Ericka! Any previous alliances are gone in the wind as the teams try to get to the precious final three. Take no prisoners.

(S15E08) This week we revisited one of the toughest roadblocks ever on The Amazing Race. Back in season six, the same farm with the same roadblock did in one team. Kristy and Lena spent eight hours searching for a clue they never did find. Phil Keoghan came out to them after dark in the field and called an end to their search. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time the show has repeated a roadblock. And what a doozy to choose! While looking for a clue in a haystack is easier than looking for a needle, there are so many haystacks -- how would our five remaining teams fare? Read on.

(S15E07) Poor Ericka. In tonight's episode of The Amazing Race, she didn't look quite like Miss America. Stress will do that to you. It seems each week a team or two make what might be a fatal error in the game. Oh, not something that could kill them -- just one which could lead to being Philiminated. This leg wasn't only tough on Brian and Ericka. One of the Globetrotters had to don a dress. Thankfully, it seemed to be specially tailored to fit him.

(S15E06) One of the many things I learned tonight on The Amazing Race is that Dubai is probably hotter than anyplace I really want to visit. Every team was sweating; every team was complaining. At least those teams who didn't have a clue about where the Persian Gulf is or whether it's a country in and of itself will remember it now. If nothing else but for the heat. Oh. And the way cool six-story water slide into shark infested waters. At least one team will really remember that water slide.

(S15E05) Once again in the NYC viewing area, The Amazing Race suffered a huge delay in airing due to football. Tonight, it started an hour and fifteen minutes late. And, after all of that, the Jets lost! It's a miracle this show keeps receiving Emmy awards when the CBS Sunday night schedule is so fickle due to every sport under the sun or inside a stadium. Speaking of sports ... who are the Brinkley Tigers on Flight Time's t-shirt? They can't be Christie Brinkley's ex-husbands, can they?

(S15E04) You'll have to bear with me tonight. You see, I'm cranky. Yes, I'm cranky about tonight's episode of The Amazing Race. Perhaps I'd be a bit less cranky had the show started anywhere near on time. No, it's a Sunday show and here in the NYC viewing area, any sport played during the day can run over and delay the entire Sunday evening primetime line-up. On a night like tonight, delayed 45 minutes, it wreaks havoc with other shows I'd like to watch and my review writing time. But that's not the only reason I'm cranky.

(S15E03) Gee, it doesn't seem like we're already three episodes into The Amazing Race. But last week's two-hour season premiere with its two Philiminations, counted as two episodes. I'm still getting to know the teams. I think, so far, this season has more teams that I'd really like to see stick around for a while. There is only one team who really annoys me. With my luck, they'll be around for a good long while. I want them to implode. Nah, I'm not talking about Zev and Justin.

(S15E01) In this single two-hour season premiere, we were reminded why The Amazing Race keeps snapping up those Emmy Awards for the best reality show on television. We're talking quality teams -- no Jerry Springer fans here! We're talking the adrenalin rush that viewers get just sitting on couches watching the show. We're talking a glimpse into other lands, cultures, and people we might never get the chance to experience in our own lives. We're talking simply amazing.

(S14E12) "You need to tell your people that I'm not their personal concierge and I don't have time to look for the place they want to go." -- Taxi dispatcher to Jaime and Cara's cab driver

Now, that was such a fine moment in tonight's season finale of The Amazing Race! Who would have thought that an unknown female voice would deliver the best line of the season? If I had to wager beforehand, I think I would have said Mel White had some of the best lines this season. Kudos to the dispatcher ... she rules!

(S14E11) Last week, the four teams remaining on The Amazing Race were still in China when Phil gave them the news -- "This leg isn't over." I'll admit to snickering a bit because Cara and Jaime were so excited to finally make a first place finish. It's my evil side. Or, perhaps it's karma. After all, they've been the epitome of Ugly Americans to the point of name-calling just because folks in another country may not know English. While Tammy and Victor have the advantage of knowing Mandarin Chinese, a lot still depends on taxis and common sense.

"Every opportunity I have to strip down, I'll be stripping down."

As the longtime host of CBS' competitive reality show 'The Amazing Race,' Phil Keoghan has witnessed plenty of tough challenges -- from mass-eating competitions to language-barrier breakdowns to broken oxen -- but none so tough as the challenge he's recently undertaken himself.

On March 28, starting out from L.A., Keoghan began biking across America in support of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (and to promote GNC's One Square Meal bars); he'll finish his journey in New York on May 7, three days before the finale of the 14th season of 'The Amazing Race.' Along the way he's encountered gusting winds, killer fatigue and the kindness of strangers (or, at least, pie-bearing fans).

Even though he landed in the hospital and had to get an IV shortly after we reached him in Crete, Neb., the native New Zealander gamely chatted about his bike ride, why he'd never go on 'Amazing Race' ... and just how much he enjoys stripping down to his underwear. -- By Patricia Chui

(S14E10) Oh, boo-hoo. I don't understand why anyone with such a fear of water would even consider going on a show like The Amazing Race. Almost every season there's some sort of swimming which has to be done. Perhaps I'm biased because I learned to swim at a young age. My own personal theory of dealing with life is that everyone should learn how to swim, drive a stick shift, and change a flat tire. Hey ... those talents could win the race!

(S14E09) Promos for tonight's The Amazing Race made it look like there might be a knock-down drag-out fight between Jen (of Kisha and Jen) and Luke (Margie and Luke, naturally). Now, there's nothing that can make an interesting show even more interesting than an old-fashioned brouhaha. At least, not in my book, there isn't.

So, I'm thinking ... Luke versus Jen. Which one would I put my money on for the win? I'd have to go with Jen. While Luke throws a good hissy-fit, I think she's not one he should take on. Maybe if it were a hissy-fit brouhaha, Luke would have the edge.