The Amazing Race

9:30pm – Wednesday, March 7 on Seven

The fast tracked new season of THE AMAZING RACE continues tonight.

Hosted by Phil Keoghan, THE AMAZING RACE has been awarded the Emmy for “Most Outstanding Reality-Competition Program” eight times in the past nine years.

The teams race through Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the teams are off in search of the “Chasqui”. Rachel and Dave are first to leave since they were the first team to arrive at the pit stop. Rachel R. and Brendon are next, followed by Art & JJ. Joey and Danny are the last team to leave, but everyone meets at the Square and they all have to wait until daylight leaving none of the teams with an edge.

The teams receive their clue for a Detour, “Boil My Water” where they build a solar oven and have to boil a pot of water or “Light My Fire” where they have to pack a donkey. All of the teams decide to build the solar oven, except for Art & JJ who decide to head to the donkey challenge, but first get lost trying to find it. It takes ages for some of the water to boil but not long for others. Bopper and Mark are the first team and Art and AJ are 2nd to hear the sound of the whistle of boiling water. The last team to hear the whistle are Nary and Jamie.

An 18 hour bus ride to the city of Buenos Aires is next. The teams head to the Salta bus terminal. Half of the teams make it on the first bus. A few teams make it on the 2nd bus and the two lady teams are on the final bus to leave. The 2nd bus has to stop and pull over due to a shattered window – which causes a two hour delay for the teams on this bus.

Rachel and Dave are the first team to get their next clue. It’s a Roadblock called “Where’s The Beef?”. Teams have to use their math skills without calculators at the world’s largest cattle market. Rachel and Dave are the first team to finish and head to the next pit stop, El Gomero, a two thousand year old rubber tree.

Rachel and Dave are team 1 for the 2nd time in a row and win a trip to Grenada as an added bonus. Art and JJ are team number two and aren’t happy as they wanted to be first. The 2nd bus is still heading to El Gomero. Bopper and Mark are 3rd. Brendon and Rachel are team number four to arrive. Kerri and Stacy are the 5th team to arrive and do a cheer. Nary and Jamie are 6th, Vanessa and Ralph are 7th, Joe and Danny are 8th and Elliot and Andrew are team number 9 meaning that Dave and Cherie are eliminated from the race. Dave says they are still the luckiest couple on earth because they have each other.

9:30pm – Wednesday, February 29 on Seven

The fast tracked new season of THE AMAZING RACE continues tonight.

Hosted by Phil Keoghan, THE AMAZING RACE has been awarded the Emmy for “Most Outstanding Reality-Competition Program” eight times in the past nine years.

The Amazing Race is back!! YAY! Starting point is… Santa Barbara vineyards. The teams cycle up to the vineyards with Phil as we are introduced to the teams. They lined up in a line while Phil gives them the usual introductions to the Amazing Race. First clue is up in the air… in a hot air balloon… 100 balloons…only 11 have a clue… its a race to find a clue. The clue is to fly to Santa Barbara… Argentina.

The first to find a clue is Elliot & Andrew and second is Joey & Danny. Then Vanessa & Ralph as well as Kerri & Stacy. Next is Brendon & Rachel & Rachel & Dave. 7th is Nary & Jamie. Only first 6 teams will get the first flight to Salta the closest airport to Santa Barbara….2 and a half hours before the other flights. Its a race to the airport while the other teams are still finding the first clue. Dave & Cherie are in 8th place and Art & JJ are in 9th place. After the first ad break we see Bopper & Mark in 10th place and Misa & Maiya last. Almost 2 hours later the girls find the clue. Once in Salta the teams must drive themselves to Santa Barbara, Argentina to find their next clue.

They race to their SUVs and start driving to Bienvenidos Aerdoromo Gilbert Lavaque. Last to arrive in Salta are teams Bopper & Mark, Joey & Danny and Misa & Maiya, Kerri & Stacy and Dave & Cherie. Road block – who’s got a great sense of direction? Search for their partner who must take a terrifying sky dive. Once team members reunite the jumpmaster will hand them their next clue. The non participant is the sky diver. Mixed reactions – fear & happiness in some contestants.

Order of jumps: JJ, Brunette Rachel, Blonde Rachel, Nary, Elliott, Vanessa, Mark, Joey, Misa, Dave, Stacy Maiya while trying to find Misa got stuck in the sand in her car and had to rely on strangers to get her out. Danny has also been having car troubles as he doesn’t really know how to use a stick and keeps stalling the car. Second clue is to make Empanadas …. 60 with meat and 60 with cheese. There are different dough patterns for each type. Twisting technique for the meat one and pinching technique for the cheese one. Brandon & Rachel and Art & JJ get there first.

Once the contestants make everything correctly they must then go and find Phil because this is the first pitstop of the race. If they don’t do it correctly they have to redo what is wrong. Rachel & Dave is Team 1 and won the Express Pass.. which means if they get stuck anywhere or don’t want to do a task they can use the pass and not do all the tasks/challenges in that leg of the race. 3rd to arrive is Art & JJ. Vanessa & Ralph Team 5. Elliot & Andrew Team 6. Kerri & Stacey Team 7. Dave & Cherie Team 8. Bopper & Mark Team 9. Joey “Fitness” & Danny Team 10.

Misa & Maiya are the last team to arrive and therefore eliminated from the race…. they were this close to the end but they couldn’t see Phil so they decided to go in the opposite direction but soon realised their mistake but Joey & Danny had already beat them to it.

Brendon & Rachel – Engaged
Brendon Villegas, 31, Ph.D Student at UCLA from Westwood,California
Rachel Reilly, 27, Event Hostess, Westwood,California

Mark & Bopper – Best Friends
Mark Jackson, 45, Former State Inspector, Manchester, KY
William “Bopper” Minton, 41,Motorcyle Mechanic, Manchester,KY

Vanessa & Ralph – Dating Divorcees
Vanessa Macias, 31, Freelance Writer, San Antonio, TX
Ralph Kelley, 36, Bar Owner, San Antonio, TX

Joey & Danny – Friends
Joey “Fitness” Lasalla, 29, Trainer/Supplement Company Owner, Whitestone, NY
Danny Horal, 27, Nightclub Promoter, Holbrook, NY

Andrew & Elliot – Brothers/Twins
Elliot Weber, 28, Musician, Scottsdale, AZ
 Andrew Weber, 28, Professional MLS Player, Menlo Park, CA

Dave & Rachel – Married
Dave Brown Jr, 33, U.S Army Officer, Madison, WI
Rachel Brown, 30, Project Manager, Madison, WI

Maiya & Misa – Sisters
Misa Tanaka, 27, Car Buyer, San Diego, CA
Maiya Tanaka, 25, Professional Golfer, San Diego, CA

Kerri & Stacy -  Cousins
Kerri Paul, 30, Programme Coordinator, Gulfport, MS
Stacy Bowers, 30, Self-Employer/”Basketball” Wife, Gulfport, MS

Dave & Cherie – Married Clowns
Dave Gregg, Ambassador of Laughter, New Port Richey, FL
Cherie Gregg, 44, Ambassodor of Laughter, New Port Richey, FL

Nary & Jamie – Federal Agents/Friends
Nary Ebeid, 32, Federal Agent, Los Angeles, CA
Jamie Graetz, 33, Federal Agent, Los Angeles, CA

Art & J.J – Border Patrol Agents/Friends
Art Velez, 43, Border Patrol Agent, Temecula, CA
J.J. Carrell, 42, Border Patrol Agent, Carlsbad, CA

Loz will recap the episode after aiting

Quite a stable schedule now – no changes from the amended week 8.

Sunday Feb 26
6.30 Sunday Night
7.30 Border Security
8.00 The Force
8.30 Bones
9.30 Castle
10.30 Castle rpt
11.30 Forensic Investigators – Australia’s True Crimes

Monday Feb 27
7.30 My Kitchen Rules
8.30 Revenge
9.30 How I Met Your Mother
10.00 Happy Endings
10.30 Sports Fever
11.30 Parking Wars

Tuesday Feb 28
7.30 My Kitchen Rules
8.30 Packed to the Rafters
9.30 Castle – new
10.30 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour – rpt
11.30 Royal Pains

Wednesday Feb 29
7.30 My Kitchen Rules
8.30 Please Marry My Boy
9.30 The Amazing Race (US) Season 20
10.30 How I Met Your Mother rpt
11.30 The Marraaige Ref

Thursday March 1
7.30 My Kitchen Rules
8.30 Grey’s Anatomy
9.30 Desperate Housewives
10.30 Private Practice
11.30 30 Rock

Friday March 2
7.30 Better Homes and Gardens
8.30 Movie TBA

After this week’s craziness of four new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, next week Seven settles down to just one new episode per week, on Monday Feb 20, 9.45, after Revenge. At 10.15 that night is the return of new episodes Happy Endings.

On Tuesday Feb 21, following Packed to the Rafters, Seven inserts a second new episode of Castle – resulting in two new episodes per week for now – Sundays and Tuesdays 9.30pm from next week.

Then on Wednesday, Feb 22, it is good news for fans of The Amazing Race – with the 20th series of the original US version of the race around the world to kick off at 9.30pm that night.

At 9pm Friday Feb 25 is the movie The Invention of Lying, while Saturday night Feb 26 at 6.30pm is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, followed by Clear and Present Danger at 9.00pm – first time on Seven.

The Amazing Race, Seven, 7.30pm
We Are Charlie Chaplin. The final four teams make their way to Panama City, where they come face-to- face with their fears as they take in astonishing views of the city skyline.

Here I Am, ABC1, 8.30pm
Karen is a beautiful woman with a dark past, but she’s got potential and she knows it. Upon her release from prison she realises the hardest person to forgive is herself.

Big Love, SBS ONE, 10.00pm
In the series finale, Bill faces the threat of going to jail as he scrambles to plan for his family’s future and makes a last-ditch effort to save face in the senate. Meanwhile, Margene mulls a change of scenery, Barb considers joining another church, Ben enlists an unlikely ally to connect with Heather, and Don delivers bad news about Home Plus to Bill.

Outsourced, Seven, 11.00pm
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner / Take This Punjab and Shove It. When Todd’s US boss Jerry makes a surprise visit, Todd has to keep a drunk Jerry out of trouble./ Todd finds out that someone close to him has poached his new recruit.

The Amazing Race, Seven, 7.30pm
Release the Break. With just three weeks to go, racers put the pedal to the metal and shift into high gear when they take a thrilling test drive, and results are far from sweet when teams also try to recreate classic Belgian waffles.

Getaway, Nine, 9.30pm
Summer series. From the extraordinary beauty of the northern lights to the astonishing Jellyfish Lake of remote Palau, join the team for this breathtaking special episode showcasing sights and experiences that will make you believe how amazing our world is.

CSI: NY, Nine, 9.30pm
New episode. Shop Till You Drop. Mac and Jo investigate when a department store manager is murdered and his body is found in a holiday display window.

Crownies, ABC1, 9.33pm
Final. Conrad’s arrest for assault has major ramifications, and Erin becomes Janet’s stand-in birth partner at the last minute.

The Ultimate Fighter, ONE, 10.55pm HD
The Ultimate Fighter 12 sees lightweight hopefuls compete for the ultimate prize – a contract with the UFC. Coaches this season are Georges St-Pierre and the man everybody loves to hate Josh Koscheck.

The Ultimate Fighter, GO!, 11.30pm
The reality show where 14 mixed martial artists live and train together while competing for a pro contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation.

Now – who programmed Ultimate Fighter first? ONE or GO!? Both overlap in programming. ONE’s is in HD.

The Wild Boys have trotted away, Three Wishez have won X Factor (well, that’s my prediction anyway) and Beauty and the Geek finishes for its third season. It can only mean one thing - time for summer TV, which this year, will last for one more week than usual – with 2012 ratings season not kicking off until February 12, 2012.

Seven have released their guide for the first week of non-ratings, which, although includes a few TBA’s shows what we can expect from the network in December. The full summer schedule will be released next Monday on Throng.

Here’s the summary.

Sunday Nov 27
6.30 TBA
7.30 TBA
8.00 TBA
8.30 Bones rpt
9.30 Castle rpt
10.30 Royal Pains

Monday Nov 28
7.00 RSPCA Animal Rescue (continues 7pm weekdays)
7.30 SCU: Serious Crash Unit – series return
8.00 Drug Bust – series return
8.30 Criminal Minds – rpt
9.30 Air Crash Investigations – new episode to Seven
10.30 Speical – The Air Show

Tuesday Nov 29
7.30 TBA
8.30 Movie TBA
10.50 Parks and Recreation
11.20 Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Wednesday Nov 30
7.30 World’s Strictest Parents – return
8.40 Criminal Minds rpt
9.40 Air Crash Investigations – new episode to Seven
10.40 Great Escapes – final

Thursday Dec 1
7.30 The Amazing Race – continues at earlier time
8.30 Movie – TBA
11.20 30 Rock rpt
11.50 Trauma rpt

Friday Dec 2
7.30 Better Homes and Gardens
8.30 Movie TBA

Sat Dec 3
6.30 TBA
7.30 Movie TBA
9.30 Movie TBA