Fall TV Alert: Amazing Race 12 is Off and Running

When the teams sprinted from the luscious green manicured lawns of the Playboy Mansion (yes, THAT Playboy Mansion) toward what would be the first of about one million rental cars they would drive in their quest to win first prize, you knew it wouldn't take long for somebody to screw everything up, yet somehow find a way to survive the trip halfway across the world they were about to endure.

As soon as the teams opened the ubiquitous orange and black box to find out what their first destination would be, the race was on, as the teams first went in their cars and then to LAX, for the other luscious green landscape of Ireland.

And so the race was on, that madcap scramble of teams, their belongings and their sanity. Through three legs thus far the teams have rumbled around Ireland, leapt bogs in Holland and ridden past mounds of trash in West Africa, only to find that they are thankful for what they have (a common theme in the race) and grateful for the opportunity.

This year the teams having the opportunity are Kynt and Vyxsin, a self-proclaimed "goth" couple from Kentucky and Ronald and Christina, a father/daughter team fast becoming the talk of this year's version, in part to the father's old-school military-style commands, his "Who's Your Daddy?" shirts he wears and the daughter's dislike of his commands. Azarea and Hendekea, two siblings with lots of athleticism and teamwork, Rachel and TK, a hippie-like concoction of sorts and only dating at the moment and Lorena and Jason, another dating couple, add into the mix some youth and are dark horses to win it.

But the team to beat thus far has been Jennifer and Nathan, in spite of their fighting and dare we say, poor sportsmanship. The team has consistently been in the top three overall and seems to be a solid favorite. But like other Amazing Race years (who can forget Charla and Mirna?) there seems to be a fan favorite in Nicolas and Donald, the grandfather/grandson duo whose lack of athleticism has not dampened either their spirits or our eyes from laughing so hard, particularly when the spritely 68-year-old Donald dropped trou in Holland to jump that mud bog, which is considered a sport.

And we cannot forget friends Shana and Jennifer, the pair of spokes model friends who are easy on the eyes and like other years, will have built-in advantages that the other teams don't. That always counts for something in the race, since the ability to hail cabs in the nether regions of the world is a necessary skill, as well as the ability to communicate with body language. Already eliminated from this year's race are Ari and Staella, Marianna and Julia and Kate and Pat.

Travel the globe in search of riches with the "Amazing Race 12" on CBS.