The Amazing Race Premieres with a "Danke" in Chile

Last night, The Amazing Race kicked off another season of competition. We met this season's teams, including cowboys, a grandmother and granddaughter, dating models, high-school sweethearts, lawyers/entrepreneurs, a lesbian couple, gay and straight brothers, detectives, and a married couple.

The Amazing Race: Line of the Night

The line of the night award goes to Miss South Carolina's Caitie for her "danke." After finishing the paintbrush task in Chile, she responded "danke" as she received the next clue. Newsflash: it's gracias, not danke!

Still, Caitie proved to be a far more capable competitor than her teammates had imagined. Modeling must have helped her sense of balance as she easily crossed the cables for an early lead.

The Amazing Race Premieres: Roadblocks

The Amazing Race began in Los Angeles. Teams had to make their way to LAX using public transportation. Only the first three teams were given tickets for the first flight. Fortunately (or unfortunately), that first flight to Chile experienced mechanical difficulties, forcing the three teams to book alternate tickets for the second flight, leveling the race.

The teams arrived in Chile and took the bus to Valpraiso. The next task required competitors to have the "balance of a cat and the courage of a lion." They had to walk across cables spanning the length of a football field.

They then had to take a rural funicular to the next clue, carry cans of paint, brushes, and a ladder up a steep hill, and locate the house that matched the color of the paint. They had to finish painting a section of the house in order to receive the next clue which would lead to the first pit stop.

The Amazing Race Premieres: The Cowboys

The cowboys, Jet and Cord, turned out to be a pleasant surprise on The Amazing Race. When they traded their American dollars for Brazilian reals, thinking they could use them in Chile, I thought they were become another dimwitted comic relief pair. Yet they made a surprising comeback from last to third place. That horseback riding must have helped them with balance and coordination on the cables.

The Amazing Race Premieres: Penalties

Brent and Caitie would have arrived 2nd had it not been for the 30-minute penalty they incurred for not using the funiculars. And Dan and Jordan incurred a 15-minute penalty for the lost paintbrush. I saw traces of last season's Sam and Dan in their brotherly bickering.

The Amazing Race Premieres: High School Sweethearts

Dana and Adrian were the first team to be eliminated on The Amazing Race. The tenacious but top-heavy Adrian struggled across the cables until a safety-expert had to take him down. Although he was brave enough to give it another try, it was too late, as the other teams had already arrived.

It was probably not the best choice to have Adrian perform this roadblock, as the cables required balance and coordination rather than strength. Dana might have been the better choice for this particular challenge.

Still, I'm not convinced that they were truly the weakest link in this competition. They seemed like an otherwise strong pair. They would have had no problem with carrying heavy paint cans and ladders up the steep hill and painting the house. Unfortunately, in The Amazing Race, sometimes it only takes one roadblock to finish a team.