The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The Amazing Race is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, and perform physical and mental challenges that often highlight aspects of a location's culture, history, or economy. Over the course of the Race, teams travel by airplanes, helicopters, trucks, bicycles, taxicabs, cars, trains, buses, boats and by foot. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs for being the last to arrive at designated Pit Stops, until only three remain. The first team to arrive at the finish line is awarded the grand prize.
Created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, the original series has aired in the United States since 2001 and has earned thirteen Primetime Emmy Awards, ten of them for "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program". Emmy-award-winning New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan has been the host of the American version of the show since its inception. The show has branched out to include a number of international versions following a similar format.
The Race
Each race depicted in The Amazing Race is broken up into a number of legs. In each leg, teams generally leave the [|Pit Stop] of the previous leg and travel to a different location, where they perform two or more tasks – often including one [|Detour] and one [|Roadblock] – before being given instructions to go to the next pit stop. It is every team's goal to complete each leg as quickly as possible, as the last team to arrive at the pit stop is usually eliminated from the competition.Teams
Typically, each season features around a dozen or so teams, each composed of two people with a pre-existing relationship. Original show rules required that teammates have a pre-existing relationship of more than three years and no previous acquaintance with other racers during that cycle. Individual racers must be of a specific nationality and meet specific age requirements; this is necessary to allow teams to obtain the necessary passport documentation to travel across the world without incident.The team format has varied in some seasons. Most notably, the Family Edition featured ten teams of four racers, some of whom were young children. The twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth seasons included teams made up of people who met for the first time just prior to the start of the race - in the former, they were paired by producers based on potential romantic compatibility, while in the latter, teams were determined in a draft based on the outcome of an opening challenge. Occasionally, seasons may be themed around those with some celebrity status, paired with their loved ones- notably, the twenty-eighth season featured social media celebrities and multiple seasons of the Australian edition have featured celebrities and those seasons have been billed as a "Celebrity Edition".
Normally unseen, a two-person production crew, one recording audio and the other recording video, accompanies every team. Generally, teams may not travel without their production crew, who are switched among teams after each leg to avoid biases from developing.
Money
At the beginning of each leg, each team receives a cash allowance with their first clue, which they must use to cover all expenses except for airfare, which is covered by a production-provided credit card. In the eighth season, this card could also be used to purchase gasoline. Allowance money is usually given in U.S. dollars regardless of location. The amount of money varies from leg to leg. Teams are allowed to keep any unused money for future legs, barring certain penalties for finishing last or instructions to the contrary.If team members spend all of their money or have it taken away in a non-elimination leg, they may then attempt to obtain more money in any way that does not violate local laws; this includes borrowing money from other teams, begging from locals, or selling their possessions. Since the seventh season, teams have been prevented from begging at United States airports, and teams may not use their personal possessions to barter payment for services.
Route markers
Route markers are uniquely-colored flags that mark the places where teams must go. Most route markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the places where the teams must go in order to complete tasks, or may be used to line courses that the teams must follow.The route markers used in the first season were yellow and white. They were changed to yellow and red in the second season, and this has remained the standard color scheme since. Occasionally, different color schemes are adopted for certain legs, seasons, or versions of the race.
Clues
When teams start a leg, arrive at route markers, or complete tasks, they normally receive a yellow letter-sized tear-away envelope with the series' logo that contains their next clue inside a vertical-fold folder. The clues themselves are typically printed on a vertical strip of paper, although additional information is often provided inside the clue folder. After retrieving the clue, teams open the envelope and must read aloud the instructions given on the clue sheet, then follow those instructions. Teams are generally required to collect every clue during each leg and keep that information with them until they reach the next Pit Stop, surrendering them once they have checked in. Teams may not take an additional clue from the clue box should they lose their first one; teams who do so are assessed a penalty. Teams are not directly penalized for misplacing their clue but will lose time either searching for it or trying to learn from other teams where to go next.At route markers, clue envelopes are placed inside a box mounted to the marker. In some seasons, the box contains exactly the number of clues for teams on that leg, allowing teams to indirectly determine their current placement in the leg by counting envelopes; in other seasons, extra envelopes were placed in clue boxes to prevent teams from doing so.
In some cases, clues – most often of the Route Information type – have been provided by more unorthodox means, such as in an advertisement in a local newspaper or on some item related to the task just performed. A common unorthodox means in the American version is to place the clue at the bottom of the Roaming Gnome, the mascot of Travelocity, the former sponsor of the American version.
Route Information
Route Information clues usually instruct the teams where to go next. Such a clue often provides only the name of the team's next destination; it is up to the teams to figure out how to get there. The destination may be given in a cryptic manner, such as a flag representing the country whose capital they are to fly to, or an obfuscation such as the "westernmost point in mainland Europe". In these cases, teams may use any resources, such as the help of locals or borrowing an Internet-connected device, to deduce the required destination.Route Information clues will sometimes specify one or more modes of transportation that teams must take. This may include prearranged travel or for charter flights, buses, or boats to more remote locations. Teams may also be provided with a rented vehicle and will be required to navigate themselves with it until further notice. Route Information clues may also restrict teams to specific modes of transport, such as requiring them to walk to their next destination. Teams who fail to follow travel instructions will usually be required to go back and follow them correctly if possible, or else they will receive a penalty at the next Pit Stop. If no mode of transport is specified, teams are free to use any option available excluding private vehicles.
Detour
A Detour presents the team with a choice between two tasks, one of which must be completed before the team is allowed to continue. The two tasks are named, often based on rhymes, puns or wordplay - such as "Plow" / "Fowl" to differentiate between a task involving plowing against a task involving corralling ducks. Teams are given several details about both tasks but may need to travel a short distance by foot or car to the different task locations. The two tasks generally involve different skills, often pairing physically demanding or fear-challenging tasks alongside tasks that rely on intelligence or craftsmanship. The decision about which task to attempt lies solely with the team, though due to logistical constraints some Detour options may impose additional limits, such as how many teams may attempt one of the tasks at one time, or the hours when a task may be available. A team may switch tasks as often as they wish with no penalty other than the time lost in attempting the tasks and travelling between task locations. In some Detours, teams that arrived at one of the tasks could not switch. Unless otherwise instructed, teams can work together to finish a Detour option. Once a team has completed one of the tasks, they are given a clue to their next location. A team that is unable to complete either Detour option or opts to quit the Detour will incur a six-hour penalty.Occasionally, there may be a twist to the Detour format. Season 25 introduced a "Blind Detour", where competitors were only given the names and locations of the tasks. The fifth Australian season featured a special Blind Detour, in which teams decided their Detour option at an earlier point in the Race and completed their chosen task when they returned to the same location several legs later. Season 26 featured a "Roulette Detour", where the Detour choice was determined by a spin of a roulette wheel, with Red leading to one task and Black leading to the other. The seventh Canadian season introduced a "One Way" twist that forces a team to perform a specified Detour task.