Amazing Race All Stars

About The Amazing Race

Host Phil Keoghan

The Amazing Race began in 2001 as the latest entry into the reality television genre. Following in the footsteps of the wildly popular Survivor, The Amazing Race created a new spin on survival. In this game, 11 or 12 teams of two people travel around the globe, competing in tasks of intellect and strength to move one leg closer to the big prize. Season Eight had teams of four family members competing in a special edition of the show.

A team is eliminated when it comes in last at a checkpoint. In some instances, however, the show presents a non-elimination twist, where the last team to arrive is not sent home, but must give up their money and/or possessions before the next leg of the race. In Season 10, teams who came in last place had a chance to redeem themselves by trying to finish first in the next leg. If they didn't, they were given a 30-minute penalty and then elminated if they came in last at that time. The finale of each season has the three remaining teams racing to the finish line to see who will take home the $1 million grand prize. The following are tasks and options presented during the game:

• Detour provides the choice of two different tasks, each with its own unique challenges. Teams select the option they feel can be successfully completed in a short amount of time. Both team members participate in this task.
• Roadblock is a task for just one member of a team. Players must split the roadblock tasks evenly so each person participates in an equal number of roadblocks during the race.
• Fast Forward option allows one team to skip ahead to the checkpoint, bypassing remaining tasks in that leg of the race.
• Yield allows one team to delay another team for a short amount of time. This can sometimes give a team a slight advantage. Although there are three yields per game, a team can only yield another one once. However, a team can be yielded all three times.

Assembling an All Star Cast

The Amazing Race is certainly not the first reality show to create an all-star edition of its series. Host Phil Keoghan noted that the all stars represented “the teams [who] have earned the most attention over the last 10 seasons." The lineup includes teams from seven of those seasons:

• Joe Baldassare and Bill Bartek, Season One, third place
• Kevin O'Connor and Drew Feinberg, Season One, fourth place
• Ozwald Mendez and Danilo Jimenez, Season Two, fourth place
• Teri and Ian Pollack, Season Three, second place
• John Vito Pietanza and Jill Aquilino, Season Three, fifth place
• Charla Baklayan Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan, Season Five, sixth place
• Uchenna and Joyce Agu, Season Seven, first place
• Rob and Amber Mariano, Season Seven, second place
• Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner, Season Nine, runner-up and seventh place, respectively
• Dustin Seltzer and Kandice Pelletier, Season 10, came in fourth place
• David and Mary Conley, Season 10, sixth place

The Amazing Race: All Stars Twists

Rob and Amber Mariano, seventh season runners-up

While the players may be returning for a second chance, the locations and challenges will be different. The Amazing Race: All Stars marks the 11th season of the popular show, and with former players in the race, some of the elements are expected to be more difficult.

The locations include Equador, Chile and a destination close to the South Pole, among others. Each location of the race will provide unique challenges, ensuring that these reality stars won’t be revisiting territory they saw during their first race. Keoghan commented in a TVGuide.com interview, "We're wanting to push things a little harder because they've done it before."

Post-Elimination

The Amazing Race: All Stars edition will include a new spin -- a look at life after each team is eliminated. “Elimination Station” can be viewed on CBS’ Web site, providing a look at the teams living in the sequester house after elimination. The "Elimination Station" webisodes will be available on the site following the show each week.

The Amazing Race: All-Stars Fun Facts

• Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner competed on different teams during Season Nine and began dating after the show's finale.
• Rob and Amber Mariano met while participating as contestants on Survivor: All Stars. During the finale, Rob asked Amber to marry him, and their wedding was broadcast on CBS. Amber won the all-star edition of Survivor.
• The Amazing Race has won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Reality/Competition Program every year since 2003, since the category's inception.