I dislike the freaky Christian couple and the weird couple who talked about how AGGRESSIVE they are. I like the African-American parents, the bowling women, the pizza guys and the dad/daughter pair.

i loved that dad/daughter pair. i was so nervous that they wouldn't make it on the plane.

charla is already getting on my nerves with all that whining.

i am trying to get a feel for everyone before i pick a fav.

Yah the dad /daughter pair is the best. The old man is tough after hurting his knee. And he still carried that 100 pound meat several miles.

a very very good watch.
it's interesting tv guilde handicapped first eppy's losers as one of the favorites.
that's the beauty of this game, on any given day.

I enjoy the show as well. However, I was suprised to see so many teams trying to help one another. I've never seen that before on any other season I've watched.

i too am rooting for the military man and his daughter :)

I didn't watch the show last season and then last night my boyfriend says to me "you're girl is on the amazing race." I looked at him funny and he finally explained to me that Allison (who I rooted for throughout Big Brother 4) was on the Amazing Race. Needless to say, I'm hooked. Other than Allison & Donny, I really like the father daughter team. He is one tough man. My ass would have been crying and wanting to go home if I hurt myself like he did. I think they'll go far in the race, maybe not until the end though. They have the mose determination out of all of the groups. I can't wait for the next episode! :D

This is going to be a non-PC thing to say, but as long as the "little person" is still on the show, I'm going to find it hard to watch it with a straight face.

Right there with you. I like Mirna, but Charla was hyper-annoying. I loved the look on Mirna's face when Charla read the detour clue and said that the option of playing Roullette was "a sign." And after all of the "we're here to show everyone that little people can do what everyone else can do," I was struck by how often Charla was yelling "can't you run any faster, Mirna?"

Next time Brandon is sure that the Lord is going to help him and Miss Texas USA out, he may need to consider that Miss Texas USA may be the one that the Lord is giving the suggestion to.

I was sorry to see Dennis and Erika eliminated. My picks to take it all at this point would be Colin and Christie (?) or Donny and Alison. I'm really liking Major Dad and Daughter and the Bowling Moms, though.

I thought the show was sooo good last night!!
I think my favorites are Christy and Colin(the sweet dating couple--not the dating with God couple) and the bowling moms. I like Charla and Mirna but they were getting a little annoying at the end!
I don't like Alison and Donny or the pizza brothers!

This is going to be such an awesome season! But why is it on so late?? 10pm can be past my bedtime!

The pizza brothers just urk me for some reason. I cant put my finger on why yet, but Im sure Ill know after more shows lol.

As for Mirna and Charla, I am not against little people at all, but those two are just annoying in general. I about died when they left the side of beef laying on the ground for the longest time. I really hope they clean that before sending it places cause that was sooooooooo gross.... I did also find it amusing how they said they were here to show everyone and then Charla is always yelling come on come on. Im annoyed by them so Im hoping they dont stay too long or they change cause I cant take Charla.

Military dad and daughter my faves then Donny and Allison.

Im not too sure if I like the twins or not. I thought for sure they would be the ones going home.

I officially got my roomate hooked last night on this show. She had never watched it and swore she was going to bed early bc she had a big practical today, but she was up 'till it was over!
I was surprised that Dennis & Erika got eliminated, but I thought it was really sweet for her to be like "I'd rather be with a nice guy then a jerk".
I really did not care for the pizza bros or Allison & Donny- all they did was bi*ch at each other the entire time. And I like Mirna, but Charla has got to go! I love how she was trying to flirt with the host when they got to the end of the leg.
And the very christian couple needs a reality check.

Comments about the racers first, then about the mechanics of the show this season...

I think the dad and daughter lept to the top of my favorites list when they landed in 10th place at the very end. That man *did not quit*. There were so many close calls with them from the nearly-missing-the-tendon to the nearly-missing-the-flight to the nearly-missing-the-last-place that my husband and I were totally on the edge of our seats by the end of the episode. I totally remembered how much I loved and missed this show just watching these two racers go for it. I hope they at least make it to the top five, if not the top three. Given the condition of his knee, they may not last as long as they might otherwise.

Didja notice that when the cousins went back with the meat, the guy who was helping carry Mirna and Charla's bags had a hand on the bone just behind Charla's head? I wonder if they got an unseen time penalty for that, or if the producers just missed it or discounted it since they'd already gone four blocks past the butcher shop.

I like the moms, the cousins, the parents, the seniors, and the brothers simply because it's easy to tell them apart! Half of the other teams just seem too much alike-- if you only see the girl, it's hard to tell who's who during the first ep! I was wondering why the moms didn't get down the second zipline first, since they were first to get across, but my husband thought maybe they were a little more freaked by the distance down and let some other team go first. I know I would've wanted to see someone else go first to see how they landed before zipping down sixteen stories on my own!

Ditto what y'all said about the Christian couple-- I think the Lord is giving her the better suggestions right now! :p

I'm reserving further "fave" picks until the end of the next episode. There's still too many racers for me to have them all pegged yet.

Potentially off-color curiosity-- is this the first season that they haven't had a gay couple? They usually go for one older couple, one African-American pair, one set of siblings, one couple that's on the verge of breaking up, and a few from the stock soccer moms / friends / parents / parent-child categories.

Now for our observations on the mechanics of the show:

* The new "Yield" option is interesting. My husband and I bet it replaces the fast forward (you can only use Yield once in the game) as something more predictable. No more going to India and leaping ahead, or getting the fast forward where your bus breaks down and gets you to arrive in next-to-last place. It's fairer that everyone knows who can still use it (I think they had team name stickers to show who could take advantage of it pasted next to the actual ticket and timer), and that there's a preset time for how long the next team has to wait. But there's a nasty twist, too-- you have to use it on a specific team behind you. That can cost you potential alliances and make you a target for that team's yield later on. It'll be interesting to see if people use it.

* It seemed that while there wasn't a roadblock (one team member must accept and do the task without really knowing what it'll be), there seemed to be a lot more for the racers to do during this leg. An overnight flight, an overnight stay in a tent, etc. It seemed that they were really seasoning them and giving even the losing team enough of an experience to feel like they really did something and had a challenge from the race.

* On a similar note, we thought that the producers were being intentionally devious in two of the game elements, with the goal of teaching the racers the evil bits of strategy and transportation hell. The flights had different departure times with backwards arrival times, meaning that racers learned that they need to check those times before buying nonrefundable tickets. The clue box with the last route marker was set away from the hotel, with the challenge flag set where teams could easily find it. Thus, the route marker was missed by two teams who went to play roulette, and their penalty was to have to go back and find the route marker and hope they returned before the last team did. The trip was long enough to be a nuisance, but it wasn't a route marker before a long flight or overnight bus ride. The racers thus learned that they'd better make sure they have all of their route markers before starting any challenges. Much better to learn those two bits of strategy (and potential race-losing pitfalls) before moving on to the more challenging legs of the race.

Kevin & Drew
 

BTW, for those who remember fraternity boys Kevin & Drew from (geez, were they season 1?) an earlier season of TAR-- They're on a new show on Discovery Channel starting Thursday July 8th. Basically, think TAR crossed with Simple Life. Kevin and Drew travel the rural areas of the US in a winnebago-like vehicle and try all sorts of blue-collar jobs, like sorting cranberries at a factory.

I have no idea how long of a series it's supposed to be, but I'll definitely be watching it!