by Sandhurst Miggins

Last night's premiere of The Amazing Race saw the 11 teams starting their journey on the east coast in Gloucester, MA. Before the racers even started, Phil informed them that this season will see the addition of a new twist. Great, another one of these. The winner of the first leg of the race will win an Express Pass. With the Express Pass, if a team does not want to take part in a challenge, they can exchange the Express Pass at the beginning or during the task for the clue to their next task. It's a great prize to have in a competition where every second counts.

When Phil says the word "Go", they're off and running. Long time friends Ron and Tony are the first ones to read their clue. Teams must drive themselves in small mini-cars to the airport where they must get on one of two flights heading to London, England. When they get there, they must navigate their way to the iconic Stonehenge monument. The teams hurry to get their bags in their cars because only three teams will be on the first flight out of MA which arrives in London 30 minutes earlier than the second.

As the teams get to the airport, Ron and Tony are the first to book their seat on the first flight. Chad and Stephanie make the most amateur TAR mistake that one could make - not fully reading the clue, they stand in a normal check in line, not looking for the signature red and gold TAR flag. With the help of ticket agent, they still manage to find their way to the TAR designated counter, just in time to get the second spot on the flight.  They are followed by Jill and Thomas, another of the dating couples on the race. Newly reunited mother and daughter team, Andie and Jenna, express how happy they are to be on the race. It's only their third time being around each other and they're learning each other's strengths as they go along.

When the teams land in England, it's time to see who's coordinated enough to drive on the other side of the road or, in some teams' cases, figure out which side the driver's seat is located on. The streets are confusing to some and for other's it's driving stick shift. Connor and Jonathan or Team Glee tries to assist the Andie and Jenna, when their car stalls but realize that they're on The Amazing Race and quickly jump back into their car.

The doctors, Nat and Kat, are the first to arrive at Stonehendge. The clue tells them to find an old castle to receive their next clue. Hot on their tails are Jill and Thomas and the Volleychicks, Katie and Rachel. When they arrive at the castle, they must try to storm the wall by climbing up a ladder with angry peasants throwing dirty water on them. After they accomplish this, they must then take a flag across a lake in a turtle shell like boat where they must then hand it over to a knight in shining armor.

For some, this challenge proves most difficult, as there is a specific balancing act that the pair must achieve in order for the boat to not sink. Chad and Stephanie are having some major communications issues as she thinks he yells at her like if she was one of his football teammates and not his girlfriend. Even though Chad claims that he wants to propose to Steph on the race, I'm foreseeing a lot more yelling before he does.

When the teams get across, they find themselves at a Roadblock. Teams must use a slingshot like weapon and fire watermelons at a dummy, enemy knight, in the aim to knock him off his feet. Even though we saw it a million times in the previews and a gazillion more on Youtube, it still was a shocking clip when Claire's watermelon backfired and shattered into her face. The fact that she got up and continued the challenge gave her extra points from me. That is one tough bitch!

After completing the Road Block, the first team to arrive at the pit stop is Jill and Thomas. They're ecstatic to win the first leg and even more elated to have won the Express Pass. Use it wisely, kids. With the first 3 teams arriving at the pit stop the last three teams are just now getting to the peasant fortified wall. Nick and Vicki show us that they are not exactly the most observant of racers as they miss both the flag that they're supposed to carry, which was located right in front of their faces as well as the turtle shell boats they were supposed to sail across in, also right in front of their faces.

In the end, the first team eliminated was also the first team to book a flight to England. Ron and Tony, through poor navigation and directional choices, were the last to arrive at the pit stop. It's always horrible to be the first team eliminated but the two of them seem to be content with the good old adage: "At least we tried".

The Amazing Race airs Sundays at 8/7c on CBS.

(Image courtesy  of CBS)

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