Not-so-amazing race

Favorite television night continues with the second episode of this season's Amazing Race. It's a great show--teams try to get from point A to B fastest. Has some near-fatal flaws, but also more than its share of awesome moments.

Didn't get to watch the first episode, but seems like the team I'd like the least got eliminated already. Hmm, also seems the recent trend of all white couples and one black continues. CBS needs to do a better job casting this show, it's getting ridiculous.

They're in Sao Paolo, first pit stop was the giant soccer stadium. One of the three lowest-place couples from last week will finish last this time I predict. Frat boys Eric/Jeremey, looking for sex. BJ/Tyler, saying they've oddly bonded with EJ. Wanda/Desire next, mom/daughter, she speaks spanish. Dating Dave/Lori, potential to be annoying. EJ check out the prostitutes on the way, I dislike them already. Somehow WD get there first?!

Place doesn't open until 8 pm, so no advantage for first people. Michelle/ , married couple. Dating Joseph/Monica in sixth, she seems cool. Lake/Michelle, Ray/Yolanda, black couple, Fran/Barry, married old couple, seem like hippies. Then Danielle/Dani, hoping to use their feminity to win, unlike the frat boys, who just wanna have sex. Final Lisa/Joni, Southern older friends.

Lots of yelling for cabs in this first section, everyone seems to have made it before the place opens. Then it's a mad dash up the stairs, DJ gets to box first, roadblock is called fire drill. Whoah, gotta go to the top of a tall building, Edificio Copn, by running up crazy white twisty fire escape stairways, then rapell down using a fire harness. Interesting architecture. Pointless sequence showing who's doing it for each team, too fast to follow. Desiree runs to the staircase first, then Jerry, than Ray, there are three staircases to choose from.

Some guys are already walking, it's a pretty tall building. God, frat boys are so stupid with constant sex yammering. Pretty much everybody's walking. Jeremy is already rappelling down, problem is you gotta wait for the guy ahead of you, so strategy of going to other roof points is a good one.

Jeremy wins, off they go to the bus station, gotta take a charter--one of 3, an hour apart--to Brotas, Brazil, 150 miles away, then take a VW Bug to get the next clues. J/M next off, then BJ/T. Somehow frat boys get into second cab. People are still walking up, unbelivable. Ray is really slow coming down.

L/M next, then R/Y in 5th. L/M get on the bus to the bus stop, instead of taking a cab. Interesting. W/D in 5th, show various teams getting into cabs. Freakout for Danielle, another competitor soothes her. Wow, she said she's petrified of heights, but is just going down like crazy; at end she says she can conqueor anything. Next to last is Southern couple, old people are last.

BJ/T get to terminal, then other teams; wow, they're all scrambled out of order; they show quickly first three on first bus, then Ray next. Ugh, one team went to the wrong bus station. Mom/kid make up some time, on second bus too. D/D on third. Frat boy flirts with D/D, actually too crass to be called flirting. God, the editing is like impossible to follow, too fast, we're still trying to figure out who all these people are. It wasn't like this in past years.

Show them choosing VW Bugs based on--color. Detour: press it or climb it. Either you process raw sugar cane into juice, distill it, then create ethanol, and pour into car before driving to the next place. Or they drive somewhere else, hike to a waterfall, and both climb up it. Everyobdy's like climb it. Frat boys just following people and making comments about the chicks. Hippies get there first, then J/M, then boys. It's a beautiful location. Hippy number one at top already, Monica not far behind, frat boys just starting.

Bus 2 pulls up, some are pressing it. BJ/T already done, next is Primaver da serra, the pit stop for this leg--wow, it's only 10:30, some teams must really screw up. Frat boys having some trouble with rope, Joseph passes first frat boy Eric, so they're done already. Hippies yell hippy power, are outof there first.

D/L, R/Y, W/D in next group on way to detours. Final bus pulls up, last few having trouble with just driving car, Southern friends freak out, start fighting and swearing.

You know, if everybody wasn't white, and there weren't so many couples, it'd be easier to follow, not to mention more interesting and true to life. As it is, you just stick teams with a quick label, and go from there. Funny when they refer to themselves with the same label you've assigned them.

Back from break, to freakout friends. Hippies meanwhile are asking for directions, Joseph/Monica too. Frat boys--cruising. They wind up running into hippies, off they go as a pack following some random truck, guess which teams in back. J/M get help from someone with a map, off on their own way.

Next, the sugar cane pressing... which seems to be going fast, at least the pressing part. Black couple makes it to waterfall. Mom/kid missed a turnoff, but catch it on way back. Dave/Lori are still pressing cane. Then they distill it. Mother/kid show up. Yolanda is coming up waterfall, as they show distilling drop by drop. Interesting to see if D/L's car performance is enhanced by ethanol. R/Y on way to pit stop too. Mom/kid distill. Old couple going for physical task. They show Lake/Michelle--married parents--on their way somewhere, then D/D and stupid bitter Southern women.

Hippies and frat boys still following pickup. Then they make different decisions, frat boys stop at gas station, hippies keep following truck. And they get there first. They win a trip to Tahiti, and freak out. Frat boys second, not happy, talk smack. Joseph and Monica show up, oddly late, they celebrate. 10:41, rest of program will be mistake-filled.

Old couple struggling up waterfall, then married parents. Old woman gets stuck, not getting it she says, just hangs there. Good metaphor for them, they seem to be more than fulfilling the usual grating-voiced not-getting-it slow all around elderly folks role.

Back from break to old woman learning from other woman and moving much better, she makes it, totally exhausted. Meanwhile, Dave/Lori make it fourth, are excited to be in that position. Ray/Yolanda fifth, not happy to be there but better. Wanda/Desiree worry they may be last, so sixth makes them ecstatic. Hmm, she's very pretty.

Barry still climbing after Fran makes it; passed by Danielle who just showed up, but he finishes before second woman starts. Crazy Southern women can't even drive, stall out on road. Doing the sugar cane. Dani climbing waterfall, they're gonna pretend the race to pit stop is close. Southern sisters finish, everyone's going off.

Lake/Michelle still driving around somewhere, she points out it's Portuguese they can't speak not Spanish. Old couple's car dies. L/M asking directions, follow some guy on a motrbike. D/D come up behind old couple, are happy but conflicted, it's a dead battery for old people; they give up, say they're eliminated.

Meanwhile Southern sisters are now driving, no gas for motorbike leading way for L/M, Lake is getting upset. F/B get new car, replacment car shows up, they decide it's not quite over yet. Danielle/Dani friends get to check point, L/M right behind them. Both teams talk about hauling you know what at end, start running; Lake takes off without wife, just yells at her--and they get there first, somehow, in 7th and they celebrate. D/D happy being 8th.

It's night, married couple stil driving, as are sisters, so odd and stupid. And--it's the old people, not eliminated, in 9th place, so happy. Hmm, old people last time had something happen similar to this. Sisters are glum, one starts crying, then sobs after finding that's it. Joanie has a good attitude, she needed a better partner.

So far haven't found a really likeable team, not yet rooting for anyone. Frat boys unfortunately I think will do well, hopefully hippies, J/M and black couple can stay up there too. I think I like Wanda/Desiree best so far, but that's not saying much.

Doubt it'll be as good as Amber/Rob year, where the last four teams were all interesting in different ways. Next week is Russia, country should be interesting although highlights aren't that compelling.

Photo of Edificio Copan from CBS.