Loved last night’s episode. Talk about taking people out of their comfortzone. The racers got a firsthand taste of the frigid Russian climatewe’ve grown to love on this show. I’ve never seen so many stunnedlocals in my life.
People always ask me what goes on while I’m waiting for the teams.Well, we never really know exactly how much time there is in between sowe all stay close to the mat, at times for up to 19 hours. Back inseason 2, we were in the middle of the Hong Kong harbor with peoplehurling over the side while waiting for Teams to arrive – that was alittle rough – but being out of the cold and sharing time with thesetalented people was a real buzz.
At the pit-stops, I shoot the welcome to the pit-stop stand up, (explaining that teams have to come to a specific spot) then the opening for the next show. If there is a good spread between the teams then I get longer interviews with teams at the mat…sometimes up to 30 minutes each depending on what they want to share. Talking to the teams is actually the best part of everything I do. I love the energy they bring to the mat and capturing their emotions in the moment. The other thing I try and complete is a Phil’s Diary segment.
No matter how much we prepare for teams arriving they still sneak up on us — like you saw in last week’s Diary. Even when we think we know when and how they are going to arrive someone will come flying in out of nowhere.
Still, loads of questions being fired at me…people wonder why teams run out of money. All teams get the same amount of money each leg but some spend more wisely than others, some get taken by taxi drivers, and, of course, sometimes find themselves cut short.
It never ceases to amaze me the number of fans who write in from Canada…and the number one question, "Why can’t Canadians be a part of the Race?" Australians, New Zealanders…people from all over the world ask the same thing about their eligibility. There are lots of reasons from passports, logistics, casting resources, legal coverage…it is way more complicated than you might think. The fact is there are simply so many choices for casting here in the States for a great show and of course there are now other versions being made around the world.
As far as an international race down the line…maybe, but again think of the challenges. Many people have suggested four networks get together (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA) and each puts in say three teams and equal money. But who would be in control of the show? What happens if all three Australian teams get eliminated in the first three episodes? Fun to talk about but it didn’t work for the international Idol series.
A lot of people stop me and say, "Phil, if I was on the Race I would win that thing. I can’t believe some of those people." First off, trust me, this is a lot harder than it looks and secondly, we are not picking people for their extraordinary racing skills…the fittest, fastest etc. We pick people who are extraordinary people who we think are going to be the most interesting at getting from one place to another. This season I really think we ended up with a great mix.
And lastly, one of the best things about the Race is how momentum can shift on a dime for all the teams. Just when you think you’re in control, one bad leg puts you at the back of the pack. Jodi and Christie were truly shocked when I told them they weren’t eliminated courtesy of this season’s first non-elimination leg.
More ‘Amazing Race’:
You know Phil is taking one for the team when even he gets the underwear shot in!
I hope future races spend this much time in Siberia. It is such a huge and interesting place that was closed for so many years, and now we get to see all of these cities and places that most of us haven’t seen before.
Loving this season – great casting and great places!
Dear Phil…thank you SO much for stripping down to your skivvies. I (and many others) have been wating for years to see that! LOL!! Too bad that Kris and Preston had already been eliminated.
PHIL: Thanks for the insights, and I am loving this season — especially more locals and local color and less airports.
Please do an Amazing Race Canada with CTV!
P.S. Your fans may not get to tell you this enough, but… nice legs.
Hey, Phil, nice legs!
WHAT???? No one has commented yet, and you managed to skip right over this part! PHIL IN HIS UNDERWEAR!!! WoooooooHooooooo! lol looking good Phil! I even had to rewind my tivo and look twice.
That took some courage for you too I bet! I actually think you should change your photo here to a shot of you in those boxer briefs.
You are a great host. I am a huge fan of “the race”. My husband and I watch together and always comment on what we would do if certain situations happened to us. I informed him that we would have surely had to forfeit had I picked the “strip down to your skivies” road block. lol I have a major fear of heights and would bungee jump 50 times before I would have dropped trou. alright, I would have done it, but I would not have been happy about it.
I love that this cast does not have an obvious stand out. It’s anyones game at this point.
Phil, great legs & nice to see you take one for the show! I’m loving this season. It really is so much better then last years. I was wondering when you are at pit stops, are the contestants allowed to leave and explore the area, or do they have to stay at the pit stop the whole time? Also when they have large layovers (like last night, 10 hours!!) do they go exploring then too? It seems like a big waste to be in such great places and have to stay in a hotel the entire time you aren’t racing.
Jen -
I’ve heard that during long pitstops (36+ hour ones) that the show sometimes provide local tours with guide. I’ve heard of other teams using the downtime to get more money, read up on places that have visa stamps in their passports, meet some locals and get phone numbers, snag extra food for later, hook up with other team members (rumored of course!), and the big one…clean up and rest!
If the place isn’t too shady, they can roam a bit, otherwise they are told to stay close to their sleep/rest location.
Love the show. However, think running in that cold was extreme. Players could get frostbite or other cold-weather maladies. Great show though.
Wow – thanks for answering Jen’s question!
Loved the show Phil and am truly impressed how dedicated you are to entertaining us and showing solidarity for the racers with a little semi-nudity. Thought you guys were providing underwear for them to wear (preferred underwear of Racers = boxer briefs!), until the thong showed up. No wonder she is always crabby!
I’ll certainly agree with the pack about your nice legs. Question: could you bring back the map (either on the show or on the site) to show where these places are? Would love to see the distances travelled. And awesome insight again with this blog! Oh, and you might want to go kick Josh’s -ss.
Wow Phil the legs! Great season! love the new concept. This group of racers don’t seem to fight as much, which is kind of nice for a change, not alot of screamers. But’s it time to do another past favorite teams race and let us get to chose them and put enough teams in there in case some can’t do it. Love to see if some the teams are still to gether. Thanks for all your insight we love you.
Phil, Love the recaps, first of all (and you have great legs)! This is my favorite show! My best friend and I are dying to participate in the Amazing Race. Do you know where/when you will be casting for the next season? Please let us know!
I really enjoyed all the segments in Russia the past couple weeks…the best part being, you, Phil, in your underwear! woowoo! BTW, -4C is only about 25F…In Minnesota, we have 5K fun runs at 0F, and plenty of people are in shorts & tank tops. It’s not so bad, and the AR racers only had to go a mile!
Great body Phil…you are the man!
Great show, I am loving it this season!
My husband and I scratched our heads wondering why were they running in underwear!? The locals weren’t; only the racers, so it’s not like it was some local custom. Seemed very, very silly to us and totally unnecessary. Why the undies?