Winning team Dave & Connor O'Leary Countries visited 8 | Continents visited 3 Cities visited 22 | |
Season Run February 23 (2014-02-23) – May 18, 2014 (2014-05-18) Filming dates November 16 (2013-11-16) – December 6, 2013 (2013-12-06) |
The Amazing Race 24 (also known as The Amazing Race: All-Stars) is the twenty-fourth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 24 featured eleven teams of two – each returning from a previous edition for the first time since Season 18 – in a race around the world for a $1 million prize.
Contents
- Development and filming
- Cast
- Results
- Episode title quotes
- Prizes
- Leg 1 United States China
- Leg 2 China
- Leg 3 China Malaysia
- Leg 4 Malaysia
- Leg 5 Malaysia Sri Lanka
- Leg 6 Sri Lanka
- Leg 7 Sri Lanka Italy
- Leg 8 Italy
- Leg 9 Italy Switzerland
- Leg 10 Switzerland Spain
- Leg 11 Spain United Kingdom
- Leg 12 United Kingdom United States
- Ratings
- US Nielsen ratings
- Canadian ratings
- Reception
- References
The season premiered on February 23, 2014 on CBS, and the season finale was broadcast on May 18, 2014.
Father and son David "Dave" and Connor O'Leary from Season 22 were the winners of the Race. They are the first parent-child team to win the American edition of the competition; at age 58 at the time of filming, Dave is also the oldest person to win the American edition of The Amazing Race.
Development and filming
The season's course traveled across three continents and through eight countries including China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Italy and, for the first time, Wales.
Cast
This season's 11 teams were selected from past contestants, going as far back as Season 14. This includes three teams competing for a third time.
The returning teams and their prior race placements are:
Mark was originally set to compete with Bopper, but Bopper began showing signs of pancreatitis before arriving in Los Angeles for filming and was deemed unfit to compete by the production's medical team upon arrival. To make the last-minute replacement, Mallory was invited to fly from Nashville to compete as Mark's teammate. This marked the first time that a team without a pre-existing relationship competed on The Amazing Race. On air, the team was dubbed "Team Kentucky" in reference to Jackson, Minton, and Ervin's home state.
Natalie and Nadiya later competed on the 29th season of Survivor, making them the first Race contestants to compete on another CBS reality show. Nadiya was the first person voted out and Natalie won the season.
Illusionist David Copperfield appeared in the first Roadblock for the teams in Las Vegas.
Results
The following teams participated in the Race, each listed along with their placements in each leg and relationships as identified by the program. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television, owing to the inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order:
⋑ indicates that the team was U-Turned, but they used the second U-Turn on another team.
Episode title quotes
Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
- "Back in the Saddle" – Cord
- "Baby Bear's Soup" – Mark
- "Welcome to the Jungle" – Flight Time
- "Smarter, Not Harder" – Brendon
- "Can't Make Fish Bite" – Jet
- "Down and Dirty" – Flight Time
- "The Gladiators Are Here!" – Jamal
- "Donkeylicious" – Flight Time
- "Accidental Alliance" – Caroline
- "Bull Down" – Leo
- "Hei Ho Heidi Ho" – First and last line of Welsh poem recited in challenge
- "Do You Believe in Magic?" – clue to first Roadblock
Prizes
The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg. Trips are sponsored by Travelocity.
Leg 1 (United States → China)
Airdate: February 23, 2014
This Leg's Roadblock required the racer to dress in a special costume and perform 5 aerial somersaults while suspended 300 feet (91 m) in the air by wires attached to the stadium's towers.
Leg 2 (China)
Airdate: March 2, 2014
This Leg's Roadblock required one team member to assemble a child's motorized car from a provided kit. Once the car was fully assembled and operational to the "toy soldier" judge's approval, he would give out the next clue.
This Leg's Detour was a choice between Featherball and China Cup. In Featherball, the team played jianzi (a game similar to hackeysack that uses a shuttlecock) with two local players. Once the teammates successfully volleyed the shuttlecock a combined 10 times (volleys between the local players were not counted), they received their next clue. If at any time the shuttlecock fell to the ground, teams would have to start over. In China Cup, each team member received a traditional massage involving cupping therapy, and would receive their next clue after the massage was completed.
Leg 3 (China → Malaysia)
Airdate: March 9, 2014
In the Roadblock, one team member had to take the Travelocity Roaming Gnome, travel through the treetops on a safety line, and then rappel down Kiansom Waterfall, a height of 10 stories, collecting their next clue on the way.
The Detour was a choice between River Delivery and Run Through the Jungle. Before the Detour, teams had to build a bamboo raft which they used to travel down river, through rapids, to their Detour choice. In River Delivery, teams had to pick up several goods from a depot at the beginning of the task and then carry them down the river on their raft to the town of Kampung Tombung, delivering the goods to the village elder. In Run Through the Jungle, teams joined a Murut hunting guide who would lead them through the jungle to several fake bird targets. Using a blowgun, the racers had to each successfully knock over one bird target before being allowed to continue. After completing either Detour, teams were directed to return to their rafts and continue down river, receiving their next clue from a local river guide.
Leg 4 (Malaysia)
Airdate: March 16, 2014
In this Leg's Roadblock, one team member participated in a traditional Lansaran dance (Malay), in which the team member and a group of locals would bounce on a bamboo springboard. At the climax of the dance, the racer would use the springboard to be launched high enough to grab a flag of Sabah positioned above them, adjusted for their height. The teams would receive their next clue once they grabbed the flag.
The two Detour options were Mix Master and Master Mix. In Mix Master, the team was trained on how to scratch on a DJ table by a coach, and then had to perform in front of a DJ and the crowd, receiving the next clue if they were able to replicate a series of seven record scratches to the DJ's approval. If they did not perform the DJing properly, they had to allow other teams in line to perform before they were allowed to try again. In Master Mix, the teams had to stack seven cocktail glasses into a pyramid, and then use a stack of mixing glasses to pour different colored cocktails into each glass simultaneously. This had to be done in such a way that none of the cocktails mixed. Once successful, the team would get their next clue.
Leg 5 (Malaysia → Sri Lanka)
Airdate: March 23, 2014
This Leg's Detour was a choice between Fishing Pole and Spin Control. In Fishing Pole, teams had to wade out into the surf and then climb up traditional fishing stilts from where they could fish. Once both team members each caught a fish, they gave them to a local fisherman in exchange for their next clue. In Spin Control, teams had to learn a traditional Kandyan dance and then perform it while balancing a spinning raban on a stick. Once the lead dancer was pleased with the performance, he would give the team their next clue.
For their Speed Bump, Brendon and Rachel had to use silk screening to apply the final color to T-shirts bearing the flag of Sri Lanka. Once they had 15 perfect prints, they could continue racing. For the Roadblock, one team member had to properly sew a shirt in the garment factory. Once the floor manager approved the work, he directed the team to a heat transfer machine which printed the name of their next location onto the shirt.
Leg 6 (Sri Lanka)
Airdate: March 30, 2014
In this Leg's Roadblock, one team member had to pick a color badge in the gas station's office and then search along a line of parked tuk-tuks for 4 that had the same color marker on their windshields. They then had to lead the tuk-tuks back to the gas station to fill up their tanks to 3 litres (0.79 US gal). Once all 4 tuk-tuks had full tanks, they were given their next clue.
This Leg's Detour was a choice of Trunk or Sheets. In Trunk, teams worked with an elephant to load a truck with timber. After chaining a special knot to the larger pieces of timber so the elephant could lift it, the racers and the elephant had to each carry three logs to the truck. After getting their elephant palm leaves, the mahout would give them their next clue. In Sheets, teams made paper using an environmentally friendly and unique ingredient: elephant dung. After collecting dung in a wheelbarrow, teams took it over to the paper mill where it was mixed with water and paper scraps to make pulp. Teams then put the pulp on screens, making sure to press out the bubbles, to make five sheets of paper. After they laid five pre-made sheets out to dry, the managing director would give them their next clue.
Leg 7 (Sri Lanka → Italy)
Airdate: April 13, 2014
The Speed Bump required Caroline and Jennifer to head to the Pantheon where they picked up an antique Olivetti typewriter. They then had to search for the building it resembled, the Altare della Patria which locals call "the Typewriter", before they could continue. The Detour was a choice between Gladiator and Charioteer; for both Detours, teams dressed up in ancient Roman costume. In Gladiator, teams learned a series of sword maneuvers to "battle" a seasoned gladiator, to receive their next clue. If teams strayed from the battle sequence they were taught, they had to start over. In Charioteer, teams raced around a track using a radio-controlled chariot, with one team member controlling speed and the other controlling direction. Once teams completed five laps within one minute and thirty seconds, indicated by a "fire" going out, they would be given their next clue.
In the Roadblock, teams had to get a postcard from a chestnut vendor, then count the steps of the Spanish Steps, not counting the sidewalk at the bottom, and then add that total to the Roman numerals on the Obelisco Sallustiano in front of the Trinità dei Monti, indicating its year of construction. They had to write down their answer in Roman numerals on the back of the postcard and showed it to a pair of impersonators (dressed to resemble Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday) at the top of the Steps. If they had the right answer (MCMXXIV or 1,924), they would give them their next clue, otherwise, they had to go back down to the chestnut vendor to get a new postcard and try again.
Leg 8 (Italy)
Airdate: April 20, 2014
During the Pit Stop, all teams were moved to Villa Cagiati to start the leg. This Leg's Detour paid homage to Bagnoregio's traditional mode of transportation: the donkey. In Donkey Run, teams had to pick a pair of donkeys and then participate in a traditional donkey race, Palio della Tonna. If they could make three laps before the band stopped playing, they would win their next clue. In Donkey Build, teams headed to "Geppetto's Workshop" where they built a wooden donkey-shaped trolley using all of the pieces provided, including the crate the pieces were held in. Once they were done, it was loaded with wood and they then had to deliver the wood to "Geppetto" himself for their next clue.
In the Roadblock, one team member had to copy a page out of an illuminated manuscript, just as monks traditionally did before the invention of the printing press. Once they properly copied the page's calligraphy and gold leaf to the head monk's approval, they received their next clue.
Leg 9 (Italy → Switzerland)
Airdate: April 27, 2014
In the Roadblock, teams made a traditional milk delivery by means of Bernese Mountain Dog. After picking a dog, one team member guided their dog pulling a cart carrying two empty milk jugs, to one of two gondola stations. After unloading the milk jugs and riding the gondola to the top station, teams carried the milk jugs to the dairy farm for that tramway and traded the empties for full jugs. The team member then carried the full jugs back to the gondola and down to their dog, before bringing the dog and full milk jugs to the milk truck for their next clue.
Leg 10 (Switzerland → Spain)
Airdate: May 4, 2014
In the Roadblock, teams paid homage to the opera The Barber of Seville by becoming a barber in Seville. One team member had to properly apply shaving cream to a balloon and then use a straight razor to remove all of the shaving cream within 60 seconds. If they popped the balloon or ran out of time, the team member had to start over. Once successful, the barber would give them their next clue.
The Detour was a choice between Spanish Steps and Running with the Ballz. In Spanish Steps, teams had to learn a traditional flamenco routine. Once they were judged to keep up with the professional dancers, they would receive their next clue. In Running with the Ballz, teams wore bumperz designed to look like bulls and ran through the streets of Seville, trying to avoid other "bulls", and looking for fragments of a motto printed on several posters along the route. Once the teams reached the end of the course and could recite the full motto ("A matador never thinks about his own death") to the mayoral, the teams would receive their next clue. For their Speed Bump, Caroline and Jennifer had to deliver six jamónes ibéricos through the streets and alleys of Seville to Las Teresas Café Bar before they could continue racing.
Leg 11 (Spain → United Kingdom)
Airdate: May 11, 2014
In the Roadblock, one team member rode on one of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct's canal boats and worked with a Welsh language instructor to learn a verse of the Welsh poem "Y Sipsi!". After the 15-minute boat ride to the other side of the aqueduct was complete, the team member disembarked the boat and recited the poem from memory to a waiting linguist. If the team member could recite the poem perfectly, the linguist would award them their next clue.
The Detour was a choice between Shoot It and Boot It. In Shoot It, teams participated in clay pigeon shooting using a 12-gauge shotgun. Once they hit a total of 16 clay pigeons, they would be given their next clue. In Boot It, teams participated in boot throwing. After searching through a pile of Wellington boots to find a pair of either size-9 or size-11 boots, the teams filled them with water and threw them along a course until they reached the finish line. At the end of the course, a "Wellie official" would confirm that the teams had found the correct-sized boots and give them their next clue.
Leg 12 (United Kingdom → United States)
Airdate: May 18, 2014
During the Pit Stop, teams were moved to Carden Park Luxury Hotel in Chester to start the leg, and had to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, the final city. In the first Roadblock of the Leg, one team member participated in an illusion with magician David Copperfield. After opening up the box they previously dug up from the desert, retrieving the keys inside, the team member performing the Roadblock was shackled to the inside of a box and once the box was closed, their partner would hand over the keys through a hole in the box. Copperfield then escorted the teammate sitting out the Roadblock to a television monitor to watch their partner attempt the challenge. After the team member inside the box found the right key and unlocked the shackles, they had to retrieve lockpicks from the top of the box, after which the box was lifted off of the ground and lit on fire. Once the racer in the box said that they were complete, the partner, under Copperfield's instruction, set off a series of switches that dropped the box into a burning pile of wood and set off a fiery explosion. Copperfield then informed the partner that they would have to get the fire department's assistance, and the racer in the box would appear wearing a firefighter uniform, completely unharmed. Copperfield would then give them their next clue, after a bit of sleight of hand.
The final Roadblock of the Race that the team member who sat out the first Roadblock had to get in a helicopter, wearing a special futuristic jumpsuit, and then search the Las Vegas Strip for a sign (at the Aria Resort and Casino) that told them the name of their drop zone and location of the Finish Line: the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After informing their pilot, they did a tandem 10,000-foot (3,000 m) freefall onto the race track's infield, spewing fireworks along the way, and joined their partner before crossing the Finish Line.
Ratings
No episode aired on April 6, 2014, due to the CBS broadcast of the Academy of Country Music Awards.
U.S. Nielsen ratings
Canadian ratings
Canadian broadcaster CTV also airs The Amazing Race on Sundays. Episodes air at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Central (9:00 p.m. Pacific, Mountain and Atlantic), with four exceptions. The broadcast of the second episode conflicted with CTV's broadcast of the 86th Academy Awards; The Amazing Race was instead shown at 7:00 p.m. in the Atlantic time zone, at 6:00 p.m. in the Eastern time zone, and at 5:00 p.m. in the Central time zone, and immediately after the broadcast of the Oscars in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. The broadcast of the sixth episode conflicted with CTV's broadcast of the 2014 Juno Awards; The Amazing Race was instead shown at 7:00 p.m. in the Atlantic and Central time zones, at 8:00 p.m. in the Eastern and Mountain time zones, and at 9:00 p.m. in the Pacific time zone. The broadcast of the eleventh episode was rescheduled due to CTV's broadcast of the season finale of Once Upon a Time; The Amazing Race was instead shown at 8:00 p.m. in the Atlantic time zone, and at 7:00 p.m. in the rest of the country. The broadcast of the season finale conflicted with CTV's broadcast of the 2014 Billboard Music Awards; The Amazing Race was instead shown at 8:00 p.m. in the Atlantic time zone, and at 7:00 p.m. in the rest of the country.
Canadian DVR ratings are included in BBM Canada's count.
Reception
Season 24 received negative reception from fans of the show due to the casting choices, the route order, and the lackluster season finale.