The Amazing Race Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Amazing Race 5 is the fifth season of the reality television show, The Amazing Race. It premiered on July 6, 2004 and ended on September 21, 2004 on CBS. The entire season was released on DVD (exclusively only through Amazon.com) on April 24, 2012.[1]

Development[]

After initially hesitating to renew the show and a possible cancellation,[2] CBS finally approved The Amazing Race for a fifth season in late September 2003.[3] Casting production had a quick turnaround as applications were due on October 8, 2003 after being advertised for three weeks.[4]

The season was filmed between January and February 2004 for which teams traveled 72,000 miles (116,000 km), spanning 11 different countries in six continents. After much deliberation of airing later in a fall timeslot,[5] the start date of the season was moved up and aired in the summer like the preceding season, but this time, the show aired on Tuesdays at 10 p.m.

This season also implemented permanent changes that would last for the rest of series. The first was adding a penalty for the team coming last in Non-Elimination Legs. The other was limiting Fast Forwards to only certain legs.

American Airlines was the only official sponsor of the season and would provide the prizes awarded to first place teams on certain legs.

This season (the first 8 out of 9 episodes) would also have encore airings on the following Saturday on CBS.[6]

Teams[]

Chip & Kim
 1st place 
Chip & Kim
Married Parents
Colin & Christie
 2nd place 
Colin & Christie
Dating
Brandon & Nicole
 3rd place 
Brandon & Nicole
Dating Models
Linda & Karen
 4th place 
Linda & Karen
Bowling Moms
Kami & Karli
 5th place 
Kami & Karli
Twins
Charla & Mirna
 6th place 
Charla & Mirna
Cousins
Marshall & Lance
 7th place 
Marshall & Lance
Brothers
Bob & Joyce
 8th place 
Bob & Joyce
Internet Dating Couple
Jim & Marsha
 9th place 
Jim & Marsha
Military Dad and Daughter
Alison & Donny
 10th place 
Alison & Donny
Dating
Dennis & Erika
 11th place 
Dennis & Erika
Once Engaged

Episodes[]

Episode Air Date Leg Destination First Place Last Place Finish Viewership
(millions)[7]
Ratings/Share
(18-49)[7]
1 "Clearly, I'm More Intelligent than You" July 6, 2004 1 United States → Uruguay Alison & Donny Dennis & Erika 1st Eliminated
11th Place
10.30 4.3/12
2 "It Turned Ugly Just Now" July 13, 2004 2 Uruguay → Argentina Brandon & Nicole Alison & Donny 2nd Eliminated
10th Place
10.50 4.3/12
3 "I Got Electrocuted" July 20, 2004 3 Argentina Colin & Christie Jim & Marsha 3rd Eliminated
9th Place
11.10 4.6/13
4 "Who Says Pageant Girls Don't Eat?" July 27, 2004 4 Argentina → Russia Chip & Kim Bob & Joyce 4th Eliminated
8th Place
10.10 4.3/12
5 "Are You Good at Puzzles?" August 3, 2004 5 Russia → Egypt Colin & Christie Linda & Karen Non-Elimination
Leg
10.60 4.5/13
6 "Why Can't We Get a Camel?" August 10, 2004 6 Egypt Colin & Christie Marshall & Lance Quit
7th Place
10.40 4.7/13
7 "Are You Sure This Is Safe?" August 17, 2004 7 Egypt → Kenya → Tanzania Chip & Kim Charla & Mirna 5th Eliminated
6th Place
8.70 3.9/10
8 "I'm Going to Jail" August 24, 2004 8 Tanzania → United Arab Emirates Colin & Christie Kami & Karli Non-Elimination
Leg
10.50 4.5/12
9 "If You're Gonna Whine, Just Shut Up!" August 31, 2004 9 United Arab Emirates → India Colin & Christie Brandon & Nicole Non-Elimination
Leg
10.00 4.3/11
10 "If They're Screwing the Helmet to My Head, It Can't Be Good" September 7, 2004 10 India → New Zealand Colin & Christie Kami & Karli 6th Eliminated
5th Place
10.80 5.1/13
11 "It's Okay, Run Them Over!" September 14, 2004 11 New Zealand → Philippines Chip & Kim Colin & Christie Non-Elimination
Leg
10.30 4.7/13
12 "You've Just Made Me a Millionaire" September 21, 2004 12 Philippines Brandon & Nicole Linda & Karen 7th Eliminated
4th Place
12.80 5.6/14
13 Philippines → Canada → United States Chip & Kim Brandon & Nicole 3rd Place
Colin & Christie 2nd Place

Leaderboard[]

This chart shows each teams ranking per leg according to their official check in at the Pit Stop. However, time penalties issued before the start of the next leg due to improperly performed tasks are not reflected here.

Place Team Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Leg 4 Leg 5 Leg 6 Leg 7 Leg 8 Leg 9 Leg 10 Leg 11 Leg 12 Leg 13 Average Roadblock
1 Chip & Kim 8 8 7 1 4 2 1 3 2 4 1> 2 1 3.39 11-1
2 Colin & Christie 7 6 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 4< 3 2 2.46 10-1
3 Brandon & Nicole 6 1 3 5 3 4 4 2 5 3 3 1 3 3.31 11-1
4 Linda & Karen 3 4 6 6 7 6 3 4 3 2 2 4 4.17 5-6
5 Kami & Karli 9 9 5 7 6 3 5 5 4 5 5.80 5-4
6 Charla & Mirna 5 2 2 4 2 5 6 3.71 4-2
7 Marshall & Lance 2 7 8 3 5 7 5.33 1-4
8 Bob & Joyce 4 5 4 8 5.25 1-2
9 Jim & Marsha 10 3 9 7.33 1-1
10 Alison & Donny 1 10 5.50 0-1
11 Dennis & Erika 11 11.00 0-0
Notes [1] [2] [3] [4]
Legend:
     The team finished in first place
     The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race
     The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg
     The team that won The Amazing Race
     The team that crossed the Finish Line second
     The team that crossed the Finish Line third
The team used the Fast Forward pass
> The team used the Yield
< Recipient of the Yield

Notes:
1: Chip & Kim and Kami & Karli initially arrived 1st and 2nd, respectively, but they had missed the clue to the Detour, having simply arrived by chance at one of the options. They had to go back and retrieve the clue before checking in, causing them to fall to 8th and 9th, respectively.
2: Marshall & Lance, exhausted and already in dead last, decided to quit the race during the Roadblock, marking the first time ever that host Phil Keoghan had to eliminate a team still on the race course.
3: Leg 8 had an unaired Roadblock that involved buying and delivering nuts. All teams have confirmed which member participated in this Roadblock.[8]
4: Leg 13 had an unaired Roadblock that involved pitching a teepee. All three teams have confirmed which member performed the task.[9]

Trivia[]

Franchise[]

  • First season to visit all six inhabitable continents.
  • Featured the longest route ever traveled by the race, at 72,000 miles (116,000 km)
  • First time visits to Uruguay, Argentina, Russia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, and Canada.
  • This season introduced the Yield, which allows any one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time.
    • Only season to have a Yield available on every leg of the race.
  • First season where a team was eliminated outside of the Pit Stop.
  • First season where all the final three teams are co-ed teams.
    • Coincidentally, all the final three teams were in love relationships.
  • Last standard-format season where there was no limitation on the number of Roadblocks each individual may perform.
  • First season to feature a Non-Elimination Leg with more than six teams remaining.
  • First season to implement a penalty for the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop in a Non-Elimination Leg.
    • First season to require teams finishing last on Non-Elimination Legs to turn over all the money that they accumulated throughout the race and also not receive any money at the start of the next leg.
  • First season to only have one same gender team, an all-male team.
  • First season that a same-gender team did not win a leg.
  • First season to have three all-female teams finish in the top 6.
  • First season to implement a ban on multiple ties placing at the Pit Stop. The new rules that the first team to place at the Pit Stop must be at least 1 second ahead to the next team.

US[]

  • Second season to have back-to-back Non-Elimination Legs, following The Amazing Race 3.
  • First season to feature a contestant with a disability (Charla Baklayan Faddoul), who was born with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.
  • For the first time, a member of each of the the final three teams (Kim, Christie, and Nicole) performed only one Roadblock on the entire race, making them the second, third, and fourth (last) people to perform only a single Roadblock to reach the final three.
    • Flo Pesenti had performed only one Roadblock in The Amazing Race 3
  • First season that the Finish Line was located in the Southern United States.

Reception[]

  • Zap2it (04/06/2004): "CBS' summer loaded with reality series"
  • John Crook at Los Angeles Times (07/04/2004): "Teamwork and tantrums on Amazing Race"
  • John Deiner at Washington Post (07/04/2004): "Amazing Race: It's Travelicious"
  • Hal Boedeker at Orlando Sentinel (07/04/2004): "CBS' Race Outdistances Reality Rivals"
  • Washington Post (07/05/2004): "Off and running: Amazing Race launches 5th season of global trek"
  • Steve Johnson at Chicago Tribune (07/06/2004): "Amazing Race: All adrenaline, all the time"
  • People.com (07/12/2004): "Picks and Pans Review: The Amazing Race 5"
  • Joe Rhodes at New York Times (11/16/2004): "An Audience Finally Catches Up to The Amazing Race"
  • Joe Reid at Decider (02/11/2016): "Stream the Season: Why You Should Make The Amazing Race 5 Your Next TV Binge"

External links[]

References[]

The Amazing Race Season Index
United States 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33 · 34 · 35
Asia 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
Australia 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7
Brazil 1
Canada 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9
Central Europe Cancelled
China 1 · 2 · 3 · 4
China Rush 1 · 2 · 3
Finland 1
France 1
Israel 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8
Latin America 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6
Norway 1 · 2
Philippines 1 · 2
Ukraine 1
Vietnam 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6
Advertisement