The Amazing Race Wiki

The Amazing Race 7 is the seventh season of the reality television show, The Amazing Race. It premiered on March 1, 2005 and ended on May 10, 2005 on CBS. The entire season was released on DVD on December 20, 2005.[1]

Production[]

Applications for The Amazing Race 7 were closed on August 11, 2004. Semi-finalist interviews were held in September 2004, and final casting interviews were held in Los Angeles between September and October 2004.

Filming began on November 20, 2004 and concluded on December 19, 2004. This season traveled a total of 40,000 miles (64,000 km), across ten countries on five continents.

Travelocity, Toyota, and JVC were the official sponsors during this season and would provide the prizes awarded to first place teams on certain legs.

Twists/Changes[]

  • Roadblock Limits: This season featured 12 Roadblocks, leaving for a maximum Roadblock split of 6-6.
  • Yield: Yields are available on certain legs of the Race.
  • Surrender Money and Possessions: For this season, the penalty for a team coming in last place on a Non-Elimination Leg was modified. In addition to having to relinquish all accumulated money in their possession and not receiving any money at the start of the next leg, that team would now also have to relinquish all their belongings except for their travel documents and the clothes on their backs.
  • Superleg: Teams encountered a double-length leg in the eighth leg. They received a clue directing them to meet with host Phil Keoghan, who surprised them by handing them their next clue and ordering them to continue racing.
  • Rules and Penalties: The following rules and penalties were revealed on this season:
    • Teams may not beg for money in United States airports.
    • If a team quits a Roadblock and takes the standard 4-hour penalty but is not forced to leave the Roadblock location due to hours of operation, that team would serve their penalty on-site starting from the arrival of the next team.
    • A team that improperly completes a Roadblock would be turned away from the Pit Stop and required to properly complete the task before being allowed to check in. The penalty for such an infraction was previously an unspecified time penalty applied at the start of the next leg, as of The Amazing Race 1.

Teams[]

Uchenna & Joyce
Uchenna & Joyce
 1st place 
Uchenna & Joyce
Married
Rob & Amber
Rob & Amber
 2nd place 
Rob & Amber
Engaged
Ron & Kelly
Ron & Kelly
 3rd place 
Ron & Kelly
Former POW/Pageant Queen
Meredith & Gretchen
Meredith & Gretchen
 4th place 
Meredith & Gretchen
Married/Retired
Lynn & Alex
Lynn & Alex
 5th place 
Lynn & Alex
Boyfriends
Brian & Greg
Brian & Greg
 6th place 
Brian & Greg
Brothers
Ray & Deana
Ray & Deana
 7th place 
Ray & Deana
Dating On and Off
Susan & Patrick
Susan & Patrick
 8th place 
Susan & Patrick
Mother/Son
Debbie & Bianca
Debbie & Bianca
 9th place 
Debbie & Bianca
Lifelong Friends
Megan & Heidi
Megan & Heidi
 10th place 
Megan & Heidi
Roommates
Ryan & Chuck
Ryan & Chuck
 11th place 
Ryan & Chuck
Best Friends

Episodes[]

Episode Air Date Leg Destination First Place Last Place Finish Viewership
(millions)[2]
Ratings/Share
(18-49)[2]
1 "Courteous? This Is a Race!" March 1, 2005 1 United States → Peru Debbie & Bianca Ryan & Chuck 1st Eliminated
11th Place
11.76 4.9/12
2 "The Whole Country Hates Me" March 8, 2005 2 Peru → Chile Rob & Amber Megan & Heidi 2nd Eliminated
10th Place
11.69 4.8/12
3 "Do You Need Some Mouth-to-Mouth Resuscitation?" March 15, 2005 3 Chile → Argentina Lynn & Alex Debbie & Bianca 3rd Eliminated
9th Place
12.71 5.0/12
4 "What a Gaucho You Are!" March 22, 2005 4 Argentina Rob & Amber Susan & Patrick 4th Eliminated
8th Place
12.43 4.6/11
5 "I've Been Wanting a Face-Lift for a Long Time" March 29, 2005 5 Argentina → South Africa Ray & Deana Meredith & Gretchen Non-Elimination
Leg
13.18 5.5/14
6 South Africa → Botswana Ron & Kelly Ray & Deana 5th Eliminated
7th Place
6 "Houston, We Have an Elephant" April 5, 2005 7 Botswana Rob & Amber Brian & Greg 6th Eliminated
6th Place
12.28 5.1/13
7 "They Saved the Eyeball" April 6, 2005 None Recap Episode
8 "Mow'em Down Like Grass" April 12, 2005 8 Botswana → India Rob & Amber Meredith & Gretchen Ordered to
Continue Racing
12.97 5.1/12
9 "We Have a Bad Elephant" April 19, 2005 India Uchenna & Joyce Lynn & Alex 7th Eliminated
5th Place
12.34 5.1/13
10 "We Got a Gnome! We Got a Gnome!" April 26, 2005 9 India → Turkey Uchenna & Joyce Ron & Kelly Non-Elimination
Leg
13.27 5.2/12.5
11 "The Devil Made Me Do It" May 3, 2005 10 Turkey → United Kingdom Rob & Amber Meredith & Gretchen 8th Eliminated
4th Place
12.84 5.2/13
12 "Five Continents, 25 Cities, and More Than 40,000 Miles" May 10, 2005 11 United Kingdom → Jamaica Ron & Kelly Uchenna & Joyce Non-Elimination
Leg
16.01 6.8/17
12 Jamaica → Puerto Rico → United States Uchenna & Joyce Ron & Kelly 3rd Place
Rob & Amber 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 Average Roadblock
1st Half 2nd Half
1 Uchenna & Joyce 8 4 2 3 6 3 3 3 1 1 3 3 1 3.17 6-5
2 Rob & Amber 3 1 5 1 5 2 1 1 3 3 1> 2 2 2.42 6-6
3 Ron & Kelly 10 2 4 4 2 1 2 2 2 4 2< 1 3 3.08 6-6
4 Meredith & Gretchen 6 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 4 2 4 5.40 6-4
5 Lynn & Alex 5 5 1 5 4 4 4 4 5 4.13 4-4
6 Brian & Greg 4 9 3 2 3 6 6 4.71 3-3
7 Ray & Deana 7 3 6 6 1 7 5.00 2-2
8 Susan & Patrick 2 8 8 8 6.50 1-2
9 Debbie & Bianca 1 6 9 5.33 2-0
10 Megan & Heidi 9 10 9.50 1-0
11 Ryan & Chuck 11 11.00 0-0
Notes [1] [2][3] [4] [5]
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: Rob, Meredith, and Deana decided to forfeit the Roadblock; their teams were all issued 4-hour penalties at the Roadblock site starting from the arrival of the next team.
2: Uchenna & Joyce initially arrived 3rd, but they did not complete the Roadblock correctly and were required to finish it. This did not affect their placement.
3: Meredith & Gretchen initially arrived 4th, but they missed their final clue at the end of the Roadblock. Lynn & Alex checked in during that time period, dropping them to 5th.
4: Leg 8 was a double-length leg with two Detours and two Roadblocks shown over two episodes. The placements listed in the first column reflect the order teams arrived at the leg's halfway point. The leg's Fast Forward was offered after the halfway point, and thus permitted Uchenna & Joyce to skip only the second set of challenges. The Yield appeared before the first Roadblock.
5: The finishes in the first half of the superleg in Leg 8 are not counted as part of the average. Only the final finish in the leg is counted toward the average.

Records[]

Franchise[]

  • First season not to circumnavigate the globe.
  • First-time visits to Peru, Chile, Botswana, Turkey, Jamaica, and the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico.
  • First season to implement the Surrender Money and Possessions penalty for the last team to arrive at a Non-Elimination Leg.
  • First season to feature a Virtual Pit Stop as part of a Superleg. Teams met host Phil Keoghan at the mat, only to have him hand them the next clue instead of checking them in.
  • First and, so far, only season to have 3 teams with the same last name. Meredith & Gretchen, Brian & Greg, and Bianca all have the last name “Smith”.
  • Third consecutive season where all the final three teams are co-ed teams.
    • Coincidentally again, all the final three teams were involved in a romantic relationship.

Reception[]

  • Maureen Ryan at Chicago Tribune (03/01/2005): "Amazing Race picking up speed"

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 · 36 · 37 · 38
Asia 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
Australia 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 ·
Brazil 1
Canada 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10
Central Europe Cancelled
China 1 · 2 · 3 · 4
China Rush 1 · 2 · 3
Finland 1 · 2 · 3
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