Amazing Race 15 Episode 1 Recap
They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down The Street
The fifteenth season of CBS's hit reality series The Amazing Race began from the Sixth Street Viaduct in Los Angeles' industrial district.
NOTE: ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS
Starting Line Challenge
After racing to their bags and retrieving their first clue, the teams competed in a challenge at the starting line. The task was to search a wall of over 1000 license plates for one of only eleven for the Shinagawa District in Tokyo (the location of their first destination). When they found a license plate, they brought it to Phil and received tickets for one of two flights to Tokyo.
The challenge began with the twelve frantic teams blindly searching through the license plates without knowing what they were looking for. Brothers Sam and Dan were the first to realize that the Japanese symbol for Shinagawa was contained on their clue, but poker players Tiffany and Maria completed the challenge before any of the other teams. They were closely followed by dating couples Marcy and Ron and Meghan and Cheyne.
As more teams found the correct license plates, it eventually came down to a race between engaged couple Keri and Lance and married couple Eric and Lisa. In the end, Keri and Lance pulled through and found the eleventh license plate, making Eric and Lisa the first team in Amazing Race history to ever be eliminated at the starting line.
Flights to Tokyo
The first six teams to complete the starting line challenge received tickets on American Airlines departing at 12:45 p.m. They were Tiffany and Maria, Marcy and Ron, Meghan and Cheyne, Gary and Matt, “Flight Time” and “Big Easy,” and Justin and Zev.
The second group to complete the challenge received tickets on United Airlines, departing thirty minutes later, at 1:15 p.m. They were Sam and Dan, Mika and Canaan, Garrett and Jessica, Brian and Ericka, and Lance and Keri.
Roadblock: Sushi Roulette
When teams arrived in Tokyo, they traveled by taxi to a television studio at the base of Tokyo Tower. Tiffany and Maria missed the first shuttle and had a small scuffle when Maria told her not to sugarcoat everything and to be realistic. A frustrated Tiffany said “I don’t wanna talk to you right now.”
The United Airlines flight happened to arrive half an hour early, allowing the teams in the second half of the pack to catch up. Mika and Canaan’s taxi driver even drove on the shoulder of the road, which helped them arrive at Tokyo Tower first.
At the television studio, teams found that they were contestants on a gut-busting Japanese game show called “Wasabi Roulette.” In order to receive their next clue, one member of each team had to eat a wasabi bomb (made from very hot spices) in under two minutes when the roulette landed on their team. Ron and Cheyne were the first to complete the Roadblock, followed by Justin and Garrett. Maria failed to complete the task when the wheel landed on her and had to attempt the Wasabi Roulette again.
In the next round, the wheel landed on Maria again and she ate the wasabi bomb with one second to spare. Big Easy and Lance then squared off and quickly finished their wasabi bombs. Canaan completed the task in the next round. After that, Gary and Brian both had to eat a wasabi bomb, but Brian struggled with it and failed to finish in under two minutes. In the next round, Dan quickly ate the wasabi bomb, leaving only Brian and Ericka to finish the Roadblock. This time, Brian finished his wasabi bomb just in the knick of time.
Leading Tourists Through Tokyo
After completing the Roadblock, teams had to lead a group of twenty tourists through the busy streets of Tokyo to the pit stop at the Konno Hachimangu Shrine. Some teams, like dating couple Meghan and Cheyne and Justin and Zev excelled at the task, while newly dating couple Mika and Canaan and poker players Tiffany and Maria struggled and lost some of their tourists. Also, one of Garrett and Jessica’s tourists had to go to the bathroom, which cost them some time. Engaged couple Lance and Keri and married couple Brian and Ericka were able to make up a significant amount of time.
First Pit Stop
Meghan and Cheyne were first to arrive and won a trip for two to Aspen and Vail, Colorado. The rest of the teams finished in the following order:
2) Justin and Zev
3) Lance and Keri
4) Marcy and Ron
5) “Flight Time” and “Big Easy”
6) Brian and Ericka
7) Gary and Matt
8) Garrett and Jessica
9) Sam and Dan
10) Mika and Canaan
11) Tiffany and Maria
After losing two of their tourists, Tiffany and Maria decided to check themselves in at the pit stop without finishing the task. They were informed that it was a non-elimination leg and that they would incur a two-hour penalty at the beginning of the next leg. They must also complete a Speed Bump.
When to Watch
The Amazing Race 15 airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS. For more information on the new season, see the show’s official Web site at CBS.com.
For a recap of the second half of the premiere, see Amazing Race 15 Episode 2 Recap.
Eric and Lisa
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