The Amazing Race 19


The Amazing Race 19 is the nineteenth installment of the American reality television show The Amazing Race. This season featured 11 teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world. The 19th season premiered on September 25, 2011.
The nineteenth season started on Sunday, September 25, 2011. It aired on CBS in the United States on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. The season finale aired on December 11, 2011. The show is hosted by Phil Keoghan.
Engaged couple Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang were the winners of The Amazing Race 19.
The complete season was released on DVD on October 7, 2015, via Amazon.com's CreateSpace program.

Production

Development and filming

This season of the Race traveled a little over to 20 cities across four continents. Filming started on June 18, 2011, with teams seen leaving Los Angeles International Airport and heading to Taiwan. The Starting Line was located at the Hsi Lai Temple in the foothills of Hacienda Heights, California. As with the previous season, racers had a task they had to perform before receiving tickets to their first destination. American film crews were also spotted in Hillerød, Denmark, and were suspected to be there for The Amazing Race, marking the first time The Amazing Race visited Denmark. Besides Denmark, this season also included other first time visits to Indonesia, Malawi, and Belgium.
Two new game elements were introduced in this season. Leg 1 introduced the Hazard, a penalty that one team incurred for being the last team to finish the Starting Line task. According to Keoghan, the Hazard was added to "test people's mental strength out of the gate", and claimed that it had a "rolling effect" throughout the rest of the Race. Leg 2 was the first time in which two teams were eliminated at the Pit Stop. In addition, a stand, implemented in Season 2 which shows the city and country of the Pit Stop was removed starting with this season.
During the first leg, racer Kaylani lost her passport at a gas station while en route from Hsi Lai Temple to Los Angeles International Airport. She and teammate Lisa returned to the station to search for the passport but could not find it and opted to proceed to the airport in the hope that another racer had picked it up. The camera crew accompanying the team had seen the dropped passport, but could not tell Kaylani or Lisa or otherwise act on it and instead informed the producers of the situation. The producers prepared to conduct an impromptu elimination and host Phil Keoghan rushed to the airport. The passport was found by two bystanders who had previously helped another team at the gas station. After posting about the incident on Twitter, a fan of the show advised them to take the passport to the airport, and they were able to return it to Kaylani before her scheduled flight.

Marketing

Discover gift card returned as one of the sponsors. Travelocity continued to sponsor the show, while Ford also returned as one of the sponsors, with their fifth generation Ford Mustang appearing as a prize car in the 10th leg, customized by the winner.

Cast

Applications for the 19th season were due on January 4, 2011. Semi-finalist interviews and the final casting interviews took place in Los Angeles in March 2011.
The cast included former Survivor winners and dating couple Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca, the first person under 18 to sail solo around the world Zac Sunderland with his father Laurence, retired NFL player Marcus Pollard with his wife Amani, and former Olympic snowboarders Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin.
Winners Ernie & Cindy were married on March 10, 2012. Ron & Bill, Kaylani & Lisa, Liz & Marie, Justin & Jennifer, Laurence & Zac, Amani & Marcus, and Jeremy & Sandy were in attendance at the wedding party. The newlyweds traveled to Fiji, a trip which they won on Leg 8 of the Race, for their honeymoon.
One of the competitors, Bill Alden, died on June 10, 2016, at the age of 69 from pancreatic cancer.

Future appearances

This season was not represented in the cast of The Amazing Race: All-Stars.
Ernie & Cindy later appeared on the finale of The Amazing Race 29 in which they handed tickets to the final three teams to enter Wrigley Field in their hometown of Chicago.
Ethan Zohn returned to Survivor to compete on and was the fourth person eliminated.

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:
  1. Kaylani performed the Hazard task.
  2. ^ Leg 2 was a double-elimination leg. The last two teams to be checked-in at the Pit Stop were both eliminated.
  3. Eight of the 11 teams arrived at the Pit Stop without donating all of their money at the 'Aisyiyah Orphanage, and had to go back and donate the rest of their money before being allowed to check in. The initial placements for all teams are as follows :
  4. :1st: Ernie & Cindy; 2nd: Liz & Marie; 3rd: Bill & Cathi; 4th: Andy & Tommy; 5th: Jeremy & Sandy; 6th: Justin & Jennifer; 7th: Amani & Marcus; 8th: Laurence & Zac; 9th: Ethan & Jenna; 10th: Kaylani & Lisa; 11th: Ron & Bill
  5. Laurence & Zac initially arrived 1st, but were issued a 15-minute penalty for using more than the allowed number of buckets at the Grass Fed Detour. Andy & Tommy checked-in during their penalty time, dropping Laurence & Zac to 2nd.
  6. ^ Justin & Jennifer and Bill & Cathi initially arrived in 1st and 3rd, respectively, but did not pay the truck drivers who drove them to the Pit Stop. They were required to turn back and pay their drivers before being allowed to check in. Their placements were dropped to 2nd and 6th place, respectively.
  7. Ernie & Cindy used the Express Pass to bypass the Detour in Leg 7.
  8. Laurence & Zac used their U-Turn power on Amani & Marcus; however, they had already passed the U-Turn point and were therefore unaffected by it.

    Episode title quotes

Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
  1. "Kindness of Strangers" – Kaylani
  2. "The Sprint of Our Life" – Sandy
  3. "Don't Lay Down on Me Now!" – Marcus
  4. "This Is Gonna Be a Fine Mess" – Bill
  5. "I Feel Like I'm in the Circus" – Jennifer
  6. "We Love Your Country Already; It Is Very Spacious" – Cathi
  7. "Move Goat" – Marcus
  8. "Super Shady" – Cindy
  9. "It's Speedo Time" – Tommy
  10. "Release the Brake!" – Marcus' driving instructor
  11. "We Are Charlie Chaplin" – Tommy
  12. "Go Out and Get It Done" – Marcus

    Prizes

The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg. All trips are sponsored by Travelocity.

Leg 1 (United States → Taiwan)

Airdate: September 25, 2011
For the first Roadblock of the Race, one team member had to find a nearby payphone and called a particular phone number. The person on the other end gave the racer one of Confucius's proverbs: "In all things success depends on previous preparation, and without such previous preparation there is sure to be failure." Without writing it down, they had to repeat the proverb verbatim to a temple monk to receive their next clue. If they were incorrect, they had to call the number again and make another attempt.
The Hazard required Kaylani & Lisa to travel to the Core Pacific City Mall, where one of them had to perform an indoor bungee jump before they could continue racing.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: October 2, 2011
For their Speed Bump, Bill & Cathi had to untangle a rope until they had enough length to reach a carabiner across a field before they could continue with the Roadblock.
In the Roadblock, one team member had to descend into Goa Jomblang to search for a traditional Javanese mask and a dagger known as a kris. Once they located them, team members had to scale up a bamboo ladder to the top before delivering them to the chieftain in exchange for their next clue.
The first Detour was a choice between Shake Your Money Maker or Be a Ticket Taker, both of which took place back in the city of Yogyakarta. In Shake Your Money Maker, teams had to dress up in costumes with one team member dancing in the streets while the other played a gamelan to earn Rp 30,000. In Be a Ticket Taker, teams had to go to the Mal Malioboro and work as motorbike parking attendants to earn Rp 15,000 before turning in their ticket book.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: October 9, 2011
In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Rice Field and Grass Fed. In Rice Field, teams carried lunch to rice paddy workers and, while the workers ate their lunch, had to plant 300 rice seedlings to receive their next clue from one of the rice field workers. In Grass Fed, teams had to fill two bags with freshly cut grass and then pick up two sheep from a shed. After delivering the grass and sheep to a farm, they had to retrieve six buckets of water from a well to fill a trough for the sheep and were only allowed to use two buckets at a time. Once the trough was full, and the farmer was satisfied with their work, teams obtained their next clue.
In the Roadblock, one racer had to walk around the top tier of Borobudur in a clockwise direction, counting the statues of the Five Dhyani Buddhas, while also paying attention to the mudra depicted on the statues. The racer had to provide the correct numbers of Buddhas by mudra, including a demonstration of each, to receive their next clue. There were seventeen Amitābhas with the dhyana mudra; seventeen Amoghasiddhis with the abhaya mudra; seventeen Akshobhyas with the bhumisparsa mudra; and eighteen Ratnasambhavas with the vara mudra.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: October 16, 2011
This leg's Detour was a choice between Coral Reconstruction and Beach Preparation, tasks designed to give back to Thailand following the 2004 tsunami. In each task, teams rode on speedboats to Khai Nai Island. In Coral Reconstruction, teams built a coral nursery out of pipes. Once complete, they used a kayak to take the nursery and several coral fragments out to a buoy where they had to set the nursery on the ocean floor, then set the coral fragments into the nursery to receive their next clue from a marine biologist. In Beach Preparation, teams had to properly set up a series of twenty beach chairs and ten umbrellas marked with a specific symbol given in their clue to receive their next clue from the beach club owner.
In this leg's Roadblock, teams traveled to Koh Yao Noi Island, Ko Yao District, where one team member climbed the island's sheer rock wall until they reached a bird's nest that held their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: October 23, 2011
For their Speed Bump, Liz & Marie had to clean up elephant dung and wash an elephant before they could ride one to the Roadblock.
At the first Roadblock, one team member searched for a man playing a traditional Thai flute. They then had to search the water around him for a bundle that contained a ceramic carp with their clue inside.
At the second Roadblock, the team member that sat out the first Roadblock had to correctly rebuild the spirit house they picked up after the first Roadblock to receive a bag of fish food and their next clue from a monk.
;Additional tasks
;Additional note
Airdate: October 30, 2011
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to put on a workman's uniform and transport ten bales of tobacco leaves through a tobacco warehouse to a drop-off zone in another part of the warehouse, using only a hand-cart that could carry one bag at a time, to receive their next clue.
In this leg's Detour, teams chose between All Sewn Up and Not Grown Up. In All Sewn Up, teams went to the White Horse De-Sign Tailor Shop in the old market and picked a customer. They then used manual sewing machines to finish the customer's suit to obtain their next clue. In Not Grown Up, teams traveled to Lilongwe LEA School, where they had to use materials provided to build two toy trucks. Once they were properly constructed, the headmistress would give the trucks to students, who would test it before the team received their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: November 6, 2011
For their Speed Bump, Amani & Marcus had to solve a sliding puzzle that depicted the flag of Malawi before they could continue racing.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member used a bicycle taxi known as a kabaza to take a customer carrying fish to one of three different destinations written on a board tied to the fish. After they dropped off their customer at their required address, they headed back to the bus station to trade in their earnings of MK100 to the kabaza dispatcher to obtain the next clue.
The Detour on Lake Malawi was a choice between Dugout and Lugout. In Dugout, teams participated in the annual Lake Malawi Dugout Canoe Race and had to use the traditional canoes to paddle out to drummers on the lake before paddling back to shore to obtain their clue from a local fisherman. In Lugout, teams had to wade to a ferryboat on the lake and unload passengers and cargo from it by carrying them to shore. They had to unload two boxes of cabbage, two bundles of sugar cane, two bundles of brooms, one chair, one fan, and eight passengers, who expected to stay dry, before receiving their clue from the boat's porter.

Leg 8 (Malawi → Denmark)

Airdate: November 13, 2011
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to dress in period costume and learn a complex three-part dance from an instructor. Once the Countess was pleased with their dance, they received their next clue.
This leg's Detour was a choice between All Hopped Up and All Churned Out. In All Hopped Up, teams had to lay out a proper rabbit show jumping course. They then had to pick a rabbit, and each team member had to run it through the course without knocking over any of the obstacles to receive their next clue from the animal handler. In All Churned Out, teams had to make six sticks of butter by using a traditional butter churn to churn fresh cream, then stamp out the sticks using a special mold. When the dairymaid approved of their work, teams would receive their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: November 20, 2011
For this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to memorize a poem on the base of the statue of Hans Christian Andersen on Andersens Boulevard and then use a map on a provided bicycle's wheel to navigate to the Teatermuseet i Hofteatret, where they had to recite the poem verbatim and with dramatic flair in order to receive their next clue. If they failed, they had to go back to the statue before returning to the theater to recite the poem again.
At Concert Noble, teams had to compete in a bodybuilding competition in honor of Jean-Claude Van Damme, known as "The Muscles from Brussels". Racers had to put on bikinis, cover their bodies in posing oil, and then learn a series of bodybuilding poses. They then used the poses in a routine performed in front of three judges for a score of twelve points. This task was originally planned as a Bodybuilding Pose Detour option and was shown as a miscellaneous task, leaving the other Detour option unknown to viewers.
;Additional task
Airdate: November 27, 2011
For this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to test drive a Ford Mustang. They first had to accelerate to and then brake at a designated spot. They then had to navigate a slalom course within sixteen seconds without hitting a cone and stopping inside a marked spot. Lastly, they finished the test drive by performing two victory doughnuts before they received their next clue.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Water and Waffle. In Water, teams had to use provided materials to build a raft to search the Leie River for the two halves of their next clue. In Waffle, teams had to build a waffle stand and then bake and decorate eighteen Belgian waffles to the chef's satisfaction before receiving their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: December 4, 2011
For this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to cross a tightrope between the San Francisco Bay Towers, 35 stories high and across. The racer picked up their clue on the other tower and then made the trip back to the first tower before they could continue.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Filet and Sole. In Filet, teams traveled to Panama's largest fish market, El Mercado de Mariscos, where they had to deliver fish to different marked stalls throughout the market. Each stall only accepted a certain kind of fish up to a certain weight. Once they were done with their deliveries, the fishmonger gave them their next clue. In Sole, teams traveled to the Salsipuedes Market where they had to find a sandals stall and use one piece of leather each to make the sole and strapping for a pair of sandals for a customer. Once the cobbler was satisfied, teams received their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: December 11, 2011
The final Roadblock required one team member to type out the team's next clue using a Remington 3 typewriter to duplicate an example message. The duplicate had to be perfectly straight and neat with no mistakes. Additionally, the typewriters used for the task did not have a key for the number 1; racers were left to figure out that they had to use the key for the lower-case letter l as a substitute.
;Additional tasks

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Canadian broadcaster CTV also aired The Amazing Race on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Central, & Atlantic.
#AirdateEpisodeViewers
Rank
1September 25, 2011"Kindness of Strangers"2.8714
2October 2, 2011"The Sprint of Our Life"2.4832
3October 9, 2011"Don't Lay Down on Me Now!"1.9309
4October 16, 2011"This Is Gonna Be a Fine Mess"2.6842
5October 23, 2011"I Feel Like I'm in the Circus"2.6082
6October 30, 2011"We Love Your Country Already; It Is Very Spacious"2.2246
7November 6, 2011"Move Goat"2.4212
8November 13, 2011"Super Shady"2.2755
9November 20, 2011"It's Speedo Time"1.88010
10November 27, 2011"Release the Brake!"2.2426
11December 4, 2011"We Are Charlie Chaplin"2.4912
12December 11, 2011"Go Out and Get It Done"2.4853