About the neighborhood
Season of television series
The Amazing Race 15 is the fifteenth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured 12 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited three continents and nine countries and traveled over 25,000 miles (40,000km) during 12 legs. Starting in Los Angeles, racers traveled through Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, and the Czech Republic before returning to the United States and finishing in Las Vegas. New twists introduced in this season include the starting line task and elimination and the Switchback, a recreation of a notable task from a previous season. The season premiered on CBS on September 27, 2009, with a two-hour premiere, and the finale aired on December 6, 2009.
Dating couple Meghan Rickey and Cheyne Whitney were the winners of this season, while brothers Sam and Dan McMillen finished in second place, and married couple Brian Kleinschmidt and Ericka Dunlap finished in third place.
Production
Development and filming
CBS aired the fifteenth season during the start of the 2009–2010 television season. Teams were spotted at Los Angeles International Airport on July 18, 2009. Teams raced through the Dutch province of Groningen on July 30. A leg was also filmed in Tallinn, Estonia, on August 3. Filming lasted for 21 days and concluded on August 7 in Las Vegas. Teams traveled 25,000 miles (40,000km), visiting eight countries, including first-time visits to Estonia and the Czech Republic.
This season introduced two new twists: a Starting Line Task and a Switchback. The Starting Line Task forced teams to complete a challenge before receiving the clue to their first international destination. The Switchback allowed teams to face one of the series' most memorable or iconic challenges from previous seasons. The Switchback that debuted on Leg 8 revisited the infamous Roadblock in Sweden from season 6, in which one team member had to sort through hay bales to find their next clue.
This was the second season since season 10 to feature a surprise elimination at a location other than a Pit Stop, which occurred at the Starting Line. Eric and Lisa Paskel were eliminated at the starting line when they were the last team to locate the required Shinagawa license plate amongst 1,000 Japanese license plates. They revealed in a post-show interview that they voluntarily left instead of spending the duration of the race at the Elimination Station. Consequently, they had no further involvement in the show, were absent from the finish line in the final episode, and had no knowledge of the outcome of the season before the season finale actually aired.
Wayne Newton appeared in the season finale. Teams were instructed to find him in a suite at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, where he then gave them the location of the finish line.
Casting
Casting calls were held as host Phil Keoghan cycled across the United States during the months of April and early May 2009 to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, during which Keoghan made stops to help with those casting sessions.
Contestants
Some of the more prominent members of the cast included professional poker players Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, Harlem Globetrotters Herbert "Flight Time" Lang and Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton, and country singer-songwriter Canaan Smith. Zev Glassenberg is the show's first autistic contestant having been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.
Future appearances Zev & Justin and Flight Time & Big Easy raced again in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business. Flight Time & Big Easy were also chosen to compete in the second All-Stars edition.
In 2010, Flight Time & Big Easy each competed on Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. Tiffany Michelle later competed on season 3 of Food Network's Worst Cooks in America. Brian Kleinschmidt appeared on season 7 of ABC's Shark Tank to secure funding for a potty training product called "EZPeeZ", but was unable to secure a deal. On May 25, 2016, Flight Time & Big Easy appeared on an Amazing Race-themed primetime special of The Price Is Right. In 2019, Maria Ho appeared as an imposter on To Tell the Truth. In 2020, Brian hosted the HGTV show 100 Day Dream Home with his wife Mika. Flight Time & Big Easy also appeared on 100 Day Dream Home in 2021. In 2021, Brian competed on the HGTV show Rock the Block.
Results
The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
A red placement with a dagger (†) indicates that the team was eliminated.
An underlined blue placement with a double-dagger (‡) indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg.
A green ƒ indicates that the team won the Fast Forward.
Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Japan)
Episode 1: "They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street" (September 27, 2009)
Prize: A trip for two to Aspen and Vail, Colorado (awarded to Meghan & Cheyne)
Eliminated: Eric & Lisa
Locations Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles River) (Starting Line & Elimination Point)
Los Angeles → Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (Tokyo Tower Studios)
Tokyo (Shibuya Scramble Crossing)
Tokyo (Konnō Hachimangū Shrine (in Japanese))
Episode summary At the Los Angeles River, beneath the Sixth Street Viaduct, teams had to search through 1,000 license plates for one of 11 Japanese license plates from Shinagawa and then present it to Phil in exchange for tickets on one of two flights to Tokyo, Japan. The first six teams to find the correct plate received tickets on an American Airlines flight that left thirty minutes before the United Airlines flight that carried the other five teams. The last team at the starting line without a license plate – Eric & Lisa – was eliminated. Once there, teams had to travel to the base of the Tokyo Tower.
In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to participate in a Japanese-style game show called Sushi Roulette. Once all of the teams arrived at the Roadblock, the host spun a wheel with eleven plates of sushi, two of which were "wasabi bombs": temaki-style sushi filled with hot wasabi. If the racer received a wasabi bomb, they had two minutes to eat it in order to receive their next clue. If they failed to finish it within the allotted time, they had to play again until they received a new wasabi bomb and could complete the task. Racers who received plain sushi had to eat the sushi, but continue to play until they received a wasabi bomb.
After the Roadblock, teams received a colored flag and had to lead a group of twenty Japanese tourists wearing the same colored visors as their flag via the scramble crossing in Shibuya to the Pit Stop at the Konnō Hachimangū Shrine. Teams could not check in unless all twenty members of their group were present at the mat. If even one member of their group were not present, teams had to go back to find them before being allowed to check in.
Additional notes At the Tokyo Tower Studios, teams spent the night in a green room before proceeding to the Roadblock. This aspect was unaired.
While Eric & Lisa were eliminated at the starting line, no team was eliminated at the Pit Stop, as this was deemed a non-elimination leg.
Leg 2 (Japan → Vietnam)
Episode 1: "They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street" (September 27, 2009)
Prize: A kayak for each person (awarded to Gary & Matt)
Eliminated: Garrett & Jessica
Locations Tokyo (Shinjuku Central Park)
Tokyo → Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City → Cái Bè
Cái Bè (Bến Tàu Du Lịch Dock)
Tân Phong Island (in Vietnamese) (Fruit Farm Mud Pits)
Cái Bè (Cái Bè Township Sports Ground)
Cái Bè (Mekong River – Bassac III Riverboat)
Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Once there, teams had to travel by bus to Cái Bè and then find their next clue at the Bến Tàu Du Lịch Dock.
For their Speed Bump, Maria & Tiffany had to prepare a serving of the Vietnamese soup phở by collecting the ingredients at a soup stand, combining them, and then serving the completed soup to the dock master before they could continue racing.
From the dock, teams had to take a sampan along the Mekong Delta to a fruit farm mud pit. There, teams had to collect nutrient-rich mud in buckets and sufficiently pile it at the base of a fruit tree in order to receive their next clue. Teams were then directed to the Cái Bè Township Sports Ground, where they found their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to herd 150 ducks out of their pen, lead them across a bridge and back, and then herd them back into their pen in ten minutes using two flags to guide them. With only six available fields, if the team member failed to complete the task within ten minutes, they had to relinquish their spot to another team before they could start over. Once racers completed the task, they received their next clue, which directed them to the Pit Stop: the Bassac III riverboat, floating on the Mekong River.
Additional notes All route markers and clue boxes in Vietnam were colored yellow with a center white stripe rather than the typical yellow with a red stripe so as to avoid confusion with the flag of the former independent state of South Vietnam.
Legs 1 and 2 aired back-to-back as a special two-hour episode.
Leg 3 (Vietnam)
Episode 2: "It's Like Being Dropped on Planet Mars" (October 4, 2009)
Prize: A trip for two to Aruba (awarded to Flight Time & Big Easy)
Eliminated: Marcy & Ron
Locations Cái Bè → Mỹ Tho (Mỹ Tho Boat Pier)
Ho Chi Minh City (Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre)
Ho Chi Minh City (Ho Chi Minh City Post Office)
Ho Chi Minh City (Tao Đàn Park or Hotel A Dong)
Ho Chi Minh City (Điện Cơ 008)
Ho Chi Minh City (Reunification Palace)
Episode summary During the Pit Stop, the Bassac III traveled from Cái Bè to Mỹ Tho. At the start of this leg, teams had to travel to the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre in Ho Chi Minh City. There, teams had to grab an Amazing Race-colored ribbon from the mouth of a dragon puppet moving about in the water. Inside the ribbon was a small metal capsule with a concealed postage stamp and teams to figure out that the stamp depicted the Saigon Central Post Office (referred to as the "Ho Chi Minh City Post Office"), where teams found their next clue.
This season's first Detour was a choice between Child's Play or Word Play. In Child's Play, teams had to find a kiosk in Tao Đàn Park and deliver a concrete animal statue to a playground, along with five balloons that they collected en route, in order to receive their next clue. In Word Play, teams had to go up to the observation deck of the Hotel A Dong and search the traffic circle of Ngã sáu Cộng Hoà (a six-way intersection) in front of the hotel for six Vietnamese letters hidden atop vehicles passing through the circle. Once a security guard verified their letters, teams had to get assistance from locals to unscramble the letters to spell the Vietnamese word Độc Lập (Independence) in order to receive their next clue.
After the Detour, teams had to travel to Điện Cơ 008 in order to find their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to disassemble two VCRs and organize the parts into separate piles in order to receive their next clue directing them to the Pit Stop: the Reunification Palace.
Leg 4 (Vietnam → Cambodia)
Episode 3: "Sean Penn Cambodia Here We Come" (October 11, 2009)
Prize: A pair of motorcycles (awarded to Sam & Dan)
Eliminated: Zev & Justin
Locations Ho Chi Minh City (Reunification Palace)
Ho Chi Minh City → Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Phnom Penh (Foreign Correspondents' Club)
Phnom Penh (Hotel Le Royal)
Phnom Penh (Russian Market (in Khmer))
Phnom Penh (Wat Toul Tom Pong)
Phnom Penh (Wat Phnom)
Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Once start, teams had to travel to the Foreign Correspondents' Club, find an assignment editor reading a newspaper, and then quietly ask him for their next assignment. Teams were given a newspaper with a photo of King Norodom Sihanouk and Jacqueline Kennedy taken in 1967. Teams were directed to find a suite with this photo and had to figure out that such a photo would be found at a hotel suite named after Kennedy at the Hotel Le Royal, where they received their next clue.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Cover or Wrap. In Cover, teams traveled to a motorcycle helmet shop located at the Russian Market, chose four helmets, and had to sell them to a family of four for US$10. They then had to exchange the money with the store owner for their next clue. In Wrap, teams had to travel to the Russian Market and find a specific stall, where the shopkeeper handed them a silk scarf. They then had to search the market for a woman wearing an identical scarf and bring the woman back to the stall in order to receive their next clue.
After the Detour, teams had to travel to Wat Toul Tom Pong, where they found their next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to put on a monkey mask and tail and perform three classical Khmer monkey dance maneuvers as demonstrated by a monkey dancer in order to receive their next clue directing them to the Pit Stop: Wat Phnom.
Additional note Zev & Justin originally arrived at the Pit Stop first, but they realized shortly thereafter that Zev had lost his passport. Zev & Justin were unable to find the passport before all of the other teams checked in and were therefore eliminated. Zev's passport was later recovered at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh after somebody had found it at and turned it in.
Leg 5 (Cambodia → United Arab Emirates)
Episode 4: "I'm Like Ricky Bobby" (October 18, 2009)
Prize: A trip for two to Runaway Bay, Jamaica (awarded to Meghan & Cheyne)
Eliminated: Lance & Keri
Locations Phnom Penh (Hotel Le Royal)
Phnom Penh → Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai (The Dubai Fountain)
Dubai (Burj Dubai – Observation Deck)
Dubai (Dubai Autodrome)
Dubai (The Dubai Mall – Car Park P2)
Margham (Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve)
Dubai (Mall of the Emirates – Ski Dubai)
Dubai (Souk Madinat Jumeirah)
Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were only told to find the tallest building in the world in the Persian Gulf, and they had to figure out that their next destination was Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Once there, teams traveled to The Dubai Fountain and signed up for one of two departure times the next morning to the Burj Dubai. The next morning, teams boarded an elevator bound for the 124th floor of the then still-under-construction building, where they could retrieve their next clue.
Encyclopedic content adapted from the Wikipedia article on Russian Market, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
