This is an archived page dealing with The Amazing Race 9. These trackers are most likely dead, but maybe you’ll get lucky. For The Amazing Race 10, currently airing in the US, look here. Season 6, Season 7 (which is also on DVD, so go buy it), and Season 8 are also available.

Yes, it’s Amazing Race time again. This reality show that always seemed to be on the verge of being cancelled has made it to Season #9, which starts tonight at 9pm in the U.S. After hitting a pothole, tripping, and falling flat on its face last year when it aired the craptastic “Family Edition”, it’s trying to regain it’s momentum this year by, and I quote the CBS website here, “return[ing] to its international format.” Looks like even CBS realized how much Season 8 sucked, and is apologizing accordingly.

Tonight’s first stop is Sao Paolo, Brazil, which is a far cry from last season’s premiere in which teams had to drive across Manhattan and buy sleeping bags. Check out Phil’s travel diary from the first leg at TVGuide.com.

And along with the return to the “international format”, we’re also getting a return to teams of two, meaning that they’ll be able to ride in normal-size taxis again, as well as sparing We The Audience the mindbending horror of having to learn 40 people’s names like last year. And I usually don’t try to prejudge the teams based on nothing but their bios, because anything like that ends up way off base. But there are a couple of blonde bartenders that I hate instantly, and a pair of hippies (no, wait, “bohemians”—even worse) that better be really likeable and funny, because otherwise their whole Berkeley schtick is just going to piss me off. The rest of the contestants are just a sea of faces to me right now. And so they shall remain until tonight.

As always, if you want the best and most in-depth, scene-by-scene analysis of the show, don’t look here, head over to read Miss Alli’s recaps at Television Without Pity. But if you missed an episode, or just want to download them for your collection, do look here, because I’ll be posting Bittorrent links for each episode for the 4th season in a row.

Episode 1, “Here We Go, Baby, Off to Win A Million Dollars”, aired 2006-02-28

Episode 2, “I’m Filthy And I Love It”, aired 2006-03-07

Episode 3, “I Am In Russia Playing With The Dolls”, aired 2006-03-14

Episode 4, “It’s Not Over Until Phil Sings”, aired 2006-03-21

Episode 5, “Good Thing I Took That Human Anatomy Class”, aired 2006-03-28

Episode 6, “Sleep Deprivation is Really Starting to Irritate Me”, aired 2006-04-05

Episode 7, “Herculean Effort for Some Herculean Dudes”, aired 2006-04-12

Episode 8, “Here Comes The Bedouin”, aired 2006-04-19

Episode 9, “Do You Know How Much Running I Did Today, Phil?”, aired 2006-04-26

Episode 10, “Man They Should Have Used Their Fake Names”, aired 2006-05-03

Episode 11, “I Think This Monkey Likes Me”, aired 2006-05-10

Episode 12, “5 Continents…10 Countries…And More Than 59 Thousand Miles”, aired 2006-05-17

The world is waiting…go!