http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/tv/2002/2002-03-11-amazing-race.htm

New travel realities add tension to 'Amazing Race'

By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

The Amazing Race 2 faced a challenge its globe-trotting predecessor couldn't have imagined: travel in the post-Sept. 11 world.

The CBS reality/adventure series pits 11 two-person teams who race between destinations, facing physical and mental challenges along the way. The team to arrive first at the final destination wins $1 million.

This time, random inspections in airport lines delayed some teams as they attempted to board planes. Connecting flights through some countries, as determined by producers, were out. Europe was dropped as a competition destination, because of concern about possible terrorist activities in the weeks after Sept. 11.

In tonight's premiere of the second edition of the series (10 ET/PT, before moving to its regular slot, Wednesdays at 9 ET/PT), some teams are stopped by a security officer wondering why people with backpacks are sprinting toward the Las Vegas airport.

"You will see moments where you go, 'Before 9/11, this would not have happened,' " says Ghen Maynard, CBS vice president of alternative programming.

After the terrorist attacks, CBS and Amazing Race producers decided to pause and rethink the second version, although there wasn't a serious move to cancel it. Taping that would have taken place in the fall didn't happen until January.

Many foreign hot spots were off-limits before Sept. 11, but other places were excluded shortly after the attacks, when the world situation was at its most uncertain. Producers decided not to let teams change planes in places such as India, Israel and Nigeria.

Fear of terrorism wasn't the only consideration, either. The Amazing Race 2 dropped plans to go to Argentina because of unrest brought on by its imploding economy.

That still left plenty of exotic locales for the 13-episode competition. In addition to Rio de Janeiro, where the teams compete tonight, destinations include Brazil's Iguacu Falls, Namibia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Cape Town, South Africa.

The show's security efforts, which included consulting the State Department, paid off, as everyone got home safely. Contestants, including some who had safety concerns before the start of the 30-day, 55,000-mile race, had a great time, says host Phil Keoghan, a veteran world traveler.

"This show opens people's eyes to the rest of the world, different cultures and different ways of thinking," he says.

The most noticeable travel difference between the second Race and the critically praised inaugural version, taped before Sept. 11, was increased security at U.S. airports. Many international airports already had stricter enforcement.

"If anything, America has played a little catch-up," Keoghan says.

Contestants, often buying one-way tickets and traveling lightly, sometimes were pulled from lines for inspections. They learned that some tactics, such as running in airports, could slow their progress.

Despite the extra planning and glimpses of increased security, the post-attack atmosphere does not hang heavily over the series, Maynard says. He says the competition shows that travel can be safe, enjoyable and not too burdensome.

"You can travel to all sorts of exotic places and have the adventure of a lifetime. It's going to make (viewers) want to travel," he says.

- So now we know more of the locations, and that there will be none in Europe.

- We also know that we'll see fewer of the airport sprints and shenanigans of TAR1...once teams realize that will make them more at risk to be delayed for random inspections.