Amazing TV

Franklin Avenue's patron reality show, The Amazing Race, airs tonight at 10 p.m. on CBS.

If you haven't watched, please do. "The Amazing Race" is reality TV for people who hate reality TV. Smart, fast-paced and beautifully shot, the Race is finally getting its due from viewers this summer. Never a big hit, the show is starting to show there's life in them thar Nielsen ratings.

"Amazing Race" crams a lot into its weekly 44 minutes, leaving a lot of footage on the cutting room floor -- and several things unanswered. I happened to be talking to executive producer Bertram Van Munster last week (one of the perks of the job), and managed to get a few burning questions answered. (Warning: Following info will bore the hell out of you if you're not a fan of the show. Move on to the ultrasound shot below.)

:: If you remember past years of "The Amazing Race," teams had no idea whether a Fast Forward had already been used. (It's first come, first served. But once a team lands a FF, no one else can get one that round. Teams had to take a chance at finding the FF challenge and, if the pass was already taken, they had to schlep all the way back and do the regular tasks.) Not this time. Once a team uses a FF, it's not even mentioned as an option to anyone else. That's why, once Colin and Christie landed the FF, you didn't see anyone else try to go after it last week.

Bertram and his crew were surprised that Colin and Christie -- who were already far ahead in first place -- used the FF, by the way.

-- What happened to the "Yield" ? Host Phil Koeghan mentioned the new twist -- in which teams can force other teams to sit and wait for half an hour -- in the first episode. But we haven't seen it since. Turns out teams have been offered the Yield, but so far no one has used it. According to Bertram, so far teams have wanted to remain on everyone's good side. (After all, once you place a Yield on another team, watch your back -- guaranteed you'll be slapped with one the next go 'round.) Because no one's used it, it hasn't even been mentioned in the show.

-- Bertram said it wasn't easy getting Egypt's pyramids to allow the show's contestants into those underground tunnels. But it's all about connections -- and relationships. And after six editions, Bertram and company know how to smooth talk their way into anything.

This week (from CBS press release): "Why Can't We Get a Camel?" -- The six remaining teams continue through Egypt, where one team is the victim of the race's latest twist.

Tempers flare at the Cairo Airport when one team tries to steal another team's taxi. Meanwhile, a new twist in the game has one team that is in last place begging for money in hopes to continue on after they are stripped of all their money at the last pit stop. Also, the Roadblock proves to be a challenge for a few teams who realize digging in the sand is not as easy as it seems.