Inky's blogBlog

WINNER #6 - UCHENNA & JOYCE (THE AMAZING RACE)

May 10, 2013 by Inky

The real thing I ask for in teams from The Amazing Race is that they seem like real people or feel like well-developed characters, or in other circumstances for them to be the zaniest characters imaginable. Season 7 needed one of those teams that did feel like real people because it was 10 teams racing against Rob and Amber, and Rob and Amber were going to be sucking up all the airtime they could get. They'd just come off of Survivor All-Stars and were cashing in their 15 minutes of fame as fast as they could, and what better way than to hop to another reality show? Frankly I'm kind of glad they did. It kept the show alive well into the 2010's, longer than it had any right to last, and the season ended up producing a team I described in the first line - well developed characters who felt like real people.

Uchenna and Joyce had possibly the direst need of that prize money in Amazing Race history, except maybe for the cancer stories of TAR20. They had a very real story to tell other than your typical mactor dating couple or married older couple. Uchenna was a former athlete who was at one point the sixth fastest man in the world, and Joyce was a...can't remember, but I think she was on Star Trek TNG as an extra a few times. Apparently her character "manned the conn" a few times according to the Star Trek website. However, they were going through rough times. They were unable to concieve a child together and had exhausted nearly all their options to try and get a baby, and their only option left was in vitro, and to get that they needed the money from the race. They were literally on their last legs of their marriage, fighting daily, dealing with financial troubles from unemployment, and if they got anything other than first place on this season they were going to have to wait longer for vitro, and their marriage couldn't wait that long. It was fraying by the second.

The stakes have never been higher for an Amazing Race team in history.

Because of their history they were easily cast because of their daily fighting and were probably expected to be the token angry black couple a la Lenny & Karyn on TAR1. However, they managed to put all of their energy into racing positively throughout every country they went to across the world. Everyone on the race liked them and worked with them at one point or another. Nobody had a bad word to say about Uchenna nor Joyce all season.

They spent most of the season pretty under-the-radar, racing respectively and staying out of the ridiculous nonsense that was occuring all season with Ron going through Baghdad flashbacks every other minute and Rob and Amber twirling their TV villain mustaches. However, the moment that they are easily most remembered for outside of winning has to be the Fast Forward in India - Joyce had feared it would be a head-shaving Fast Forward that was in Season 5, but they ended up searching for it amongst the Indian Temples for so long that by the time they got there...it was indeed the head-shaving fast forward. Joyce, without hesitation, went into the task of having all her hair cut and shaved off (Uchenna was already bald), crying all the way. It's probably one of the most heartwrenching scenes in reality television, and they ended up placing first that leg (by a lucky few minutes).

They made the Final 3 against Ron/Kelly, a horrible fighting couple who are horrible horrible people, and Rob/Amber, who seeing win another season would have just been bad, so the only option left was for Uchenna and Joyce to somehow take out the win. However, on the way to the pitstop in Jamaica in the second-last leg, they ended up getting a flat tire in their taxi and were unable to catch up with the other teams, putting them in last place for that leg. The rules of that season meant that because of that, they were robbed of all their possessions and money and would start the next leg with no money. They ended up having to beg their way across three different airports in the finale as they tried to simply pay their way to the finish line.

By some sort of miracle, they ended up in the final city, Miami, with Rob and Amber, and by another sort of miracle they somehow ended up in first place heading to the final route marker. However, in easily the most suspenseful finish of the entire franchise, they ran out of money to pay their cab with before they could actually check into the finish line, so they once again had to start begging for money, with Rob and Amber fast approaching. By another miracle, they actually got enough money to pay their cab with and they finally checked into the finish line, beating out Rob and Amber by however much they beat them out by.

This was the first ever victory I'd seen on The Amazing Race and it's stayed with me to this day not only because it was the first, but because it remains unsurpassed as far as victory legs go. The circumstances they came into and the odds they overcame were enormous, and it remains easily one of the most satisfying victories of the series.

Overall, you can't go wrong with Uchenna and Joyce. Their personalities were fun, hilarious, respectable, and genuine. These are the people you see get rejected to be on TAR because "THEY'RE BORING!" or "THEY'RE NOT GOOD TELEVISION!" or "NEEDS MOAR BEWBS!". So thank you Uchenna & Joyce for your spirit. You never gave up. Joyce shaved her head to stay in the race. They begged for money in three separate countries which no other team has done. You didn’t use your looks or mug the camera for airtime. What we saw is really you and for that you got rewarded with a million bucks.

They were good on All-Stars as well, almost as good as here, which keeps them elevated above other winners. But compared to their first season it's not that noteworthy. Still worth checking out though.

Thank you, Uchenna and Joyce, for sharing your experience with us.

#6. Uchenna & Joyce (The Amazing Race 7)
#7. Todd Herzog (Survivor: China)
#8. Julia Morris (Celebrity Apprentice Australia 1)
#9. Tanedra Howard (Scream Queens 1)
#10. Judson "Fabio" Birza (Survivor: Nicaragua)
#11. Karise Eden (The Voice Australia 1)
#12. Chip & Kim (The Amazing Race 5)
#13. Ethan Zohn (Survivor: Africa)
#14. Jun Song (Big Brother USA 4)
#15. Zabrina & Joe-Jer (The Amazing Race Asia 1)
#16. Shane & Andrew (The Amazing Race Australia 2)
#17. Vecepia Towery (Survivor: Marquesas)
#18. Benjamin Norris (Big Brother Australia 2012)
#19. LaKisha & Jen (The Amazing Race Unfinished Business)
#20. Rob & Brennan (The Amazing Race)
#21. Earl Cole (Survivor: Fiji)
#22. Celeste Anderson (King of the Nerds 1)
#23. Danni Boatwright (Survivor: Guatemala)
#24. Tina Wesson (Survivor: The Australian Outback)
#25. Nat & Kat (The Amazing Race 17)
#26. Terri Munro (Big Brother Australia 2008)
#27. Natalie White (Survivor: Samoa)
#28. Denise Stapley (Survivor: Philippines)
#29. Jan Moody (The Mole Australia 1)
#30. Sophie Clarke (Survivor: South Pacific)
#31. Beth (Total Drama Action)
#32. Josh & Brent (The Amazing Race 21)
#33. Bob Crowley (Survivor: Gabon)
#34. The Linz Family (The Amazing Race 8: Family Edition)
#35. Aras Baskauskas (Survivor: Panama - Exile Island)
#36. "Boston" Rob Mariano (Survivor: Redemption Island)
#37. Reichen & Chip (The Amazing Race 4)
#38. Parvati Shallow (Survivor: Micronesia)
#39. Tom Westman (Survivor: Palau)
#40. Ernie & Cindy (The Amazing Race 19)
#41. TK & Rachel (The Amazing Race 12)
#42. Richard & Richard (The Amazing Race Asia 4)
#43. James "JT" Thomas (Survivor: Tocantins)
#44. Dave & Rachel (The Amazing Race 20)
#45. Nathan & Tyler (The Amazing Race Australia 1)
#46. Jillian Maclaughlin (Big Brother Canada 1)
#47. Kimberly Spradlin (Survivor: One World)
#48. Steven Cowles (The Mole US 1)
#49. Chris & Alex (The Amazing Race 2)
#50. Brian Heidik (Survivor: Thailand)
#51. Nick & Starr (The Amazing Race 13)
#52. Dan & Jordan (The Amazing Race 16)
#53. Heather (Total Drama World Tour)
#54. Jenna Morasca (Survivor: The Amazon)
#55. Tammy & Victor (The Amazing Race 14)
#56. Jamie Brooksby (Big Brother Australia 2006)
#57. Amber Mariano (Survivor: All-Stars)
#58. Casey Donovan (Australian Idol 2)
#59. Guy Sebastian (Australian Idol 1)
#60. Tyler & James (The Amazing Race 10)
#61. Meghan & Cheyne (The Amazing Race 15)
#62. Yul Kwon (Survivor: Cook Islands)
#63. Owen (Total Drama Island)
#64. Eric & Danielle (The Amazing Race All-Stars)
#65. Freddy & Kendra (The Amazing Race 6)

(Aquamarine HelenCoops MHens Yerg zimdelinvasor )

REMAINING:

- BJ & Tyler (The Amazing Race 9)
- Chris Daugherty (Survivor: Vanuatu)
- Richard Hatch (Survivor: Borneo)
- Sandra Diaz-Twine (Survivor: Pearl Islands/Heroes vs. Villains)
- Zach & Flo (The Amazing Race 3)

For the final hint of the ranking, the next team won before 2002.

Comments

I love them. It is pretty well known that season seven is one of the best seasons ever and I don't think I would have been quite as happy with any other team winning, they were the icing on the cake that was an awesome season

Sent by HelenCoops,May 10, 2013

Stay strong Richard/Sandra! And Chris too, I'd also be really happy if he won this.

All of the Survivor ones being in the top four < 3

Sent by zimdelinvasor,May 10, 2013

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WINNER #6 - UCHENNA & JOYCE (THE AMAZING RACE)

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