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How long is a ‘Race’ rest stop?

How long is an "Amazing Race" rest stop? Whatever happened to Brian Dunkleman? And those kids from "American Juniors"?
/ Source: msnbc.com

Our readers continue to be fascinated with the behind-the-scenes action of "The Amazing Race." We could answer a question a day about the show, and the hoops its crews must leap in order to film a worldwide race.

We also receive a number of questions about "American Idol," and this week we answer one about former co-host Brian Dunkleman as well as one about the "American Idol" for-kids show, "American Juniors."

Q: On Amazing Race when Phil says "Teams that arrived at 12:49 am will leave at 12:49 pm." Is it in the same day, or is the mandatory rest period over more than one day? I always wondered this.      —Kimberly

A: Both. For the most part, "Amazing Race" teams arrive and then take off 12 hours later — although their time may be adjusted slightly for crew-related delays (like if the camera operator had to use the bathroom during a leg of the race).

However, occasionally pit stops are 36 hours long to give the crew some much-needed rest. With a 36-hour break, teams leave the pit stop 24 hours after their scheduled departure time. Thus, we never notice the difference.

For example, if a team arrives at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, they should leave at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. But after a 36-hour pit stop, they'd be leaving at 2:30 a.m. Thursday — still in the middle of night, but one day later.    —A.D.

Q: What ever happened to the "other" host from the first season of "American Idol"?    —Maria

A: Somewhere, Brian Dunkleman's agent is thrilled that someone remembers him ... and appalled that no one can recall his name.

Dunkleman was Ryan Seacrest's sidekick for the first season of "Idol." In the fall of 2002, Dunkleman issued a statement saying ''I have decided not to return for season two in order to pursue other opportunities in the world of TV and feature films." At the time, saying "What those TV and film opportunities were is not clear. After all, ''Idol'' fans and TV critics had widely derided his hosting skills, and he was the subject of a merciless parody by Jimmy Fallon at the MTV Video Music Awards in August." There was some speculation about whether it was really his choice to leave, or whether it occurred to the "Idol" braintrust that they really only needed one stiff in a suit to introduce the singers each week.

Last month, Newsday did a on Dunkleman, reporting that he's been mostly doing stand-up comedy in LA and was a guest comic on "National Lampoon's Funny Money" on the Game Show Network. He also had bit parts on "Miss Match" and "NYPD Blue."

According to the Internet Movie Database, Dunkleman has a role in an upcoming horror comedy, "Comedy Hell," which is apparently about . Insert your own joke here.    —G.F.C.

Q: I cannot remember the name of the show, but it was an "American Idol" show for kids. The series ended with 5 or 6 children being chosen to be in a group. What ever happened to those chosen few, and did they ever put out a CD?     —Yolanda

A: That show was "American Juniors," a Ryan Seacrest-hosted musical talent show featuring kids who were 6 to 13 years old. Twenty semi-finalists were narrowed to 10 by viewer votes, and from those 10, viewer votes led to five becoming part of the "American Juniors" group.

The series produced three records. On August 12, 2003, the day the finale aired, was released featuring all 10 finalists; it includes two mixes of their "Kids in America" cover. They also released that features a solo track by each of the 10 finalists, plus two songs they performed as a group.

And the five kids who won the show — Danielle, Chauncy, Lucy, Taylor, and Tori — released an album, surprisingly titled in November of 2003.

Although the show was rumored to return last summer, it didn't, and there's been no talk of reviving it. for the group was last updated a year ago, and the domain name for FOX's "American Juniors" Web site , which is one sure sign that it's not returning anytime soon.    —A.D.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is MSNBC.com's Television Editor. is a writer and teacher who publishes , a daily summary of reality TV news.