The end of the year is almost here, and we're starting to think about awarding some end-of-the year honors in the world of reality TV.
Plenty of category possibilities abound: Best couple. Worst couple. Best villain. Most undeserving winner. Dumbest rule. Grossest scene. Classiest show. Most-missed show. You get the idea.
And you can participate, too — , with a brief explanation of why you chose them, and we'll pick the best to include in an upcoming column. You don't have to stick to the categories I outline above, be creative. Heaven knows the shows need all the creativity they can get.
Q: Do all the teams on “Amazing Race” get some money? Dave and Mary were favorites and need the money. —Anonymous
A: Yes, although it is not announced on the show. We on the dollar amounts awarded to teams based upon how they place; it ranges from $1,500 to $25,000, or at least it did during season six.
David and Mary, however, received more than just a $6,000 consolation prize, although not from CBS or the show. Appearing on The View after their elimination from “The Amazing Race 10,” they received a pile of gifts from the show’s new co-host Rosie O’Donnell. Rosie said David and Mary were “unbelievably kind and giving,” and so she gave them a computer, a digital camera, and a gift certificate for David to buy work clothes.
But she also gave them three separate trips for their kids to take, plus a Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition. As if that wasn’t enough, she also said they’d be getting a brand-new house built on their property, where they now live in a trailer. As Rosie rattled off their list of gifts, David and Mary were almost speechless. You can watch .
David and Mary will have another chance at winning: They've been confirmed as particpants on the . —A.D.
Q: What is the song that has played at the end of the last two “Bachelor” finales? Something about “running all around, all around, she’s all kinds of beautiful”? Thanks. —Anonymous
A: This was our most-received question last week, bar none! The haunting song is Dan Wilson’s “All Kinds,” which . Looks like the album it's going to be on hasn't yet been released, but you can download it from his site. Personal note: I've seen Wilson in concert with his former band, Semisonic, in our hometown of Minneapolis, and he's just awesome.
Speaking of "The Bachelor," readers have also been asking if Prince Lorenzo and the woman he chose, Jennifer, are still together. As of Nov. 29, the day after the finale aired, they were. Jennifer that she'll be staying in Miami to finish out teaching the school year. Will the long-distance relationship tempt Lorenzo, who lives in New York, to cheat? Said Jennifer: "I have total confidence in him that everything will be fine. And if not, I'm sure it'll get written about so I'll find out that way." Spoken like a woman who understands the media and exactly what she's gotten herself into. —G.F.C.
Q: On Amazing Race, how do the contestants get money to pay for tickets, taxis, etc.? —Gail, Florida
With money given to them by the producers at the beginning of each leg. You must be zoning out at the beginning of each episode, because when teams read the first clue as each episode begins, they always say something like, “You have $58 for this leg of the race.” Sometimes teams get a small amount of cash; other times, it’s a significantly larger amount.
But that cash, which is nearly always issued in U.S. dollars, is enough to get them through all tasks and to the next pit stop. It must cover bus tickets, food, taxi rides, admission, and anything else they’ll need. Teams must budget; if they’re required to get from point A to B, and they opt to take a taxi instead of a bus, they might find themselves running out of money later.
The only exceptions are airline tickets, which are purchased with a credit card issued by the producers to each team. That card may not be used for anything except airline tickets. (By the way, teams have to purchase : their own, and tickets for their camera operator and sound person). Because they’re buying last-minute, full-price, economy-fare international tickets, it’d essentially be impossible to give teams enough cash to cover that expense.
Teams get to keep the money they have left over from each leg of the race, so they can then purchase non-essential things such as maps or guidebooks. And teams sometimes beg for money from tourists and others. Although this season eliminated the financial penalty incurred by teams saved by the non-elimination leg (teams had to give up all their money and start the next leg with $0), there have been reports that teams this season still asked people in airports and elsewhere for money to help them along their journey. That is perfectly acceptable and within the rules, although kind of tacky, since they’re racing for $1 million. —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.