The Amazing Race 17

Starting in Gloucester, Massachusetts, racers traveled through England, Ghana, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Oman, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and South Korea before returning to the United States and finishing in Greater Los Angeles.

[2] Filming began on May 26, 2010, with the starting line at the Eastern Point Yacht Club in Gloucester, Massachusetts,[3] and finished on June 15, 2010,[4] in Los Angeles, California.

Prior to the season's broadcast, CBS posted a short preview video clip from an episode on the Internet, showing Brook & Claire competing at a watermelon launching challenge using an elastic slingshot.

The clip showed Claire being hit in the face full-on with a watermelon after it failed to launch correctly from the slingshot, leaving her momentarily stunned but otherwise not seriously injured.

The cast included a team of home shopping hosts; Internet entertainer Kevin Wu (popularly known as "KevJumba") and his father, Michael; Cirque du Soleil director and choreographer Ron Kellum; Ivy League a cappella singers, and a birth mother and daughter who recently reunited following an adoption twenty years earlier.

[7] Mallory also returned on the second All-Star edition, racing with Mark Jackson from season 20 as a last-minute replacement when his original partner, Bopper Minton, was deemed too sick to compete.

CBS posted short videos on its website after each episode aired in the Pacific Time Zone to show the eliminated teams interacting at the villa.

Club wrote that "the season has been somewhat less than amazing, exhibiting the same flaws that have plagued the last several editions of the long-running series: lackluster challenges, repetitive airport and taxicab drama, too many unlikeable teams, too many equalizing points along the route, and a distinct lack of suspense at the end of too many legs.

The starting line was at the Eastern Point Yacht Club near the lighthouse in Gloucester, Massachusetts .
The route of The Amazing Race 17.
The prehistoric monument of Stonehenge in England served as the first destination of The Amazing Race 17 .
One of the Detour tasks showed the Ga custom of having coffins designed after the decedent's job in life.
In the Language Arts Detour, teams had to find eight adinkra symbols in a massive puzzle akin to a word search .
Teams traveled to the Icehotel in Swedish Lapland , north of the Arctic Circle , where Michael & Kevin sat on ice chairs for their Speed Bump.
The Roadblock in Norway required racers to rappel down and then ascend the Skjomen Bridge .
After arriving in Saint Petersburg , teams had to find the Rostral Columns on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island in order to find their clue.
While in Saint Petersburg , teams participated in a "Russian mystery" task where they were brought to the city's famous landmarks, including the Church on Spilled Blood .
Teams ended this leg in Oman 's Sultanate Palace, the Al Alam Palace , in the center of Muscat .
In Dhaka, Bangladesh , teams had to use cycle rickshaws for travel and had to build one at the Roadblock.
In Hong Kong , teams visited the memorial statue of martial artist and film star Bruce Lee on the Avenue of Stars .
One of the Detour choices in Seoul paid tribute to South Korea 's successful short track speed skating results at the Winter Olympics .
Teams crossed the finish line at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills .