How do Amazing Racers
map things out?

Q: What items are the Amazing Racers allowed to bring with them? Can they buy maps or foreign language dictionaries in the airports to prep for the destinations to come?    —F.W., San Francisco

A: Like on "Survivor," teams on "The Amazing Race" are limited to bringing only certain items that producers approve. Thus, anything that can give them an advantage — dictionaries, maps, tour books — are prohibited. Of course, teams also have to carry everything they bring with them on their backs as they race around the world, and since they don't know where they're going, carrying dozens of books in their backpacks wouldn't really be feasible.

However, they are allowed to purchase whatever they want along the way, and that includes maps or travel guides — or even human guides. But since teams are given an extremely limited amount of money at the start of each leg of the race, they must conserve their resources. They don't know if they'll need the money for a cab or  to buy food during an extremely long leg of the race.

Unless a team comes in last place during a non-elimination leg (at which point Phil confiscates all of their money), they can keep unused cash and can carry it over to the next leg.

This limit on cash leads some teams to beg for money, generally asking tourists for a few dollars, or to seek other forms of help. Jonathan from "Amazing Race 6" told me in a recent interview, "I was begging, panhandling $100 a leg."

He also said that he'd convince hotel managers to give them a room ("sometimes dirty, sometimes clean," he says) to sleep in for a few hours. Jonathan and Victoria would also talk with locals and enlist their help ("the guides that you see, we never paid those," he says).    —A.D.

Q: I'm looking for information on the "Search for Pearl" reality series looking for the next Janis Joplin, or next best.  Where are the auditions, when are they and how do I enter? —Tonya
Q: I need info on the new reality show about inventors.    —Dixie, Colorado

A: As the two above questions prove, there's just no end to the list of new reality shows looking for contestants. Let's take these two one at a time.

• "Search for the Pearl" was indeed announced in mid-February by the representatives for the estate of Janis Joplin. Singers will audition, and the five best will fly to San Francisco to perform for judges (But will they find a Janis version of Simon Cowell?) The idea here is not to simply be the best singer, but to recreate Joplin's bluesy, wailing vocals. There's quite a prize at stake -- and no, it's not a Mercedes Benz. The winning Janis-alike will tour the world with bands that performed with the original Janis. Unfortunately, no network has yet spoken up for the show, and we have no word on when and where auditions will be. Stay tuned, and we'll post the info once we hear it.

• You're probably talking about "Made in the U.S.A.," a new show that's scheduled to air on, fittingly enough, USA Network. Rules and applications are available at the above link, however, it's pretty simple. If you've got an invention that's at least at the prototype stage (meaning: you have something to show) but it hasn't been mass-produced, you might want to apply. One odd note: You need at least one partner, even if they didn't help you with the invention — the show must figure that groups are more interesting than solo inventors. To get on the show, you must either attend a casting call in Chicago, LA, Atlanta or NYC or submit a VHS tape by March 23 to the address given on the site.    —G.F.C.

Q: Will the show "The Will" be going to cable or shelved forever?  I want to see the colorful family fight it out!    —Summer

A: "The Will" joined just a handful of shows in the history of television that have aired just one episode before being killed. (Similarly, FOX's recent reality disaster "Who's Your Daddy" only aired one of its six produced episodes.)

Produced by uber-producer Mike Fleiss, "The Will" was born at ABC, where Fleiss created "The Bachelor," in the fall of 2002. About a year ago, it inexplicably moved to CBS. And then the series finally debuted 11 months later.

Although the premiere was watched by 4.2 million people, the AP reported that it was "CBS' lowest-ranked show of the week." Thus, CBS pulled it, replacing it with a repeat of "Cold Case." As CBS chief Les Moonves told TV critics recently, "The Will did a great number for cable. If it was on MTV, they'd be dancing down Broadway. ... I think The Will was not very good ... It wasn't our finest moment."

His disappointment with the series suggests it will never return, although since it has been produced, it's always possible. FOX recently resurrected two killed series on its web site, which happened a few months after they revealed the results of the show online — so if it doesn't make it back to the air, fans of "The Will" can hope for that sort of resolution.    —A.D.

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

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