The Real Amazing Race Returns!
Tonight at 8pm (Winnipeg time) the Big Dog of all competitive reality show returns, in its unmolested form. That's right, the Amazing Race is back!After a brief but painful foray into the craptastic realm of family programming, TAR is going back to the classic 2-person teams format that won it multiple Emmys. And not a second too soon.
It actually feels to me like TAR has been on hiatus since the Rob & Amber season, as the latest edition, which pitted four-person family teams against each other in a race around, um, parts of North America, was so bad that I actually stopped watching a few episodes in.
I'm more than ready for airport subterfuge, jetlagged aggression, and, of course, the widowmaker that is the India leg.
TAR is one of the few shows that Tam and I both enjoy (she having thus far resisted my requests that she start watching Doctor Who and Veronica Mars), and we routinely end up supporting different teams, which makes the viewing experience all the more enjoyable. (there's nothing that can't be made more fun with some merciless heckling).
SO thank you, CBS, for returning TAR to its intended form, and here's to another great Race!
Oh, and my early pick to win? BJ & Tyler: two globe-trotting hippies who speak multiple languages. I'm so confident that they will be a strong team, that it is almost a sure thing that they'll fail miserably. Lookit 'em.. poor, grinning bastards... don't even know they've got the Jhunt Curse all over them....So be sure to watch tonight to see them get Philiminated first...
Related posts:
Amazing Race: Family Edition - Episode 1
posted by Jhunt at 9:02 AM
4 Comments:
Hell, I thought the Rob and Amber season sucked too (at least until Romber got its comeuppance). That season was "The Rob and Amber Show (featuring the Amazing Race)." They were one of nine teams, yet got about 70% of the face time. Whenever they got behind, suddenly some stroke of good luck that could have easily been arranged by the producers would befall them. I had no doubt they were given advantages to keep them in the race longer since they were the main advertising push for that season.
Part of why Survivor All Stars and any other reality show that uses former reality show participants (Real World/Road Rules Challenge, Battle of the Network Reality Stars) sucks is because people who have been on reality TV before know how things are done and try to play roles on future shows (e.g. Omarosa being a caricature of her bitchy self on Surreal Life).
This is the first good season in a year. I will at least give the last two seasons credit for making sure the winners were likeable. When Freddy and Kendra won, it felt like I'd wasted an entire season.
Boy, if anything, The Romber season really polarized TAR fans. I liked it, but I like Romber. I can only imagine how painful it would have been to watch if they grated on you.
Oh, and Freddy/Kendra beating Kris/Jon is one of the leading indicators that there is, in fact, no God, and we all live in a cold, empty universe.
...it still hurts, people...
I am totally cheering for the Hippies! I am not so sure about the 'competitions' in the first episode. The helicopter thing seemed too easy and I didn't really understand the whole snake ceremony bit. All of that being said, I am happy it's back.
If the Hippies would tone down their "razzmatazz" a bit, I'd feel a lot more confident of my pick. I'll give 'em a couple of episodes to calm down. Besides, it was just nice to see a couple of teams genuinely excited about the race and the sights.
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