Wednesday, May 11, 2005

The Amazing Race

A couple of months ago my sister-in-law, Kate, asked Colleen and me if we were interested in auditioning with her and her husband for season 8 of The Amazing Race. Having never seen the show, but understanding the concept, we declined. I'm not a happy-go-lucky type traveler, or one that really likes to be without well laid out travel plans.

Kate's inquiry was well-timed, however, since the 7th season of The Amazing Race was to begin just several days later, and my interest was peaked. Well, suffice to say, I'm an addict.

There's a reason that show has won several Emmys. It's so well done, so well edited and so darn interesting. Not only do you get attached to some teams, and actively hate others, but you get a real glimpse of cities around the world. Just a cheap way to form a surface-level impression of different cultures. I'd say that is the one redeeming value of this reality TV show. The less than redeeming values still hold my interest though.

I was really routing for the brother team, Brian and Greg, but they were elminated a few weeks ago. Then I got behind two teams, Rob & Amber and Uchenna and Joyce. The latter two teams made it to the three-team final, and last night, Uchenna and Joyce won the million dollar prize. That's how I was hoping it would end, because although I was also routing for Rob & Amber, they had already won a million dollars on Survivor, and have been reportedly paid more than that by CBS for the right to film and air their wedding. So, enough was enough.

What also fueled my interest in the show was the witty recaps at Television Without Pity. Miss Alli, the author of those recaps, is as unabashedly a fan of that show as me, but brings with her appreciation for the well done show biting commentary and funny observations.

Season 8 is supposedly teams of 4, which I think might get a bit unwieldy since a camera man has to travel with each team. How will teams of 4 (actually, 5) get a cab in Peru? Or navigate a bamboo raft in Jamaica? Oh, the questions. I look forward to finding out.

I can't help but feel like a bit of a loser devoting so much attention and thought to a TV show. In any case, it's fun, and that's what matters. And, if it means anything, I'm entirely done with American Idol. No more; it just doesn't hold my interest anymore.

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