Just a heads-up!
I had not heard anything about it myself before but last night I saw an ad for a new “Amazing Race” season starting this Sunday.
Does anyone know if it’ll be in HD or not? I’ve seen one ad that was in widescreen, but couldn’t tell if it was HD or not. I hope it’s at least widescreen to get a tad bit more use of my screen. HD would be really nice though.
Anyone have any early favorites? I kinda like Joe & Heidi, but no one else jumped out at me. A few of them look interesting though, so once I see them and learn their personalities, it might be fun!
Already don’t like the pageant chick or the Big Brother chick, just from reading their bios. Maybe they won’t be annoying though – we’ll see.
And for a pet peeve “she’s a biter”. Really? LOL
OK, a pre-made thread! Rather than open a new thread, let me post this here:
A new season of The Amazing Race premiers Sunday, February 14, 8/7c with a first episode entitled “Nanna Is Kickin’ Your Butt” (Amusingly shortened to “Your Butt” on the CBS schedule. Classy!)
One interesting point is that (in my impression–I’m too lazy to actually resarch this) the average age ofthe cast seems to be skewing upward. There are four teams where both members are in their twenties or very early thirties, but then there are five teams whose members are in their forties or very late thirties, and then two mixed teams where the older member is late fifties or early seventies.
Last season, I started a little early with a Preseason Taxi Assessment, which, looking back, was suprisingly accurate (I predicted the correct final four teams, for example; toot toot on my own horn). This season, though, the official team bios contain less pertinent Race information and more beauty-pageant “who-do-you-most-admire” kind of Q & A. That makes it even harder to justifiably seperate the teams, because it’s not clear what their skills really are.
But lack of actual facts on which to base an opinion hasn’t stopped me before, so let me plunge ahead and humbly present the second-ever:
Taxi Assessment: Preseason Edition (Thumbnail Descriptions included to enhance your viewing experience)
Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice.
No one yet, but just you wait! The Mat of Elimination is voracious and unstoppable!
Flat Tire - or, not likely to get anywhere soon.
Nope. No one yet. This is a ranking that must be earned by performance.
Stopping for Gas - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign.
Jordan & Jeff (TD: Big Brother dating couple) - Yay famewhores! Or no, wait…boo famewhores! I can never remember. I’m not a Big Brother fan, so maybe someone else has a bit more insight into the qualities Jordan & Jeff bring to the Race. However, I’ll point out that, past history being a judge, Survivor skillz (viz. Rob & Amber) seem more transferrable to the Amazing Race than Big Brother skillz (viz. Alison) do. Anyway, as you might already know, this team is “newly dating” and hope to use the Race to “learn more about their relationship” and “understand each other.” Well then. There’s no way that thrusting yourself into an extremely stressful situation where you’re constantly physically close to someone whose quirks you haven’t worked through could possibly be a bad idea, is there? Let’s look at their “pet peeve about their teammate”: Jordan says: “He gets irritated easily.” Jeff says: “She doesn’t think sometimes.” Heh. I can see where this is going.
Jody & Shannon (TD: Grandmother/granddaughter) - Jody is the oldest person ever to be on the Race, which is admirable and all, but, shall we say, doesn’t make this team look like a shoo-in for the final three. Her bio stresses how healthy and athletic she is, and maybe she could kick my ass in three rounds and have time left over to bake cookies, but she’s still competing in a grueling month-long Race against people less than 1/3 of her age. I don’t think this team will be the first one eliminated, but I can’t see them lasting very long.
Brent & Caite (TD: Dating models/ Miss Teen USA) - Or, longer thumbnail version: the petite blonde and the tall dark-haired guy with the long hair, to differentiate them from Jordan & Jeff, who are the petite blonde and the tall dark-haired guy with the short hair. Brent & Caite both feel they don’t listen enough to each other, which is nicely symmetric and pseudo-self-aware, but hardly the best foundation on which to build a winning team. They also list their major achievements in life as, respectively, “my faith” and “being able to overcome the embarrassment from the flub I made on national television.” (Caite’s wiki entry, for the two of you who don’t follow such things.) Not to denigrate the strength of their personal convictions (well, not very much, at any rate), but when the crowning acheivements of their lives are a) something my grandmother had in spades, and b) not fucking up lately, I don’t see their skills as matching the optimal Amazing Race set. Actually, after some thought, I take half of that back. Caite strikes me as an overconfident flake, but Brent just might have a reservoir of hidden talent: he hopes to prove he has “the strength and faith to endure the craziest of circumstances.” Which, circumstantially, might be Caite. Although I’m ranking this team fairly low, I might be underestimating Brent, in which case they just might go suprisingly far.
“Rapido! Por Favor?” - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger.
Carol & Brandy (TD: Short-haired dating lesbians) - Although it hasn’t been so severe in later seasons, the Amazing Race has always favored men, and younger men at that. Carol and Brandy aren’t exactly old, particularly compared to the average age this season, but they’re not college-age, and they’re clearly not men. However, they have some travel experience, and they look like a well-balanced team. I don’t think they’ll be one of the first teams out, but once the incompetants are cleared out, they’re vulnerable.
Dan & Jordan (TD: Frat-boy-type brothers) - Another Jordan, only of the opposite sex! What are the odds? Hopefully Dan and Jeff aren’t confused. Anyway, it seems, the brothers have a shared interest: their favorite hobbies align (“Watching and playing sports” and “Tennis, New England Patriots”), their passions align (“Boston sports” for both), their to-do lists align (“get married, have kids and make them huge Boston sports fans” and “meet Tom Brady”). As a bonus, Dan’s biggest achievement is “being at the Winter Classic when the Bruins won in overtime.” Now look, lots of people like sports. I’m a big college football fan, and I know lots of people who are huge hockey fans and/or baseball bans and/or basketball fans. But when it takes over your life to the point where your biggest achievement is not “winning the love of my beautiful wife” or “graduating with a degree” or even “training for and running a marathon,” but is instead “I bought a ticket and watched other people do stuff…” that’s a little more devotion than is called for, I think. Anyway, this team ought to be physically on the top, as one of the two all-male twenty-something-ish teams, and if nothing else an interest in sports should give them a feel for competition and teamwork, both of which are important. But I have a feeling that their insular viewpoint will hurt them.
Steve & Allie (TD: Father/daughter) - Heh. In Allie’s bio: “If I could switch places with someone, it would be Phil Keoghan.” OK, big points for that. Steve’s a professional baseball coach, and despite my opinions about Dan & Jordan’s narrow focus, I think extended experience in a profession that requires both teamwork and win/lose competition is probably a good preparation for the Race. However, Steve’s also the second-oldest person on the Race this season, and, according to him, they both get lost easily. Not a positive skill in a competition that requires you to go places without getting lost.
Dana & Adrian (TD: Black couple) - Kind of a blank slate here, because their bio doesn’t reveal much about their Race skills. Not a lot of negatives, but they’re not showing that they’re better than the other teams, either. Their shared goal (“show the unity that can exist between husband and a wife” and “show that high school sweethearts can still love, respect and have fun with each other”) is a little creepy, because… why, exactly? Why is this important to show? If you need to demonstrate this to each other, then maybe it’s not actually true. If you need to demonstrate it to other people, then why do you think other people need to know this? Anyway, according to Adrian, “the Race epitomizes what a relationship goes through in life.” Only if you love painful analogies, Adrian. I think this team is probably smart and able, so I’m ranking them on the high side to start out, but it’s a tough call.
In the Passing Lane - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably.
Monique & Shawne (TD: Black lawyer moms) - A pair of lawyers with some decent travel experience. They both want to “push themsleves” to another level on the Race, which is what you might expect from a pair of lawyers. I’m optimistic about this team’s chances: I think their drive to succeed and their savvy will outweigh the fact that they’re a suburban mom team.
Louie & Michael (TD: Mustachioed buddies) - These guys are a pair of undercover cops. Remember what I said about the advantage of extended experience in a profession that requires both teamwork and win/lose competition? Yeah, I think being a cop qualifies. (Although if they continue undercover work, they’d best hope the Columbian cartels are not TAR fans.) They’re a little on the upper end of the age range, even for this season, and they admit to over-packing (check out their backpacks at the beginning), so they’re coming in with some handicaps. But I admire their self-confidence, so I’ll predict they stay around for a while.
Joe & Heidi (TD: Asian couple) - This team is totally, totally devoted to their family. They both list their parents as their heroes, their children as people they’d like to switch places with, and their family as their passion. I don’t think that affects Racing ability one way or another, but it’s eerily Stepfordian. However, their pet peeves about each other (“she can’t multi-task” and “he’s very intense and short tempered”) might be a warning signal. Nonetheless, they both seem smart and driven and not all that combative. Plus Joe speaks fluent Mandarin, which has helped teams win before. In a season that, on paper, doesn’t relaly have any clear winners or losers, I’m bumping this team up to near the top of the pack.
Jet & Cord (TD: Cowboy brothers) - I’m going out on a limb and calling Jet & Cord my preseason favorite. A fit, athletic all-male team ought to have a pretty good chance on the Race, so they’ve got that going for them. They have some travel experience (although not international, I suspect), and I doubt they have any Mika-like hangups. But just how bright are they? I’m struggling to figure out if these guys are being slyly or unintentionlly hilarious. To wit: What’s Cord passionate about? “My beliefs.” Heh. What’s Jet’s greatest achievement? “Making it on the Amazing Race.” How very meta. I’m cautiously predicting that this team is actually a lot smarter than a pair of stereotyped bull-ridin’ cowboy hicks. I hope I right. We’ll see.
Cruisin’ with Earl - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt.
No one for a few weeks yet.
So, there are my predictions. Tune in on Sunday to see how they pan out.
[sub]Props to Mullinator and his Raj Ratings.[/sub]
Oh, I am happy now! My top three favorites are in Zut’s top 4! No I want to go back and read about the lawyers, because I don’t even remember them from this morning. But last year I had also picked out the same top 3 or 4 during pre-season, and look how far they went! I can’t wait for tomorrow night!
I did not see a thread, so, I though I’d put out a reminder. Just about an hour to go on the east coast. All I really know is we have cowboys.
And such as the Iraq.
I’m torn between Race and Figure Skating. Race is always TiVoed, but Figure Skating is shown again overnight. Hmmm.
Having seen biathlon and Nordic combined I don’t think I can watch figure skating.
Edit: I mixed up my stupid blonds. There seems to be a lot of them this season.
Read the clue!
I did not get this until i saw the show.
Well played.
So is there some official Race Rule that teams have to call each other “Baby?” Even the detectives were doing it!
We’re going to China!
I have more respect for Jordan after seeing her do that Roadblock than I had for her after an entire season of Big Brother. And I felt a little bad for Miss Teen SC when everyone was making jokes about her and it got back to her.
And I don’t think I’ve seen quite as much critical failure at a single task as I did tonight. That was, what? Four teams that messed up reading the clue on the housepainting task at once?
I’m still amused by the guys who got the inside of their house painted. That team looked strong to me, but now I’m not so sure.
I’m having trouble keeping my dumb blondes straight, too. Which one said she was going to China? Was it the Big Brother star or Ms. South Carolina? Then there are the cowboys who got Brazilian money and said they were out to prove that people from Texas aren’t dumb hicks. I don’t think they’ve done a good job of that yet.
I can understand wanting to show pride in your identity or occupation, but can anyone actually think that Levi’s, boots, 10-gallon hats and Western shirts are conducive to being successful on The Amazing Race?
Things I learned from watching tonight’s episode:
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In order to get a flight to Chile, tell the agent you are going to China.
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If LAX does not offer Chilean currency, Brazilian currency will do just fine. After all, it is right next to Chile.
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Apparently the Spanish word for stairs is venicular.
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Large overweight men are perfect for challenges that require balance and agility.
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Miss South Carolina is still really, really hot.
I’ve gotten kinda burned out on TAR. It’s a real reality show in that the people are actually engaging in a contest, but they’ve had some real assholes on the show lately and they’ve turned me off.
I was rooting for the Globetrotters last year, though. 
It was a wise decision for the three teams on the early flight to abandon those plans after the mechanical failures.