It’s certainly better than what I was thinking of suggesting, which was “Team Vowel Shift.”
I read that Girl Goth’s dad is in the army, and they got some army-style training in before the race! Good for them.
Bah. Humbug. Looks like it’s going to be a season of snubbing its greatest all-stars after all. Not to mention the fact that nothing about the game has changed. Clues? What clues? There are never any clues. There are information cards, telling people clearly and specifically exactly where to go next and how to get there. At least nobody in the thread seems to hate the token Christians this time.
You really need to give that up, Liberal. Rob & Amber were entertaining, but they got two shots on the show, and that’s all anyone deserves.
I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say that Liberal’s comments about Rob & Amber are jokes. He is spoofing the “Romber” love see on other websites, and poking fun at the entertainment industry that has tried to convince us that they & other reality “stars” are, indeed, stars.
I believe those-two-who-shall-not-be-named are busy working on their own reality show and may not have been available.
Also, for me anyway, it’s hard to hate the token Christians because they seem to be so darned pleasant and, all other things notwithstanding, they seem to be as taken with the Race and with Phil as I am.
The only times the token Christians have been hated seems to have been when they’ve been the token whiny holier-than-thou God-really-cares-whether-I-win-a-stupid-reality-show Christians. And I can only really think of two teams who fit that profile since I’ve been watching (I started watching on the Chip&Kim/Colin&Christie race): The (F’ing) Weavers and the Christian Models (who only had tinges of that syndrome, thank Og).
Besides, Lib, what’s with the “token” Christians? You don’t think the vast majority of teams that have been on TAR have been Christian? It’s really the “token” Christians-who-explicitly-identify-themselves-as-Christian who fit the profile of “token” Christians anyway.
Thank you. I couldn’t remember their names (I was just going to call them Jonathon & Victoria light). What kind of moron continues on when his navigator has told him she has the directions and he’s not following them.
Flo may be back, but this time she’s right!
Maybe I’ve been Episcopalian too long, but the whole “lesbian clergy” seems kind of cliche to me. There here, they’re queer, I’m used to it already. And enough of the “we’re a couple trying to see if we can make our relationship work.” Yeah, in a series of high-stress situations on national TV. Great idea!
OTOH, I’m really liking the brother/sister team and the father/daughter team. And the latin sisters, because they are hawt. What really bugs me about the casting this season, though, is the lack of geographic diversity. Check it out:
Jennifer/Jason: Huntington Beach, CA / Fountain Valley, CA
Shana/Jennifer: Los Angeles, CA
Lorena/Jason: Sherman Oaks, CA
Ari/Staella: Long Beach, CA / Fountain View, CA
Rachel/TK: Huntington Beach, CA
Kate/Pat: Thousand Oaks, CA
Also, Hendekea is from Torrance, CA (her brother is from NOLA). That’s 13 of the 22 contestants who are from Southern California. Did no one from the rest of the country apply for the show this season?
Geese are MEAN.
Barbarian: There is NO penalty box in TAR. You’re thinking of that other sport.
…says the fella who’s never been to the North!
It’s a metaphorical penalty box. Just imagine making it to the Pit Stop only to have Phil tell you you’re not allowed on The Amazing Mat. So close to the Mat, so close to the Philiciousness and not allowed to touch.
And of course, you have expressed no issue with zut’s characterization of them as the “token” gay team and the “token” old people team, even though they’ve identified themselves as old and lesbian.
Frankly, I didn’t even notice zut using the term token to describe any of their characteristics. But then I don’t generally go looking for things to be offended about, because there are more than enough of them that come looking for me. It must be wonderful to be a member of such a generally accepted group that you have to go out of your way to find an innocuous and totally inconsequential word to take offense at.
You should really read zut’s contributions. They’re well written and informative. And he obviously spends a lot of time and thought on them.
I DO read his contributions. The fact that I didn’t notice the word “token” does not mean that I skipped it completely. I enjoy the Taxi Assessment very much. I just assigned less significance to a word than you apparently did.
Significance? It was done with an italicized conjunction: “The token gay team and the token old folks team.” I just read 'em as they’re written.
I, for one, am glad that TAR broke down that final barrier and recruited a married lesbian team this year. I just can’t remember which team exactly – it’s Marianna & Julia, right? I think that’s right. Or at least, I’m going to pretend that’s the case for the next few nights. 
Thank God Ari’s gone. He was too uncomfortably similar to Lynn, the Romber-hater from Season 7. And speaking of previous contestants, I think TK is BJ’s long-lost twin.
I read on another website that he has done some acting, including playing the young Jed Bartlett on an episode of The West Wing, so you may have seen him on tv. According to the IMDb, his name then is Jason Widener.
Oh, the pain.
Just started it now. Having lived in L.A. for 17 years (or was it 18?) it’s painful watching the players try to find the 405. It’s not that hard to find!