Just a heads up! Adjust your schedules, program your Tivos, get ready because the new season of the best reality show on TV is starting again! (Please let last season be an aberration)
I am fascinated by the fact that they have as a contestant, someone who was actually a POW in Iraq.
I’m fascinated by the valley girls who look like identical twins-- one of whom has a fear of FLYING!
It’s a two-hour debut.
I, too, face this season with trepidation.
Was last season a fluke, or has my beloved TAR begun its descent into Crap TV?
Please, ph please, let it be the fluke thing, although I recently read on TARflies that Season 8 is casting families of 4, and that’s just too much for my tastes.
Anyhow, as usual, it’ll take a few weeks for me to even figure out who everyone is, let alone who impresses me one way or the other.
The obligatory Old Couple is from Easton, Maryland (I’m in Baltimore), so I think I’ll root for them at first.
Well, I’m rooting for anyone but Rob and Amber. 
I’m with you, BiblioCat - anyone but those bozos!
Let’s start a club, I’m with **Biblio ** and Rockle. They’ll probably last a good ways before getting Philiminated.
I am trying to put a positive spin on it: at least I will always know who to root against. They’re like the new Colin-and-Christie. (Hey, I will take whatever consolation I can get!)
What should we call ourselves?
The Anti-RAmbers?
TV Guide has an interview with host Phil up on their site.
A few possible spoilers from the interview.
[spoiler] Quoth Phil about Amber and Rob: “Right from the beginning, there was quite a bit of animosity directed towards them. I can’t say they were warmly embraced. This was a totally different experience for them. I think they were quite surprised by the speed of the race. On Survivor, they’re used to not eating and talking a lot. There’s no real downtime here.”
The teams that are in it for a good long while would seem to be Ron & Kelly (POW & wife), “we got screwed by corporate America and don’t believe in adoption” Uchenna & Joyce, Mother & Son team Susan & Patrick, and the gay guys Lynn & Alex[/spoiler]
Barbarian, I’ve been trying to stay away from spoilers, but I read yours. No comment, as I don’t want to give anything away. Just wanted you to know that I read your spoiler.
I, for one, am very much looking forward to watching that relationship disentegrate on national television.
Does that make me a bad person? 
Good heavens, no. If you wanted to watch, say, Chip and Kim or Kris and Jon self-destruct, then we would have problems. But wanting rotten awful self-lusting famewhores to be exposed for what they truly are? That, lassie, is a good thing.
That is, without doubt, the funniest thing I’ve read today. Thank you.
Not at all. That makes you a Very Good Person. 
I don’t necessarily hope their relationship falls apart, but I’d love to see Rob fall headfirst off a Zipline or get eaten by some exotic animal.
I’m ready!! (Please, please no begging for $$ on non-philimination legs!)
I’m hoping they either just don’t give them new money for the leg, but let them keep whatever cash they’ve saved, or go ahead and give them money for the leg but make them perform an extra Roadblock or something. I hate the begging, too, especially when they’re in very poor countries. It’s pointless anyway, when they just hit up tourists. They almost always end up getting more cash than the other teams.
I am hoping they keep the rule of no team member being allowed to do more than six Roadblocks, though. I liked that.
Totally agreeing with you BiblioCat.
I read Phil’s TV Guide interview. Sounds like the producers, etc., are aware that a lot of people dislike the “give up all your money” penalty, and it might be changed this time around. Hopefully they also noticed how much we HATE THE FREAKING BUNCHING EVERY GOSH DARN EPISODE, and they will do something about that, too.
I hope the mother-and-son team is cool.
I couldn’t be more excited about this kicking off. Yeah, this most recent season stunk (mainly due to spousal abuse and too much anger) but the show is still great. Clearly I sit in the minority of those who actually look forward to Rob and Amber (though mainly the Rob half of the equation) on this show. I think they will be quite fun to watch.