# Amazing Race - Two Fer Tuesday **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543 "2005-09-26T19:25:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/1 "2005-09-26T19:25:19Z")
Well this tuesday both the new season of the Amazing Race starts and the first season is being released on DVD (what an amazing coincidence). I am defnitely picking up the DVD, it has a bunch of extras and it isstill te original and one of, if not, the best. As for the new season, I 'm not 100% on board with the family concept, but it could work and I will watch and enjoy it no matter what. I certainly hope there aren’t any overly obusive spouses or parents, hopefully there are more folks bringing the genuine as well as unintentional funny and not so much of the cringe-worthy stuff from previous contestants whose names I refuse to mention. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/2 "2005-09-26T19:32:46Z")
I love TAR and I’m willing to go along with the fambly edition. I just want Philiminations! Yeah, baby! ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/3 "2005-09-26T19:33:17Z")
I’m going to watch it, of course, but I know what it was like to travel with _me_ as a child, and I do not envy those parents. I just can’t imagine watching a 12-year-old whine about wanting to go home will be any fun at all. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/4 "2005-09-27T02:40:44Z")
I’ll be watching it, but I’m not really happy with the way the “family” thing turned out. I really thing they should have made (and stuck to) a rule that said either, “At least two team members must be under 18” or “All team members must be over 15.” It just seems wrong to have teams with little kids going up again 4 20-something siblings. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/5 "2005-09-27T02:59:11Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I’ll be watching it, but I’m not really happy with the way the “family” thing turned out. > > I really thing they should have made (and stuck to) a rule that said either, “At least two team members must be under 18” or “All team members must be over 15.” It just seems wrong to have teams with little kids going up again 4 20-something siblings. Or the team that is a 57 year old father-in-law with his three sons-in-law, the youngest of whom is twenty six. On the surface it doesn’t seem to be a level playing field with the team who has a boy in grade 6 and another who is 8 years old. It’ll be interesting to see how the detours/roadblocks are staged. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/6 "2005-09-27T11:05:08Z")
Although I won’t be watching (thanks to the glory that is _My Name Is Earl_ and will be vicariously watching through threads like this, the first thing that occurs to me is - how are they gonna do taxis? Right now you’ve got 2 people, a cameraman and the driver. How does this work with four people? I was kinda debating watching this anyways, even before Earl made up my mind for me - I can see where it’ll quickly dissolve into child abuse or exploitation, or just annoying shots of a kid spiraling into Killer Fatigue. Doesn’t equal fun for me… ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/7 "2005-09-27T11:42:09Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I really thing they should have made (and stuck to) a rule that said either, “At least two team members must be under 18” or “All team members must be over 15.” It just seems wrong to have teams with little kids going up again 4 20-something siblings. That’s what I’m thinking. The teams seem like they’ll be unbalanced when pitted against each other. If they modify Detours or Roadblocks to accomodate the wide age ranges, people will start saying it’s unfair. If they don’t, people will _still_ say it’s unfair. If they tone it all down for the real little kids, the whole thing wil be lame. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > **singular1 said:** > Although I won’t be watching (thanks to the glory that is My Name Is Earl… I haven’t yet decided which will be watched in real time and which will be taped and watched later: The glory that is _My Name Is Earl_ (followed by _The Office_) or _TAR_. Decisions, decisions… ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/8 "2005-09-27T12:12:00Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > I haven’t yet decided which will be watched in real time and which will be taped and watched later: The glory that is _My Name Is Earl_ … or _TAR_. Decisions, decisions… Thank Og for TiVo, is all I have to say, or I’d be completely SOL right now, because apparently I need a 12-step program for people who watch entirely too much television. Seriously, I have 26 **(!!)** season passes. I need help. Anyway … I will be watching _Earl_ for one reason only: it ends earlier. Totally _love_ both shows, and if _TAR_ was only on for an hour tonight, I’d watch it instead, but I just _can’t_ stay up past 10:00 any more. These 2-hour season premieres are going to kill me. (I don’t know when I turned into an old person, and I’m not happy about it, but the facts are what they are.) You would _think_ that a show featuring families would be on when the whole family could watch it, wouldn’t you? (Listen to me: I am _totally_ a crotchety old bird!) > [@singular1](#): > > Although I won’t be watching … the first thing that occurs to me is - how are they gonna do taxis? Right now you’ve got 2 people, a cameraman and the driver. How does this work with four people? From the articles my Google Alerts found for me, it would appear there is a lot of spoon-fed transportation (i.e., “take one of the marked cars and drive yourselves here”). At least on the legs that have already been “outed” as part of the Race. Whether the info is true, I can’t say, as unfortunately my family is far to Springer-esque to end up on a quality show like _TAR_, and so therefore I have no first-hand experience. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/9 "2005-09-27T12:30:53Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I’ll be watching it, but I’m not really happy with the way the “family” thing turned out. > > I really thing they should have made (and stuck to) a rule that said either, “At least two team members must be under 18” or “All team members must be over 15.” It just seems wrong to have teams with little kids going up again 4 20-something siblings. Yeah; I hear ya. I’m certainly willing to give this season a shot, but one of the drawbacks of TAR in the past was that you knew the old folks and the all-women teams had essentially no chance, because the tasks were slanted toward younger, stronger teams. It seems like this season exacerbates the differences between teams–you’ve got an all-male adult team, and a team with three men and a woman all in their early twenties, going up against two other teams that have two _pre-teen_ members each. I’m not sure how these latter teams stand a chance, unless the tasks mixed up to specifically negate the obvious advantages of all-adult teams. And that could have its own pitfalls–who wants to watch a coloring-within-the-lines contest? So. We’ll see. I’m cautiously optimistic, but only because that’s the kind of guy I am. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/10 "2005-09-27T13:35:24Z")
I’m hoping they’ll come up with tasks that require strengths that kids can compete against adults with. I know there are a lot of things that kids can do better than adults, especially involving agility – and all the kids on this edition of TAR look to be in really, really good physical shape so may well be able to kick adult butt. Of the three youngest kids, two are serious tae kwan do competitors (the Blacks) and the third is a serious runner (the little Gaghan). Also, kids weigh a lot less than adults so in tasks that involve pushing or pulling or hauling or whatever, it may be a real advantage to have kids. But I just don’t see a family with young kids winning, either, unfortunately. Just the stamina level required on the Race seems to me to be too intense for kids. We shall see. I’ll be taping _My Name Is Earl_, though. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/11 "2005-09-27T15:24:04Z")
They had Phil on this morning on The Early Show or whatever it’s called. He didn’t say much about the tasks, but he did say that the nine year old girl ran a sub seven minute mile. They also said that two of the familes stayed together for the hurricane. Now did I miss hear something, I could have sworn it said it was only an 11,000 mile race, but I had to of missed something or they are only staying in North America. I’ll have to tape Earl tonight. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/12 "2005-09-27T15:33:34Z")
Am I the only one who is gleefully waiting to see Phil’s face when he philiminates a family and the kids start to cry?? \<\\> Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/13 "2005-09-27T15:33:45Z")
I have it set to DVR, but I may erase it. The race with kids seems negligent. I don’t mind watching douche bag adults suffer for my amusement. But I don’t want to see kids freaking out. Plus, I am still bothered by the finale last year. Not that I minded seeing Joyce and Uchenna take the million, but Rob and Amber got hosed. NO pilot returns to the terminal unless the producers twist some arms. I felt like I was being cheated. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/14 "2005-09-27T15:38:44Z")
> [@DeVena](#): > > Am I the only one who is gleefully waiting to see Phil’s face when he philiminates a family and the kids start to cry?? > \<\\> > > Anyone? I’ll admit it. Awkward television at it’s finest. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/15 "2005-09-27T15:46:43Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > Thank Og for TiVo, is all I have to say, or I’d be completely SOL right now, because apparently I need a 12-step program for people who watch entirely too much television. Seriously, I have 26 **(!!)** season passes. I need help. Count me in as well. I went from barely watching any TV at all last season to double-Tivoing The Amazing Race and House MD while I watch Earl in another room tonight, and hoping that I can find Commander in Chief online (I’m curious, but not enough to cut off these other 3 shows…besides, it’ll get cancelled soon, I know it), and since it’s another bloody 2 hour episode, I’m going to have to catch NipTuck later this week while TAR part 2 and SVU double tivo at 10. I caught up with TAR on the gameshow network over the summer, and I’m pretty hooked. Trying to watch one of the older seasons every night while watching the new season once a week would probably be confusing if it weren’t for the kid aspect. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/16 "2005-09-27T16:21:04Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > I’ll admit it. Awkward television at it’s finest. I’ll admit it, too. Except, judging from these particular families, it seems more likely that the _parents_ will cry than the kids. I expect the kids to do the “oh-sweet-_Jeebus_-mother!” eye-roll or to whine about how their parents are embarrasing them. While I had some trepidation about this season and its potential for exploitation, after reading the bios I have to say that none of the young kids strike me as the sort that would tolerate much B.S. from anyone, most _especially_ their folks. For crap’s sake, the littlest Black could kick my ass from hell to breakfast! And I’m kind of scared of the wee Gaghan and her freakishly fast feet. Plus, does anyone remember Gary and Dave from Season 2 or 3? These kids will be funnier without even trying. I’m already steeling myself in case of disappointment, but I am hoping at least one of the teams with kids lasts a good while. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/17 "2005-09-27T17:05:38Z")
> [@DeVena](#): > > Am I the only one who is gleefully waiting to see Phil’s face when he philiminates a family and the kids start to cry?? > \<\\> > > Anyone? \*Jumps up and down and gleefully waves at **DeVena** Me! Me! I’m a mom and a preschool teacher, but the evil side of me thinks this might be kinda funny. I just hope none of the parents (the dads especially) get all Jonathan (of Jonathan and Victoria) on their kids. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/18 "2005-09-27T20:34:46Z")
Oh boy. Been waiting for this day for a long time. Anyone who’s never seen it before…here’s your chance to catch it from the beginning of a brand new season. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/19 "2005-09-27T22:05:22Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > \*Jumps up and down and gleefully waves at **DeVena** > Me! Me! > I’m a mom and a preschool teacher, but the evil side of me thinks this might be kinda funny. I just hope none of the parents (the dads especially) get all Jonathan (of Jonathan and Victoria) on their kids. What makes this so funny for me is my sister, her husband and their 2 teenage daughters \*\*just \*\* came back from Allahabad, India. Where they had to take a train… in India… for _hours_. She just got off the phone with me, saying how they knew what it was going to be like but they weren’t mentally prepared for the crush of people. I asked didn’t they watch The Race? I just laughed and laughed when she told me that they’ve never watched TAR. TAR - teaching us about distant cultures from our sofas, season after season. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543/20 "2005-09-28T01:39:03Z")
Gotta say, it’s a lot of fun watching them run around in areas I know… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-two-fer-tuesday/323543.md?page=2)