The Amazing Race

An avid viewer of the first installment of CBS' OTHER reality-based television show, I was quite happy to see The Amazing Race 2 had managed to appear in my TV Guide listings this year.

The Amazing Race follows 11 teams of 2 people with some sort of pre-existing relationship (mother/daughter, best friends, etc.) on a race around the world. Teams must follow clues to discover the next destination, and how to get there is often up to them to figure out. Along the way are various "pit stops." Be the last to arrive at most of these, and your team is eliminated from the race. No fuss, no muss...the quickest survive. NO tribal councils, NO voting!

That is what makes this show so wonderful. Contestants are forced to use not only their strength and wits, but also their (deep breath) intelligence in order to survive. The Race becomes the sole arbitor of who remains, and the viewer ends up having as much fun following the contestants as they do following the ever-surprising route. This is competition at its most basic, and simple is wonderful!

Keep this series alive...it's quite simply the most entertaining of the entire genre.

Once upon a time I really enjoyed the Amazing Race. It was fun, exciting, and sometimes heartbreaking. The contestants were people you could cheer for... or against. Of late, though, I have lost interest because of a decision by the executives to move away from what made the show appealing. At one time the racers were common people, just like you and I. A couple of coal miners from Kentucky. Two cowboys who were brothers. The list is too long to continue. This made the race fun. You could sit down and compare yourself to your peers. Now, however, the executives have decided to feature teams made up of ex professional athletes. models, stars from other reality TV shows and YouTube stars. In short, people who are not like the average American. I watched a couple of episodes this year and realized I just did not enjoy the show anymore. If the producers decided to go back to the original format, maybe they get my viewership back.. Until they do consider me an ex-fan.

You can skip all the other dopey reality shows that have come along recently, The Amazing Race has GOT to be right up there with the orginal.. Survivor! This show offers adventure (which is the name of the game) fun, excitement and entertainment!

If CBS will give this show some time, it will build a large audience, I'm sure. Watching teams compete at various feats, trials, and tasks is entertainment in itself, add the addition of watching as these teams travel the world jockeying for 1st place is pure enjoyment!!

I think Jerry (Bruckheimer) has a winning combination here!

Is it time to give up on Amazing Race? What made the show great was seeing around the world, overcoming language barriers, navigating unfamiliar places and airports, watching a race where if you came in first, you left by yourself in first. We have lived vicariously through the competitors who raced around the globe to new places, allowing us to see the world through their eyes. This season was the worst. Post-Covid, the show has lost its luster, favoring Spanish-speaking players going to their hometown. Group starts take away the advantage a team gains by coming in first. Eliminations on every leg take away the drama of not knowing if a team might still be in the game. If there is another season, go all over the world, challenge the teams with languages they are unfamiliar with, let the team who crosses the line first have the privilege of leading the pack out of the gate, and bring back the drama (and more episodes) by continuing the race. And bring back the memory challenge at the end, it is a great recap.

Though I find most of US reality TV-series quite boring I must admit that's the one I really love. Mainly because it's so global, mixture of different cultures and traditions. You can see difference between developing countries and developed countries and so on. It's fun to watch teams pushing themselves over the top with some rather weird quests and having an arguments over nothing. The tasks are usually tied with the country they're competing and that's very cool too.

The series budget is huge. They were racing in Estonia (Where I live :) in summer and my friend took part of it too and revealed how the show was being made. It's just amazing, local TV stations were paid for not to show or write anything about the series. Every smaller detail is checked and must complete the checklist of 5 pages of contract. The story also is usually confirmed on the very last minute after searching for optimal tasks and routes by the producers. And that is what makes the show special.

Only thing I don't like in the series is the fact that some conflicts are shown too prolixly. For example when one of those black sisters called Luke "bitch" in the last season.

But otherwise it's brilliant show and I think everybody find it exciting when one bothers to watch it.