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The Amazing Race is Coming

RealityTVFan + September 14th, 2005 + 6 replies

Hold on to your seats folks! It is almost time for the new season of the best reality show, and two time Emmy winner, – The Amazing Race!

If you haven’t seen this show – SHAME ON YOU! – If you have, you know that it pits teams against each other in a race around the world for a prize of one million dollars!
The best thing about this show is that it has consistently proven to be both entertaining and educational….(yeah, there are the obnoxious personalities and good looking people as well).

Last years season featured such memorable moments as Rob and Amber using their….uhh ‘charms’ to get extra help form locals only to lose at the end to Uchenna and Joyce. Speaking of Joyce, she made the ultimate sacrifice (at least to her) when she agreed to have her head shaved in pursuit of the top prize. (I for one would shave my head in a heartbeat for one million bucks, but I can understand the dilemma she faced.)

Then there were the almost to good to be true Kris and Jon, the best looking couple until Angelina and Brad came along. Worth tuning in for just to watch them flaunt their physical superiority, it was a shame when they lost to Freddy and the ‘demure’ (i.e. weak, odious albeit equally attractive) Kendra.

I personally have enjoyed the cultural aspect of the show as well. …. What other show can take you to a different and interesting place each week? I have learned about other parts of the world and have felt the emotions that have surfaced as teams not only compete with each other but also are moved by the cultures and people they meet along the way.

This season promises to be just as exciting! A brand new format awaits as for the first time families will be pitted against each other! This year, 10 four member family teams will follow the same format as they trek around the world for the big cash prize. Once again, they will face not only physical challenges but mental ones as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that the tasks will be designed to test the mettle of husband/wife and brother/sister relationships! Can’t wait till the first time a brother and sister decide that they are ‘in the right’….should be fun!

USA Today quotes executive producer Bertram van Munster as saying “Anytime you put a family of four together, you get interesting dynamics. It’s a pretty humorous and explosive mix”

The fireworks already started, when nine-year-old Carissa Gaghan challenged her fellow competitors by exclaiming, “Either you’ll be a zero or you’ll be a hero”.

The slight adjustment made to the schedule is that the race will be less than half the distance of previous competitions and locations will be less crowded than before. This was done mainly because of the younger family members in the show.

Here is a list of the teams:

• Godlewski sisters from Des Plaines, Illinois: Michelle (42), Sharon (39), Christine (37) and Tricia (26)
• Weaver family from Ormond Beach, Florida: widow Linda (46) and her three children, Rebecca (19), Rachel (16) and Rolly (14)
• Gaghan family from Glastonbury, Connecticut: Bill (40), Tammy (42), Billy (12) and Carissa (9)
• Black family from Woodbridge, Virginia: Reggie (42), Kim (40), Kenneth (11) and Austin (8)
• Linz siblings from Cincinnati: Nick (24), Alex (22), Megan (21) and Tommy (19)
• Rogers family of Shreveport, Louisiana: Denny (46), Renee (42), Brittney (22) and Brock (19)
• Schroeder family from New Orleans: Mark (40), stepmom Char (39) and daughters Stassi (16) and Hunter (14)
• Bransen family from Park Ridge, Illinois: dad Walter (51) and daughters Elizabeth (25), Lauren (22) and Lindsay (20)
• Aiello family from Mansfield, Massachusetts: dad Tony (57) and sons-in-law Kevin (31), Matt (31) and David (26)
• Paolo family of Carmel, New York: Tony (52), Marion (52), DJ (24) and Brian (16)

Once again hosted by the great Phil Keoghan, this season’s new format should be exciting. The season opener is September 27th at 9:00 pm.

I for one can’t wait, how about you?!

More on Amazing Race at Sir Links Alot

6 Comments

  1. BritGirlInAmerica replied:

    Can’t wait for the new series to start! That said, I have to admit that I’m somewhat sceptical as to whether the new format will work as well as the old. I hope I get proved wrong on this – I was one of last season’s biggest fans! – but I worry that the new series, in order to adapt to its new competitors (ie. children) & also its new viewing audience, will be too toned down. After all, I’m assuming that’s why they made the switch from only adult couples; to expand its audience to encompass younger TV-watchers.

    All that said, I see that the time slot hasn’t moved to an earlier “dinner time viewing” location so I am hopeful that the quick-moving action of earlier series will continue. After all, that’s got to be what hooked all the millions of viewers to this most-enjoyable of reality TV shows; the fact that the contestants are thrust real-time into not just new situations but in new countries & new cultures. Part of my enjoyment undoubtedly came from the moments when the “newness” just became too much for them. Whether it was Ron & Kelly screaming at each other, or Joyce & Uchenna being overcome with emotions at the South African orphanage, these were the scenes that most grabbed my attention & I hope that the new family format doesn’t lose this “rawness”.

    My other hope? That there isn’t another “celebrity” (although I reluctantly use the term because, seriously?!) couple like Rob & Amber. Or at least, certainly not one as ridiculously irritating (to be fair, I refer more to him than to her). With the family format, I doubt that would be the case, unless perhaps the Paolo family from New York in fact turns out to be the cast of the Sopranos?!!

    I wait with baited breath…

    September 14th, 2005 at 8:20 pm (permalink)

  2. M J replied:

    I Hear ya Brit Girl! I’m trying to keep an open mind but I am not convinced the family angle will be better than watching couples… kids can get on my nerves and the promos I saw were goofy with the kid falling asleep in the car… hope it’s more than silly potty humor and not too PG if ya know what I mean…

    Now here is an idea… how about an HBO version where couples go to places like Amsterdam and Thailand and smoke pot and have challenges like pick out the married couples at a swingers party… or who is the bar girl with the most children… now that seems like fun!

    September 14th, 2005 at 10:23 pm (permalink)

  3. tk replied:

    I agree on the whole celebrity thing. If they’ve already made a bundle of cash, give someone else a chance. Not only was that not fair, but OMG Rob got on my very last nerve. I couldn’t stand him. He was always such a jerk. I am thankful that is done and over with. Keep them away and I will be happy. I love this show and I am keeping an open mind with the family edition. I don’t see why the kids shouldn’t get a chance to do something amazing like this. They’ve already done family specials and Fear Factor and other shows. Why not give it a shot on the Amazing Race. I can’t wait to tune in on the 27th to see how this is going to go.

    September 18th, 2005 at 12:46 am (permalink)

  4. Einesz replied:

    Got news for you. There is a Fear Factor winner in this bunch and it’s Brittany Rogers. She competed and won the $50,000 on season 3. It was on the Miss USA special edition. Half of her winnings went to the Red Cross. Another case of stunt casting? Maybe. Who knows? if the Rogers family wins half of the winnings might go to charity.

    September 19th, 2005 at 5:43 am (permalink)

  5. RealityTVFan replied:

    Checkout the new post..you might just be right! I do wonder about the money though..how would that work?

    September 19th, 2005 at 11:32 am (permalink)

  6. BritGirlInAmerica replied:

    So what did everyone think of the opening episode??? I’m thinking this could be as fun as the last series…esp. as they seem to be eliminating the kids fairly quickly (sorry, still think they might not be a good addition to the show). That said, my heart strings were pulled a little seeing the Black kids eliminated, they just seemed so disappointed, like they’d let themselves/their parents down; definitely felt more emotional about it than I have with previous early eliminations. & still on the topic of the kids, I’ve got to say that Gaghan family were very cool. Kids seemed level-headed (esp. for their age), parents had a great attitude (positive, somewhat laid back, encouraging). Plus, they’ve traveled internationally which has got to be an advantage. Sure, the first episode was entirely in the US – surely easier than competing abroad – but the Gaghans came in 2nd! Awesome!

    Which other families stood out? Well, the Paolo family…having joked that they may be out of the Sopranos, he’s a trash-collector a.k.a. Tony Soprano! I knew it!!! Just kidding, of course, but what did you make of all the bickering? Wow! Also, I don’t understand how somebody as out-of-shape as the mom gets on the show or thinks that they’re going to do OK – you gotta know you need to be physically fit, no? Of course she wasn’t going to be able to pull the buggy – as her kids “helpfully” pointed out. When they ended up coming in 6th, you’d have thought they’d won the entire race. I’m interested to see how long they last…

    The family of 3 brothers & their sister (Lynns?) – how did they get that far behind & finish 9th? Didn’t quite get that. The Aiello family (father & 3 son-in-laws) – I thought they’d flunk, having no direct familial ties (compared to the others) but they really came together. Might be a team to watch. The Schroeder family (is she the Fear Factor winner???) – I was sensing some pent-up anger there. & the 4 sisters – I felt I was watching a cheerleading group (“We’re doing great, we’re doing great!”, “We’re doing a great job, we’re working together, woo-hoooo!”, “We’re doing an awesome job girls”). A little nauseating for my liking.

    All said, I think this will be a great season & I’ll definitely keep watching.

    September 29th, 2005 at 10:49 am (permalink)

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