September 27, 2009

Well, I just finished watching the 2-hour season premiere of The Amazing Race, and here are my initial thoughts, which are obviously pretty limited after just one episode.

One of my favourite things is always the introduction of the teams, with a little explanation and video clip of them doing something sporty or outdoorsy, or relevant to who they are, along with a brief video chat with them. Tonight's introductions were great.

- The two brothers who are both gay, telling the story about how they came out to each other. "Hey, I'm gay." "No way! Me too!" "Get out!" "High Five!" The only logical next line in that conversation had to be "We should go on The Amazing Race."
- The token 'Dating On And Off' couple who are trying to figure out if they should stay together or break up. What on earth makes these people think that throwing themselves into a high-energy, high-pressure situation where they are likely going to fight and argue is the best idea for this sort of relationship...yet we always see it. Unfortunately, we won't get to see what's-his-name and what's-her-name-the-fiesty-Colombian anymore since they got eliminated. Shucks.
- Cheyne? There's a guy named Cheyne? Worst parents ever.
- When you're introducing the older couple in their fifties who met on the internet, clearly the logical choice is to show them enjoying each other's company...at archery? What the hell?
- I love that the Harlem Globetrotters are going by their court names, Flight Time and Big Easy. Awesome.
- The Yoga instructors were gone in the first 5 minutes after losing that license plate challenge, but I was disappointed because there was so much potential for this blog based solely on their opening interview. Did he really call it 'Yoga In The Hood'? Damn, that's spectacular. I could have shortened it to just call them YITH all season. And his closing remark (with dramatic pauses) was that they were going to be "Numero...Frickin'...U...No." Um, not so much. More like Numero Frickin' Last-o. Hope you enjoyed the set visit to that awesome scene from Grease.
- The Boston couple. Oh my god, where to I start with them? First of all, in the introductions, he's shown making a throat-slash gesture (always classy) and doing some lame-ass spin-kick. Then his wife says how he's "so smahhhht". Oh how I love a chowderhead accent. These guys are gonna be wicked ahhh-some. Then, when they're racing with YITH to find the final license plate to not get eliminated, and they find it first and run to the mat to give it to Phil, and then he starts trash-talking like they just won the challenge. "That's Right! That's Right, baby! Oh yeah!" Newsflash, Red Sox-fan...you just came 11th out of 12...you didn't win the Olympics. Then, later in the show, he does the throat-slash two more times! Have the producers not mentioned anything? NFL players get fined and suspended, and kids get kicked out of school, but this muscle-bound 'lawyer' thinks it's ok in a Reality TV show race? He even later went on to describe himself as 'cuthroat'. I'm not joking...he really did.
- I'm obviously rooting for Maria and Tiffany, although it's tough to watch Reality TV show producers edit the poker players to be the villains. I'm talking to you, Celebrity Apprentice! For those of you that think Maria and Tiffany are just two no-names, they are both very accomplished in the poker world. Maria Ho was the last woman standing in the 2007 WSOP Main Event, finishing 38th out of 6,358 players, and Tiffany Michelle was the last woman standing the following year in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, finishing 17th out of 6,844 players.
- Mika and Canaan win the award for weirdest named couple ever on the show, and I didn't think Kynt and Vixen were ever going to lose that one. Nice that he's a 'diamond in the rough' who doesn't want to have sex with her, but feels comfortable yelling at her non-stop as she's trying to herd ducks. (I bet that sentence has never before been spoken or written in the history of the English Language. Remember you were here.)
- Glad to see Maria and Tiffany survive that first hour, and I like that they threw the non-elimination leg in on the first episode. I totally saw it coming though. It would have been a shocker had they not ditched a team at the start line. There's no way they were going to lose three teams in one night. Good analogy by Tiffany on the one-outer.
- The Sushi Roulette challenge was funny, and I couldn't stop laughing every time they showed the animated graphic and played the high-pitched Japanese voice saying "Eat the wasaaaaabi!"
- First season premiere in a long time that didn't have the teams bungee jumping off of a bridge, dam, cliff, or something. I'm sure it's coming soon.
- Any Reality TV contestant who says "Game On" at any time other than the start of the race/game/show should be given some sort of punishment.

Looks like the makings of a great season. As always, check out Josh Wolk's recap at EW.com tomorrow.