My ox is broken and this is bullshit: TAR is back, baby!
When did it become fall and why was I not informed? My temperate prelapsarian summer is over. *sobs*
The Amazing Race: great reality TV show, or greatest?
In order of how they are introduced in the credits:
Peter and Sarah are, on paper, a really cool team. She's a fabulous athlete and he crafts and maintains her assortment of artificial legs. They've known each other for years and are now dating. Unfortunately, they seem willing to use her handicap to get ahead. ("It's an emergency!" while pointing to the leg when they were trying to get a cab in the pilot, and dancing for the locals (WTF?!) in episode two.) Sarah doesn't bother me so much, it's Peter who freaks me out. His ways of motivating her seem patronizing and insincere, and maybe I'm alone in this position, but I would never date anyone who called me "sister" and "kid."
Peter also pings my gaydar hard, and my gaydar sucks.
The first team eliminated, in a surprise first leg double elimination. They were very devout Muslims from Cleveland, who were hyper-religious but seemed to do it cheerfully, not with the malice that characterized the Weavers from Family Edition. It amused me that I knew all the phrases they used. (Allahu Akbar, e.h.g.o.) I don't need your stinkin' subtitles! Didn't really have time to learn about them, but would have liked to know them better.
This is that one team that seems to be on every edition of TAR: the bickering, bitingly caustic, condescending, unsupportive dating couple that is trying to decide whether to get married or not. The answer, as always, is no. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Break up now!
Also, this formula is getting old.
I want to hate Duke. I really want to hate Duke. When they were introduced, he said, "When I look at Lauren, I mean, I love her to death. There's just a teeny bit of disappointment, as a father, looking at Lauren." He meant disappointment because she's a lesbian. HATE. HATE HATE HATE. I think Lauren was incredibly brave to come out to her father who clearly has issues with homosexuality. How can anyone be disappointed in the courage of their daughter?
And yet, so far he's been one of the most supportive people on the race. He calls her Lola as a nickname, which I find cute. And when she was getting frustrated with her yurt-folding, he kissed her forehead and murmured "relax" and my heart just melted. I don't think they'll solve his problem with her sexuality on the Race, but I hope it will bring him to realize that it's a part of who Lauren is.
Ah, Team Stereotype. A Kentucky coal miner and his stay-at-home wife, complete with thick accents and bad teeth. David seems like a sweetheart, and when she's calm Mary amuses me. ("I'm never met gay people before." Whispering in a tone of amazement: "I like them!") When she's not calm, Mary annoys me and is extremely unsupportive. They seem to be doing fine with the culture shock, as they've never traveled outside of Kentucky and Tennessee before. I'm not sure how long they will last, though.
Team Meathead. For two people who are highly educated and went to really, really good schools, they come off as dumb sometimes. Honest to god, who the hell thinks it's a good idea to bring squirt guns into an airport?!? Other then their moments of extreme stupidity, they amuse me (On going to Beijing: "Back to the Motherland!" "Dude, we're Korean.") and I hope they can have better luck with cars then they have been having so far.
These beauties are certified. Miss California 2005 and Miss New York 2005, to be precise. They were roomies at Miss America and have been friends ever since. They seem a little fixated on their beauty queen pasts, but they have voiced a determination to show that all female teams are not weak and can win, which endears them to me greatly. I am, however, ashamed to admit that I still can't tell them apart, but looking at this photo it seems like Dustin has a longer face, while Kandice's is rounder. And I think Dustin curled her hair last episode.
Vipul and Arti are the kind of couple that make me believe in marriage. They were incredibly supportive and loving, even when things went disastrously for them on the first episode. For a team nicknamed "Team Karma," they seemed to only have the bad kind. Which is why, of course, they were eliminated. It makes me sad that a couple that awesome will not fill our Sunday evenings with love, à la Jon and Kris from Season 6. Plus they are all kinds of gorgeous.
The first episode ousted the Muslims and the Hindus. Coincidence or divine joke?
You know how there are people who, in theory, you should hate? This team is it for me: spunky, upbeat cheerleaders who never talk about anything but cheering. But they were cute and amusing and I couldn't hate them. (And, really, I should save my hate for people who actually deserve it. JONATHAN.) Ultimately, Soviet cars and weak arms did them in. The fact that the didn't actually finish the Detour was disappointing. It wasn't like the haystack Detour where Lena unrolled almost every single one before Phil's like "You're awesome but it's over." I wonder how much time they did spend trying to shoot the flaming arrow?
They are models and former junkies, and god help you if you remember that because you will hear those facts over and over. Tyler and James are another team I can't quite tell apart yet, but I'm not too bummed about it. I'm not exactly rooting for them, but they seem a lot less misogynistic then the last male model team that was on TAR, plus they seem to do really well on the challenges. (The first Roadblock, for example, where they figured out the border blocks first.) I guess I haven't made up my mind about them yet.
And, no. They aren't naked in that photo.
I haven't gotten any sort of feeling about Team Single Moms at all. On the one hand, they are another "rawr, woman power" team, which is cool. On the other, fer fuck's sake, ladies, worry about your own behinds before you start snarking on the other teams. Their Sarah-hate is a little bewildering. Yes, she gets to pre-board. So...? That doesn't mean she also pre-exits!
But on the third hand, I don't think I've seen enough of them to like or dislike them yet. Finest moment was definitely encouraging each other to climb up the wall, though.
Team Stereotype, Part Deux. I have a gay friend who is more of a "Jack" than a "Will," and if he watched the show he would be cringing every time these two come on. We're boyfriends, we lisp a bit, we get manicures together, and we're super! thanks for asking. When they aren't mugging for the camera, I like them a lot better. They seem to love each other and are mostly supportive. That said, for some reason I'm waiting for Killer Fatigue or a good old fashioned blow up to unhinge them.
And now that you have met (okay, read my impressions of) the contestants on the show, you should watch! The Amazing Race airs right after 60 Minutes on Sundays. (Usually 8 EST, but with football delays that sometimes isn't true.)
The Amazing Race: great reality TV show, or greatest?
In order of how they are introduced in the credits:
Peter and Sarah are, on paper, a really cool team. She's a fabulous athlete and he crafts and maintains her assortment of artificial legs. They've known each other for years and are now dating. Unfortunately, they seem willing to use her handicap to get ahead. ("It's an emergency!" while pointing to the leg when they were trying to get a cab in the pilot, and dancing for the locals (WTF?!) in episode two.) Sarah doesn't bother me so much, it's Peter who freaks me out. His ways of motivating her seem patronizing and insincere, and maybe I'm alone in this position, but I would never date anyone who called me "sister" and "kid."
Peter also pings my gaydar hard, and my gaydar sucks.
The first team eliminated, in a surprise first leg double elimination. They were very devout Muslims from Cleveland, who were hyper-religious but seemed to do it cheerfully, not with the malice that characterized the Weavers from Family Edition. It amused me that I knew all the phrases they used. (Allahu Akbar, e.h.g.o.) I don't need your stinkin' subtitles! Didn't really have time to learn about them, but would have liked to know them better.
This is that one team that seems to be on every edition of TAR: the bickering, bitingly caustic, condescending, unsupportive dating couple that is trying to decide whether to get married or not. The answer, as always, is no. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Break up now!
Also, this formula is getting old.
I want to hate Duke. I really want to hate Duke. When they were introduced, he said, "When I look at Lauren, I mean, I love her to death. There's just a teeny bit of disappointment, as a father, looking at Lauren." He meant disappointment because she's a lesbian. HATE. HATE HATE HATE. I think Lauren was incredibly brave to come out to her father who clearly has issues with homosexuality. How can anyone be disappointed in the courage of their daughter?
And yet, so far he's been one of the most supportive people on the race. He calls her Lola as a nickname, which I find cute. And when she was getting frustrated with her yurt-folding, he kissed her forehead and murmured "relax" and my heart just melted. I don't think they'll solve his problem with her sexuality on the Race, but I hope it will bring him to realize that it's a part of who Lauren is.
Ah, Team Stereotype. A Kentucky coal miner and his stay-at-home wife, complete with thick accents and bad teeth. David seems like a sweetheart, and when she's calm Mary amuses me. ("I'm never met gay people before." Whispering in a tone of amazement: "I like them!") When she's not calm, Mary annoys me and is extremely unsupportive. They seem to be doing fine with the culture shock, as they've never traveled outside of Kentucky and Tennessee before. I'm not sure how long they will last, though.
Team Meathead. For two people who are highly educated and went to really, really good schools, they come off as dumb sometimes. Honest to god, who the hell thinks it's a good idea to bring squirt guns into an airport?!? Other then their moments of extreme stupidity, they amuse me (On going to Beijing: "Back to the Motherland!" "Dude, we're Korean.") and I hope they can have better luck with cars then they have been having so far.
These beauties are certified. Miss California 2005 and Miss New York 2005, to be precise. They were roomies at Miss America and have been friends ever since. They seem a little fixated on their beauty queen pasts, but they have voiced a determination to show that all female teams are not weak and can win, which endears them to me greatly. I am, however, ashamed to admit that I still can't tell them apart, but looking at this photo it seems like Dustin has a longer face, while Kandice's is rounder. And I think Dustin curled her hair last episode.
Vipul and Arti are the kind of couple that make me believe in marriage. They were incredibly supportive and loving, even when things went disastrously for them on the first episode. For a team nicknamed "Team Karma," they seemed to only have the bad kind. Which is why, of course, they were eliminated. It makes me sad that a couple that awesome will not fill our Sunday evenings with love, à la Jon and Kris from Season 6. Plus they are all kinds of gorgeous.
The first episode ousted the Muslims and the Hindus. Coincidence or divine joke?
You know how there are people who, in theory, you should hate? This team is it for me: spunky, upbeat cheerleaders who never talk about anything but cheering. But they were cute and amusing and I couldn't hate them. (And, really, I should save my hate for people who actually deserve it. JONATHAN.) Ultimately, Soviet cars and weak arms did them in. The fact that the didn't actually finish the Detour was disappointing. It wasn't like the haystack Detour where Lena unrolled almost every single one before Phil's like "You're awesome but it's over." I wonder how much time they did spend trying to shoot the flaming arrow?
They are models and former junkies, and god help you if you remember that because you will hear those facts over and over. Tyler and James are another team I can't quite tell apart yet, but I'm not too bummed about it. I'm not exactly rooting for them, but they seem a lot less misogynistic then the last male model team that was on TAR, plus they seem to do really well on the challenges. (The first Roadblock, for example, where they figured out the border blocks first.) I guess I haven't made up my mind about them yet.
And, no. They aren't naked in that photo.
I haven't gotten any sort of feeling about Team Single Moms at all. On the one hand, they are another "rawr, woman power" team, which is cool. On the other, fer fuck's sake, ladies, worry about your own behinds before you start snarking on the other teams. Their Sarah-hate is a little bewildering. Yes, she gets to pre-board. So...? That doesn't mean she also pre-exits!
But on the third hand, I don't think I've seen enough of them to like or dislike them yet. Finest moment was definitely encouraging each other to climb up the wall, though.
Team Stereotype, Part Deux. I have a gay friend who is more of a "Jack" than a "Will," and if he watched the show he would be cringing every time these two come on. We're boyfriends, we lisp a bit, we get manicures together, and we're super! thanks for asking. When they aren't mugging for the camera, I like them a lot better. They seem to love each other and are mostly supportive. That said, for some reason I'm waiting for Killer Fatigue or a good old fashioned blow up to unhinge them.
And now that you have met (okay, read my impressions of) the contestants on the show, you should watch! The Amazing Race airs right after 60 Minutes on Sundays. (Usually 8 EST, but with football delays that sometimes isn't true.)