The Amazing Race
Phil, you must not feed the beast when it comes to Eric and Jeremy. On the other hand, I'm all for the underhanded snark about BJ and Tyler, so we'll call it a wash.
Travelocity: Bite me. The find-a-gnome task was boring the first time.
Oh, and the bottle-breaking task? Comedy gold. Man, that was brilliant.
Wanda & Desiree: Oh, my darlings. Well, that will happen when you drive around in circles. Shame; they seemed really strong in the beginning, and I was hoping for an all-female team to make a decent run at the finals.
Dear Desiree: I get where you're coming from, I do, but yes, there is a gnome there somewhere.
Lake & Michelle: I am somewhat horrified to discover that I'm kind of warming to these two. Not in a want-to-breathe-the-same-air kind of way, but... I don't know. As the traditional Bad Marriage Team goes, they're much less horrifying than some others we've seen. And the thing with the drunken German was kind of sweet.
Danielle & Dani: Sweethearts, when the team you're following gets you lost perhaps what you should learn from this is the importance of navigating yourself. I mean, seriously, they followed Wanda and Desiree off the wrong exit twice! Points for having better hustle than Wanda and Desiree at the gnome roadblock, but still.
BJ & Tyler: Oh, God, they're going to be in this entire show and I can't take it anymore. Sometimes the redhead calms down, and then he's likable, and look, they're obviously intelligent and cultured and they seem like fundamentally decent people, but oh, God, I don't think I'm going to be able to take the mugging for however many more episodes there are.
Fran & Barry: Aww, I'm glad they had a good leg! They're so much perkier when they're doing well, no surprise there. I still like them, though this is perhaps partly because I traditionally fast-forward over unhappiness. Also it was nice to see someone have some trouble learning the dance, because God knows I would have.
Ray & Yolanda: Still, um, not a lot of personality there. No, no, that isn't fair, I'm getting an impression of their personality; they just aren't very charismatic on-screen. Kind of, I don't know, joyless.
Eric & Jeremy: See my reaction to BJ and Tyler. God, we're going to be trapped with them until the end, aren't they? They're going to win, oh God. Though, hey, Colin and Christie dominated their season and didn't win, so...
Seriously, they're like a primer of How Not To Pick Up Katie. (I'd say "women" but I fear that isn't true.) Ew, ew, ew.
David & Lori: I don't actually mind the kind of lie they told Joseph and Monica--hey, it's a game, everyone's playing to win--but it did crack me up that their clever, clever lie... made them arrive after Joseph and Monica. Way to hang tough, guys! Quit it with making me nervous in the promo for next week!
Joseph & Monica: I was so worried about this team, when Monica looked like she was spazzing out at the very beginning and I thought, please don't trap me with spazzy girlfriend and her longsuffering and/or nasty boyfriend, because that particular team type bores me. But it hasn't worked out like that at all! I mean, they aren't showing a whole lot more personality than Ray and Yolanda, but they seem to be having so much more fun that I like them better.