Just wait, it gets Amazing later..

I am long overdue in posting my impressions of the AMAZING RACE 4 from last Thursday. I am kinda cranky now but I will try my best to muster up the energy.

First off, some helpful info for watching TAR:

* There is always a "trying to mend their relationship" team.

* The Racers really don't get that interesting until the 5th or 6th leg. Due to the abundance of Racers, the show really can't spend much time on each of the teams like they do later on when there are fewer.

* There is always a gay team a team with at least one gay person (usually more). Sometime, there are just team members who set off the gay-dar but never fess up to it.

* Phil's mother dresses him funny. Race after Race, leg after leg, Phil's Phashions are always something worth watching.

* There is always an "old" team.

* Place your money on the younger teams. More often than not, middle-aged teams never make it to the final three.

* Elimination rounds are a big trick. TAR likes to trick you into thinking that a team will be eliminated and then turn the tables and announce at the end, as the last team crosses the line, that it isn't en elimination round. Bah!

* There is always a heavier team.

* Listen to Phil's introduction. When it is a non-elimination round, Phil will say "who will be eliminated next, on the Amazing Race?" Notice the the word "next." For all the other shows, he will say "tonight" instead. This tip will save you mucho frustration.

* There is always a hot babes team.

* There are 3 non-elimination rounds. 1 of them will be near the end of the race, and one will be on the 2-hour finale, because there are always three teams that make it to the finish line. That means there will be one "wild card" episode where we won't know (but you will, because you know how to listen for Phil's clue).

* There is always a best friends team.

* The shakey fast-forward cam is a mainstay of TAR, so be sure to take your vertigo meds.

* There is always a brothers team.

* The Amazing Race theme is even more fun if you say "bomp" with the music at the end of the opening credits.

* There is always a goofball team.

* Taxis and Airports are always the "great equalizers" in TAR. Leads are lost and races are won due to the equalizers.

* Alliances usually fall apart near the 9th leg.

There, that should help you newbies out there.

My thoughts on TAR #4? It got off to a great start, but the show did NOT need to be stretched out to 90 minutes! Sad to say, but I pegged the eliminated team from the moment they left the starting line. When they were the last to get to their bags I knew they were done for. Not only is it a race of luck and cleverness, it is also a race of endurance. Only the strong will survive.
Randomly:
It was pretty crummy of TAR to not give the team with the defective suburban time credit.
The gay team is staying in the closet for the moment. Wonder what kind of strategy that is when the other teams already seem to know.
Team Virgin are a riot to watch, especially since she keeps dropping the Marriage bomb and he keep freaking out about it.
I don't like the show being on Thursdays, gimme my Wednesday!

At this point, I am not even bothering to learn the names of the teams. I think the NFL wives, the father and son, the air traffic controllers, the virgins and the models will all be out by the 8th leg, if not before.

I will try to do a better update this week, but in the meantime, be sure to read Christine's review. Or if you are up for some serious snark, you can head over to Television Without Pity.

And let me repeat this very important tip:

* The Amazing Race theme is even more fun if you say "bomp" with the music at the end of the opening credits.

file this under TV & Movies
Posted by on June 3, 2003 @ June 3, 2003 10:49 AM    
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