The Amazing Race -- All-Purpose Thread

Exactly. They're already stressed out enough just because they're ON THE AMAZING RACE and they're doing it with someone they've known for all of 48 hours. The last thing on their minds (okay maybe everyone but Jackie) is, "Hrm I think I'd like to marry this person...."

 

So far, I've been a little bored with things this season. Hopefully, it will pick up a bit and become slightly more interesting as the season goes on.

The lack of relationships/past histories between half the teams because they've just met is actually hurting the show, I think.

Maybe it's just me, but they also seem to be pushing the gay thing a little too much, at least for my taste. And I'm getting a little turned off at Harley and Jonathan repeatedly calling each other "babe."

 

I thought it was sweet that Bergen and Kurt, who have zero romantic interest in each other, gave Matt and Ashley their date night thing. I think the Date Night coupon is really stupid, but they want to play up the ~romance~ or whatever....

The cabaret was hilarious. It's always nice to see teams have a little bit of fun with a challenge like that.

I want odds on Blair pushing Hayley off a cliff before the end of the season.

Pool update:
Jay Ferrar - Jelani and Jenny 48
Amy - Rochelle and Mike 27
bumpy mcgee - Tyler and Laura 24
TigerVols - Aly and Steve 21
Huggy - Jackie and Jeff 17
WriteThinking - Bergen and Kurt 15
MTM - Harley and Jonathan 15
WolvEagle - Blair and Hayley 14
Iron_Chet - Matt and Ashley 11
*Wenders - CJ and Libby 3
*Jeff and Lyda 1

 

Could you date someone who looks like yourself, same sex or otherwise? It would be weird. Plus, I think one of the two (I never know who is who on most of the teams) really was hoping for romance on the show and maybe was trying to hard for it to work.

 

Nope. I think a lot of the teams wanted to find love, but Jackie and Jeff are about the only two that might make it. But seeing Bergen (? I think it's him) and his reaction to Matt and Ashley's engagement just broke my heart a little.

The producers really screwed with matching some of these people up. And that's why this concept doesn't work.

 

I was catching up on the episodes and after reading the comments here I was expecting to hate the show because of the blind date angle and how hard Phil was pushing it.

I am enjoying the season like any other, don't really find the blind date thing that obtrusive and even sort of interesting from the perspective of doing the race with someone you just met.

@WriteThinking, think it may be you. Can't say I feel the gay thing, whatever that is, is being pushed.

Drag queens creep me out and I don't like watching people kiss at the best of time and I don't think anything has been overt. If anything the NKOTB team may serve to show that a lot of gay men are routine in their affection for their partner the same way that a middle aged straight couple is.

 

You have the better perspective on it in comparison to me, Iron_chet. Maybe I should be a little ashamed of that, I don't know. Certainly, your point is valid and a good one. Harley and Jonathan do have an established, long-term relationship that does just show in the easy familiarity. Let me say that I do think they're a good, likable, positive-thinking team who can generate a lot of exposure, and consequently, a lot of needed goodwill and humanity in the world.

But "babe," as an endearment coming between two men, just sounds a little off to me.

I also think the cameras are being more than usually up-close-and-personal with TeamNewKids, and it seems a little ironic that both of the date nights so far have been won by gay teams. Maybe it's all just chance and circumstance. As you and I both said, maybe it's just me. But that's not my sense of it.

 

I think, if I'm watching it correctly, the Date Night is just in the folder with a clue. So it's completely arbitrary which team gets it.

To me, if the producers really wanted to push this dating thing hard, they would have gotten a Date Night to Jackie and Jeff. They're the only blind date couple that has a snowball's chance right now.

 

Pool update:

Jay Ferrar - Jelani and Jenny 51
Write Thinking - Bergen and Kurt 34
Amy - Rochelle and Mike 31
bumpy mcgee - Tyler and Laura 30
Tigervols - Aly and Steve 28
Huggy - Jackie and Jeff 22
WolvEagle - Blair and Hayley 22
*MTM - Harley and Jonathan 16
Iron_chet - Matt and Ashley 13
*Wenders - CJ and Libby 3
Jeff and Lyda 1

It was beautiful to see the joy on Bergen and Kurt's face when they found out they won. That was definitely a surprise.

The egg thing was nasty. Hayley really really needs to STFU.

 

I agree about Hayley. Poor Blair looked a couple of times like he just wanted to throttle her. And I laughed at how both of them decided, at the same time, that they were going to just let the other one take the lead and stay hands-off, themselves...so then they just ended up standing there arguing again, anyway.

I was amazed that any team decided to take on the "Wheel" challenge over the "Water" one after having just gotten done riding in that traffic. After that, the water one even just sounded like the better option to me.

In the end, it was a nice, surprising finish by Hayley and Blair, and I, too, was happy for Bergen and Kurt. That actually had to be among the best pit stop scenes ever, I think.

Bergen, in jest, playing Phil: "You're Team No. 1. Nah, just kidding."

Phil, pointing at them with a big smile, announcing: "You are Team No. 1!," and that, followed by their genuinely surprised, excited and heart-warming embrace was just a nice, great finish.

Oh, and Steve on the Olympian team reminds me uncannily of former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff.

 

My son laughed at me when I went on a 10-minute Herm Edwards style rant "if you go on TAR, you have to learn to drive a stick."

 

I Tweeted that we had gone through 26 incarnations of this show and people STILL don't learn how to drive a stick and Bergen actually favorited it. COME ON PEOPLE. But for them to completely ditch the car and opt for a cab...wow.

It did give me an interesting thought: what if they were in a city known really well for its public transit systems (London, New York City) and all of their travel had to be done via subway or bus? I think that would be interesting. You do have some of the legs where they have to take a train, but I would enjoy seeing the teams get around solely by figuring out public transit and without cabs. (This would probably lead to a resurgence of "ferns" -- where the teams find a local to literally lead them around all day.)

Hayley needs a piece of duct tape over her mouth. I'm officially rooting for the Olympians. They are the least-drama couple and work really well together.

Pool update:
Jay Ferrar - Jelani and Jenny 56
TigerVols - Aly and Steve 46
*WriteThinking - Bergen and Kurt 35
bumpy mcgee - Tyler and Laura 33
Amy - Rochelle and Mike 33
Huggy - Jackie and Jeffrey 28
WolvEagle - Blair and Hayley 26
Iron_chet - Matt and Ashley 20
*MTM - Harley and Jonathan 16
*Wenders - CJ and Libby 3
*Jeff and Lyda 1