The Amazing Race is back!

[rayvyn2k]

I really debated about posting my musings again this season...and I am going to do it for this episode, but I may not do it every time because writing everything down causes me to miss stuff...besides, I'm not really sure how many people actually like these posts.

Anyway, on with the season premiere!


We start the tenth season in Seattle, Washington. Ahhh, Phil, I have missed your hotness.
The teams arrive on seaplanes...that was cool.

My initial thoughts on the teams:

Peter & Sarah, Tri-Athletes. She has an artificial leg. First thought was this is going to be much harder than they think, no matter how fit she is. TAR is not anything like a tri-athalon.

Bilal & Sa'eed, Muslim friends. That "will of God" stuff will get old real fast.

Rob & Kimberly, Dating. Their sniping is on my last nerve already.

Dustin & Kandace, Beauty Queens. Ugh. Just as bad as models, IMO. I hope they surprise me.

David & Mary, Married Parents. My first impression of them was really bad. She is a shrieker and he is a neanderthal. They give Kentuckians a bad name.

Erwin & Godwin, Brothers. These guys are really cute.

Duke & Lauren, Father/Daughter. She's gay and he's...disappointed...? Wait and see.

Vipul & Arti, Married. They seem sweet and in love.

Kellie & Jamie, Best Friends/Cheerleaders. Great. Juuust great.

Tyler & James, Best Friends/Models/Recovering Addicts. Obligatory Alpha male team.

Lyn & Karlyn, Single Moms. Wait and see, they didn't make much first impression.

Tom & Terry, Gay Couple. First impression was "I hope they're not obnoxious."

Phil explains that there are eight elimination rounds and there will be ... surprises?
He gives his usual spiel..."the world is waiting for you...be safe..." eyebrow pop "GO!"

Oh gosh Erwin and Godwin made me giggle: "we're not Chinese." hee.

My first yell at the tv of the season: "You have to put your foot on the brake before the car will go into gear!"

Heh, getting to the Seattle airport turns out to be a task in itself...awww, I like Vipul & Arti so far...ooo good shot of a jack-knifed truck...Geeze, Godwin, don't say "it can't get worse" out loud! Because it can...

The teams that got the first flight were: Vipul & Arti, Dustin & Kandace, Bilal & Sa'eed, Tom & Terry, Rob & Kimberly and Erwin & Godwin.

Hee, Erwin & Godwin were busted for having the squirt guns at the airport...it was cute, but really--what were they thinking? Oh...Peter and Sarah get to pre-board? The other teams don't like it and they have a point....the cheerleaders are going to get on my last nerve if they keep up the senseless "cheering"...

Road Block! UGH...they have to eat a "Chinese delicacy"...fish eyes...GROSS. Why is this smart show still doing the yuckie food challenges? I couldn't even watch...my stomach was churning...but all the teams seemed to get through it okay...

Oh, Phil mentions a surprise...they are springing something new on the first show?

After the Road Block, several teams get really slow cabs...geeze I don't want Erwin & Godwin to come in last! Does that kiosk have a sign that says "last team"? Hmm, I have a bad feeling about that...Huzzah! Erwin & Godwin aren't last! But...Bilal & Sa'eed are and there's Phil with the mat...uh, oh...and he eliminates them right there in the middle of the episode! EEK! The other teams are gobsmacked and so am I...

The next day the teams leave in three groups on motorbikes fifteen minutes apart...wow, the single moms' backpacks are HUGE. I bet they lose lots of that crap really soon...

Detour: Labor or Leisure
Labor: putting bricks together in a pattern on the ground, the trick is the teams have to put the grey stones in first...
Leisure: The teams have to learn and perform a "relaxing" Chinese exercise...

Everyone takes "Labor" except Kellie & Jamie and Tom & Terry.

In Labor, all the teams start out doing it wrong since their workplaces are outlined with small grey bricks. Tricky! Oh, the cameramen are in mid-season form with all the shots of the big grey bricks stacked all over...hee. Wow, my heart is beating so fast! Vipul & Arti are having the worst luck with drivers...so Tyler & James finish first, then Peter & Sarah...and Peter needs to seriously chill out...geeze Lyn & Karlyn are bitchy...Duke and Lauren finish next, then Dustin and Kandace...wow, Rob & Kimberly need a chill pill too...

Wow, looks like Leisure was just as hard.

Dang, the producers are really putting it to the contestants this time...they have to climb a rope up the Great Wall of China...Sarah is having real trouble...I am wincing for her...ow...everyone had a hard time with it...Mary is such a bitch!...she needs a good dose of shut the fuck up...Lyn & Karlyn have real trouble...but I have to admire them because I know I could not do that at all...geeze I want Mary & David gone now, but Vipul & Arti are so far behind I know it won't happen...but maybe one of the surprises is since they already eliminated someone they won't do it at the end? I hope...

Welcome, Tyler & James, you're team #1 and here's 20 grand for you. Blech. #2 is Duke and Lauren, #3 Peter & Sarah, #4 Dustin & Kandace, #5 Rob & Kimberly, #6 Kellie & Jamie, #7 Erwin & Godwin, #8 Tom & Terry, #9 Lyn & Karlyn, #10 was David & Mary. And, much to my dismay, Vipul & Arti arrive and are Philiminated. *sigh*

Overall, I liked the first "surprise," and I like most of the teams. I can't wait until next week! Now, I'm off to watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which I taped.

Comments

[islandsmoke.livejournal.com]

I watched my usual ten minutes while brushing my teeth. Sarah has guts, I'll hand it to her. I liked the girl with her father and the fact that she's doing this, in part, to deepen her relationship with him. The rest left me, as usual, unimpressed. Who the heck was that harpy shrieking at the brick laying thingy? And how has she lived so long?

The thing that impressed me most, kinda as a social commentary, was the number of, "I can't"s I heard at the wall. "It's too hard, I can't do this." These people went into this knowing it would be really tough, and yet, they still have a defeatist attitude, right from the git-go. Even Sarah, which really surprised me! All supportive of their partners, though, just all "I can't" about themselves. And the guy who went all gutless right in the middle? What the f*uck you mean, you can't, you are! Now quit the drama and finish.

*gah*

[rayvyn2k.livejournal.com]

I guess I can understand the "I can't" in the middle...I mean, you start, you get going and then suddenly you are out of gas...but you still have half a wall to climb. Not to mention the rope apparatus was kind of weird, don't you think?
What bothered me more was the harpy from Kentucky. I know people from Kentucky and, believe me, they are not all like that.

[islandsmoke.livejournal.com]

I guess it's the giving up before you start that bothers me. Or quiting in the middle. Now, I would say, "I can't do that," but, I can't, and I would never sign up for something like that because I can't do real physical stuff. I mean, they all did it, so just shut up and do it and drop the drama already.

*can be huffy because it isn't me*

[(Anonymous)]

Ray, I love your posts about TAR. Last night I only caught the last twenty minutes, but this way you brought me right up to speed! I could NOT figure out how come there was a team missing. Thank you! If you don't want to do this, I understand. Being the note taker for various meetings, I know how you can get sidetracked and miss the fun yourself. Shanni

hmmmmm

[(Anonymous)]

Gee, my Sunday viewing got all screwed up and although I did see most of TAR, I totally missed Extreme Home. So if a friend happened to burn it to cd and was willing to share, I might be able to rectify that gap in my viewing routine.....

vmk

Re: hmmmmm

[rayvyn2k.livejournal.com]

Awww, nuts. I wish you'd posted this last night. I already deleted it from the DVR. But next week, I'll try...I don't know how to do that...but I'll try...