The 16th season of Amazing Race started up with an exciting episode and a minor twist. Instead of having all the contestants hop into their cars and drive to the airport, they had to find their way via public transportation--in Los Angeles where everyone drives and no one takes the bus. Ironically the first three teams to arrive had their flight delayed and they all wound up on the same plane with all the other teams.
The gimmick casting this season is a team from Big Brother and the Miss Teen South Carolina who gave the dumbest answer in the history of beauty pageants--"Some people in this country don't have maps, so they couldn't find the Iraq such as South America, etc."--with her model boyfriend (of course). I hate that she spells her name Caite. Is it short for Caitlin or something? Both mentally challenged but beautiful teams did very well this first leg. I pray this doesn't turn into a series where the presumably dumb beauty queen and reality TV winner show they aren't so dumb after all and win the million dollars which they don't really need. I prefer it when "normal, average" contestants win.
So I was disappointed the Big Brother team came in first, but at least I like them better than Miss Geography and her boyfriend who didn't take the fenicular (and didn't even know what it was) and therefore lost 30 minutes, dropping from 2nd place to 7th.
It's too early to tell which teams I like but so far here are my impressions:
Big Brother team--both kinda dumb, but they seem to have a healthy spirit of cheering each other on, so they're not so bad. But I hate it when one reality show contestant wins on another show.
Beauty Queen and Model--I hesitate to judge people before getting to know them and I'm sure they are both nice, but they are too beautiful and already famous, so they don't need this money.
Gay Brother/Straight Brother--Hopefully, they won't descend into the bickering of siblings Sam and Dan from last season which reached epic proportions. It already seemed to be headed in that direction with the fight over the missing paint brush (15 min. penalty). Also the gay brother seems to be a bit of a bitch with his nasty imitation of the beauty queen. OK I admit it, I was doing it too, but I would have said "Hi" to her and asked for fashion tips, then made fun of her behind her back.
Lesbian couple--love them and Brandy's spirit, she overcame her shakes on the highwire challenge and got across. I also loved their Martha Stewart and shopping references which break the stereotypes of lesbians being all about plaid shirts and truck driving.
Cowboys--cute as hell and also humble. Absolutely no macho bullshit about them which is great. They admitted their mistake about getting Brazilian money instead of Chilean money--possibily the stupidest first-leg error ever--but it only cost them fifteen minutes on the bus to Valpariso and they overcame it to finish 3rd. They do need different clothes. The hats are fine, but they both looked like they were all duded up for the Saturday night hoe-down instead of some tough challenges and got their fancy duds all sweaty. Wait a minute, maybe that's not such a bad idea. The granddaughter had eyes for them. Plus they have their own theme music--you notice that "Big Valley" soundtrack whenever they came on?
Grandma and Granddaughter--great spirit. Nanna's age probably won't hold them back and hopefully they will last a while.
Team Undercover--as soon as they said "I don't wanna be cocky, but I see us winning every leg," I knew they would be in trouble. I loved it when they found out they were in 9th place. Like the cowboys, they don't seem to have any macho attitude, so I will give them a chance.
Lawyer/moms--again great positive energy and they don't take themselves and the race too seriously.
The rest sort of blended together--the father/daughter, the married couple with the husband making a big deal of being the boss--sign of trouble ahead--and the highschool sweethearts (eliminated)
Valpairso looked beautiful. South America is the one contintent I have never visited. I would love to see it.
Day 1--Los Angeles to Santiago
Day 2--Arrive Santiago--bus to Valpairso
Big Brother team wins a trip to Vancouver.
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