The Amazing Race

Robert and I aren't really big into Reality TV, but we absolutely love The Amazing Race and have been pretty pumped about the launch of Season 14 two weeks ago. It comes on Monday nights at 7 p.m. Central on CBS and is about the only decent show to watch on CBS.

If you've never seen the show, it's basically a crazy race around the world between 11 teams of people. Each show is a mini race with teams completing challenges and finishing in a certain order. The last team to finish each week is almost always eliminated. The teams that finish earlier get to start the next segment of the race ahead of the teams that finish later, so there's incentive to get ahead and stay ahead. At the end of the season, the winner is the team that comes out on top, and happens to win $1 million.

Teams have to complete all sorts of roadblocks and random stunts that range from the physically challenging to mentally challenging to just plain gross. A lot of who comes out on top each week depends on strategy, teamwork, and making smart decisions about which activity to do when you have options and especially which partner is better suited to complete the task the quickest. And, of course, there's tons of drama and competition and the camera is following them the entire time.

This season there's some crazy twists on the standard types of teams. There's always a sibling set, parent/child, dating couple, married couple, etc. It's crazy how quickly your favorites emerge. I think I pretty much had identified the top teams I was routing for 10 minutes into week one.

So, since I'm behind on this update, I'll just tell you that two teams that have already been eliminated. They happen to the young dating couple from Auburn/South Carolina who finished last week, and the older redneck couple from Virgina who were eliminated last Monday night. So far, the South's not faring well. But what can I say. It's survival of the fittest. And besides, I was getting tired of seeing that orange shirt anyway.

(Preston and Jennifer; Steve and Linda - both eliminated)

The remaining teams (with my personal opinion about their personalities and chances) are recapped below:

Mel and Mike - a twist on the standard gay couple, this is a father/son duo who are both gay. They seem to have a good relationship, but Mel's age (and pulled muscle) almost lost them the race last week. They won't last much longer.


Mark and Michael - stunt-men brothers who both come in under 5 feet tall. Super competitive and will certainly be strong contenders if they can remember to use time in the cab to call ahead and reserve the earliest flights. That almost lost them the race last week.


Margie and Luke - mother/son team that has no enemies. Luke is deaf and communicates with his mother primarily through sign language. he's the first Amazing Race contestant with a disability. Their heightened communication skills and teamwork have gotten them at the head of the pack each week. The disability keeps any other team from being ruthlessly out to get them - at least for now. Margie has been surprisingly competitive and adapt at the physical challenges. These two will be around for a while.


Tammy and Victor - brother/sister duo who are both lawyers and tend to stay calm, cool, and collected. These two work well together and have obvious advantages of both being smart, fit, and generally well-mannered. They remind me a lot of Nick and Star from last season. Victor was a little super hyper last week, breaking out into song in the cab, but certainly had reason since this team finished first. Robert's pulling for these two.


Amanda and Kris - didn't think this dating couple from Southern Cal would be contenders at first, but they are fairing well. Both have good personalities and are making pretty smart decisions. Amanda needs to learn to talk on TV, since she made some very embarrassing gramatical errors last week, but I think these two will definitely be in the pack for a while.


Cara and Jamie - former NFL cheerleaders from Miami; these two finished well last week but I have a feeling their time is running short. They're fast, but there's not a lot of stratgy to their decision-making process.


Brad & Victoria - I think this older married couple is going to be the team that emerges as the back-stabber. Victoria is crazy intense and isn't scared to walk all over other teams. I have a feeling they are going to be making enemies quickly.


Lakisha & Jennifer - these highly athletic sisters are performing poorly for the talent they bring to the race. Worse yet, they've got seriously relationship problems, and little sister Jennifer is already complaining about Lakisha's domineering decision-making. They also are horrible navigators. They won't last long unless they start working as a team and get their act together.


Christie and Jodi - these two flight attendant friends have finished next to last the past two weeks. Definitely have potential but certainly don't have the traveling skills you'd expect of someone who flies for a living. They should bounce back though.