The Amazing Race

My favorite show is finally back - yay! After the disaster that was the “Family Edition”, it’s so great to have the real race back. I think they did a good job with the casting this time, I can actually tell all the teams apart after just one episode.

Episode 1 – Denver to Sao Paolo, Brazil

Eric & Jeremy – Friends
I was all ready to hate these two, but they were sort of funny in the first episode. They are self-proclaimed “slackers” so you sort of have to respect that. They didn’t make any mistakes and came in first place.

BJ & Tyler – Friends
Not sure what to make of these two yet. They are hippies who wear questionable outfits (a puffy shirt?). They could be fun to watch or they could get tiresome really quickly, only time will tell.

Wanda & Desiree – Mother/Daughter
Wanda is way too high strung, but Desiree should be able to keep her in check. A strong showing in the first episode, they should do well.

Dave & Lori – Dating
The self-proclaimed “nerds.” I think I really like them; they seem down to earth and did well in this episode – not showing off, not falling behind. I do wish they’d stop with all the kissing though.

Lake & Michelle – Married
Lake is the Colin or Jonathan of this season, way too intense for his own good and rude to his wife. He misread their very first clue and then said it was “partially his fault.” Hate him, can’t wait to see this team eliminated.

Joseph & Monica – Dating
Monica really got on my nerves, really high strung. I knew it was a bad sign when she started crying in the airport in the first few minutes of the race. Also, this team has given themselves the nickname “MoJo” and even had T-shirts made up. Gross.

Ray & Yolanda – Dating
These two seem like decent racers, we’ll see if they can finish higher up next time. Other than that, didn’t get much of a sense of their personalities.

Fran & Berry – Married
The designated old couple of the season. They had so much potential at the beginning but put forth a really awful effort in the first leg. The wandered around looking for a clue box that was literally right under their noses for way too long, then made a bad detour choice and lost even more time. I hope they get their act together.

Danielle & Dani – Friends
This team left a bad taste in my mouth right away with their outfits – head to toe pink. They are this season’s designated ditzes and so far they are living up to that moniker, arriving in third to last place.

Lisa & Joni – Sisters
Even more annoying than Lake, these two would not stop screaming for the entire episode. Hopefully we won’t have to listen to them much longer, they don’t come across as very strong racers at all.

John & Scott – Friends
The first eliminated team. These guys seem nice enough, but couldn’t really get the hang of the race, floundering around for the entire episode. I’m sure all those extra bags they were lugging around didn’t help – were they souvenir shopping while they should have been racing?