The Amazing Race 4
THE AMAZING RACE 4 premiered last night with a special hour and a half episode. It’s the best reality show on television. It’s the kind of reality show that doesn’t ever make you feel creepy for watching it, and presents the best and worst of humanity in a way that’s truly compelling and interesting to watch. You can watch this one with anybody and not make apologies.
12 teams of 2 in pre-existing relationships are racing around the world, completing oddball tasks at points all over the world. It’s half National Geographic and half game show. The teams include all the reality TV show cliches: gay married couple, father-and-son who don’t get along, comedic pair, best friends, virgins, and the pre-requisite out of shape older couple/parents.
Why aren’t there ever any married lesbians on these shows? It’s always married men. If you want to pull in the ratings, this isn’t the way to do it.
The comedians this time around are actual Ringling Bros. clowns.
The virgin team this year is a pair who have been dating for 12 years. I have no problem with the concept of waiting for marriage. Hell, I think it’s an honorable thing and good for them for doing it. I just have a problem with the girl for sticking around with a guy for 12 years without getting a ring. How do you date anyone for 12 years without getting married, assuming you’re not opposed to the institution and haven’t had a whole discussion of that already?!? He has a problem with commitment, despite the fact that he’s only ever dated one girl and done it for 12 months. Slap him silly, quick.
I’m not going to make any predictions for this show like I did for AMERICAN IDOL. It’s too wildly unpredictable. One mistake can sink a team in a heartbeat, and that’s something they trade off on every week in the promotional package. I don’t think, however, that the models/friends are going to last long. They have one natural talent: The ability to flirt their way anywhere very slowly. Very very slowly. Not gonna help in a race.
It’s fun to watch a pair of air traffic controllers trying to find their way to LAX and spotting a plane on approach to figure out how close they are to the airport. It’s fun to see the feuding couple, who even reference last year’s most hilarious whiner, Flo.
30. May 2003 at 14:46
I’ve seen this show on a few occasions. Boring…just, boring. I just can’t get into it. Something about the whiz bang pace with which it’s edited, I can’t ever muster any feeling about anything that’s going on. Maybe I need to feel creepy watching a reality show for it to be interesting to me. Or maybe reality for me has nothing to do with traveling all around the world trying to win a stack of cash.
On a side note: Is anyone else having a problem with the window size of the comment box? It’s just barely too small and there’s no way to resize it. I’m on Mac OS 9.2
3. June 2003 at 18:03
I agree with Augie. This is the best “reality” show out there. I mean, there’s a purpose to the show. Yes there’s some backbiting, some stereotyping but at least they’re not simply sitting on an island trying to think up of new ways to screw eachother over for a million, or at least they’re not prostituting themselves for a millionaire. (Gee, I’m rich, good looking and I’m on TV, but boo-hoo, I just can’t find someone to love. Blechh) It’s a little like Nat’l Geo. You get to see some cool places across the world (Although India’s rate temple was a little much for me a couple of season’s ago) and it moves! They’re actually working and racing for the money. I try to recommend this show to everyone.