Welcome to Pure Amazing Race

I neglected to take into account that I would be away the first two weekends The Amazing Race aired - so there won’t be a full recap this week and we’ll see how my schedule goes next. After that, though, I’ll be in full swing posting my every thought about each episode.

For the most part I was underwhelmed with the first episode. Maybe because my favorite team going into the race was eliminated on the first leg? Good thing I didn’t bet any money on my picks.

So the teams all headed out to Salvador, Brazil after departing from the Los Angeles Coliseum. There were a few blunders made by some teams early on at the airport, but nothing that ended up costing anyone too much in the end. Since the teams had to stay over night, any time lost was basically made up the following day even though their daytime departures were spread out 45 minutes.

Here’s an update on my overall impressions of the teams after the first episode. I’m listing them in the order they finished, so don’t scroll all the way down if you don’t want to know who was eliminated!

Nick & Starr: This brother/sister duo were not high on my list going in, but they surprised me. I actually liked them! They seemed to get along great. The way they interact reminds me a bit of my twin brother and I, except we’re more silly. At any rate, their relationship is about 1,000 times better than the brother/sister team from last season, Azaria & Hendekea.

Ken & Tina: Hey, did you guys know that Ken cheated on Tina? If Tina would have mentioned that one more time, I would have screamed. I’ve got such an issue with people who air their dirty laundry in public, but obviously it makes for good television. My prediction about the fate of their realtionship remains the same as it was before I ever saw them: it’s doomed.

Terence & Sarah: Here’s another team that I read wrong. Actually, I guess it’s just one half of the team since Sarah seems to be okay. I particularly loved her fluent Portuguese speaking. Girlfriend was flying through those words on the clue cards which made it quite amusing when everyone else stumbled over them. Terence, though. Wow. What was the deal with him asking Sarah to slow down? I thought he coached marathon runners. Maybe coaching means he sits on the sidelines and instructs them via  bullhorn.

Mark & Bill: These two seemed relatively okay. They performed well in all the tasks and weren’t annoying at all. I think we’ll be seeing them for some time to come. I especially loved how they were the only team to even attempt to contain their candy on those insane little carts as they cobbled through the crowded streets of Salvador. As I thought would happen, though, these guys were slowed down by the physical challenge of getting to the detour and then climbing down the cargo net. They didn’t do too bad, but Nick & Starr and Ken & Tina easily out performed them.

Kelly & Christy: The only thing we really learned about these two is that they had really bad marriages and even worse divorces. I’m sure we’ll get all the nitty-gritty, painful details as time goes on if they manage to stay in the race.

Toni & Dallas: I have to tell you - I’m impressed with the relationship of this mother and son team. I thought for sure we’d have a replay of seasons past where the parent had no concept whatsoever that their adult child was an actual, er, adult. Toni seems to have a good handle on the fact that her son is a grown man and they seem to get along splendidly. Refreshing. Let’s hope they keep it up!

Andrew & Dan: I thought these guys would be funny. I was wrong. So wrong. The complaining. Oy!

Aja & Ty: We didn’t learn a whole lot about these two so far. They must not have a lot of idiosyncrasies.

Anthony & Stephanie: Here’s what we know - Stephanie really wants a ring. Anthony really looks uncomfortable when she talks about the future and taking their relationship to the next level. Can not wait to see these two completely break down on national television.

Marisa & Brooke: Ahh, good old Team Hot Pink Velour Tracksuits. They did not disappoint nor surprise. What else needs to be said except they came in next to last, so we might not be seeing a whole lot of them for much longer. Too bad, so sad.

Anita & Arthur: Team Hippie Grandparents, what happened?? I had such high hopes for you. Yet you never once looked like you even knew you were on a race. Maybe it was all that hair weighing you both down. I have to admit I’m a bit relieved that I won’t be seeing that on my television screen any longer. Scary.

So next week we get to see Terence & Sarah start hating on Ken & Tina and Nick & Starr, who have formed an alliance. Good times. Can’t wait!

Our favorite - okay, my favorite reality show won its 6th Emmy last night! Congratulations to co-creator and co-executive producer Bertram van Munster and his wife, Elise Doganieri for doing such a continuous fabulous job. The Amazing Race beat out American Idol, Survivor, Dancing With the Stars, Project Runway, and Top Chef.

Here’s to another award winning season - and it starts in just 6 days on September 28th!

Comedy Central has been doing a really fun spoof on all reality tv shows by doing their own reality TV show where comedians do spoofs of the other reality tv shows. Lost yet?

Basically, Comedy Central is doing a parody of various reality tv shows and The Amazing Race is one of them. However, it’s not called The Amazing Race. Instead, it’s called The Amazing Disgrace. Check out the video:

Here’s the second part of the show which is even funnier:

We’ll be getting to know Nick Spangler and his sister Starr Spangler very well soon since TAR 13 isn’t far away. I think it’s always interesting to have a little background on each of the racers. Looks like both Nick and Starr Spangler are going to be plenty interesting. Take a look at what broadway.tv said about them:

Nick Spangler is a pretty nice guy. We had a chance to interview him backstage at The Fantasticks this week. Nick will soon be on CBS’s The Amazing Race with his sister Starr Spangler, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader we might add.

The Amazing Race is quite popular these days. We hope that it gives Nick greater exposure for Broadway as we are all about someone living their dream. Nick wants to be cast in the hit musical Hair Spray. Will his competing in The Amazing Race help make that happen? Only time will tell.

A broadway kid and a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. What an interesting combination. Sounds like drama just waiting to happen. Does it strike anyone else as weird that the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader was named Starr? Well, at least she’ll be something nice to look at during the race:

Starr Spangler’s Picture as a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader

Looks like reruns of The Amazing Race have found a home in the Travel Channel. The only real question is why the Travel Channel didn’t decide to pick up this show earlier. My guess was it was probably due to The Amazing Race’s asking price.

I originally saw this posted about a week ago, but today I got an email confirming that the Travel Channel will be running TAR 12 premiering on Wednesday, September 3rd at 8 PM EST.

The summary of the show from the Travel Channel TAR website is as follows:

The Travel Channel will begin airing episodes of Season 12 of the award-winning reality series “The Amazing Race” from CBS Television on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 8 p.m. ET, with additional episodes airing every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.

The popular series, hosted by Phil Keoghan, follows contestants across the globe through some of the world’s most exotic and beautiful destinations as they compete against one another through a series of challenges for the ultimate grand prize.

One other cool piece of information for the Amazing Race lover is that Travel Channel will be showing a “The Amazing Race Marathon” all day Sunday, September 28th to get ready for The Amazing Race 13.

The only other question around this move is whether this is just protection for The Amazing Race in case CBS ever decides to not renew (which they’ve threatened for years).