Saturday, July 19, 2003

SO NOW YOU KNOW: Reader Louis Wainwright emails to ask:
I originally started reading you based on some American Idol commentary. I then gave Amazing Race a chance based partially on your enthusiasm for the show. And since then...nothing! I don't recall a single post this season. What, are you not watching it at all? Or are the lack of any strong storylines keeping you from finding the motivation to write about it? If so, let me help. My wife and I are enjoying the show and clearly see why people of taste respect it. However, the lack of clear heroes and villains is making it difficult to figure out who to root for and against. So since I feel you have some responsibility for getting us hooked on the show, I think you owe it to us to tell us who to cheer on.

Fair enough, and he's right: I haven't written about TAR4 since around the first episode.

I think two things are going on here, in terms of why I haven't written about the show. First off, I don't think this season has been as good as the previous three -- the contestants aren't as interesting, and the challenges aren't as . . . challenging. I mean, even the clowns are boring! Millie and Chuck aren't nearly as much fun as similar chipper-eyed Blake and Paige, and confrontational gays Chip and Reichen aren't nearly as evil as Team Guido, TaraWil or Teri and Ian. Nobody provides the constant levity that Danny and Oswald, Ken and Gerard or Team FratBoy (again: unfunny clowns? How?) I don't know if it's bad casting, bad editing or bad luck. (Anyway, the anonymous straight guys are going to win. Again. They haven't had anything close to a narrative arc yet, suggesting their developments will be very late in the game.)

And, sadly, none of the road blocks and detours have been truly tricky -- no "find the westernmost point in continental Europe", no frustrating mining for opals in Australia or golfing on an unmarked course, nothing as complicated as the blowtorch/chisel snowglobes from season two in Alaska. Not a whole lot of really strenuous physical stuff, and too much artificial bunching. Nor has there been anything as evilly (is that a word?) fun as the elimination of the two Harvard Law students for not taking a cab when they needed to. Instead, each episode has been about not-screwing-up, as opposed to showing teams using smarts to successfully get ahead.

Second problem is just logistics. Jen and I have been on vacation for the past few weeks, away from our cable modem and limited to a dialup connection, and I haven't really been able to read the TWoP recaps or boards where I'd otherwise go for inspiration on this stuff. Next week, however, is make-up time.

Who to root for? Root for the entertaining teams to stay in the race, to keep the show interesting -- and that's bickering fiancees Kelly and Jon, and, just because they provoke everyone else, 12-years-virginal-and-counting Millie and Chuck. As for rooting for a winner, the team I've wanted to see win has never won, so the best I will hope for is a challenging, riveting finale as good as the last three.

Am I still watching? Yes. Is it as good as the previous seasons? No. But it's still destination television, and I encourage you to watch. (And post your thoughts on this season in the Comments below.)

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