The Amazing Race

An avid viewer of the first installment of CBS' OTHER reality-based television show, I was quite happy to see The Amazing Race 2 had managed to appear in my TV Guide listings this year.

The Amazing Race follows 11 teams of 2 people with some sort of pre-existing relationship (mother/daughter, best friends, etc.) on a race around the world. Teams must follow clues to discover the next destination, and how to get there is often up to them to figure out. Along the way are various "pit stops." Be the last to arrive at most of these, and your team is eliminated from the race. No fuss, no muss...the quickest survive. NO tribal councils, NO voting!

That is what makes this show so wonderful. Contestants are forced to use not only their strength and wits, but also their (deep breath) intelligence in order to survive. The Race becomes the sole arbitor of who remains, and the viewer ends up having as much fun following the contestants as they do following the ever-surprising route. This is competition at its most basic, and simple is wonderful!

Keep this series alive...it's quite simply the most entertaining of the entire genre.

Season 36 was even worse than Family Edition, and the producers had to really try to beat that season for worst. It was clear 'Team Ringer' was going to win in the first 5 minutes of the first episode, and boy the season didn't disappoint. Let's see, a flamboyant team with a native Spanish speaker, check. Travel exclusively around South America, check. Some real life familiarity with every challenge, check. Never get lost (native Spanish speaker), check. End in the home city of Team Ringer, check. I only finished because we've watched every season. At this point, when Amazing Race gets canceled it's the producers fault. I'll watch next season because I love the show, but this will be my last season if it's rigged again. Certainly this wasn't the first rigged season, but it was by far the worst.

I absolutely love watching The Amazing Race! The challengers are always entertaining to watch as they interact with each other and face the obstacles thrown their way. I especially enjoy seeing beautiful locations worldwide and learning about traditions I may not be familiar with.

However, while watching the show, one of my pet peeves is when the teams struggle with driving a Volkswagen. It seems like they can never figure out that to put the car in reverse, they need to push down on the shift, push it to the left, and then push it up. It's frustrating to watch them continually struggle with this simple task and end up in first gear instead.

Overall, The Amazing Race is a thrilling and captivating show that never fails to keep me on the edge of my seat. I just wish the teams would learn how to operate a Volkswagen properly!

I gotta say I hate reality TV. Sure "Survivor" had it's moments, but it got tiresome after awhile. The Amazing Race? Now HERE's a show with variety and personality to match the frantic, fast-paced action with such ingenious use of game set-pieces I couldn't help but dig this show. I watched this series for nine years and it still never fails to entertain me. That's something that can't be said for most reality TV programs; well at least for "American Idol". One of the most moving moments of the show was when they had one of the contestants was a female dwarf but despite her physical limits, she managed to get far near the end of the race. I can vividly recall the the emotions of the host who greeted them at the pit stop; however coming in last place eliminated them from the race. Sorry if that sounded a little poetic but I couldn't help but be touched by his reaction. Still, it's a great show, filled with a surprising amount of suspense. Yes, SUSPENSE. In a reality show; a rarity. Never in the history of TV has a series been this gripping, this entertaining, heartwarming and exciting, and above all, original as The Amazing Race.

You can skip all the other dopey reality shows that have come along recently, The Amazing Race has GOT to be right up there with the orginal.. Survivor! This show offers adventure (which is the name of the game) fun, excitement and entertainment!

If CBS will give this show some time, it will build a large audience, I'm sure. Watching teams compete at various feats, trials, and tasks is entertainment in itself, add the addition of watching as these teams travel the world jockeying for 1st place is pure enjoyment!!

I think Jerry (Bruckheimer) has a winning combination here!