Follow Up – The Amazing Race – Season 14

The Amazing Race – CBS – Season 14 – USA / Channel 7 – 7:30pm Thursday – AUS

Helicopters fly across the ocean. Phil declares that the time is “Oh Seven Hundred Hours.” The Amazing Race is back and as the soundtrack wells to unbelievable proportions it’s as over the top as ever. But isn’t that exactly what we love about it?

This is Season 14 of the show and by now I think we’ve all given up on remembering contestant names. As we meet our couples we assign them their nicknames for the next thirteen weeks: Blonde Flight Attendants, Mum & Deaf Son, Asian Brother & Sister, Rednecks, Black Sisters (or is that Sistas?), Dating Couple, Old Couple, Hot Couple, Gay Dad & Son Who’s Been In Movies I’ve Seen Before, Little Stuntmen (or Guys That Look Like Garden Gnomes), Cheerleaders… You know you’ve seen too much Amazing Race when you can pick who’s going to get eliminated first just from their intro. Go through that list and pick the least memorable nickname.

Yeah, sorry Dating Couple… you were the last to arrive.

After all these seasons The Amazing Race producers have finally introduced a new and exciting TWIST!!! This year if you’re the last team to arrive you get eliminated… oh wait. That’s what always happens. It’s that kind of dependability that keeps you coming back to the Race time and time again.

There is a new 3D map though which is the only way can tell this season apart from seasons 1 through 13. Other than that everything you know and love is back, there are airports, and trains, and the random “extreme” challenge followed by the random “weird local tradition” challenge, and Phil, and chopped up conversations, and out of context voice over and some seriously dodgy editing to make things more urgent than they really are.

Every year you pick a collection of Racers to love and a collection to hate. For me the douchebags are going to be the Old Couple, those precocious Asian Siblings and the incredibly pathetic Rednecks. On the flipside I can see myself rooting for the Garden Gnomes, the Blonde Flight Attendants, and even the Mum & Deaf Son. The Deaf Son just wants to prove that deaf people can do everything normal people can… except hear of course. I’m not sure anyone ever doubted deaf people couldn’t… it’s not like they’re blind or anything… man, I bet a blind guy would have trouble dancing… PROVE ME WRONG REALITY TV. Prove. Me. Wrong.

My favourite moment from the first episode had to be the Redneck dude yelling at his wife that “we’re going to be eliminated!” Calm down guy, you haven’t even got to a road block yet, or a detour, or the second clue… you only get eliminated in the last bit.

It’s weird that something as predictable and over produced as The Amazing Race can stay so damn lovable. But it does. After all this time we’re still excited to see who makes it to the mat to meet Phil and a local dressed nothing like real locals. After Phil tells the last contestant that unfortunately they have been eliminated from the race and they tearfully explain that they’re closer than ever before and better people because of the experience you know that you’re still going to tune in next week because it’s The Amazing Race dammit and The Amazing Race is awesome.