The fifth season of Amazing Race is shaping up for a nice conclusion. I could live with pretty much any of the remaining teams winning. (You can catch up with the around-the-world fun here.)
While I can’t stand Colin (he’s creepy) and find Christie troubling (due to her tolerance for creepy), I can’t deny that they’ve raced like champs. My favorites are Chip and Kim, who are Colin and Christie’s polar opposites in terms of healthy interpersonal dynamics. (They also race pretty well, all in all.) Linda and Karen appeal to me simply because they’re having so much fun. As devoutly religious reality show contestants go, Brandon and Nicole are surprisingly tolerable. They also make me question my agnosticism, as surely only divine intervention could have gotten them this far. (No stereotypes about models are being broken here, let me tell you.)
As for the recently departed twins? About time their shocking incompetence caught up with them. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out, and please feel free to take your Bad Girls of Field Hockey shtick with you, okay? Thanks.
The thing that I like best about this show, and the reason I think it’s developed such a loyal fan base, is that merit actually plays a role in the outcome. Certainly luck can be a huge factor, but teamwork, planning, and fearlessness can move you to the front of the pack. And while relationships get focus, it’s in the context of how relationships can help or hinder teamwork, not the creepy, voyeuristic approach of other shows.
Speaking of other shows, the producers of Survivor have decided that we just can’t get enough Rupert. Despite decisively losing the show twice, he’s been brought in as some kind of “advisor” for this year’s contestants. I can only assume that he’s meant to serve as some kind of negative example, as he’s yet to demonstrate any pronounced accumen in anything but fishing.
The upcoming season will apparently take place on volcanic islands. No word yet as to whether losing contestants will be offered up as sacrifices, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. The new season debuts Thursday, Sept. 16.
The Apprentice gets a one-week jump on the grubby island-dwellers, focusing instead on meticulously groomed island dwellers (specifically, Manhattan). Come for the aspiring corporate weasels; stay for the inimitable cool of Carolyn Kepcher.