The Amazing Race 18

Two-time Amazing Race star Mike White was the latest two-time cast member from the CBS series to appear in front of TV critics and pitch their project (Rob Mariano showed up to talk about his new show, and Jaime Edmondson was at the Playboy Mansion party because, well, I don’t know). Mike created and co-stars… continue reading

The Amazing Race‘s two-hour finale was the lowest-rated final episode in its 18 seasons, though it did do well against its competition, which may be all that matters. CBS said in a press release that the show “was first in viewers (8.91m), adults 25-54 (3.3/08) and tied for first in adults 18-49 (2.5/07, with both… continue reading

The Amazing Race concluded its 18th season and second all-star season with two back-to-back episodes that ended in the Florida Keys with the $1 million prize going to sisters Jen and Kisha Hoffman. The Globetrotters came in second, followed by father/daughter team Gary and Mallory. Friends Zev and Justin were knocked out in the penultimate… continue reading

Sunday’s episode of The Amazing Race had a fantastic ending, and not just because Kent Kaliber and Vyxsin Fiala were finally eliminated after yet another screw-up and in the middle of yet another argument. It was especially awesome because the penalty they incurred for not reading the clue correctly (it said explicitly to walk; they… continue reading

We have two episodes and three hours left on The Amazing Race 18, and I’m ready to break up with the show. But I will give it three more hours and hope that it redeems itself. But last night’s episode was more of the same: obnoxious product placement instead of actual content at the beginning,… continue reading

All in all, a decent episode of The Amazing Race last night, at least relative to its weaker episodes, and despite the fact that Kent and Vyxsin are still around and may just get worse. In Austria, clues weren’t just spelled out for them, and clues lead to more clues at destinations that required directions,… continue reading

The Amazing Race almost lost me mid-episode, and despite my now-consistent displeasure with the direction the series has taken, that hasn’t ever happened before. But starting with an insultingly inorganic and time-wasting Snapple ad was ridiculous (as I wrote last week, I’m okay with product placement, but only when it doesn’t take over). And then… continue reading

The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan doesn’t have an Emmy yet, but he should, as his latest gig proves. He has a cameo in a new safety video for Air New Zealand that stars Richard Simmons. It’s hilarious, and makes that fun, jaunty Delta safety video seem dull by comparison (though the no-smoking finger wag… continue reading

For the second time in two weeks, we’ve essentially had a team give up and fall behind. They’ve come short of quitting, but there wasn’t a nail-biting finish, just an inevitable elimination after half the teams checked in simultaneously. (There was more tension from the possibility that one of the teams’ taxis would be hit… continue reading

This season of The Amazing Race should have been called Incompetent Whiners, because there’s sure a lot of both this season. Calling this season all-stars definitely gives the teams too much credit, but at least last night’s episode–delayed by 20 minutes and thus cut off from my DVR because there was too much competition at… continue reading

Say what you will about returning cast members on The Amazing Race, and I sure have said a lot, but the teams this season have basically rescued the past two episodes from being dreary because they act so stupidly. This episode should have started with everyone taking the same flight from Japan to China (the… continue reading

On Sunday’s The Amazing Race, the father-son team of Mel and Mike White were eliminated after being removed from the competition during the Detour challenge because they were suffering from hypothermia. Yet even after being treated, putting on fresh clothes, and being driven to the pit stop to be eliminated, they still beat Jaime and… continue reading

The Amazing Race 18 started to find its groove last night, thanks to a bunch of unexpected things: a delayed flight, a car accident, an accidental theft, medical attention for hypothermia, and the chaos of Tokyo traffic. These sorts of moments have been less common as the race has gotten more controlled (pre-selected flights, relatively… continue reading

At long last, I watched the second episode of The Amazing Race 18. (I spent the weekend with a former Survivor contestant for an upcoming story and have been playing catch-up ever since.) I wasn’t all that fond of the first episode and its momentum-destroying twists, including a cliffhanger ending. This episode had an ending,… continue reading