The season finale of The Amazing Race is on tonight. How much do I love this show? Probably more than I should admit. Tonight we will spend two hours watching the final three couples try to win a million dollars. Why are there three teams left at the end, instead of just two? Because one season one of the last three teams made an error in judgment and ended up stranded in some remote part of the world while the other teams were finishing the race. These guys were so far behind that someone from the show actually came out to tell them to stop racing. “Yeah, the winning team has already won, gone on their press tour and written a self-help book. You can go ahead and stop now.” If there had been only two teams competing it would have made for a far less dramatic two hours. I imagine creative editing couldn’t even help that one.
Speaking of creative editing, this show does quite a bit of it. The hook of the show is that it’s a race. And in order to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, it’s better if the race is a close one. However, sometimes this just isn’t the case. In these instances the editors are called upon to make it at least look like a close race. We’ve got the last two teams running, scratching, struggling to beat the other team to the finish line. We’re at home, biting our finger nails, muscles all clinched with anticipation…then we realize that Joe and Deb are running during the day in August and Bob and Pete just passed a group singing Christmas carols. By the time Bob and Pete arrive to the finish line the host of the show has grown out his beard and put on 10 pounds of holiday weight. Yet, we, the home viewer, still believe it was close, because the editors cut really quickly between the two teams – each of them yelling, “RUN!!!”
And don’t worry, even if a team comes in three months later than the others there is still a chance that they get to continue on the race. Because some legs of the race are “predetermined non-elimination rounds”. What? What is the point of a race if no one is being eliminated? If you’re a contestant you’ve GOT to fill silly if you just eaten three pounds of cow intestines and shaved your head and it turns out that no one is even being eliminated at the end of this leg. It would be like Fox saying, “I know you just won game 7 of the World Series, but we’re getting really good ratings, so we’re going to go ahead and make it into a best of 9 series. Put the champagne away.”
That’s how much I love this show - I’m comparing it to the World Series. To me it’s a lot more exciting than the World Series. The World Series only gets me to the edge of my seat in anticipation when a foul ball is hit to a man eating a hot dog and drinking a beer. Time is suspended as the man makes a choice similar to Sophie’s – do I save my hot dog and beer (combined ballpark price - $89), or do I go for the ball? Given the extremely high standards of the Fox Network I wouldn’t put it past them to make ‘Dog or Ball’ into their newest reality series. And I’m sure they could figure out a way to incorporate cow intestines and head shaving as well. They are just that talented.
Speaking of creative editing, this show does quite a bit of it. The hook of the show is that it’s a race. And in order to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, it’s better if the race is a close one. However, sometimes this just isn’t the case. In these instances the editors are called upon to make it at least look like a close race. We’ve got the last two teams running, scratching, struggling to beat the other team to the finish line. We’re at home, biting our finger nails, muscles all clinched with anticipation…then we realize that Joe and Deb are running during the day in August and Bob and Pete just passed a group singing Christmas carols. By the time Bob and Pete arrive to the finish line the host of the show has grown out his beard and put on 10 pounds of holiday weight. Yet, we, the home viewer, still believe it was close, because the editors cut really quickly between the two teams – each of them yelling, “RUN!!!”
And don’t worry, even if a team comes in three months later than the others there is still a chance that they get to continue on the race. Because some legs of the race are “predetermined non-elimination rounds”. What? What is the point of a race if no one is being eliminated? If you’re a contestant you’ve GOT to fill silly if you just eaten three pounds of cow intestines and shaved your head and it turns out that no one is even being eliminated at the end of this leg. It would be like Fox saying, “I know you just won game 7 of the World Series, but we’re getting really good ratings, so we’re going to go ahead and make it into a best of 9 series. Put the champagne away.”
That’s how much I love this show - I’m comparing it to the World Series. To me it’s a lot more exciting than the World Series. The World Series only gets me to the edge of my seat in anticipation when a foul ball is hit to a man eating a hot dog and drinking a beer. Time is suspended as the man makes a choice similar to Sophie’s – do I save my hot dog and beer (combined ballpark price - $89), or do I go for the ball? Given the extremely high standards of the Fox Network I wouldn’t put it past them to make ‘Dog or Ball’ into their newest reality series. And I’m sure they could figure out a way to incorporate cow intestines and head shaving as well. They are just that talented.
1 comment:
You know, you can't be comparing the Amazing Race to the World Series. It doesn't even compare. Baseball is way more entertaining and exciting than watching people get lost in Lufthansta. You know that this stuff is planned/scripted way in advance anyway, and while it might be exciting to you, it's already planned as to who will win. I can't even watch that show because it's so ugly. People fighting all the time and being discourteous to the others in the group. Why don't you spend your time watching something more important, like 4 AM tv? At least you can get a fold it and put it in your pocket ladder for $35.00
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