December 7, 2008
Ken and Tina! Nick and Starr! Andrew and Dan! The Middle-Aged Couple! The Siblings! The Frat Buffoons! It's The Amazing Race 13 finale! We've endured another solid season of CBS's highly-acclaimed travel-based reality series, and tonight brings the finale, where two worthy teams compete for the million dollars against one team that has advanced to the final leg thanks to incredible, unthinkable luck. Personally, I'm rooting for favorites Nick and Starr, the sibling duo who have thoroughly dominated the race this season. The Amazing Race will return early next year, so there's no worries about cancellation, as there have been in season's past. So, sit back and relax, and watch the finale of the great race. I'll be here throughout the night, dumping live thoughts into the transfer station of the internet tubes. Enjoy, ma'ams and sirs, and comment with your thoughts in the denoted section below.
December 6, 2008
We're just one day away from the finale of The Amazing Race 13, a season that has given us a wide swath of quality teams, one really lucky team, and dominance the likes of which The Amazing Race isn't accustomed. I've enjoyed the season, like I do every season, but it hasn't really captured much excitement, and I suspect that the dominance of Nick and Starr (and, to a lesser extent, Ken and Tina) have made the series more boring than usual. There's nothing wrong with this, and I can't imagine CBS thought that Nick and Starr had the potential for this kind of powerhouse performance. On paper, they're relatively unimpressive. The actual route has been a highlight of the season, forgoing any well-known European destinations for mostly under-represented spots like Bolivia and Cambodia. Though almost entirely unsuccessful, I figured I might as well give these predictions one last try. I've been saving the best for last.
December 5, 2008
I did not envision myself writing this article. There has been no evidence in the previous ten episodes of The Amazing Race 13 that supports Andrew and Dan as legitimate candidates to win The Amazing Race. Their victory would be an affront to all the vanquished teams of seasons' past. Their victory would be a punch to the gullet of justice and a middle finger to logic. Their victory would jostle free any semblance of reason in regards to The Amazing Race. And, yet, the aching, foreboding feeling of destiny surrounds Team Dandrew. These two goofy, uncoordinated, incompetent buffoons have oozed good karma since episode one, advancing past each leg despite presenting no rationale reason for why they should be doing so.
The Amazing Race 13: Why Nick and Starr Will Win
The Amazing Race 13: Why Ken and Tina Will Win
December 4, 2008
Because they're the best team.
What? Do you need more? OK. Nick and Starr have dominated The Amazing Race as much, perhaps more so, than any other team in the thirteen season history of the show. The brother/sister duo has won six of the ten legs thus far on The Amazing Race 13, and will begin Sunday's final episode in the pole position. Not only have they won a majority of the legs, they have done so in decisive fashion, showing no weaknesses and never even threatening to lose morale during the grueling race. Nick and Starr, in terms of inter-gender teams, are the perfect duo. They'd be the team you'd draw up. Intelligent, athletic, and unfailingly supportive of one another. They are the favorites to win the million dollars, and it will be an upset if they don't.
The Amazing Race 13: Why Ken and Tina Will Win
December 3, 2008
Ken Greene is a former NFL football player. For a former football player, Mr. Greene is in great mental and physical shape. Many ex-NFL stars sentence themselves to a life of pain and suffering stemming from the amount of physical torment inflicted upon them on the gridiron. Brains get scrambled, migraines aren't uncommon, joints ache, walking can become difficult. History is littered with the discarded bodies of our former Sunday warriors. Ken Greene is one of the lucky ones. I bring all this up because, no matter what, Ken has led a nice life, it seems like he has money to put away, and he doesn't need the million dollars, not nearly as much as the other two final teams on The Amazing Race 13. But, as it turns out, this isn't terribly important.
December 3, 2008
Editor's Note: This is a weekly guest post from the TV staff at Film.com. Check back here on Wednesdays for more Film.com stories about your favorite shows: Big Brother, The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, American Idol and America's Next Top Model.
By Susan Young Film.com
Can a team actually blunder into a million buck win?
That seems to be the case on this lackluster year of The Amazing Race, where incredibly we're watching what could very well be reality TV's version of Revenge of the Nerds. If there was a wrong turn, these boys took it. If there was a challenged to be botched, count on Dan and Andrew. Say what you will, Dandrew at least offers some comic relief this season. They started out a little cocky, but the roosters have had their feathers plunked often enough to make them more humble as the race winds down to the finale this Sunday.
December 2, 2008
While some of the big networks have struggled to find viewers throughout the fall season, CBS has been able to brag about their numerous successes. NCIS is hitting all-time ratings highs, The Mentalist is one of the most popular new shows of the year, and of course the network still has heavy hitters like Survivor, The Amazing Race and the CSI franchise. While NBC and ABC are canceling shows left and right, CBS is enjoying a string of good luck.
Will that good luck continue in 2009? CBS recently announced their mid-season programming plans, which includes new seasons of Survivor, Flashpoint and The Amazing Race, and the long-awaited premieres of two new shows.