The Race is Still On

By Pang Yee Huat • UrbanWire
email reporter • email story • printer friendly

The race may still be on between a whole host of popular reality shows, but absolutely nothing can beat The Amazing Race.

Now into its 5th season, The Amazing Race is a show that pits 11 teams of 2 members against each other as they race around the world for US$1 million (about S$ 1.72 million), while having to tackle route markers, such as ‘Road Block’ (where 1 member of the team has to perform a certain task) and ‘Detour’ (here members have to complete 1 of 2 given tasks to advance) throughout the journey.

The Twist
Obviously, the producers at The Amazing Race figured that if the rules were to remain the same for the 5th season running, things would get a little stale. So, enter ‘Yield’, a new twist that could possibly slow teams down if implemented by another team.

Teams have to do 2 things at a ‘Yield’ point. For a start, they have to check if any team has implemented a ‘Yield’ on them. If not, they can either choose to yield another team or carry on with the race. A team that has been yielded would have to flip an hourglass over and wait for the sand to be emptied before they can continue on their journey.

However, the twist to ‘Yield’ is that though every team is only allowed 1 chance to delay another team in the race, there is no limit to the number of times a team can be sabotaged. So heads up to the potential troublemakers in the race: Watch your backs and play nice – you wouldn’t want to be yielded one time too many!

The Teams
The teams racing this time are not much different from the other 4 seasons, with usual pairings such as brothers, twins, once-engaged couples and long-time friends making up the 11 teams.

You might want to pay attention, however, to teams such as first cousins Charla Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan. The stark difference in their physical abilities (Charla has a form of dwarfism) might prove a disadvantage for the team when faced with certain physical detours. Other interesting teams to note would be Internet senior couple Bob Barron and Joyce Nicole (61 and 54 years old respectively) and twins Kami and Karli French, who have openly declared that they will be using manipulation in this race.
The Race So Far
Starting off from California’s Santa Monica Pier, the teams have travelled to Uruguay and Argentina so far. Lots of things have happened along the way too - highlights of the journey thus far include knee injuries, exciting roadblocks and, not to mention, the mistakes made by certain teams.

For example, bad luck struck father and daughter team Jim and Marshal McCoy from the start of the race. Just after host Phil Keoghan flagged the teams off, Jim fell onto a nail while running, resulting in a bloody knee.

Another memorable scene would be the grave error made by twins Kami and Karli and married parents Chip and Kim. After missing a route marker during the race, Phil informed them at the pit stop (the final destination at each leg of the race) that they would have to retrieve it before they could ‘check in’. This proved to be traumatising for both teams because it meant a possible elimination on that leg.

With interesting detours such as needing to pull themselves across a horizontal zipline, which is simply hanging onto ropes attached to a cable, sliding down 18 stories high into a swimming pool in Uruguay, and dog walking in Argentina, we got an amusing peek into how teams work together to successfully overcome these situations.

I wouldn’t say the first 2 episodes provided the excitement I expected, but there were moments when I was all hyped up and cheering for the teams. Overall, not only does The Amazing Race bring out the best – and the worst – in people, it also brings the world’s picturesque beauty right to your television sets.

Get your popcorn ready and get set to continue The Amazing Race!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Race is Still On

By Pang Yee Huat • UrbanWire
email reporter • email story • printer friendly

The race may still be on between a whole host of popular reality shows, but absolutely nothing can beat The Amazing Race.

Now into its 5th season, The Amazing Race is a show that pits 11 teams of 2 members against each other as they race around the world for US$1 million (about S$ 1.72 million), while having to tackle route markers, such as ‘Road Block’ (where 1 member of the team has to perform a certain task) and ‘Detour’ (here members have to complete 1 of 2 given tasks to advance) throughout the journey.

The Twist
Obviously, the producers at The Amazing Race figured that if the rules were to remain the same for the 5th season running, things would get a little stale. So, enter ‘Yield’, a new twist that could possibly slow teams down if implemented by another team.

Teams have to do 2 things at a ‘Yield’ point. For a start, they have to check if any team has implemented a ‘Yield’ on them. If not, they can either choose to yield another team or carry on with the race. A team that has been yielded would have to flip an hourglass over and wait for the sand to be emptied before they can continue on their journey.

However, the twist to ‘Yield’ is that though every team is only allowed 1 chance to delay another team in the race, there is no limit to the number of times a team can be sabotaged. So heads up to the potential troublemakers in the race: Watch your backs and play nice – you wouldn’t want to be yielded one time too many!

The Teams
The teams racing this time are not much different from the other 4 seasons, with usual pairings such as brothers, twins, once-engaged couples and long-time friends making up the 11 teams.

You might want to pay attention, however, to teams such as first cousins Charla Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan. The stark difference in their physical abilities (Charla has a form of dwarfism) might prove a disadvantage for the team when faced with certain physical detours. Other interesting teams to note would be Internet senior couple Bob Barron and Joyce Nicole (61 and 54 years old respectively) and twins Kami and Karli French, who have openly declared that they will be using manipulation in this race.
The Race So Far
Starting off from California’s Santa Monica Pier, the teams have travelled to Uruguay and Argentina so far. Lots of things have happened along the way too - highlights of the journey thus far include knee injuries, exciting roadblocks and, not to mention, the mistakes made by certain teams.

For example, bad luck struck father and daughter team Jim and Marshal McCoy from the start of the race. Just after host Phil Keoghan flagged the teams off, Jim fell onto a nail while running, resulting in a bloody knee.

Another memorable scene would be the grave error made by twins Kami and Karli and married parents Chip and Kim. After missing a route marker during the race, Phil informed them at the pit stop (the final destination at each leg of the race) that they would have to retrieve it before they could ‘check in’. This proved to be traumatising for both teams because it meant a possible elimination on that leg.

With interesting detours such as needing to pull themselves across a horizontal zipline, which is simply hanging onto ropes attached to a cable, sliding down 18 stories high into a swimming pool in Uruguay, and dog walking in Argentina, we got an amusing peek into how teams work together to successfully overcome these situations.

I wouldn’t say the first 2 episodes provided the excitement I expected, but there were moments when I was all hyped up and cheering for the teams. Overall, not only does The Amazing Race bring out the best – and the worst – in people, it also brings the world’s picturesque beauty right to your television sets.

Get your popcorn ready and get set to continue The Amazing Race!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars