An amazing show called The Amazing Race

If you are not familiar with this CBS show, it beings with teams of two people who have pre-existing relationships. Husband and wife, mother and son, best friends, and so on. The teams are given a clue by the host Phil Keoghan and set off on a round the world journey. Each episode is one “leg” of the race, often they are forced to fly or find other transportation from one specified country to another. In each destination they have one or more tasks to complete before they can meet Phil at the check out point at the end of each episode.

The first episode of The Amazing Race, or TAR as it is known to its fans, ran in 2001, and there have been many seasons since, each filled with an assorted group of people. Although many things have stayed constant since its' beginning, there have been changes too. I believe most of these changes are to cause more conflict between teams, as a way to appeal to the viewers who are attracted to the kind of show where there is more “backstabbing”, like Big Brother and Survivor. One of these changes was the addition of the “U-Turn” which is a way a team can try to delay another team by forcing that team to do an additional task.

Another thing is that CBS appears to be seeking out couples with relationship issues, because they are looking for more conflict in this manner too. This is apparent on their application forms as well as being apparent to the viewer by watching how many couples are being casted in the role of “we are testing our relationship”.

For people, like myself, who enjoyed the show long before they tried to make more conflict, there are still the wonderful sites and experiences that make the show remarkable. In each leg the teams have a chance to experience something of the local culture, which could be washing laundry by hand in India, or milking camel in Burkina Faso. Wonderful experiences that are exciting to watch.

You will also hear the teams make comments about the living conditions of people in other countries. Some teams look down on the locals, while others embrace in knowing how lucky they are to be from a wealthy country themselves.

This is a show that the whole family can watch.  You will learn about travel, and see how different personalities work when there is a language barrier.  You will find yourself discussing the beauty of the destinations, or the wonder of the culture.  You will learn something about the planet we share with over 6.6 Billion other people.  You will be amazed at the Amazing Race.