The Amazing Race — Finale

May 11, 2005 · Filed Under popmedia

The Amazing Race (TAR) is such a good show. For me, it’s the most enjoyable of the “reality” shows that I watch, primarily because it is devoid of the conniving and/or angst that enters into the others that I watch (Survivor, American Idol, The Apprentice).

Last night’s finale of TAR was quite good. Of the three teams left, the only one that I didn’t want to win was Ron/Kelly (aka the “POW & the Beauty Queen”), both of whom had proven to me that they were not the most pleasant folks (especially Kelly…). Joyce/Uchenna and Rob/Amber (aka “Romber”) were both more than agreeable to me, although I must admit that I wanted Romber to win — I liked them on Survivor, and I thought that they ran the best, most consistent race from start to finish.

That all said, I wasn’t too terribly let-down that Joyce/Uchenna won, beating out Romber. They seem like a very nice couple — honest, sincere, & committed to each other, in spite of the bumps in their relationship caused by their infertility. Their winning the $1 million makes for a very nice & heartwarming story, and I congratulate them on the improvement that they showed over the course of the race, as they didn’t start out all that strong, but they matured & grew into a formidable racing team.

What I didn’t like about the finale was the re-emergence, at the finish line, of the 8 teams that had been previously eliminated. Why? Because it brought out the, IMO, ugly & unjustified hatred that many of the teams had towards Romber. Led by Team Birdcage (the gay couple of Lynn/Alex), several of the teams in this race drank often & deep from a well of Haterade, and displayed a bitter, but sadly humorous, dislike of Romber. This dislike stemmed primarily from Romber’s notoriety from their appearances on Survivor (Outback for Amber, Marquesas for Rob, & All-Stars for both), the fact that they fell in love (and will be broadcasting their recent marriage on an upcoming CBS special) and have experienced some measure of C-list celebrity as a result. To be honest, I really don’t think that Romber derived any undue, much less unfair, advantage during the course of the race as a result of their celebrity. Several teams, however, came into the race with a chip on their collective shoulders about this, and were more than willing to attribute ill-motive to any/every smart racing move that Romber made (and there were many!). Rather than focusing on their own racing strategies & eliminating their own mistakes, these teams childishly blamed their missteps & mistakes on Romber. It was sad to see.

Anyway, it’s too bad that TAR is over now until (I would imagine) the fall. The past few months have been full of good viewing, and we’ve only got about two weeks left — 2 more episodes of Survivor (this Thursday & Sunday), 2 more episodes of The Apprentice (this Thursday & next Thursday), and 2 more weeks of American Idol (2 more performance shows & 3 more results shows). Then we enter a long drought.
-ghp