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On Television |
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Premieres July 6, 9:30-11, on CBS |
 Teams contending for the prize money in "The Amazing Race 5" pose for CBS group photo. |
Emmy-winning reality
series back for summer
By DONNA J. PLESH
of TheColumnists.com
|
Spare me from reality shows. I have seen enough initial
episodes of almost all of them that the very thought of having
to sit through yet another hour of smiling faces, sad faces,
people eating worms, people standing on their heads for 10 minutes,
people looking for Mr. or Miss Right, and people who can't sing
leaves me cold. But then there is "The Amazing Race." It's a reality show--but it's the only reality show worth a watch. Period. The new edition, No. 5, features 11 teams, two persons each, who are in the race of their lives around the globe in hopes of winning $1 million. What's not to like? The contestants range in age from their 20s to their 60s. The teams are varied: two brothers, a father-daughter, a married couple, two identical twins, two cousins, two bowling partners and five couples who are dating. The goal is, of course, to win the $1 million. But the other goal is to win and still be speaking to each other at the end. The latter is almost as hard as the former. Contestants are with each other 24/7 for 29 days--traveling 72,000 miles on six continents--Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Two things are paramount on the show: You need to try to get along with your teammate through thick and thin; and you need to make sure you obey all the rules of the race. One of those rules concerns money--if a team finds itself without funds, players have to beg, borrow, or earn the money they need. But they can't break any local laws in doing so. So watching the money they are given for each leg of the journey (airfare is taken care of separately) is important. Being short of money often means taking a bus instead of a taxi to a race point and, thereby, losing precious minutes to other teams. But for me, the best part of the show is how the people get along with each other--or don't. In the opening segment of "The Amazing Race 5," all the teams are assembled on California's Santa Monica Pier. At a signal from show host Phil Keoghan, the teams begin the race--literally running down the pier to get to a car to drive to Los Angeles International Airport. In those first few seconds there's a casualty--the father in the father-daughter team falls and injures his knee. A former military man, he scrambles to his feet and continues on--ignoring his bleeding knee. When they arrive at the airport, they go to a medical clinic where he gets more than 20 stitches to close the wound. And then he gets on the plane and off they go. Real people. Real tough. When I watched the first "Amazing Race," I swore to myself I wasn't going to watch it again. But I did. I was hooked. And I have watched every one since. It's an adrenaline high that keeps drawing me back, week after week, for my one-hour fix. And if you still aren't convinced about watching the show, keep this in mind. The show won an Emmy Award last year as best reality program. ©2004 by Donna J. Plesh. The photo is courtesy of CBS. |
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