As my usual self, i always get stoked when watching an Amazing Race episode. So when I first heard about the Amazing Race Australia, I was actually pretty excited about it. Let me tell you how I began to fall in love with this crappy show. Shall we?
It was in May 2009 that I first saw the show. It was summer and my cousin and her family decided to take an 8-day vacation in Manila. Problem is, there was no one to watch over our grandma who lives there and couln't walk. It was just another aunt of ours who took care of her and so, she needed assistance. My family was always close to my cousin's so we decided to spend our summer there while they were away. It was just the four of us during daytime in those eight days of freedom- my aunt, me, my brother and my grandma. My mom work during the day and comes home at night.
So it was us and two televisions for entertainment. Good thing there was cable and we were able to 'channel surf' the TV for other interesting shows. Being here in the Philippines, we didn't have CBS or any other U.S. channel they had there. One hot, lazy summer day, I surfed the crappy television for a good show to watch, and guess what? Yes, I spotted The Amazing Race on AXN. I heard of The Amazing Race before but i never saw it. Same situation with Survuvor which i ALWAYS pass by the channels and not bothering to watch it. What else was interesting during my "meeting" with TAR is that, it was the season finale of Season 14!
Yep, it was in Hawaii and Tammy/Victor, Jaime/Cara and Margie/Luke were all racing for the million. I didn't even know they were racing the most important leg of all until all teams stressed and made a bid fuss over a taxi break. (I'm talking to you Jaime). All i remember was the three teams were carrying the pig to some place with two redheaded girls struggling on the task. Yep, i still remember Jaime's yelling on poor Cara who I could remember was very frustrated. I found myself cheering for Margie and Luke (which I sometimes regret) being impressed with Luke's hearing problems. I hated the cheerleaders that episode and i was so happy the didn't win. In the end, it was the Asians who won and I didn't really care. They didn't really stand out for me even though they deserved it.
I still remember these scenes in my head. My first episode of The Amazing Race
Tammy and Victor doing the pig task
Jaime and Cara carrying the pig
Margie and Luke at the pig task
So there you have it, my first experience with the race around the world. During the next days, I found myself watching the race again but with different teams. Why, it was The Amazing Race Asia 3! I remembered the task in India where they had to ask a local to tell a joke and present it to the judges. I forgot why, but things changed and I didn't really like watching TAR now. Instead, I was hooked with the wackiest game show ever- Wipeout!
Wipeout's signature obstacle: the Big Balls
I argued constantly with my brother on who gets to watch at the bigger television. I wanted Wipeout and he wanted The Amazing Race. Weird. I know. I spent another year without any involvement with the race. Instead, I found other things i got excited about. Reading Percy Jackson, enjoying my last year in highschool, being interested in music, etc.
But Fate had its ways, in the first week of November, we slept at my cousin's house again and yes, you guesssed it again- I was watching The Amazing Race. It was already season 17! Three seasons passed and i finally watched TAR again. Well, I didn't know it was season 14 that I first watched. It was Episode 6 that i watched, "Run Babushka, Run" and I found it a funny episode! 3 days later, (it was a Monday since we watch the show a day later) i found myself watch The Amazing Race Asia 4 on AXN! So two Amazing Race versions in 1 week? Awesomesauce! To be honest, i loved the Asian version compared to season 17. There were two Filipino teams, and as any Filipino out there, I cheered for those two! Richard & Richard were the tough teams you had to look aout for but were constantly placing second. Meanwhile, Jess and Lani were the teams that were not a threat at first but slowly clawed their way to the top. They're the nicer and Filipino version of Redheads Jaime & Cara but unlike the Reds, these two maintained their first place finish in a double-length leg. (Jaime and Cara dropped from first to third)
Nick dressed up as a Babushka as part of the Roadblock
So I decided to start watching the race again even if I never got to watch the premiere episode of both versions. But as expected, i caught up quickly with the racers' names, faces and strengths (with no help from Wikipedia, mind you) and memorized everyone in just an episode. While watching season 17, I was rooting for bubbly Mallory and her dad, Gary. I hated Girl teams and was happy to see Brook and Claire stop for gas during a leg in Russia which cost them an amount of time. Well, I was wrong for hating them, as the finale neared, I found myself laughing at their reactions and jokes during the race. I love teams who are nice and funny no matter how they look like and I must say, that's what you need to become a fan favorite.
Nat and Kat winning TAR 17
I was actually not surprised to see Brook and Claire in the final 3. Although they only won one leg, these girls know how to avoid racing at the back and conctantly got second or third places. I was sad when Gallory was eliminated in Oman due to bad directions. Ugh. Why do you sell maps that aren't even accurate?! But on the other hand, I was glad that one blonde was out. There were just too many blogs that season (e.g. Mallory, Brook, Stephanie, Jill, Katie and Rachel). See? I won't lie, I did sometimes get confused with Jill and Stephanie who both raced with their boyfriends who-sigh- had the same hair color.
It's getting late writing this actually so i have to FAST FORWARD. *wink* Weeks before the finale of both seasons, I found myself seeking for spoilers. (Do NOT do that, it diminishes the suspense in the show) and did that until the finale. I found one tweet from Twitter that read: "Nat and Kat won the amazing race. Jess and lani won the amazing race asia". About Nat and Kat, I honestly didn't care. I wanted Gallory and since they were eliminated, I didn't know if I should continue watching. But when I read that Jess and Lani won, I was so darn glad! Many were surprised by their performance by placing first on three consecutive legs. But on that same week were four teams remained, Jess and Lani got eliminated and didn't make the final 3! What!? There were rumors that that leg was going to be a non-elimination and that Singaporean girls, Michelle and Claire, were going to be booted that night. I couldn't believe it at all. I didn't sleep well that night as I was busy letting the thought that my faves were eliminated sink in my mind. Although there was one Filipino team left, I didn't feel like watching the finale. But as a TAR fanatic, I moved on with it and watched the exciting finale on December 9. The remaining Filipino team won (Richard/Richard) and I was happy for them but I would've been jumping on the couch cheering for Jess and Lani if they were on the final 3.
Back to the U.S. version, I watched the finale 4 days later (Dec. 13) and was stoked to see who won. I actually forgot about that tweet on Nat and Kat winning (as it left with Jess and Lani's elimination) the race and were the first ever all-female team to win the race! Happy for them, they deserved it. My other favortite team, Brook and Claire came in second with boring team Jill and Thomas placing third. During the end of season 17's finale, Phil Keoghan announced that season 18 will be an all-star edition! People cheered, The Amazing Race became a trending topic on Twitter and I just found out what an all-star edition was.
Weeks later, the cast were revealed and I was stoked to see Gary and Mallory joining the rest! Awesome! Now I can get back watching the Race. There were a lot of spoilers in this season that 2 months before it aired, people already knew the placement of the teams on the first leg having spotted in Sydney, Australia. A lot of people were thrilled they'd be visiting Aussie but it wasn't such a fuss for me since TARA4 just visited it. So yeah, I checked out the teams from their season and I actually LIKED Jaime and Cara. Cara's that pretty and nice redhead who seems to follow Jaime's orders. While Jaime was the one who barked at taxi drivers and was the competitive one. So, Jaime/Cara, Gary/Mallory and Amanda/Kris were my picks. I was sad to hear the information leakage that Amanda/Kris and the Redheads got eliminated in 11th and 9th places respectively. There were a lot of cheers from people as these returning teams not only have some Unfinished Business to take care of but are also fan favorites. Jet and Cord, the Goths and the Globetrotters seemed to have the most number of fans but since i never watched their seasons, I only asked a couple of people on the Internet.
The Filipino teams from TARA4 Jess and Lani (top) and
Richard and Richard (bottom)
Fast forward and February came. Yay! Season 18 aired and people were as stoked as I am. Everyone loved the challenges and so did I but it was in March that the Reds were out. Sigh. Ever had that feeling when you wanted to cut someone's head off all because they Uturned your favorite team? That's exactly how I felt at that moment. And just like evryone else, I quickly moved on. Until that leg in Switzerland that eliminated the cowboys, Jet and Cord and a big fuss started. I had to admit, they were the nicest people on the show. Cord sent me a thank you message on Twitter when I told him I was supporting their team. *Awww shucks!* People on Facebook were fighting on the "cheating" issue but I had nothing to say about that but "It wasn't cheating." You actually give the answers to the others at your own risk. They all did that to eliminated the Cowboys but I had to admire them and the Goths for doing it all by themselves and had no idea about the sharing of answers.
Finally, the most dreaded day came and season 18 had to end. In the end, sisters Kisha and Jen were the winners and Gary and Mal came third failing to claim the title of the first ever parent-child team to win the race. Sigh.
Kisha and Jen: second all-female team to win the race
So another awesome year with a lot of adventure and action. It was this moment that I said, "I Love The Amazing Race!". In fact, when I reach 21, I'm going to apply for the Asian version. So goodbye and enjoy your life.......but wait!
Another version of the Race is coming?! That's right, TAR Australia premiered just this Monday and I was happy to see it! So another adventure just started and I feel like it's going to be nonstop! TAR 19 comes (acc. to my calculations) just as TAR Aussie ends. Woohoo! No word on TARA5 yet but TAR: China Rush 2 is coming soon too! *faints* I haven’t watched any of those crappy China Rush episodes (too much China bored me) a lot of people say that it’s actually better than all TAR: Asia seasons combined! Really? I usually get bored when the race comes to China again (No offense). We’ll see about that. ;)
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