Monday, October 16, 2006

Thank Goodness for a Non-Elimination Leg!

A lot has happened on The Amazing Race since I left for my trip. I continue to love this show, even as some of my favorite teams have been eliminated. I was bummed to see Terry & Tom eliminated last week (although why were they swimming with the boat?), and Lauren and Duke before that stank as well. Mary & David are emerging as my favorites. They also might be one of the first teams who are actually in need of the money. I'm also finding that every week I like Peter and Sarah less and less. Actually, Sarah is fine - it's Peter I don't like. What a jerk. Last week was the worst - why would you make your girlfriend (who, by the way, only has one leg) climb a cliff? Geez louise.

So on to last night's episode. It sure seemed like the theme of the show was Peter's snarkiness. Snarky on the train, snarky at the airport, snarky with the crocodiles, snarky snarky snarky. I am so over him, and I think that Sarah is as well. I get the distinct impression that even though she wants to win, she almost hopes that they get eliminated so she can be done with the relationship sooner rather than later.

I love when they do legs in India. How they react to being there kind of separates the teams for me. I hadn't really liked the moms until last night and their reaction to being in India. Very different from the teams who talked about how horrible it smelled. You're in a foreign country; be respectful.

I was so glad to see that tonight was a non-elimination round. I really like David and Mary, and I hope that they can overcome the new non-elimination penalty. Hopefully there will be a point where the teams all bunch so they can pull back ahead.

Friday, October 13, 2006

I'm Back!

Well, it seems like forever since I've blogged. I guess that's mostly because it really has been awhile. Not being a slacker...just got back from vacation. We were in Paris...my first time ever out of the country. Unbelievable trip, but no internet access and no US tv. So we returned last night to nearly two weeks of tivo to catch up on. No chance of me writing about all that happened while I was gone, but I'll share some thoughts as we go along in the next week or so.

The one show that I'm all caught up on is Survivor: Cook Islands. I don't know why, but I love this season. There's just something about the players this time around - they seem far more "game-savvy," and it's added a very different dynamic to the game.

Speaking of different, what is the deal with Cao Boi? Really? I just watched three episodes where he was pretty much Mr. Insane. Granted, it's great tv (and really great considering that I'm not the one who has to live with him). But it seems like he's a few fries short of a happy meal.

So the tribes have been re-shuffled (I hate that there are people who are calling it a merge - it's not), and it seems like the decision in week 2 to throw a challenge really wasn't great. Why? Because the next two people voted out were originally on Aitu. So of the five people who have been voted out so far (can you believe we're over a month in, and there are still 15 castaways?), 3 have been from the original Aitu tribe (the other two from the Hiki tribe...hmmm...). Let me repeat myself - it is NEVER a good idea to throw a challenge!

Challenges the past three weeks have been great. Although the first 2 tribe challenge was just a repeat of a challenge from Palau, where it was done better. Survivor definitely has some favorite challenges that it has done on more than one season, but this was an exact copy (there were several challenges that they did copies of during All Stars, but I think that was by design). The other challenges have been TOUGH. And I love how they are combining physical with mental...it doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't solve the puzzle in the end.

So we're down to 15, and it looks like next week there will be a double elimination. Hopefully there will be some apsect of individual immunity as well. Sweet.