The Amazing Race | AXN | 07.07.2004

The fifth season of The Amazing Race premiered yesterday. There were live satellite feeds and then there was the slightly delayed telecast on AXN, which is at least on the same day and not on the weekend. The one-and-a-half-hour first episode was a race through Uruguay, including various challenges as searching for the earliest ferry-boat times on trees, to a game of roulette, and a zip line between buildings.

The first episode looks promising. Although I haven't really been following the show, and have previously deigned to make any emotional connections with any of the couples, last night's episode was particularly stirring because there was a father-and-daughter team--the father scraped his knee badly at the beginning of the race and was at different times of the race, either bleeding at the knee or nursing stitches. It didn't help that his headstrong daughter didn't look particularly concerned about it. Other teams included female cousins, one of which was a midget; a former Miss Texas USA and her boyfriend; and a past-middle-age couple who met through the internet. Meanwhile, the couple that got eliminated was eliminated because the guy was playing Mr. Nice Guy, especially when a lot of teams were waiting for taxis. Although they were obviously disappointed, his partner seemed sincere in saying that if his being a jerk would have meant the difference between being eliminated, she was better off with a nice guy.

But of course we all know that things are not really all as they seem on TV--even in reality TV. Who knows what was going on before the final editing? However, The Amazing Race is truly one of the better reality TV shows (come on--Amazing Race versus Joe Millionaire?), where catty remarks and human drama are interspersed with interesting locales and landmarks. Who would have known there was a huge sculpture of a hand in Punta della Este in Uruguay? And the best is yet to come: among the last legs of the race are Manila and Palawan. Truly, something to look forward to. Let's hear what they have to say about the Philippines!