Amazing Race - Season 16 Opener
Feb. 15th, 2010 08:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreA new season of The Amazing Race started last night. It's the only reality TV show I've ever really been able to get into. This season started with a few things that are promising for the entertainment value.
I'm aware of both methods to get from downtown L.A. to LAX by public transportation and wasn't obvious to me which one would be faster. The Flyaway bus is more direct and runs every half hour, but it could get stuck in traffic. The metro requires a transfer (from the blue line to the green line), followed by a shuttle bus from the green line station to the airport itself. I'd probably give the edge to the Flyaway bus (which I used back in July, by the way, after taking a train from San Diego to Union Station) and that did prove to get there faster. In the end, it didn't matter because a mechanical problem with the earlier flight pushed everyone onto the same plane.
Jordan (from Big Brother) seems particularly vapid. It would have served her right if she and her partner had really ended up with a ticket to China, instead of Chile. She actually managed to make Caite (Miss Teen USA) look halfway intelligent. But only halfway, as Caite and Brad did a classic screw-up by not reading a clue and incurring a 30-minute penalty. I admit I am surprised at how many people didn't know what a funicular is, since there are at least a few in the U.S. (Angel's Flight in downtown L.A. is the most obvious, but I also consider the Pittsburgh inclines to qualify.)
Jet and Cord also did something pretty boneheaded by changing money to Brazilian currency. What were they thinking? There was a hint later on that suggested that might have been the only South American currency the exchange counter at LAX had. Still, they made a nice recovery, largely by doing well at the roadblock and by not screwing up the house painting challenge.
Speaking of screwing up the house painting, I guess that going into someone's house and painting the interior didn't cost the father and daughter too badly, but I still thought it was hysterically funny.
In the end, it came down to being able to get the roadblock done and Adrian couldn't. Personally, I find it more interesting when a team gets eliminated out of doing something dumb than when they're just not up to a physical challenge. But it's only the first leg.
Also, why no detour? Maybe there was one and it got left on the cutting room floor?
It's hard to decide who to root for at this point. I know![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
slymongoose will push the cowboys, who do have a lot of potential. The detectives look interesting, too, as do the grandmother and granddaughter. The lesbian couple seem like they have good senses of humor, which can help. I'm waiting to see how quickly the brothers melt down.
By the way, I have been to Valparaiso, though I did not walk across any cables in the air or paint any houses there and only saw the outside of the ascensors.
I'm aware of both methods to get from downtown L.A. to LAX by public transportation and wasn't obvious to me which one would be faster. The Flyaway bus is more direct and runs every half hour, but it could get stuck in traffic. The metro requires a transfer (from the blue line to the green line), followed by a shuttle bus from the green line station to the airport itself. I'd probably give the edge to the Flyaway bus (which I used back in July, by the way, after taking a train from San Diego to Union Station) and that did prove to get there faster. In the end, it didn't matter because a mechanical problem with the earlier flight pushed everyone onto the same plane.
Jordan (from Big Brother) seems particularly vapid. It would have served her right if she and her partner had really ended up with a ticket to China, instead of Chile. She actually managed to make Caite (Miss Teen USA) look halfway intelligent. But only halfway, as Caite and Brad did a classic screw-up by not reading a clue and incurring a 30-minute penalty. I admit I am surprised at how many people didn't know what a funicular is, since there are at least a few in the U.S. (Angel's Flight in downtown L.A. is the most obvious, but I also consider the Pittsburgh inclines to qualify.)
Jet and Cord also did something pretty boneheaded by changing money to Brazilian currency. What were they thinking? There was a hint later on that suggested that might have been the only South American currency the exchange counter at LAX had. Still, they made a nice recovery, largely by doing well at the roadblock and by not screwing up the house painting challenge.
Speaking of screwing up the house painting, I guess that going into someone's house and painting the interior didn't cost the father and daughter too badly, but I still thought it was hysterically funny.
In the end, it came down to being able to get the roadblock done and Adrian couldn't. Personally, I find it more interesting when a team gets eliminated out of doing something dumb than when they're just not up to a physical challenge. But it's only the first leg.
Also, why no detour? Maybe there was one and it got left on the cutting room floor?
It's hard to decide who to root for at this point. I know
slymongoose will push the cowboys, who do have a lot of potential. The detectives look interesting, too, as do the grandmother and granddaughter. The lesbian couple seem like they have good senses of humor, which can help. I'm waiting to see how quickly the brothers melt down.By the way, I have been to Valparaiso, though I did not walk across any cables in the air or paint any houses there and only saw the outside of the ascensors.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 01:14 pm (UTC)But, OTOH, if they do boneheaded things and get eliminated, oh well. Cord, at least will still be laughing :D I love his attitude.
Ha ha! mistaking China for Chile!
I may have to watch a show that includes a funicular funny. :D
So, did the father and daughter team paint the wrong house? I admit, I didn't watch as Groot was up and/or I was taping bull riding. But I'll be reading your blog!
no subject
Date: 2010-02-16 11:44 pm (UTC)CBS has complete episodes on-line, so you can catch up on what you miss.