The Amazing Race 16 – A First Look

The Amazing Race Cast

Minutes into the start of this new season, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief as they did not have an instant elimination task to lead things off.  After all, it’s really a waste of time to see someone go who you don’t even have a chance to get emotionally invested in.

This season of the Amazing Race has 1 ½ recognizable teams.  First there is Miss Teen South Carolina, Caite, who gave America one of the most memorable speeches about why people cannot find US on a World map as you can see below.   She claims that she is now out to prove she’s not as dumb as America thinks.  (An excerpt of the speech is also televised on the episode.)

My hunch is that one of the other recognizable teams, Jordan, from last season’s Big Brother sweethearts, Jeff & Jordan, will prove to be a bit more daft.  (I’m writing this before I’ve seen the entire episode so don’t read any more into this than you have to.)  Oh and by the way, for those of you wondering, Jeff and Jordan claim to have seen each other every weekend since they left the Big Brother house.  You also have this team of strong, but not very street smart cowboys Jet and Cord too that might prove to be even less capable than the gals.  Although they are easy on the eyes so I hope they stick around as well.

So after watching, other teams showing interesting personality traits include a couple of Undercover Detectives – Louie and Michael (oops, well now your cover is blown, better hope you win the dough); Carol and Brandy, the lesbian team who had a few funny quips in episode 1, and Dan and Jordan, brothers, one gay and the other straight.  It’s not hard to spot the gay one here, but you’ll find him fairly amusing if you enjoyed watching Jack on Will & Grace.    The rest pretty much just blend into the wood work here, without anyone really having much of a chance to really see any personality in Episode 1, although the 71 year old Grandmother (Jody), who is in “triathlon shape” racing with her granddaughter (Shannon) was definitely one team to root for in the underdog category.

I won’t give away all of the tasks here, but finding the way to the airport in LA using only public transportation didn’t prove to be as daunting as I would have thought.  As for the rest, lots of fun twists and turns here with teams misinterpreting some of the tasks, resulted in other teams leading the way that you never would have guessed.  Not a bad start and I’m definitely in it for the season.

Here is a quick look at the 11 teams via the Amazing Race intro:

  and for a more intimate look at the teams, check this out…