An All*Star Season

Let me throw this question out into the ether. Is there a better show on television than The Amazing Race? Now, let me answer it for you. No. The Amazing Race is not only an amazing race, but it also happens to be an amazing program, an amazing reality program. In terms of drama, action and intrigue, there is no other show on television that offers an ample supply of each.

With that said, tonight began the series premier of the 11th season. This time, some of the best teams from past seasons have returned to make up the first all-star edition of this Emmy awarding winning program. After watching it tonight, I'm starving for another episode.

Back in January I ran through the teams racing this season, so I won't go into depth about each team. Nevertheless, I think it's imperative that I make a list of them in order of most favorite to least favorite.

01. Rob & Amber
02. Dustin & Kandace
03. Eric & Danielle
04. Oswald & Danny
05. Uchenna & Joyce
06. Kevin & Drew
07. Charla & Mirna
08. David & Mary
09. Teri & Ian
10. Joe & Bill
11. Jon Vito & Jill

While thinking about this list, I placed Charla & Mirna higher than I would have thought. If I just didn't hate the way David & Mary raced last season, and how poorly their racing this season, they probably would be a little higher. Kevin & Drew seemed to lose their sense of humor, and they are just a drag to watch. The last three couldn't be less interesting. I will say that Joe & Bill were great to watch in the first season, however since then, many teams made better villains.

The top three, Rob & Amber are the king and queen of The Amazing Race. Never was there a team that raced better and had amazing luck on their side. Dustin & Kandace ran an excellent race last season and I favored them to be in the final three. Unfortunately for them and me, they were unable to do so, ultimately making the final episode a little less exciting.

In this first episode, Rob & Amber came in first place and Jon Vito & Jill were eliminated for being the last team to make the same mistake as a few other teams. This worked out beautifully for me because they never made "great TV" so their elimination will better concentrate the drama.

I am optimistic that this season will be the best season yet.

The Amazing Race: All*Stars

It is no secret that I love The Amazing Race. I love it more than any other reality show on television and arguably more than any show on television. I also hate it more than any other show on television, because I am so invested in the race and teams that I cannot relax to save my life.

When last season ended, I finally was able to take a breath. Now, the eleventh season of The Amazing Race is starting in under a month and I can't wait! This time, they are bringing back some of the most popular teams from the past ten seasons.

Season 1
Kevin & Drew - These guys were great! They made a brief cameo in the family edition of The Amazing Race as hot dog vendors. The teams were supposed to find them and ask for a clue.

Joe & Bill (Team Guido) - The smug couple who lost big time. This was the biggest upset I think of the entire series. Team Guido were in the front of the pack for nearly the entire race, but unfortunately ended up stuck in Alaska while the other teams raced to the finish line. They never officially completed the race as they were too far behind but they received a note informing them that the other teams had already finished.

Season 2
Oswald & Danny - They really surprised me because they practically ran the race very calmly. I remember specifically they would go to five star hotels and have the concierge help with reservations and directions. They even took the little money they were given in the race to go shopping.

Season 3
John Vito & Jill - To tell you the truth, all I remember of John Vito & Jill are their names.

Teri & Ian - Same with Teri & Ian. Apparently, they are the oldest team to ever finish the race.

Season 5
Charla & Mirna (Mirna & Schmirna) - These two aggravated me beyond words. They occasionally talked about their faith and then go stab everyone in the back. The most memorable moment though is when Charla, the dwarf, hoisted 50 lbs of meat on her back and carried for a quarter of a mile.

Season 7
Uchenna & Joyce - This team was tough. One specific memory I have of them was when they had to shave their heads to get a fast-forward. One interesting note, Uchenna used to work for Enron and Joyce used to work at WorldCom.

Rob & Amber - I seriously thought they were going to win. People recognized Rob everywhere, and his luck was so good, I thought them unstoppable. The best moment was when, after deciding to quit a roadblock that required the participant to eat four pounds of meat, Rob convinced other teams to quit as well.

Season 9
Eric & Danielle (Eric & Jeremy : Danielle & Dani) - Eric & Jeremy came in second and Dani & Danielle came in eighth. Now Eric and Dani are dating so they are representing season 9. I just remember Danielle and Dani were nicknamed the "Double D's" and tried to act smarter than they were. Eric and Jeremy were cocky and ultimately lost it when they couldn't finish a puzzle faster than BJ & Tyler.

Season 10
David & Mary - As much as I like them as people, they ran the race terribly. They didn't understand the point of competition and they practically took themselves out of the race. I would be surprised if they make it very far in this race with the competition they are facing, and how they ran the last race.

Dustin & Kandace (The Beauty Queens) - The chicks were fierce. One of the hardest racing teams I think I've seen on The Amazing Race. I was worried that Tyler & James were not going to make it. It's too bad they didn't make it into the final three, because that would have been the best episode ever in the history of the series.

This season is going to be awesome. You have a group of people who spent some time going over what they did wrong and what they are not going to do again. They understand the race timelines, realize their weaknesses and are racing towards that $1 million like no other season before. I can't wait until February 18 to find out how it goes.

Tyler & James Win!!

The Amazing Race is my favorite reality show of all time. The frantic pace and drama keeps me on the edge of my seat, or quite literally climbing the walls. At the start of the season I'm pretty calm, however as the season progresses I become more and more invested in the teams. This season was no different.

From the beginning, I rooted for the modeling recovering drug addicts, Tyler and James and the beauty queens Dustin and Kandice. From the start, I wanted to see one of these two teams win. Throughout the season, other teams began to become favorites like Erwin and Godwin for letting David and Mary win the Fast Forward. Even though they were nice, they as well as David and Mary refused on more than one occasion to race.

Then there were the teams that I didn't care for, like the über-gay Tom and Terry. The both got on my nerves, although when Tom jumped into the water and pulled their sampan to the junk, he single handedly redeemed the team, even though they were eliminated that same episode.

Finally, there are the teams that I hated but loved to watch like Rob and Kimberly. They had the most car trouble and all out bickering that there were moments when I didn't think they were going to make it to the end. Even with all their car trouble, they somehow slid into the final three.

Even though the final three didn't include Dustin and Kandice, there was at least one team I could root for. To my utter delight, the models crossed the finish line first. Then hearing Rob and Kimberly curse "the boys" as they ran to the finish line was the cherry on the sundae.

Thankfully I won't have to wait long for the next season to begin. The Amazing Race 11 will be an all-star season. Some of the most cometitive teams from previous seasons will battle it out the top honor of winning The Amazing Race.