With two Emmy wins already to its credit, The Amazing Race has firmly established itself as TV's leading quality reality series (at least for anyone who doesn't find the term quality reality series an oxymoron). But it wasn't until the past year that the series truly broke through with viewers.
Apparently like many viewers, I came a little late to the Amazing Race party. I missed the first three editions entirely, and lost interest in the fourth edition as it neared the finish line, but over the past year I've become hopelessly addicted as the show delivered no less than three consecutive editions including The Amazing Race 7 which wrapped up last night.
If it was summer's Amazing Race 5 (with its endearing mix of contestants including bowling moms Linda & Karen, determined dwarf Charla and happy-go-lucky winners Chip & Kim) that got me completely hooked, Amazing Race 7 is the edition that exceeded all my expectations.
When the rumors first started to surface that despicable Survivor "All Stars" Rob & Amber would be among the contestants for AR7 I thought we might be in for a new reality TV nadir.
Then three rather Amazing things happened:
1) The contestants turned out to be interesting.
That was an especially welcome relief after the fairly mediocre AR6 which saw almost all the semi-likeable teams eliminated early on as horrific pairs like Hayden & Aaron, Adam & Rebecca, Freddy & Kendra and, worst of all, Jonathan & Victoria bickered and rampaged their way toward the finish line week after week.
The contestants on AR7 (or the editors) kept the bickering to a minimum and the focus was on interesting personalities working together. Nearly all the teams this season, from early eliminated friends Debbie & Bianca to mother/son Susan & Patrick to brothers Brian & Greg to gay couple Lynn & Alex, were actually fun to watch. And that's without even mentioning Gretchen & Meredith, the oldest couple to ever reach the top four on the show, who played a crucial role in keeping this edition so compelling and surprising.
2) This time it really was a race.
There were an unbelievable amount of close finishes in AR7. Usually the show will try to create tension in editing but it's pretty obvious who will wind up last each week. This edition there were at least four occasions where I was actually surprised with who was eliminated, and one unforgettable week where I was on the edge of my seat as one team literally out ran another to the finish line. Those are the all-too-rare moments that makes unscripted TV genuinely exciting, and AR7 delivered them on a surprisingly consistent basis.
And most surprising of all...
3) I discovered Rob & Amber aren't that bad after all.
They will forever be controversial figures for Amazing Race fans but I think "Romber" (as they are so frighteningly referred to all over the Internet) were ultimately a successful and important element to AR7.
First of all they were easily identifiable villains so the producers didn't have to work overtime to blow up drama between other couples. And they were villains just because everyone hates their spoiled Survivor-winning asses, not because they fought with each other.
Actually Rob & Amber proved to be a surprisingly functional couple. Maybe it's just that previous on-camera experience they've had, but they barely even quarreled (a massive achievement on a show like this). It would've been hard to imagine there would be another couple on the very same show whose shaky relationship would be exposed as a wrong-headed publicity stunt (thank you for the laughs, Ron & Kelly).
And even more importantly Rob & Amber ran a good, competitive, multi-level Race. Yes it was a bit unfair how much help they seemed to receive by being recognized in foreign countries (it's shocking how far the "fame" of Survivor travels) but even without that help it'd be hard to believe they wouldn't have been at least as competitive as Ron & Kelly (during legs where they received no help at all they still finished at or near the top, they simply always did well).
And anyway, after all of that, Uchenna & Joyce deservedly won. The finale would've been perfect if the actual finish was as tight as some of the earlier legs but it was exciting nonetheless. Special mention for the success of this edition should go to the winners who proved themselves more than Chip & Kim: The Sequel, especially when Joyce shaved her head to ensure a fast forward and as they were forced to beg for money in the final leg.
Can there be any doubt the show will pick up its third consecutive Emmy this September?
Reality TV really shouldn't be this good.
Finale Grade: A-
Season Grade: A
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