My take on The Amazing Race 6.

I've been in blogging hiatus for so long that I have failed to write about my favorite reality TV show of all time: The Amazing Race. I missed analyzing the racers, missed praising the Detours and Roadblocks, missed capturing my hate and love on virtual text. Now, to start things off, let me just say this: I do not like this season.

It was off to a promising start. Although there were no immediate favorites (like Reichen and Chip or Colin and Christie), there were those who appealed to me, albeit to a lesser extent. For one, there were Kris and Jon: the designated nice team. I am not a fan of very nice racers with huge fan bases (Ken and Gerard - meh, the Clowns - meh meh, Chip and Kim - ugh to infinity), but Kris and Jon were not annoying, were competent, and were nice. Competence always get to me over anything else (see: Colin and Christie). After all, this is a RACE, right? Aside from Kris and Jon, there were Hayden and Aaron, Lena and Kristy, and Gus and Hera. Cool guys overall.

There was also that wonderful addition of the Roadblock rule. Only 6 Roadblocks per person per team. If this had been implemented during Season 3 of The Amazing Race, Flo and Zach would never have won. They would have been out on the 7th episode. If this had been implemented during Season 5, Brandon and Nicole and Chip and Kim wouldn't even have stepped on the Top 3. (You might say Colin and Christie would never have been on the Top 3, but I have never doubted Christie's skills even for a moment. I'm biased, of course.) Aside from the fact that this rule balances out the work, it also calls out for some good strategizing, race-wise.

It was all downhill from there. The casting, for one, has casted one of the most annoying, most exhausting, and at the same time most boring racers ever: that asshole Jonathan. It is not fun to look at him, unlike certain villains (see: Guidos, Colin). He can't even be considered a villain. He hasn't done anything to disrupt other teams' progress, only their own. By pushing his freaking wife around. And that isn't being villainous, that's being stupid. Plain and simple.

That's only the beginning of it. Every week, Jonathan and Victoria's team subjects me to never-ending boring torture. I don't know how such an oxymoron can exist, but it does, and it is maddening. I have little sympathy for Victoria, too. Divorce him, strangle him, sic your dog on him, just do something, for Chrissakes! Ugh. Not even Kris and Jon's happy and healthy relationship can counteract this team's negativity.

And that's not the only negativity around here. As the weeks go by, I get more and more annoyed with Kendra's kaartehan, Adam's childishness, Rebecca's condescendingness towards Adam, and Hayden's screechiness. If that won't make you lose your love towards this Race, I guess the next complaint will.

Race-wise, the bunching has become ridiculously excessive. And what the fuck was that double leg for? The second part of the leg, with all that bunching, just nullified the first part of the leg. All that trouble for nothing. What happens is that good racers are left unrewarded; there is little or no movement at all among ranks; and Victoria and Jonathan are still in the race. And the tasks! How much less boring can they get? I have nothing against food tasks (Season 5 had tons of them); my beef lies with those riding tasks: go-karting, zip-lining, traincart-riding. Woo! Exciting! BLEH.

I don't know how this Season can get any better now that it is in this state, but perhaps a very satisfying Jonathan and Victoria elimination (a la Colin's breakdown in Manila, only with the elimination thrown in) or better yet, disqualification, will be a good way to start redemption.

As for now, though, this season sucks.