LogFAQs > #924055894

Now I will admit that there were some enjoyable things about this season. The route was decent. There were some nice locations and interesting challenges (nothing exceptional though until near the very end). Like I've said, Chris & Bret were a nice little surprise who had some fun moments, and I did get a chuckle out of how utterly dead weight Bret was. Corinne & Eliza were over-the-top bitchy and I loved every second of it. But the real story, of course, was the redemption of Colin & Christie. This was a team that was so loved in season 5 for just how overwhelmingly negative they were. Colin 1.0 was the most intense person ever to run the race (a record he arguably still holds to this day), and Christie wasn't exactly miss pleasant herself. Their success in the race despite fights in almost every episode, broken oxen, and almost getting arrested over a cab bill was nothing short of unbelievable, and fans have wanted to see them come back and give it another go ever since. And the 15 years did WONDERS for them. New zen Colin & Christie worked so well not only because it showed a tremendous evolution in maturity in both of them, but because you could still see remnants of their old selves lying underneath - their passion for winning, Colin with the broken cow, and having to be calmed down by Christie in the final task. It was these two extremes combined that allowed them to pull off one of the all-time great redemption stories in reality TV history, and no doubt I'll look back on the season more fondly in the future knowing how it goes down.

Now, here's the shocker that I'm sure is going to surprise the hell out of people like eaed who seem to think I'm this big negative nancy who hates everything - this season does not have me fearful of TAR's future at all. For a ton of reasons. First and foremost, it wasn't NEARLY bad enough. If I kept faith through 24 and 28, no way in hell does this one kill it for me. Second, for the past five years, TAR has been the most consistently great of the Big 3, with 4 excellent seasons, 1 good one, 1 mediocre, and 1 terrible. I'll take that over Survivor's recent record any day. And this is off the heels of a string of unforgivably bad seasons. Right when they lost their coveted Sunday night timeslot, somehow, in the face of uncertain longevity, they started pumping out some of their best seasons ever, while coming up with creative themes and twists that were, for the most part, not intrusive to the quality of the season as a whole. Of course I know what they say about all good things, but I do believe that TAR still has a few more high quality seasons in the tank AND will know when to go out on a high note. Word on the street is that starting with Season 33 they may go back to two seasons per year, which I have mixed feelings on. I'd rather one high quality season per year than two mediocre seasons per year. I hate to say it but maybe Survivor should take a hint? Anyway, I digress. The third reason is that, unlike Survivor and BB, TAR seems to be pretty well in-tune with what their fans want. With the exception of the occasional (like, one per) baffling all-stars choice, they seem to know which seasons/teams/twists/challenges/locations their fans enjoy and want to see more of, and they learn from their mistakes. Survivor fans despised Redemption Island? Let's do the same thing several more times! I don't ever recall seeing another Family Edition of Amazing Race. Next year TAR will be back (I believe Season 32 is already filmed) with something new that will either work or not, but given their recent record, I have faith that either a good cast will save it, or they'll just bounce back next time.
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darkx
Score: There goes bracket