It is a rare night when I do not have homework. I dust off the remote I have not touched since freshmen year. I begin to flip through the channels: “Teen Mom,” “Real Housewives of (Your Hometown),” “Top Chef,” “The Bachelor” and “Breaking Amish” are a few of my options.
I finally decide on “The Amazing Race,” which is in its 21st season and seems like classic television. Along with “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” was the birth of reality television. This is the first time I have tuned into the show that follows 11 teams, each comprised of two members, as they race around the globe in hopes of winning $1 million. I was hooked from the start. For a brief moment I thought that I wanted to compete in the next season. However, by episode two that dream had vanished completely.
After studying abroad, I thought “The Amazing Race” was like the ultimate free travel. There are a few similar elements: catching trains, not speaking the language, getting lost and learning new social customs. That is where the similarities stop. The race is split into roughly twelve legs interspersed with physical and mental challenges and requires teams to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals and vie for airplane, boat, taxi and other public transportation options on a limited budget provided by the show.
There are nicknames for all of the characters. Some of my favorites are the “Monster Truckers,” a middle-aged couple from Georgia, my home state. The husband’s beard is dyed yellow-blonde and he has become known as “Yellow Beard” (I did not say the nicknames were always clever.) There are also the “Dating Divorcees,” “The Sri Lankan Twinies,” “Texas” and “Long Hair, Don’t Care.” Most television shows do not have 22 characters because it is too hard to keep track of that many names. Having nicknames allows you to remember them easily, makes you feel like you know them personally and causes you to become invested in the show.I am on the edge of my seat every week wondering who will be eliminated. Somehow there are always two teams conveniently racing to the finish line at the same time with a well-placed commercial break before you find out who reaches it first.
As with all reality television, I know the producers are pulling a few strings behind the scenes and editing the footage to add drama and suspense. Unlike other people, I am ok knowing that what is professed to be reality television is not real life. Let’s be honest, real life is boring. If I wanted to watch people hanging out I would open my front door and go for a walk. When I turn on the television, I want to be entertained. And “The Amazing Race” is definitely entertaining.
Since I do not have the time or the funds to continent-hop for 25 days, I will settle for watching others travel around the globe and live vicariously through them.
