|
|
pretty amazing
CBS's series, debuting tonight, has the right stuff
By Elizabeth White
For folks who can’t get enough of reality television, tonight is your night. Not one but three reality competitions will begin tonight.
The first is at 8 p.m. on NBC with "Lost," the second is at 9 p.m. on CBS with "The Amazing Race" and the third is the Nielsen ratings competition as to which of these two very similar shows audiences will prefer.
As for the first two, it's hard to predict the winner, but for the third, the easy money is on "The Amazing Race."
The settings are more incredible, the stunts are more thrilling, and the show is simply more exciting than "Lost." (For a complete review of "Lost," click here.)
Unlike "Lost," which sets three two-person teams in the middle of nowhere and has them find their own way back to New York, "The Amazing Race" begins with 11 two-person teams in Central Park and has them follow a course around the world back to New York.
The show tells them where to go next and has transportation options of varying quality to get them there.
Each time a team arrives at a destination, there are instructions, sometimes in the form of simple riddles, waiting for it, as well as supplies and modes of transportation, all offered first-come-first-serve. At eight different checkpoints, the last team to arrive will be eliminated from the race.
These rules and provisions make the show run incredibly fast, somewhat akin to "Eco-Challenge," another race that provides a course and the tools to complete it but eliminates teams that run too slowly.
The provisions also make luck and the kindness of strangers less important factors in the game than they are in "Lost" and put the emphasis of the show on the players’ racing skills instead.
For example, in the first few minutes of the show, the teams that move ahead take a risk that the reserved international flights will leave from New York’s JFK airport and immediately hail a cab. Other teams fall behind because they either cautiously check the departure location or ride the subway in order to save money.
Being careful and frugal will undoubtedly pay off down the road, but not always, and at almost every step the teams must decide among saving time, money or both.
Just in case money versus time isn’t enough of a dilemma, the show throws some "Fear Factor" elements into the mix, offering the contestants race shortcuts that involve the completion of downright scary stunts.
Bungee jumping off a cliff into a gorge is not typically a spur-of-the-moment activity, but in "The Amazing Race," contestants conquer their fear of heights in a matter of minutes because it will save them hours in the race.
The other uniquely compelling element of the show is the use of self-selected teams instead of strangers as contestants. That’s different from "Lost" and most other reality programs, with the notable exception of "Temptation Island."
The advantage of having the team members know each other well is that they’re comfortable with one another from the outset and thus seem to behave more realistically in front of the camera. A married couple will argue over directions, then apologetically reiterate their love and support for each other and move on.
That’s not for the benefit of other contestants or to create alliances but because that’s what married couples do.
And at the end of the show, when the cameras go away, they’ll hopefully still be a married couple that deals with each other on a daily basis. A betrayal or a bitter exchange on this reality show could have consequences far beyond the time that the cameras are present.
Ultimately it’s that sort of recognition of the world outside the confines of a reality program that makes "The Amazing Race" one of the better reality shows to come along this year.
The dilemmas that the show utilizes--time, money, phobias and relationships--don’t seem contrived at all, but instead very real.
September 5, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life.
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
