The Amazing Race

Last night I hitched up my sleeve to get another reality tv fix and--based on a strong recommendation by merillon--watched The Amazing Race, which I'd taped Tuesday night.

Holy fucking christ. It's like a coked-up SURVIVOR.

It looked like it would be a nightmare to edit. Basically consisting of a bunch of 2-person teams on a worldwide race for a $1 million (a prize that, increasingly, seems like less a big deal than it used to). There are so many teams and so many specific relationships in those teams (father/daughter, girlfriend/boyfriend, bowling moms, etc.), I didn't know how they were going to keep us clear on all of these people. But remarkably, with the use of on-screen titles, they're able to make it reasonably clear who all the people are, what their relationships are, and what place they're currently in.

I can't believe this is their FIFTH season. This is ultimately the problem with this reality trend. I know it's touted that they're cheap to produce, but they can't be *that* cheap (flying people all over the globe, making sure contestants don't die). And they don't seem to air reruns of them, and thus they can't make money on syndication. And how many people are buying DVD box sets of these shows? I'll be the first to admit that it's fun and engaging, but it's not going to stand the test of time...