Thursday, May 18, 2006

Amazing...

You know, I love The Amazing Race, but there has been more than one occasion where I've thought "Well, that's kind of fishy..." You even hear some of the contestants gripe that the producers are rigging things. Granted, you hear that on all reality shows, but perhaps a little moreso on the Amazing Race.

Most of the griping was a couple of years ago when Rob and Amber (from Survivor) were contestants. Now, they played about a good a game as I've seen on the show. Fantastic strategy and cunning. But some of the players complained Rob and Amber were getting special treatment. Then again, I remember the last episode, when it looked like they were about to win in a walk, and with the only team capable of catching them staring at the plane as it pulled away from the airport. Only to have the plane put on the brakes and go back and get them.

Nobody has seen that in real life. So it makes you wonder.

And this season the very telegenic hippies certainly got their breaks. Finishing last twice, only to have both of them be non-elimination legs. And the final challenge last night was a brainy one. And while their main competition, the Frat Boys, certainly were strong, cunning and very competitive, nobody will ever mistake them for rocket scientists.

Still, it was a good season. I enjoyed it a lot. Although I wish CBS would stop moving the damn show all over the place. It's moving again this fall, Sunday nights at 8 p.m. At least I have something to replace The West Wing on Sunday evenings.

The other three networks - CBS, Fox and the CW (formerly the WB and UPI) - have also announced their schedules. As always, go to Zap 2 It for their breakdown on the shows. But honestly, there aren't many. NBC and ABC are the ones that launched the most shows. CBS only has four. Two of them look a bit lame: The Class (sitcom) and Jericho (city isolated by nuclear disaster. Shades of Lost). The other two look like they have potential. Shark has James Woods as a "House"-like lawyer. It also has Jeri Ryan, which is always nice eye candy.

The other show is Smith, with Ray Liotta and Virginia Madsen, in a crime drama where a master criminal plans heists while trying to maintain the appearance of a normal life. I'll give those two a look.

As for Fox and CW, maybe something will grab me in the fall. But right now, it looks rather bland.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check out Veronica Mars - amazing show..those who watch it, love it...unfortunately, it is on UPN (CW), so few people actually watch it...

towniebastard said...

I actually love Veronica Mars, but it's one of those shows that keeps airing against other shows I like. Next season it's up against House.

Also, since each season is a big story arc, all the repeats are maddening. I think it's one of those shows I'll watch on DVD. We have the first season and we'll be buying the second season when it comes out on Aug. 22.