The Amazing Race Opts for Marking Over Begging

Not to beat a dead horse, but I missed it again. I really don't like this Sunday Schedule. I guess, I could fork out the dough for a DVR, but I have to say, up until now the VCR has worked great.

So, in order to get my The Amazing Race fix, I turned to what little video I could watch on-line. Trust me it wasn't really worth my effort, but it is the best I am going to get this week.

One of the videos that I watched showed Tyler and James asking an Australian man and woman for some money. Now, I don't know the detail surrounding their "need" to beg. But it seems that I heard about another team begging for money this week too.

The Australian man politely gave a lecture to Tyler and James about what true poverty is. They were respectfully considerate of the lecture. Their reaction to the Australian man has helped them to go up a notch in my book.

As one of the people who has watched the Race from its first season, I am not a big fan of the changes that they make to the original concept. When I first heard about it I did like the "handicapping" of contestants who came in last when they were not eliminated. However, when I realized that these were American's who come from the richest country in the world begging from people from poorer countries, I was really bothered by that.

So, when I heard that there would be changes this season, I was nervous about what they might be. However, when David and Mary came in last and the new secret was revealed, I was happy.

Instead of taking away all of their supplies and all of their money, David and Mary are marked. This means that they have to come in first in order to guarantee that they won't be eliminated. Or they have to arrive at the next pit stop at least 30 minutes faster than the last team.

This eliminates the need for begging, and this still "handicaps" the losing team that didn't get eliminated. This is definitely one change that I see value in. This is one change that I can honestly agree with. It is the responsible thing to do. Now tell your contestants that the only way they should resort to begging is if they have NO money. This begging to win a million really doesn't help to improve the American reputation.

Labels: Reality TV, TAR, Television, The Amazing Race, TV, Unscripted Dramas

posted by Anonymous @ Monday, October 16, 2006