Woohoo! 'The Amazing Race' is BACK!

Thank you! Thank you! Teams of two adults! No families! (Not that there's anything wrong with the family structure or values, of course. Just keep 'em off of The Amazing Race.) No hobbling the race to child safe stuff!

It's back! The guts, the glory ... the Amazing Race!

The season premiere reminded me just why I got hooked on the show in its first season. A lot of the racers are regular folks that I could know. They have had their runs with actor/model types. But on the whole, it's the plain old normal people with normal relationships having a whirlwind adventure that goes beyond their wildest dreams that keeps me watching. As a viewer, I get to vicariously live through it all, experiencing cultural rituals in countries where I'll probably never visit in my own lifetime. I get to see both the stunning natural scenery and the hustling streets of cities in foreign lands. It's sort of like when I was a small child reading a book and letting my imagination go wild, full of wonder and amazement. Watching this show gets the adrenalin rushing and last night was a great start for what looks like a very promising season. It is the Amazing Race.

That said, last night's premiere started off in an area I'm actually familiar with due to my skiing years -- Colorado. When Phil yelled go, it was a scramble to get on the earliest arriving flight of three to Sao Paolo, Brazil. As things sometimes go, getting on the scheduled earliest flight doesn't necessarily mean first arrival. Due to delays, some of the teams lucked out. Once in Sao Paolo, teams faced a Detour which had them choose between assembling a motorcycle or riding a helicopter seeking a clue from specific buildings. I couldn't believe the Double-D's chose building the bike! Where were their minds? Left 'em on Pike's Peak or what? Then the teams had to take part in a cultural singing-dancing-big boa snake-candles ceremony to get the next clue which led them to the Pit Stop.

How did last night's show compare with my sight unseen thoughts on the teams? The name links below lead you to my original thoughts while I note my take on the teams now --

Lake and Michelle: I called it. I compared them to Jonathan and Victoria. Sure enough, he's overbearing, but I think I like her a lot more than I liked Victoria. Did I hear another racer refer to him as "Scott Peterson"? I'm sure I did. I'll have to rewatch my tape, but I know someone said it! Was it Jeremy? Sorry, Lake. I want you gone.

Dani and Danielle: Okay, I'll admit to being slightly off on these two. Their Staten Island accents aren't as noticeable as I thought they would be. They also have more spunk than I thought they would have. I think they're going to have to navigate better and make smarter decisions on tasks to stay in the race, but they could indeed make a showing. Another team (Jeremy and Eric, I believe) nicknamed them the Double-D's. It fits.

BJ and Tyler: Oh, these guys are a hoot! In my original, I was worried about them hamming it up for the cameras and being total clowns, but thought they looked fun. Well, fun they are - zany, crazy and smart, too. I think they're going to be big contenders for the win. And, I'm going to enjoy watching them. It's great to see people having fun on the race while doing well at it. Cool. Other teams are calling them the Hippies.

Yolanda and Ray: Hmmm ... I think I predicted them fairly well. I think he's a simmering pot ready to burst into a boil. I don't feel the annoyance I get while looking at Lake (above), but I think he's going to get frustrated too easily and it'll be Yolanda keeping the team going in the long run.

Scott and John: Well, I didn't make any real predictions on them. Perhaps because there was nothing to predict? First ones gone. Looking at how they ran the first leg, I don't think I would have wanted a whole season of them, anyway.

David and Lori: Another spot on call in my first entry on them. They are nice people, just as I thought. I know some may think the love bit is a bit too much. After all, they're no Tom Cruise jumping on a couch or anything of the sort! But I like them. They both remind me of people I know and they're both really loving the adventure. I'd like to see them do well, but their lack of worldly traveling experience may snag them at any time. They're The Nerds.

Jeremy and Eric: First place at the Pit Stop, eh? This team is stronger and more personable than I thought in my pre-show entry. I still don't know which one is Eric and which is Jeremy, though. I think I'll call them both Jericmy. They are the Male Eye Candy Team. Okay, that's my own nickname for them. I like Male Eye Candy. So there.

Fran and Barry: Oh, no! I had such high hopes for these two as an older team showing the young ones how it's done! It is not done by going past a clue a kazillion times while the clock is ticking! It's not done by choosing to build a motorcycle when you have no clue how to do so! I'm hoping they redeem themselves, but the promo for next week doesn't look too promising for them.

Joni and Lisa: I predicted they would be fun to watch and have a good time. Well, I rescind the first part. I found these two annoying. The only time I got a kick out of watching them was when the one made faces out of the helicopter window. They scream too much and I really don't need to know if one peed in her pants or not. I just hope they cleaned the helicopter seat. Nicknamed by themselves as the Glamazons (@@ -- gotta roll my eyes at them, gotta); nicknamed by other teams as the Frosties.

Monica and Joe: The self-proclaimed MoJo Team. I didn't have a solid take on them in my pre-show bio bit and I don't have one now, either. They seemed to be easily frazzled during the first leg and were lucky to make it through. I can take or leave them. I guess I'd rather they stay in the race than Lake, but...! Other teams are calling them Barbie and Ken.

Wanda and Desiree: This is another team I'm finding hard to call. They have the language down, but Mom Wanda is way too excitable and antsy for me. I like Desiree. I think they're going to hang in for a while, though.

My overall thoughts on the premiere?
I liked the helicopters over Brazil a lot. I want to do it! I found the clues leading to the helicopter/building destinations very confusing. It's good the teams (except for Scott and John) weren't as confused as I was or they'd be out to sea with the 'copters.

I thought the assembling the motorcycle bit was to doom most teams to failure. I can't imagine putting one together quickly and it actually starting. It seemed a task made for Lake, but that's about it.

I liked peeking in on Brazil. The Amazing Race shows how things really are in the countries they visit. From clubs with snake rituals to traffic jams to homeless on the streets, it's interesting to me. I would have also liked to see more of the country's beautiful natural scenery, too.

Last night's arrival order of the teams can be found here.

What did you think? What teams caught your interest? Like the show? Hate it? Has it redeemed itself from last season's Child Safe Version? I'd love to read your thoughts!