TAR - All Stars Episode 1.

... Spoiler Alert! ... Spoiler Alert! ...


If you haven't yet seen (and you intend to see) episode 1 of The Amazing Race Series 11 – All Stars Edition (TARAS), do not read any further!

Most importantly: If you're already ahead of the episode I'm reviewing where you live, please refrain from giving any spoilers to the rest of us in the comments. Thank you.

Also …

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm doing the reviews of this season as inspired by Bevis who will be posting his own (likely much more comprehensive!) reviews on his blog, so anyone who's interested can view the perhaps differing opinions of two evil masterminds.

You will also likely notice that the format of both of our reviews will be roughly the same and I give all credit to Bevis for the layout and finding source material (ie. photos, etc) .


The first episode of The Amazing Race All Stars began much the same as every other series with the introduction of the contestants, so I’ll begin by giving my initial opinions of the couple in this season.....




Host (lucky) Phil - To me this guy is a poor man's Jeff Probst (from Survivor). I don't dislike him, but there is something weird about him. I think it's just that I find it hard to read his emotional state from his facial expressions. After hosting all the previous TAR seasons, he is certainly very competent at his job.



--------------------


1. Rob & Amber

Having watched every episode of every season of Survivor (except most of the last season due to family commitments), I really like these guys. Granted they are pretty ruthless, charmingly arrogant and often seem like they'd stab their grandma in the back for $1 million, but hey they are interesting to watch! In the last TAR season that they participated in, all the other contestants were obsessed with them as they already had celebrity status from Survivor. It looks as though already in All Stars, the others are shaping up to do the same thing. In fact in the first episode another couple has already told them how great it was to actually meet them!

I really hope these guys win as they came season in the other season and they have only won $2 million dollars from Survivor, so they really need the money!

2. Oswald & Danny

I would say that they are the token gay guys, but there is another gay couple so I can't. From what I've seen so far, they seem to be quite nice and have been reasonably friendly with a couple of other teams. They were also working well together and often singing each others praises. As it's only the first episode, and I didn't see the other season they were in, I don't know what they're capable of.


3. Teri & Ian

Being ageist (joking!), I don't usually like the older teams much (true). They made have more experience than the others, but that often doesn't keep they from usually ending up close to or at the end of the pack and making stupid mistakes. I have been suprised in other seasons that the older couple usually do better than I expect, but often stay longer than I think they should, due to good luck for them, by other team making even bigger stuff ups and coming last.

4. Eric & Danielle

Eric did well with his previous male partner in another season, and yet has dumped him for one half of a more attractive couple, who did much worse than them in the same season. Because of this I feel that Eric is carrying a dead weight in All Stars, but time will tell.

5. Joe & Bill

This is the other gay couple. To be honest I haven't really developed any opinion of them at all cause they were barely featured in the first episode. All I recall about them is that they named their team after their pet dog, 'Guido'!



6. Dustin & Kandice


Dumb and dumber if you ask me. However I may be pandering to the stereotype. This is another couple I don't really have a 'sensible' opinion on. They didn't do much this episode.



7. Uchenna & Joyce

I believe they are the only team in All Stars to have won the previous season they were in, just beating Rob and Amber in that one. From the comments that they often make, they really seem to struggle with the concept of their relationship (possibly as a result of finding it difficult to have children) and they had a number of stressful incidents in the season that they won. Overall they do seem happy together most of the time and clearly have something going for them. To be honest I find them pretty boring to watch and can't stand the hairstyle she currently has (this haircut may have something to do with her head being shaved in their previous season though).


8. Charla & Mirna

As you might be able to tell, Charla is a little person and she certainly doesn't let it impede her in any way! Both these girls are very self assured and intelligent and I quite like them. I still have a feeling they won't do brilliantly, but I hope they at least make it to the top 5.




9. David & Mary


Hillbillies.



10. Kevin & Drew

When I first saw the pic of these guys I thought they were cancer patients, but it turns out they are just incompetent and slow. Firstly one of them was being beaten in a footrace by Charla who is probably between 3 and 4 feet tall, then later that guy falls over getting out of a car and thinks he's dislocated his shoulder, then they get a flat tyre and end up driving for quite a distance on the flat cause they believed that changing it would have set them back to0 far (possibly right as it turned out). I'd be very suprised if these clowns last all that long at all.

11. John Vito & Jill: ELIMINATED!

I think Jill is pretty cute, so I would've liked to have seen her around a bit longer, but overall I didn't have much vested interest in this team. A few of the teams whet to the wrong entrance to some national park and the delay put them all at the back of the pack. Ultimately it was just these two who paid the price for the mistake that a few had made.


--------------------


Next week's tips:

First Team: Rob & Amber.
Last Team: Kevin & Drew.
Yield? No.
Fast Forward? No.
Elimination Week? Yes.
Biggest Argument: Eric & Danielle.
Smartest Team: Rob & Amber .



If you haven’t already done so, check out the review Bevis has posted!
.