A few random thoughts on last night’s finale of “The Amazing Race” . . . .
It wasn’t a big surprise that Meghan & Cheyne won, but the editors did a good job of wringing out every ounce of suspense. I finally started to feel relieved when M&C grabbed a comfortable lead as they headed to Wayne Newton’s house, but was thrown back into panic mode after they were driven to the wrong entrance to his estate. I had a brief flashback to Season 1’s Kevin & Drew getting dropped at the wrong entrance at Beijing’s Forbidden City and being eliminated because of it. But, whew, no. It looked like Meghan & Cheybe won with plenty of time to spare. And they totally earned it. Even after falling into last place, they were able to avoid freaking out, worked well together and made up a ton of time. They weren’t the most interesting team, and they looked kinda plastic, but they ran the race perfectly. I think they finished in the top two in 10 of 12 stages, which might just be the most dominant performance ever.
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Do you think Meghan & Cheyne heard me screaming “MONTE CARLO!” at my TV? I almost choked when they started to head toward the Venetian. That was such a Sam & Dan moment (speaking of whom, no, it’s not in Spain). So have schools just stopped teaching geography entirely?
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Moment of awesomeness? Cheyne rappelling down the face of Mandalay Bay with his eyes closed. Actually, that was a pretty brilliant solution. You’re a lot less likely to get freaked out by the height if you don’t even look. Actually all the teams did well on that challenge, which kinda surprised me. Too bad Mika didn’t make it that far. Heh.
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Brian & Ericka’s entire race was pretty much encapsulated in last night’s episode. Lots of potential and glimpses of what could’ve been, but ultimately failing at the detail work and succumbing to a meltdown. Forget the black and white thing, after this, Ericka’s mom better see him as the only man alive who can deal with her daughter’s shrieking tantrums and still love her just as much afterward. He’s got the patience of a saint.
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Sam & Dan succeeded in being slightly less annoying, but I still drew great satisfaction when they didn’t win. Their inability to even count chips without bickering was baffling. (And guys, if your stacks of same-color chips aren’t all the same height, they’re not all the same amount.)
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I was bugged at how the show slipped into a commercial for Las Vegas, complete with random montages of the Strip and a Katy Perry song blasting. Was that really necessary? Hope that’s not a sign of things to come (“This episode brought to you by the Las Vegas Hotel & Convention Bureau”). If that’s the case, I would have liked a Prague montage more.
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Poor Wayne Newton. Playing piano all alone in his apartment (not even a penthouse!) and all his visitors just want to get outta there as fast as possible. Assuming they even know who he is. Wow, Sam & Dan, I know he’s had a lot of plastic surgery, but dude, it’s Wayne Newton! They really might have been the dumbest team in race history. Too bad Wayne told them who he was, I would have loved to have seen the brothers fruitlessly search for a house belonging to a certain Mr. Las Vegas. (Wait, is that who they named the city after?)
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So overall, a decent season. Not the best, not the worst. But satisfying. Here’s hoping Season 16 isn’t ruined by stunt casting.
