The current season of our favorite reality/competition show The Amazing Race reached a conclusion on Sunday night with another delightfully satisfying heart-pounding finish. The winners were the very young hippie couple TK & Rachel who were almost eliminated at several points along the race and persevered even when they were three hours behind other teams and had to perform one additional task along the way. Each of the final three teams had justifiable reasons for deserving the grand prize, but in our eyes TK & Rachel showed the most consistent integrity as people and competitors. Plus they were so doggone sweet. 22 year old TK is a substitute teacher while 23 year old Rachel is a florist. They hadn't even been dating a year when they started the race and they are still together according to the reality show updates we read. That's a pretty good testament to their relationship since so many dating couples who appear on TAR go through lots of strain in the course of the show and wind up splitting after the show. Sometimes they use the race to figure their relationship out and learn they just aren't as compatible as they thought.


  No matter how many reality/competitions come and go, The Amazing Race still holds up season after season.  It's not by chance that it has won an Emmy every year that it's been nominated and it's been nominated every year that the Emmys have had this reality/competition show category. It's easy to see why it is beloved by us at JackManly and by critics and fans. It's a competition show where there's very little trying to outwit your competitors.  Couples must rely on themselves, their ability to work as a team, and a little luck performing physical and mental challenges related to the cultures of the places they visit in their 4-week journey around the world.  Along the way the audience gets to meet and know these couples who all come from various backgrounds and have unique relationships. It's a treat. You can catch reruns on Fox Reality and on Game Show Network, and seeing them again and again is always good entertainment. We wish that they'd put more seasons on DVD but unfortunately only the first and seventh editions are available.
               
               
                


  The first Amazing Race stands out on its own for many reasons. Because it was the first, the producers didn't know how some of the rules and concepts were going to work out. Since then the game has evolved and new twists introduced but the basic show remains the same. It was filmed before 9/11 so traveling was not as complicated and it aired a few weeks after that tragic day. When reality was so stark for so many, the idea of reality shows lost its appeal and ratings were relatively low--as they were for Survivor: Africa which aired soon after. But the first season also had some of the most exciting and touching moments of the show's entire run. It's also worth noting that the first TAR also featured an openly gay couple the middle-aged Joe & Bill (Team Guido) who were viewed by many as the villains of the season (not unlike Richard Hatch of the first Survivor). But there's also plenty of male beefcake on the first season. We won't tell you who wins in case you catch it in reruns or on DVD, but we doubt it won't excite or move you or motivate you to want to see more.

  The 7th season of TAR was an remarkable achievement too because the show had evolved and grown, survived cancellation and had won two Emmys by the time it aired in March of 2005. It had amazing high points as well as a notable low point in the casting of reality show whores Rob and Amber. The couple used Survivor-type tactics to
work their way along the race and were the epitome of bad sports even when winning various legs.

  Not so surprisingly reality show ratings champ Survivor has more seasons available on DVD including one of our favorites Survivor: Australia. Another groundbreaking season and one that was devoid of concocted twists that have appeared on every season since.

  For reality show junkies there are other shows out there on DVD, including Project Runway (all three completed seasons), Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (season one), and Big Brother (seasons 3 & 4). Then there's the vastly underrated The Mole, a thinking man's reality/competition series that featured sexy Anderson Cooper as
host in season one. Unfortunately it veered off course and became a celebrity show ---although it DOES feature Kathy Griffin! Ironically her season of The Mole: Hawaii is on DVD along with the first season of My Life on the D-List.

  Soon we'll have new editions of Survivor and Big Brother to watch and report on while we bide our time waiting for another edition of a class act---The Amazing Race.