‘The Amazing Race 23’ premiere review: A strong start, but the more things change…
That’s right: The more things change, the more they stay the same. We are 23 seasons into “The Amazing Race,” and yet there were two teams that made really stupid mistakes thanks to not reading their clues properly. You would think that they would know better!
But, to be fair, the show was really out to trick people during this leg of the race. First, the Roadblock in Chile made people think that the person taking it was doing the dangerous challenge, when it was really the opposite. Then, the next roadblock was supposed to be done by the other person than who said that they were doing the first roadblock. Leo & Jamal, also known as the “Afghanimals,” messed this up big time. We also have to say that we regret calling them “boss” in the previews, mostly because they were pretty irritating at times and also somewhat icky with their whole “we can’t believe girls are beating us” shtick.
As for the other mistake, Nicole & Travis didn’t bother to check that they were supposed to walk, not take a taxi, to the Pit Stop. Were it not for this mistake, we would have stated that they were going to a huge threat all season. Instead, we had Tim & Marie, the “exes” that really don’t seem to hate each other as much as they are putting on. It seems more like a love-hate relationship since they have no problem insulting each other. With an Express Pass that they are probably not going to waste (plus one for another team), they will likely be around for a while.
Despite all of these mistakes, it was pretty clear that this was really a race between all of the teams that were on the second flight more so than any of the folks listed above. Brandon & Adam and Hoskote & Naina, a father-daughter team that would have been great entertainment, were stuck at the very end. However, the guys with their huge beards were safe, and Hoskote and his partner were infinitely far behind here. They didn’t even finish until the sun went down.
Overall, it was a pretty solid premiere, and the thing we are most excited about right now is the cast. We don’t know what production has in store for us, but it looks to be a pretty fun season.
Photo: CBS