‘The Amazing Race 24’ premiere review: Did Brendon & Rachel, Jet & Cord get Express Pass?
“The Amazing Race: All-Stars” premiered on Sunday night with entertainment of all varieties. There were trainwrecks aplenty, camera hogs, conflict, and also some pretty fun tasks that really put people to the test when it comes to whether or not they are afraid of heights.
First of all, head over to the link here if you want to read our full account of why Bopper was removed from team Mark & Bopper. We’re not going to spend that much time talking about the medical issue here that caused him to drop out, but instead, let’s talk about Mallory and Mark as a team together. They are completely green, and they immediately have the biggest challenge in that they have to try to figure out how to work together, and also run a very successful race. They’re pretty lucky that they are still in the game, but they won’t last much longer.
One team that is poised to last a while? Jet & Cord. The cowboys won this leg after adopting their “run their own race” philosophy, and they have got themselves a pair of Express Passes. If we were them, we’d give the other one to Mark & Mallory, since they probably aren’t going to last long, anyway. Brendon & Rachel, our pre-show pick to win, were not fair behind at #2.
The trainwreck factor, meanwhile, was big immediately after the teams arrived in China. While the cowboys found the bridal shop containing their first clue quickly, it took the Afghanimals forever with the help of the twinnies (otherwise known as Natalie & Nadiya) … who did not do their reputation proud here. They fought constantly, made bad decisions, and acted like they had never run the race before. Was it great entertainment? Sure, but bad racing. Take, for example, when they were on a Ferris wheel near the end where only certain teams had clues in their cars. Why were you not keeping track of every single number that had a team in it? This challenge could be broken in a second, and they didn’t take advantage at all.
The exit of the twinnies at this point in the competition is beyond shocking, since they were really close to being in the finale the first time around. Plus, they are great television in a way that other teams are not. You never feel like they are just trying to mug for the cameras. Joey & Meghan barely escaped elimination in 10th place, and Caroline & Jennifer, who were with the twinnies for a part of the day, were 9th.
The biggest issue with this whole episode? Luck played a big part at the Ferris wheel, and save for getting lost at the beginning, there wasn’t much room for things to go terribly wrong. Still, we love the teams, and that helped to make up for some of the production flaws. Grade: B+.
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Photo: CBS