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| The Amazing Race 19 Wrap-Up Ten years, 19 seasons. The Amazing Race may be getting older, but it is certainly not slowing down. TAR19 was a solid season and a huge improvement from the fun, yet uninspired Unfinished Business. Though far from perfect and classic, TAR19 had a great set of teams, excellent use of destinations, tricky riddled clues, and best of all, one of the best winners the series has seen. 😉 Good Set of Teams On paper, none of the teams really stood out. But as the Race went on, the teams actually delivered quite well. Early boots like Lisa & Kaylani and Liz & Marie were able to leave their marks in the short time they were in the Race. First boots Ron & Bill and the shocking Ethan & Jenna made an impact in the first two legs. Justin & Jennifer and Zac & Laurence stood out for their lack of trying and direction. Bill & Cathi defied expectations to become one of the stronger, most consistent teams. Andy & Tommy dominated by default most of the Race, but were still no doubt the team to beat. And the final three teams each solidified their place in the finals with steady, sometimes bumpy Race. I’d say this was the best post-All-Stars group of teams since TAR12. Though definitely not close to the casts of the early TARs, it was still a great, distinct full cast that we’ve missed these last couple of seasons. Great in Theory… Now on the other hand, what did look good on paper, ending up falling short. TAR19 had a couple of great ideas that suffered in execution. Right of the bat, the Starting Line task in which teams had to figure out their first destination by looking for umbrellas with a set of letters (TAI) to add to the provided WAN and PEI was genius. It required teams to be at the very least aware of the world and really think. Or not. It ended up being a guessing game with teams grabbing an umbrella and taking it to Phil and hoping it was correct. Trial and error is certainly not what Bertram and Co. had hoped for when designing the task and certainly not what many fans were hoping for either. Other than Jenna who was shown to actually say “Taipei, Taiwan,” it appeared 2/3 of the teams, at least, did not even know they were going to Taipei until they got into their cars. A huge disappointment. And I guess to bookend the season, the Final Task, which looked absolutely epic in the previews, ended up being easier than most Final Tasks we’ve gotten in the past. At the very least it wasn’t setting up a trailer park front yard. But the task here wasn’t all that physically nor mentally challenging. The previews made it look like it would challenge TAR12’s Final Task/Road Block as the hardest but really wasn’t even as hard as TAR8’s puzzle. The Final Task was especially disappointing because… Where are the clue boxes? Where are the Pit Stop signs? The disappearance of the majority of clue boxes on the Race as well as the Pit Stop signs were odd enough to signal, maybe it would all play out in the Final Leg. Instead, the disappearance of the familiar green boxes can probably be chalked up to TAR cutting costs and saving money from having to transport the extra cargo of a few little green boxes and yellow and red flags. Or maybe the money went into… The U-Turn, sponsored by Tablet Computers Everywhere …buying those four brand new tablets to make the U-Turn more high-tech. Gone are the sticker pictures, in with the touchscreen U-Turning. Non-Hazard The one new twist this season ended up being half of a Speed Bump. After continuing the Starting Line challenge (which they need to keep), they decide to throw in a penalty for the last team to complete the task. That’s fine and when you look back at it, the Hazard/half-Speed Bump where only one person completes the extra task and a task that is fairly easy, is alright considering you don’t necessarily want the last team on the Starting Line task to be essentially eliminated right off the bat. So a penalty for that team is okay, but the way Phil and TAR were hyping up the Hazard as some game-changing, Race-altering twist, you can’t help but feel let down. And there was actually also the first ever double elimination on TAR, which after 18 seasons really was a long time coming. The Express Pass On the other hand, the Express Pass has actually been doing okay. One thing I had realized is that every single team that’s won an Express Pass so far (TAR17’s Jill & Thomas, TAR18’s Gary & Mallory, TAR19’s Ernie & Cindy and even TARAu’s Sam & Renae) have all made it to the final 3. Interesting coincidence, strong contenders right out of the gate, or TAR luck? But even with the Express Pass, I still, still miss the days of the Fast Forward. And now it seems like the Fast Forward is officially dead on TARUS. 🙁 Use Your Brain! One of the best tweaks this season is the challenging clue riddles that have been lacking on TAR for a long time. TAR’s gotten soft the last couple of seasons. TAR17 seemed to signal a change, but TAR18 was probably the worst offender of uninspired and easy tasks and clues. TAR was spoon feeding clues to teams instead of having them work for it. This season, that definitely changed. From looking up at balls, to tricky sounding clues, to full on riddles and WTF is this? clues, TAR19 stepped it up in terms of challenging the teams mentally. Especially when TAR’s been going soft on the teams’ physical challenges, the mental challenges are definitely a welcome part of the Race. Improved Leg Design In addition to the more mentally challenging clues, Leg design was greatly improved this season with the help of bringing back extra tasks each Leg. For a couple of seasons, the Legs of TAR were becoming too linear and cut and dry; Pit Stop-Route Marker-Detour/Road Block-Road Block/Detour-Pit Stop. That was becoming old and boring. With the return of those extra tasks during a Leg, teams don’t know what to expect (and in turn, the audience doesn’t know what to expect either). It also allows for more opportunities for slip ups and comebacks, which again, makes the Race more exciting and unpredictable. Hopes for TAR20 And that brings us to the milestone 20th season of The Amazing Race. TAR19 started this 10th anniversary year off well and TAR has great momentum going into TAR20. With an exciting confirmed team (Vegas!!!), there will definitely be a lot to talk about for TAR20. But I definitely hope Bert & Co. freshen up the show a little. The brand new, enlarged U-Turn and Speed Bump signs were nice to see. It would’ve been even nicer if the on-screen graphics matched the spruced up signs. TARAu, Israel’s HaMerotz LaMillion and even TAR: Latin America have excellent brand new graphics as well as fancier opening credits. I’d love for TAR to do some freshening up for their 20th season. New graphics, glossy opening credits maybe a new remix of the iconic theme song. I really, really hope they do something to freshen the show up for TAR20. Overall But back to TAR19, overall, it was a good, solid season. With just enough freshness to help elevate above the show’s most recent seasons. Every leg found a good balance. The teams were great, what the show lacked in tasks, they made up for in highlighting the destinations and vice versa. Definitely one of the better seasons in a long time. Here’s to TAR20! And again, Happy 10th Anniversary to The Amazing Race. | ALL-TIME RANKINGS OVERALL SEASONS 1. TAR3 2. TAR5 2. TAR8 4. TAR1 5. TAR11:AS 6. TAR12 7. TAR19 8. TAR17 8. TAR2 8. TAR6 8. TAR4 12. TAR18: UB 13. TAR16 14. TAR14 15. TAR15 16. TAR10 17. TAR13 18. TAR9 *huge gap* 19. TAR7 — FINALES (regardless of winner) 1. TAR3 2. TAR12 3. TAR8 4. TAR5 5. TAR2 6. TAR1 7. TAR16 8. TAR15 9. TAR14 10. TAR6 11. TAR19 12. TAR17 13. TAR11: AS 14. TAR4 15. TAR18 16. TAR9 17. TAR13 18. TAR10 19. TAR7 — GROUP of TEAMS 1. TAR3 2. TAR8 3. TAR5 4. TAR1 5. TAR11: AS 6. TAR2 6. TAR12 8. TAR6 8. TAR4 8. TAR19 11. TAR17 12. TAR18 13. TAR16 13. TAR15 13. TAR14 13. TAR13 13. TAR10 13. TAR9 *gap* 19. TAR7 — MY ALL-TIME TEAMS 1. Ronald & Christina (TAR12) 2. Teri & Ian (TAR3/AS) 3. Charla & Mirna (TAR5/AS) 4. Kris & Jon (TAR6) 5. Ernie & Cindy (TAR19) 6. Dan & Jordan (TAR16) 7. The Linz Family (TAR8) 8. John Vito & Jill (TAR3/AS) 9. David & Margaretta (TAR1) 10. Linda & Karen (TAR5) 11. Meredith & Gretchen (TAR7) 12. Brian & Ericka (TAR15) 13. Nat & Kat (TAR17) 14. Brook & Claire (TAR17) 15. Erwin & Godwin (TAR10) — NON TOP 3 TEAMS THAT SHOULD HAVE GONE FURTHER 1. Ron & Christina (TAR18) 2. Teri & Ian (TARAS) 3. John Vito & Jill (TAR3) 4. The Gaghan Family (TAR8) 5. Linda & Karen (TAR5) 6. Meredith & Gretchen (TAR7) 7. Charla & Mirna (TAR5) 8. The Paolo Family (TAR8) 9. Gary & Mallory (TAR17) 10. Joseph & Monica (TAR9) 11. Bill & Cathi (TAR19) 12. Jim & Marsha (TAR5) 13. Mel & Mike (TAR14) 14. Toni & Dallas (TAR13) 15. Steve & Allie (TAR16) — MOST DESERVING FINAL 3 TEAM (NON-WINNERS) 1. Brook & Claire (TAR17) 1. Kris & Jon (TAR6) 1. Teri & Ian (TAR3) 1. Charla & Mirna (TARAS) 1. Ronald & Christina (TAR12) 6. Ken & Gerard (TAR3) 7. Kelly & Jon (TAR4) 7. Gary & Mallory (TAR18) 9. Dustin & Kandice (TARAS) 10. Brian & Ericka (TAR15) 11. Eric & Jeremy (TAR9) 12. Nicolas & Donald (TAR12) 13. Frank & Margarita (TAR1) 14. Ken & Tina (TAR13) 15. Jeremy & Sandy (TAR19) — WINNERS (subjective; as a team) 1. Ernie & Cindy (TAR19) 2. Nat & Kat (TAR17) 3. Dan & Jordan (TAR16) 4. The Linz Family (TAR8) 5. Flo & Zach (TAR3) 6. Rob & Brennan (TAR1) 7. Uchenna & Joyce (TAR7) 8. Chris & Alex (TAR2) 8. Chip & Kim (TAR5) 8. Tammy & Victor (TAR14) 11. Kisha & Jen (TAR18) 12. Meghan & Cheyne (TAR15) 13. Tyler & James (TAR10) 14. Freddy & Kendra (TAR6) 15. Nick & Starr (TAR13) *gap* 16. Reichen & Chip (TAR4) 17. BJ & Tyler (TAR9) 18. TK & Rachel (TAR12) 19. Eric & Danielle (TAR11:AS) — WINNERS (with respect to final 3)     Winning Team       Who I wanted to win 1. Ernie & Cindy       Ernie & Cindy (TAR19) 2. Dan & Jordan       Dan & Jordan (TAR16) 3. Uchenna & Joyce       Uchenna & Joyce (TAR7) 4. The Linz Family       The Linz Family (TAR8) 5. Tammy & Victor     Tammy & Victor (TAR14) 6. Nat & Kat       Nat & Kat or Brook & Claire (TAR1) 7. Rob & Brennan       Rob & Brennan or Frank & Margarita (TAR1) 8. Chris & Alex       Blake & Paige or Chris & Alex (TAR2) 9. Chip & Kim       Chip & Kim or Brandon & Nicole (TAR5) 10. Tyler & James       Tyler & James or Lyn & Karlyn (TAR10) 11. Flo & Zach       Teri & Ian or Ken & Gerard (TAR3) 12. Kisha & Jen       Gary & Mallory (TAR18) 13. Meghan & Cheyne       Brian & Ericka (TAR15) 14. Nick & Starr       Nick & Starr or Ken & Tina (TAR13) 15. Reichen & Chip       Kelly & Jon (TAR4) 16. Freddy & Kendra       Kris & Jon (TAR6) 17. BJ & Tyler       Eric & Jeremy or Ray & Yolanda (TAR9) 18. Eric & Danielle       Charla & Mirna or Dustin &Kandice (TAR11:AS) 19. TK & Rachel       Ronald & Christina or Don & Nicolas (TAR12) |
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My Final Subjective Team Rankings
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<font face="georgia" size="4"Relive The Amazing Race 19! 
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