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The Amazing Race 18 Wrap-Up Another season, come and gone. It was pretty obvious early in the TAR18 development stage that it would be at the very least, some sort of All-Stars-type, former Racers season. What was unexpected though was its theme of being”Unfinished Business” and the exclusion of any pre-TARAS team. Right off the bat, the season was starting to leave a bad taste in the mouths of many long-time TAR fans. But as the season went on, and now that it is over, The Amazing Race 18 ended up not being bad at all. Better Than Expected TAR18 had pretty low expectations to begin with, but it did deliver enough entertainment to at least save it from becoming an irrelevant mess. But it was also no TAR17. Season 17 is arguably the best season since TAR12 (save for the winners of course) and TAR18, though still great, lacked some of the freshness and spark of last season. And even worse, TAR18 slipped slowly back into simplicity. The tasks this season were mostly uninspired with only vaguely interesting, but not so memorable Detours and Road Blocks. The zero-hour non-elimination Pit Stops were the only tweak this season and they are definitely a great idea. But it brings to light how the Speed Bump as a non-elimination penalty is great on paper, but has been very poorly executed. The leg design has been alright for the most part, though the show seems to be increasingly disregarding uniform Pit Stop durations in favor of letting teams go whenever they feel like. For a pseudo-All-Stars season, this should’ve been much harder, much more difficult because these people have Raced before and know and ins and outs of the Race, no matter what new twists (and there weren’t any) are thrown at them. Beautiful HD Best part about this season though has to be the High Definition. Finally. The Amazing Race in crystal clear HD. The show looks absolutely beautiful in HD and that alone might help Emmy voters lean towards TAR. The scope of TAR is now fully realized in HD. Even if the tasks are less than stellar, at least their surroundings look stunning. It is so great to have The Amazing Race in high definition. Hopes and Dreams for TAR19 and the Future Once again, I hope Bert and Co. step up their game for TAR19. It is the show’s 10th Anniversary (officially), so TAR should pull out all the stops next season and really take TAR to the next level. Looks like the Fast Forward is officially dead. And that is incredibly unfortunate. Every season, I hope TAR brings the Fast Forward back to importance on the Race as it provides great drama as well as gives teams hope of staying alive. As for the simplicity of TAR, their Emmy loss last year should’ve been a wakeup call to step up their game and really deliver. They did well this season, but nothing that might excite Emmy voters and some fans. TAR needs to make TAR19 more challenging, more fun, and more “amazing” in the travelogue aspect. There needs to be more interaction with the locals as well as more fresh countries to visit instead of the old standbys. And finally, the Final Task. The most disappointing part of the season has to be the lame final leg tasks. When other seasons have had memory tasks (Road Block or otherwise) as the final challenge before the Finish Line, it is a letdown when a finale comes down to some random, mundane task. The memory Final Tasks have always been exciting and helps make the finale that much more meaningful. But overall, a good season. | ALL-TIME RANKINGS OVERALL SEASONS 1. TAR3 2. TAR5 2. TAR8 4. TAR1 5. TAR11:AS 5. TAR17 5. TAR12 5. TAR2 5. TAR6 5. TAR18: UB 11. TAR4 12. TAR16 13. TAR14 14. TAR15 15. TAR10 16. TAR13 17. TAR9 *huge gap* 18. 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. TAR17 12. TAR11: AS 13. TAR18 14. TAR9 15. TAR13 16. TAR4 17. TAR10 18. TAR7 — GROUP of TEAMS 1. TAR3 2. TAR8 3. TAR5 4. TAR1 5. TAR11: AS 6. TAR2 6. TAR12 6. TAR17 9. TAR6 9. TAR4 11. TAR18 12. TAR16 13. TAR15 14. TAR14 15. TAR13 16. TAR10 17. TAR9 *gap* 18. TAR7 — MY ALL-TIME TEAMS 1. Ronald & Christina (TAR12) 2. Teri & Ian (TAR3/AS) 3. Charla & Mirna (TAR5/AS) 4. Kris & Jon (TAR6) 5. Dan & Jordan (TAR16) 6. The Linz Family (TAR8) 7. John Vito & Jill (TAR3/AS) 8. David & Margaretta (TAR1) 9. Linda & Karen (TAR5) 10. Meredith & Gretchen (TAR7) 11. Nat & Kat (TAR17) 12. Brook & Claire (TAR17) 13. Erwin & Godwin (TAR10) 14. Brian & Ericka (TAR15) 15. Michael & Kevin (TAR17) — 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. Jim & Marsha (TAR5) 12. Mel & Mike (TAR14) 13. Zev & Justin (TAR15) 14. Toni & Dallas (TAR13) 15. Steve & Allie (TAR16) 16. Michael & Kevin (TAR17) — MOST DESERVING FINAL 3 TEAM (NON-WINNERS) 1. Brook & Claire (TAR17) 1. Kris & Jon (TAR6) 3. Teri & Ian (TAR3) 3. Charla & Mirna (TARAS) 3. Ronald & Christina (TAR12) 6. Ken & Gerard (TAR3) 7. Kelly & Jon (TAR4) 7. Gary & Mallory (TAR18) 9. Dustin & Kandice (TARAS) 10. Eric & Jeremy (TAR9) 11. Nicolas & Donald (TAR12) 12. Frank & Margarita (TAR1) 13. Ken & Tina (TAR13) 14. Brian & Ericka (TAR15) 15. Sam & Dan (TAR15) — WINNERS (subjective; as a team) 1. Nat & Kat (TAR17) 2. Dan & Jordan (TAR16) 3. The Linz Family (TAR8) 4. Flo & Zach (TAR3) 5. Rob & Brennan (TAR1) 6. Uchenna & Joyce (TAR7) 7. Chris & Alex (TAR2) 7. Chip & Kim (TAR5) 7. Tammy & Victor (TAR14) 7. Kisha & Jen (TAR18) 10. Meghan & Cheyne (TAR15) 10. Tyler & James (TAR10) 10. Nick & Starr (TAR13) *gap* 13. Reichen & Chip (TAR4) 14. Freddy & Kendra (TAR6) 15. BJ & Tyler (TAR9) 16. TK & Rachel (TAR12) 17. Eric & Danielle (TAR11:AS) — WINNERS (with respect to final 3)     Winning Team       Who I wanted to win 1. Dan & Jordan       Dan & Jordan (TAR7) 2. Uchenna & Joyce       Uchenna & Joyce (TAR7) 3. The Linz Family       The Linz Family (TAR8) 4. Tammy & Victor     Tammy & Victor (TAR14) 5. Nat & Kat       Nat & Kat or Brook & Claire (TAR1) 6. Rob & Brennan       Rob & Brennan or Frank & Margarita (TAR1) 7. Chris & Alex       Blake & Paige or Chris & Alex (TAR2) 8. Chip & Kim       Chip & Kim or Brandon & Nicole (TAR5) 9. Tyler & James       Tyler & James or Lyn & Karlyn (TAR10) 10. Flo & Zach       Teri & Ian or Ken & Gerard (TAR3) 11. Kisha & Jen       Gary & Mallory (TAR18) 12. Meghan & Cheyne       Brian & Ericka (TAR15) 13. Nick & Starr       Nick & Starr or Ken & Tina (TAR13) 14. Reichen & Chip       Kelly & Jon (TAR4) 15. Freddy & Kendra       Kris & Jon (TAR6) 16. BJ & Tyler       Eric & Jeremy or Ray & Yolanda (TAR9) 17. Eric & Danielle       Charla & Mirna or Dustin &Kandice (TAR11:AS) 18. 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 18!
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