I don’t think I’ll be picking up the fourth season of The Amazing Race anytime soon. While I’ve complained about recent seasons of the show, I felt like it was a chore to get through the fourth season. The cast was very dislikable and I felt like the second half of the season really dragged on. I don’t think The Amazing Race is as viewer friendly the second time around as Survivor is. The Amazing Race is more straight-forward and there really isn’t a lot of character development. I had forgotten a lot about this season, so it was nice to see some of the stand out moments again but they were few and far between.
When this season original aired I was a big fan of Monica and Sheree. I’m not entirely sure why but I’m sure it had something to with the fact that they were from Georgia, my home state at the time. It’s not exactly surprising. I went through a weird phase at the onset of my reality tv obsession rooting for people from my state. I guess I felt a connection with them. I really liked Teresa from Survivor: Africa and Paschal from Survivor: Marquesas. I still really like them but it definitely helps that they are from Georgia. That’s not really the case anymore and I couldn’t care less where contestants are from today. It’s all about their personality. But after watching this season again…it’s hard not to like Monica and Sheree. After they were eliminated I lost a lot of enthusiasm and had a hard time finishing. They are still my favorite team this season. Monica and Sheree weren’t that exciting and they don’t have any stand out moments but they were really likable. I tried to like Jon and Kelly and I thought I liked Millie and Chuck but both teams have a lot of negative qualities.
That’s the biggest problem with this cast. There was no one to root for. While I enjoyed Jon and Kelly’s humor and comments they were really unfriendly and very mean spirited. It seems that the rest of the teams just barely tolerated them while Jon and Kelly thought they were the best ones out there. It was funny and all but they were kind of bullies. Their breakdowns weren’t that much fun to watch and Kelly was a poor-man’s version of Flo. However I’m surprised these two were never brought back. They would’ve been a lot of fun in the All Stars season. The two are definitely stand out contestants even if they weren’t that likable. The same goes with Reichen and Chip. They were even more horrible the second time around. It was hard to watch this knowing that Reichen ditches Chip and becomes a disgusting media whore. I really just don’t like them. They both seem like horrible people and I think deserved the treatment they got from the other teams. They were vicious and willing to do just about anything to get ahead. I know that is part of the game but these two really didn’t have a lot of class and they seemed to complain quite a bit. I don’t think they’d be edited like that if they were on The Amazing Race today. I think a lot of their bad moments would be edited out, especially being winners. They got a nice balanced edit here but they just don’t seem like good people. Don’t get me wrong I can root for the bad guy but not these two.
I’m surprised at how many of these teams were forgettable. Amanda and Chris, David and Jeff, Russell and Cindy, and Steve and Josh were all pretty much wallpaper. They all had a moment or two but nothing that really stands out…I mean even my favorites Monica and Sheree were pretty one note. I wish Debra and Steve had made it farther but they were easily cannon fodder the minute they were cast. I think my favorite storyline was Steve and Dave (there were a lot of Steve’s this season) inexplicably getting by round after round. They would just sort of bumble along and would somehow beat a team. This strategy would later be perfected by Team Alabama in season ten.
Jon and Al were fairly middle of the road for me. I liked them and they were entertaining but again they didn’t do much besides their clown stuff. Millie and Chuck were interesting. I’m sure they went their separate ways after the show. The two worked really well together early on but we slowly watched their relationship fall apart. I think Millie had ulterior motives. I think she thought that if they won the race that she would definitely know that they were a solid couple. I’m pretty sure they got married after the race but I’m not sure if they are still together today. If anyone can find that out, that would be great. I think while the two were committed they were scared to take the next step and I think that really held them back. I enjoyed Millie and Chuck early on but the two become pretty wretched and miserable as the season progresses.
One of the great things about this season is that it felt like an actual race. It felt like classic Amazing Race. There were clue boxes, airport drama, no twists, and if you screwed up it was really your fault. I also miss Fast Forwards on every leg. They might as well not even have them now because there is no strategy to them. It didn’t feel as manufactured and there was something raw about the whole thing. I think it is definitely slower but I felt like I was actually there on the race and had some idea about the conditions they were facing. It seemed a lot tougher. In newer seasons teams suddenly just appear in new countries and we don’t even see them arrive at the airport. Sometimes we don’t even see them leave the pit stop. I know High Definition has something to do with it but the race has definitely lost its gritty realistic feeling. I know airport drama has kind of gone out of style with the show but it played a big part this season. The course this season was okay. The India leg was great as were the two Malaysia legs. I think they spent too much time in Europe and they sadly skipped over South America and Africa completely.
If I recall, I didn’t fall in love with The Amazing Race until the fifth series. While I was a casual viewer over the shows first four seasons it was the fifth one that cemented my fandom. I’m not entirely sure why, and when I eventually go through the fifth series I will remember. It definitely has something to do with the team dynamics. So I’m definitely looking forward to that. I mean the fifth series has Colin and Christie, Charla and Mirna, Chip and Kim, Linda and Karen, and Alison from Big Brother. The fifth series cast is definitely a more memorable bunch. The fifth season is still considered to be one of the best of the series, and I’m excited to put this one behind me.
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