Yes, I took a season off and didn’t watch the 12th season of Amazing Race. At all. Can you believe it? All because we were out of town or something the night of the premiere, and even though it was on TiVo for a couple of weeks, I never got around to watching, and didn’t want to start in the middle.
But Sunday night was the premier of the 13th installment – sure to be a lucky one for this long-lived reality show! – and so since I had a little time on my hands, I sat down to watch last night while waiting for the chicken to marinate.
See how I establish my “I’m too cool to get all excited over a TV show” fan cred?
For the record, I used a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, about twice that amount of a light garlic teriyaki, 2 big “blops” of minced garlic (the jar stuff), a shot or two of orange juice, a trickle of sesame oil, a sprinkling of rice vinegar, and about a tablespoon or so of honey. After about a half-hour of marinating, I put a bed of thin sliced sweet onions in a 9″ glass baking dish (sprayed some non-stick stuff first) and then put the chicken breasts on the onion slices. Poured some (not all) of the marinade over the top. Baked about 40 minutes or more (thermometer is your friend) at about 350 degrees. Served with white rice. Yum.
Okay, back to our show. Rather than obsessively pull the bios and pictures of every team, as I’ve done in previous years, I’ll just put up the couple that heard the dreaded “… you’re the last team to arrive. You have been eliminated” from host Phil Keoghan.
Photo Gallery – TV Shows & TV Series Pictures & Photos | TWoP
Arthur and Anita
Stats: He’s a 61-year-old who does playground maintenance (fancy talk for guy who fixes swings) and she’s a 63-year-old retired paralegal. They live in Oregon.
The Gimmick: Married Beekeepers
Video Take: In the understatement of the century, they believe they come across a little goofy. What gave it away, the tie-dyed shirts?
Bio Analysis: This hard-working couple, who’ve been married 14 years, make their own honey and have a blueberry farm. Despite their age, they should be able to handle the physical challenges, no problem. But they claim to share “a basic belief in the goodness of people.” That could be a liability on this race.
Verdict: They’ll probably be underestimated from the outset by the other teams, but they could prove strong, as long as they remember that this is a game they’re playing.
Odds of Winning: 10-1 Absolutely none.
What? TWOP gave this team 10-1 odds? I knew they were goners when I saw how they ambled along bringing up the rear at every opportunity. You could almost hear the Grateful Dead riff playing in the background – one of those diddle-diddley ones that never really go anywhere. There are ways to scramble to get ahead of people – you may not be young enough to sprint, but you can certainly better your position by being alert and quick to get out the exit at bottlenecks like planes, buses, and other “bunch” points. This is how older teams did well on previous seasons… oh, well, they’re out.
They seemed engaging and gentle souls – now I know what Mr and Mrs Claus do during the off season – and I was tickled to see they were from Fall Creek, OR. Hey hey! I used to go skinny dipping with my college pals in Fall Creek, it’s very… much the kind of place a couple of snowy-haired tie-dyed beekeepers would be from. I’m disappointed that they didn’t have better travel mojo, which would have been amusing as hell up against some of the younger, more aggressive (and more annoying) teams.
Adios, Mr and Mrs Claus. Bee seeing you.
Next week: somebody annoying better go.