We are Les Champignons!

Despite the big prizes and the millions of viewers, The Amazing Race Canada is, at its core, a game. There are rules, strategies, moments for great gameplay. And even though folks may turn on each other (Or U-turn), teams shouldn't take it personally. So far the game has been played pretty well by most teams, even those like Body Break who were eliminated last week.

But one thing that some folks forget is that you're also supposed to have fun when playing a game. Sure you wanna win or last as long as possible, but what's the point of playing a game if you're not having fun? And the only team that seems to get that are Jet and Dave,  The Bicep Bros. Or shall I now call them Les Champignons. They are on a roll, scoring a hat trick with their third leg win in a row. They are now my favourite team and not just because they have won the most legs. I like them because they are doing Amazing Race Canada the way my buddy Gord and I would, playing well but cracking jokes, acting silly and razzing one another when the other makes a mistake. It's probably no coincidence that once the Biceps Bros starting having fun, they starting winning.

This episode started typically, with teams back in Regina, scrambling for flights to Quebec City where they have to find a clue in a fort. Some teams switch planes in order to get in a bit earlier, but not surprisingly (raise your hand if you say this coming a mile away), the fort is closed. Teams must hunker down for the night. The only fun bit in this scramble is when Dave mangles the French language, uttering one of the best lines in Amazing Race history: "We are the mushrooms."

Since the Bicep Bros arrive first, they get a little bored and decide to leave a fake clue hastily draw in some sand. "No harm can come from this," Jet says. But the Brothers rush into the fort, find the fake clue and rush out again, into the night. After a bit, the Bicep Bros go after Jody and Cory, telling them it was only a joke. But the Brothers  don't seem to see the humour. While I love Jody and Cory and their never-quit attitude, they're always so serious, so single-minded. And at times, it works against them. 

So the fort opens and the teams dash about. The Bicep Bros find the clue first, telling them to catch the ferry, head up the funicular and find the statue of Champlain, the father of New France.  The other teams do the same, leaving the Timmies (sporting some nice scraggly playoff beards) to clamber about in a panic. There's a bit of a race to the ferry and only the Biceps Bros and the Sisters get there in time. The Docs and the Brothers miss and have to wait a half hour. This allows the Timmies to catch up. I was in Quebec recently for a crime writers festival and my kid and I took great pleasure watching teams take the same ferry and funicular we had taken.

Back to the race, the clue at the statue announces a Detour: Sculpt It or Spot It. In Sculpt It, they have to create an ice sculpture. In Spot It, they have to place word magnets on a smaller reproduction of wall mural to indicat sections missing from the original. In another classic line, Jet asks  "Is there a third option?" The sculpting sounds more difficult, but the sculptures have been pre-cut and you only have to chip out the outside bits. In Spot It, the word magnets are in French. 

Jet and Dave choose Sculpt while the Sisters initially take Spot It. But they instantly switch once they see how easy Sculpt It is. However, they whine all the while, constantly second-guessing their choice. As the Bicep Bros said earlier, the Sisters may be a great team, but they are lousy competitors. The other teams arrive on the ferry with only the Timmies taking on the ice. The Docs and Brothers go back and forth between the smaller and bigger mural, both having difficulty even though they are the teams most fluent in French. 

Again, Les Champignons, I mean the Biceps Bros, finish first and need to find Quebec University or something like that, my notes are unclear. Anyway, they get there and have to make four different crepes in the style shown by the demo chef. Again, language plays a key part because the orders for the crepes will be given in French. Because he can cook, Dave takes it on. But he admittedly says he's never cooked a crepe in his life. And his knowledge of French sucks.

Back in Old Quebec, teams are finishing up their tasks and head to the University. Although the Timmies get confusing directions and spend an hour trying to find the location. The other three teams arrive, putting some pressure on Dave to hurry up. But Dave's still lost in translation; he can't understand what one lady is ordering. He makes an extremely lucky guess with spinach and starts cooking. However, he forgets to turn on the crepe maker, prompting some razing from his partner, which is what a good partner should do at a time like this, right Gord? Jet even takes a potshot at the Brothers, wondering why Cory and Jody haven't finished higher. 

Part of the reason is that the Brothers are so single-minded that they forget to read clues, forget to pay attention to the details. It happened to them in Yellowknife when they signed up on the wrong flight. And it happened on this leg when Cory was so determined to get the task done that he didn't realize he had to serve all 4 crepes at once instead of 2 at a time. That's why Holly, a terrible cook, managed to finish the task before Cory, who obviously knew how to cook a crepe. If Cory had paid attention, they would have easily take 2nd place instead of ending up in a tie with the Docs.

But the big mistake of the race came from Tim Jr. Although it was a classic Amazing Race blunder. Vanessa was having difficulty understanding what fruit she was supposed use so she walked up to Tim Jr. and asked him. "Cherry," was all he said. But that single word undermined that great  U-Turn they made on Body Break in the last episode. It allowed Vanessa to finish the task before them and the boys ended up in last place. 

Still, the luck of the playoff beards paid off because this was the second of three non-elimination legs; the Timmies were saved. Again. If I were them, I wouldn't push that luck anymore.  Next week, yhey'll be off to Nunavut and need to do a Speed Bump in the next leg. Although I wonder if it will before or after they have to eat whale blubber. Yumm.

FYI. I will not longer post my recaps here. I have another Amazing Race Canada blog with my buddy Gord Here. We get more traffic and I'm tired of cutting and pasting, so head over there instead. I also have other non-recap blog posts at the other site. Thanks for following me here. But now go see Gord and Wayne.

New villains and classic tropes

Whoa Nelly. For a moment, I was totally speechless about Ep. 5 of Amazing Race Canada. That was one incredible leg, full of really tough tasks, teams quitting to take penalties, a double U-turn that provided a surprise twist (and possibly some new villains for Canadians to hate), loads of lentils and a trip to Rider Nation. Crazy Canucks in Saskatchewan.

So let's get to it. Down, set, hut. The six remaining teams leave the pitstop at Whitehorse (not Carcross but enough quibbling). They gotta find a clue on a boat that tells them to get to Regina. So all the teams head to the airport. And here's where the producers pull out a classic TAR trope that I've talked about before. We get a shot of Hal and Joanne in the back of their cab and there's some background info on how the two met. Once I heard that, I thought "Uh oh." If you've watched as much TAR as I have, you quickly realize than when the producers edit in some background info about a team at this point in the episode, it's a foreshadow of elimination. It's not always true but usually about 75 percent of the time. So I worried about Bodybreak.

Quickly the teams discover that you can't fly direct to Regina from Whitehorse; you gotta go through Edmonton or Calgary (after a changeover in Vancouver). The flight out of YEG arrives 40 minutes earlier. The Bicep Bros and the Docs (in brief alliance that started in Whitehorse with the Biceps calling two cabs instead of one), are out of YEG. The rest: YYC. But Bodybreak use their gameplay (and celebrity, no doubt) and manage to get on the YEG flight. Nice move but it creates a target on their backs. It seems the teams may have had enough of the Bodybreak celebrity.

Arriving in Regina, there's a Blackberry ad as the teams get directions to a pulse trading company. Those who didn't know Saskatchewan was the #2 exporter of lentils in the world, raise  your hand.  And it seems there are a lot of lentils because the next task is a killer, finding two tiny stuffies in a truck load of lentils, six feet deep. This is one of those dreaded needle in the haystack tasks which have broken many a great team in the past. Luck also plays a major role. The top three teams start digging and pretty quickly, or maybe it's just the editing, the Docs start falling apart. Guess pressure at a hospital is different than digging through lentils. Either way, it's not something I would have enjoyed. Also, why is no one wearing hats under that hot prairie sun? Especially the Docs; they should know better. Or is it a part of the show that prohibits teams from wearing hats. 

Anywho, the Biceps Bros dig like dogs and find the stuffies. And the clues orders them to the RCMP Heritage Centre. And they're off, pretty confident about the upcoming roadblock because Jet's a cop. Although he's an odd cop because he's got a problem with authority. Go figure. 

Bicep's relatively quick finding of the clue, along with the arrival of the other teams, worries the Docs and Bodybreak; so much so that the Docs decide to quit and take the 2 hour penalty. It's always a tough decision whether to take the penalty in TAR, especially if you're the first team to do so. The key to this decision is to hope another team does the same thing, so that at least you're ahead of them. And lo and behold, that's what happens: Bodybreak calls it quits and accepts the penalty. To be honest, I was quite surprised by this move by Hal and Joanne. They've played a smart game up until then. 

The Timmies don't get bogged down, the Sisters cry, and finally, the Brothers do what they always do; they power through the task, quitting the task the last thing on their minds. I truly believe that this is the team to watch. They haven't finished high in the other legs, but they are relentless. I get the feeling they are just going to grind all the other teams down, let them make the mistakes and come up from behind.

Back to the RCMP Depot, the Roadblock requires one teammate to prepare a cadet's pit for inspection. My old man was in the army for 28 years and I know about this kind of stuff. One reason I didn't follow in his footsteps into the military. Even so, it's nice to see a team having fun and making jokes. That's been lacking since the Gay Cowboys left. Although Jet's sarcasm does annoy the Commander who seems surprised that this muscular goofball is also a cop. 

And while folks have some trouble with the tasks (save for Jody who spent 20 years in the military) and one of the Sisters cries (again), the big talk is about the two teams that quit the lentil task for a penalty. You could see the relief on the other teams's faces, especially the Sisters, when they heard that news. That meant that the race not to be last was between the Docs and Bodybreak, unless somebody else completely fell apart. 

But despite the tears and frustration, the teams pass their inspection. Nice touch with Jody and the Commander for their nods of respect. "Thank you for what you do," they both said to each other. And after a quick Ukrainian dance by city hall, we are transported to Rider Nation, the greatest place in Saskatchewan. If you don't the Canadian football, then here's quick education. The Saskatchewan Roughriders (THE RIDERS!) are the only pro sports team in the province. And everybody who is born in Saskatchewan is a diehard Rider fan and a member of the Rider Nation, till the day they die, not matter where they live. 

Rider Nation offers a detour: Brawn or Beauty. With Brawn, they have to do some football tasks including catching and then kicking a football. If they miss the catch or kick, they have to begin again. In Beauty, it's a cheerleading routine with cartwheels and a carry. Totally surprised that Bicep Bros did this because Dave's a cheerleader. Then again, he's more used to catching and throwing and Jet doesn't seem like someone he could throw around. 

As with the inspection tasks, some teams struggle while others don't. The elephant in Taylor Field though is the Double U-turn at the top of the stairs. The Bicep Bros finish first and don't U-Turn. They head to the pitstop with their second first place finish in a row. The boys seemed to have a lot of fun on this leg which could be the reason why they've been doing so well. I wonder if they really are going to pick Regina for their free trip in Canada?

And though Bodybreak and the Docs arrived before the Timmies, the father and son team bust through the football. They run up the steps to the U-turn and surprise everyone by U-turning Bodybreak. Are they now the new villains of TAR for knocking out the most favourite team in the country? Some may think and will rail against them, calling the move unnecessary because they were so far ahead. But I don't. It was actually a smart move on the Timmies part to U-turn one of the strongest teams in the race. Everyone else left should thank the Timmies for that move. Especially the Docs.

And to be perfectly honest, the game didn't change when the Timmies U-turned Bodybreak; it changed when Hal and Joanne decided to quit the lentil task and accept the penalty, after one team had already quit. That's what killed them. They put themselves behind the Docs and into the race not to finish last. All the other teams finished the lentil task and because of it, they knew they were safe. Everyone finished ahead of both the Docs and Bodybreak. The Timmies just put the final nail in the coffin.

The drama at the end of the show was fantastic as both tried to finish the other side of the Detour. Who would have thunk that the Docs would beat Bodybreak in a physical task? Which just go to show you; just because you're in good physical shape, it doesn't mean you're coordinated. Or sporty. 

I'm sorry to see Hal and Joanne go, they played the game well but in the Amazing Race, all it takes is one mistake and you're out. And I think they've reinvigorated interest in their efforts to keep Canadians healthy. Before Amazing Race Canada, they weren't even on twitter. And now, they are tweeting like pros with thousands of followers. 

But that was another excellent episode. I'm looking forward to the trip to Quebec City, my mom's hometown. According to the teaser, the Sisters get lost. Are you surprised?

Boobirds not a factor, says teams

Didn't expect to write another Amazing Race Canada post until the next recap, but something came up today that I didn't expect.

I sent what I thought was a relatively innocent tweet to the Docs @TeamPeds, asking that if they were in Tim Jr.'s place and had jumped ahead of Dave for the lake jump, would they have ignored the boos from the crowd and jumped in anyway. If you remember in the past episode, Tim Jr. managed to get roped up before Dave even though Dave had gotten to the task before him. The crowd didn't like it and started booing. From how it looked on TV, it seemed the Tim Jr. decided to be a polite Canadian, listened to the boos and let Dave go ahead of him. I thought it was a lame move and if it was me, I would have ignored the boos and jumped in ahead of Dave.

But this is the tweet I got in response from Dave @thedaveschram:

@Waynthurson @Teampeds@TimTimeARC HahAh the boos didn't stop Tim, the producers did! Lol #boobirds 

So Tim Jr. wasn't being lame, he was pulled back by the producers. He would have ignored the boos (good for you, Tim Jr.), but he wasn't allowed to, even though Dave was distracted and allowed Tim Jr. to get roped up ahead of him. Here's a funny tweet back from the Docs about situation:

@thedaveschram @Waynthurson@TimTimeARC I don't know Dave - maybe less flirting with the crowd, more rope attaching ;) #focus

Nice to see the fun interplay between teams on Twitter about this.

However, I'm not sure why the producers interceded in this situation because it was really no different than the Sisters line-cutting at the airport. Or even Cory writing his name on the wrong line and Body Break taking advantage of that. Dave was distracted, Tim Jr. took advantage, got roped in forst and should have been allowed to jump in before him.

Because the producers made Tim. Jr. go back, that allowed the Bicep Bros to get the task done before them. So Jet and Dave got to airstrip and signed up for the first plane to Carcross. And because of that, they won the leg and the trip. However, if the producers hadn't stepped in, the Timmies would have gotten on the first plane to Carcross and the Bicep Bros would have been in on the second plane a half hour behind. So the chances are, the Docs would have finished first because the Timmies needed to do the Speed Bump. 

And despite Tim Jr.'s difficulty memorizing his lines, they probably would have finished the Speed Bump before the next plane arrived. And they would have done the Detour and had a good chance of finishing second. Which would have giving them a huge emotional boost after finishing last in the previous legs. The same for the Docs. Body Break or Bicep Bros would have finished third and fourth, or maybe later, depending on when the Sisters arrived to use their Express Pass.

The Hippies would have  still been eliminated but the dynamic of the race would have changed. The Bicep Bros would not be on a high of finishing first and who knows how that would have effected them. The Timmies would have been very pleased of finishing second after coming in last, and the Docs would have gotten the free trip.

What do you think? Should the producers have stepped in? And any ideas on why they did?

Karma's A Bitch, right?

When the teams from Amazing Race Canada were introduced to the country, the one team that I never thought would get burned by Karma was the Hippies. Just check out this line from their bio at the Amazing Race Canada site:.."creating our own realities through positive thinking and sharing love everywhere we go." And they did seem to reflect that positivity throughout most of the race. However, in the last episode, the Hippies moved away from being positive and went back on a deal they made during the first episode. No need to go into details but instead of handing the Express Pass to the team they agreed to hand it over — the Docs — they reneged and handed to the Sisters.

But more on that later. Episode 4 was another great episode, just like the previous one. Full of drama, excitement, mistakes, great tasks, wonderful gameplay and incredible scenery. I've only been to the NWT once and even though it was in the middle of winter, it was fantastic. And that's where the teams head after the Pit Stop in Drumheller: Yellowknife. Obviously, the teams didn't stay near Drumheller for the Pit Stop because they had to get to the Calgary Airport first. And you can't really take a taxi from Drumheller to there. Okay, you can, but it's expensive.

So the teams get to the airport and the Sisters use their physical skills, so to speak, to get to the front of the line. A valid piece of gamesmanship on their part, although in the end, all teams got on the first flight. Even the Timmies. The fact that the other teams were surprised to see the Timmies tells me that the producers are sequestering the teams, rather than letting them hang out together. This way, no one knows who has made it until the next leg. 

In Yellowknife, teams go the Bush Pilot Monument, find a clue which directs them to the Government Dock. Most everyone jumps in their vehicles and drive away, thinking they'll find the locale as they drive. This happens a lot in the game and you'd think teams would take a bit of time and check the map before driving away. (Side note: In the final leg of Amazing Race Australia Season 2, two of the three teams did the same thing, while the team that paused and checked the map got to the tasks faster and thus won the entire Race.) Only the Docs paused and discovered they just had to cross the street.

Jumping in the frozen Greater Slave Lake was a great task, simple but tough. And very Canadian. Overall teams didn't linger too much but nice try on Tim Jr. to jump ahead of the Bicep Bros. He should have forgotten the boos of the crowd and jumped in regardless. That's what I would have done. The Amazing Race isn't a popularity contest, especially to the folks that have been hired to act as an audience on a task. Who cares what they think.

Once they finish this frozen task, teams  head to a local hanger and sign up for 1 of 3 flights to Carcross, Yukon. Never been there but I've only heard good things about the Yukon. The Docs and Bicep Bros sign up for Flight 1 while Timmies get first for Flight 2. Unfortunately, Cory from the Brothers makes a major mistake. Instead of signing up as the second team for Flight 2, he signs up as the first team on Flight 3. Body Break notice the error and wisely get on Flight 2.

I'll admit to being slightly disappointed when the Brothers asked Body Break to cut them a break. Normally, these guys accept their mistakes and move on. It wasn't Body Break's fault that Cory made a mistake, so to ask them to fix it didn't seem right. And good on Hal and Jo for saying No Chancey Mr. Whalen on the request. Why give up a seat on  the second place for one on the last one? That's just asking to be eliminated.

So the teams fly to the Yukon some twin engine planes. I'll bet it was an amazing trip over some of the best landscape this country has to offer. Once in Carcross, the teams gotta find the old Duchess train. Based on how far the teams had to run, it didn't seem that close to the airstrip. It looked to be especially hard on Jodi. At the train, a Detour. Supply Run or Gold Rush.

In Supply Run, teams must build a raft, load it with supplies, paddle out to get a clue and then paddle back. Oddly, the Docs picked this one because it seemed a lot more physical than the Gold Rush, where teams had to complete three small tasks: saw some wood, throw a hatchet and push a teammate in a wheelbarrow while the other teammate was blindfolded. Don't get how the blindfold bit was part of the Gold Rush, but whatever.

The Docs begin in trouble with Brett yelling at Holly for questioning why he chose this task. The Bicep Bros use their Biceps Of Unusual Size (BOUSs) to power through the task. Although the boy with the biggest biceps, Jet, can't throw to save his life. But they are the first to hit the mat. Regardless of the short bickering and their lack of raft building experience, the Docs do pretty good and get second place.

BodyBreak come a respectable third, but the Timmies get caught up on their Roadblock, which is remember and then recite four verses from Robert Service's classic poem of Canadiana, The Shooting of Dan McGrew. Nice to see the producers pay homage to a great Canadian writer. Also, the folks acting as the drinking Klondikers in this task were hilarious. Reminded me of the times I spend with my buddy Gord, drinking beers and eating chicken wings.

Because of the Speed Bump and the Sisters usage of the Express Pass, the two girls move ahead of the Timmies and race to the mat. I love how this rivalry seems to play out on its own,  with the two teams always racing each other to the mat. And when the girls were told to bring their backpacks within view of Jon, I thought the boys would win this time around. But they didn't. Still, the Timmie's seemed just glad not to be in last place. "Hugs all around," said Tim Sr., maybe putting the rivalry to rest.

When the Sisters used their Express Pass, my first thought was "Uh-oh. That's not going to be good for the Hippies." And it wasn't.  If they had given their pass to the Docs as they first agreed, the girls would have had to complete the task. And based on their coal experience, they would have sucked at it. The Hippies and the Brothers would have beat them easily. So there's the karma. And, instead of using their Express Pass, the Hippies let pride get in the way and took on the raft task because they are both kayaking and canoeing guides. So that allowed the Brothers to pull ahead. 

The final minutes of this episode were very exciting, with Jodi worried about letting down his brother, and the Hippies seemingly catching up. Nice editing in the suite, folks. Again, I'm amazed at Jody's strength and determination. He ran a lot in this leg and still kept running, despite the pain he must have been feeling. And so they finished ahead of the Hippies. It probably didn't feel good to be eliminated from the race with an Express Pass in hand, but at least they didn't make excuses they way some team did in the most recent US Season of TAR.

Next week, the Queen City, Regina, Sask. where it looks the Riders play a role in a task and bunch of teams look to fall apart. And a double U-Turn! Can't wait for that.

An Amazing Cause

Since I've been getting some attention to my Amazing Race Canada blog here and here, mostly at the blog I share with my buddy Gord (my posts are exactly the same but I started this blog before Gord set up our tandem one so I've kept both), I've been hearing from a couple of racing teams. Body Break and the Docs. Neato.

And the goal of this particular post is about what the Docs tweeted to me. Sure, some may think they are the villains of the show. Boo to you. I think they are one of the few teams to realize that this is a game and are playing the game well. It's not personal, just part of the gameplay.

But they are doctors who work with kids and as a father of a kid, I appreciate that work. My wife is also a medical professional (an OT) who also works with kids so I know it takes a special person to do that. Of course, she's special cause she married me but that's another story.

Anyway, the Docs aren't the villains some may think they are because they are donating 1/4 of any winnings they get from the Amazing Race Canada to the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation. Totally awesome in my book. And it's not just the first place team that gets money. Other teams get a prize depending on how the finish. At least that's what happens in the US version so I hope they will do the same for Amazing Race Canada. And if they don't win, you can also help. They are asking for donations from viewers of Amazing Race Canada. So check it all out at Amazing Cause.

And see ya for Episode 4.

Only in Alberta? Pity

Okay, here's the scoop from Ruth Myles of the Calgary Herald on the Blackberry crawl ad (run during the show) that ruined the ending of Ep. 3 of Amazing Race Canada by saying something along the lines of "This non-elimination leg of the race brought to you Blackberry" just before the last commercial break. Note the avid fan (and crime novelist) quoted in this story.

Apparently only Alberta was subjected to the in-episode spoiler, which is kind of ironic since all the tasks in the leg happened in Alberta. Good of Bell Media (the parent company for CTV) to apologize for the mistake.

As I said in the Herald, this was a great episode, save for the Blackberry spoiler. The teams started in Vancouver and had to head to Calgary, booking the Air Canada flights online at a internet cafe. The teams fly to Calgary, barely an hour apart on flights and then the excitement begins. The Hippies who made a deal in Ep. 1 to give their Express Pass to the team in their alliance that came in second behind them, decide to renege on the deal. Instead of giving to the Docs, they had it off to the Sisters. So much for all that positive energy, dudes. Evil Hippies it seems. Don't know why they picked the Sisters, maybe they bonded somehow in the Pitstops. Or maybe they see them as a weak team (they got lost a lot in this episode) and thus wish to compete against them in the final three. Or maybe they just happened to be the team sitting in front of them on the airplane. They didn't really explain why that well. They should have just stuck with their deal. I would have.

But the Docs take it in stride and just get rid of all the Calgary maps in the airport. Not a bad move but in the end it didn't really slow anybody down. Best just to get your map and move on instead of spending time trying to sabotage another team. I'm not 100 percent sure but there may be a rule if you take sabotage too far, so watch out Docs. Still, I loved Brett's reaction when Kristen told him they weren't going to honour their alliance. Being doctor, he said, he honours his promises but you do what you got to do. Funny stuff, but I really understand why she wanted to punch him. He kind of gets under the skin but heck, the Docs understand that it's a game and they are playing it well. They didn't seem to take the snub personally.

Although Holly's dancing skills aren't great. Especially line dancing. And since the teams are in Calgary, they have to do something cowboy related (forget that the city's a dynamic cosmopolitan place let's perpetuate the stereotype). So line dancing at Ranchman's it is. To be fair, this was a much tougher Road Block than the lame skating one in Vancouver. Most teams had a tough time, especially Holly, Tim Sr. and Jody. But Jody's got no ankles, which he states during the task. And if it's one player I really love in this race, it's Jody. Sure, he's got no legs below the knee and some tasks are tough but he just does it, without complaint or asking for special treatment. I also loved his comment on the coal task during the detour. Something about you when you gotta dig a hole, you know it's going to be hard but you just do it.

Back at the Ranchman's, Joanne from Body Break gets done in three tries, heading out to Drumheller for a Detour. Dave from the Bicep Bros also gets done in three tries (he's a cheerleader known for "chucking girls"). But they had trouble, not just finding the Ranchman's but also finding the clue for the Road Block. "Does exterior mean something different in Alberta?" one of them asks as they cluelessly stand right in front of the clue.

The cluelessness of these boys continue as they shovel piles of coal into the coal cart. That's the one half of the Detour in Drumheller; the other half is to build a dinosaur skeleton from memory. But the Bicep Bros don't read the clue and so they shovel coal, take out coal, shovel more coal, make fun of the guy judging the task, whine and complain about the situation and don't realize that you have to hang this little thing on a special hook. Which they hadn't done. So more coal shovelling and complaining. It was hilarious to watch them get all uppity about the situation when in reality it was all their fault. Rule # 1 about Amazing Race:  Read the Clue. Rule #2? Read the Clue.

The Hippies also have a bit of trouble with clue reading but figure it out faster than the Bicep Bros. The Sisters, though, have huge trouble with the task. Sure, they've read the clue but they look so tiny and it was no doubt pretty tough for them to load that cart. After a really long time and much histrionics, they get it done. Only to get lost. Again.

The only team not doing the coal task was the Docs and it made sense they chose the dinosaur. But the pressure seemed to be getting on Holly because she was falling apart. Good on Brett not to harp on her. He just tried to keep her on task and centred. No Jonathan and Victoria from these guys; at least not yet. But boy, was he surprised when Jon told them were Team #6. I've seen every single English language version of Amazing Race and I've never seen a reaction like that. Pretty funny.

In the end, Body Break won the leg handily. They are like most married couples that age, calm, cool and connected. They will be a tough team to beat. Only a total meltdown will destroy them. That or a couple of bad cabs. The rest of the teams come in later, the Sister better thank whatever God they worship (or don't) for running into the Brothers on the way to the pitstops. These girls have terrible direction, map and listening skills. They got great directions from some stranger but neither of them heard a single thing he said. They were tough to finish the coal but will have to pick things up to survive.

Coming in last were the Timmies and thanks to some control room mistake, I and all of Alberta knew this was a non-elimination round. But until that point, it was a great episode. Great tasks, great drama, great team interaction and quotes. Things are starting to pick up and I hope they keep this momentum going.

But no more in-episode spoilers, please; that one really hurt.

Update: Forgot to give props to the producers for mentioning the flood in Calgary and how people could help or donate. The US show has done this a few times so it's good that the Canadian version is following in their footsteps in that manner. Nicely done.

Amazing Mess Due to Blackberry Ad

I was really enjoying Ep. 3 of Amazing Race Canada, loads of drama, lousy dancing, teams fighting, teams being sneaky and backbiting, coal shovelling, not reading of clues and getting lost. It had the makings of a great episode, especially since we had no idea who would come in last.

But then it happened. Some time before the last commercial break, just after the Timmies finished their task with the coal and there it popped on my TV screen: "This Non-elimination leg brought toyou by the Blackberry Q thingy.| I mean, what the fuck was that? I'm not sorry for my bad language because I'm a crime writer and ex-punk rocker. And I am really pissed that someone idiot ran an ad during the show, near the last few minutes, when we were all on the edges of our seats wondering whether the Docs would do their dinosaur in time, if the Sisters would find their way or would the Timmies push by them, an ad that tells me and all the almost 3 million Canadians that this is a non-elimination leg?

Not sure who's to blame, the producers Insight Productions, CTV, some master control switcher who pushed a wrong button, but it ruined what could have been a classic Amazing Race Canada episode. I'm so annoyed that I'm not going to post a recap tonight; I'll do that later in the week.

Don't make that mistake again folks.

Always Move Forward

Sorry I'm a bit late for my recap. I'm in Moose Jaw for a Writers Festival and got the time change wrong. Although Moose Jaw is the same time as Edmonton, their TV channel is set for Central Time. So I missed the show. Managed to watch online at CTV's ARC site.

Last week the first ever ARC episode ended in Kelowna. Ratings were awesome with 3 million Canadians watching. That's up there with the Corner Gas series finale, which bodes well for future seasons. For EP. 2, they headed to the urban jungle of Vancouver. Or as Jon says, "Canada's supermodel city" or something like that. Jeez, who writes these things? Amazing Race Australia visited Vancouver in Season 2 so I was keen to see what they would do. Would they steal the tasks from that show? Or come up with their own?

Anyway, the race continued with some drama at the airport. Only three teams, the Hippies, the Docs, and the Bicep Bros made it in time for the first flight out. Although Body Break showed they are regular watchers of the US show and managed to book themselves on stand-by. Nice to see some of Hal's personality as he kind-of flirted with the ticket agent. "Is your heart pounding? Mine is," he said, with his wife standing right next to him. Reminded me of my buddy Gord, who flirts with everyone.

Hal's move leaves behind the Sisters, who are stuck on the next flight with their nemesis team, the Timmies, and the Brothers. Pulling up the rear, sadly, are the Gay Cowboys. And things don't look to good for them for two reasons.

First, they stopped at a bank machine on the way to the airport. Big mistake, boys. Always Move Forward is a key TAR mantra, especially when you have to get to the airport. Sure, in some countries you might not find a bank machine at an airport or you need to buy your tickets from an agent instead of at the airport, but this Canada. There are plenty of bank machines at the airport so there was no need for them to stop. It was a game killer for them, putting them all alone on a third flight, hours behind the first teams. Second, the producers added some background about Pierre losing his partner and trying to deal with the grief. Very sad and touching. However, in the Amazing Race world, whenever they feature some background information about a team, especially in an early episode, that's usually a sign that this is the team that will be eliminated. Not always but it's a TAR trope.

So in Vancouver, we get an ad for Air Canada as teams have to go to the Maple Leaf lounge, a place most of us peons never visit, in order to get their next clue. The Docs play a smart game but heck it's just looking on a map so I don't know why the other teams didn't do this. Even so, I'm beginning to like the Docs; they know what they are doing and they really can handle pressure.

The first task is a Roadblock and you gotta skate around an speed skating oval in less than 90 seconds. A lame task because it's short track speed skating and all the teams are Canadians! Even though the skates are different and spandex is tight, most Canadians probably know how to skate. And even those teams that say they don't, like the Docs, get done pretty quickly. They should have stole the Roadblock from the Australians which was to stand on top of one of the Grouse Mountain Gondolas (yes on the outside) and grab some flags as they pass. Miss a flag, ride the Gondola down and start over from the bottom. That would have been fun, especially for those teams who are afraid of heights. But I guess they did the height thing already.

But the Canadians had the onerous task of skating and all teams are done pretty quickly with little drama. Although the Hippies read the map wrong and get lost. Darren also freaks out on Kristen after the task. Man, not a good sign for them. Everything's all positive for them if things go their way but one small mistake of getting off at the wrong spot and he's freaking out. The task also provides the best line of the Episode. Cory complains about it being hard to walk on the skates but Jodi puts things into perspective by saying, "I might have an idea of how much it hurts to walk."

 The next task, the first ever Amazing Race Canada Detour, almost makes up for the lame skating Roadblock. They either have to draw or dance. In Draw, each team member has to drink a cup of tea and spot a Chinese character on the bottom of their saucer. Then from memory, they have draw that character using a brush and rice paper. The second task is the get a list of store names, all in Mandarin, and then find those stores in Chinatown where they will pick up pieces of a costume for a dance. Then they have to learn and do that dance. I know my buddy Gord would have pick draw because he's an artist, but I can't draw worth a crap and my visual memory really sucks. So we'd probably be fighting over that one. Unless he promised to help me remember my symbol.

The Docs pick draw and using their memory skills, finish pretty quickly. Body Break and the Brothers also do pretty good. After one misstep, the Sisters finish up on the draw side. The Hippies unfortunately get hit by one thing you can't control in TAR, a bad cab. They get dumped in the wrong spot and have to get another cab to make up for it. And though they get lost a bit while finding their costume, they get it done and move on.  However, the Timmies, the Bicep Bros and much later on, the Gay Cowboys, all switch detours. Never a good thing to do in TAR but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Don't know why the Timmies and the Bicep Bros switched. That side of the task seemed a bit easier. Sure, the symbols were in Mandarin but they weren't in China. I'm sure there had to be someone around Vancouver's Chinatown who spoke English and Mandarin, and could have helped them. Can't believe the Bicep Bros were walking about for three hours looking.

The final task of the day was the head to the docks and climb a crane and look for the next pitstop. Not much of a task, more of a filler. Would have been cool if they had to jump from the crane after finding the pitstop. Or maybe operate the crane to load one container before looking for the pitstop. Or something. Anything. Just looking didn't seem that big a deal, especially when it seemed most teams got it done pretty fast. Especially the Brothers. But as Jodi said, he was an ex-sniper, so this was his kind of thing. I wondered if he could shoot that far? And the Hippies got hit with another bad cab (sure is not their day) and had to walk a long ways to the dock.

Not surprisingly, the Docs come in first, winning a really cool prize of a flight to anyplace in Asia. I'm really liking these guys because they seem to be TAR watchers and know how to play the game. Same with Body Break, who come in second. The rest of the teams come in, the Hippies in fourth, not doing as bad considering they got hit with two bad cabs. And Darren's gotta watch out for losing his cool when things go wrong. Interesting to see the Sisters coming in one place ahead of the Timmies again. That's gotta bug the boys cause they were ahead of them coming out of the airport.

But sadly, and not entirely unexpected, the Gay Cowboys come in last. They had some minor hiccups on the Detour but coming in last was entirely their own fault. Hard to make up all that time lost by getting on the third flight. If they would have kept moving forward instead of dawdling at the ATM before heading to the airport, it would have been a completely different scenario. I would have liked to  have seen them in Calgary dealing with some of the cowboy stuff. And that's where the teams are heading, my old stomping grounds, good ole Cowtown. Looks like they'll be line dancing (big surprise there, not).

Overall, it wasn't a bad Ep. 2, not as exciting as Ep. 1, but with enough drama to move things forward. Some of the teams are coming into their own while others are still kind of dull. Montgomery is still a bit wooden but he's harmless. I do hope thought that things start picking up for the rest of the season and that this episode isn't typical of what's to come.

See ya in Calgary.

Off They Go!

It was a moment that many Canadians had been waiting for: our own version of the Amazing Race. Episode One ran July 15th and no doubt, the ratings will be pretty solid because Canadians love TAR. And we've been waiting for our own version of the show for a long time. There were some surprises in Episode 1, a great dramatic ending, but at the same time, a bit of clunkiness. Overall, it was a pretty good episode, not one of the best in the TAR canon, but entertaining.

Host Jon Montgomery had a lot riding on his performance and he was, well, I guess the only term that fits is, Mostly Harmless. It was pretty obvious right from the onset that TV hosting isn't his best skill. His presentation was a bit wooden, reminiscent of Allan Wu, the Amazing Race Asia host, especially when describing tasks, etc. But thankfully it didn't take away from the show. However, his work on the mat, greeting teams at the end, was up to snuff. In fact, the way he eliminated the losing team was quite shocking. He didn't hold back, didn't pause from dramatic effect, he just cut to the quick and eliminated the losers in a ruthless fashion. It was jolt to watch, probably even more so for the teams involved. I thought it was great and based on that and other moments on the mat, have some hope for improvement in Jon's performance as the series progresses.

But back to the start of the race. Niagara Falls, one of Canada's iconic geographic features, was the perfect start for our first ever Amazing Race Canada. Visually stunning with some great shots of the teams riding the jet boats to the start. The team introductions were short, but props to the producers for giving us viewers a decent look at the teams in such a short period of time. This kind of quick storytelling is hard to do and those folks did an excellent job. The background bits, especially for Brothers and Sisters, were quite fascinating. The Gay Cowboys were funny, especially how they completely understand the juxtaposition of their team and how they'll use that to their advantage. My wife liked the Hippies (they were bit bland but cool), correctly predicting they would win the leg. And like his wife predicted, I didn't like Brent from the team of Doctors when I first met him. He may grow on me as the show goes on because he seems to be the most strategic player out there.

The first task, grabbing a couple of envelopes out of various terrariums in a butterfly farm, seemed innocuous, but had devastating effects on the rest of the leg. Obvious this was no accident on the producers part. They probably hoped that the teams would be all hyped up from the start so that some of them would forget the most important rule when competing in the Amazing Race: Read the Clue. But they didn't and the Bicep Friends chose a terrarium with less dangerous creatures and lost a chance at getting on the flight to Kelowna that landed 90 minutes earlier. Other teams also didn't read the clue and suffered greatly as a result. More on that later.

Then we had a few ads for Air Canada, Interac, Chevy, the sponsors for the show, as the teams made their way to find a Blue Bear in Kelowna, BC. The pre-loaded Interac card instead of cash was an interesting concept. But I wonder how that's going to work in places where teams have to pay cash. Or if the Interac card will not be used in every leg. Might be a moot point because this is Canada and Interac machines are used almost everywhere.

So as the teams found the Blue Bear in Kelowna, it was pretty obvious that the kiosk for the jet skis was going to be closed for the night. Thankfully, teams had to grab a number so that getting on an earlier flight would have made little difference. They then settled for the night and an alliance was made. Just like in Season 22 of TAR, the first four teams decided that if one of them would come in first and win the two Express Passes, they would give the second one to whichever team came in second. We'll see if the alliance holds and the Express Pass is given according to the agreement. And if the alliance continues throughout the race. Nice move on Brent for coming up with this plan. It might help his team.

Once the sun rose and the kiosk opened, one by one the teams headed out with jet-skis onto Okanagan Lake to find Ogopogo. They actually had to find a diving place, get fitted up with gear and head underwater to search for statue of the mythical creature which held their next clue. Some teams did this pretty fast, while others struggled, either with the task itself, or in the case of the Gay Cowboys and the Twins, in finding the diving area. They both got lost. It's a pretty big lake (135 klicks long and 4-5 wide) so that's understandable. Good thing they didn't go too far.

But two things struck me while watching teams do this task. First, the Hippies did something that seemed unexceptional but was probably an Amazing Race first. What usually happens if a mixed team has to drive something like a jet-ski, motorcycle, quad, or some other vehicle like that, the male member drives. Just like the Doctors and Body Break did. But with the Hippies, Kristen drove the Jet-Ski while Darren hung on. Both ways. Not a race changing event, but I thought it should be mentioned. It also got me thinking that my wife is probably right about these guys. And maybe they won't end up being too bland.

Also, because Jodi from the Brothers had to remove his prosthetic legs to ride the jet-ski, you got a true sense of the extent of his injuries, how much he's probably had to overcome since he was injured in Afghanistan, and how his brother has been a major support for him. That scene where Cory piggybacked Jodi to the jet-ski was quite touching. That was further driven home in the next task when Jodi had to walk across the skinny, swinging beam on his prosthetic legs to get the hanging clue. I hope those competitors who complained about being so afraid of heights, and how walking across the beam was one of the toughest things they ever done, were humbled when they watched the episode and saw  Jodi walking along that beam on his prosthetics. They had it easy compared to him. And compared to Tim Sr. of the Timmies. You could him shake because of his Parkinson's but he didn't complain at all. In fact, he was probably one of the most steady ones up there.

It was in this task though where the show got bogged down, save for the scenes of Jodi and Tim Sr. The editing in some parts of this section was so contrived that it was frustrating. First, you had one player on the beam, complaining of the heights and the commenting that she couldn't finish the task. Then commercial break, intimating that this situation might make or break them. Then when they come back, the previous scene is rerun but she just jumps off,  showing that there was no real cliff-hanger here. Just a contrived one. And that's okay because that's typical Amazing Race editing. But then they do it again. Almost exactly the way it happened before, breaking for commercial after another play says she can't do it. But after commercial, she jumps almost without hesitation. And then another scene of the exact same situation with another team. thankfully they didn't break for commercial a third time at the same point.

So after the teams finished jumping off the beam, it was a race to the Pit Stop. The Hippies were in control of the situation and with some good map reading, along with some fake Phil-style pointing from the Mat by Montgomery, were Team # 1. They won an Express Pass for themselves and one for another team. They were part of the alliance but we'll see if they pass it onto the Doctors, who came second. I'm guessing they will. They also won round trip airfare for two to Sydney Australia. Only airfare though, no hotel or spa (or Spah as Phil pronounces it), but still pretty cool. So was Montgomery's use of the Canadian "eh" in his conversation with them.  A nice accidental touch.

The rest of the teams dribbled in, Body Break and Bicep Friends coming in together, and then the drama began. The Timmies beat the Sisters but because the boys didn't take two clues from the butterfly place, they were given a 30 minute penalty. The reaction by Vanessa, calling the Timmies "suckers" for screwing up while she celebrated beating them was outstanding. And Tim Jr.'s retort — "Time will tell, baby." — showed there's gonna be some interplay between those two.

The Brothers came in afterwards, and finally, the last race to the Mat between the Gay Cowboys and the Twins. Since the twins were track athletes, they were supposed to beat anyone in a foot race. But one cowboy beat one of the twins so maybe their track skills have faded over time. Still, they got to the mat as a team first so it looked like the boys were last. But since the twins also didn't get two clues from the butterfly place (an odd mistake since both their jobs rely on an attention to detail), they were penalized. So the Gay Cowboys were in and the Twins were out. A shocking ending, made even more so but Montgomery's quick and deadly elimination style. I thought the Cowboys showed that great Alberta character to be just as saddened as the Twins by the turn of events. The hugs were sweet. But I didn't mourn because I didn't warm up to the Twins as a team. No doubt if the tables were turned and they beat the Cowboys, they would have celebrated before offering their condolences. But it's homeward for them, although in reality, they probably stayed at the winery/resort for the rest of the race.

Next week, the teams must navigate the metropolis of Vancouver. The promo makes it look like some kind of crazy ordeal but it's Vancouver, not Seoul or Mumbai. Shouldn't be overly difficult. Then again, you never know.

First Look, Sneak Peak

Those folks at Amazing Race Canada have released a sneak peak of the first episode, which is set to air on July 15 (same day as my kid's birthday so that's going to be a fun day for us). It's a typical Amazing Race vignette: one teammate on a high ledge of sorts, looking afraid, thinking and saying that they can't do it with the other teammate cheering them on. Can't really tell what exactly the task is, except that it looks like a Roadblock, they're on a girder high above a forest (BC, I'm guessing), they have to retrieve a clue and then do something, maybe jump or swing over to another girder on the other side. Typically, the video has a cliff-hanger ending, although whatever it is they are supposed to do, I'm pretty sure the task gets accomplished by the team featured. I really hope that's not the high point of the show, though. There should be more drama than that.

The video features the twins from Ottawa and I'm not sure if this is a hint that are eliminated in the first episode or what? It's never too good to read too much into such a video so I'll leave it at that. I am going to make no predictions on who will win the race. I've taken a good look at all the teams and can't really tell how they'll all do. Sure, some teams look more physical than others, etc., etc., etc., but you never know with the Amazing Race. You only have to look at the Beekman Boys on TAR Season 21. Or better yet, the Frat Brothers of TAR Season 13. Andrew and Dan were one of the most inept teams in TAR history, but somehow they still made it to the Final 3. So while  my fav team is the Body Break team of Hal and Joanne (only because they're close to my own age), that will probably change once the show airs and the season progresses.

However, just like in the sneak peek video, I'm going to go out on a limb (which is probably how the producers worded the clue for this Roadblock) and predict that the first leg of Amazing Race Canada will be a non-elimination one. Why? It's all due to history. In Amazing Race Asia and Amazing Race Australia (the other non-US English versions of the show), all but one of the first legs were non-elimination. Not sure why, although I guess the producers wanted keep the contestants around much longer because they spent a lot of time and effort picking them. So while I could be wrong, I won't be surprised if Leg #1 is non-elimination. Remember you read it here first. Forget it if I'm wrong.

Also, the producers have added a bunch of digital content to go along with the race, to make the whole thing more interactive. There are prizes from the various sponsors as well as behind-the-scenes info and video that didn't make it to air. Some of this stuff can be interesting (especially the prizes and the play along games), but only to a point. There's a reason why certain scenes don't make it to the actual show and onto the cutting room floor (Yes, I know the editing is all digital now but it's a metaphor). Some folks like to look at deleted scenes, but I don't. Maybe it's because I'm a novelist and understand that if a scene doesn't do anything to propel the story forward or give new insight into the characters, it's unimportant.

What I hope they do have in this digital content is something similar to Phil's Diary, which ran on the CBS TAR site during a number of seasons. It was really interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at the race from Phil's point-of-view, especially when Phil and the producers are racing to a pit-stop because the teams are right behind him. Or when Phil's feeling a bit tired. He never lashed out at anyone but you can tell that his job isn't as easy at it looks. And you got a slightly deeper look into his personality. I really hope they don't include a Canadian version Elimination Station. TAR ran that web series for a few seasons and the whole point of that was to show what happened to the teams after they were eliminated. For the most part, they were sent to some wonderful resort or rented mansion in a tropical location, hanging out with the other eliminated teams as they arrived. Sometimes there was a bit of drama but all-in-all, it wasn't that intriguing. Mostly, it showed that if you were eliminated early from the race, you still had a really nice holiday with a few day trips thrown in.

Although I'm getting really excited about Amazing Race Canada, this will be my final post until July 15 when I'll do a recap of the show, along with other stuff. My posts can also be seen here. Unlike some, I won't be live tweeting; I'd rather watch the show and save my comments for later. 

I'll see you at the starting line. Can't wait!

First Promo! Exciting!

I was watching an old version of Canada's Worst Driver today, and lo and behold there was a promo of Amazing Race Canada. It was my first view of such a thing and I have to say, it got me pretty excited. For years I've been hoping for an Amazing Race Canada (even suggested they do an Amazing Race Commonwealth) and now it's less than two weeks away!

Sure, there should have been more diversity on the show - not only is there no First Nation person but no team from Canada's Maritime provinces - but I'm still very excited to see how the show progresses. I'm really hoping that the producers will make up their lack of diverse teams by showing the diverse landscape and cultures of Canada. We live in an amazing country, us Canadians, but I know there were some who were annoyed that Amazing Race Canada was going to stay within the boundaries of our home and native land.

First, let's look at the logistics of that. Compared to scripted shows, reality shows are much cheaper to produce. But The Amazing Race format is known to be one of the most expensive reality shows to produce, especially the US one. I've read that every season of TAR needs to hire over 2,000 production workers, most of them from various countries they visit. And don't forget all those flight costs to fly everyone, not just the teams, but Phil and the production team, around the world. But the US version averages around 10-11 million viewers in key demographics that advertisers like. And they are able to sell their versions of the show to Amazing Race-mad countries like Canada, Australia and the UK (which is one reason I suggested an Amazing Race Commonwealth). So they have the possibility of making back some of that production money.

The Amazing Race Canada doesn't have that luxury. Sure, it will be have huge Canadian ratings and they've already booked in some great sponsors. But they probably won't sell this version to another country. Also, look at the Amazing Race Australia. That show was quite popular in Australia and like the US version, travelled to other spots in the world, even to Canada in Season 2. But there is great doubt that there will be a Season 3 of Amazing Race Australia. Mostly because of the costs of production. So if we want to see more seasons of ARC, they need to keep the costs down. Which is one reason why it's only going to be run in Canada.

But Canada is the second largest country in the world. I've travelled a lot through Canada as a writer and a musician, and for personal reasons. But there is so much of the country that I haven't seen. I've never been to the Maritimes (shocking, I know but I plan to make up for that next summer with a family trip) and the farthest north I've been is Yellowknife. So there are so many great spots in this country, many of them undiscovered, that the producers should have no problem keeping things interesting for many seasons of the ARC. And unlike the terrible US Family Version (officially Season 8), you probably won't see a lot of driving in campers. We don't have the highway system that the US has, and to get to many places, you have to fly, either via airlines or charter flights.

And besides, the Amazing Race is a great reality show format not just because of the places it visits. On the Amazing Race, you aren't voted off by other competitors or a group of judges. How a team fares on the race pretty much has to do with how they function and react to the race itself. A huge part of the success of the Amazing Race has to do with the teams. While I've been a bit hard on the team selection, mostly on the diversity part, I'll admit that I've superficially judged the teams. And superficially, they are a bunch of good looking folks. But when July 15th comes along, I'll be one of the couple million of Canadians watching the show. I'll have my favourites and I'll think that I could have done better, just like the way I do with all the other Amazing Race format's I've seen. The difference is that it's in Canada and all the teams are Canadians. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

And I'll write all about that here. And here. So I'll see you all at the starting line on July 15th.

Here Come the Models!

Don't have a lot of time today, gotta volunteer, so only a short bit about the final two teams. Some colour, finally, but there had to be a team of Mactors, didn't there? Anyway, this team of sisters seems typical from many of the other team of sisters in which the older one is the controlling one but over the course of the race will learn to respect and listen to the younger one. If they last that long. The best part of this team is that they compared themselves to Sponge Bob and Patrick, which isn't always a good thing. Still, I love Sponge Bob.

As for this Father and Son, team, they're an Amazing Race archetype; the family team (usually a parent and sibling) in which one has survived or has been diagnosed with a disease (the father has Parkinsons) and wishes to show it won't hold them back. Okay, there was a thunderstorm last night so I didn't get a lot of sleep so maybe I'm a bit cynical today. Overall these guys will probably be an tough team, unless they are the kind of father and son that butt heads.

That's it for the teams. Very, very disappointed that there isn't a single First Nations person on this race, unless there haven't mentioned it on their bios. And there's a lot of Y-Chromosomes out there with four, count-em, four teams of men.

I'll look at the teams deeper in the next week but I gotta go. And please forgive any typos today. Also, this blog, along with comments from my buddy Gordo, is copied here.

One More Team; Still Kinda White

The seventh team has been announced for Amazing Race Canada, a couple of married doctors. Of course, like most doctor teams, these two say they are used to working under pressure, so they'll be a stronger team, blah, blah, blah. But we all saw what happened to those twin doctors in TAR Season 22; they didn't last a couple of episodes because they had a lot of difficulty making decisions and dealing with the pressure.

These new doctors are paediatricians so maybe the pressure's different and they'll be okay with the mayhem that must be Amazing Race Canada. The male side of this team also says he doesn't mind doing things that are morally bankrupt (but his worse fear is global warming?), which is a weird thing for a paediatrician to say. I mean, would you want someone working on your kid who said stuff like that? It seems that I've already formed a not too friendly opinion about these folks.

And now I'm truly concerned with the make up of the teams in the Amazing Race Canada. There is a definitely lack of colour now, a huge skew towards the white. Sure, the folks that founded the government of Canada were Europeans but this country was built through immigration, and not just the Europeans who came after Jacques Cartier. Canada is known as an open country, a landscape of multiculturalism and for a signature show to focus on the European side is a bit of a cop-out. Sure, we want the best teams, but I saw a lot of audition videos for this race and there were plenty of really great ones featuring folks who were also visible minorities. Hope the last two teams are a bit more colourful, if you get my drift.

And like I said before, there should be at least one First Nations person in this group because they are a large part of this country; they are our founding nation. First Nations folks lived here for thousands of years before the Europeans came and history shows that they helped many Europeans survive this country. So far it doesn't look good. But we got two more teams being announced tomorrow. Let you know what I think at that time

Body Break! A Celebrity Team

Just found out that Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, the Body Break couple, are the sixth team to be announced for The Amazing Race Canada. Not a major surprise because their audition video got a lot of coverage. Like the videos these folks have been putting out for the past 25 years, their audition video  was a little flat. But heck, they're Canadian celebrities, of sorts, so the producers would have been out of their minds not to cast them.

Hal and Joanne will add some interest in the show, not just because of their celebrity, but also their age. Both of them are a few years older than me (Hal is 57 and Joanne is 54), but they look pretty good. I'm sure they're still in pretty good shape and if some of the younger teams try to out-physical them, they might get a nasty surprise.

I'm keen to see how these two act in real life (well, in a reality show kind of real life). Like I said earlier, I've always found their Body Break videos a bit stale, and their prevention a bit stiff. So I hope to see them act naturally, unless that is how they naturally act. Then they producers and fans might be disappointed.

Even so, just based on their ages, Body Break will probably be my favourite team when the race starts. Unless Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson decided to join the fun. Then things will change.

Three More Teams!

Okay, three more ARC teams have been announced so far.  Here are the New Teams along with the other two that were announced yesterday.

I'm an Albertan so I initially cringed when I saw the cowboy-hat-wearing dudes from Airdrie and Innisfail. I really didn't want ARC to bring out that tired Alberta cowboy stereotype. It's been done to death, even though the Cowboy team from TAR Season 16 and Unfinished Business, became one of the more popular teams. But then I read further and it hit me; "they're gay cowboys!".  Which in itself is also a stereotype because some of the busiest times for the gay nightclubs in Edmonton is when the rodeo is in town. But it's a great twist on the Alberta cowboy stereotype and I'm keen to see how they deal with other teams. Also, they're the oldest team so far.

As for the other teams, you got one cop and his buddy, plus another cop and her twin sister. Oddly enough, it seems that the two cops have a lot of phobias (fear of heights, falling, bugs, rodents and reptiles for the male one, and fear of heights and confined spaces for the female one). It'll interesting to see if these fears play out because no doubt both cops will talk about all the hard stuff they have to deal with on a daily basis only to have to jump out from a great height or something like that.

Again, it's good to see that for the most part, the teams represent regular Canadians. There are no mactors or celebrities, although we still got four more teams to announce and they could be saving the celebrities for the end. I'd be okay with a team or two of celebrities but since so many average Canadians applied, it'd be good to stay along that line for the make up of the teams.

So far, I'm happy with the teams chosen, although there is a bit of concern as the teams are skewed towards the white and the male (including four dudes with some sort of beard, what's with that?). Canada is a multi-cultural nation so there better be more colour in the next four teams. There should be a lot less Y-chromosomes as well. And for me, as an aboriginal Canadian, I'm hoping for at least one First Nations person (or team) in Canada's first ever Amazing Race; that can't be too much to ask for it, is it? Is it?

Teams Being Announced

Seems like the teams for ARC are being announced today. Here's the link:

http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/Teams.aspx

Only two teams announced so far: First team looks like a hippie-type couple from BC (a bit obvious). Could be the Canadian version of the hippie team from Amazing Race Season 9. And there are a couple of brothers, one from Edmonton and his brother, an ex-vet who lost his legs in Afghanistan and is know a motivational speaker. Looks like the intense team who wishes to crush all. Still early though, not going to make any major judgements about the teams.

But so far so good; these look like real Canadians, not pseudo-celebrities.

Will keep ya updated on the rest.

Amazing Race Canada

In this space, I'll be writing about Amazing Race Canada. It's about time Canada got one , but I understand why it took so long. The Amazing Race: The Original Series (TAR:TOS for those of you who like Star Trek), was and is such a popular show in Canada. Even without Canadians competing, CTV was getting amazing ratings (Three ings in a row, a new record!) with TAR. So why pay for their own series, especially since TAR is expensive to shoot compared to other reality shows, when you get the US one once you pay the Canadian broadcast rights.

But now we have one, and I'm excited. I won't be writing much about ARC (Amazing Race Canada) until the series begins. But I will probably write something when they announce the teams. Like many fans, I'm curious about the make-up of the teams. And why they were chosen. Like many fans, I and a friend applied to be on ARC, but didn't get in. Still, we didn't feel bad because I've heard that they got over 70,000 applications, that over 140,000 Canadians, just a bit more than the population of Moncton, applied. So don't despair if you didn't get chosen.

That said, those that did get chosen better be interesting teams, better represent a decent cross-section of Canadians instead of a whole bunch of Mactors (model/actors), blond twins, Canadian reality show cast-offs or Canadian celebrities. A few of those are fine, but I hope they didn't stack the whole show the way the Asian version did. In that version, almost every single team was made up of some kind of celebrity (Bollywood actresses, TV sports hosts, pop singers, pro athletes, etc.) from whatever country they were representing. Interesting, but only to a point. I also hope they don't take the easy way out and have stereotypical representations such as Alberta cowboys, stoner Vancouverites, prairie farmers, Toronto banker-types, Maritime fishermen, you know what I'm talking about. And as an aboriginal person, there better be at least two players with native blood or I'm going to kick some ass.

The choice of the host, Jon Montgomery, bodes well. He's not the typical host, not the Ben Mulroney type or some local chat show host looking to step into the national spotlight. Despite being an Olympic champion, Montgomery comes off as an average Joe. The sight of him with a jug of beer after being given an Olympic gold medal is classic Canadiana. And I've seen him commentate on the Crashed Ice series, and he's decent. Hopefully he doesn't try to emulate Phil and instead tries to find his own voice and take on ARC.

That's it for now; see you at the starting line.