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.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
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
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
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
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.
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?
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?
Monday, June 24, 2013
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.
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.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
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.
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.
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