The Amazing Race Family EditionEarly thoughts--like the Gaghan family; their running ability will stand them well. Also liked the southern family (Rogers?), as the only ones who mentioned religion (at first; later on everybody seemed to be praying) and because the dad said he was the ruler of the family. Not necessarily because I agree, but because it helps to have one boss.
Okay, after watching the whole episode, here are my observations:
1. That Gaghan family is going to be very tough. I just wonder if they revealed the strength of their kids a little early. Loved the bit with them singing "We'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain," as they passed the other family in the buggy; that was priceless.
2. The widow and her daughters did very well despite the near disaster; Mom was smart enough to duck under the wagon and avoid being hit.
3. I liked the Black family's heart, but did anybody get the foreshadowing of doom from the way the two boys didn't give it their all on two separate occasions? First when they were rowing the boat across the Delaware, and then again when the boy fell down while getting the water.
4. Loved that they started in New York then crossed all the way over New Jersey. Had to laugh at the one woman wondering if they meant Pennsylvania as in a state. I grew up in NJ, so I don't think I'd have any trouble navigating that part of the trek.
5. The other part that had me laughing was the Paolo family; talk about typical Italian sons complaining that their parents are embarrassing them, while their mother practically has the vapors. Of course, those families are actually fairly rare these days (not many Italian first generation families) but they were still common when I was growing up (back in the Johnson Administration, son--Andrew Johnson, that is).
6. Some interesting challenges, particularly the imitation of Washington crossing the Delaware. It seems pretty obvious that at the detour, those who chose to build it rather than buggy it made the right choice. The widow and her daughters actually went back to building it after crashing the buggy and still left there first.
7. Viking Pundit's race
summary is here. He reveals something I had not known; the two hot dog vendors early in the race on 91st Street were former Amazing Race contestants. I did notice that they seemed a little unusual for clue handers in that they made observations about the folks as they ran off.
8. Lorie Byrd
enjoyed an exchange between two siblings (I think this was the Linz family, which finished ninth).
9. Oddly the Gadlewski family made little impression on me although they won the evening. I'm pretty sure this is the family of four blonde sisters. BTW, when did the stereotype about blondes being dumb (which one of them mentioned) start? I don't remember it at all when I was growing up.
10. Virtual Pus
finds some racism in the choice of families. He makes some reasonable points about how editing gives us the the “crazy black bitch” and the “lazy black male.” I think one cast of 10 families is too small to make any real analysis on though--how about examining a bunch of seasons to see if a pattern emerges? He does note that two of the seven seasons of TAR have been won by a black team.
