The Amazing Race 24: All-Stars Preview
The Amazing Race 24: All-Stars Preview
By Daron Aldridge
February 23, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
But on the plus side, the handful…and I mean, very small handful…of teams I like are ones that I really liked. If you have read my recaps over the last few years, then you will already know which teams fall into which category.
Trying to put my team-favorability aside, here are my initial rankings for the season with some all new fresh-to-death nicknames.
1) Flight Time & Big Easy: Globetrotters (fourth place in Season 15 & 2nd place in Season 18) – Unashamedly, I put Flight and Easy at the top of my rankings. Yes, part of the reason is that they are entertaining and fun to watch on the Race both times before (so much for successfully ignoring my personal feelings toward a team). But I mainly choose them for this reason: of the three returning teams that appeared on more than one season, the Globetrotters are the only team to actually improve. There is no indication that they can’t build on their experience and continue to improve by maintaining their positive, fun-loving team dynamic. I think the guys are finally done being the Amazing Race equivalent of the Washington Generals.
2) David & Connor: Father/Son Cancer Survivors. (eighth place Season 22) – I had such high hopes for this parent/child combo when a Race-ending injury cut their run short the first go-round. Because of that unpleasantness and the curveballs life continues to throw at them, they shall be called Murphy’s Law. But perseverance is in these guys’ blood. Despite a ruptured Achilles and hobbling around on crutches, David & Connor stuck it out for an extra leg and that takes a ton of heart and sheer willpower. I'm happy to see them get another shot and IF they remain healthy and injury free, then they should be top three, which is where I put them last time. Sadly, the streak of no parent/child team winning will continue.
3) Leo & Jamal: Afghanimals (fourth place on season 23) – This one stings because the cousins were grating at every turn last season but did provide the epiphany of Dr. Nicole’s hypocrisy about playing honestly. They won’t be tied to their Race girlfriends this time around, which should work in their favor. That is, unless they try to Race "hook-up" with blonde singers Jennifer & Caroline. The guys clearly have a type, so this isn’t a stretch. Anyway, despite their fussin’ and feudin’ last season, they still fared pretty well on a consistent basis. They are also the only returning team from the most recent season; they have the freshest Race experience and momentum. (Personally, Chester & Ephraim (of the worst airplane luck in show history) really deserve another shot but that’s just my opinion.)
4) Brendon & Rachel: Big Brother cast members (third place on Season 20) – They are calling themselves “Brenchel”. I refuse to. Here’s some SAT analogy practice for you: “Brendon & Rachel” are to “CBS” as “fetch” is to “Gretchen in the movie Mean Girls." Both are continuing to try and make them happen. Therefore, I label the Big Brother alums Team Fetch. This was the first team I heard was returning and immediately made me regret the start of the season, but no amount of disdain will change their presence here. Gotta embrace the hate, I guess. I predict this season that Rachel will cry…a lot…and she will hinder progress on legs and challenges…a lot...and Brendon will be there to enable the behavior. Also, because they are CBS darlings, they will be spared elimination at least once this season on a non-elimination leg. They should fall just outside of the top three because Rachel’s tears won’t propel them even farther…unless that is a challenge, which make CBS’ agenda even more transparent.
5) Jet & Cord: Cowboys (second place in Season 16 & sixth in Season 18) – Yeehaw…the Oklahoma brothers are back. It’s likely that Jet & Cord will build on the two previous outings that endeared them to audiences (for the most part…I have a friend that despises their "Aw shucks" attitude.) But they actually went in the opposite direction on their first crack at All-Stars (or Unfinished Business as it was subtitled). Competing with teams with no Race experience yielded a second place run and the impressive feat of going from last place on a non-elimination leg to first place the following leg with a Detour. Then when they went up against teams with familiarity with how the game works, they slipped. While they may rebound a bit, I still think they will be out-Raced and out-lucked this season.
6) John & Jessica: Dating couple (ninth place in Season 22) – You likely remember John & Jessica from their spectacular flameout from having two Express Passes and strategically gifting one to the injured David & Connor to having the hubris to think there was no way they were in last place and got eliminated with the unused Express Pass in their pocket. Thus, I will call them Team Bonehead. Well, they had potential until John’s arrogance brought them down. I suspect they learned from the mistake but who knows, really. That’s why I can’t in good conscience rank them much higher sight unseen this season.
7) Natalie & Nadiya: Twins from Sri Lanka (fourth place in Season 21) – Second only to Brendon & Rachel, this is the team I was least looking forward to returning. They gleefully call themselves Twinnies, which I also refuse to do. My name for them is Shrill Lanka. I still have the yelling of “Twinny” ringing in my ears from four seasons ago and I am not looking forward to that sound being reintroduced into my life. They are one of the many teams that claimed a fourth place finish on their previous runs but not everyone can be fourth again and there wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about how they ran the last time, so they get this slot and hopefully off my TV soon.
8) Jennifer & Caroline: Blonde country singers (fourth place in Season 22) - I wonder if the producers gave these ladies a heads up about the Afghanimals' previous preoccupation with blondes because as much as the cousins loved the Ice girls, the producers should have a professional obligation to do so. Anyway, here's a refresher in Jennifer & Caroline: They are the country singers that happen to be related to John Wayne and Daniel Boone. Plus they parlayed an alliance with ultimate season 22 champs Bates & Anthony into a fourth place finish. That result far outweighed their abilities, methinks, so that is why I think they won't fare as well this time. Now that I think about it, the girls may want to hitch their horse to the Afghanimals' wagon and try to go deep in the race again.
9) Joey & Meghan: Team Youtube (fifth place in Season 22) - We are now entering the bottom of the rankings where the teams' previous placement isn't really indicative of their abilities. If there was an award for enthusiasm then these two web "stars" would have been the winners two seasons ago for sure. As I said then, enthusiasm doesn't always translate into results or as I now know doesn't even translate into likability. These friends struggled in the middle of the pack all season and just barely squeaked by elimination until all the even lower hanging fruit was picked off or their luck finally ran out. This season there are just more teams that are stronger, better competitors and frankly, less annoying, which really is just a factor for me but hey, it's my rankings so they get ninth.
10) Bopper & Mark: Team Kentucky (fifth place in Season 20) - Speaking of luck, dumb luck is about all that propelled these friends through season 20. It seemed that each week I pegged them as the team poised to go home but they defied my odds. These good ol' boys were in over their heads by their own admission but plugged along. I doubt history will repeat itself this time. I like them and think they are good guys but Kentucky should be out in the first couple of legs.
11) Margie & Luke: Mom/Deaf Son (third place in Season 14 & eighth place in Season 18) - The bottom of the barrel this season is occupied by a team that is getting a third shot at Amazing Race glory. Since they have had a polar opposite trajectory of the Globetrotters, I have to put them as the last team and first one eliminated. This mother/son team went from third a whopping 11 seasons ago and then fell to eighth on the Unfinished Business season. So that path means that last place is the next step for them. The consolation prize is that Margie & Luke can boast that they have Amazing Race seniority as they appeared on an earlier season than any of the others. That's about all I can come up with positive to say. I'm not a fan of them but we should be spared extensive race exposure until they are gone again.
Tonight's the night for our first dose of Season 24 All-Stars or as I like to dub it: Amazing Race All Stars - Rachel Reilly Strikes Back.