New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Michael & Scott (Friends). Two seasons ago we had the dating couple of Jason & Amy, who I lovingly named Boston Strong and they won their season. This year we get another pair of New Englanders in the form of this pair of Boston firefighters. They are both quite physically imposing figures and could easily win this whole thing if it was a strong man competition. It is not, so who knows. Their names immediately crack me up as a call back to Steve Carell’s character on The Office, a reference that CBS will likely never make. But that doesn’t stop me from dubbing them Team Office Fire.

Tim & Te Jay (Dating). This young couple from California is given the moniker #CollegeSweethearts. Te Jay explains that his mother still thinks they are just roommates and not a couple. He thinks the show will convince her that “yes, they are a couple and this is what I’ve been trying to tell you, mom.” It’s quite a unique purpose for being on the show. There isn’t much shown to indicate how they will perform Race-wise so we will just have to see.

Shelley & Nici (Mother/Daughter). This is the sole aforementioned parent/child team on this Race, so the odds are not in their favor to duplicate David & Connor’s win. Regardless, mom Shelley had Nici at the age of 17, so they are not too far separated in the age department, which could work to their advantage. Typically, the parent is much older than the child, which means that the physical aspects of the tasks take their toll on the elder’s body more harshly. For example, on David’s first Race attempt, he tore his Achilles. Outside the Race, the pair works as flight attendants, which may help them out in navigating the intricacies of air travel.

Misti & Jim (Married). These married dentists are all confidence, ultra-white smiles, fake tans and muscles. Jim even declares that their goal is not just to win the Race but to be the most dominant team the show has ever seen. That is quite a tall order. Personally, I think I’d be happy with just winning a million dollars because a made-up title of “most dominant team in history” really carries no weight. They are the frontrunners in my book…the frontrunners for me to dislike, which is saying something based upon the glimpse we got of the wrestlers’ and cyclists’ personalities. I am opting to tag them as Team DDS over #TheDentists.

Side note: This has to be the most muscle-bound cast ever or maybe they are just issuing them shirts one size too small.

Phil welcomes them all and then drops the news that this season will not have the Express Pass like we have come to expect, but a new reward awaits the winners of the first leg – The Save. This advantage will allow the team to use it to save themselves on ANY non-elimination leg all the way through to the end of the ninth leg. That is a HUGE advantage. This is so much greater than the Express Pass because you can completely self-destruct on a leg or even just phone it in and still not be eliminated.

With the usual raised eyebrow and left arm, Phil proclaims that the world awaits and GO!

Continued:       1       2       3