"The world is waiting for you."

I don't watch nearly as much television as I did when I was younger, but one of my "guilty pleasures" is The Amazing Race. I don't like the term "reality TV" that everyone seems to like using, by the way. I prefer to think of programming like this as "next-generation game shows." The main differences now are that the game show has escaped the studio and lasts for an entire season with the same cast of contestants.

Normally, the bickering and back-stabbing that happens on a stereotypical "reality TV show" bores me to tears, but somehow, the manufactured drama on TAR doesn't irritate me that much. It's probably because I'm too busy marveling at all the scenery in the territory covered by each episode. I have a passport (it's here somewhere), but it sadly has a lot of blank areas, so I suppose the show helps fill the void -- just a little.

I don't really want to do complete episode recaps. You can get those on other sites, including CBS's, but I thought it might be fun to try blogging some of my observations as each week's episode airs.

(For those that haven't watched the broadcast: Spoilers ahead! Duh!)

Season 13 launched from the L.A. Coliseum. Wow, that stadium looks so old and lonely. Anyway, the first episode is always the toughest with which to keep up because you've just been introduced to the teams, and there's so many of them to track:

Toni and Dallas (single mom and son from California)
Nick and Starr (siblings from Texas and New York)
Ken and Tina (separated married couple from Florida)
Aja and Ty (long-distance daters)
Marisa and Brooke ("Southern Belles" from South Carolina)
Andrew and Dan (frat brothers from Arizona)
Anthony and Stephanie (dating from California)
Anita and Arthur (married beekeepers from Oregon)
Kelly and Christy (divorcee friends from Texas)
Terance and Sarah (dating from New York)
Mark and Bill (friends from California)

Host Phil Keoghan announces 11 legs, with 8 resulting in eliminations for the last team to finish. A million bucks waits for the winner of leg 11. No surprises so far rules-wise.

I've read that the producers try to contain costs during the few episodes, as they are moving a lot of cast and crew around, and it shows already. The teams are brought to Brazil on two flights and two flights only, and after they arrive and perform their first task, their first overnight stay is in tents on a military base.

The next day, Nick and Starr take first place at the pit stop and claim a nice vacation from Travelocity -- I guess they are seeing continuing benefit from being a sponsor of TAR. Anita and Arthur become the season's first casualties by checking in last.

Based on the very little we've seen of them, today I'll pick Nick and Starr, Aja and Ty, and Kelly and Christy as the teams most likely to be there in the finale. We'll see if I'm right, or if I feel forced to pick another three next week.