TAR: STILL SIMPLY THE BEST!

Last night’s finale of The Amazing Race on CBS once again proved why this reality show has no rival on all of television. Due to both the nature of the game and phenomenal editing, virtually the entire two hour broadcast was an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride with teams you’d want to win and others you wouldn’t. In case some of you out there have the finale recorded but haven’t yet watched it, I’ll refrain from details until after the jump.

For those of you who still haven’t caught on to the TAR bandwagon, the good news is the seventh version of the race will premiere three weeks from last night on Tuesday March 1. Annoyingly, it will feature Survivor: All-Star winners Rob and Amber — I could have happily lived the rest of my life without seeing either of them on TV again, but the universe seems to not wish to grant me such contentment. In the little preview of the next season, they were all over the place. Hopefully, that too is just creative editing, and they’ll get Philiminated (TM TWoP — careful of possible spoiling) early on.

As for the season 6 finale, first picture me screaming. If it hadn’t been 1:30 AM when Freddy and Kendra crossed the finish line to win, I would have been. Loudly. Of the final four, there was no team I wanted to win less than these two. Kendra was so obnoxious (and clueless) throughout the race, she made me want to vomit. Her comment in an early episode about the poverty in some African country (I believe) and how the locals there just kept “breeding” was more than ignorant and offensive. She portrayed everything that is wrong with the “ugly American” mentality — especially the obnoxious sense of superiority — that is despised throughout the world. Sadly, the wrong team often wins the race; but I guess at least we know the thing isn’t rigged.

Speaking of ugly American’s, I was ecstatic at the midway point after hour one when Hayden and Aaron were cut. I started the season as fans of theirs, but Hayden became more and more annoying and obnoxious as the race continued. It really reached a pinnacle in this finale with her getting pissed off because Chinese people in China couldn’t understand her English even when she slowed waaaaaay down to enunciate. My friend and I were discussing whether or not Hayden was worse than Flo, who won season 3 solely because her partner Zach had the patience of Job and virtually carried her all the way. (And, he let her treat him like dirt because he was in love with her even as she tried to hit on other guys throughout the race.) My friend said Hayden was worse; I still say it’s Flo. Of course, I’ll watch either of them bitch and whine over-and-over again rather than having to see Jonathan — simply the most evil person to ever appear on a reality show, and no, it’s not all in the editing! — again.

Personally, I was rooting for Kris and Jon who came in second and really deserved to win. Freddy and Kendra didn’t really play a smarter or stronger game than Kris and Jon; they just got a few luckier breaks when it counted. The two teams were on the same El train leaving Chicago airport, but Kris and Jon had a harder time finding the clue, and then it seemed to take them even longer to find a cab. By the time they got to Gino’s East to complete the pizza-eating task, Freddy and Kendra were done. In fact, they were lucky enough to be leaving just as Kris and Jon were arriving which gave them a cab to hop right into. Yes, then their cab driver seemed to have some directional difficulty, and who knows how closely behind Freddy and Kendra that Jon and Kris really were, but it certainly seemed like the last stroke of luck against my faves was being temporarily stopped by a passing train.

But Kris and Jon had obviously watched this show. The thing so aggravating about so many TAR contestants is that they all complain about shit they should be expecting. I don’t mean to imply that they aren’t allowed to become frustrated by certain situations, but isn’t it possible to express it in a more pleasant manner? Kris and Jon sure as hell managed to. They ran the entire race with a great attitude, and even once they knew they had lost, they genuinely seemed to be happy just having accomplished such a phenomenal experience together. Rebecca (of Adam & Rebecca) performed similarly, although she had a few freak-outs of her own. Of course, I don’t know how anyone traveling with Adam wouldn’t. Still, I would have been much happier had they won rather than Freddy and Kendra, even though they were basically out of it before the final leg.

But even when screaming at the TV, “No, no, no, not them!” TAR still has never failed to succeed as one of the most interesting and entertaining shows on television. Sometimes, it takes a couple episodes to really get into it, but once you’re hooked, it won’t let you go. Last night’s example was the sixth end to an Amazing Race, and it was the sixth time that I’ve been glued to the finale action every minute. There’s no other show, maybe ever anywhere on television, that I can say the same thing about.

So if you still don’t know TAR from tar, give it a try March 1. You won’t be disappointed.