J: Week 8 (The Amazing Race)

I actually came to The Amazing Race really late - I didn't start until season 10 after I got out of college. But I was hooked immediately and I've watched every season since then. Season 22 just started a few weeks ago but I'm a little behind so I don't really have too much to say about the current season yet except that I totally want to go skydiving in Bora Bora (I've done in New Zealand, so my next time has to be even more epic). Instead, here are my reasons for why I've stuck with this show all these years!

- Travel envy. Definitely my #1 reason. There are probably a handful of places that the show has visited that I'm not interested in but man, there are a lot of places in this world that I want to visit.
- Consistency. Sure, they've added some things over the years like the U-Turn and the Express Pass and such, but generally the show has remained pretty much the same. This can also be taken for predictability though...which is a valid point but not bad enough yet to make me stop watching.
- Creative tasks. Yes, there are lot of really stupid tasks. But they're still coming up with new and different things for the racers to do. Good mix of funny/physical/mental tasks too. I loved the synchronized swimming last season!
- Limited "reality" drama. This varies season to season - there are generally a few teams that are either really annoying or really mean, and then there are alliances and animosity between teams, but really most of the drama comes from the tasks themselves.
- All-star seasons. Always love seeing likable teams come back for a second chance. Really hoping that Jaymes & James from last season come back for the next all star season!
- Phil Keoghan. He actually doesn't do that much? But I just like him...

Next time I promise to cover a non-TV topic!