Amazing Race, Family Edition. *Official DiscussionThread*

[LadyDulcinea1]

Yes, but Phil also just said "the XXX family, who arrived first, will depart at 7:57am." He didn't say "the XXX family, who arrived first at 7:57 pm will depart at 7:57am" as is typical.

Yeah, I love this show, and I pay way too much attention... heh.

I miss the typical Philisms! And I also noticed that when he was introducing the Pit Stop, instead of saying, "This is the second pit stop in a race around the world" he said "This is the second pit stop in The Amazing Race" which doesn't leave me to hope too much for them traveling very far

 

[klj27]

The show was probably recorded in May-June, hence so much day light.

I read yesterday that it was taped in July.

 

[goofy4tink]

A question for you guys....I'm from New England, have never been to the DC area (Hope to get there next fall). How many people out there think automatically of the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol bldg?? That is the only one I think of when someone mentions a 'reflecting pool' in DC. Sure there are other ones, but don't most people know about this one to begin with? I always have thought it was a big tourist attraction type of thing. Just curious. As I said before, it's amazing (no pun intended) to see how little American's actually know about their country.
I also loved the Civil War reenactment. I love that the kids might actually be learning something about history along the way.

 

[klj27]

I was glad to see that the family with kids wasn't eliminated last night. I would be disappointed for the two kid families to be out the first two weeks. I want them to do well just to show that that type of family can be successful.

 

[ElizaB39]

I automatically thought of the one between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, but I have been to the Capitol and do know that there is a pool there. I would have read the clue and thought, huh, they call the one in front of the Capitol a reflecting pool too.

That said, my sister knew exactly what they were talking about.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

A question for you guys....I'm from New England, have never been to the DC area (Hope to get there next fall). How many people out there think automatically of the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol bldg?? That is the only one I think of when someone mentions a 'reflecting pool' in DC. Sure there are other ones, but don't most people know about this one to begin with? I always have thought it was a big tourist attraction type of thing. Just curious. As I said before, it's amazing (no pun intended) to see how little American's actually know about their country.
I also loved the Civil War reenactment. I love that the kids might actually be learning something about history along the way.

My dad is from there and we were watching last night and immediately did what the brothers did--oh, from there...must be....yada yada yada. When you think reflecting pool--automatcially assume the one between the monument and the Lincoln memorial. However---it was very clearly written in the clue...so sometimes what you know needs to be placed aside in lieu of understanding the clue properly. My dad who has lived up there since 1986 knew about both....but he was only half-watching the show and didn't hear them mention the capitol.

Clues get more complicated each round and I think the location was picked specifically b/c of the risk of error in not reading the clue properly. They've had this happen in other locales around the world where there are multiple locations for a like-named location.

 

[Beth76]

How many people out there think automatically of the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol bldg?? That is the only one I think of when someone mentions a 'reflecting pool' in DC. Sure there are other ones, but don't most people know about this one to begin with? I always have thought it was a big tourist attraction type of thing. Just curious. As I said before, it's amazing (no pun intended) to see how little American's actually know about their country.

Well, I don't really see how not knowing all the areas of DC translates into not knowing about the Country. I didn't know about the reflecting pool at the Capital. The only one that I know of is the one by the Washington Monument. That was even in the movie Forrest Gump. Although, I would have read the clue and realized they meant a different pool. And that was pretty nice of them to mention the Capital bldg. I remember when they were in Paris once they were to look for a pendulum, but there were two and they had to figure out which one they were talking about.

 

[disykat]

I am enjoying the family show. I like the US history, like the larger groups, and like the kids - I wish there were more children. It in no way replaces the regular AR shows - it's just different. I wish it were on earlier, because I think it's geared more towards family viewing. For me, it sort of mixes it up and I'll look forward to going back to the adult only race. I was about ready to skip a season just because, but this changes the dynamic a bit.

I was bugged that the Gaghan family didn't ask for help too, but here's what I'm thinking. They thought they were in the right place so they didn't want to ask for directions. Maybe there is a rule against asking people if they have seen the clue box. Their mistake was being so confident they were in the right place and continuing to seek a clue box that wasn't there.

 

[ziggystardust]

With the Gagan family, the way I see it was ... the son said why don't we ask someone, the father responded what are you going to ask them? I think , like disykat said, they thought they were in the right place. People wouldn't know where a clue box was or what they were talking about. They had seen most of the other families come and go, so they probably thought they were in the correct place.

I was so against the family thing from the beginning, episode one proved me wrong, but this 2nd episode just seemed to drag. What I really don't like is these random clue boxes where only one person has to get out of the car, walk 5 ft and grab a clue. It seemed much more complicated in the past seasons.

 

[SRUAlmn]

The show was probably recorded in May-June, hence so much day light.

I'm sorry, but I love this show. I like that the show is in the United States. I think they got a good selection of families, and it is not your models, physical fit people doing the show. I thought it was neat that they found a Civil War Enactment-this is part of our heritage and it is unique to the U.S.

It did surprise that the Gaghan Family wandered around for 2 hours looking for the clue at the reflection pool, maybe they edited it to make it seem like it was 2 hours, cause they sure caught up fast in Virginia with the Civil War roadblock.

Also someone made the comment about turning by a Saturn Car dealership, now how would they known to do this. The one dad w/3 daughters made the comment to get off and avoid the traffic.

Me and my husband laughed about the parking situation in DC too. The show should have made them park in a northern suburb and take the Metro to DC. When we went to DC we did find parking at the Jefferson Memorial area, but there would not have been any parking up at the Lincoln Memorial. TAR had to rope off parking.

When I made the comment about the Saturn dealership I was posting that to Nancy who also knows the area like I do. I thought it was funny because if one of the teams had lived anywhere near that area they would have had an advantage of a short cut. I wasn't trying to indicate that the teams actually should have known to do that.

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, I don't really see how not knowing all the areas of DC translates into not knowing about the Country. I didn't know about the reflecting pool at the Capital. The only one that I know of is the one by the Washington Monument. That was even in the movie Forrest Gump. Although, I would have read the clue and realized they meant a different pool. And that was pretty nice of them to mention the Capital bldg. I remember when they were in Paris once they were to look for a pendulum, but there were two and they had to figure out which one they were talking about.

Sorry, I shouldl have worded that differently!! I don't mean that if someone doesn't know where a particular reflecting pool is that they don't know anything about their country!!! Not so at all. I meant 'overall' not know about their country. It almost seems that there are a lot of people who travel overseas (and nothing wrong with that) but know nothing about their own homeland. I didn't mean to sound derogatory in any way. Sorry!!

 

[OhMari]

When I made the comment about the Saturn dealership I was posting that to Nancy who also knows the area like I do. I thought it was funny because if one of the teams had lived anywhere near that area they would have had an advantage of a short cut. I wasn't trying to indicate that the teams actually should have known to do that.

Sorry your statement made me laugh, I should have posted that. Isn't it funny how we all know little short cuts with roads, but when we are traveling my husband never ventures off the express way or interstate highways. We are getting smarter though about Chicago.

 

[OhMari]

I think most of the teams realized you have to read the clue carefully. When I heard the word Capitol, I realized they need to go over to the Capital and look for the Reflecting Pool. The Capital is quite the hike from the Washington Monument reflecting Pool. They actually cut down the Reflecting Pool area and Made the WWII monument almost on 1/3 of it. The Washington Monument don't reflect off of the pool anymore.

 

[shep]

DW changed the channel & that taped what she was watching instead of AR...So once again, I missed it.(Missed 2nd hour last week) ...Maybe one day i'll get Tivo...

 

[Rajah]

They actually cut down the Reflecting Pool area and Made the WWII monument almost on 1/3 of it. The Washington Monument don't reflect off of the pool anymore.

They did? When did they do that? I think that's a shame, I loved seeing the WM reflected in the pool.

 

[OhMari]

They did? When did they do that? I think that's a shame, I loved seeing the WM reflected in the pool.

The WWII monument opened a year ago I think. We were there the summer of 2003 and they were just starting to build it. Maybe I'm wrong, but we walked from the WM to the Lincoln Memorial and we walked along the pool. We had to cross a road and that is where the WWII monument is, then it is the Reflecting Pool again, then the Korean Warm Memorial, then Lincoln. And, I don't know how Kelly Preston(?) from Forest Gump walked in it, it was so full of goose droppings, it was a cess pool.

 

[MScott1851]

I get left out of these discussions because I work every Tuesday and have to Tivo AR.

My two cents, in case anyone cares:

1) The Godlewski sisters....I kind of like them because they remind me of one of my best friends. That being said, I can't handle four of Michelle, and I can't handle four of them. Their nasally voices grate on me.... Still, I respect them and I think they'll do well.

2) The Aiellos? That man is a walking heart attack. His son-in-laws are going to end up starting CPR on him.

3) The Weavers seem like a nice family, yes, they scream a lot, but I still have a soft spot for them. They work together well, always encouraging each other and turning to God for guidance.

4) Paolo family - GETOUTTAHERE!! Those two smart-mouthed, disrespectful, whiny spoiled rotten brats are the best argument for spanking your children I've ever seen. I wouldn't get the second sentence out of my mouth before I got backhanded if I EVER spoke to my parents that way. If I were their parents, I'd leave the two of them at a pitstop in the middle of nowhere and forfeit the race, just to get away from them. We'd see how long their **** would last without their own parents to put up with it.

5) Linz family: I like them. I really do. I feel like the girl is ignored by her brothers for the most part, but they are protective of her...

6) The Bransen family. That poor daddy...I know his pride is taking such a beating by not being able to physically keep up with his daughters. This is so heartbreaking to watch. To little girls, daddies can do EVERYTHING. I am rooting for them as an underdog team, because even with his weakness, the girls are supersmart, physically strong, and quick. I just hate seeing the disappointment on their faces when he lags behind. It kills me to watch him slip a little from superhero status in their eyes.

7) Schroeders. Hmm. I always forget about this family. When the camera shows them, I'm like, "Who are they?" I don't know how I could forget, after the dad made all those obnoxious comments the first episode. They are a dark horse...could surprise us, the kids seem pretty sharp, and the whole family is in good shape.

9) I wanted the Gaghans to go this week...The kids seemed a little smarmy the first episode, and I also felt like the show could be so much more competitive if all teams are about equal. I like their positive attitude, but sometimes it tips into outright arrogance.

10) Hate to see Moses and the rest of the Rogers family go, but he led his people the WRONG way! I'm so glad the editors showed that it was HIS mistake, and not his sons. I hope he watches that replay and cringes. *******. That being said, I did like them. The kids seemed like great competitors, but classy about it...the mom was too.

Whew....long post, my fingers are tired! Here's to the Paolo or Gaghan family getting the boot next week!!!

 

[StaceyA]

Just think if the family that fights every second they are on camera wins?

LOL

argh don't even say that!
I couldn't put up with them for the entire season!

 

[Poohnatic]

subscribing to the thread. I watched the first week at my Mom's (sis visiting is an AR fanatic) and didn't see last week. Glad to hear the peacock dad got the heave ho.

suzanne

 

[epcotfan]

After winning another Emmy for best reality show, I can't see them submitting any taping from this edition for an Emmy nomination.

Nancy

I agree! I hope this edition doesn't do them in. They didn't start winning Emmys until recently and I'd hate to see the show cancelled due to low viewership because of this edition. I certainly hope they will have another two person team series following this one.