Alas, strong season leads to an Amazing Race hiatus

Season 28, Episode 12, the finale:

China/California – The Amazing Race gets no respect.

CBS has announced its fall lineup and the Race is nowhere to be seen, its 8 p.m. Friday slot filled by a revival of MacGyver, yes MacGyver.

Matt and Dana pick up a clue in the finale 

Word from the network is that the Race, which has been renewed, will show up sometime. But when, where? It’s a mystery.

Giving the show the brushoff seems particularly offensive since the just completed Season 28 was so good. 

It had a fairly trite organizing principle – the racers were already social media sensations, thus they shared a digital bond and celebrity. 

Korey with chickens, Episode 10

However, except for constant reminders that the world is organized by hashtags, the racers' virtual lives soon took a back seat to their Amazing Race lives. And, turns out they were appealing; the challenges were tough; the scenery was sensational.

As the episodes unfolded, no team, with the possible exception of the Frisbee boys, Brody and Kurt, looked like odds-on favorites.

And the boys bit the dust in the 10^th episode, the victims of some gamesmanship by Burnie and Ashley, who, sweet justice, lost out in the 11^th episode.

That left Tyler and Korey in the favorite’s position for the three-team final. They went up against the dancers, Dana and Matt, and

Gnome, Cole and Sheri on bikes, Episode 6

Team Alabama, Sheri and Cole, a mother and son duo that grew on Race watchers as they episodes ticked by.

The finale is always a bit of a crap shoot. One bad cab driver can destroy the best of teams, just as one leap into space can freak out a contestant at a time when he/she can’t afford to freak out.

The finale's leap into space undid Tyler. He had to jump straight out and grab a clue, which would have been hard enough if he were just a

Tyler and snake, Episode 9

few feet off the ground. Alas, he was about 6 zillion stories up in the air and a bungee cord or some such strap was not enough to ease his nerves.

So it took him three tries to get the clue, which he didn’t mind that much as his leap instructor was hot. Nonetheless, valuable time was lost, and he and Korey finished in third place, guaranteeing $30 for their pool sponsors, Emily and Drew.

Sheri got the clue in two (leaps), and she and son Cole went on to a respectable, indeed a wondrous, second place.

I’ve written earlier about what a sweet surprise the Alabamans were. Never has a team flirted with disaster and still cheerfully

Camel, matt and Dana, Episode 8

survived as often as the they did. For their efforts, the canny poolsters Emily and Denny Showers receive $50.

The dancers, Dana and Matt, didn’t implode as I thought they might. Indeed, they seemed to coast to first place and the $1 million, a victory that earned $100 for their Pool backers, Team Walkworth.

In part, the dancers won was because the challenges played to their athleticism – Matt got the leap in one try. But they quickly found the hard-to-find boat in Santa Barbara, and Dana was well-prepared for the memory challenge at the end. They could not be stopped.

Speaking of stopped.

Here we are at what could be a long, long lull between Amazing Race seasons. Shame on you, CBS. 

Overheard:

Korey: His (Tyler’s) future husband is going to help him jump off a building.

Sheri: Oh my god, I don’t know if I can do it.

Korey: Throughout the race we’ve been a two-try kind of team.

Korey: OK.  Maybe we’re a three-try kind of team.

Cole: If  you’re afraid of heights, people, don’t make it to the finale of the Amazing Race.

Phil:  Eighteen cities, 10 countries and more than 27,000 miles.

Matt: We’ve always said we’d rather be passionate than boring.

Sheri: We did it with a good spirit and had a great time doing it.

Cole: Hey, we finally got a second.

Tyler: We had so much fun.

Korey: Tyler and I met in college. Even though he’s four years younger than me, I look up to him so much.

Order of finish:

1 Dana and Matt

2 Sheri and Cole

3 Tyler and Korey