The Amazing Race



What began as a personal bet between Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, with the latter challenging the former to think of a concept for a TV show in five minutes, during a trade convention has become a reality show that has far exceeded the expectations of everyone who put the show together. Doganieri's suggestion of a race around the world which though at first was received skeptically, generated enough curiosity and finally the concept as refined and sold to CBS. Doganieri and van Munster serve as executive producers , along with Jonathan Littman. The show is hosted by Phil Keoghan, a veteran television personality from New Zealand. Since its inception the show has been remade into several international variations with a similar format.

The Amazing Race is reality game show on American TV that began in 2001 and is currently into its 17th season. Nominated for Primetime Emmy twenty times and winning the award ten times, the show pulls in around 10 million viewers even though the show has been shifted around several primetime slots. Sometimes the format of the show and team composition have been changed.

The typical format of the game features eleven teams of two or four people each who compete with each other to race around the world for a grand prize of $1,000,000. The eleven teams that feature on the show come from a wide mix of ages, races and orientations. There is a pre-existing relationship binding the team members; siblings, couples (heterosexual as well as homosexual), parent and child, friends and colleagues. The show also focuses on the emotions and stress that the relationship comes under during the competition and is often a topic for discussion during television interviews and during conversation with the show's host.

Competing teams in the competition use a variety of transportation and travel modes for their travel within and through countries, including trucks, bicycles, taxis, trains, buses, boats, planes, hot air balloons, helicopters, etc. The race usually begins in a US city. Teams receive clues in each leg of the race that leads them to perform a task or directs them to the next destination. Challenges are related sometimes to the country or culture they visit and good knowledge of local customs, places and vital details provide the difference between winning and losing. The last team to arrive at a given leg of the competition is sent away. Elimination of teams progresses through until there are only three teams left; in the final leg the team that arrives first at the destination ends up with a purse of $1 Million.

The production of this show is a daunting task for the producers because unlike other reality shows, this show is constantly on the move around different parts of the world. On account of it being a race around the world, some of the several challenges faced by the producers are team selection, location choice, task designing, logistics of the race from start to finish. It is no less a challenge for the camera and shooting crews who have to keep up with teams as they move through the various legs of the competition. When the entire footage of the show has been shot, it becomes imperative that details, locations and outcome of the race are kept strictly confidential so that no leakages occur.

The 16th season of the show has just concluded began in Valparaiso, Chile and ended in San Francisco, California. Brothers Daniel & Jordan from Barrington, Rhode Island were declared the winners. Commendable indeed, because between them, the brothers hate travel, have a fear of heights, had no previous navigational experience and were argumentative. Their close bond and their passion for winning clinched the winning position for them.


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