I’ve never watched The Amazing Race the entire time it’s been on television. I tend to hate reality television, so I expected to write a different review based on that bias. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I might tune in for this show this season.

The basics of the show work like this: 12 teams of two race around the world through the toughest of situations to win a grand prize of one million dollars. I first thought this show was going to be kind of boring for the simple fact that everyone on each team was selected for having some sort of dramatic flair about them. While that tends to be the unfortunate rule of who these kinds of shows select, the chase for money gives any drama between the teams a purpose.

The premiere starts in Seattle, Washington, where the audience meets the teams. The first to arrive are Peter and Sarah, who through the course of this race will have to deal with a handicap that could affect their chances of winning. Bilal and Sa'eed are the most religious of the 12 teams and believe their Muslim faith will help them win. Rob and Kimberly are the unsure couple who don’t really know if they are in love and hope The Amazing Race will bring them together – or break them apart. Dustin and Candice, along with Kellie and Jamie, are beauty queens and cheerleaders respectively, who, when united, combine forces to become Team Clueless and Team Even More Clueless. David and Mary play the token hicks, complete with accent.

Erwin and Godwin are overachieving brothers who will try to outsmart the other teams. Duke and Lauren are the fractured father/daughter team who will attempt to repair their relationship. Vipul and Arti are your resident “we’re in love” team. Tyler and James are the interesting team, recovering addicts who are models. Lyn and Karlyn are the latest generation of “I don’t need a man” single mothers. Tom and Terry are the energetic couple who don’t care for anything but the prize at hand.

After that rather long introduction, the teams begin with their first mission: get to the airport and hop a flight to their first checkpoint in Beijing, China. Not exactly a difficult task, I thought. But as soon as things get rolling, the most stress-inducing roadblocks show up.

The most interesting and hilarious obstacles come from some basic mistakes. The first of them is that, when you are in a hurry, never take the general route to your destination. Some teams on their way to the airport end up trapped in traffic as they take the highway. My first thought was they wouldn’t make it, but by the will of God — and the power of editing — everyone manages to make it to their respective planes. But some teams catch a later flight on a different airline.