There was nothing wrong with Season 27, it was just a matter of timing for both of us. At one point I was reviewing The Amazing Race Canada, Survivor, and Big Brother . . . and it got to be a little much. We needed a break so we took one. Now it's time to get back at it with Season 28, the Social Media Mashup Edition.
Now I feel pretty comfortable on social media (I've got Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Trover, Behance, etc) and I've been known to watch the odd YouTube game/movie/music review but I must admit I didn't know anyone on any of these teams. It appeared that a few of them knew of each other, which might be beneficial in the long run, but it was almost as good as eleven teams of unknowns. Almost, . . . I'm still waiting for the "all about me" generation to implode.
I really liked how all teams started from their own homes (very Big Brother-ish) which allowed for just a glimpse behind the scenes as to who these people are as they all waited for Phil to say "Go!" over their smartphones. There weren't a lot of long drawn out goodbyes or tears as all eleven teams made their way via one of three major airports to Mexico City to search for Phil, but there were a lot of oversized backpacks. Oddly enough none of these teams gained any real advantage with this style of start as I'm pretty sure they were all sequestered away upon arrival in Mexico City until all teams were in attendance for the race through the airport.
Finding Phil at the Monumento ala Revolución to get their first clue was the easy part then all teams were off in search of their side of the Detour; Mariachi Madness or Great Bulls of Fire.
In Mariachi Madness teams had to find a performer who was faking his performance at the Plaza Garibaldi. Easy as pie, until they get there to find 350 performers . . . so, not so easy. However, if they had a good ear and a bit of luck they could find the guy, drag him over to a judge nearby and get their next clue.
In Great Bulls of Fire teams had to assemble a Torito, a paper-maché bull with spinning wheels and fireworks, until a judge says it's good to go. Then they get to light it up and watch their display burn to get their next clue. How cool is that? I'm pretty sure this would be the choice Wayne and I would make.
I don't remember all the teams yet as they're all pretty bland so far but I do recall one team that grabbed a performer between breaths and had to try again, and one of the teams had some fireworks go off behind them that was pretty exciting but otherwise there wasn't a lot of problems with either task. Both were entertaining and both were about equally challenging.
With the Detour out of the way all teams traveled to Cuevas de Parque Tematico Tialocan (there's a mouthful for ya) to grab a departure time for the next morning. The departures weren't too far apart so I don't think it was much of an issue. The following morning, after a good nights siesta, teams encountered the Roadblock.
In the first Roadblock of Season 28 one team member had to go into a cave and locate a numbered excavation site, then sift through the site to locate thirteen pieces of broken pottery, then locate the drummers and assemble an Aztec mask with their pieces. If they did it right they'd get their next clue, but those departure times in the morning made no difference because everyone seemed to screw this one up.
It took awhile before they figured out they needed the right thirteen pieces to build their mask but eventually they all managed to do so, . . . even Sheri, who was claustrophobic going into the cave but kept it under control, and Scott who, for some reason couldn't hear the drums in the cave and wandered back outside, dumping his pieces all over the place in the process. Oddly enough he wasn't the only one who journeyed back outside.
The first team to complete their mask, Dana & Matt, received their next clue and they were on their way to the Pit Stop at the Museo Soumaya, with Tyler & Korey right behind them. It didn't matter though, Dana & Matt we're Team Number 1, and apparently won nothing worth mentioning.
The last two teams to leave the caves were Sheri & Cole (mother & son) and Scott & Blair (father & daughter) but somehow Sheri & Cole managed to grab the right cab and actually arrived ninth. It looked like the end of the race for Scott & Blair but in a first for the US version, this was a non-elimination leg and they get to race another day. Hopefully they'll do better on their second leg because that would have been tough to let down your daughter right at the start.
So, nobody went home, . . . there were two firsts for the original version of the Amazing Race, . . . and I still haven't a clue who everyone is. I'll work on that before the next episode and I'll probably post another review then, I kinda miss this. Until that time.