Family ‘Race’ is not so amazing

Often your questions are factual, asking what happened to a certain show or a contestant. But sometimes your questions ask for our opinions, and those can be especially fun to answer. We answer one of those this week, about the "Amazing Race" and its current family edition. We also answer more factual questions on "Rock Star," "The Girls Next Door," and "Brat Camp."

Q: Is it just me or is the “Amazing Race Family Edition” both boring and difficult to follow? Where’s the tense moments when a team misses a flight? Why are there some many people to follow that it’s difficult to “like” anyone? Why does the show suck this year?     —Lon

A: That’s easy: Because it features families racing around the US in an SUV and completing lame tasks, not pairs of people flying around the world and competing in mentally and physically demanding challenges. Basically, the race has been neutered; we already know that “The Amazing Race 8” will cover less than half of the mileage that a normal season does, although host Phil Keoghan promises that teams will eventually leave the country.

Still, it’s definitely not the same race we’ve grown to love over the past seven seasons. The challenges in particular have been disappointing. Although some of them have strained the teams, they don’t seem all that demanding in a way that fills us with awe, and many haven’t been exceptionally interesting to watch (ooh, filling up lanterns with oil).

Despite this, the editors are doing a good job crafting tension, and the casting was, in many ways, inspired. The Gaghan family’s kids are hysterical, and the incompetence of the physically fit Linz family is, at the very least, ironic. And, of course, there’s the Paolo family, which has apparently been fighting since the day the two boys were born.

As to the number of people, “The Amazing Race” teams has always been difficult to keep track of at the beginning of the race, when there have typically been 22 people vying for our attention.

But this season, there were 40. However, the once thing that hasn’t been difficult to follow is the race itself, since every episode they seem to travel a few miles. I’m exaggerating, but not by much: in two episodes, they’ve traveled about 320 miles, from New York City to Middleburg, Va, a trip some families could take in half a day.    —A.D.

Q: [Now that "Rock Star: INXS" is finished are] there plans for another Band that needs someone to do it the same way as INXS?    —J

A: Although "Rock Star: INXS" didn't earn "American Idol"-size ratings for CBS, the Mark Burnett show was critically acclaimed and had a loyal base that grew throughout the season. Thus, it makes sense that Burnett is now talking to CBS about bringing it back again next summer.

There are two possibilities: One, the show could find a lead singer for another band, or two, the show could create an entirely new rock group, like we've seen on "Making the Band." If the show returns and follows the same formula, lead singer-less bands that have been mentioned include Queen and Van Halen.

However, a member of one of those groups has already excluded his band from the running: Queen's guitarist, Brian May, wrote about the speculation on his Web site: "Ha! Ha! Can you imagine? I don't think so!"    —A.D. 

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