Amazing Race? More like amazing disappointment.

We're only three episodes into this season of The Amazing Race, and already I've given up. Last season I was able to find contestants for whom I could root, but this year's group of racers comprises the most unpleasant, unlikable, and uncouth people I've seen on any reality game show. (Yes, I include all of the Survivor contestants in that statement.) Normally I'm all for a good bit of competition, but these people don't compete -- they whine. Some people may think that whining makes good TV, but I'm not one of them.

In last week's episode, while standing in line for plane tickets, the contestants made deals with one another, which was fine. The contestants too lazy or clueless to strike such bargains of their own instantly complained about the unfairness of it all, and were much more concerned with who had screwed whom than they were in advancing in the race. In this week's episode, the only difference I could see was that the racers were standing in line for bus tickets. After ten minutes, I left Christina watching the episode on her own. Drama is one thing. Excessive bickering is another. If I want a petty bitch-fest, I'll pick a fight with my wife.

My favorite quote from what little I watched last night (and I'm quoting this from memory, so forgive me if I don't get it verbatim): "We're Christians and we want to share the love of the Lord with everyone, but when it comes to this race, we're going to do whatever it takes to win." In other words, "I pay lip service to being religious, but when a million bucks are at stake my principles go out the window." Maybe it's just me, but if I were an allegedly devout Christian on a national TV game show, I think I'd play down the whole "love thy neighbor until they get between you and the moolah" angle.

One could say that the producers of The Amazing Race have an obligation to show the competitors' behavior, and I don't disagree. This season, however, they've done an admirable job of picking contestants with no sense of sportsmanship. Who knows? Maybe these hypocrites really do represent America. Or at least the America that wants to win a million bucks by humiliating itself on television.