Greatest show ever!

A while back, I wrote that the second-best reality TV show ever was starting up again. Well, get ready, because THE BEST one begins on Sunday. The 13th season of The Amazing Race gets underway Sunday, just after 60 Minutes. (It's scheduled to start at 8 p.m. but rarely begins on time due to Sunday afternoon football.) This is the one show that I never miss.

Eleven teams of two will race around the world, enduring jetlag, culture shock, and each other, and the first team to cross the finish line wins $1 million. This year's contestants include a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and her brother, and a pair of married, tie-dye-wearing beekepers from Oregon.

Some of this season's destinations have already been revealed, thanks in large part to internet sleuths who operate websites where people around the world can post their sightings of teams as they travel. The travel itinerary for Season 13 covers 30,000 miles and features 11 stops in eight countries: Brazil, Bolivia, New Zealand, Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, and of course the starting and finish lines in the USA.

But the racers never know where they're going. When Phil utters those famous words, "The world is waiting. Good luck. Travel safe. GO!" the teams will race to their packed luggage, where they'll find their first clue, which usually reads something like: "Travel to Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and find the statue of King Carlos." When they get to the statue of King Carlos, they'll find another clue. And so it goes, until they arrive at the finish line. Along the way, they'll encounter Detours and Road Blocks, challenges or tasks they must complete before receiving their next clue. These challenges are usually linked to the local culture of the country or town in which they find themselves; past challenges have included buying specific supplies at an African market and taking them to a local orphanage (which they had to locate themselves), playing local kids in soccer, or learning to play an Australian didgeridoo. Detours are fun because teams are given two choices; one is usually physically difficult but potentially quick, while the other is more intellectual but might take longer.

Depending on the instructions given during each leg of the race, teams travel by air, train, bus, taxi, bike, on foot, or by driving cars that are provided. Each leg of the race ends at the check-in mat at the pit stop, the final destination for that particular leg and the start of a mandatory 12-hour rest period. Teams are racing to the pit stop as well as the ultimate finish line, because the last team to arrive at the pit stop is often eliminated. Each race features two or three non-elimination legs, so it's always in the racers' best interest to keep going and not quit -- even when you know you're in last place, you don't know whether this leg might be an NEL. Teams who arrive last on an NEL must surrender all their money, as well as their backpacks. They begin the next leg with no money and only the clothes on their backs. They also much finish first in the following leg or face a 30-minute time penalty.

It's such a great show that it's won the Emmy for "best reality series" six times in a row -- the only winner in this category since it began in 2002. And it's really not as complicated as it may sound. Phil explains everything as they go, so even if you've never watched The Amazing Race, you'll be able to follow it easily. For travel buffs like me, it's a cool way of seeing the world without leaving my house. (I would love to be on TAR one day, but I don't think I'd do very well. I think I'm too high strung and easily stressed out when traveling.) It's fun to see the teams, even if that means euduring the obligatory Team You Love To Hate. More fun are the "real people" teams, like Ron and Christine, the father/daughter team who restored their relationship through the race. Or BJ and Tyler, hippie best friends who on one leg, when in last place and with no gas in their car's tank, gave a ride to a Saudi Arabian hitchhiker because prior to the race they'd said they wanted to pick up at least one hitchhiker. They figured they were out anyway, so they might as well pick this guy up. The Arab ended up filling their car with gas and buying them some food. Turns out, this leg was a non-elimination, and BJ and Tyler later went on to win the entire race and the $1 million prize. When the good guys win, you have to love it.