Ms. Taco Makes A Pit Stop At The 'Race'

*Disclaimer: This post will contain spoilers for the current season of The Amazing Race.

This season of The Amazing Race has been an up and down road for me. Some of the challenges they have faced have been, let's just say, less than amazing (feeding catfish? most of the tasks in the first episode?), but it has still been fun to watch the teams visit various countries all along being part of some of the cultural traditions. And of course, most of all for me, it's been fun to watch each team reveal their personalities and their relationship strengths and pitfalls, even though the teams are not grabbing me in the ways they have in previous seasons. Last night was a tough episode for me as we said goodbye to one of my favorites (more on them later), but since we are about halfway through the race, I thought I'd take a look at each of the remaining teams (and also last night's elimination).

AMANI AND MARCUS
I really like these two as a couple and as a team. They've already had several frustrating moments throughout the race, but always manage to deal with it in a very calm manner, which I think is a testament to the strength of their relationship. I might be wrong, but in my opinion, they are the only team who may be able to take down Andy and Tommy in the final if they make it that far. At this point, they are definitely the team that I am most rooting for.

BILL AND CATHI
I just love these two and was so proud of them for making a second place finish this week very close behind Armani and Marcus. They have such a good spirit ("We're gonna die soon, so it's okay"~~Cathi) and really seem to be enjoying themselves, which I think helps a lot when running the race. I don't see them winning, but I do hope they make it a bit further.

ERNIE AND CINDY
I think their difference in personalities is a strength for them. Cindy is a bit of a perfectionist, which makes her great at doing tasks, but can also be a weakness when she gets herself too stressed, which is where Ernie's laid back personality serves the team well. Ernie's insecurities about his abilities, which we saw a lot of this past week may prove to work against them as the race becomes more stressful. Can Cindy even survive an elimination with all the pressure she's put on herself? I guess we'll wait and see.

JUSTIN AND JENNIFER
To be honest, with all their bickering, I'm really surprised these two are still around, but somehow they are making it work. Their constant intense arguing was getting a bit awkward and annoying, so I was glad to see them working together better on this last leg. I do want to know more about their relationship, but I'm not sure we'll ever get there on the race. Can we just have them be eliminated and then get their own reality show?

ANDY AND TOMMY
I like these two, but I have to say that it was nice to see them knocked off their first place pedestal the other night. Watching them run away with three first place finishes was getting a little boring. The last episode reminded us that in the race, anything can happen. You can be way ahead of the pack and still make a mistake that knocks you pretty close to the bottom. That is what makes the race such a nail biter. I still think these two might run away with the whole thing, but at least they are in a bit of a fight for it now.

LAURENCE AND ZAC
The race may be starting to wear on them a bit as they seemed to really have a breakdown in communication over the spirit house challenge. In the beginning I thought these two would be front runners, but I'm not so sure anymore. They do still have the advantage of working together with Andy and Tommy, but with them slipping a bit this week as well, it might be anyone's game. I liked these two in the beginning, but at this point, I'd be okay if we had to say goodbye to them.

JEREMY AND SANDY
Are these two really still in the race? I'm not joking when I say that every week I literally forget they are even part of the show. They seem like nice people but are just so generic, that I'm surprised they even were picked to be on the show. Last night's elimination of Liz and Marie hurt even more knowing that they were beat out by Jeremy and Sandy. We finally got to see a little more emotion from them when they thought they were going to be eliminated, but it still wasn't enough to draw me into them as a team.

LIZ AND MARIE
They were the saddest elimination so far this season for me. By this point, we are really starting to get to know these teams really well and hear a bit about what brought them to the race. Knowing that Liz and Marie were racing for their dad who just passed away in December as well as watching them overcome so many pitfalls on this leg really made their elimination hard. But in true Amazing Race fashion, they walked away in good spirits having learned something along the way and experienced something they may never experience again.

So, the race goes on. Who will be eliminated next??

Ms. Taco Is Still Clueless About The 'Mother'

*Disclaimer: This post will contain spoilers for season 6 of How I Met Your Mother*

“She’s on her way, Ted. And she’s getting here as fast as she can.”

As I sat down to write my thoughts on season 6 of How I Met Your Mother (which I recently watched for the first time on DVD) 'As Fast As She Can' from season 4 happened to be showing on TV, where Stella uttered the above quote to Ted. It seemed kind of apropos to start this post with that quote since, as the show has just begun it’s 7^th (who knew it would make it this long?!) season, we still know very little about the mother aside from: she owns a yellow umbrella, she took Economics 101, and Ted went on one date with her roommate. Not much to go on and it’s crazy to think that most of Mother’s viewers , unlike myself who devoured seasons 1-6 on DVD in a matter of months, have invested six plus years into learning the mysterious mother’s identity.

Appropriately enough, this kind of speaks to the main point I wanted to make regarding season 6 and the series as a whole. Despite the ‘I’ in the title and the voiceover by Future Ted, this really is an ensemble show with every principal character being fleshed out to the fullest extent. And, more than learning the mother’s identity, that is what keeps me tuning in season after season.  So, I wanted to take a look at where these characters are as we enter season 7 because I think ‘The Leap’ they all took at the end of season 4 means more now than ever.

TED:

With Stella leaving Ted at the altar in season 4, season 5 showed us a Ted that I’ve heard some fans were not happy with. But, I thought our hopeless romantic deserved a break considering everything that he had been through. In season 6, Ted is back in the game, but remains a changed man. Based on some of the reviews I read of season 6, it doesn't seem like there was many a fan who got swept up in the Ted/Zoey romance. I don’t think I hated her to the extent that many fans did, but she definitely would not have been my first pick for Mr. Mosby. The old Ted would have been caught up in the moment, despite all the things wrong about it, but Ted is finally at a place where he can realize (with a little help from his friends) that if it’s not right, it’s best to take a step back and re-evaluate. With him putting Zoey behind him and moving forward with designing his building, Ted continues to evolve and move one step closer to finding the Future Mother.

LILY AND MARSHALL:

With so many shows playing musical chairs with couples, it’s great to watch these two continue to grow together and prove that a television couple can stay together and still be engaging. As they met and conquered some of life’s more difficult major events (the death of a parent, trouble getting pregnant), their relationship is stronger than ever. I have complete faith in this show to successfully bring a baby into the mix. It will change things, but what is this show about if not watching these characters change in positive ways?

ROBIN:

Robin continues to be on a bit of a romantic roller coaster. She began the season fresh off her break up with Don and ended it newly interested in a potentially unavailable Barney.  In my How I Met Your Mother utopia, Robin is happily with Barney, but I have to say that I truly have no idea what the show has in store for her. I do think there is still a chance for her and Barney, but I also can see the show having other plans for her considering the hint that it was not the end between her and the guy she met at the department store and later at the bar. That being said, I really just want Robin to be happy. She’s my favorite character (probably because she reminds me of myself a bit) so it would be nice to see her find her happy medium soon, whatever that may be.  Also, of note, it was nice to see the show take a look at the Robin/Lily friendship in relation to Lily’s impending pregnancy and Robin’s abandonment issues.  Both characters had legitimate concerns and it was good to see them work it out as the awesome friends that they are.

BARNEY:

This season managed to show us the softer side of Barney without sacrificing the core of who Barney is and also brought us perhaps the biggest shock of the series: Barney gets married! Now, if you are anything like me, you are biting your nails anxiously awaiting the revelation not of who the mother is, but who Barney’s bride is. The show has set it up nicely. If Nora was a tad bit unlikable, it would be easy to be fully invested in a Barney/Robin pairing. But, she’s not the least bit unlikable and Barney seems to have completely fallen for her. Most of my excitement about the new season revolves around how this storyline plays out as I’m assuming we’ll have an answer about his bride by season’s end.

As for the mother this season, well, she’s still on her way guys, and she’s getting here as fast as she can. But, I love watching these characters keep on maturing, so, I for one am okay with that. 

Ms. Taco Checks In With The 'Girls' Of Fall V. 2.0.

While my initial thoughts on New Girl were pretty positive, the pilot wasn't love at first sight for me. Some parts felt a bit awkward, which isn't necessarily an unusual feeling for a pilot episode. But I think my main issue was the character of Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.). I've never been a fan of "screaming" characters, which explains my dislike of Ruth Fisher. I just don't get it. People don't really talk that way, so it just comes off as really annoying. With Damon Wayans Jr.'s other show Happy Endings getting renewed, New Girl was forced to either recast the character or have him leave. They chose the latter and instead had the original roommate that Jess replaced, Winston (Lamorne Morris), return. I for one am happy they opted to do this as opposed to simply recasting Coach. It's not uncommon to recast characters from a pilot so I'm wondering if the decision to have a different character all together was based on early reactions to the character of Coach. For me, he definitely was the weakest link in the pilot. In contrast to Coach, Winston is a man of fewer words, but his facial expressions do enough. I'm a less is more person, so I'm liking this change a lot. Winston gives the show a bit of a different feel and by episode 3, I found the characters really clicking and the show starting to hit its stride.

What works best about this show right from the beginning is Zooey Deschanel. Just like Dennings and Behrs are the gems of 2 Broke Girls, she is the gem of this one. Not that Jess is much different than most of the characters that Deschanel has played, but no one plays this type of character better that she does. She's the go to girl for this type of role and power to her for cornering the market on quirkiness. I've seen Fox criticized for marketing the character as "adorable" but I don't really see this as a negative. She IS adorable, but maybe not in the way we normally use that term. What's adorable about her is her tendency to break out into song about herself, her desire to wear costume teeth to a wedding just for fun, essentially her ability to be, as a friend of mine recently termed it, "un-self-aware". Characters like this are rare on TV, so she really is a breath of fresh air.

One more final thing before I bring this one to a close. The show seems to be hinting at a possible Jess/Nick pairing. Though I've said that I don't want to see Jess eventually hooking up with all of the guys, I would support this pairing. My hope is that he show will take the time to build this relationship in the right way. Both characters have recently gotten out of relationships and I would hate for them to be each other's rebounds.

Well, as you can see, I'm pretty invested in this show. I actually think it might be my favorite new show of the season. This one's on my watch list for sure. I hope it's on yours too!

Ms. Taco Checks In With The 'Girls' Of Fall Pt. 1

The buzz this fall is that female characters are taking center stage in a number of new TV shows, two of which even have 'girl' in the title. Three weeks in, much to my surprise, I'm hooked on both.

2 Broke Girls and New Girl, both recently gifted with full season pickups, follow girls on new ventures. 2 Broke Girls sees formerly rich and currently broke Caroline (Beth Behrs) taking a job as a waitress where she butts heads with Max (Kat Dennings). Both girls couldn't be more different, but by the end of the pilot they are sharing an apartment and have agreed to start a cupcake business together. Max has the baking chops and Caroline has the business smarts. The only catch is that they need about $250,000 for start-up costs. New Girl's Jess (Zooey Deschanel) is also starting fresh. After recently catching her boyfriend cheating, she ends up filling the fourth roommate spot with three single guys: Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Nick (Jake Johnson), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) (formerly Coach-more on this in a later post). Jess has a quirkiness about her that makes her unlike any girl they've met, but by the end of the pilot, Jess has settled in as their new roommate.

I don't think my initial thoughts on 2 Broke Girls were off the mark. I'm perplexed by some reviewers calling it the best new comedy of the season. The lines are flat, the supporting characters are stereotypical and one-dimensional, and many of the jokes are borderline offensive. However, something about the banter between Dennings and Behrs shines, and I'm hooked to watching them play off each other.

The show clearly needs a lot of work. The writing needs to improve. I don't know series co-creator Whitney Cummings at all, but having watched six seasons of other co-creator Michael Patrick King's Sex and the City, I'm surprised by the predictability of the jokes. One good point I read was that this show would have been better suited for HBO where it would have the freedom to be the show that it wants to be, and that may be the case. But the reality is that the show is on CBS and needs to make it work within those parameters. In my perfect world, the supporting characters would be squashed. For me they serve no real purpose except to perpetuate stereotypes that don't need to be perpetuated. However, considering the show is doing so well, I doubt they will consider making any major changes such as this. The question of offensiveness looms and is not as clear cut for me as my previous two points. Some of the show's jokes seem pretty clearly offensive, but in the spirit of South Park, if you are an equal opportunity offender are you really being offensive? Time will tell for me on this one, but considering the way I breezed through the first three episodes the other day, I'm thinking this show will be on my weekly to-do list. The show has already hinted at some deeper character development a la How I Met Your Mother, especially for Max. If they can hit the right notes on this the way Mother does, I will keep this one on my watch list for a long time.

Tune in tomorrow for my thoughts on New Girl!