Broadcast date: 01/18/99

Episode: #701

Location: Chihuahua City, Copper Canyon

Mission: Fight the Beast for the keys to the Woodee and the first clue.

Quote: "Don't look at me, I dont have the key!" - A tempered little Chihuahua sneers.

Disclaimer

Welcome to the new season of Road Rules! Unfortunately I'll be forgoing my BreakDown section this season due to the fact that I'm trying to juggle 5 classes this quarter. And as some of you know, being a full time student can be quite a task. So sit back, and enjoy the ride!

Summary

After a promo that in short to say is....."Cheesy", Think Reading Rainbow meets The Travel Channel, the cast meet each other in Chihuahua where they get bullied by Chihuahuas.

Analysis

A nice season premier, but unfortunately not without it's flaws. I might as well get the bad crap out of my system first, then focus on the positive highlights of the show.

First things first. What was up with the toony promo at the beginning of the show? With the animated characters (the cast) and the leafing book, I thought I was watching one of those children story telling shows on PBS.

Are the Road Rules producers marketing to the MTV generation, or the Nickelodeon generation? I ask this because it seem every since season 4 (Islands), they've been going out of their way to hype the show with big words, and silly graphics. For example last season's Aussie, what was with that kangaroo they showed in the teaser for every week with the animated graphics?

These may sound like nitpicks, but it bugs the hell out of me that there're doing this. Why can't they do like Real World, whose promos and teasers aren't surrounded by a bunch of hype, which doesn't do justice for the season at hand.

Speaking of season promos.......It bugged me that right away, they showed Gladys as the one who's the trouble maker. Like I'm sure there wasn't any footage of Holly and Sarah acting bitchy in the whole 3 months? I guess it doesn't matter if you ruin someone's reputation in 20 seconds if it's meant to stir up some juicy "gossip", right?

Also unlike season premiers of the past, this one was not as long. Why oh why didn't they show a full hour of the show? 30 minutes...."cough" excuse me, "20 minutes" was nowhere near long enough for us to formalizes ourselves with the cast. Let alone complete a mission, except if you count running with the Chihuahuas.

Ok, rants aside, By the way, watching the gang trying to catch those Chihuahuas were hilarious. And Menudo, their new mascot? What can I say, I like the little pooch. Looks like Road Rules is gunning for some Real World themes this season such as a house pet, and if rumors hold true, booting a cast member. As for the cast, they seems pretty cool. I mentioned on the front page that all the usual suspects are accounted for this season. For example.....

• Abe: Johnny the leader Mr. Know it all type.

• Gladys: Black Sheep outcast who doesn't seem to click with the other travel mates.

• Holly: Young sheltered lass who goes wild with her first taste of freedom.

And there you have it. But seriously, the cast seems to be a very interesting mix. And as Holly puts it, "There's a strong vibe flowing".

I feel it's too early to start casting broad opinions on everyone, but Abe seems to be the leader at this point. Gladys, the Cynthia like skept who holds her breath going into just about every mission. Brian seem to be a Noah wannabee, or Abe judging from the previews for next week. Holly, the sheltered type who appears to have a grudge against guys. Looks like she and Menudo (Chihuahua) will be bosom buddies. Sarah for all practical purposes is a brunet Christina with a slight dash of mellowness. And Josh, really mellow and down-to-Earth kind of guy. By far the most real person on the trip sofar.

So with that said......what do I want to see this season? I want to see character development and interaction this season. I also want to see character development from the missions. How do the missions at hand affect the individual cast members? A prime example of this was in last season's "Fire Fighting mission" where Kefla overcame his personal fear of fire, and thus changed his perspective on being on the show. That is the kind of character development I want to see. Judging from the cast bios, this could be a very interesting group of people. If only the producers wont hi-jack the season in the name of "gossip" and "high ratings".

So on a scale of 0 - 5 I'll give this one a 2. Somewhat of a disappointment for a season premier with only a half hour. And the toony promo at the beginning was enough to knock it down a few points. I'll make sure to avoid the promos for now on! But the Chihuahuas, and group interaction were enough to keep the episode above water.


NEXT WEEK: They run the race, and Abe "attempts" to collects first prize.

Jump straight to "Cobwebs and Margaritas".


See what Billy and Tracy had to say. Or check out Kelley's review.

Road Rules Reviews Copyright © 1999