Walking on the Wind

In a desperate attempt to keep the show on the road, B-M does Survivor meets Greed and presto! It's Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour the widescreen edition.

Analysis

Over the past five years I've watched Road Rules go through a slew of changes (moreso than any other regular tv show should have to put up with). Some of them for the better, but far too often the majority of them have been for the worse. Case in point: Last year's Semester at Sea which managed to throw the series' premise into limbo!

And now with the debut of Season Nine (the "Maximum Velocity Tour"), the show takes another wild detour off the straight and narrow path--whether that detour is for better or for worse is yet to be determined; but if the premiere is any indication Maximum Velocity Tour's gonna crash real hard!

This year the show attempts to capitalize on the mountainous success of such reality based hits as Survivor, Who wants to be a Millionaire, and Greed. This season's lucky six are given token coins that are worth 1,000 or so points for every mission they complete. And if there're successful, they could easily win up to $ 100,000. bucks. Ok, so who else is appalled by this?

Whatever happened to the tradition of sucking the troopers bone-dry (finicaly speaking), thus forcing them to work for their money while roughing it the whole time?--But I've mentioned in the past on how that aspect of the show has been dying a slow death over the seasons; and alas, the producers have finally put it to sleep! What is this crap? Road Rules isn't solely about winning money (heck, the troopers aren't even supposed to know what their handsome reward is until the end of the trip). These aren't contestants and this isn't a game show! If I want to see cast partaking in death defying stunts just for some dough, then I'll watch the freakin' Real World/Road Rules Challenge! In fact, why doesn't B-M just get it over with and re-title the season Road Rules: Challenge 2000, Part II while there're at it.

Among the other big changes this season is the winnebago's new look. Dubbed the "Shasta", it displays a sort of bland futuristic look--like something out of Star Wars with a dash of funk (I'll give the designer(s) creativity points, but don't let them near your house). They even threw in a King size bed! Woah! Couldn't B-M have been a bit more discreet over their aspirations for the season?

So who gets to cruise around the country in this phat new ride? Well, this season's cast is about as complex as they come--yet I was a bit taken back at how fast everyone's premeditated personas manifested themselves. Usually it takes a good two to three weeks for everyone's true colors to come shining through; yet here, Theo (A.K.A "Bumpkin") falls head first into the simple minded, backwoods, quicksand, stereotype that B-M casted him for. There's a sequence here where Laterrain/T spontaneously ask, "Who here has ever had an interracial relationship?" James, Holly M., and M'saada say, "Me, me, me" though James says he never dated a black girl, but he could've... he really, reeealy could've! To which M'saada starts taunting him with, "Like I could've, I swear I could've... like I have a black best friend!". Holly, picking up on the joke adds, "My dog's black!". But Bumpkin, obviously too thick to get the joke pipes in, "I have a black gardener!" and thus, turns the joke on himself! Bumpkin may not be a card-carrying member of the KKK, but you can count on the editors to highlight every trip, every stumble, and every slip of the tongue from here on out.

Laterrain--or should I say "T" is obviously the ladies man; and judging from this season's preview, he'll be competing against New Orlean's David for "Playa of the Year". But surely he has more depth than that. We didn't get too much feedback from Kathy and M'saada, although I'm sure we'll get a rise out of them sooner or later as the season progresses.

And then there's our hot item, James and his sexoholic soul mate Holly, who at the very least will provide some interesting drama; even though I thought it was rather premature for Holly to immediately claim James as her soul mate upon meeting him (Hasn't anyone learned anything from Dan and Holly?). A prime example of this occurs during the Roadies stop in Provo, Utah... where James, T, and Bumpkin hook up with the "Parvo Girls" in hopes of scoring some more points. But Holly is not at all amused by James "betrayal" of their relationship; and she shows it when James' date comes to pick him up. The expression Holly shoots the girl is downright scary. Suffice to say if looks could kill then that poor girl just got vaporized!

However, spare me the annoying Max Headroom wannabe Roadmaster (A.K.A "The Roadgimmick")! The producers were obviously poking fun at the show when they daydreamed this character up. Tell me... is some toony lookin' twerp who spouts goofy dialog while hiding behind a shower curtain supposed to transmit some sort of intimidation? Perhaps that kind of stuff works on the Nickelodeon demographic, but I always assumed that this was an adult oriented show?

So overall, I'm largely in favor of the show's new format. The movie style widescreen cinematography is a fresh new spin; even though the constant split screen movements maybe pushing it.

P.S:

• Even though the scene felt rather shoehorned and scripted, I thought that Hollow Horn Bear's helpful insight for the "Tribe" was rather fitting given the fact that they'll be up against some grilling missions this season; so a little inspiration wouldn't hurt. Heck, we even tied up a dangling plot thread: I was wondering whether Dave was ever going to give up those horns!

• Sam at 105.1 KF informed the troopers that the $ 2 grand they earned had to last them for two weeks.--Ok, that's overkill right there! I don't know about the rest of you, but I could easily stretch out $ 2,000 bucks over at least a month (and no, I'm no El Cheapo either)! Where and what do they expect the troopers to blow this cash on: A Gap shopping spree? A weekend stay at the Ritz Carlton?

NEXT WEEK: The troopers go bobsledding, and T manages to slide right into his opponent's bed.


Jump straight to "Frosty Face off, Part I".

Viewer Rating	Results
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