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Well, to be fair, I think Sierra's game plan of doing nothing still was smarter than Ben and Debbie's "Let's let JT win!" strategy

39. The Amazing Race 12

Wikipedia
Reality Blurred Archive

The Amazing Race 12 was the twelfth installment of winning reality television show The Amazing Race.

The 12th season premiered on November 4, 2007 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It took the timeslot of the canceled CBS series Viva Laughlin.^[4] The finale aired on January 20, 2008 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

So after the decent-to-fantastic All-Stars (depending on what level one could delude themselves into believing Charla/Mirna were the actual winners), they pull out TAR12, with a few new twists and talks of non-eliminations being removed entirely, thus leading to the first actually-surprising non-elimination leg in a long, long time. Of course, there were also some great teams as well, and some entertaining tasks as always.

1. U-Turn. This season added two new twists, on of which was the U-Turn. The U-Turn involves choosing a team behind you and forcing them to do both Detours. Eh, it's better than the Yield since teams don't have to wait an determined amount of time and can catch up quickly if they're competent. Not a big fan, but then again, I'm not a big fan of most of their twists. Still an improvement, though.
   
2. Speed Bump. The Speed Bump was the new twist for non-elimination legs, where instead of a last-place team getting mugged or a time penalty, they had to complete an extra task instead. I feel this is the best of all the non-elim penalties, and if they have to punish last-place, this is the best way to do it. So these were much better twists than before, though I'd still prefer no twists overall.
3. Donkeys. As everyone knows, tasks involving animals are usually the most entertaining, and leg 1 had some awesome donkeys that brought the entertainment, especially since they hurt token bickering couple Nate & Jen and the vile Ari & Staella. Nate & Jen's bickering almost killed their donkey, while Ari's vileness just increased the donkey's stubbornness. In the end, Ari & Staella's awfulness won out in the battle of "Who could annoy their donkey more," as they were last and eliminated, and Ari could stick to trashing old women in Elimination Station. Classy.
4. Camels. While we're talking about animal-based tasks, why not milking camels? Lorena screamed at hers, and the masterful editors wisely spliced Jason's supportive "You can do it, baby" with a camel shaking its head. I also think one of Shana or Jennifer tried to jack off the camel. Animals really bring out the worst and teams, and it's hilarious every time.
5. Azaria & Hendekea. Siblings, and dominant ones at that, since they managed to score three first-place finishes. They were competent, they got along well, and they were fun to watch. Of course, they end up only getting sixth place because of airline trouble. Oh well.
6. Kynt & Vyxsin. Goth racers, and very interesting dressers. They were actually more enthusiastic and optimistic than you would expect from goths. They were also consistently solid, never getting first place but never dipping below fifth, either. They got along pretty well except near the end when they started freaking out. They managed to get saved by a non-elimination leg, which most people weren't expecting after word spread that non-elims would be eliminated, but they ended up U-Turning a team that was actually ahead of them instead of the intolerable Nate & Jen, and sadly they were eliminated at fifth. A great team to watch, and a shame they left when they did.
7. Nathan & Jennifer. Talk about a team that likes to argue. Apparently they argued a lot, as every recap I've been reading to catch up involves them arguing. Yelling at each other, complaining about other teams not letting them win, blah blah blah, shut the fuck up. They managed to make it all the way to the F4 without getting first place, and in the end they got eliminated on Jen's birthday. Great way to eliminate them.
8. Nicolas & Donald. TAR's first grandparent/grandchild team, I enjoyed their antics. They were kind of a joke, but Donald brought some great moments, such as stripping down to his underwear to do a challenge. They had fun, though they relied a lot on luck to make the F3. They did the season's only Fast Forward, which involved getting a tattoo of the letters "FF." And I thought shaving one's head was an idiotic FF. They did it and got first that leg, but overall they only got third. Oh well, they were still fun to watch.
9. Ronald & Christina. An Asian father/daughter team who were interesting because of how much of an asshole Ronald was. He was an ass to his daughter, and to other teams, and to locals, and pretty much everyone. He also said some weird-ass stuff which were hilarious to listen to. Eventually he actually grew a heart and learned to love and respect his daughter. After the first several legs, they became a dominant force, getting several first place finishes and some third-place finishes, though eventually they ended at second. Very interesting and entertaining team overall.
10. TK & Rachel. I've alternated between liking and disliking this team several times during the season, but I think I finally ended up liking them. They didn't really do much, as they were pretty mellow and laid-back. Even their arguments were low-key and dull. They did decent overall, with three first place wins of their own, including winning the entire race. Overall, a decent and likeable, if not boring, team.

Overall, I enjoyed this season. Some funny tasks, interesting locales, and some great teams to watch. At least, I thought it was, since I kinda forgot everything that happened this season besides a few teams I liked, which is why the write-ups are so short and I had to read recaps to catch up. Oh well, I still enjoyed it, as it was a fun season to watch, but it's pretty middle-of-the-road in terms of TAR seasons.