Finally getting the time to give my opinion on the premiere.
What I Liked:- A Detour AND RB on the first Leg.
- The Leg having both Day & Night.
- FINALLY a Non-Elimination on Leg 1 - We've been waiting 8 Seasons for this.
- An Amazing RB that constantly switched placements. The HoO was completely cancelled out thanks to it.
- Teams being bunched for the entire Leg.
- Scott & Blair.
- Phil announcing almost all the team placements. (Although it didn't show them all, it's still a huge improvement, so I'll gladly take it)
What I Disliked:- The lack of a physical Start Line. I understand the reasoning behind doing the start the way they did, but it was almost too different. I would've preferred a proper Start Line location.
- Based on the above point, teams leaving from different parts of the country could've resulted in serious production issues had 1 or 2 flights been delayed or even cancelled. The HoO kinda cancels this out though.
- The unbalance of the Detour. Mariachi Madness seems hard on paper, but when put in action, it seemed so much easier, and way faster than the Firework side.
What I HATED:- The lazy editing of the first 5 - 10 minutes. It was very confusing. Even on a second viewing, it was still confusing, and Phil never even said the teams were starting from their own home.
- Team introductions should've been BEFORE the Intro.
- Brittany & Jessica in the Cock Pit. I mean HOW DID THEY EVEN GET IN THERE!!!
- Darius & Cameron being pretty much left off the show. It felt like the majority of the teams had an even balance of airtime, except them.
- How the "Season Preview" at the end of the episode sort of spoiled the Season!
Just to be clear, I never looked near the spoiler section for any of this Season, so I'm totally clueless on how the race has went, but from watching the Preview I can kinda figure out how far some teams have gone. WHY DO YOU DO THIS CBS??
Team Ranking:LOVE: Scott & Blair
LIKE: Darius & Cameron, Zach & Rachel, Dana & Matt, Sherri & Cole
Neutral: Marty & Hagan, Burnie & Ashley, Erin & Joslyn
Dislike: Brodie & Kurt, Jessica & Brittany, Tyler & Korey
HATE: ---