http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?22070Mother/Daughter Team Looks Back at 'Amazing Race'
Wed, Nov 21, 2001 11:43 AM PDT
by Greg Baerg
Zap2it.com, TV News
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Though "Survivor" continues to grab headlines in its Thursday night battles with NBC's "Friends," there is another reality show on CBS that has managed to find some very loyal fans despite some intense competition.
"The Amazing Race" debuted in September in a much-hyped duel with NBC's "Lost" to be reality TV's next big thing. However, following the Sept. 11 attacks, what once seemed like a sure-fire hit faltered in the ratings, and has since settled into a comfortable option for those not interested in heavy drama ("The West Wing") or comedy ("The Drew Carey Show") on Wednesday nights.
Contestants in the race now have a chance to talk about their experiences, and as the race nears its end, the contest is becoming more and more competitive. Nancy and Emily Hoyt, the only parent-child team to take part in the game, were the latest players to be eliminated in the show, and though they appeared to be assured of moving on, a conscious choice to avoid one of the show's "detour" challenges cost them dearly as they received a 24-hour penalty. However, the two accept the choice they made.
"There was no doubt in my mind that we were out," Nancy tells Zap2it.com. "At that point, we had been up 48 hours and I ran out of steam. Emily did not want to give up."
"It was a tough decision," her daughter Emily agrees.
The elimination was viewed by some viewers as unforgivable because it allowed "Team Guido" (life partners Joe and Bill) to survive another week -- and Team Guido caused a rift between teams earlier in the series by blocking several from boarding a plane. But Nancy and Emily hold no ill will towards the two, and say the groups made up in India. In fact, despite the way teams have been presented on the show, with some shown battling with one another or lashing out, both Nancy and Emily say the atmosphere was not tense at all.
"If you got eliminated, it was your own fault for making a bad choice, or taking the wrong turn or doing something stupid," Emily says. "We all could be friends and yet still be competing against one another."
And though most people were portrayed fairly, both agreed that the split between Lenny and Karyn (who broke up on the spot when they were eliminated) was the biggest surprise because most of their problems came when no other teams were around.
"Lenny's a great guy, and Karyn's a wonderful, wonderful girl and they portrayed her as such a negative person," Emily says.
For the Hoyts, the best moment from "The Amazing Race" is one that viewers never got to see because it took place during a pit stop at India's Laxmi Niwas Palace. The teams stayed there for two and a half days during a particularly long layover, and mingled with the crew to watch sunsets from the Palace's balcony.
"The food was wonderful, rooms were great ... everyone relaxed," Nancy says. "It was like a little mini vacation -- I remember writing in my journal that I felt like I was on a family reunion with extended family. That was such a high point of the whole trip."
"There were only five teams and we all really, really bonded," Emily adds.
However, even with the memories from the pit stop, both Nancy and Emily agree that India is the only destination they visited during the race that they have no urge to ever visit again.
"India was awful," Nancy says. "The crowd, the poverty, the smell ... it was overwhelming."
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