Could there be a better group of Reality TV Shows then The Amazing Race / Big Brother / Survivor. CBS really hit it out of the ball park back in 2000 when it took a chance and changed the world of reality Television forever. There were some reality shows before this and a lot after this, but none of them (other than American Idol) has had the impact on Television as the Big 3

Big Brother Season 24 wrapped up on September 25th, 2022 with Taylor Hale walking away with the $750,00.00 Grand Prize. It was another great season (although I was rooting for Turner to win). For all the stupidity and misfires year after year, it keeps me coming back so the people at CBS must be doing something right. While I am most likely to old to be a contestant, and don’t think I could last being stuck in the Big Brother House for 82 days, some of the things they do look like fun and it would be interesting to spend a few days in the Big Brother House with a bunch of strangers and see what its like.

Big shout out to CBS and host Julie Chen Moonves for continuing to put out a great show

The Amazing Race returned a a few weeks back, and again shows why it is one of the best Realty Shows. Starting this time in Munich Germany, they changed things up a bit by having the teams complete the challenges in any order. This added some excitement to the game as the team had no idea what the other teams were doing and what place they were in. And in a welcomed change, Phil told the teams that there would be no non-elimination legs on the race, so if your last, your out (no second chances). As for the contestants, was funny to see ex NY Jets head coach Rex Ryan as one of the racers. I always prefer having one or two recognizable people / teams per race, rather than a full celebrity season (When my daughter and I went to Washington Square Park in NYC a few years back to watch the start of The Amazing Race 30, live, one of the racers was Joey Chestnut, and it was kind of neat seeing him and his partner start the race. Looking forward to watching this season to see where they go and the challenges they need to preform. Unlike Big Brother, age is not a factor, and I would love to be a contestant on the Amazing Race (Have applied with my Sister, and recently with my daughter) Always hoping for the call and ready to see the world.

Another big shout out to CBS and host Phil Keoghan for continuing to put out another great show

And then there is the granddaddy of them all – Survivor, which premiered on September 20th with a 2 hour episode. Right off the bat, there seemed to be a different vibe from both the contestants, and from CBS and the way the episode was produced. Much more attention was on the way the contestants interacted, and dynamic of each tribe. I really enjoyed it as it gave you a great feel of what the contestants were feeling and thinking instead of focusing more on the challenges.

We are now three episodes in and I like the direction this season is taking. People are now familiar with the Journey Rock the Vote Challenge as well as understanding the the beware advantages comes with a challenge / disadvantage. In a strange, but good way, having most contestants aware of these things makes it more interesting. I am all for mixing things up and throwing the contestants a curveball now and then, but when they have at least some idea of what they are up against, it makes them have to think and use there brains as much as there physicallity.

Just like The Amazing Race, and even more, I would love love love to be a contestant on Survivor. I have applied numerous times over the past 20 year in all different ways (Sending in VHS Tapes / CDs, Uploading Videos, and I even went to an Open Casting Call a few years ago). I have followed and watched previous contestants such as Parvati Shallow, Adam Klein, Boston Rob, and Rob Cesternino, to try and pick up tips on how to put together an audition video. I have filmed some by myself, and on others I had my daughter (Who recently graduated from Pratt Institute with a degree in Film Making) help me film / edit some others).

I have also followed past players like Season 1 winner Richard Hatch, and fan favorites Ruppert, Coach Wade, and Tyson Apostol on social media as I find it interesting the things they have been doing after Survivor. I actually have a few connections to some former players (Former runner-up Chrissie Hofbeck is from the same town as me, and Former winner Ethan Zohn is friends with one of my cousins)

Survivor has become a big part of my life, and hopefully one day I will be able to officially join the Survivor family

It took me a few days to write this, so it may be a little disjointed. I’m sure I will be writing more about Survivor and The Amazing Race as the seasons progress

So finally Super Sized Shout Out to CBS and host Jeff Probst for continuing to put out one of the greats shows (reality or regular) of all time

A few things before I go

The NY Mets open their wild card play-off series against the San Diego Padres tonight at Citi Field. Should be a fun couple of days as the Mets try to move on to the next round.

The NY Giants play the Green Bay Packers in London on Sunday. Going to be different experience watching the game at 9:30 AM EST. The Giants have played in London two previous times, but both times the games really didn’t matter that much. This is a big game as the Giants are of to a 3-1 start and need to keep the momentum going.

After a break, I am catching up on Cobra Kai on NetFlix – Very enjoyable

Started reading Heat 2 – A follow up to the classic movie Heat which stared Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Its interesting reading a book where I have a reference to most of the characters

That’s all for now

More to come next week

AverageAndy