The Amazing Race Season 8 (2005)

THE FAMILY ONE! This is the one season where teams were expanded to four people to accommodate families. Even little kids! The only time people under 18 participated. The bad: They kept them closer to home. Must have been difficult to get minors across some international borders, and certainly more expensive, so they didn't do as many big legs halfway around the world, they stayed longer in one country, and they didn't even get out of the U.S. for the first few days. And one family is TERRIBLY annoying, so you have to root for them to get bumped. GOOD: Fun for anyone to watch cute little kids competing against adults, the families are cool to watch together, overall it probably is one of the top 3 seasons just because of the kids.

I love the amazing race. I am however sorry that I purchased this one. I did not enjoy it at all. I did not like the disrespect shown to the parents by their children. I think they forgot that they should honor and respect their parents. I would never put up with one of my children telling me to shut up.

Fun entertainment! I really enjoyed going back and watching this season

Okay, as big Amazing Race fans this one just didn't have the same feel to it. It might be summarized best when one of the contestants called it "Amazing Race, American Style" because the majority of the legs take place in America, the continental US in fact.This is the "family" edition were teams of 4 family members compete instead of teams of two. There was a mix of families including two families with young children while most were families of adults or adults and young adults. Now, right off the bat you know those families with the young kids aren't going to win. That's like carry two suitcases with you, and these kids were good, they worked hard and did their part to the best of their ability, but you can't expect them to be able to compete with a team made of of four kids in their twenties. If all the families would have been required to have young children and some of the road blocks, detours, etc. were designed that could best be done by children, I think this would have been more fun. There are great moments though. Watching the youngest in the show on the mat being told "your eliminated" and that little lip all quivering is a moment that just steals your heart. Again, for fans of the show you'll need to watch this one, but don't expect the same level of competition or "fish out of the water" times you see when they end of in places so far from American culture.One thing we both felt was you begin to understand how little the contestants get to do. We love Yellowstone and easily spend two weeks their hiking to backwoods falls, making a log crossing over a large stream, or getting winded on a near vertical switchbacks. To pick "watch Old Faithful" blow was the smallest, most tourist thing you could do in the whole Park. Why not a hike out to Lone Star Geyser or give them a map of three things like Mourning Glory Pool, Groto Geyser, and Sawmill and require them to get a picture of each. That'd be fun. Maybe in the future we can do a road block where they hike to Monument Geyser, not that would separate the those with mental toughness from those that don't.Knowing all these things does highlight what a whirlwind it is to be on the race, and just scratch the culture and beauty of their surroundings. Sometimes it is so profound they can't help but be moved, but many times they just don't have time to let it all sink in.We gave it three because it is well produced, still entertaining, and fun. If you're not a big fan, you might consider letting this one go.

Other than NOT being in widescreen, I love the show and liked the DVDs.

While many were appalled by the idea of a Family Edition and a season of TAR with almost no international travel, season 8, especially in hindsight still stands as one of the best and most exciting seasons.The cast of 10 families featured more distinct personalities than a lot of other TAR seasons with memorable personalities like little Carissa and Billy Gaghan, the youngest people to ever Race, the outspoken Paolo family (who provided one of the most hilarious moments at the Mat ever), and the "villains" you loved to hate, the Weavers.The route may have been too domestic for many fans, but traveling through some of the most iconic locations in the United States was different yet equally exciting, showing that you don't have to travel far to experience stunning and breathtaking destinations. And while this was a Family Edition, there was no lack of competition and drama.TAR8 is definitely worth checking out if you never watched it or is worth watching again with a fresh perspective.

Following season 7 of the Amazing Race (TAR) and the much later season 17, this was one of the more interesting seasons of TAR. When you go into the special features section of season one, Elise Dogieri (Sp?) said that the race was based off of Backpacking across Europe. This was the charm and the main interest of the series. However, with season 8, they decided to try something different. Season 8 was mostly done in the Unted States, Central America and Canada. This was also one big road trip compared to the other season.The critics did not like this particular season because of the larger teams and the North and Central American locations. I identified with this season more because I had done it with my family several times when I was a lot younger. TAR 8 is based off of the Family vacations in which you loaded up the station wagon and you travel somewhere. The critics might not have experienced this, but, I do remember this.I liked a lot of the teams, especially the Gagan, Linz, Benson and Weaver families. I felt at times during the race the Linz and Benson families were working together and I felt for the Weaver family as they had to overcome great odds to accomplish the tasks.All in all, I enjoyed the season and I am glad it not in my video collection

Happy with all seasons of Amazing Race

Entertaining as always.