'The Amazing Race' Heads to the Arctic

CBS' The Amazing Race heads to colder climates Sunday as teams travel from the brutal heat in Africa to the bone numbing chill found in the Arctic. The Amazing Race, making its first appearance north of the Arctic circle challenges racers to drive a sled dog team over a remote course and to maneuver a snowmobile over icy, rough terrain. When one team finds themselves in a difficult position, they contemplate a game changing move.

At the last pit stop,host, Phil Keoghan offered teams the opportunity to return to the school where they had worked with children to identify African countries on a map during that leg of the race. While there they would work on the school as a way to give back to the community. The teams readily agreed to spend their mandatory rest period in this fashion.

The father and son team of Michael and Kevin were spared from elimination at the last pit stop and face a speed bump in the upcoming leg of the race. A speed bump is a task that only they must do - in addition to the tasks encountered by the other teams. The physical nature of the recent tasks has taken a toll on Michael who insists that he is enjoying the race despite their current last place position. Phil shares with them that other teams feel a great deal of respect for them after seeing how well they performed early on in the race. Michael brightens up after hearing that and as the reality that their race is not over yet sets in.  I have to believe it will be tough for them to survive this leg of the race without some luck.

'Skating With the Stars' Coming This Fall to ABC

Another network already tried this idea, but ABC is going to give it another go.

ABC today announced premiere dates for the Dancing with the Stars ice skating spinoff Skating with the Stars.   Skating will slide into Dancing's Monday 8-9:30 PM slot following the conclusion of the current Dancing cycle.

Skating will premiere on November 22, airing twice behind Dancing on Mondays at 9 PM before moving to 8 PM on December 6.

Figure Skating is always a great draw on television with women.  If ABC gets celebs somewhat close to what they get for Dancing, and a good host like Tom Bergeron, this show has a chance.

"The Situation" Should be Unplugged on Dancing With the Stars

ABC tried something new last night on Dancing With the Stars.  Gone was the usual studio set up and in was a brand new stage in the round.

The stage was very close to the audience and much smaller than the previous stage.  Throw in acoustic music and this night had a lot of potential.

It really didn't live up to the billing. The couples seemed to struggle on the smaller, round stage.  It didn't give them enough room to get moving and that hurt their routines.  Derek and Maks did well with their choreography and were rewarded.

Another thing we learned is that The Situation still can't dance.  Karina is doing all she can to get The Sitch to look his best, but that is a tough job.  He received some of the lowest scores from the judges in the history of the show.  That performance should earn The Situation a one-way ticket home.

The frontrunners at this point continue to be Jennifer and Audrina.  Next week the pairs dance to television themes.  Anyone else think Florence will be dancing to The Brady Bunch theme?

Jane Lynch on "Sunday Night Football"

I know it was an SNL skit, but I'd tune in each week to hear the theme song if Jane Lynch was singing it. 

The Cris Collinsworth guy was dead on, especially with his tone of voice.  I'm sure it's almost impossible to do a good Al Michaels.

That nacho dip recipe is making me hungry.

'The Amazing Race' Remains in Ghana

Last week The Amazing Race had an amazing show in the African country of Ghana.  The teams competing appeared to be in awe as we all were watching all the action.

This week they continue to race in Ghana.  The third leg airs tonight and I'm sure we can expect the unexpected.

The nine remaining teams have to put up with some rough conditions and heat exhaustion.  One of the competitors appears to need some medical attention at some point.

The teams have been racing on adrenaline these first two legs since leaving the United States.  Fatigue will start setting in at this point, and teams have to be mindful of who does the challenges and make sure they read their instructions very carefully.

To this point the teams of Brook and Claire as well as Jill and Thomas have impressed me the most.

It's anyone's race at this point, and it only gets tougher from here.