Off To The Races
Updated 2006-09-19 17:00:00
You've heard about it, you've waited for it, and here it is: four tribes, divided by race. Shockingly, the contestants' own good humor about the weirdness of the situation relieves a lot of the discomfort early on. Of course, if you're looking for true "diversity," you might wish for a few more people not from California, not to mention a few more people who aren't already associated with television. On the other hand, it's not bad when the first guy sent to Exile Island used to be on The Naked Truth and is banished for being a rotten chicken-stealer. Hiki (also known as "The African-American Tribe") loses the first challenge after struggling with one of the show's patented puzzle boats, and it quickly becomes clear that as much as The Mark Burnett Accounting Firm And Alligator Wrestling Company may have been hoping for racial politics to dominate, there are also plenty of gender politics to contend with. Specifically, the two Hiki men decide to take over the decision-making, and the three women are like, "Not so much," and before you know it, the first person out is one of the two guys. Goodbye, Sekou. Elsewhere, we learn a little bit about curing headaches with welts, a little bit about incredibly early snuggles, and a whole lot about our humanity. Okay, I'm just kidding about the last one.