'Race' defying trend toward xenophobia

By Duane Dudek
Knight Ridder News Service

•	'The Amazing Race 4' finale 7 p.m. tomorrow CBS

Twelve teams of two — friends, lovers, relatives, co-workers — travel the world on a route determined by executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise

Doganieri. The teams look for clues and perform complicated and physically daunting challenges, such as wall climbing, swimming under the ice of a frozen lake or eating peculiar regional cuisines.

They have nothing but the knapsacks on their backs, although the show provides credit cards to book flights and some cash for each leg of the journey. The last team to finish each leg is eliminated.

In a world of dating and talent reality shows, "The Race" is unique. And at a time of polarization and xenophobia, it shows Americans safely traveling through Hong Kong, India or South Korea. This season's cast included a gay married couple, two virgins, two clowns, an estranged father and son, and the privileged wives of a couple of NFL players.

Three teams will compete in the two-hour finale at 7 p.m. tomorrow.

"People who will not confess to watching reality TV watch 'The Amazing Race,' " said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. "It carries all the fun, cheesy qualities of reality TV — people fighting and unscripted and voyeuristic material — but it's dressed up in the formal wear of a National Geographic documentary."

The two executive producers, Doganieri and Van Munster, who are married, talked about the show recently in telephone interviews.

Q. Is "The Amazing Race" "reality" television?

Van Munster: Absolutely. Because from the moment we say "go," they're on their own. They just have to make it to a certain location and perform these challenges. That's the only time we have input. ... Their dialogue is their own. Their movements, their impressions.

Q. The first season of "The Race" premiered the week before Sept. 11, which could have been the death knell for a show about Americans running around the world. Today, you are waiting to hear if you are renewed for a fifth season. How have world events affected production?

Van Munster: Things changed more drastically in the United States, because we had a very open society. But the rest of the world was versed in hijackings, people shooting the place up and this kind of stuff. So they had things in place for years. It can be sensitive. And in certain places, we discourage them from running. But in general, it's been absolutely no problem.

Doganieri: There are some countries we certainly couldn't go to that next season. On Sept. 11, I was actually scouting in Morocco. And that was a location we did want to go to. And we held it for one more season until we thought it was safe. We are very cautious about the countries we fly to and the ones we fly through.

Van Munster: I'm not going to Afghanistan. I'm not going to Iraq. But there's lunatics and unbalanced and crazy people everywhere in the world.

Q. Does the contestants' behavior reinforce the image of the Ugly American?

Doganieri: These people are under so much stress. It's 30 days of travel with very little sleep. They're cranky, they're tired, and I think they behave quite well for what we put them through.

Van Munster: I actually think, overall, Americans are extremely well-behaved when they go around the world. Are we loud and enthusiastic and go-getters? Yeah, no question about it. But that's the spirit I'm counting on.