A race around the… country
It’s usually dubbed “a race around the world” but on Canadian television CTV is launching the Amazing Race Canada through our country because, well, do you trust Air Canada if you’re flying abroad?
I knew the show was coming but had no idea who was on it. My friend Hal Johnson (“Keep fit and have fun”) from Bodybreak emailed me early in the morning the day the teams announcement was made to say this was the secret he was keeping from me.
Rewind to April when I celebrated seven years on the air with my syndicated radio show. Back in the day before I had credibility in Hollywood I was scrounging up interviews anywhere I could get them.
Hal was gracious enough to let me chat his ear off for 45 minutes and he gave me confidence that I could be a great celebrity interviewer (someday). I really had a lot to learn then but the fact he was kind enough to give me his phone number when I had no credibility whatsoever was amazing to me.
I will be the first to admit when I do interviews nowadays they are a blur. I scroll through links and sometimes say, “I don’t even remember talking to that person.” Hal’s interview always stuck out to me.
Back to April when Hal and I reunited on my show and teased me about a big announcement in June to coincide with the Bodybreak 25th anniversary – it was that he and wife Joanne McLeod were going to compete on Amazing Race Canada.
In the chat that aired on my radio shows last week Hal talked about the excitement of exploring the country.
I was one of the people who scoffed at the idea of the show being so low budget that competitors only raced through Canada. Of course we equate the lack of travel to it being low budget but do we know for sure? No. I’ve been to CTV productions and know they go all out on spending. (The last season of Canadian Idol our usual press room and open bar was transformed into Mariah Carey’s dressing room – and she don’t come cheap.)
Then I realized all the places that I have been and want to visit in this country and figured this version of Amazing Race could also educate those of us who might be ignorant to some regions of the Great White North.
So watch Amazing Race Canada with me and let’s swap stories about what we learn from a reality show.
