Rise confirms my fears: "Sorry to be the one to tell you this but yes, I believe this is a USA-only race. Must be a cost cutting feature. You know, four people per team times airfare equals higher production cost." You're right, that is a lot of international plane tickets. I can certainly see why they did it.

AnnieInHi adds a positive about this format: "I think a little American history and showing the unusual sides of America will be a good thing. We have a lot to see here and I like the incorporated history part. Maybe if families do watch it, kids will learn more about America, our history, landmarks and geography than at school, eh?" I did enjoy the Civil War re-enactment in this week's episode a great deal. And it's true that a lot of people couldn't find Washington, D.C., on a map (including the contestant who asked which state it's in). Let's do it for the kids!

"The sky is blue." "Your bandana is orange."

Speaking of the young ones, Lyn in TN writes: "How fair is it to have a team of 20-something's competing against 10-year-olds? They will really have to modify the challenges. Teams of four adults could be an interesting twist." I like that idea too. Imagine if you had Jonathan, Victoria and two more crazy people? That's good TV.

Thank you all for your thoughts! I'm happy to see only geniuses read DangFun.com.

On to Episode 2. I found myself rooting against the family with the little kids. They really shouldn't have told me how fast the little girl can run. So I was very excited when they went to the wrong reflecting pool. I was downright giddy when Dad stubbornly ignored Junior's advice to ask for help. I wanted to high-five the Schroeders for playing dumb and leaving them behind.

But Team Marathon got bailed out when another team joined them in screwing up. Letting them in on the secret was one of many mistakes committed by the family that eventually lost. The biggest blunder obviously was driving the wrong way for who knows how long. Mr. Rogers guaranteed himself about a decade's worth of rebellion from his son after initially blaming him for the screw-up. Quitting in the Civil War challenge didn't help either. At least Brock now has lots of motivation for his brooding glare.

"I have no father."

It was very nice to see the human speed bump lead her family to the victory this leg. But I do believe her daughters' shorts got smaller this episode. How about praying for some extra fabric?

The siblings rebounded nicely this week, and the sisters looked strong again. Speaking of strong, Mr. Daughters is not. Neither is Father-In-Law. I think both of their teams are in bad shape due to their weakest links.

Next week: Astronaut training. I hope they blast the Gaghans into orbit.

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