Perhaps my favorite episode of the season, tonight’s sixth episode of Around The World In 80 Ways, features Boston Rob Mariano at his best.
The show sees Mariano along with co-host, Dennis Anderson, arrive in Abu Dhabi where they are lucky enough to ride the fastest rollercoaster in the world. It moves at an incredible 149 miles per hour in five seconds and just to see that is a harrowing experience not only for the riders but for viewers as well.
The reason that this episode has stood out to me from the beginning of the series is that we finally get to see glimpses of Rob’s reality show treachery, something that I have missed since Survivor: Redemption Island. The former Survivor winner challenges the former Gravedigger driver to another race with the loser being forced to pay for a spa treatment for the winner. Dennis chooses to drive a Ferrari while Rob takes a speedboat. At face value, the contest should really be a no-contest but after Dennis speeds off to an early lead, Rob calls the police and tells them that he was cut off by a Ferrari. The result is hysterical and the classic Rob that we have all come to love.
Other methods of transportation used in the episode include bobsledding at an indoor ski park (the same task was used on The Amazing Race and this also turns into a mini-contest where the loser has to pay for the winner’s souvenirs), dune buggies, and a camel ride. The result is that the pair end up in the middle of the desert which is a tease to next week.
With the show now past the halfway mark, I do not expect a lot of innovation in terms of what to expect from every episode. It’s a lot of debating about what is the best way to get somewhere, a mini-contest between Mariano and Anderson where the loser is forced to do something embarrassing and a lot of facts being offered about the vehicles used. If I could change one thing about Around The World In 80 Ways, it would be the inclusion of guest stars as I think that would do a lot to break-up the monotony but aside from that, I am still enjoying a series that is unlike anything I have seen before.
Around The World In 80 Ways airs tonight at 10 p.m. on History Television
