Episode one of The Amazing Race Canada 2 aired last night (July 8), and it’s the first time any of the contestants saw themselves or their opponents on screen, including Atlantic Canada’s only team in the race: Jen and Shawn King. They held a little viewing party at Niche in Halifax and I was there to watch it with them.
Shawn spent a lot of time looking like this while he watched he and his wife Jen on screen for the first time surrounded by friends and family.
By the time the first episode had aired the whole race had already been completed for weeks. The losers have already lost and the winners have already won. The contestants know the outcome but of course they’re sworn to secrecy. Many of the contestants are good friends by now (Jen and Shawn will be staying with fellow contestants Rex Harrington and Bob Hope when they go to Toronto for a viewing of Episode 2 next week).
The first shots that Jen and Shawn saw of themselves on the big screen.
Full disclosure: at the time the show was being shot I was working for the advertising agency that Shawn is president of, Extreme Group. We had no idea that Shawn and his wife Jen were competing in The Amazing Race; we only knew that he was ‘on a great adventure’ and that all would be revealed soon.
It’s a pretty surreal experience to see a friend up there competing on the screen, so I can only imagine what it must be like to watch yourself. Luckily I had a chance to catch up with Shawn after the first episode was over.
If you haven’t seen the first episode yet, go track it down and watch it first. It should be posted on CTV’s website here, if not yet, soon. We’ll continue to cover Jen and Shawn’s progress through the race and get their thoughts when we can, so keep checking back.
Halifax Bloggers (HB): How did you find it watching The Amazing Race Canada for the very first time, with friends and family present?
Shawn King (SK): It was exciting and almost a little bit discouraging at the same time because it took us a while to get any air time. I mean, it made for a dramatic ending, so they used our footage at the end.
HB: Did you find the portrayal of the teams at the beginning of the episode accurate?
SK: It was actually pretty good. I think they did a nice job of summarizing everybody. But it’s so quick. I mean, even that episode, that took almost 24 hours, and there were a bunch of us, and they cut it down to an hour.
HB: When you saw some of your opponents’ reactions to the challenges what were your thoughts about how you reacted to them?
SK: Well in some of them we reacted better. I mean the water thing was a joke for us. We did the water thing in no time. I don’t know if you noticed but the water wasn’t even up to our waist when we were done. Thank god because we needed to do something quick to get past the last team. I mean, they got hurt, and they’re friends of ours so we don’t like that, but in that moment we don’t want to finish last.
HB: Watching yourself with the serving challenge. How did that feel?
SK: Horrible! You know what, they actually made it look easier than it was. There was an intensity to that challenge that is impossible to describe. I have never felt that kind of intensity. I mean, you’re the last guy there, you know this could be the end, you have to get it right, and you have to get it right now. And I did it on the third time.
HB: How did that feel?
SK: Amazing! But I was still pretty bummed. They didn’t show it, but on that ride to the naval base, I was pretty bummed by how it went. But this is awesome … we’re still here!
Shawn attempting, and failing, at the dreaded serving challenge that almost ended his and Jen’s Amazing Race Canada hopes. Luckily third time was a charm.
HB: How do you feel about watching the next episodes?
SK: I’m excited and nervous. It’s the same feeling, it doesn’t go away. The thing is we already know what happens, but that doesn’t change how we watch it. We have no idea how they made it look.
HB: What are you most interested in to see as the race continues?
SK: How everyone else ran the race. We know what we did but we have no idea what everybody else did. So it’s cool to see that.
Jen and Shawn celebrating with friends and family after finally being able to reveal that they weren’t eliminated after the first episode.
We’ll continue to cover Jen and Shawn’s progress through the race and get their thoughts when we can, so keep checking back.
