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Rob And Amber - Against The Odds:
"That Guy Must Have Hated You For Life!"
Episode 1 Recap by Shane Dunlop
January 18, 2007
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So I finally got around to catching the first episode of Rob and Amber Mariano's new show; Against the Odds. Being that I live down under in Australia, it often takes me a day or two to catch the new shows and sit down and write about them.
I've been looking forward to Rob & Amber hitting our screens again as I'm one of the few people out there that actually like them. Rob was a shining light on Survivor Marquesas, but was probably lucky to be included in Survivor Allstars, however Amber was inconsequential on Survivor Australia and in my opinion was the least deserving of an Allstar spot. All that aside, they infamously teamed up and took out the Allstars season of Survivor as if it were taking out the trash - they did it easy. The same can almost be said about their run on Amazing Race 7. At first glance, Boston Rob comes off as a knucklehead, which he is in many ways. But he's just about the smartest knucklehead going around the reality TV circuit. He single-handedly reinvented the way in which Amazing Race could be played, by implementing strategy and manipulation in ways which had never been seen prior. They finished second in their first AR season, and if you listen to what they'll tell you, they were robbed! Needless to say, as CBS confirmed two days ago what was already a well known secret, I'm looking forward to seeing them run around again in Amazing Race Allstars. (Interesting fact: since 2002, Rob and Amber as a couple, have appeared on TV every year except 2006 - I could be wrong…when was their wedding televised?)
Anyways, back to the reason why I'm writing this recap - Against the Odds. I'm not sure what I was expecting with this show, after all it was on Fox Reality. It kicked off with an opening 2 minutes of what was the most pre-scripted dialogue and perhaps the cheesiest little theme song I've heard in quite a while. We see Rob and Amber in their new Floridian home, Amber talks about how she is only beginning to get back to normality, and within seconds of her saying that, Rob reveals his plans to become a professional poker player in Las Vegas. Hey, now that's a great idea for a reality TV show! The funny thing about watching this first episode was that, Rob and Amber went about seeming acting out the decision process, as if it were happening for the first time.
Next Rob had a meeting with poker playing pal Daniel Negreanu, where they discussed his dreams of turning into a professional card shark. Before I move on, I have to mention something. Rob's friend Daniel makes a reference to Survivor Allstars and how "That guy must have hated you for life!" clearly talking about Lex Van De Berge.
I've met Lex, he's a cool guy, and there's still a lot of raw emotion regarding that whole episode. So for me, that was like a really small cheap shot edited into the program. Not quite strike one….but getting close (and yes in case you were wondering…I am a Lex fan and a Boston Rob fan at the same time!) Look, maybe I'm not used to watching too many of these types of reality shows, but this entire episode seemed to made up of interactions that would have surely had taken place already in pre-production. Knowing that the whole deal hung in the balance depending on Amber's decision to allow Rob to follow this dream or not seemed a little contrived. We all knew she would say yes, because they had already inked a deal to star in a reality show for 9 weeks and watching Rob drink beer and Amber plant flowers just wasn't going to cut it. So that gripe aside, let's continue.
Amber eventually makes the decision to follow Rob to Vegas (wow…what a surprise!), and they set about preparing to make the move. Finally we get to see Rob attempting to play poker briefly after a very long set up. Strolling up to a table he is instantly recognized and then he proceeds to blow $1000 in what seems like a very short period of time. He gets called out as having made a "rookie mistake" by making an overly aggressive move. Overly aggressive….Boston Rob?!?!
Now its moving time and living in Florida, they're smack in the middle of hurricane territory, so Rob boards up his house with a few buddies, while Amber packs the luggage. I'm not sure if Rob and Amber have decided to play up to their reality TV personas or if Amber is really as boring as I thought she was, and Rob is actually a knucklehead. So, just as we're getting to the action, the episode ends and we get given the abridged version of what's to come. It seems as if in future weeks, Boston Rob loses his cool, talks some trash, messes up and Amber continues to be boring and sensible.
Okay, sarcasm aside, I do think I'm going to like this show, but I thought it was a weak first episode. The two of them as a couple aren't very likeable, that's no surprise, but we could've had the first 15 minutes of this episode summed up in a tight little intro that would've spelled it all out and we would've been able to jump right into the Vegas action. I'll be keeping my eye on the show in upcoming weeks and in the very near future, Rob and Amber on Amazing Race 11.
Before I sound off, I'll leave you with a quote from an upcoming episode of Against the Odds that Amber says to Rob - "You're just a reality TV star….get over yourself!" Til next week, may your reality be a happy one.
Shane is 28 and living in Melbourne Australia. A self confessed reality television-aholic, he spends his time between the boring things in life (work) and wading through whatever reality he can get his hands on. Other than television, he has produced and directed several short films, one of which is scheduled for a short film festival in December 2006. Currently also working on producing and filming the 6th amateur production of an Australian Survivor. Shane can be emailed at motomaji@optusnet.com.au or found on myspace at by clicking here.
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