Sorry for everyone involved in the production of Viva Laughlin - we're not ones to revel in anyone's loss of a job or failure - but we were very happy when we heard the show was canceled. It meant the already-in-the-can The Amazing Race: Season Twelve would debut this year instead of sometime in 2008. A world of reality TV without Phil Keoghan just doesn't feel complete. And that's not just our opinion. The Emmy category for Best Reality Show (Competition) has been around five years and one show has taken home the prize every single year - The Amazing Race. And, unlike a few reality shows that we won't name here, The Amazing Race shows no signs of slowing down in its 12th installment (we'll forgive the misguided Family Edition as the only bump in the road of this excellent franchise). The season premiere of The Amazing Race is actually one of the strongest in years and it looks like this could be the best edition in a while.

Why? The editing is the reason The Amazing Race is the best reality show on TV, but these kind of shows, especially the ones that require competition, win or lose more than half the battle on casting. If you don't get the right people from the very beginning for a season of Survivor, America's Next Top Model, or The Amazing Race, the whole season faces an uphill battle. If the people are entertaining, everything else the producers of the show do is just icing on the cake. On the 12th installment of The Amazing Race, the people are near-perfect. In fact, unlike many past seasons, the end of the first episode was frustrating because every pair this year had potential for great, season-long arcs. You won't want to see any of them go.

A few of our personal favorites this year? 58-year-old Ronald Hsu and his 26-year-old daughter Christina. Ron was gone during much of Christina's upbringing and it almost feels like he's trying to compensate for that by going on the race. The emotional baggage there could be enough to drag this team down or inspire them to go the distance and make up for lost time. The 31-year-old Kynt and the 29-year-old Vyxsin, a pair of "dating Goths." Yes, that description is as awesome as it sounds. The 49-year-old Kate and the 65-year-old Pat, a pair of lesbian Episcopal ministers who have been dating for seven years. The outlook and approach of two lesbian ministers is undeniably different than what you usually see on a TV show. They could be fascinating.

And that's just the beginning. All eleven teams on the twelfth season of The Amazing Race seem like they'll make really good television. And our favorite thing about this year is the variety. The main flaw of The Amazing Race over the last eleven installments has been the advantage held by the team of young guys. Every year, the team that has two twenty-something dudes ends up making it pretty far. There is no such team this year. It's anybody's game. And we can't wait to see what happens.