In a show largely defined by constant skill and teamwork between pairs, The Amazing Race's best season surprisingly stands out for good reason due to the lack of that. The often under-appreciated Season 13 is filled with the strangest screwups, failures, and often complete ineptness from its racers. As much as seeing the race run by highly capable contestants is entertaining - has kept the show alive for 31 seasons - nothing is quite as fun as seeing such a messy cast make impressive amounts of mistakes in a show that's all about keeping those at a minimum.
A particular team that clearly represented what this season was all about was college frat boys Dan and Andrew (often referred to as Dandrew), who came in third place. They outlasted eight other teams, but it was always by the skin of their teeth. Any video compilation of them will show when they somehow didn't understand how to operate a hand crank, managed to lose their shows in the middle of a task, spend way too much money replacing them, and misread clues countless times. After a certain point, people weren't watching to see who would win the race, but instead to see more of Dandrew's antics.
Their most famous scene is when they were supposed to march in line with a small Russian military troop, and they managed to do so in a way that was both completely out of rhythm and barely resembled marching in the first place. Dandrew finished in the bottom two of many legs of the race, but somehow always just barely survived and ended up having one of the worst average placements of any team to ever make the final leg. They were an endearing pair who, along with a few others teams that were prone to mistakes, defined what season 13 was and what it's remembered for.
While the humor aspect of the season is very strong, that isn't everything it has to offer. The runner-ups Ken and Tina actually have a very heartwarming season-long storyline of reconnecting and repairing their relationship after Ken had an affair. They're still together to this day. Also, for fans who watch mostly to see efficient racing, the winners Nick and Starr are arguably one of the greatest to ever race. Seven out of the eleven legs were won by them, and while most teams weren't that threatening, Ken and Tina, as well as fourth placers Toni and Dallas, were decent competition for them. Despite that, Nick and Starr still dominated.
It's a season that gets lost in the shuffle a lot of the time due to following one of the most popular seasons among fans, and preceding a season that marked a clear change in the show, as it moved away from showing airport drama between teams or any of the content in between legs of the race, in order to focus more on the detours and roadblocks.
When it gets the attention it deserves, it's clear that season 13 stands well on its own as one of the funniest, most endearing seasons of The Amazing Race with a unique cast, gorgeous locations, and consistent positive quality episode to episode. There are specific shout-outs to some of the legs in Brazil and Russia for being so bizarre, and they're the most memorable because of that. Constant mistakes made Season 13 a hilarious diamond in the rough.