The Amazing Race kicks off Season 25 on Friday night with an episode that hearkens back to the reality show's beginnings.
In this season's opener, host Phil Keoghan and the competing teams meet up in New York City to start the race, just as they did in Season 1 back in 2001. (Watch the first minute of The Amazing Race, above, in a clip exclusive to Mashable.)
But while the show's 2014 premiere pays tribute to its past, Season 25 is also set to have several firsts. There will be three locations that have never been featured on The Race -- St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Valletta, Malta; and Shetland Islands, Scotland -- as well as a new element called "The Save," which one team can use to rescue themselves if they come last on a leg, and face elimination.
The team that finishes first in the premiere episode will be awarded the mega-important Save.
Season 25 of The Race will feature, as usual, 11 teams, one of which includes a familiar face: surfer Bethany Hamilton, whose professional and personal perseverance following a shark attack inspired the movie Soul Surfer.
Hamilton is an early favorite in our book because, as the following graphic proves, success on The Race is very much related to the strength of a person's spirit (Dave!), and how to get back up after being hit in the face with a melon.
Season 25 of The Amazing Race premieres Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT.