# Amazing Race Season 34 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [September 21, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990 "2022-09-21T15:48:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/61 "2022-12-04T13:54:58Z")
I have to assume though that the producers are deliberately looking to include some teams with some pretty pronounced weaknesses. Being afraid of heights is bad for the team but great for the show, since it created a moment of drama that we’re still talking about years later. I wonder if being too competent and prepared is actually a disadvantage in getting on the show. Not many people would tune in to watch teams quietly and efficiently complete roadblocks and navigate foreign cultures with ease and grace. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/62 "2022-12-04T16:04:27Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I, too, felt sorry for the guy who couldn’t swim, especially since he had TWO tasks in that leg where he had to swim. But yeah, going on TAR and not knowing how to swim is about as smart as going on TAR and not knowing how to drive a stick. I think they got a little bit screwed by the lack of a Detour this leg - I’m wondering if they had a Detour planned for that final task, but had to cancel it for some reason. But having zero aptitude in the water and having to memorize 14 volcanoes would be tough as hell. Especially using a mask and snorkel for the very first time in your life, while wearing a heavy drysuit in near freezing water in a current. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > What really gets me is the number of people baffled by stick-shift cars. By now everyone must know there is a good chance they will end up driving one. It would make sense to get lessons in driving manual transmission cars before the show but still there are people who stumble on this. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I am pretty sure Amazing Race contestants are driving normal manual transmission cars. Same thing we grew-up with. Three pedals (gas, brake, clutch) and a 5-speed stick. I don’t think anyone was completely baffled. Once they got out of the parking lot everyone seemed to do OK. And those looked like some serious offroading vehicles - I’m guessing the clutch isn’t as forgiving as on a small econobox that they may have trained on in the USA. I owned manual transmission car for 6+ years, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it took me a few tries to get the feel of one of those beasts. Someone who took a few hours of lessons a month or 2 ago would have a harder time IMHO. And I wonder if Reverse was [left and forward](https://despairrepair.com/reverse-gear-how-to-find-it-on-a-stick-shift-car/) instead of the more common right and backwards - that would explain why the one driver kept going into reverse instead of 1st. I agree that the second stick was for 4WD though. ETA: Here’s the website of the place they got the vehicles: [https://www.isak.is/4x4-rental](https://www.isak.is/4x4-rental) These are not your average vehicles, or even average Land Rovers. They’re fitted with snorkels in case you want to cross a river! ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/63 "2022-12-05T03:24:00Z")
Oh! I thought those snorkels were something AR set up for a camera into the interior! I can drive a manual, but those did look like a hard learning curve. I think at this point I’d like the twins to win, although the constant carping on the knee has been driving me crazy. But I’d be okay with any of the remaining teams. StG ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/64 "2022-12-05T18:38:08Z")
I knew the “extra” shift lever was for the (4 wheel drive) transfer case, but they threw me when mentioning a 4th pedal. I’m guessing it was a parking brake? ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/65 "2022-12-08T16:16:06Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Guessing Covid and its protocols are impacting possible destinations. > > The last season was interrupted by Covid and once they resumed the race, they never left Europe until the final leg when they returned to the USA - Los Angeles Last season gets a pass because everything was unexpected and unprecedented. But I thought they’d have everything worked out again for this season. On the other hand, maybe they’d decided that events in Asia — and Africa, I guess — were too unpredictable to gamble on. And given what’s been happening in China the past few months, maybe they were right. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/66 "2022-12-08T16:17:31Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’m wondering if they had a Detour planned for that final task, but had to cancel it for some reason You never know what they had planned. I’ve heard former cast members from several different seasons talk of tasks that were filmed but never aired. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/67 "2022-12-09T14:39:45Z")
So I thought the finale episode was good - good tasks, and I’m OK with who won. I was rooting for the sisters since anyone who does half the race with a bum knee deserves something. Having to play out the pictures from all the legs on a “Big” piano was a nice touch. But that 11 second limit was tough. I’m not sure what happened to Michelle on the bridge climb - was she pulling herself up with her arms instead of using her legs? I really liked how they lit up the bridge like a TAR flag. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/68 "2022-12-09T16:31:54Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Having to play out the pictures from all the legs on a “Big” piano was a nice touch. But that 11 second limit was tough. I liked that challenge. I suppose that some of the money they saved on travel was spent on that set. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/69 "2022-12-09T19:03:13Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’m not sure what happened to Michelle on the bridge climb - was she pulling herself up with her arms instead of using her legs? Yes, she said in one of the little interview inserts that she was climbing it, like one would climb a rock wall, I guess. Eventually, she said, she realized she could just hold onto the rope and walk up, like Adam West and Burt Ward climbing a building. (She didn’t say that last part; she’s way too young.) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/70 "2022-12-09T19:27:39Z")
Ok, I just watched it again, and she was basically crawling on her hands and knees for 95% of it. Even when it was nearly level towards the top. So yeah, she screwed up for no earthly reason. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/71 "2022-12-09T20:03:36Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Last season gets a pass because everything was unexpected and unprecedented. But I thought they’d have everything worked out again for this season. > > On the other hand, maybe they’d decided that events in Asia — and Africa, I guess — were too unpredictable to gamble on. And given what’s been happening in China the past few months, maybe they were right. The charter plane they are using is more expensive than commercial flights. Don’t know by how much. If it’s significant, they may not be able to afford to go around the world. In their next season they are still using the charter, going to different countries but still a more limited distance. So it could be the cost. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/72 "2022-12-09T21:51:27Z")
I have heard that there is another season already filmed. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990/73 "2022-12-09T22:26:09Z")
Excellent. For a couple years there I thought it was on the verge of cancellation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-season-34/971990.md?page=3)