# The Amazing Race May 6th, The Finale! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115 "2012-05-07T00:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/41 "2012-05-07T16:59:42Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > I was laughing about that last night. > > “Hey chief, here come the Dumbfuck’aaki’aaki tribe on their war sleds. You want I should blow the alarm conch shell?” > > “Nah, we’ll just wait for them to all kill themselves trying to get down the hill.” > > Put an outrigger on that sumbitch. But obviously, these were created as some sort of test of bravery/athletic prowess. I doubt they were made because so many battlefields happened to be at the bottom of hills. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/42 "2012-05-07T17:06:00Z")
TAR producers want drama, if they didn’t want the drama, they would edit it out. The drama is the needle movers that drives more viewers towards the show. This season’s survivor threads at TWoP were much longer when Colton acted despicably. Most of the episodes thread went to about 200-250 posts. When Colton said racist things, voluntarily went Tribal council, and was medivac-ed out the threads were 400-500 posts, Twice the length, and twice the buzz. Posters here can act all sanctimonious about not wanting the drama, but the drama is what drives the needle. I disliked Team Big Bother as much as anyone, but they gave the TAR producers exactly what they were looking for. Water Cooler Talk. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/43 "2012-05-07T17:08:44Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > I demand better casting, dammit!! I feel the same way about Survivor, and I’ve come to the conclusion that both shows are purposely picking “bad” contestants for ratings. When I say “bad”, I mean people less concerned about the race/game who will be more involved in drama because of their somehow-flawed personality. I mean, hell, you could tell Phil was purposely stirring the pot this time around with his constant questions on the mat about the drama and dislike between the teams. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/44 "2012-05-07T17:15:33Z")
I love how JJ couldn’t resist the whole [paraphrase] - “If that was me on the sled, we would have been out of here HOURS ago.” snark. I’d hate to be on his football team whenever they lost. Big Brother has got to be the worst top-three team ever. I cannot see how that relationship works at all. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/45 "2012-05-07T17:21:13Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > I feel the same way about Survivor, and I’ve come to the conclusion that both shows are purposely picking “bad” contestants for ratings. When I say “bad”, I mean people less concerned about the race/game who will be more involved in drama because of their somehow-flawed personality. I mean, hell, you could tell Phil was purposely stirring the pot this time around with his constant questions on the mat about the drama and dislike between the teams. I quit watching that one cooking show where whatshisname–grouchy British cook—refused to “fire” a clearly incompetent person who’s only positive attributes were that she was hispanic (so good for the demographics), kinda cute, and a fucking screwball who’s only talent was to stir up trouble and to lie. (Hell’s Kitchen!) It made the show actively unviewable for me. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/46 "2012-05-07T17:21:13Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The blonde is very sweet and I am glad she won (still would have preferred Vanessa and the guy with Vanessa). Too bad she (the blonde) is in an abusive relationship with a douche. I hope watching this season wised her up. I’ll agree that Major Dave was a jerk, but that was not an abusive relationship. It was several large step below abusive. ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/47 "2012-05-07T17:23:04Z")
I’ve never wanted to reach through the TV screen and punch someone as much as when Rachel said, “We messed up!” in regards to taking the taxi. No, bitch, \*\*YOU \*\*messed up. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/48 "2012-05-07T17:23:58Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > TAR producers want drama, if they didn’t want the drama, they would edit it out. The drama is the needle movers that drives more viewers towards the show. > > \< snip \> > > Posters here can act all sanctimonious about not wanting the drama, but the drama is what drives the needle. I disliked Team Big Bother as much as anyone, but they gave the TAR producers exactly what they were looking for. Water Cooler Talk. It’s not sanctimony, it’s personal preference. I watch the show\* to watch the _race_ and the scenery and the cultures and so forth. The less inter and intra-team drama there is and the more pure racing there is, the more I enjoy the show. Your mileage apparently varies. \*And I’m willing to accept that I’m in a minority ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/49 "2012-05-07T17:29:44Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Kind of an aside, but what kind of culture designs such an impractical sled? > [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > I was laughing about that last night. > > “Hey chief, here come the Dumbfuck’aaki’aaki tribe on their war sleds. You want I should blow the alarm conch shell?” > > “Nah, we’ll just wait for them to all kill themselves trying to get down the hill.” > > Put an outrigger on that sumbitch. Apparently you could drag your leg(s) to help you with steering and balance because that’s how the Big Brother chick made it down the hill. I reviewed it on the DVR and it was quite obvious, so why didn’t Art figure this out? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/50 "2012-05-07T17:42:26Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > It’s not sanctimony, it’s personal preference. I watch the show\* to watch the _race_ and the scenery and the cultures and so forth. The less inter and intra-team drama there is and the more pure racing there is, the more I enjoy the show. Your mileage apparently varies. > \*And I’m willing to accept that I’m in a minority Well, I’m with you. Almost every other reality show seems to revel in the interpersonal drama (maybe not Top Chef) and there are shows that are nothing more than “point a camera at people who will argue and look stupid”. TAR is an exception, and it’s only worth watching for the reasons you gave. If they start to tip too far towards that end, I’d stop despite the enjoyable scenery. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/51 "2012-05-07T18:11:34Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > But obviously, these were created as some sort of test of bravery/athletic prowess. Oh I’m sure, I think they even said something to that effect before the challenge. I just got the image in my head of a swarm of mighty warriors getting wadded up on their impossibly narrow war sleds. They did say the stone pucks were rolled into the ankles of the enemy to break their ankles. Presumably in actual battle? “Hey chief, the Dumbfuck’aaki’aaki are rolling these rocks at our ankles, what should we do?” “Pick up the rocks and throw them at their heads.” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/52 "2012-05-07T18:24:27Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > I’ve never wanted to reach through the TV screen and punch someone as much as when Rachel said, “We messed up!” in regards to taking the taxi. > No, bitch, \*\*YOU \*\*messed up. IIRC Army Dave was also just about ready to climb into the cab when Rachel said “Wait, didn’t it say on foot?” I wonder how things would have turned out if they had also screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/53 "2012-05-07T18:34:42Z")
So, last night when I was laughing hysterically while watching the border patrol guy fall off the conveyor belt while jumping to get the rubber chickens, I thought “Japanese game shows are never not funny.” And then 5 minutes later, when an injured Vanessa with an obviously swelling ankle was falling on the exact same task, I had to take the statement back because to me, that wasn’t funny; watching someone exacerbate an injury like that was just awful. I wanted the race people to step in and give them an alternative and/or penalty. To get to the point of the post, I feel somewhat the same about interpersonal drama. Sometimes, it works. But watching two vile people go at each other (or one go after his or her partner) is not entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/54 "2012-05-07T18:59:52Z")
Was the host of the game show the same guy who hosted the fake Japanese show _Majide_ on the ABC show _I Survived a Japanese Game Show_ for a couple of years ago? I had forgotten all about that show until last night. 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 7, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/55 "2012-05-07T19:15:48Z")
At the pit stop in Japan, there were two young japanese kids there (I think somone called them ‘rockers’). I immediately though of the SNL ‘J-Pop America Fun Time’ skit - those two looked somewhat similar to the SNL actors. ---
**Author:** ![treadstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@treadstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treadstone)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/56 "2012-05-07T20:27:41Z")
I would like to know how Art and JJ figured out that One Waterfront Tower was the location of the challenge. The last scene I remember seeing before they arrived at the towers was of them in Waikiki at some statues. They are told by a lady that the only twin towers that she knows of is in Pearl City. Here are the twin towers in Pearl City [Google Maps]: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=pearl%2Bcity,%2BHI&hl=en&ll=21.397439,-157.979547&spn=0.00924,0.009313&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=63.12754,76.289063&t=h&hnear=Pearl%2BCity,%2BHonolulu,%2BHawaii&z=17 The Waterfront Towers are pretty far away from there. Google Maps says about 20 minutes away: https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Pearl%2BCity,%2BHI&daddr=Waterfront%2BPlaza,%2BHonolulu,%2BHI&hl=en&ll=21.346145,-157.918854&spn=0.142138,0.149002&sll=21.397619,-157.979547&sspn=0.00888,0.009313&geocode=FeZ-RgEdq4SV9ikXS2GsaGcAfDFLWL1E4RRB2w%3BFXsIRQEdZDaX9iGiai-IXEUvNg&oq=waterfront%2B&t=h&mra=ls&z=13 So how/when did they realize that information was wrong? Or did I miss the scene where they figured it out? Or maybe the cab driver thought the Waterfront Towers were the Pearl City towers and Art and JJ caught a break? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/57 "2012-05-07T21:00:09Z")
There’s no “outfield” on Sand Island either. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/58 "2012-05-08T01:42:41Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > I’ve never wanted to reach through the TV screen and punch someone as much as when Rachel said, “We messed up!” in regards to taking the taxi. > No, bitch, \*\*YOU \*\*messed up. She read the clue out loud and he missed it too. They both screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/59 "2012-05-08T02:39:07Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > \*\*Rules for Casting (for future seasons)–Its’ fun! Add your own rules! 🙂 > \*\* > > 1. Don’t pick any team who’s so awful that their winning would spoil the season. > > 2. No, really. Don’t pick any team who’s so awful that their winning would spoil the season. See the reaction to the faux-hippies. > > 3. No reality show people (winners or otherwise). Especially no one from The Jersey Shore (thankfully not yet) or Big Brother. > > 4. No mentally ill or mentally challenged people (Adam/Hornhead in particular. Also deaf momma’s boy who kept crying all the time. I don’t want to see retarded/mentally ill people cry. This isn’t fun). There are degrees here–the Asburger’s guy did really well over-all and that kinda falls into the “mentally ill” thing…sorta…I’ll just shut up now, but hopefully you knew what I meant. > > 5. No ‘stunt’ casting for people who “have something to prove”. Who “want to show the world that _**(fill in the blank\*)**_\_\_ can be just as good of racers as _anyone_!!!” > > 6. No:[ul] > [li]Celebrities, A-list or Z-list. If you’ve been on national TV for more than 10 minutes, you’re out. [/li][li]Professional athletes[/li][li]Beauty queens (national level–if you were Miss Taco-Congeniality for El Farto County, Bumfuck Texas, _good for you_. You’re in.)[/li][li]Famous or semi-famous[/li][li]Did I mention reality show constants? I’ll mention them again because except for possibly Rahb (of Rahb an’ Ambuh) they all, universally suck. (YMMV with Rahb)[/li][/ul] 1. No Boston Rob. > [@zut](#): > > **Cruisin’ with Earl** - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt. > _Dave & Rachel_ (holding steady) - Dave & Rachel wind up the season with six first-place finishes in the last seven legs (and still finishing second in the odd leg out). They were really helped in the final leg by two things. One was just getting into and out of the twin towers faster than the other teams. Another was Art’s complete failure on the sledding task. With that help, Dave & Rachel were able to recover from their wrong turn and still handily win the final leg. You never really know what would have happened otherwise. Dave & Rachel were the first team to finish the water rescue, and then got the first cab, which took them to the dock where they paddled across the lake. If Art & J.J. hadn’t gotten lost looking for the towers, maybe they’d have gotten that cab, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115/60 "2012-05-08T13:39:19Z")
Grain of salt and all that but according to [this](http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/the-fien-print/posts/interview-vanessa-ralph-talk-the-amazing-race), Vanessa and the guy who is with Vanessa had an untelevised incident with team Big Brother prior to the first argument we saw. If true, it gives that first airport argument some context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-may-6th-the-finale/621115.md?page=4)