S01.E01: The United States of Challenge

[preeya]

I thougt it odd that the title is "The Challenge USA" and the first thing shown was a bus driving in Brazil for the competition.

[rr2911]

The first think I noticed was that this show can't be faulted for not having a diverse cast.  Let's just say they went wayyyy out their way to make sure all the boxes were checked.

I don't see Big Brother or Love Island, so I don't know mucch about them.  I know of the "cookout" in BB because it was mentioned in the Survivor forums.  I wouldn't have liked the cookout so I hoping all BB are eliminated.

The show was ok, I could do without the "inside the house drama" that probably BB and LI have.

I didn't like that the winning couple discussed with other couples who they thought should be in the elimination challenge.  I think they should decide on their own.

[millennium]

My wife Kiki told me that if I do one thing, it's don't read any of the preceding comments because I haven't watched the finale of All-Stars yet and I don't want to be spoiled, so forgive me if anything I say is inadvertently redundant.

The women are mostly (sorry Sarah and Shan) very attractive.   The men feel top-heavy with guys I have loathed for years: Tyson, Ben, Leo and most hated of all, James from Amazing Race.

The show has no electricity.  It's a pale shadow of what has become one of my favorite shows ever.    The first daily went on far too long and felt dumbed-down.   There was nothing inviting or luxurious about the living quarters.   There were no real "characters."  Tyson's doing a poor imitation of a villain and it just makes him seem like a more conceited asshole than he already is.  James got far too much camera time.   I don't know who's doing TJ's wardrobe for this but for the first half of the show he looked like he was going day-sailing afterwards.   When it came to the elimination, I immediately recognized the familiar pyramids and the ropes, but they seemed oddly misplaced because nothing else felt right. 

Warning bells started going off the instant they started talking about "the Cookout."   I hope they get past that quickly.   I don't watch Love Island or Big Brother, but my first impression is that the people from those shows seem more likeable than those I do recognize from Survivor and Amazing Race (Danny and Tasha excepted).

Speaking of Danny, did he really say "Shanthem?"   Please, show, don't let Shan start that humming shit again. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by millennium

[preeya]

6 hours ago, millennium said:

The men feel top-heavy with guys I have loathed for years: Tyson, Ben, Leo and most hated of all, James from Amazing Race.

ITA. He (and his partner) were the two most obnoxious contestants on TAR. I absoultely hated them.

Edited July 8, 2022 by preeya

[sugarbaker design]

6 hours ago, millennium said:

and most hated of all, James from Amazing Race.

50 minutes ago, preeya said:

ITA. He (and his partner) were the two most obnoxious contestants on TAR. I absoultely hated them.

The absolute worst from one of the worst seasons in TAR history.  I'm only watching to see him get kicked off.  

[preeya]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

The absolute worst from one of the worst seasons in TAR history.  I'm only watching to see him get kicked off.  

To my dismay:  he seems to a focal point so far, and will likely go deep into the show.

Edited July 8, 2022 by preeya

[Lantern7]

7 hours ago, millennium said:

The men feel top-heavy with guys I have loathed for years: Tyson, Ben, Leo and most hated of all, James from Amazing Race.. 

1 hour ago, preeya said:

ITA. He (and his partner) were the two most obnoxious contestants on TAR. I absoultely hated them.

44 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

The absolute worst from one of the worst seasons in TAR history.  I'm only watching to see him get kicked off.  

37 minutes ago, preeya said:

To my dismay:  he seems to a focal point, so far, and will likely go deep into the show.

As much as I thought the "Mine Five" went against the spirit of TAR32, as annoying as Will & James were ..  are either of them at the level of obnoxiousness set on the other shows? Remember Justin? Pain in the ass on his season . . . but I wouldn't have minded him if he and Diana ran TAR31 because he probably would have gone all out to outlast the teams from the other shows, and I would've been good if he was here. I'm hoping James goes far. Ditto Cayla and Leo.

[aghst]

2 hours ago, preeya said:

ITA. He (and his partner) were the two most obnoxious contestants on TAR. I absoultely hated them.

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

The absolute worst from one of the worst seasons in TAR history.  I'm only watching to see him get kicked off.  

1 hour ago, preeya said:

To my dismay:  he seems to a focal point so far, and will likely go deep into the show.

Now I remember him, you're right they did bully some other teams on their TAR season.  They denied being bullies IIRC because they were gay and had gone through being bullied in their teens?

Afghanimals were too much.

Only the woman was tolerable in her TAR season.

[luckyroll3]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:03 AM, AntFTW said:

It seems kinda weird that they only need $5K to qualify for the final and they can win that in one challenge. That just doesn’t make sense to me.

I agree. The amount to qualify should be much higher, like $15K-25k. That would mean someone who's consistently winning dailies and/or eliminations would earn qualifications. There's no suspense if every single team who wins a daily qualifies. 

I'm still on the fence with this show. I don't know any of these people, because the only reality competition shows I watch are the OG Challenge and Drag Race, but wanted to give it a chance. And of course support TJ. But all these Big Brother and Survivor people make me itch.

I may give it one or two more episodes. 

[luckyroll3]

Forgot to add that I bet man-baby Josh is off somewhere crying that he wasn't selected for this one too. 

[millennium]

1 hour ago, luckyroll3 said:

Forgot to add that I bet man-baby Josh is off somewhere crying that he wasn't selected for this one too. 

LOL, I made a similar joke as I was watching!

I get the impression Bunim/Murray is trying to significantly expand the franchise.   At the start TJ said the winner will represent the US in a global Challenge competition, which makes me think they are concurrently running Challenges in other countries as well.

It's too bad.  It feels like they're turning the Challenge into an athletic/skills competition when it was never really about that.   IMO, the dailies and the eliminations served two purposes: to spur conflicts in the Challenge house, and to resolve those conflicts.   The contests were always secondary to the interpersonal relationships and drama.   Now it seems the priorities have been flipped.

[aghst]

1 hour ago, millennium said:

LOL, I made a similar joke as I was watching!

I get the impression Bunim/Murray is trying to significantly expand the franchise.   At the start TJ said the winner will represent the US in a global Challenge competition, which makes me think they are concurrently running Challenges in other countries as well.

It's too bad.  It feels like they're turning the Challenge into an athletic/skills competition when it was never really about that.   IMO, the dailies and the eliminations served two purposes: to spur conflicts in the Challenge house, and to resolve those conflicts.   The contests were always secondary to the interpersonal relationships and drama.   Now it seems the priorities have been flipped.

I don't think it's B/M driving this.

It's more Paramount, which needs cheap content for Paramount +, which is an also-ran in the streaming wars.

Look at how many Challenge series they're going to crank out now, the original, all-stars, USA, World.

Paramount + announced last week that they were rebooting Road Rules and also doing more of the Homecoming series.  I assume B/M produces all these as well.  But I think it's a lot easier for them to crank out the Challenge since they've been cranking them out every year, especially the last couple of years when they also had the Challenge, All Stars, the Pros vs. All Stars, etc.

[millennium]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Look at how many Challenge series they're going to crank out now, the original, all-stars, USA, World.

You may be right.  But what good is it if they spread it so thin that it becomes just a mediocre (at best) show?  The flagship show is already suffering.  

I love The Challenge but I was borderline offended by Challenge USA.   I'm probably taking it too personally but I was disgusted to see Tyson, Leo and James wearing Challenge gear.   The whole show feels wrong.

[LoveLeigh]

Is it me or did Kyland and Azah look great together? Man they were giving off some real hot chemistry and sexy vibes when she collapsed and he was kneeling over her....  Are Angela and Tyler still together? Angela also looked great with Tyson. 

They all look really good to me... 

[Cherry Cola]

I thought this episode was boring.  Not happy to see the cookout so quickly after last season of BB.  It was good to see Angela, and where is Tyler?!

I only know a few love islanders and no survivor people at all. 

I wanted Azah and Kyland to go home until all the crap the other team was yelling during their pre game interview.  

Anyway, will keep watching. 

[AntFTW]

6 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

Forgot to add that I bet man-baby Josh is off somewhere crying that he wasn't selected for this one too. 

This is basically a sneak peek of season 38 of the MTV show, if he’s on the next season 😂

[AntFTW]

5 hours ago, millennium said:

I get the impression Bunim/Murray is trying to significantly expand the franchise.   At the start TJ said the winner will represent the US in a global Challenge competition, which makes me think they are concurrently running Challenges in other countries as well.

I’m so curious at how this would work. I remember when they announced this “global competition” of a total of 4 versions (I think it was 4) and the winners of each will complete in a global competition, I wonder what they would look like. I imagine there will only be 1 or 2 winners of this USA version, maybe a man and a woman winning the top prize.

So when they get to the “global” part after the winners are in for all of the different shows, there would only be 8 players, assuming 2 winners per show? 8 players is doesn’t exactly sound exciting.

5 hours ago, millennium said:

It's too bad.  It feels like they're turning the Challenge into an athletic/skills competition when it was never really about that.   IMO, the dailies and the eliminations served two purposes: to spur conflicts in the Challenge house, and to resolve those conflicts.   The contests were always secondary to the interpersonal relationships and drama.

That’s why they should have had a house vote instead of daily challenge losers automatically going into elimination. The drama of house votes one of the best aspects of the game.

[millennium]

17 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

That’s why they should have had a house vote instead of daily challenge losers automatically going into elimination. The drama of house votes one of the best aspects of the game.

They squandered so much time on the daily that they sped through the rest of the show, especially the clips demonstrating how James weaseled out of the elimination. 

[lilabennet]

41 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

That’s why they should have had a house vote instead of daily challenge losers automatically going into elimination. The drama of house votes one of the best aspects of the game.

The house vote is only interesting if there isn't a mega alliance controlling the game.  I think there should be a dice with 3 options: House Vote, Power Couple (winners choose), and Call Out (losers choose).  Dice is rolled before each daily so the players know what the stakes are.  This would provide alliance and voting drama while also allowing for power shifts in case a mega alliance forms.

[AntFTW]

15 minutes ago, lilabennet said:

The house vote is only interesting if there isn't a mega alliance controlling the game.  I think there should be a dice with 3 options: House Vote, Power Couple (winners choose), and Call Out (losers choose).  Dice is rolled before each daily so the players know what the stakes are.  This would provide alliance and voting drama while also allowing for power shifts in case a mega alliance forms.

At this early point in the game, there isn't a mega-alliance (yet) or there doesn't seem to be one. It seems like all shows are basically competing against each other for now. There probably would have been a mega alliance formed if there was a house vote. Nobody seems to really care for the Love Island bunch and everyone seems to agree they're the odd show out and that they're not a real competition show 🤣

Well, the Power couple already gets to choose who goes in. I would take a call-out. I would take a combination of power couple picking one, and a house vote picking the other... or a power couple picking the team and that team gets to call someone out. The maximum drama is in people having to say names. I want every opportunity for people to call out names.

There's no drama in being dead last in the daily challenge and going into elimination because of it.

Edited July 9, 2022 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

39 minutes ago, millennium said:

They squandered so much time on the daily that they sped through the rest of the show, especially the clips demonstrating how James weaseled out of the elimination. 

I agree. They could have sped up that daily. I would have loved to see how he managed to get out of that elimination. I was pretty sure him and Shannon were going in.

Edited July 9, 2022 by AntFTW

[aghst]

1 hour ago, AntFTW said:

I’m so curious at how this would work. I remember when they announced this “global competition” of a total of 4 versions (I think it was 4) and the winners of each will complete in a global competition, I wonder what they would look like. I imagine there will only be 1 or 2 winners of this USA version, maybe a man and a woman winning the top prize.

So when they get to the “global” part after the winners are in for all of the different shows, there would only be 8 players, assuming 2 winners per show? 8 players is doesn’t exactly sound exciting.

That’s why they should have had a house vote instead of daily challenge losers automatically going into elimination. The drama of house votes one of the best aspects of the game.

35 minutes ago, lilabennet said:

The house vote is only interesting if there isn't a mega alliance controlling the game.  I think there should be a dice with 3 options: House Vote, Power Couple (winners choose), and Call Out (losers choose).  Dice is rolled before each daily so the players know what the stakes are.  This would provide alliance and voting drama while also allowing for power shifts in case a mega alliance forms.

The regular Challenge had gotten ALL political, little to do with performance.

I actually like the last place team or competitor going into the elimination automatically.  Because it's too easy for some to just quit, not try certain dailies.

And it looks like the casts already had informal alliances already so if they voted, BB and Survivor would have just systematically eliminated the TAR and LI cast members.

I'd like to see some races during the Dailies, so that it's transparent and we don't have to rely on producers timing the performances, with no on-screen indicator.

[AntFTW]

1 minute ago, aghst said:

The regular Challenge had gotten ALL political, little to do with performance.

I think it's kinda opposite because it's like the contestants need to be D1 athletes to have a chance at winning most of the challenges. It's the weakest girl and the weakest guy is always on the chopping block unless they politic.

[aghst]

5 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I think it's kinda opposite because it's like the contestants need to be D1 athletes to have a chance at winning most of the challenges. It's the weakest girl and the weakest guy is always on the chopping block unless they politic.

I don't think they'd ever have a pure athletic competition.

There will always be puzzles rather than letting them run or swim x yards.

I do think though in All Stars season 03, Wes and Jonna took leads on the run to the first check point and they maintained it through all the check points.

So there's a value to being very fit for some distance runs but they're not going to have outright sprints.  But being able to jog a distance faster isn't a guarantee, you have to be able to get through the check point.

They do have some eliminations where size and strength disparities come into play, like Hall Brawl and the battle for wrestling the pole from each other.

Those are obviously unfair and we never have visibility on when such eliminations are going to be used on a given episode.  

But in the Final, being the most fit, running or swimming some distances, climbing up mountains usually confer an advantage but it's not the only thing.

[millennium]

So when they showed TJ's shadow against the wall, I was like, why does this seem familiar?

[Lantern7]

8 hours ago, millennium said:

You may be right.  But what good is it if they spread it so thin that it becomes just a mediocre (at best) show?  The flagship show is already suffering. 

The franchise teeters on mediocrity . . . but it's popular enough where it can remain on the air no matter what.

8 hours ago, millennium said:

I love The Challenge but I was borderline offended by Challenge USA.   I'm probably taking it too personally but I was disgusted to see Tyson, Leo and James wearing Challenge gear.   The whole show feels wrong.

First of all, we've seen far worse people compete in the gear. Tyson? Okay, I'll give him to you . . . he's rat-faced, he lucked into his Survivor win, and I believe Natalie probably bought him an immunity idol at the end of Winners at War because someone coming back from Edge of Extinction twice to win would've been the worst possible outcome for that season. It is funny that when I was watching him on W@W, it dawned on me that he probably would have been a regular on The Challenge had they started importing earlier, but I figured it was too late for him.

ETA: He’ll always be “Assistant Coach” to me. Plus, he got himself voted off Heroes vs, Villains, which led to the fall of Rob Mariano, and that led to the show giving him a fourth shot. If you think about it, Tyson could be seen ruining a season one year in advance.

James and Leo? I've said my piece about them.

Anyone think the Algorithm might not be a load of crap? The only way I'd know if there's one in place is if the winners of the first mission (Tyson and Angela) were paired with those that had the worst performance (Azah and Kyland, respectively). In my head, there could be a system where teams are chosen by how well they did in the prior mission, with the better players linked up with those who didn't do as well. It's sound, it's logical . . . but I'm thinking it could wind up being bullshit, and that the producers would choose teams based on what would work better, drama-wise.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Lantern7

[aghst]

Yeah the Algorithm is another thing the producers throw in that lacks transparency.

Sure it's completely random ...🙄

Remember, a hallmark of The Challenge is that they can change the rules at any time.  The infamous twists that TJ thinks is good showmanship to throw in.

But these twists obviously can benefit certain competitors over others so the producers can manipulate certain results or outcomes or have the kind of matchups they want.

[North of Eden]

I have never seen an episode of THE CHALLENGE until tonight. When I heard BB's Tiffany was going to be on it I was in. Though I did have to fight switching it off in the first minute when I saw Tyson was in the cast. If this does become the Tyson Show I will tap out though.

Don't know any LOVE ISLAND people so if they all go quickly that's fine (This Shannon looks like she must have been a real pill on her season) Shamefully there are a few SURVIVORS and the TAR woman I don't remember at all.

I will always hate Enzo....end of story.

Never heard of this TJ guy who is the host. Very charisma free. He looks more like someone the producers pulled off a field where he was coaching high school football and asked him if he wanted to be a host.

It almost would have been funny if this show lost half THE COOKOUT in the first episode because you know they are a big draw (got me watching)

The LOVE ISLAND women dancing in the club....brought back to me exactly why I used to hate the bar scene. A tight knit group of young women all in to themselves  in a pack...completly unapproachable except when looking to be bought a free drink. Glad all that is a couple decades behind me.

Celly had the weirdest eyebrows but she was cute.

This ALGORITHM thing I have to admit is probably one of the best things I've seen on a Reality Show in years. Many a season has been ruined by a select group steamrolling as they said all the way through rendering others gameplay essentially moot so hats off to that.

[millennium]

On 7/9/2022 at 11:07 PM, North of Eden said:

Though I did have to fight switching it off in the first minute when I saw Tyson was in the cast. If this does become the Tyson Show I will tap out though.

It's the Tyson and James show as of now.   Most obnoxious = most camera time.

On 7/9/2022 at 11:07 PM, North of Eden said:

Never heard of this TJ guy who is the host. Very charisma free. He looks more like someone the producers pulled off a field where he was coaching high school football and asked him if he wanted to be a host.

TJ Lavin has been hosting the original Challenge since season 11 (it's heading into Season 38 right now).   He's a BMX champion.  

Per Wikipedia:

He has entered events including the X Games and the Dew Tour. In the X Games he took bronze three times, silver once, and gold three times (One was Australian). He has been a DK Dirt Circuit Champion, a champion in the Gravity Games, a European championship winner, and a CFB Champion. In 1995, he was crowned the "King of Dirt". He has a 1-acre (0.40 ha) BMX track in his backyard which includes several groomed trails and dirt jumps.

His show demeanor ranges from seemingly indifferent to mildly amused.   He often cackles at contestants when they screw up or do something stupid.   He can't stand quitters or those who don't try a challenge because they're afraid; in such instances he may utter just a phrase or two, but they convey the full weight of his disgust.   He is more laid back on Challenge All-Stars, perhaps because he has known the players for more than 15 years now.

This being your first exposure to TJ, I understand why you have that impression.

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, millennium said:

It's the Tyson and James show as of now.   Most obnoxious = most camera time.

I can’t compare James to Tyson. Not after the first episode, anyway,

On 7/9/2022 at 11:07 PM, North of Eden said:

Never heard of this TJ guy who is the host. Very charisma free. He looks more like someone the producers pulled off a field where he was coaching high school football and asked him if he wanted to be a host.

Heh. I got a like/hate thing with Teege. He can be bad, but he’s not a total asshole like Jeff Probst, and I’m assuming he’s better than Julie Chen-Moonves. It’s funny . . . he’s been on MTV since  2005, and he’s probably the second-most known alternative sports star after Rob Dyrdek.

On 7/9/2022 at 11:07 PM, North of Eden said:

This ALGORITHM thing I have to admit is probably one of the best things I've seen on a Reality Show in years. Many a season has been ruined by a select group steamrolling as they said all the way through rendering others gameplay essentially moot so hats off to that.

Like I said, it’s probably bullshit. If there is an actual algorithm in place, I’d expect one or two players to figure it out and use the knowledge to game the system. On the “regular” series, a lot of the players are good at exploiting loopholes.

[Tachi Rocinante]

Jesus, fucking Enzo.  You. Are. Bald.  Get over it.