The Challenge in the Media: "The road to [fame] is straight and narrow."

[jsm1125]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate thread for this bit of news, but Wes got engaged yesterday:

[kat165]

Thank you for posting that, jsm. I like Wes, didn't always, but I've become fond of him over the years. I'm happy for him.

[luckyroll3]

Yay Wes! And she's super cute.

[Lantern7]

Five Challengers confirmed for Season 29, more to come. We have one familiar name, a few rookies, and somebody looking to wreck a 1-0 record.

ETA: Haven't seen the pics of Wes and his love. Is he certain she's not a bunch of lit bombs that looks like a woman?

[Tatum]

On 10/5/2016 at 11:56 AM, Lantern7 said:

Five Challengers confirmed for Season 29, more to come. We have one familiar name, a few rookies, and somebody looking to wreck a 1-0 record.

ETA: Haven't seen the pics of Wes and his love. Is he certain she's not a bunch of lit bombs that looks like a woman?

Can we talk about the list on this thread or is that considered a spoiler?

[Bob Sambob]

Buzzfeed has done an oral history of the Challenge. Some interesting stuff, indeed.

[Lantern7]

10 hours ago, Tatum said:

Can we talk about the list on this thread or is that considered a spoiler?

I just launched a casting spoilers thread. Enjoy!

[dangwoodchucks]

Not sure if this is the right place, but Cheyenne of Team Princess from Rivals 3 is having a little princess herself.

https://twitter.com/CHEYnotShy

[Lantern7]

SBP remembers Ryan Knight's passing two years later. If only they could have found better pictures. Its a bit touchy. I would gone with, "Hey, at least he wasn't the worst Ryan that season."

[Lantern7]

Just found this tweet about an AYTO-based Challenge. The noteworthy part? Apparently, Karamo Brown is hosting. Has anybody thought abut him since Inferno II? I still remember Abram interviewing about how he had no dignity.

[kat165]

Well, I certainly won't be watching that. Thanks for the info, Lantern.

[luckyroll3]

16 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Just found this tweet about an AYTO-based Challenge. The noteworthy part? Apparently, Karamo Brown is hosting. Has anybody thought abut him since Inferno II? I still remember Abram interviewing about how he had no dignity.

Ugh.  They need to stop trying to make fetch happen.  And with Karamo....He was on some god awful reality show earlier this year called "The Last 15" or something like that, also featuring the likes of Tiffany "New York" Pollard, 2 basketball wives, and some other non-important nor entertaining people.

12 hours ago, kat165 said:

Well, I certainly won't be watching that. Thanks for the info, Lantern.

I also won't be watching.  Shit, I gotta convince myself to continue watching The Challenge every damn season.  And to be honest, the only reason I do is so that I can discuss it with everyone on here.

[Lantern7]

Stop Being Polite posts promo "picks" (seriously?) of the S29 gang. Sadly, the most odious among them is not throttled . . . at least on camera.

[kat165]

Thanks, Lantern. Was that CTO I saw?

[Lantern7]

Apologies for forgetting to tell you . . . at 4:05 a.m., Comedy Central will air the episode of Kroll Show with CT. That includes a brief clip and the best moment in Challenge history.

[Lantern7]

Stop Being Polite puts out a "Naughty List" from BMP shows this year. While I have issues with the guy and his site, it's nice that he'd rank Johnny over the racist and the inked sociopath from AYTO. While I feel myself softening on the guy due to recent events, I'm certain he will piss me off again next year.

[Jobiska]

22 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

While I feel myself softening on the guy due to recent events, I'm certain he will piss me off again next year.

What recent events?

[Lantern7]

Found this via the SBP Twitter: a picture of Marky Mark, the Mike everybody likes . . . and Adam King?!? It's from Marky Mark's Twitter, tagged as "NYE #2017," though I would wager it was taken a long time ago.

ETA: I DVRed the Bad Blood finale. Did MTV tease the next Challenge at all?

[Lantern7]

Website for Invasion is up. Bad news for me: it's going to be on Tuesday nights. That's Geek Night: The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Agents of SHIELD. I'm thinking that I'll DVR the show and watch it at 11, recording Comedy Central's block as I do that. Can't afford to fall behind the snark here, after all.

[kat165]

Thanks, Lantern. That's not a good night for me either. And I don't have a dvr and our on demand sucks. Do you know what time it's on?

[Lantern7]

From Stop Being Polite's report, it would air at 9 p.m. Yeah, I know. Seriously, Caity Lotz totally takes priority at that time, especially since she could beat the snot out of all the Challengers.

[luckyroll3]

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Website for Invasion is up. Bad news for me: it's going to be on Tuesday nights. That's Geek Night: The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Agents of SHIELD. I'm thinking that I'll DVR the show and watch it at 11, recording Comedy Central's block as I do that. Can't afford to fall behind the snark here, after all.

Tuesday is definitely a bad night; I already have 7(!) other shows I'm committed to that night.  At least the premise sounds interesting.

[kat165]

Thanks, Lantern. My pc is old and I couldn't load up the linked site.

And that just sucks. I juggle 2 other shows at 9. Yeah, lucky, my
Tues are overloaded too. I hear ya.

[scrb]

MTV app. lets you view the show, though I'm not sure how soon after airing it's available.

May not be optimal watching on a small screen though.

Lot of cable systems have on demand too, though I don't know if they put MTV shows on them.

Otherwise, some DVRs can record 5 programs at once.

[Unclejosh]

Wait isn't Legends of Tomorrow on Thursday nights?

[Lantern7]

Moving to Tuesdays at 9 starting next week.

[Remlab]

The MTV app can be chromecasted, so you don't have to watch on the small screen if you have a chromecast. The app may also be available on Amazon Fire TV or through the Fire Stick.

[scrb]

Good to hear, though that app. is horrible.

[Lantern7]

Here's the trailer for Invasion. I think that's Shane puking, and it looks orange. I find that funny for some reason . . . "ha ha" funny, as opposed to "Wait, a former winner would get on about a third of the way and still win a significant chunk of money? Even if CT wins, that doesn't seem right."

ETA: It launches February 7. We'll have two weeks to ready out minds and hearts for the prospect of Johnny lucking into yet another win.

ETA2: I am not spoiled on that. Mere speculation on my part, as well as Johnny's irritating history of good fortune. A thread has been established for spoilers.

[Lantern7]

It's like MTV wants to inconvenience me. Two hours to start the season, preceded by thirty minutes devoted to CT. The only way I can go for this is if the State Of The Union takes place that night. Then I remember . . . the CW wouldn't "cover" that, and there would be new episodes of The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow. I'm good with the special, though. Doing the same with Johnny would have made me sick.

[MissMel]

http://www.theashleysrealityroundup.com/2017/01/26/10-things-we-learned-about-the-challenge-from-evan-starkman-kenny-santuccis-new-podcast-appearance/

Quick posting, I just read the article.  I'll probably listen to the podcast when I have more time.  They are "pickin' bones", it seems.

[Steph619]

I think it would've been cool to just have an underdogs season and see who wins from there, but that would've included more newbies that I honestly wouldn't have cared about.

I'm excited to see CT, Cara Maria, and Laurel competing again and Shane as well as Darrell from Road Rules! I haven't seen them in the longest time so I'm interested to see how they do especially Shane who's been out of the Challenge loop longer.

On the other hand, seeing Johnny Bananas in the trailer had me going "You again?!" I know he's there because he has the most Challenge wins so he's like the champion of champions, but after that debacle from last season with Sarah, he clearly has no shame or regret about that situation.

[scrb]

Bunin-Murray must love Johnny if as Evan speculated that he gets $60k just to show up, whether or not he wins.

It may be that outside of Previously TV members, he's popular on those shows.  Maybe MTV has some indications that he has some favorable numbers.

He's certainly one of the most recognizable people in RW and Challenge history.

Even if he isn't liked, he could still help draw ratings.  He wouldn't be the first TV personality to attract ratings because of hate.

[Lantern7]

I'm not reading what Evan and Kenny have to say. Even if they were innocent during The Ruins, they still are garbage people in my book.

Closer to topic: I got the latest Entertainment Weekly. Invasion got a brief write-up and a grade of B.

[Tatum]

On 1/29/2017 at 0:32 PM, scrb said:

Bunin-Murray must love Johnny if as Evan speculated that he gets $60k just to show up, whether or not he wins.

It may be that outside of Previously TV members, he's popular on those shows.  Maybe MTV has some indications that he has some favorable numbers.

He's certainly one of the most recognizable people in RW and Challenge history.

Even if he isn't liked, he could still help draw ratings.  He wouldn't be the first TV personality to attract ratings because of hate.

I can believe Johnny gets $60K as a signing bonus. I don't believe Nany gets "a years' salary" just for showing up. B/M is notoriously cheap, and the ratings for this show, even for MTV, are pretty dismal. If they're paying Nany that kind of money, they're likely paying a lot of regs that kind of money, and I just don't think they have the budget for it. I bet Bananas is the exception, not the rule.

 

As for why him, I guess they figure he's the Tom Brady of cable network reality TV.

[sunsheyen]

I figured for Nany, her "year's salary" was about 30k. She's going to fight, fuck, and perform reasonably well, not a bad investment. 

Johnny getting his $60K plus a likely guarantee of no fines (outside of something egregious) is believable to me.

[Lantern7]

Poking around Facebook. On Friday nights, MTV runs three episodes of Ridiculousness, with the first two being new. The times are buffed up by live content. Tonight, CT will be dropping by to meet Rob Dyrdek (my favorite MTV manchild), Sterling and Chanel. Just thought y'all should know.

[scrb]

MTV is spamming TiVo with airings of the first episode.

I have it set to record only new episodes but my TiVo is going to record like 5 or 6 times in the next 4-5 days, including 4 times on Tuesday.  I know there's something on CT, then the premiere, maybe an after show and then another 2-3 hour block from 11:30.  Then  a couple more in the following days.

[Lantern7]

No After Show. CT special at 8:30 on Tuesday, two-hour premiere/back-to-back episodes at 9. I'm probably going to see it the next day because it's Geek Night.

ETA: MTV will show the episode of Ridiculousness with Teege at 8. And I apologize if you were grossed out by any segments tonight, up to and including the football-tossing contest where the loser had to chow down on bull penis.

[scrb]

The Channel 33 podcast from The Ringer has an interview with Bananas.

Hes saying Sarah would have done the same about taking all the money.

[Lantern7]

Crud. Is it Bill Simmons getting into bed with Johnny again? Or just one of his people? That's so disappointing.

ETA: In case you didn't see it on Johnny's thread . . . he will be getting a special after next week's episode.

[scrb]

It's one of his employees and I wouldn't say the interviewer is giving him a tongue bath.

[Lantern7]

I'll have to listen to it. I like Bill a lot, and I was disappointed when his HBO series got canceled, but he likes Johnny too much. Not "wink wink, nudge nudge," but I would value Johnny's six wins under Sandra Diaz-Twine's two on Survivor.

BTW, Johnny's special will air before next week's episode, and rerun afterward.

[Bob Sambob]

On 2/9/2017 at 7:48 AM, scrb said:

It's one of his employees and I wouldn't say the interviewer is giving him a tongue bath.

It's Juliet Litman doing the interviewing and it's a pretty straightforward interview.

[scrb]

But does he have any income opportunities if the Challenge went away?

Supposedly he will be 35 later this year.

He could go to school and try to develop a career.  Maybe law school.

Or maybe try to get a job with MTV behind the cameras, something to build up a resume other than reality TV personality.

He's made some money but does he have savings?  401k?  Health insurance?

He can keep making some money on the Challenges for another 5-10 years.  Then what?  At 40 or 45, he still has to earn a living, save for retirement.

Its not a real job so he's having fun, getting to hook up with girls 10-15 years younger.  But he passed up a chance to build a sustainable career.

[scrb]

No it's worked for him so far.

You're right that there are other ways to work towards financial security.

It's just that he passed up a chance to put down experience in the 10-15 years since he left college.  I don't know if he graduated.  It doesn't even seem like his RR season was that long ago.  Maybe he'd already graduated or dropped out by then.

If he does need to look for a job at some point, how is he going to explain the 10-15 year gap?  He had good income from competing on a TV show at most a couple of months a year and the rest of the time he kicked back?  Is an employer going to look at that lack of experience and say, well he was still making money, even if he has no work experience to look at in considering whether he could do the job he's applying for?

[Rebecca]

On 2/17/2017 at 4:52 PM, scrb said:

No it's worked for him so far.

You're right that there are other ways to work towards financial security.

It's just that he passed up a chance to put down experience in the 10-15 years since he left college.  I don't know if he graduated.  It doesn't even seem like his RR season was that long ago.  Maybe he'd already graduated or dropped out by then.

If he does need to look for a job at some point, how is he going to explain the 10-15 year gap?  He had good income from competing on a TV show at most a couple of months a year and the rest of the time he kicked back?  Is an employer going to look at that lack of experience and say, well he was still making money, even if he has no work experience to look at in considering whether he could do the job he's applying for?

His season aired 11 years ago so he was around 23 during filming so he may have graduated. As much as I can't stand the guy I don't think he has to really explain the job gaps, times are different, reality TV has been everywhere a long time. Anyone who would hire that douche won't have a problem with his reality TV "stardom" taking away from job experience.

Edit: wiki said he was 22 and a recent graduate of Pennsylvania State College when filming Real World Key West began.

Edited February 21, 2017 by Rebecca

[Girl in a Cardigan]

Bananas and Camila were at the Giants spring training park today for some reason. I love Hunter Pence (and the Giants), but can't stand his wife, so I haven't watched any of the videos in the thread to know if there's more context, but it was definitely random.

[Lantern7]

Ewwwww. I wonder if Johnny or any of the Giants tried to get Camila to find the key to the batter's box. Remember Effie? Good times.

[kat165]

Johnny's hair in that pic, hilarious. Surprised he and Camilla were together.