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

[luckyroll3]

15 hours ago, millennium said:

That's a good point and unfortunately true.   At least once per podcast Bananas fondly recalls the days before social media.  He and some of his guests have implied that if social media had been around back then they would have been in trouble.   

The days when he and his friends (and others) would mercilessly bully certain people for fun and his friends violated a passed out Tanya with a toothbrush. Yeah, I'm good. 

2 hours ago, bunnyface said:

While the show is a bit more boring now, if being social media "aware" prevents some of the more gross things, like what happened to Tanya and something else I can't quite remember at the moment, I guess I can live with that.  Or maybe I'm just old now.  One of those.

[millennium]

8 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

The days when he and his friends (and others) would mercilessly bully certain people for fun and his friends violated a passed out Tanya with a toothbrush. Yeah, I'm good.

The Tonya incident was deplorable.   It should never have happened (though given the volatile conditions in The Challenge House I can see how it did).  

That said, I don't watch the show to see people play nice.

[jsm1125]

Of course Bananas yearns for the good old days, as it is was before his buds Evan and Kenny were banned from The Challenge, and it was before people could see on repeat how much of a douche he was to all the women (minus Johanna and Paula) on The Island. And let’s be honest, he had no business becoming the fixture of the Challenge he ended up being, as I find him as charismatic and entertaining as a doorknob. Gimmicky isn’t the same as entertaining.

However, I do agree that the BB main crew in Fessy and Kaycee are beyond bleh. 

Edited January 25, 2023 by jsm1125

[aghst]

Josh was on for a few seasons, brought a lot of drama.

He's been off for a couple of seasons and maybe doesn't come back?

[DEL901]

I think Josh was on last season Fessy laid hands on him and got kicked off. 

And I seem to recall reading Josh was an alternate this season. 

[bunnyface]

18 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I think Josh was on last season Fessy laid hands on him and got kicked off. 

And I seem to recall reading Josh was an alternate this season. 

I never, ever thought Josh would be the hero we needed....

[SnideAsides]

Challenge Global Championship drops March 8 on P+. This despite the CBS cast publicly and vocally hating everything about the show, the Australian version getting bumped midseason and ending up with just 11,000 viewers for its finale (not a typo, and the lowest primetime rating for a non-cable channel in Australian TV history), and the Argentinian and British versions apparently being such disasters their networks are refusing to even air them.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-challenge-world-championship-format-hosts-premiere-date-1235500010/

[AntFTW]

I tried to watch the Australian show. It took about 30 seconds for my interest in watching it to completely go away.

[luckyroll3]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Josh was on for a few seasons, brought a lot of drama.

If by "brought a lot of drama" you mean whined and cried a lot, sure! 😆

 

54 minutes ago, SnideAsides said:

Challenge Global Championship drops March 8 on P+. This despite the CBS cast publicly and vocally hating everything about the show, the Australian version getting bumped midseason and ending up with just 11,000 viewers for its finale (not a typo, and the lowest primetime rating for a non-cable channel in Australian TV history), and the Argentinian and British versions apparently being such disasters their networks are refusing to even air them.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-challenge-world-championship-format-hosts-premiere-date-1235500010/

Wow. The US version was a mess so not really surprised, but so bad they couldn't even air?!?!?

Was Teej the host of the other versions as well?

49 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I tried to watch the Australian show. It took about 30 seconds for my interest in watching it to completely go away.

Is this also on Paramount+?

[AntFTW]

26 minutes ago, luckyroll3 said:

Is this also on Paramount+?

I don't think so, at least not in the USA. A friend of mine somehow stored the episodes in a Google Drive link and that's how I saw it.

[Lantern7]

3 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

Challenge Global Championship drops March 8 on P+. This despite the CBS cast publicly and vocally hating everything about the show, the Australian version getting bumped midseason and ending up with just 11,000 viewers for its finale (not a typo, and the lowest primetime rating for a non-cable channel in Australian TV history), and the Argentinian and British versions apparently being such disasters their networks are refusing to even air them.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-challenge-world-championship-format-hosts-premiere-date-1235500010/

I posted an updated story from Reality Blurred on the “USA” forum. It’s gonna suck ass, isn’t it? Also, is it wrong that I want the entire franchise to crash, never to rise again?

4 hours ago, bunnyface said:

I never, ever thought Josh would be the hero we needed....

If watching the shows is what empowers BMP to go on, I’d say Josh is not the hero we need or want, but he’s the one we deserve.

[millennium]

3 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

This despite the CBS cast publicly and vocally hating everything about the show,

This despite the CBS cast viewing audience publicly and vocally hating everything about the show

The cast were more or less shitheads.

6 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

and it was before people could see on repeat how much of a douche he was to all the women (minus Johanna and Paula) on The Island.

I don't recall whether it was an interview or on his podcast, but Bananas said the one great regret of his Challenge career was The Island and how he behaved there.

As for Evan and Kenny, I guess he's still friendly with them.   I saw a recent photo of them together at a restaurant.   But I wonder, if those two malignancies hadn't been excised from the show, would Bananas be the Challenge GOAT he is today?  Or would he have spent years in their shadows?

[shantown]

Please remember that the CBS/Paramount+ Challenge shows are different than MTV's "The Challenge" and should be discussed in their respective forums or threads, not here. Thanks!

[mojoween]

I listen to a podcast every Friday called “God Bless Football” and one of their recurring guests is Austin Ekeler, who is a running back for the San Diego Los Angeles Chargers.

Imagine my dismay when out of nowhere he mentions he was on Johnny Bananas’s podcast last week.  And I used to like Austin, too.  Shame.

[Lantern7]

Someone linked Tommy's reaction of Olivia's accident:

 

[AntFTW]

Not sure who the woman in the upper right is. Looks like Tori, Johnny, Danny, Justine, and (person?)

Edited February 15, 2023 by AntFTW

[aghst]

Wait were Tori and Johnny even in Challenge USA?

I thought it was only winners from the national Challenge editions.

[DEL901]

16 minutes ago, aghst said:

Wait were Tori and Johnny even in Challenge USA?

I thought it was only winners from the national Challenge editions.

Challenge USA was all newbies.  They are “stars” or something.  
 

eta..”Legends” is what they call them. 
https://people.com/tv/the-challenge-world-champions-reveals-cast-line-up-johnny-bananas-wes-bergmann/

Edited February 15, 2023 by DEL901

[AntFTW]

 

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Wait were Tori and Johnny even in Challenge USA?

I thought it was only winners from the national Challenge editions.

That made no sense to me from the start because there were only like 3 or 4 other shows, including USA. Assuming 2 winners for each one, that's a max of 8 cast members for the World Champ season. It couldn't be just the winners because there weren't enough winners for full cast.

[AntFTW]

Looking at this clip, there are a lot of our regulars from the flagship show.

Nia, Theo, Johnny, Darrell, Nelson, Tori, Jordan, and looks like Wes in the lower right partially cut off.

I'm wondering if this is a Challenge 401K team versus Challenge spinoff team?

Edited February 15, 2023 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

[aghst]

What is Nelly doing there in a World champions edition?

[Lantern7]

46 minutes ago, aghst said:

What is Nelly doing there in a World champions edition?

Because it’s getting hot in herre? 🤷‍♂️😜

[shantown]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

What is Nelly doing there in a World champions edition?

Exactly the thought I had! 

[snarts]

Why is anyone who's never won a challenge included?  Weak sauce.

 

[AntFTW]

 

[AntFTW]

 

[AntFTW]

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

 

[xfuse]

On 2/15/2023 at 12:37 PM, AntFTW said:

Not sure who the woman in the upper right is.

I think that is Kiki from Australia.

[AntFTW]

20 hours ago, xfuse said:

I think that is Kiki from Australia.

Apparently, The Challenge: Australia is now available on Paramount+ in the USA, and has been for about a week. I only just saw it there this morning... so I guess I'll give it another whirl and try to watch at the first episode all the way through.

Edited February 22, 2023 by AntFTW

[aghst]

Dang I thought it was TAR Australia.

 That I would check out.

[xfuse]

I have already seen 6 eps. I knew two of the people Grant and Marley before. I didn't like either. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by xfuse

[aghst]

Is there going to be a dedicated forum for this World Edition?

Or maybe use the USA one?

But it's now drawing the regular Challenge and Challenge All Star players.

[AntFTW]

22 minutes ago, aghst said:

Is there going to be a dedicated forum for this World Edition?

Or maybe use the USA one?

But it's now drawing the regular Challenge and Challenge All Star players.

That is a great question. I was wondering the same.

27 minutes ago, xfuse said:

I have already seen 6 eps. I knew two of the people Grant and Marley before. I didn't like either. 

I'm watching the first episode right now. I'm actually liking it. It seems a lot better than USA, seems more like a reality show.

[AntFTW]

Now that we've watched part of the reunion, Laurel should have been on the World Champion season.

[shantown]

Hi all, currently working on a forum for the World Championship spinoff, but we will have somewhere to discuss it before the premiere on March 8! Let's hope these global MVPs can hold their own with the challenge "legends" in the cast!

[mojoween]

I’m happy for them all to continue to rake in that sweet cash, but if I can’t push a button to record it on the DVR, I’m not interested in the rigamorole to watch on paramount.

[xfuse]

8 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Now that we've watched part of the reunion, Laurel should have been on the World Champion season.

They couldn't have her and Emily (Aus) they seem too much alike. Or maybe they should because I would like to see them against each other.

[aghst]

So Amber is going to be in this?

Wonder what the timelines are for Ride and Die filming, the Reunion filming and this World Championship season and her pregnancy.

Was she pregnant at any time during Ride and Die filming or was there a long period between the shooting of that season and the Reunion?

She must have been pregnant during the World Championship shoot?

 

 

[AntFTW]

9 minutes ago, xfuse said:

They couldn't have her and Emily (Aus) they seem too much alike. Or maybe they should because I would like to see them against each other.

I'm about halfway through Australia. I thought the same of Emily, that she was a lot like Laurel. Honestly, I still don't know most of their names.

I like the host on Australia. It's sort of a mix between Ride or Dies and USA. The Australia cast members are in the same house and using the same elimination set as Ride or Dies. The daily challenges and elimination games are from both Ride or Dies and USA.

6 minutes ago, aghst said:

So Amber is going to be in this?

Wonder what the timelines are for Ride and Die filming, the Reunion filming and this World Championship season and her pregnancy.

Yes, Amber is on World Championship. She's on the cast list on the official Challenge Twitter.

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

So Amber is going to be in this?

Wonder what the timelines are for Ride and Die filming, the Reunion filming and this World Championship season and her pregnancy.

Was she pregnant at any time during Ride and Die filming or was there a long period between the shooting of that season and the Reunion?

She must have been pregnant during the World Championship shoot?

Not if they let her compete…remember Natalie was pulled a couple of seasons ago when she tested positive for pregnancy.  

[DEL901]

If I was Bananas, I’d be embarrassed by this “day in the life” article 

https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/the-challenges-johnny-bananas-devenanzio-a-day-in-my-life/

[AntFTW]

 

[AncientNewbie]

22 hours ago, DEL901 said:

If I was Bananas, I’d be embarrassed by this “day in the life” article 

https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/the-challenges-johnny-bananas-devenanzio-a-day-in-my-life/

It's all marketing for the softer and gentler Bananas, seeking an entertainment career outside MTV and who would like his earlier misogyny to be relegate to the bin. 

I'm a little jealous of the fact that working out and hanging out seem to be the entirety of his life, but even for a soft puff piece that was such non-content to be offputting. 

[AntFTW]

The Challenge: UK is also now on Paramount+ in the USA.

Edited February 28, 2023 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by AntFTW

[Zima]

On 1/25/2023 at 7:30 PM, millennium said:

As for Evan and Kenny, I guess he's still friendly with them.   I saw a recent photo of them together at a restaurant.   But I wonder, if those two malignancies hadn't been excised from the show, would Bananas be the Challenge GOAT he is today?  Or would he have spent years in their shadows?

Oh, he absolutely would have remained in their shadows. They were douchebag shitheads, but they were hilarious and had tons of charisma. John can be funny at times, but he has the charisma of a piece of cardboard.  

[DEL901]

21 month sentence. 
https://people.com/tv/the-challenge-stephen-bear-sentenced-to-21-months-in-prison-for-revenge-porn/

[AntFTW]

 

On 3/3/2023 at 9:51 PM, DEL901 said:

21 month sentence. 
https://people.com/tv/the-challenge-stephen-bear-sentenced-to-21-months-in-prison-for-revenge-porn/

Good! He's such a fucking idiot.