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

[Iboatedhere]

And renewed. I wonder who will die next season.

 

Damn. That is dark as hell but I'll admit it, I had to suppress a laugh.

[yogi2014L]

Wow.  I hope he comes out of this OK.  

 

What horrible coincidences these are.  I'm sure some of the cast is starting to feel like this season is cursed.  

I don;t think they are coincidences...Maybe John and Knight but I mean Diems death was directly related to cancer that she battled for years.

 

They other two were drug users...

Damn. That is dark as hell but I'll admit it, I had to suppress a laugh.

I laughed too lol, terrible people unite!

Edited March 3, 2015 by yogi2014L

[KerleyQ]

I don;t think they are coincidences...Maybe John and Knight but I mean Diems death was directly related to cancer that she battled for years.

 

They other two were drug users...

I laughed too lol, terrible people unite!

 

I meant coincidence in that bad health issues cropped up for three different people who appeared on the same season, not that there weren't legitimate reasons for each health issue. 

[Lantern7]

I took a look at Bill Simmons' Twitter feed. Last night, he was suggesting ESPN run a ticker for Nia going after Nany. Actual post: "BREAKING: HURRICANE NIA DRANK A MAN'S SWEAT A FEW EPISODES AGO, IS NOW HARSHLY JUDGING OTHER WOMEN. #thechallengeisour5thprofessionalsport" Then he suggested Johnny Bananas should get an ESPY nomination for Best Male Athlete, so it looks like he's still in the tank for that loser.

[choclatechip45]

Ryan Knight Death Ruled Accidental OD

http://www.tmz.com/2015/03/18/real-world-ryan-knight-cause-of-death-drugs-alcohol-xanax-accidental-overdose-mtv/

[Lantern7]

Heads up . . . there's going to be a "Shit They Should've Shown" episode on Tuesday at 9 p.m. That means three hours of Challenge "goodness" to be had, between that special, the finale and the reunion.

[Iboatedhere]

I'm excited for The Shit They've Should've Shown. These idiots can be funny.

[Lantern7]

From Grantland: David Jacoby has mixed emotions about the finale. He lost me when he labeled Sarah as a "new villain." To Johnny and Nia, maybe.

[whirlingdervish]

Yeah, I enjoy Jacoby in general, but he and most of the Grantland crew (minus Juliet) are waaaay too on board with Bananas. 

Edited March 27, 2015 by whirlingdervish

[Way Wes Jr]

I believe that Jacoby and Simmons were tougher on Backpack in the past.  Then they were sucked into the "he's nicer in person vortex," climaxed with his physical appearance on one of their podcasts.  I believe he even performed one of his "toasts" for them.  Much like a serial killing cult leader, the charm was to much for them, and they are incapable of recognizing that he "shed his skin, and swallowed the rat whole," this season with his victim routine.

 

(You know who was a victim this season Backpack?  Wes.  [because of the ex-isle twist.]  Whom Sarah would have thrown in with Leroy and whatsherface in a heartbeat.  And Wes wouldn't have complained about it.)

[SnideAsides]

Bananas (blecch) reads mean tweets. In response, Wes tweeted Kimmel offering to act as a character witness if he sues for trademark infringement. It really is depressing how delightful Wes seems by comparison to Bananas.

[Lantern7]

Stop Being Polite posts Challenge 27 rumors. I wonder if Mark Burnett will sue BMP.

[OnceSane]

I hope they don't do this; just more people I don't care about.

[Watermelon]

The  only possible way I would care is if Tony and Shane were cast and even then Barely. I'm not at all interested in watching siblings and strangers.  

[Bob Sambob]

I had a little bit of fun last night on Twitter. For fun, I'm going to see a Van Halen tribute band this weekend; reminded me of the mission from Road Rules Season 1 when they had to be roadies for Van Halen.

 

This scene from that episode is one of my favorite moments from any of the three RW/RR/Challenge shows, and for fun, I tweeted it at Mark and Kit.

This is what I got back from them. Good times ... everything was just better in the '90s, wasn't it?.

Edited April 10, 2015 by Bob Sambob

[Nena]

The  only possible way I would care is if Tony and Shane were cast and even then Barely. I'm not at all interested in watching siblings and strangers.  

 

They don't even need to do that to cast Tony and Shane.  Jenna was barely in the Explosion house more than a week, and she made the cut this time.

[MissMel]

http://starcasm.net/archives/316600

Sarah got married. I think she looks beautiful! Happy, too.

[Lantern7]

I was going to post this link of the news from StopBeingPolite. They also had a piece on ten single-Challenge competitors, though most of them are known for the wrong reasons. Hard to argue their top pick, though.

[MissMel]

http://starcasm.net/archives/318155

This is a very sweet story. I wish I had known. I love the Diem shirt!

[luckyroll3]

Very nice.

But he just can't let the Sarah stuff go, can he??

[Tatum]

I was going to post this link of the news from StopBeingPolite. They also had a piece on ten single-Challenge competitors, though most of them are known for the wrong reasons. Hard to argue their top pick, though.

 

That was a fun list, although I don't know who some of them are. That was hilarious when Jo left though- while I totally understand her dismay at finding herself stuck with a bunch of insane drama queens, why had she not watched any previous seasons before signing on to do the show?

[Oholibamah]

The Blood v Water concept is terrible. I'd prefer they just recycle old themes until they get to 3-per-format and then maybe try and come up with new ones. I don't even really mind BOTE and Rivals and could stomach a 3rd season of each.

 

My wishlist? Battle of the Sexes III.

 

Dream cast? 18 kick-ass women who stand a great chance of winning (Brooklyn Sarah, Nany, Jonna, AYTO Brittany, Cara Maria, Devyn, Laurel, D.C. Emily, Cooke, CC Rachel, Kina, Evelyn, KellyAnne, Jillian, Veronica, Katie, Ruthie, Jodi) plus 18 guys who aren't big enough douchebags that I'd cry if they won (Dustin, CT, LeRoy, Cohutta, FM Brandon, Darrell, Landon, Isaac, Tori-less Brad, Noor, Mark, Abe, Max Velocity Theo, Alton, J.D., Miami Dan, Quest Steve, Chet), with a realistic proportion of recent/producer fav players with a couple pipedream comebacks from older players (without veering too much into the impossible, i.e. Coral... but that would be amazing).

 

Instead it will likely be 16 completely rancid former players with siblings and partners equally as godawful. But I can dream.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Oholibamah

[Lantern7]

Heads up . . . calls have been made for the next season. No, the one after the one coming up. Stop Being Polite has a list of people who got a call. Usual group of regulars and misfits, with a few surprises.

[SnideAsides]

One big, very welcome absence I noticed.

[OnceSane]

Joi? She stuck around Portland for about five days, right? Why bother?

[luckyroll3]

Brad, Jenn, and Trishelle?  They're taking that shit way back.

 

And I only know 12 of the 32 people on this list.

[Lantern7]

At long last, we have a Bloodlines trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcbc32iTHFg

 

Here's an article about it from Reality Blurred. I don't recognize some of the names, and I don't mean the relatives. Can't wait to hate more people than ever before!

[Watermelon]

"They're playing games dude"  "THIS IS A GAME!"

 

I'll admit it. I laughed.

[OnceSane]

Me too.

[Lantern7]

MTV posted a preview on their website. Should be interesting to see if Camila can rest the Most Annoying Brazilian title away from Abi-Maria. Also, I would not want to canoodle with Cara Maria. Would you want to screw around with Abram's girlfriend? Oh, and there are commercials that can't be avoided. At least there's some interesting interview stuff at the very end.

[Lantern7]

RealityBlurred's Andy Dehnart weighs in on The Challenge. Needless to say, he's not a fan.

 

ETA: And now something from a fan . . . this is from one of Bill Simmons's podcasts.

[UniqBlue69]

Two killed in The Challenge helicopter crash.

[shantown]

Two killed in The Challenge helicopter crash.

The pilot and a technician were flying to a filming location, they were the only two passengers.

 

This show must be cursed.

[scrb]

So are they actually in production now in South America or was it some preproduction thing?

 

It is near spring/summer down there so maybe they are filming.

 

Would people be willing to give up their Holidays to go down for the Challenge?

Edited December 14, 2015 by scrb

[Maharincess]

I think most of the contestants would miss their mother's funeral to do another season.

[Lantern7]

I think it would be wise for MTV to pull the proverbial plug before anything else happens. But this is MTV we're talking about, so . . .

[KerleyQ]

I think most of the contestants would miss their mother's funeral to do another season.

 

Yep. I mean, we have a contestant this season who delayed her wedding when given a chance to be on a season. I still can't wrap my mind around that, especially when she seems like one of the relatively normal ones of the bunch. 

[Lantern7]

For anybody reading this on the west coast . . . Robot Chicken did a sweet Challenge sketch in tonight's episode, and they brought it Johnny, Sarah and TJ. I won't spoil the premise. . . it's worth a look.

 

ETA: Found the clip . . . start at 2:40.

[Racj82]

Just in case anyone is curious, TJ Lavin showed up on the new Challenge podcast No Quitters. He talks about behind the scenes stuff, his favorite competitors and other stuff.

[CheetaraThunder]

Who did TJ say we're his favorite competitors? Always wondered that...

[Lantern7]

Adult Swim posted the sketch on their YouTube site. Which means I can post it like so . ..

 

"This. Changes. EVERYTHING!!" Good to hear you again, Sarah.
 

[whirlingdervish]

What do you all think of the No Quitters podcast? I've been looking about for Challenge-related pod since Grantland shut down. Any other podcast recs out there? 

[scrb]

The Grantland pod asters now do podcasts called Channel 33. Julia Litman and Bill Simmons did one about the Bachelor so they'll probably talk about the Challenge again.

[whirlingdervish]

Yeah, I've been digging the Channel 33 podcasts, too.  Thanks for the tip! 

[scrb]

Susie Meister did a long interview on the Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend podcast.

Susie and Sarah have been doing a podcast called BrAin Candy.

Says she still gets offered to come on the challenges but she's moved on and thinks other people would have by now. Notes Bananas is in mid 30s and while doing the Challenges and club appearances has worked out for him financially, is that all he has to look back on?

She mentions earning a PhD a couple of times.

Another problem with doing the Challenges is that she is not allowed to communicate with her family for up to 6 weeks which is a hardship. Plus now reality shows tend to attract confrontational people more and more.

Hinted that Survivor may be a better deal because the prize is a million.

[luckyroll3]

Ugh.  Shut up, Susie!  Can't stand that chick.  

[Tatum]

Susie, don't make me defend Bananas. Please. If the guy is pulling $100,000-$200,000 a year between his show earnings, winnings, and promotional appearances, he can set up a long term financial plan that includes savings for schooling if he ever decides to go that route. Also, Bananas is 33. A number of non reality contestants are 33 and haven't married or had kids or have found a career they enjoy. There's still plenty of time.

 

Congrats on your PhD. Too bad you're such a shitty person. I think it's totally fine to say, while it's a lot of money to earn in a relatively short time, for me it's not worth it being away from my family and have to put up with the antics of the other people on the show. And if she wants to call out Bananas specifically for being one of the ones to make it the most unpleasant for others, more power to her. But for her to act like she's so above that now and to express derision for the people who haven't "moved on"- well, what a bitch.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Tatum

[KerleyQ]

I can't wait until they manage to lure her back in (and you know eventually she'll succumb) and show what a hypocrite she is. 

[Tatum]

Well considering her Phd is in religious studies, I'm guessing she'll need the paycheck sooner rather than later.

[whirlingdervish]

I recently finished rewatching Inferno III, and sheesh is Susie an unpleasant little hypocrite, gliding her way through the season with snide little slut-shaming and fat-shaming comments, all while wearing this manufactured wide-eyed expression that someone must have told her looked sweet. She's done interviews and features over the years, and every time I read her or hear her I think, "Hey...uhh...Sister Christian? You're doing it wrong."

Sorry. That was all pretty un-Christian of me. I guess I'm doing it wrong, too.

 

ETA:  Whoops! Sorry Stinger97...I see I've derailed the media thread into a hate-on for Susie.  I'll take future thoughts on the topic (if I have any) to a more appropriate place next time. 

Edited January 19, 2016 by whirlingdervish