Challenge Specials: When MTV Needs To Fill Time

[Lantern7]

As I write this, we are going into the third episode of Champs Vs. Pros. And for the second week in a row, we'll be getting a Challenge-themed special; in this case, it's "14 Times Our Challengers Lost Their S#&t."

I haven't caught the first two (or the Reunion,for that matter), but I figured that if MTV will keep running specials, we should have a place to talk about them. For example: Who makes the list tonight? Katie coming thisclose to murdering Veronica in The Inferno should be a gimme, but I don't think MTV counts anything before TJ Lavin hosted, so we'll probably get her freaking out over a plunger in The Ruins. Camila is a given, as is CT during the bad times.

ETA: I was wrong. Katie's meltdown on Veronica, Veronica's freakout from Julie touching her safety line (no shot of the bitch making crybaby motions to the camera), and Mike celebrating his 21th birthday by losing a mission and a car, then going into "Miz Mode." And it's sad because even with the conversation with the mirror, it looked very fake from him, especially with his weakass Rock impression.

Speaking of Mike . . . I can see why he can bug hosting. He's trying to be a comedian. Meanwhile, we already have an ex-Challenger with multiple wins and a good career as a comic. Or is Theo not answering BMP's calls? I mean, I can see why Mike would be the pick, but I think Theo would have lost a lot of the swamp grime by now.

[AngryCarrot86]

I don't have much to add other than I really enjoyed the Miz and his "Cleveland or Nowhere" shirt. 

[Lantern7]

@AngryCarrot86 . . . right. Parma is close to Cleveland, isn't it?

I like the attitude of "Fuck it, let's give Camila the top spot and run a montage." Amazingly, they didn't show her looking to walk on the water before dropping in. Also . . . Mike? Katie's outburst came after the Kendall/Leah Inferno. Nice of you to stick to the BMP editing, which had that taking place after her win against David.

Really hoping Sarah Greyson gets some love next week, but I doubt it.

[AngryCarrot86]

50 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

@AngryCarrot86 . . . right. Parma is close to Cleveland, isn't it?

Yep - it's a suburb of Cleveland.  My cousin graduated from Nomandy High School (Parma) with Mike, so I've always enjoyed following him.  Another fun fact; a few years later, I graduated with Chris "Drama" Pfaff (all the Rob Dydrek shows) from Coventry High school in Akron.  It's like the 7 degrees of MTV seperation with my family.  Ha! 

Anyway, I was a little shocked they didn't showcase Abe and his nose bleeding antics from Bloodlines on the "Losing their Sh*t" special.  I thought that was way crazier than the aftershow clip they showed of him. 

Of course they give Camila the top spot.  I swear production treats her like the female banana.  

[Lantern7]

3 hours ago, AngryCarrot86 said:

Anyway, I was a little shocked they didn't showcase Abe and his nose bleeding antics from Bloodlines on the "Losing their Sh*t" special.  I thought that was way crazier than the aftershow clip they showed of him.

If the teaser is to be believed, that will be covered next week. At least MTV added Abram's backstage "performance" from the BOTB reunion last night. You still can't see when a guy sneaks up behind him to inject something soothing into his system. Okay, probably not, but Abram is the definition of "loose cannon."

[sabretooth]

I'm feeling old today because I had to lookup when exactly Mike had his Miz meltdown because he looked so young in the clip. It was 15 years ago! I've been watching this show for 15 years?! And yet as MTV keeps making it, I'll probably keep watching it.  

[mojoween]

Mike is SO annoying I can't stand it.

In both last week's and this week's show there was way too much from the most recent challenge.  I want to see the older shit dammit!

Stop trying to make Ashley happen show.  

[Spiderella2]

I hope these montages aren't the swan song for the Challenge. Maybe Champs vs Pros is going to be the new format going forward, and these episodes are a review/series finale of what we loved in the Challenge. Has anyone heard any rumors about this? As long as this is not the case, I'm all for it. 

[Tammee]

On 6/1/2017 at 5:20 AM, Spiderella2 said:

I hope these montages aren't the swan song for the Challenge. Maybe Champs vs Pros is going to be the new format going forward, and these episodes are a review/series finale of what we loved in the Challenge. Has anyone heard any rumors about this? As long as this is not the case, I'm all for it. 

I thought I saw/read somewhere about a new Road Rules season coming up but didnt give a date.  Or I could be full of shit. Haha either is possible.  I might be imagining it but it sticks with me for some reason to remember it

[Lantern7]

Saw the first special. Most of it was recent, and nobody came off well. No new interviews, but two specific people's interviews were used, and that pissed me off. Also: Johnny coated at least one finger in Icy-Hot and put it up Adam King. Even if Adam was cool (sorry) with that, how is Johnny not a complete asshole? I understand the lack of computers and televisions in a Challenge house/villa/mansion/whatever, but seeing how the "wacky" shit doesn't make it on the air that often, maybe BMP should look like it . . . because these kids get creative when bored.

ETA: Surprise, surprise . . . eleven endgames, thirteen if you count the WTF stuff, and all of it was TJ era. Forgot how Eric mauled Wes. Gotta love how Teege warned Brad and CT about pulling the carabiner about three times before their Duel. Maybe if he brought up Beth's disqualification. On the bright side: Zach (and Trey) going out on a technicality? That's funny. So was Bananas Backpack.

[joanne3482]

On 6/5/2017 at 6:42 PM, Lantern7 said:

So was Bananas Backpack.

Bananas backpack will always be hysterical. ALWAYS. 

[Decider]

9 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

Bananas backpack will always be hysterical. ALWAYS. 

PREACH.  There will never be a day where Bananas backpack and Dunbar and Brad's commentary about it will not give me every single bit of my life.

Edited June 8, 2017 by Decider

[Unclejosh]

I have said it before but it truly is the single best moment in Challenge history and I have seen every minute of every season.

[luckyroll3]

26 minutes ago, Unclejosh said:

I have said it before but it truly is the single best moment in Challenge history and I have seen every minute of every season.

I concur and will add that it is one of the greatest two and a half minutes to ever be broadcast on television!  And it sends me into a git of giggles every single time I see it!!

[Lantern7]

Curious as to the location of the CT/Tyler clip in Cutthroat. In my head, Tyler probably won because CT did not like Johnny at all.

I liked the final endgame from Rivals. Really hoping Adam wasn't screwing up on purpose in order to get a cut of the grand prize money. I don't think he would be that shysty. On the bright side, his mistakes pushed CT into trying to murder Johnny and Tyler by blunt trauma. Why doesn't Tyler come back to the show? Because he probably still feels the impact.

[Unclejosh]

I thought it was pretty much accepted as fact that Adam tanked the challenge on purpose so Johnny and Tyler would make the final.  CT even said he forgave Adam for it I think.

[mojoween]

Even people who have never watched the show knew that Bananas Backpack would be the number one takedown.

I want MTV to keep thinking up countdowns where that moment would fit just so they can keep playing it over and over.

[sunsheyen]

I like some of the throwbacks this little series has spawned, but I cannot stand the way they keep pushing the Invasion of the Champions season, when nothing really happened. I get that there are new viewers who haven't seen the old stuff, but did we really need 3 or 4 Trashley clips in one episode? Between that and the current season, they are really trying to build her up as some great competitor/great tv when she is neither. 

After watching for nearly 20 years, her trashbox smug face will be the reason I stop tuning in to this series. I cannot stand her little temper tantrums, threats to quit, and proclamations of being the best female competitor ever. Unless they bring back Emily, Laurel, Cara, hell, even Aneesa to go against her head to head and shut her garbage mouth, I have no desire to see them try to push her as the female future of the challenge.

[Lantern7]

Tuesday's theme: "14 Times The Challenge Proved That Girls Really Do Rule!"

Quote

No one can argue with the fact that the super strong, crazy competitive, wonder women of The Challenge are just as badass at the boys—if not more.

Anybody want to guess? If anybody pre-TJ makes it, it would probably be Katie. Sarah Greyson and Ruthie would probably be forgotten.

[Lantern7]

Nothing pre-TJ. Okay, Mike brought up Roni beating him in Rolling On a River (the one where Laterrian knocked Sarah off the log, and she got sent to the Gauntlet), but we only went as far back as The Duel; The Island if you don't count Diem getting MVP honors. Hey, remember when Evelyn told Johnny and his buddies to fuck off? And then they joined forces in the finale because the money was more important to her?

Sorry . . . this wasn't a good list for me. Rachel is still overrated for me. Smashley got lucky that Camila didn't have her A-game in IOTC. We were reminded that CT cost Diem in BOTE. And Mike chided Johnny for fucking Sarah, which I'm sure Johnny still regrets.

[crookedjackson44]

This Mike guy is really awful.  I always DVR MTV's shows because of their terrible editing, so whenever I see this person's face, I fast forward until the action starts. 

[Lantern7]

Good news: more pre-TJ (prejay?) stuff this week. But I'm still not that happy. Zach and Ashley-not-Smashley got honorable mention for their Battle Of The Seasons win, while Sam barely gets exposed even after getting abused. Sarah Greyson can be seen in Darrell's montage, but gets no love. And Johnny got the top spot, ending with him fucking over Sarah Rice. At least his Axis of Ass buddies didn't get mentioned.

[scrb]

Evelyn was a Harvard Law graduate when she was competing.

[Lantern7]

If I wanted a gay BMPer that attended an Ivy League school, I'd call Justin from RW8 first. I never cared much about Evelyn, especially when he joined Johnny's team after he gave her so much shit during The Island.

Also disappointing . . . no Coral interviewing about how Mike looked like he saw a naked woman when he figured out the Hanoi Tower puzzle.

On Facebook, some people are disappointed that Landon didn't get any props. He did win three Challenges, and he came one Duel short of completing a fourth.

[sunsheyen]

On 6/21/2017 at 11:55 PM, Lantern7 said:

If I wanted a gay BMPer that attended an Ivy League school, I'd call Justin from RW8 first. I never cared much about Evelyn, especially when he joined Johnny's team after he gave her so much shit during The Island.

Also disappointing . . . no Coral interviewing about how Mike looked like he saw a naked woman when he figured out the Hanoi Tower puzzle.

On Facebook, some people are disappointed that Landon didn't get any props. He did win three Challenges, and he came one Duel short of completing a fourth.

Just for argument's sake...attending Harvard Law is WAAAAAYYYY more prestigious than attending Harvard (or any Ivy) undergrad. I didn't know that back then and was astounded that someone with so many opportunities would be mucking about at MTV. In Ev's defense, her tenure was mostly before it became total drunken, hookup trash. 

I agree about Landon...problem is, the young kids don't know him and he isn't "exciting" enough to get to know. I have a hard enough time keeping my kid interested in some of the old drama Challengers when I explain backstory. If they are getting an "old person," (who hasn't been on a challenge since theyve been watching...i.e., not Johnny/CT/Aneesa) they want a ranting, bloody nosed Abram or at least some topless fighting Veronica to keep them interested. 

[mojoween]

The Miz - still annoying.  And is he really a WWE "superstar"?

Show.  Stop trying to make either Ashley happen.  One is the worst poor sport in this show's history, which admittedly is an accomplishment, and the other won because Zach was on her team.

Also, Zach is a dick and should not have been given props because his highlight showed how atrocious he was to Sam.

I knew going in John would be number one in this Countdown.  Fuck him.

[luckyroll3]

17 minutes ago, mojoween said:

The Miz - still annoying.  And is he really a WWE "superstar"?

He really is.  My mom's new husband is big into wrestling (so much so, that you can't say it's fake around him!).  When I was home for Christmas, they were watching WWE and I walked in and said, "hey, it's Mike!"  And they wanted to know how I knew him if I didn't watch wrestling, and I explained to them about him being on The Real World back in the day and how he always talked about being a pro wrestler.  And then they started telling me his story arc, and how in real life he married one of the WWE Divas recently and I checked out from the rest.....

[Lantern7]

This week: missions. Or "lowercase challenges." Once again, nothing from the Preege Era, with Mike dropping a reference to Red Barron from The Gauntlet. Also, they throw in the IOTC endgame where Theo punked out. Missions/challenges and endgames/elimination games should be separate. Don't Let Go from Duel IImade it, with Evan letting go of Diem (I think) and smirking like the prick that he is. Top spot: Don't Let Me Down from Battle Of The Exes 2, where Johnny left his dignity on the ropes. Also, Sarah got the courage to utterly stab him in the back. That part wasn't shown . . .  but come on, that's implied as hell.

Next week is Independence Day, so nothing new. I don't know if we'll be getting specials before or during Dirty 30. If they do come back, I won't hold my breath on any of the older seasons. They could bring up one-timers and ignore the likes of Sarah and Ellen altogether.

[crookedjackson44]

Interesting to see Evan, and I think I saw Kenny in the background in a shot or two.  All the evil JEK clan (except Johnny) really have been banned since the Tonya thing.

[Lantern7]

Those two assholes have been popping up in the specials. Thankfully, any interviews with them are from the past, so I don't have more reasons to hate MTV. Those two also have multiple wins each and would have made last week's countdown, but they were not. Needless to say, I was okay with that.

[Carmen MacCodykins]

Agreed that the Miz is pretty bad- but he's still way more preferable to listen to than the cardboard cutout known as TJ.

Watching these specials just reminds me how much better the show used to be with the old regulars. I wish they would make those older seasons available for streaming. How great would it be to go back and watch Inferno or Battle of the Sexes??

[mojoween]

Whoever got the idea to put up the little blurbs is brilliant and I hope they do it more often.  "Lack of oxygen won't kill you, the buildup of carbon dioxide will!  Yay!"

I don't know what I would do if there were CT in my TV life.  "Someone is going to die in this challenge" pause "it's going to be great."

It always makes me sad when they do show the older ones and Dave Mirra was the host.

[Lantern7]

No special tomorrow, but we got this on July 11 at 9 p.m.:
 

Quote

 

The Challenge

Dirty 30 Launch Special – Let the Dirt Fly! Open

TV-14 (1 hour 1 min)

Get to know this season’s filthy cast members as they remember, dish, laugh, cringe, argue, and celebrate these infamous moments

 

I don't know if the pre-episode specials will carry into Dirty XXX. I don't think MTV can conceive more categories honoring past and present Challengers.

[WhosThatGirl]

If they had included more moments from older challenges than it would have been more fun. The only old old challenge moment was Mike when he got super duper drunk and was playing his disc man and walking around talking to himself.

Im more sad they never found a moment to include corals "I don't wrestle, I beat bitches up!" Or did they and I missed it?

Also I have been watching old school challenges on YouTube. You have to look hard but they're there. some episodes may be missing/hard to find but.. yeah. I miss those challenges.

[Lantern7]

That was a sad montage from Mike. Soooooooooo fake. I mean, the hangover was real, and props to Coral for guiding him out of it, but I imagine Mike applying for the WWE, and they roll that footage under the title "Strike One."

@WhosThatGirl . . . if they showed Coral, I sure as heck would have remembered it. Good times.

[OnceSane]

12 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

That was a sad montage from Mike. Soooooooooo fake. I mean, the hangover was real, and props to Coral for guiding him out of it, but I imagine Mike applying for the WWE, and they roll that footage under the title "Strike One."

Mike got a lot of shit when he joined WWE for being a "reality star".

[luckyroll3]

That's ironic because WWE is reality TV!

[OnceSane]

Yeah, some of the old school cats backstage were NOT impressed.

[Lantern7]

Reminder: four Challengers will be doing Fear Factor tonight at 9. This is a reminder for you, because I just remembered this myself, and I didn't know where else to post that. Also, here is the forum for that series.

[Lantern7]

Hi again. We might be having a special after the episode thanks to a certain Brazilian bozo. Warning: this is from MTV.com's schedule, but it isn't on my program guide.
 

Quote

Race in America: An MTV Discussion

TV-14 (31 min)

A recent incident of racial bias on ’The Challenge’ is addressed in a town hall discussion that takes on the difficult task of talking about race and bias in America. Hosted by Nessa.

Where was this last week? Or will Camila do something even stupider to warrant her dismissal? Mark my words: this is gonna be a 31-minute version of TJ briefly covering that during the Presidio nominations, which boiled down to, "Racism's bad, mmmkay?"

[mojoween]

Nessa is not one of my favorites they get to host these things but I thought she did well enough.  And my heart seriously broke when she said people talked to her at Berkeley like "how did YOU get here?"

The two guests were marvelous.  

It was completely surreal that I got around to watching it yesterday considering what happened this weekend.

Edited September 26, 2017 by mojoween

[Lantern7]

We haven't gotten a special lately. Well, here's one following this week's episode:
 

Quote

 

What would CT Do?

TV-14 (1 hour 1 min)

Are you missing CT this season? So are we! Get CT's hot takes on what's gone down so far in The Challenge: Vendettas. What does he think of the craziest Challenge yet? How would he measure up against the new faces and harder challenges?

 

Thinking about it  . . . I miss "Coral Vision."

[RandomWatcher]

With Aneesa as a special guest

Edited February 7, 2018 by RandomWatcher

[CheetaraThunder]

As much as I didn’t want to like the special, CT and Anessa were fucking hilarious together. They had great chemistry. And Jenna...well, she looked good.

 

I also appreciate that CT continues to show support for his girl Cara. My favorite challenge friendship in recent memory.

[TiffanyNichelle]

Most of the special was meh but I did love the segment with Aneesa and the two of them mocking Bananas lol.

[dangwoodchucks]

CT and Aneesa making fun of the pick-up lines was hilarious too. When CT said he probably would’ve aligned himself with the newbies it made me sadder that he wasn’t on this season. I would have enjoyed seeing him rally them to take out John. 

[Unclejosh]

6 hours ago, CheetaraThunder said:

As much as I didn’t want to like the special, CT and Anessa were fucking hilarious together. They had great chemistry. And Jenna...well, she looked good.

 

I also appreciate that CT continues to show support for his girl Cara. My favorite challenge friendship in recent memory.

I had forgotten their earlier fight on Rivals 1 with Cara threatening to sic Abram on CT and CT daring her to tell him exactly what he said and have Abram come after him and Cara screaming FUCK YOU over and over to him.  Funny how things have changed.  Also CT screwed her over for an appearance and she flipped out and called him out on social media over and over until he finally paid her supposedly.  I think it was a miscommunication but with CT never know.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Unclejosh

[mojoween]

Christ.  I always forget how freaking good-looking CT was when he was younger.  I mean, yes, dad bod Chris is fine, but young CT?  Me-ow.

I loved that special.  I want a spin-off where CT narrates everything that I watch.

[SophiaPehawkins]

I also liked how CT called Jemmye out on the shit she said about Cara and Kailah. I think both girls finished ahead of her in that first challenge and they also both do Crossfit shit. They're lifting weights, gaining strength, and working on flexibility. I don't think they necessarily train for endurance/cardio. CT calling her out and saying Jemmye wouldn't be able to do any of their workouts, needed to be said. I respect these girls more because they come on these shows to win on their own ability instead of just trying to fly under the radar. I don't know. I like CT sticking up for Cara; they appear to have a genuine relationship.

Also interesting that Jenna could be impartial when it comes to Cara without letting Kailah's disdain influence that. Also interesting that she all but said Cara could/would beat Kailah.

[Lantern7]

Finally caught the special. Wardrobe-wise? "Chris Tambruello IS Chet Cannon!!!" I mean, I don't think the glasses were fake, but does CT ever wear a vest? I know he's not nearly as articulate as Mike or Johnny (former has to speak publicly as part of his job; latter probably rehearses lines in the mirror all the time), but he came off well. And I like that he wouldn't want his kid to grow up to be a Challenger. Basically, the show is the NFL, only with a greater chance of getting a disease along with an injury.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Lantern7