Countdown to The Challenge: Free Agents - A Primer and a Preview

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Welcome everyone to the beginning of DCBLOG's coverage of The Challenge: Free Agents. With two great & successful seasons of both The Real World: Ex-Plosion and Are You The One? having just wrapped up, and with both our Reunion Revealed posts & final SocialPulse diaries on those shows still to come, we now turn much of our attention here to the upcoming season of this revered competition show, which enters its 25th season starting tomorrow. This will be the fourth Challenge that I have watched since I rejoined this world with BOTS in fall 2012, then binge watching the entire season of Rivals the day after my twitter birthday last year, and of course Rivals II afterwards. Fitting enough for its silver anniversary season, and with the words of TJ & some of the cast to boot, this promises to be the most intense Challenge yet with all the competition, all the drama and so much more. And to kick off our coverage, we will provide a sort of Challenge for Dummies look into elements of the show, along with some of my perspective. Then, we will have our preview of the upcoming season of Free Agents.

The Primer...

First up, if you happen to be new to The Challenge, then buckle up for a ride you will never forget. This is a show that I took up just a couple years ago and have been hooked on it ever since. And this is a show that has grabbed the imagination of so many fans with an intensity and edge that you can't find much in any other reality competition show. It's no wonder why Grantland, the sports & pop culture website started by ESPN's Bill Simmons, refers to The Challenge as not just the most intense show of its kind on TV, but most importantly as "America's fifth major professional sport," being given higher regard than, among others, NASCAR, soccer and UFC in the process.

   For me, I'm still a relative rookie to this part of a TV franchise that feels just like a religion in my own room and makes up for a good deal of my social media activity. As my favorite show, I've always been a huge fan of The Real World for almost as long as it has been around, following it for most of its run having watched at least part of every season. And it will be 15 years ago this summer that I began watching it religiously in Hawaii and have watched just about every single episode right up to this great season of RW Ex-Plosion.

   But in the past, I've not traditionally been as big of a Challenge fan as I am for The Real World. I remember watching my first one back in 2000 when Real World & Road Rules alumni began their season by bungee jumping off the Stratosphere Tower in Vegas. But while I've watched some earlier incarnations of it back then when I was in high school & in college - and then brushing it off afterwards, it was only with Battle of the Seasons II in fall 2012 that I started to take The Challenge seriously. The catalysts for giving the spinoff a try were my very first summer on twitter where I became very good friends with the RW St. Thomas cast & some alumni, and the inspiration of the London Olympics. 

   While I was hooked from the start, and enjoyed the fresh direction they took in Turkey with the new generation taking the lead with only Wes representing the big-name veterans, that season's biggest moment of the epic elimination arena between Zach from San Diego and C.J. from Cancun was the very moment that I became a Challenge fan. I remember every time watching it being on the very edge of my seat and my palms sweating watching the closely-fought, 5-part battle between the leader of the team that won that season and a guy who, though he lost, received great respect & new opportunities (modeling, fitness, etc.) because of it. Ironically, it took place the week of both CJ & I's birthdays too.

   It was there that I now anticipate every Challenge season just about the same way I do for a Real World, even though I still give the legacy series priority for reasons that I will explain below.

This upcoming Challenge is the 25th installment of this brother to MTV's longest-running show, which has its origins not only in The Real World, but also its groundbreaking sister show Road Rules, TV's first reality competition series. Much like what we have been seeing with The Real World, The Challenge has seen an evolution in the 16 years since the very first Challenge took place between the casts of The Real World Boston and Road Rules Islands in Puerto Rico in 1997.

   After positive response to that special Challenge that fell in the middle of the seasons of both shows, a 2nd Challenge called AquaGames saw RW Seattle & RR Australia cast members face off, followed by a special Road Rules All Stars miniseries with only Real World alumni (and where we saw Boston's Sean Duffy & San Francisco's Rachel Campos first meet each other). The successes of those shows spawned the Real World/Road Rules Challenge, and the next few Challenges featured alums of both shows traveling cross-country and in RV's. This predated the reality TV boom, and the success of Survivor inspired producers to add new elements to the series and pave the way for The Challenge as we know it now.

   A lot has changed since I last religiously watched The Challenge, from it being a friendly competition among Real World & Road Rules alumni, to now an intense one both on the playing surface and off of it in the house & even to places outside both. This goes in exact parallel with golf's Ryder Cup, where what began as a friendly match play, team event between golfers from the United States and Great Britain & Ireland has evolved into a rich and intense rivalry between the U.S. and Europe that spurs emotions and grabs everyone's attention, mirroring the fervent passions of any college sports rivalry or derby in the English Premier League, along with Olympic-style national pride too.

For me being the avid sports fan that I am, I can liken the difference between The Real World and The Challenge to that of two different atmospheres. The Real World is more tailored to my comfort zone: more storytelling oriented, more relatable, and a more laid-back atmosphere with some easygoing friends who love to have a good time, even with some drama along the way. It's more like going to a golf tournament outside of the majors, baseball in the early part of the season or high school sports.

   But walking into a Challenge environment, it's a totally different thing and almost a culture shock to me who hasn't watched much competitive reality TV as the documentary style I'm used to on RW. There's more people involved, there's more pressure, there's a larger house and there's a lot at stake. It's much like going into an intense league atmosphere like an NFL or NBA game, the Olympics or any other major sports event where there's a lot of intense pressure on these competitors to do well.

   And essential to all this is that when prospective cast members get called to do one of these, they then get a sudden change in their schedules. They would have anywhere from two weeks to a month to get themselves in shape, do all kinds of CrossFit activities & sports, and alter their way of living to handle the rigors of handling the varied challenges that await them when TJ Lavin gathers them at the start of every mission day (Yes, I refer to daily challenges as missions as a way to distinguish winning a daily challenge from winning a Challenge season).

The missions I've seen from watching these last two seasons and a few others, it's something I might not try myself but it sure looks harder that it looks on TV, though it might be fun. When I got to experience this for the first time in Turkey, many fans liked the broad range of challenges they had on BOTS: the brutal endurance of the log mission, the teamwork of the water missions, the brains of the trivia contest, & the humor of both the Insane & Hunger Games. I was one of those who liked the competitive diversity to try & identify the complete, well-rounded challenger, not just the ones who are very athletic. And for the eliminations, it's exciting & fun, and sometimes you can be on the edge of your seat. After all, epic eliminations are responsible for my favorite competition moments from the last two Challenges.

   And to take my experience of watching a variety of sports and my bro in law being an occasional golfer, I can liken the variety of competitions that I see to what the USGA does at the U.S. Open. Over those four days in June, Mike Davis & his team do everything in their power to identify the best golfer - lengthening the course, narrowing fairways to encourage golfers to drive it accurately, making the rough notoriously taller to knee length to punish those who don't, and undulating greens made difficult for those to judge & maneuver those putts. For me, I would like to again see that variety on Free Agents and identify the best all-arounder, especially with the new individual format.

The modern-day structure to any Challenge season is that the casts are season specific and can vary from one season to the next. The groups are only made up of Real World or Road Rules cast members, or the occasional Challenges with previously-unknown contestants. In the case of the latter, there have been three times (Fresh Meat 1 & 2 and a Spring Break Challenge) where a Challenge season featured those who never appeared on a RW or RR season, and this is where some veterans like Kenny, Evan, Brandon, Laurel, Cara Maria & Camila, among others, all come from.

   The multitude of cast members typically are divided into separate teams by way of a certain criteria, again varying by season. Over the years, it has ranged from gender to good guy/bad guy status, even to arch-enemies & ex-romantic partners. The hot-stove talk before & during filming and in the lead up to the season on the forums and among fans of who's chosen to go, which format is being used and other things is enormous, similar to that found in professional team sports.

   Each of these teams, or occasionally an individual, compete in numerous missions with prizes and advancement in the overall game on the line. After each challenge, a team or competitor is voted into an elimination round to face the least successful team from each mission. And there, they compete against one another to determine who stays and who's eliminated; and the theme, design & atmosphere of those eliminations also vary by season. The process of determining which two teams or competitors go into an episode's elimination often leads to drama and players playing dirty, due primarily to the contestants controlling who gets thrown in.

The formats of a Challenge have been numerous: what began as just a simple RW vs. RR cross-country competition has now seen eight different formats since it expanded, with a 9th one to be introduced this season.

- There's two historical team events: the Inferno between the good guys & bad guys; and the Gauntlet which in its recent incarnation in 2008 pitted Veterans & Rookies (and ended in a final that saw an apparent Veterans win taken away due to Eric "Big Easy" being taken to hospital).

- As mentioned above, we saw two Fresh Meat seasons with those new cast members not appearing on past seasons, and being drafted by alumni before competition begins.

- Prior to Free Agents this season, there have been two previous times where it has seen an individual Challenge, advertised as "every one for themselves." The Duel saw no players in permanent teams and everyone competing individually until one guy and girl emerge victorious.

- In 2010, we saw the first three-team format, Cutthroat, where teams are not set, a race at the start, plus a draft at the end, determines who goes on which team; followed by three-team competition where the winner wins immunity and the two losing teams face off in the Gulug elimination.
- The most-popular format in recent seasons, Rivals saw players who are bitter enemies, owing to feuds, fights or rivalries on past seasons, being paired up. The original Rivals delivered arguably the best challenge season ever, with an all-star cast and helped bring new life to the show.
- When I got introduced to this two years ago, BOTSeasons had eight four-person teams. This wasn't the first BOTS, the first one many years earlier saw 10 RW seasons w/ a guy & girl representing.
- And the last totally new format before this was Exes, which might've been a nightmare for some of the competitors but made for some exciting television. Thirteen ex-couples compete, with the team who wins becoming Power Couple.

- Other formats that have been used include The Ruins, which saw a team of those who've won a Challenge season against those who've not won (and ended in a lopsided win for the Champions over the Challengers); and The Island, which largely borrowed from Survivor.

Then, there's the lingo, and it begins with the continental divide between those who've done a lot of these, and those who haven't.

- The Veterans are usually defined of as those who have won at least one challenge, those who've appeared on several seasons, and/or those who've appeared in a Challenge final. Of course, people like Johnny Bananas, CT, Aneesa, Paula and the old guard fit this mold; and they have the upper hand in being favored to win a season in the beginning and then as the season goes along. After all, since The Island, those who have appeared on three-or-more challenges have been part of the winner's circle on all but one of the Challenges for which they've appeared in.

- On the other hand, the Rookies are thought of as players who have not achieved neither one of those options. Those who are most vulnerable in all this are those first-timers, and usually they're the first to be singled out, targeted by everyone else and end up being eliminated first. But anything's possible, and there's been a recent rookie revolution that began with Teams Vegas & Cancun winning the first Rivals mission and Leroy & Mike going to the final; San Diego winning BOTS, and Jordan & Marlon winning two jungles & a mission en route to the Rivals II final.

There's been a drumbeat in the past few years among fans for a veterans vs. rookies Challenge, a Gauntlet IV to be exact. Adding evidence to this point, there was a lot of speculation surrounding last year's Challenge that season 24 would be that very matchup when the fan forums puzzled together the cast. Their research found that half of the cast did three or more Challenges, and the other half did 0, 1 or 2. Even Frank told my friend Brian Cohen on his Bus Drivers Route podcast that he thought it would be exactly that, only for TJ to tell the competitors otherwise.

And then, there's that dreaded A-word: "alliance." Being a newcomer to Challenges and me not usually a Survivor or Big Brother viewer, it's still taking a bit of getting used to it, but seeing alliances form and the politics in the house is still a bit complicated but it's mesmerizing for me to see. But after doing this research from its Wiki page, it's simply a term that refers to challengers secretly working together to increase their chances to winning a season. As a result, the contestants would then risk being victims to the politics and popularity factors of the game. The former figures prominently thanks to the formats being chosen beforehand, which gives those Challengers leverage in determining who goes into elimination. Those alliances are usually formed through pacts and deals made early on among contestants, and operations include saving alliance members, throwing missions for the purpose of keeping alliances in tact, and selecting alliance involvement rather than how players do in a certain mission.
   Earlier on, alliances were frowned upon, but early alliances were formed to try to sabotage a member of a team who they thought of as weak. The famous fight between Road Rules alums Veronica and Katie during the finale of the first Inferno ten years ago when Veronica put together an alliance to put the RR Quest member out is a great example of this, and was the first sign of an alliance being put on full display on a Challenge. Since then, alliances are part of the Challenge culture so much that most players are expected to join one at the start; although there are some who prefer to play it straightforwardly, with the feeling that they're not competing to their absolute best and their tactics being a sign of weakness; though not with a sense of strategy. The risks that come with an alliance include treachery among members that see some turning backs on each other; conflicts among them who might disagree on what moves, leading to self-destruction; and once an alliance comes to the final, decisions on who to target within.
   The most well-known, or perhaps the most-infamous - all depending upon who you ask, example of an alliance is what's referred to as the "JEK Dynasty." From the first Fresh Meat season until the first Rivals, Johnny Bananas teamed several times with fellow friends Kenny & Evan and headed an alliance that saw them run and manipulate them with great success so much, that either Bananas, Kenny and/or Evan were part of the winning team in five Challenges during that time. I'm still new to this thing, but I can see how people either love or hate the way they play - I only saw them & some of the big-name veterans for the first time during that Rivals marathon last summer.
    Two other alliance examples came last season on Rivals II: in back-to-back weeks we saw mission winners Jasmine & Theresa fumble a throw-away jungle vote putting the guy Theresa hooked up with, Leroy, into the jungle; while the next week Theresa herself was voted in by Jordan, breaking their early alliance. On BOTSeasons, an alliance divide emerged early on between Teams San Diego, Cancun & New Orleans, and Brooklyn & Las Vegas, which resulted in two early missions being rigged in favor of the super alliance. And during that Challenge, Trey from RW St. Thomas, got a lot of heat for playing the game differently where he elected to not join that super alliance.

For me as a longtime Real World fan, it's still been taking some adjusting to do for me to see all the people who've I've watched on the show I love most in something that's totally new to me. But what drew me to my first Challenge was that this is a whole new experience for me to watch these same people I got to know on RW in a new environment compared to the laid-back atmosphere I'm more at home with in the legacy series. It's totally different to see these people compete in these Challenges instead of just living their lives on camera. But it's the thing that made me embrace the Challenge is my love of sports & competition and enjoying the company of these same people once again. Plus, I'm able to use this blog & my social nets to also watch over this Challenge with a historical perspective as well, 

   As is the case with The Real World, social media has also played a major role in allowing me to enjoy watching this show. Thanks to the majority of the competitors having a twitter presence, I'm now able to talk to these same people, both as the shows air and in between episodes. The Challenge is the first show that I truly got to experience the combination of the communal experience of watching television and the great interactivity of social media come together. Thanks to both watching the episodes air and then that extremely-long but rewarding task of compiling all of their tweets for my SocialPulse posts on here, it's mesmerizing seeing their interactions as they & fans watch this. It wasn't a while ago that the competitors weren't as widely interactive to their fans as it is now, but thanks to social media, they're now just a simple tweet away. It's this social media realm that's enhanced this viewing experience.

...And A Preview

Now to this Challenge. It's a totally different game this time around, and in a way, it's also a fresh new take on the show, fitting enough for the show to celebrate its 25th season. After hearing the drumbeat loud and clear from fans on the forums who, while they've enjoyed watching the last few Challenges, have become tired of recent Challenges of late involving pairs or 4-person teams, it appears executive producer Justin Booth and his team have heard those fans, and have come up with a new game that will make things very interesting and will get those fans amped for this Challenge more than any other.

   Our twenty-eight money-hungry competitors will arrive in Punta del Este, Uruguay, not far from Montevideo, with the feeling, that considering the people who are on this cast and had gotten to know on that plane flight, they'll teamed up with an ex, an enemy or a weak rookie, or even have a veteran vs. rookie Gauntlet or a three-team Cutthroat. But while they are ready to take the competition by storm, they have little idea that when they arrive to meet up with TJ to start this season off, it will be an individual Challenge and that they will have no one to answer but to themselves. Yes...there's no permanent teams, demanding partners or players who can slow the other down. It's one of those types of Challenges those in the forums have been wanting for some time, and now not only do they get their answer, they may also sit back to enjoy what MTV describes as "the most unpredictable Challenge ever," as well as what the host with the most teases as his favorite one yet.

   The last time we saw an individual Challenge was five years ago when we had The Duel II in New Zealand in 2009, best remembered as the one where CT & Adam got into a vicious fight right at the beginning and them being kicked off even before the competition began. Free Agents will force players to compete on their own, with perseverance and luck being a huge part of this Challenge more than ever. Our competitors will be left in the dark of whether they're playing in teams, pairs or as singles until just before the mission's starting horn. But there's a greater emphasis on winning than ever: those who win each mission not only win themselves immunity, but also gain control over choosing which guy and which girl to send in. Those who finish last are automatically sent into elimination, as usual. 

   But in a twist perhaps as game-changing and perhaps exceeding what we had last year when the opposite gender voted in competitors for the jungle, their opponents in the elimination round will be chosen by just pure chance. After each mission, the winners will pick one guy and one girl to face the last-place players, in The DRAW, where a mere flip of the card, not strategy or politics, will choose who goes into the elimination battle...and it will be a one-on-one affair.

   Those who might be tired of the politics that have played a role in past Challenges will no doubt applaud this new twist to how those who will be going into elimination will be handled this year as alliances will not play a huge role in this season as it has previously. Even those who finish 2nd in these missions will be walking on eggshells knowing that they could be the one potentially going home; just ask Paula & Emily after that last overall mission last summer.

This season's cast is, just as it was last year in Thailand, a mixture of the big names and newcomers to The Challenge world to satisfy both the diehard fans and those being introduced to this. After getting my feet wet in Turkey, Rivals II was the first time we saw both the veterans passionate fans know & love and the newcomers who I got to root for on BOTS compete together in the same Challenge. Of course, it will be interesting to see which of the new blood challenge the establishment veterans, and if the epic battle between Team Portland & two finals veterans is any indication, then this should be fun.

   And for the very first time, CT will enter The Challenge as champion after he & Wes' wire-to-wire win in the Rivals II final, besting Johnny Bananas & Frank and Jordan & Marlon. Of course, all of those years trying to get over the hump finally paid off for him winning his first Challenge, and he will do everything he can to defend that crown. Bananas will be anxious to regain his spot in the throne - one he has been to four times previously, and they appear to be shoo-ins to get into the final at the end.

   For the women, the absence of last season's winners, CrossFit queen Emily and newlywed, new mom & now retired Paula, will open the race up considerably. And from this list & after a 3-year layoff, Laurel will be the overwhelming favorite. Her Rival-turned-BFF Cara Maria comes off of a hard-earned 2nd place finish in Thailand to enter Uruguay eager to also notch her first season win. And the only previous winner among the girls, Camila, who got 3rd in the Rivals II final, also looks to do well.

For those that could factor in the race to join the veterans in the final, it's another stacked group. Of the 28 competitors in this field, exactly half - 14 in all - have been to a final Challenge; and those who were part of the winning teams on the last four seasons - Johnny, Zach, Camila, Frank & CT - have made the trip to Uruguay. In addition to those, there's also several who could make their mark this season:

- It was a mixed bag for Team San Diego in Thailand after their BOTS win: Zach made a surprise early exit midway thru thanks to a surprise DQ in the jungle where he also lost his temper. And as part of the questionable pair, Frank got 2nd w/ Bananas in the final. They'll look to improve on that in Uruguay.

- Team New Orleans had a relatively better sophomore showing than their California counterparts: Jemmye was part of Team Subtitles and showed what she's made of in garnering that bronze finish, while Preston went to the last jungle, and also showed what he's capable of in the last guys mission. They won't have to deal with Knight this time around, but they look to well this season.

- Two girls who have been on the edge of going to a final but haven't gone over the hump are Jonna and Nany, who both have made deep runs in the game only to miss out on the final.

- Individual Challenges is also familiar territory for Aneesa, who's going into her 11th Challenge and came away in 3rd on Duel II, and will look to avenge losing the last elimination on Rivals II to notch her first win too.

- When we last saw him on a Challenge, Chet led the underdogs, Team Brooklyn, into the BOTS final and to a 3rd place finish. This time, Mr. Bow Tie Guy will look to prove that wasn't a fluke and with his intelligence, politicking and endurance skills, will look to build upon that.

- And if you saw BOTS, then you might've enjoyed the hilarious commentary of Devyn, and with her being back with some more established names in this field, and looking to prove herself on the field as well, she'll look to silence those who feel she doesn't belong here.

This new format might fit those who prefer playing by themselves, like Landon, Darrell & Derrick; and would've been the ideal format for Sarah given her string of bad luck. None of them are on this season (this is the first Challenge Sarah has not been part of since Duel II, owing to her taking a break to go to college), but this season is a welcome move for Brandon, who's had bad luck on previous shows with a partner, and infamously being sent into the Gulug many a time on Cutthroat. This is also the case for Brandon's fellow Vegas resident Leroy, who even though he's entering his 4th Challenge and already a top competitor, has also had not much luck being able to compete well with a partner, and he'll look for his first season win. 

   With that trend that we saw with Trishelle & Alton two years ago, this year the folks can cue up the "Welcome Back, Kotter" theme for four who have not been on a Challenge in upwards of five years. We've not seen Isaac since that last individual Challenge in New Zealand, but as a first-time rookie hung very tough on Duel II before succumbing to Landon midway through, and he'll have that experience play to his advantage again. We've not seen his fellow Sydneysider Cohutta since The Ruins, and in this his 3rd Challenge (and first without Sydney love Kelly-Anne as part of the cast), should be able to help school the newbies on how to handle this Challenge. And this will be our first time seeing Emilee from Team Cancun since Cutthroat, and the first time we've seen Laurel since Rivals.

And for someone who has followed the journey of both Teams St. Thomas & Portland from the beginning, I will enjoy having their company once again. After his impressive rookie campaign last year, Jordan now has a target on his back and looking to prove that wasn't a flash in the pan. Questions will be, how will he follow up that Rivals II run, and which Challenge ladies will he hook up with next? After the usual rookie shortcomings of being eliminated first & after Anastasia's meltdown, Jessica returns more fit and more ready to handle the rigors of this game, and perhaps with this new format she could perhaps sneak into the final.

   They'll be joined by first-timer Johnny, former hockey player & now single after breaking up with Portland girlfriend Averey prior to coming to Uruguay, and could follow in Jordan & Marlon's footsteps and surprise everyone in going deep. And there's the most notable of their Portland castmates, Nia. Notorious of course for wrecking havoc in Oregon, she's mellowed out and can rely on her volleyball experience & her new Booty-Belt invention to help her in her first go.

   And after seeing what Trey, Robb, Laura & Marie have done, the third supposed pair in the Hassel Island house make their Challenge debuts: Latoya is described as "fiesty and energetic," and is focused on getting to the final, and has made a firm prediction that the rookie revolution will continue this season. And there's her assumed hookup Swift, who also is looking to make a big impression too without any distractions. Let's hope we don't have a sea urchin rolling around.

Just as we saw last year, I believe for those to go far into this game and get to the final & win, they have to go through being able to be athletic and well-rounded, to have good brains in the political game, and of course in the case of season, be able to handle all of what Challengers normally do while just competing for yourself. In the last few Challenges, we've seen players compete both in missions and in eliminations as pairs or teams. With this season, players won't know if they're competing in teams, pairs or by themselves until a mission begins, but when it comes down to The Draw, they will be competing solo. So all these players have to adjust to these formats more than in the past.

   And sometimes, as we have seen in the two Rivals seasons, maybe could luck be a part of the game too? Perhaps a competitor or two could fly under the radar and not be involved in drama on their way to a shot at the money, just as we saw with Leroy & Mike in South America, Jordan & Marlon in Thailand and Team Brooklyn in 2012. This format could be a safeguard to the newcomers and a warning sign to the veterans, and don't be surprised if there's a newcomer or two in the final, or if the big name vets make an early exit before the final. It's anyone's game now.

Because of my stance of maintaining impartiality on here, and also having now interacted with each of the 28 people on this cast, I'm not in a position to make any predictions on who will win, who will contend, who goes home or whatnot - that'll be left up to all the other blogs and webcasts. But what I am gonna predict that this should be a fantastic season that we should be in for. I've read the tweets from TJ and from the competitors that this will be the case as well. As I look at it, BOTS was my baptism of fire in this world; Rivals was where I got to see the vets for the first time, and Rivals II was where I became greatly engaged. Now Free Agents should become my graduation day to becoming a Challenge aficionado. Although the Real World will still be my first love, in just two years I've gained a great appreciation for Challenges. Now, we're set for this rocketship to blast off and let TJ and the competitors take over from here. Let's get it started.

Don't forget, DCBLOG will be on top of The Challenge: Free Agents like never before. If you've enjoyed our coverage of Rivals II, Real World Ex-Plosion and Are You The One? on here, than expect the same kind of extensive coverage of this season on here. We'll have our exclusive DC SocialPulse twitter diaries with the minute-by-minute twitter diary of how the cast, fans and yours truly will see all the drama of this season as it unfolds, which now will come to you the weekend after it airs. And while everyone else will be doing their own power rankings, predictions and cast interviews, DCB's coverage will have a little bit of that but our site will be more of a supplement as we will offer a more unique perspective on the season, the show and the people. Next up, we'll introduce (or reintroduce) those who aren't familiar to you of any other avid Challenge fan, so we make sure you never meet any new competitors when you see them for the first time on the premiere.

In addition, we'll be offering some other things along the way here on the 'Blog as well, and we'll be continuing our Real World coverage into this Challenge as well. And in case you haven't known by now, the live tweeting of Free Agents is now at my dedicated twitter account called DC NOW, located at @DC408DxNow (RT's included, and be aware of TL's being flooded if you follow DC NOW). And of course, follow me @DC408Dxtr for conversations with the cast, my usual tweets with fans and followers, and alerts to MTV-related show material & DCBLOG post.

   So, the journey is now underway. For now, until I join you tomorrow tonight for the RW Ex-Plosion Reunion on DC NOW, thanks for reading and see you then.

- DC