■ @DC408Dxtr @ TW / IG / YT
Last week kicked off this grand occasion of a season as our group of competitors arrived in Columbia to begin their competition. However, the group was not exactly the total number as advertised as only 28 of the 30 showed up for the first mission, as CT was stuck with passport issues and Ashley had to bolt, which we will discuss more of shortly. And along with TJ Lavin keeping secret the $1 million prize purse, the twists came coming with the Purge sending six people to what they thought was the airport after being eliminated but instead to another house to set up another big twist that only they know anything about. And we saw the big players win safety in week 1.
Because of time and also plans to finally be able to do our long-promised, long-promoted Reality Debrief in our Week 2 posts, we'll be tabling our usual full-scale episode wrap -- the Things to Know top moments of the episodes and more, for next week when we'll look at the first two episodes. But coming up, we'll have a look at the twists of this season and results of our first Twitter poll related to that unique part of this game. Then, two doses of ExtraTime as we'll head to summer's wildest sporting event and meet up with the man they call "Ochocinco." That's all ahead...
DC FORUM: POLL @DC408Dxtr
First, there were plenty of twists that were revealed in the premiere, and there will sure be a lot of them this season. That offers the backdrop for this first poll:
What is the most intriguing twist
from this week's Dirty 30 premiere?
● $1 MILLION DOLLARS 10%
● THE PURGE - 6 Eliminated 14%
● THE CHOICE - Cory & Jenna 7%
● THE REDEMPTION HOUSE 69%
STRATEGY ROOM
FORUM: THE TWISTS
And that offers the backdrop to this first trip into the Strategy Room, where throughout this cycle DCBLOG will take a look at the game situation as it stands during this Challenge and later, Season 6 of Are You The One?, and aspects of the game and things related to them. And what happened last week with some of the key twists that will go down on this season will sure to shape this game for the rest of the season. When this is all finished, the family tree of this group of 30 competitors (maybe more if the trend of what we saw with Ashley is an indication) will likely be altered considerably.
During our time covering the Trifecta, the money at stake on The Challenge has stayed at a fairly consistent $350,000 for several seasons now. But what we saw starting that winter of 2014 when Simone and her group of Originals took that first season of Are You The One? in fairly comfortable fashion, they surely made $1 Million Dollars the new norm within this MTV world. Dario's Season 2 cast then followed them later that year, then the next two casts featuring Devin and Tori won $750,000 after enduring a blackout. And after what happened to Derrick's Season 5 group we saw Big D & Rashida win Second Chances as he now has amassed $120,000+ in less than two years.
What we saw with Bananas is still fresh in our minds taking over a quarter-million from Sarah, as is what happened with Cody, Makani, Alex and Gina on Stranded with a Million Dollars. And what we've seen from these competition shows have been of that money will matter more than anything else, and the competitors will be going about their business of believing that the same amount in the prize pool will be at stake. But I'm sure that because this is the 30th season, they will eventually have inklings that they won't give away just this low an amount to the finalists to fit the description of this being a landmark season. And they should compete in these challenges a little more aggressively as this season goes along because they feel TJ Lavin is playing with them that he's hiding this secret that they'll be gunning for the seven-figures when they reach crunch time.
In my mind, this is a really nice step-up for BMP to recognize that just merely giving away an amount between a quarter- and a half-million dollars isn't enough to fit this being the Dirty 30th season and to make the play to up the ante by nearly three-fold to $1 million will make this season even more enjoyable for everyone: those who've been watching this show for a long time and those who are being thrust into this world for the first time. Those newbies who've been brought over from having watched Team AYTO's journey and them being used to the $1 million prize will no doubt be in luck, while those who've been jealous of having that large purse on other shows will finally have their chance to hand out seven figures in a grand way.
For what we saw last week with the twists being thrown down, the Purge is the second time that we have had multiple players from each gender being eliminated in a single week. We still remember what happened on Invasion in the Underdog Bloodbath which caused Cory and Nelson to blow up and saw Jenna tear up too.
A new friend I've made who also writes on this show, Allan Aguirre, wrote on his Challenge blog about whether it's good or bad to have multiple player elimination weeks on this show. He talked about how this shaking up the game from what those have been used to for years, extracting the politics inherent in this atmosphere, having the weaknesses of these players being exposed, and taking out a dominant player very early. I do agree with him that it puts us on the edge of our seat watching it go down and it's more exciting than eliminations being put together at last second.
I believe it is a bit surprising that this twist is being used off the bat in this season's first challenge week and do also agree with Allan that this is best used towards the business end of the season, the crunch time of before the final. He brought up what happened to CT, Theresa and those who got to a final by way of luck with them face off against the former two who worked so hard to get to the end and saw the ladder go in instead on their seasons. Had what happened in Thailand been used on Free Agents and on Rivals 3, then we would've had a final of much better quality than it turned out. But then again, that double cross was one of the defining moments of last season.
For what happened in relation to the third talking point of The Choice being made by the winners of the third round of the first Challenge by Cory and Jenna. Them deciding to take out Devin, Shane, Darrell, Simone, Amanda and Latoya will be both praised and questioned, especially with the four-time champ and who had just won Champs vs. Pros being taken out this early by a guy who desperately needs to get a win, as well as her backstabbing Monie.
We saw Cory make the big power play of voting in Bananas on Bloodlines when he was asked to vote on the spot in Berlin and that would help propel him & Mitch into 2nd in the final. And for Jenna, she was one who has been welcomed into this community by way of what we saw in her first three appearances, and whose only ticket here came by way of her late night argument with her cousin in Turkey, and more well liked. It would've been more well thought of of who she wanted to go home if they had time to deliberate but with this being on the spot, she was put into that tough predicament.
And then, there was what we saw at the end of last week: the Redemption House. If you got to see Survivor: Redemption Island on that show, then you saw that players who were eliminated on that season were then given a second chance and it became one of the biggest twists to rock that show. And of course, Battle of the Exes 2 had something similar with those who lost the Exile elimination being sent into the Exiled house, which led to one's opportunity to win a third Challenge in Wes being brutally beaten when Bananas & Nany came out of that tunnel.
We will be seeing something like that in this season in relation to something similar to The Draw on Free Agents in the Double Cross being used for this season, which we explained in our preview. We don't know the specifics of what this Redemption House is all about, but if it follows what we saw on Exes 2 the six who all got eliminated will probably have a chance to duke it out with the one who places last being the first one to go home, and whoever loses the elimination in the main house among those who are still in the game will join them in the Redemption House.
For early odds of who will have an edge in this house, no doubt Darrell is the betting man's favorite in the morning line odds by a good margin, and after what we saw with her in the Bloodbath then Amanda is the slight favorite for the girls. Still, we have to find out what this twist is all about, and there are certain to be many more as we go along this journey.
ENDGAME
THE DEPARTURE: ASHLEY RESPONDS
This is someone who we saw become a total train wreck when we first saw her on Real World Ex-Plosion in San Francisco and a lot of us wondered if it was gonna be the only time we see her on MTV? We were proven wrong there last year when she went onto Rivals III with Cory and if not for them losing early, then they could've made that final more competitive than it turned out. And as much as she has gotten into a lot of drama in the house on her first two starts, she has proven to be a solid competitor, culminating in her breaking the veteran stranglehold that the big-name veterans have had in winning most every Challenge they've been on in taking down Camila in Thailand.
And then, there was what happened last week. Just after the premiere, Ashley took to Instagram to help clear the air:
INSTAGRAM @MTVAshleyBrooke
"I have to explain myself to no one, but I do feel the need to let my fans in on what really happened in Colombia. There were multiple reasons why, including things back home, but I was so not physically or mentally ready for another season. I had gotten home from Champs vs Pros one week before and had the season 29 reunion that same week. My right ankle was twice the size from Balls In against Ash K. After leaving I actually had an xray in Colombia, they believed I had a small fracture. The icing on the cake was when not one but both of my bags were lost by the airlines. I know I could have stayed and hey I might have done well, but I believe I truly needed a break and no money can buy happiness. #thechallengexxx #dirtythirty #thechallenge #mtv #illbeback"
It became a bit obvious when she was put into the group photos by the magic of what they call "photo-shopped" and those at MTV Press deciding to reuse her same photo from Invasion after they got into the Oasis. But what we saw last week confirmed what those who might've gotten into the dreaded spoiler sites knew that Ashley had indeed quit before competition had begun.
For the basics on this: both of her luggage were lost when they got off the plane, which included both of her own clothes and essentials such as medicine, make-up and hair products. And there's obviously the pressures of being in this madhouse for nearly two months, which as we have seen many times will cause Ashley to blow up.
Then there's this: she filmed Invasion for that same amount of time in Asia, which in between the finale airing in May and keeping this result under wraps she also moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas. And then, there's having to go to film Champs vs. Pros for two weeks in Southern California, to New York for the reunion, and then depart for the Challenge.
And when she battled the athletes and fellow Champs, she had an ankle injury while also competing in all of those eliminations and challenges, as well as what we saw with her and Lolo when she lost. And this, along with having to go to Columbia for Dirty 30, all came with only barely any time back home for as much as three months if she made it to the end. Clearly, she wasn't ready for this kind of hectic schedule and she had to bolt.
Once again, Allan Aguirre wrote about why he's completely alright with her quitting, which is unlike most people who don't like those who bolt on this show: ask Brandon, Jay and Theo about that. For here, Ashley has had this time from there until now about what this could mean, and it wasn't until the promotion machine took over that she acknowledged her being on this season with her being in New York for all the big events in town.
Usually one who goes after those who chicken out, TJ Lavin tweeted to a fan, "Yeah bummed me out for sure but hopefully she comes back," and clarified that his definition of quitting only comes during challenges and not much else. And there were valid factors relating to what happened beyond everyone else's control that caused her to leave for family or for mental reasons beyond just missing a girlfriend back home, then TJ would just let her go without harm.
Doing these Challenges is something that is a privilege for anyone who earns their membership into Team MTV, and in many ways it's the passion of many of these people too. But being able to do these shows also takes a toll on everyone too, and no one thought Ashley would go on to win a Challenge and in her second start, let alone be on one. The fatigue of having to spend two months doing this show, and two regular seasons out of the past ten months, can cause a lot of stress. And with people's patience being somewhat thin, it would be easy to get on her after what we saw here.
I agree with Allan that when you get to the bottom of this, she matters most more than anything. Ash was thrust into the spotlight by way of her becoming the biggest surprise Challenge champ in years, and it's not easy to have to adjust to having to these shows on a more regular basis. She does have time on her side, and she will get a chance to defend her title at the next possible moment... she wasn't ready, both physically and mentally, for the chance to go back to back.
Given her new surroundings in the fast-paced city of Las Vegas, she's used to the fast-paced life and being that one who loves running around the midway at Circus Circus. But with the time that she has now until then, she'll have a chance to mature, to ease a bit, and take the advice of fellow veterans of how to handle this game a bit more better. And those who we saw in their twenties living la vida loca will ultimately have life-changing events that will see them settle down, just as we've seen with those experienced corps who've gone through this ringer a lot.
Ashley has gone through a lot in the time we have enjoyed her presence, and it's true that she's one of the most entertaining and intriguing people in the MTV ecosystem. But she's strong also, and the hope is that when we next see her on a Challenge, when she's both physically and mentally ready to tackle this task, she will be well-rested and more wise to live up to what we have seen from her on the stage where it matters most. She's still a champion in our eyes, and will always will be.
A NOTE...
And before proceeding into ExtraTime, because MTV.com is not hosting one for this season, DCBLOG will be forgoing displaying scores and standings for Fantasy Leagues for this Challenge. For Rivals III and Invasion, we displayed fantasy scoring on this site in lieu of the now-defunct Bus Drivers Route page hosted by Brian Cohen who did one while doing blog posts, but in order to get this site out to all of you quicker we'll be forging that for this season. A site you can check out is a Fantasy League hosted by Fantisizer, which you can check out here, and other sites with their related matters are readily available.
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#DCExtraTime
RUNNING OF THE BULLS
Our ExtraTime series has ventured along with Team MTV to some of the most interesting places anywhere: South Padre Island for Spring Break, the Nevada desert for the Burning Man festival, Nickelodeon's Guts Aggro Crag in Manhattan, the streets outside a national political convention, the Chicago-based set of mega-hit Empire, and Hollywood for Floyd Mayweather's 40th birthday bash, among others. But for this first travelogue of this cycle, we may have found the most rad and extreme setting you can have, all the way across the Atlantic.Before Premiere Week during a fairly light sports week in the month of July with baseball's All-Star Game, free agency, Wimbledon and the Tour de France, the highlight for many was an event that takes place in the country of Spain which brings people to the streets of a northern province for a tradition that's been around for hundreds of years. And before there was skate- and snowboarding, mixed martial arts and all else, this sport and rodeo helped define the word "extreme."
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| Credit: The Daily Telegraph |
Each bull run begins almost at the crack of dawn at 8AM local time during each full day of the festival, which begins with some fanfare and then rockets being set off to signal that the bulls' corral is open and for the runners to take off and run. The average time for each trip from when the corral opens to until the last bull enters the arena is about two minutes and thirty seconds at the pace of the herd's average speed, about 15 mph through Pamplona on a course that measures the length of nearly 10 U.S. football fields. And this is taking place in the streets of this town which is typical Europe in a canyon of buildings that have been around for centuries as well as cobblestones instead of pavement.
Rules state that the runners with their distinctive white shirts & red neckerchief must be 18 & older, run in the same direction as the bulls, not incite them in any other way and to make sure they are also running clean too. Given than about 50-100 runners are injured each year by the onslaught of the fury of the bulls and leading in rare cases to death, there are wooden fences and other places to help the runners get to safety, and the local Red Cross is on hand at every corner should someone get gored.
The Running of the Bulls receives worldwide TV exposure every July and a year ago, the event's fascinating appeal even tempted NBC Sports' hilarious Premier League duo, The Men in Blazers, to leave what they call their "crap part of SoHo" in New York City to watch and commentate on the proceedings during the offseason in European football and just after the international tournaments of the summertime. It even made an appearance in Billy Crystal's movie, "City Slickers."
During our last Trifecta cycle, we caught up with Isaac Stout from Real World Sydney and two Challenges, where we showcased his passion of traveling and him traveling to several countries both for The Duel II and Free Agents and for his travel venture, Bucket List Club. Him being able to spend time in Australia after filming of that Real World ten years ago this summer spawned that love of going around the world, which at last check brought him to Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona when Messi, Neymar and FC Barca had that historic comeback in the UEFA Champions League earlier this year.
Someone who lived with him in Darling Harbour is Cohutta, when we last saw briefly on Bloodlines with cousin Jill, but we all remember him for his memorable romances with Kelly-Anne in Australia and then with Nany in Uruguay. And he joined Isaac for his return trip to the Spanish countryside, where they got the chance to take part in this year's Running of the Bulls as part of a trip Isaac's company arranged that brought other fellow travelers to not just Pamplona, but also a return to Barcelona. And they capped off the rendezvous on the island of Ibiza, the European hub for all things summer partying and who got a shoutout from a good friend of Brandon from AYTO Season 2, Mike Posner.
They took part in Day 1 of that Running of the Bulls and Cohutta captioned in his Instagram post, "Early this morning, as my friends and family were asleep in their beds, I did what is easily the dumbest, most terrifying, irresponsible, exhilarating, memorable, badass thing I've ever done in my life. Unbelievable. We ran with beasts and we survived." And before that, he also wrote on the time of calmness before the bulls came running: "The opening ceremonies to San Fermin was almost as insane as the actual bull run. Thousands of people piled on top of each other in the square of this extremely old Northern Spanish town spraying gallons of Sangria though the air. I had Sangria in my eyes, ears, everywhere. It got hotter and hotter until rockets went off signifying the beginning of festivities. Needless to say by that time all that Sangria had began to kick in. Viva San Fermin!!!"
Below is a video the Georgian took just moments after they ran, but it was marred by what happened to two other Americans who also made the trip to the festival and were not so lucky. They were gored during that same opening day's run, one of many incidents during the festival, though luckily no one was killed in the stampede.
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| Instagram/@CohuttaLee |
Below is a video the Georgian took just moments after they ran, but it was marred by what happened to two other Americans who also made the trip to the festival and were not so lucky. They were gored during that same opening day's run, one of many incidents during the festival, though luckily no one was killed in the stampede.
AYTO MEETS OCHOCINCO
And in our first Pulse back on Saturday, we looked at the transition of power at Are You The One?, as Ryan Devlin will pass on his hosting gig to Season 5 After Match host Terrence J for Season 6 this fall. Over a week ago, one of those who was part of Ryan's last duty as host and lived through in the show's most infamous moment ever, got a chance to become a winner for a change, and be part of a group of rich friends of an NFL superstar as Training Camp is now underway with rookies now starting to report in the July heat.
Chad left Cincy to help lead the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI but only after changing his last name to Ochocinco and encountering some turmoil late in his tenure in Ohio. And he came back to his native South Florida with aspirations to finish his career with the hometown Dolphins, but him getting arrested during training camp was the last straw, and him getting cut by coach Joe Philbin was shown during the team's season of HBO's Hard Knocks. And Johnson's last pro playing time came with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in 2014, and a recent one game stint down in Mexico.
Along the way, Chad's off-field credentials are immense: contestant on Dancing with the Stars, an NBCSN show with fellow NFL showman Terrell Owens, guest hosting WWE Raw, riding a bull in the PBR, and running against a racehorse for charity and leaving the thoroughbred in the dust. In his post-NFL career, Johnson now hosts a show on ESPN in a Hispanic-targeted version of SportsNation, influenced by a childhood love of soccer which translated into a four-day training gig with Sporting Kansas City of MLS during the 2011 NFL lockout, and him being a fan of both Real Madrid and C.D. Guadalajara - Chivas of Mexico's Liga MX.
The last time we saw Hayden from Are You The One? Season 5, it was back in April of him and his perfect match in the house, Carolina, facing the music and Karamo Brown on AYTO Second Chances when they were up for The Choice. They got together after he & his true love, Gianna, returned a truth booth no match, and after their fling in the Dominican Republic and then down under, it was obviously clear that Hayden was more attracted Midwest love, and he chose steal to take away the $60,000 from their pot back to the Midwest much to Carolina's displeasure and to the joy of the Ohioan in being able to invest in their own summer boat. You can best call this move the "Bananas."This past week, Hayden hung out with some of his Team 22 pals out in Los Angeles and while he was there to take care of paperwork that will move him & Gia out west, he got to run into Mr. Ocho Cinco. Chad posted a video on Instagram which is located below, but not before he and Hayden had a chance to tweet thanks to one another.
Thank you so much for the beer @ochocinco, tonight was one of the coolest moments of my life. Good luck to your daughter tomorrow!— Hayden Weaver (@HaydenPWeaver) July 13, 2017
No problem boss, safe travels & never forget, I fucking love you man 💯 https://t.co/xrz6p3D5Is— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) July 13, 2017
I love you as well good sir ✊🏽✊🏽 https://t.co/EOCDa4QgxL— Hayden Weaver (@HaydenPWeaver) July 13, 2017
Him being able to meet up with Ochocinco only adds to Hayden's strong sports fandom, exemplified best by his love of his native Indiana's favorite game of basketball as showcased here earlier this year before both NCAA March Madness and his AYTO cast's Caribbean heartbreak. Him & Gianna have spent the past weekend down in Honduras to help the needy of that country for charity, and we'll share you their inspiring journey later during our Trifecta coverage.
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And that will do it for this week's look at the MTV Trifecta, part of a busy week at this site where we also paid tribute to Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and covered the new MTV show Siesta Key which premieres next week.
As we end this week, there are a lot of podcasts, vhttp://noquitters.libsyn.com/ideo and articles from this past week that's worthy for us to help share with you, and now until tomorrow, here's where you can find them:
● Last week, the No Quitters Podcast by Barstool Sports got a chance to do not one, but two big Challenge interviews. First, before the premiere hosts Clem, JJ and Cons were joined by Camila, Cara Maria, Cory and Tori as they discussed the season, workout plans, and everything else. And the day after, Bananas, Leroy and Tony joined the hosts to talk about the premiere, family, cerebral games and bouyancy. Check out the NQP site for recaps and additional cast interviews.
● Also last week, Betch Slapped by Betches were joined by Bananas and Jenna as they discussed Dirty 30, her relationships and his Rivals III backstab... listen to the podcast here. And Sirius XM was joined by Derrick, Aneesa and Veronica as they discussed that decision and the house on SoundCloud.
● This premiere gave the MTV RHAP duo of Brian Cohen (@CohenBrian_) and Ali Lasher (@LashTweets) plenty to talk about on Rob Has A Podcast. They got to talk about the $1 million secret, issues with the defending champions, the first Challenge, The Purge and the Redemption House, all at length and in their unique style. Check out that podcast there plus robhasawebsite.com for full coverage of Big Brother.
● Check out Ace Nichols (@AceNichols33) and her unique Challenge recaps on her YouTube channel. Just posted is her premiere recap, which you can check out there along with recaps of Champs vs. Pros. And check out Andrew Kirk (@CSUGradAKirk) and all of his reality TV webcasts with interviews, discussion and more on YouTube, Blog Talk and Reality Radio.
● The person who I gave some shoutouts to is Allan Aguirre (@FebreezyFresh) and his blog site on Medium. In the leadup to this season, he offered previews of all competitors on the cast as well as historical posts, opinions and other things on the Trifecta, other reality TV, sports and other things which he posts there everyday. Check them all out at medium.com/@allanaguirre_19131.
● And for those MTV history enthusiasts, before last week's premiere the site A Television Experience, posted the panel discussion on MTV reality programming from last month's Austin TV Festival that took place during my weekend down at Disneyland. Challenge and Real World co-creator Jon Murray joined the executive producers of Jersey Shore, Teen Mom and My Super Sweet 16 along with Buzzfeed's Jarett Weisman to discuss MTV's role in revolutionizing the genre.
That is all part of this coverage, which begins with DCNOW live tweeting it on live twitter hub @DC408DxNow, offer polls and chatter @DC408Dxtr and the conversation which you can join in at my own hashtag, #DCChallenge. Then rejoin us here on DCBLOG for your Blog fix with all the social play-by-play, stories and much more. So make sure to bookmark DCBLOG for our unique look at the MTV Trifecta and on The Challenge XXX.
That is how we look at it this week in the Trifecta and week 1 of The Challenge XXX - Dirty 30... hope you enjoyed it. Until tomorrow, enjoy the week and see you then.
- I AM DC
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