DC ExtraTime: There's Nothing Like Challenge Trivia!

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Welcome along to our look Inside the MTV Trifecta, as we roll along with The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30. In a few days, we'll have our look at Episode 8 of this already dramatic and exciting season as we are now at this season's halfway point. But we lead off this week's posts here at midweek, a little earlier than usual before our traditional spot of kicking it off over the weekend with something very special.

For the majority of this week's episode -- which aired last night as we post this on Wednesday, September 6 -- and provided that you have gotten to watch it by now, there's one thing that was on everyone's mind, as the overarching theme of the week is a skill that is the ultimate equalizer between those who are strong, those who are everyday joe's and those who are smart. It gives every competitor a reasonable to great shot at winning this mission whenever it takes place during the season, and can afford someone who doesn't have as much standing in the house a chance to turn the game upside down just by simply answering questions instead of jumping into the water, going head-on in a hallway or try to be the first to cross the finish line of an endurance test.

   They are, of course, the trivia challenges that take place on most every season of The Challenge, and for a moment it gives someone who rode BMX bikes for a living, one who's not any quitter's best friend and someone who survived a harrowing crash a chance to let loose and laugh for a bit to the sight of someone being let go from their harness and being thrown into the water. And on this dedicated edition of DC ExtraTime, we'll take a look at the memorable and not-so memorable moments of trivia on The Challenge, and thoughts from host and trivia master TJ Lavin.

There is one six-letter word in the dictionary called, "trivia." Its Wikipedia definition simply reads, "...bits of information, often of little importance," and "a sense of insignificance, especially with fact use in games, conversation, or entertainment." And the Webster Dictionary defines this noun as: "unimportant matters, trivial facts or details; also, singular in construction, a quizzing game involving obscure facts."
   Everywhere you go, there is trivia being offered in one way or another. There are many board games sold at toy stores with question and answer cards and just about every topic that's out there and for those of all ages to play, the most notable being Trivial Pursuit. In many cities, quiz bowls air on local TV stations featuring students from schools around its viewing area battling each week, just as three players do each night on Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek. If you have a smartphone, it's likely you have a trivia app to play with your friends at parties, including my cousins as evidenced by one of my YouTube videos. And many bars and restaurants use weekly trivia nights as a way to help drive patron traffic when things are feeling dull during the work week.
   At DCBLOG, we offer an angle on this unique ecosystem of reality-based entertainment you'll find nowhere else, and the stories we call ExtraTime that appear after our weekly episode coverage offers us the chance to get to know the people of The Challenge, Are You The One, Real World and other shows a little bit better. There, we use their most memorable moments, relatable experiences, and the pop culture of the moment to offer a better understanding of them that often enlighten and amuse you each week on this site. And I sometimes use trivia bits on some of the castmates as a way to help satisfy fans' curiosity and increase this site's exposure.

A challenge that always stirs the imagination of fans and viewers each season on The Challenge has been of the trivia variety. It's a competition that isn't bone-bruising or demands pure stamina, but rather relies on just the brains of the competitors and their knowledge to carry the day. It typically offers for the most entertaining part of any Challenge season for those who've been watching this for a long time, and the most fascinating to watch for those casuals who might find themselves watching this show when there's nothing much on and don't really know much about the competitors, other than for them trying to remember stuff back when they were in 5th grade.
   Trivia challenges are the one mission each season that puts everyone on an equal playing field, and can give someone who's strong but also smart a chance to further put their foot over this game. But for the most ideal scenario, as was noted by the guy who I'll be talking to here shortly in fellow blogger Allen Aguirre on Medium, there's the overarching fact that anyone can win, and gives someone who isn't strong or experienced a chance to flip the script and win this challenge simply by having Mr. Leprechaun along for the ride. This happened with Jay & Jenna when they won this very mission during Exes 2... which turned out to be, of course, their only shining moment on a season that was marred by what happened in that final.

   When I get to live tweet the trivia contests when they appear on this show on my DCNOW live hub, I would always make the assumption of, "How many teachers are staying up past their bedtime of how these people have forgotten since they were in high school?" And also, there's that question of how many students are taking away some valuable studying time or sleep by watching some of their favorite competitors just flat out fail at this and laughing their butts off. Given this show's following, it's safe to assume there's some teachers do exactly that and love to talk about it around the water cooler over recess.
   And of course, there's the sight of seeing the guy who has hosted those program for over a decade now, TJ Lavin -- someone who we love giving a roasting to those who quit, praise someone with a simple "You Killed It" and went through his own story of survival -- a chance to become a casually-dressed Alex Trebek for a moment in asking all the questions, and lighten up a bit like Dr. Jekyll when he gets to pull the lever and throw into the water players who get these trivia questions wrong. The moments of him laughing is always something to behold every time it takes place.
   This is where The Challenge is at its very best when it comes to its entertainment value in seeing something as simple as answering questions and then become a festival of knowledge and fun. And for a moment, the sport of diving makes its way into our consciousness outside of its usual spot during the Olympics just by the mere sight of TJ unhooking players from their perch on the platform and them being shot into the waters below. The goal, of course, is to be the last one standing after surviving a survival of the dumbest and being the smartest person or team in the Challenge house.

 IN THEIR OWN WORDS: TJ LAVIN 

DURING BATTLE OF THE EXES II

It's true that for the host of this show since Gauntlet II, he treats Challenge trivia days as his own Christmas, and during Exes 2 and before Barbie and her club MC ex were the last ones standing, TJ talked with MTV.com about why he loves the opportunity to do these Q&A formats, and relishing the chance to have fun with them, too. Below is the video and his thoughts in his own words.

● "It's pretty obvious that I love the trivia challenges. I mean, I get a lot of messages and stuff like that on Twitter. Everybody's hitting me up on Instagram like, 'Dude, you love this challenge.'  Every time they say, 'You're doing a trivia challenge tomorrow,' I'm like, 'Yes!'  I'm now even work I should be paying you guys for this.'"
● "One that I can remember in particular was Jasmine, and Aneesa - same thing. She was just trippin'.  I love water slams, you can't laugh about that but it's funny."
● "I like to tease them because they're a little bit nervous about really no big deal. I mean, falling into the water is not that bad. I mean, it's 20-30 feet, yeah. It could hurt a little bit, but you'll get over it."
● "I love it when the question is really obvious and then the guys get it wrong because of the pressure. You know what I mean. Like, None of us know what that pressure is hanging weird, seeing people get slammed already really doesn't help. So, all of a sudden, you don't know how to spell THRONE or crazy, easy questions are really funny  when somebody gets it wrong."
● "Some of these questions are, like, really hard. Like things that I wouldn't even know. Like REM.  Which is an awesome guess, like that was so good. She (Laurel) was a little cocky there so I had to hook her up."
● "Yeah, these things are really cool. I mean, I love that challenge, especially because it's a chance for me to talk to them and really interact with them. And what could possibly be more fun than messing with these kids, right?"

 THOSE "WTF?!" TRIVIA MOMENTS 

Then, there are those moments: players realizing that their brains are frozen and just can't seem to figure out what on the world are certain things. From spelling to geography, pop culture to what happened on previous seasons of this show, it has made for entertaining television and sometimes being educational... who says you're too old to learn something new?

   There have been a lot of these WTF moments over the years - and I have been able to enjoy these trivia contests during my time following The Challenge. But a certain handful stand out, and and as this season has gone on, MTV.com and its YouTube channel have been posting videos of past moments of a few of this season's competitors going through their own Challenge trivia ringer, often finding themselves temporarily in the Hall of Shame. And they were given a Trivia Re-Do.

► CT                           

► JOHNNY BANANAS  

► ANEESA                  

► CARA MARIA        

► JENNA                  

► CAMILA                  

► THE CHAMPIONS 

And during Invasion last season, there wasn't even a single trivia challenge on that season, and it was up to the Champions to help fill the void.

And while not featured above, another Challenge champion is a self-confessed trivia fanatic who thrives on everything relating to trivia and puzzles. Sarah has had a chance to be on many seasons of this show, and cites trivia as one of her very favorite activities. She was on many of those trivia contests over the years on the show, starting on her first Challenge on Ruins, and through to her title on Exes 2 and her last challenge a year ago. Her broad knowledge became a perfect match with her longtime friend she met in her first go, Susie Meister, and with the ladder's PhD degree they started their own webcast, the Brain Candy Podcast, expanding upon their MTV experiences and elaborating on what they know in greater depth than a simple trivia question.


There are challenges, and then there are trivia challenges. Those who've been watching The Challenge for years know that this is the highlight of every season. No final challenge, no epic elimination and no big time house drama can match the battle of wits that take place each season. It is where someone can surprise the field and win, and where some of the most entertaining moments of any Challenge season takes place. There's always the amazement of how these great competitors don't have an idea of where a certain country is located or a piece of pop culture that most know but for some reason these players still feel brain-stuck about. And it's here where a brutally honest BMX legend can become both a quizmaster and a mad scientist at the same time.
   As they say, "There's Nothing Like Challenge Trivia!"

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As for the latest chapter in Challenge trivia? We'll have that covered along with the moment that had viewers' jaws drop last night and more on this week's look at Week 8 of The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30 coming up this weekend. This will come just after we give those who didn't watch it last night plenty of time to catch up now until then. And when you do rejoin us here, we'll have the 'Pulse of last night's episode, our top moments from Episodes 5-8 of this season and much more.
   Later tonight at my Twitter handle at @DC408Dxtr, I'll be revealing what's on ExtraTime at the end of those posts, and there you can also cast your vote on this week's two polls relating to that jaw-dropping moment as well as which regular daily challenge do you like the most. Those are open until late Friday night, and we'll have the results them here at weekend's end.
   For now until we talk here again, thank you for reading, see you then and to our friends in Florida and Houston, stay safe.

- I AM DC