DC ExtraTime Flashback: Mini-Me Invades The Challenge

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Last weekend, the entertainment world lost two notable figures from two different generations in two different forms of showbiz. On Friday, music enthusiasts gathered again in the Inland Empire for the second weekend of Coachella, where they saw Beyonce dominate the buzz as did Eminem, The Weeknd and hundreds of other acts. But the talk among fans was of the news of the sudden death of EDM DJ and producer Avicii - aka Tim Bergling, who was found dead while on vacation in a hotel room in the Arab country of Oman. Millions of music fans had the opportunity to pay tribute to one of dance music's icons and, along with fellow Scandinavians Swedish House Mafia, elevated this underground genre into part of the mainstream music scene.

The next day, it was movie fans who had to endure the pain of losing one of their favorites much too soon. Verne Troyer, the actor, stunt performer and comedian best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movie franchise, passed away last Saturday at the age of 49. He was notable for not only his role in one of the defining movie series of the '90s and 2000's, but also due of the result of cartridge-hair hypoplasia, standing just 2'8" -- 32 inches in becoming one of the shortest men on earth.  He first gained experience on camera as a stunt double in several films including Jingle All The Way with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Men in Black with Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones before landing his big break.
   Director Jay Roach inquired about having someone play the role of Mini-Me before Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me began filming, and to serve as Dr. Evil's smaller duplicate. The SNL alum was impressed by Verne's performance so much, the sequel's script was reworked to give Mini-Me more time in the film and the character's death was removed from the 1999 film. Mini-Me would return in Goldmember three years later, and also gained roles as Griphook in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in 2009.
   Because of him becoming the unsung hero of the Austin Powers series, Troyer seemed to have been everywhere at the turn of the century: The Surreal Life, British Celebrity Big Brother, and Celebrity Wife Swap. He had a one-day marriage that garnered much press attention, a private home video of him and an ex-girlfriend having sex that also had as much buzz as the Paris Hilton affair, and just this month had been admitted to hospital after encountering an incident at his home after being admitted to rehab for alcoholism treatment. The ladder would turn out to be the cause of death due to a reported possible suicide by way of high alcohol levels and possible poisoning.

Though I have been watching the show on a regular basis since 2012, the first Challenge season that I remember watching and have memories of was Challenge 2000, hosted not by TJ Lavin or Jonny Moseley, but by Gladys from Road Rules -- infamous for getting into a fight that got her kicked off her Latin American season two years earlier. This was after the first Real World season I watched religiously of the Hawaii season in 1999 which began with Teck Holmes and Ruthie Alcaide going skinny-dipping when they arrived at their house and her being sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning the very next day, and as it was with the St. Thomas cast years later it was of a few of them going onto The Challenge that gave me reason to tune in.
   Teck and the blonde who was involved in the show's first-ever serious inter-cast romance, Amaya Brecher, went onto the second battle between teams Real World and Road Rules back when The Challenge more resembled the ladder show than the ones we take for granted today. They were joined by fellow Challenge rookie and future Hall of Famer Veronica Portillo, David Burns from RW Seattle (best remembered for his meltdown with a casting director turned girlfriend), and Real World original Heather B. from the first season in New York, among others who represented ten seasons of MTV's original reality franchises.
   The season began with them bungee-jumping off the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas before that became a regular attraction in the largest observation tower in America, spent 24 hours being stir crazy in a hotel room, did a homemade swimsuit contest, raced in both a demolition derby and swamp buggy, and partook in redneck games and mud football. The last challenge saw what those on Rivals III got to do to begin their season: going bungee-jumping and like what happened to Jordan on Challenge XXX, Amaya had a hard landing and spent a night in hospital... all as Team Road Rules bathed in victory, and the handsome reward of Nissan cars.

It was in the third week of Challenge 2000 that the teams found themselves in the ring to go wrestling, either against each other or against pros. Some of the competitors got to do the former -- Heather B. taking on Piggy from Road Rules Australia; Teck taking on Road Rules original Carlos, and Kat taking on Road Rules Northern Trail's Holly. Others did the ladder -- Mike and Holly's RV-mate Dan took on female wrestlers, while Amaya and Veronica took on little people. And the one who served as referee in the square was Verne Troyer... and when the Hawaiian went into the ring, below is what happened next.

RIP @VerneTroyer 👼🏻#Thechallengemtv @v_cakes @amayasays pic.twitter.com/BRFx3M3UdB

— The Challenge MTV (@Challengemtv___) April 22, 2018

Him having to see Amaya run around the ring like a school girl remains a memorable moment of The Challenge's twenty years on the air and part of MTV's quarter-century long legacy of perfecting reality TV. He isn't alone in having made a cameo on what is now regarded as the fifth major pro sport: Kobe Bryant, Roy Jones Jr. and a few others made guest spots in the early years long before Stars and Pros like them would have their shot to go against Bananas, CT, Cara Maria and company.
   Verne Troyer may have left us a little too soon, but he is no doubt remembered by everyone who watched him both in the movies and on the many TV shows he did just after he became a household name. He leaves behind that legacy of being part of the Austin Powers franchise and proving that in a world like ours, little people can be just as popular and loved as those bigger and stronger than them.

- I AM DC

Bibliography: Wikipedia/Verne Troyer, Geocities