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Whenever the leaves start to fall and cooler weather begins taking over, it means that the year's most exciting time is about to begin: the holidays between October and January. Retailers and those who like decorating houses love autumn & winter, as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's all fall in the course of sixty-days from October 31st until two months later. As 2020 is a leap year, all these holidays will fall over the weekend... and the ripple effect of this year's pandemic now means two of music's biggest festivals, Coachella and EDC, are now pushed back into this fall.
It's with the first holiday of the 4th and last quarter of the calendar year that is based around this ExtraTime story about something a bit unusual but linked in some way to what we've been having on Thursdays for the past couple years, and the nostalgia movement in the world of TV where networks are realizing that their viewers are so much tied to their past and are rebooting programming & starting new content based on their most valuable intellectual property. And this story also mixes in something that would make you want to, as the saying goes, "go bump in the night."
Two of those who are featured here have had encounters with the downright paranormal: one in America's heartland who made up with her ex after a fling with the new MTV King, and the other who is a Challenge champion from a renowned cast of an erstwhile MTV show of years gone by who invited some investigators to look over her house in the Pacific Northwest. If you love those stranger occurrences we have in this world of ours, then this post is just for you as we're about to go on this trip into the weird, and A Different Kind of Being Ghosted...
In many of our ExtraTime posts over the years, we've featured the times where MTV Reality and music have collided -- most recently when a former teen pop star who once hung out with a New Orleans Queen of The Challenge finally won a Grammy this winter. A few years ago, we told two stories of how two musical groups from different genres used guest cameos to boost their profiles before eventually taking over the charts.
This latest tale of a music act appearing on an MTV Reality series doesn't involve an emerging artist getting their big break towards getting global recognition, but is a story that was lost in time and took until a return of two of its members to The Challenge a few years ago for us to dust off this story. As this flashback is being posted, it has been a decade & a half since one of the most-notable albums of the 21st century, which was released by one of the co-subjects of this post.
Here - and unlike Yellowcard, LMFAO and a then-unknown Lady Gaga who had Lauren and Whiten work on her stage outfit on a 2008 episode of The Hills, the artists featured here were more well known at the time than their later counterparts in the pop, rock and dance genres. This was before they released two albums in one that propelled them into the mainstream and brought the South to the forefront of hip-hop. And the cast who share top-billing on the marquee would ultimately produce four Challenge champions, including the only Challenger ever to win four straight titles.
When you have a renowned cast of a past and pioneering MTV Reality series get to perform in front of a group that was ready to become the biggest stars in the world, then you have the story of when OutKast Invaded Road Rules.
Last week on Challenge ExtraTime, we caught up with a Real World original in Syrus Yarbrough - the series' first ladies man who, twenty years after doing RW Boston, remains a proud representative of the RW/Challenge franchise to the many people he's met over the years - both on five Challenges and in the streets from Santa Monica Pier to Spring Break in South Padre, TX. Well, as Shane and Darrell appear on our screens now once again for this Challenge, it brings us to their original show and what was, for a time, the third jewel of the MTV Trifecta - Road Rules.
Seventeen years ago - and right as reality TV was starting to grab everyone's attention outside MTV land thanks to the enormously successful first season of Survivor, Road Rules went big time for its ninth season on the Maximum Velocity Tour. That season saw the show return to the U.S. after trips overseas, and saw that cast encounter a man by the name of "Roadmaster," who gave them clues on their weekly missions. It saw them - among others - tackle their Winter Olympic dreams, became fugitives on the run, partied in New Orleans, synchro swam with Playboy playmates, rode in planes and monster trucks, sea dove in Key West, went underwater with sharks, faced Team Real World New Orleans in South Africa and boy band O-Town in SoCal, spent 48 hours alone in the wilderness, and finally got married in Las Vegas, earning them the handsome reward.
The show itself was also shortlisted for the first-ever Emmy nominations for Outstanding Reality Program, and of course other reality competition shows including The Challenge, Are You The One? and Stranded with a Million Dollars, among others, have followed the path set by Road Rules. And the cast of Season 9 comprised of rugby player James, business major Kathryn (not the Kathryn of the current AYTO season), ladies man Laterrian, snowboarder Holly, tap dancer Msadda, and our latest "Catching Up with..." subject.
When we first met Theo Von on that RV back in the summer of 2000, he was a 17 year-old from just north of New Orleans and who had the actual longer name of Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski on his birth certificate...makes you glad he shortened his name to just two syllables to make it easier for everyone to pronounce his name instead of voicing that mouthful. His original MTV.com bio went something like this...
"This 19-year-old guy is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. He is studying at the University of Louisiana and dreams of being a children's author/magazine editor. Raised in Louisiana all his life, Theo is an adorable southerner who speaks his own language, "Theoisms." Theo has the curiosity and imagination of a two-year-old with the cunning of a natural instigator. He loves to make people laugh or make them irritated. He says he hates to be alone. Theo is a self-professed slob. His roommates call him "the dirty bird." He has a girlfriend, Mandy, who he has been seeing for a few months. He cares about her, but it does not seem to be serious right now. "If I'm wise, I'll make things work. But knowing me, I'll find a way to completely screw it up." Mr. Charming will be pursued on this road trip, no doubt."
Theo would go on to do four Challenges: partnering with Holly on the first Battle of the Seasons a year later, then notching two wins with Team Road Rules on The Gauntlet and with the Guys' team on Battle of the Sexes II, and most recently partnering with Chanda on Fresh Meat, losing in elimination to eventual runners-up Kenny and Tina.
It was after that stay in Australia that an opportunity came calling for Theo to shift gears from competition to comedy, appearing later that year in 2006 on the fourth season of NBC's Last Comic Standing. In his initial interview, he came to that summer comedy showcase to reintroduce himself as a guy who could make everyone laugh along with being a reality TV pioneer: "I was on Road Rules years ago. I feel like a lot of times people don’t take me seriously as a comedian because I’ve been on television before. Let’s put it up on the stage, let’s see what’s going on."
With a joke making reference to Britney Spears' one-time husband Kevin Federline advancing him past the show's first round, that night at the comedy club opened many doors for Theo. In 2008, Comedy Central casted him, as well as fellow LCS alum Amy Schumer and many others for Reality Bites Back, hosted by Michael Ian Black. Then after two other shows, the next year Theo helped to create the art of "crank texting," where a user would send a text message to random phone numbers on the hope that they can incite conversations, which after launching a blog devoted to crank texting caught the attention of CollegeHumor and was picked up as a column on that site later on.
Those folks at Yahoo! would then come calling by taking over one of the web's most-watched daily shows, "Primetime in No Time," offering recaps of the previous night's TV shows, followed by a half-hour stand-up special on Comedy Central and his first film, InAPPropiate Comedy in spring 2013. And that summer came his most-notable gig: hosting TBS' hidden camera show Deal With It, which aired for three seasons and was executive produced by Howie Mandel. And last year, Theo had his first hour-long comedy special when Theo Von: No Offense premiered on that binge-worthy platform of Netflix.
Along with appearing on a few late night talk shows, two years ago Theo added the title of "podcast host" to his resume when he joined with filmmaker & journalist Matthew Cole Weiss to co-host "Allegedly," which sees the guys talk to high-profile celebrities and share their stories of making it in Hollywood. Christina Milian, David Spade, Mandel, Jamie Kennedy, Spice Girl Mel B, Kato Kaelin, Dr. Drew, Teen Mom's Farrah Abraham, Bravo's Andy Cohen and, as we mentioned in the past, The Miz, among others, have all talked to Theo and Matt. And the Allegedly podcast remains one of the industry's highest-rated celebrity podcasts.
We have discussed a few times here before of the hilarity and humor of comedy being prevalent in the Trifecta, from Are You The One? Original JJ to hilarious videos by a few others. In this day & age when anything that takes place in Washington, on the Oscars stage or viral videos become fodder for jokes by comedians, late night hosts and podcasts, in his post-MTV phase, Theo Von has surely chosen the right occupation in making us laugh.
Often in ExtraTime, we like to help liven the mood a bit after our episode coverage with something that'll make you want to laugh. Our first subject this week made his MTV debut ten years ago, and now in his post-MTV life makes a living in a field where all that's necessary is to have a mic, a mic stand and a knack for telling the right jokes. Yes, we're talking about being a comedian.
We first met Dan Walsh in 2007, where he was just adjusting to life back home in St. Louis after a tour of duty on the home front with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom. Knowing that so many servicemen & servicewomen were in need of a morale boost in this ultimate of demanding occupations being far away from home, during down time Dan took to the stage to perform comedy and help bring laughs to his fellow compatriots. And before he went abroad to defend our country, Dan also earned his stripes as an independent pro wrestler, spending a decade & a half on regional circuits in the Midwest and Great Lakes.
One day, an opportunity came calling for him to take a break from the stage, the ring and performing in front of crowds to do television and to take his talents to a larger audience than he had before. And in 2007, he joined Road Rules: Viewers Revenge, where he got to become a member of the Pit Crew: him and seven other castmates -- including a relatively unknown Kentucky pageant queen named Tori Hall -- who were chosen to be on the cast. They joined six alums of the RV: all-time Challenge legend Abram, Adam of The Quest, Kina of Derrick's X-Treme season, Ruins champ Susie, Invasion breakout star Shane and Veronica who we just saw up above.
After his time in the RV, Dan then was invited to his first Challenge: The Island in 2008, where as a rookie he almost made it to the end, and him falling into the water and getting eliminated in the same Water Bound mission -- a Purge-like mission -- that saw Evelyn prove why she was one of the best girls ever on this show. Then, he went to Prague for Cutthroat in 2010, where again he made it past the halfway point and eventually succumbed in his only elimination to eventual champion Dunbar.
But along the way, Dan also had his own challenge: battling his own demons, and it was there that his alter-ego the Danimal was born. On the Panamanian coast, he was described as a hot mess: someone who was stumbling around the beach drunk. He would then find himself in a dark place, that was a wake-up call to change his ways. Going into Cutthroat, Dan explained his life-changing experience: "I went into recovery for my alcoholism. I quit drinking and got real healthy, and fixed my life. I got my head into the game and decided to come back and win one one of these."
Though he would up come short, him becoming sober and changing his ways towards a positive direction allowed him to establish a better name for himself in his post-MTV career: being by day a self-confessed "gym rat" and expert on health supplements, and by night and weekend accomplishing that lifelong goal of conquering the world of comedy.
As this is being posted this Friday the 13th, tonight Dan is taking the stage at The World Famous Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. This is the same comedy club where the likes of Joe Rogan, Jeffrey Ross, Dane Cook, Judd Apatow, Greg Fitzsimmons and so many other comedians do what they do best... and just two nights ago, fellow Road Rules alum (and someone who we featured here a little while back) Theo Von also did stand-up in this very nightclub.
Dan has held the mic several times at The Comedy Store this year, which is where any big name and rising comedian wants to take the stage at, and its list of those who've taken the stage is a who's who. Given where he's come from when he rode in that RV, it's been a long and winding road that's brought him to this world of laughter... perhaps he might follow in Theo's footsteps and become the next great comedian. Below is Dan's standup last year at Flapper's in beautiful Burbank.
Last week, Challenge fans who have been on this ride for the entire 20-year run were given a special gift when the competitor with the longest lineage of anyone on Final Reckoning, Shane, asked old-timers from back in the day to pop in on his Instagram takeover. If you haven't had a chance, open up the IG app on your phone and check out those we haven't seen on these shows in years say hello to fans for the first time... and chances are, we have featured them in our posts here.
Next month will be five years since the most devastating news ever for Jay G. from Real World Ex-Plosion when a call he got from his dad back home left him in tears: his mom, Lucy Mitchell, died unexpectedly after a several years' battle with Breast Cancer. Last week came two devastating pieces of news from two people from different worlds: first, one-half of the duo who made Olympic history becoming the first Americans to win cross-country skiing gold, Kikkan Randall, announced that she had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, five months after she and teammate Jessie Diggins won gold in Korea when Diggins' last-second sprint finish netted them Winter Games history.
The other person who bravely announced a prognosis with this disease is someone who older MTV fans can remember from long ago. Angela Trimbur appeared on Road Rules X-Treme in summer 2004 as a replacement roadie who joined Challenge Mania's Derrick Kosinski and the cast who rode that RV in South America, was part of the series' last-ever handsome reward, and then competed on Battle of the Sexes II.
But for someone whose aspirations was not on spending the next decade with Bananas and co., her MTV stint served as a springboard to success for her in the entertainment industry afterwards in following through on her dreams to be an actress. She got to do improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade, guest spots on CSI, Entourage and Workaholics, playing Harley David in Halloween II, Tina in The Final Girls and various other TV and movie roles. And she's on a celebrity basketball team alongside Aubrey Plaza from Parks & Recreation and Legion.
More than a week ago, Angela took to Instagram to share a photo from the doctor's room before she went for a regular checkup, and the news she received would change her life. The caption on @AngelaTrimbur read, "My dear friend Josette took this photo of me moments before the doctor came in to tell me my biopsy results: that i have breast cancer. I am still in such shock and extremely nervous for the journey. I will need to have my breast/s removed soon and eventual implants to replace. Possible post chemotherapy tbd hopefully not. I want to share this life event to feel less alone and find strength in the love & support of others who care."
Like so many others who have gone through an experience millions of American women have gone through, Angela was in stunned by this prognosis but like anyone who's been in many comedic roles in her post-MTV career has remained upbeat - even having some Starbursts candy. As of now, her eggs have been freezed ahead of having surgery early next week to have her breasts removed, followed by treatment and waiting for the doctors to tell her if that cancer has spread. And if needed, there's the always excruciating process of chemotherapy and radiation that, no doubt, will be her toughest challenge yet.
Angela launched a GoFundMe effort to ask for the public's help in helping to foot the bill on everything related to the next several months, from surgery to recovery and everything before and after. And nearly 1,500 people have pitched in over $100,000 in the past week to help to these efforts, and the effort is still active at that website. Our thoughts are with Angela as she goes through these next few months with this battle she has ahead of her.
On Thursday night before the finale of Ex On The Beach - which is our next piece of business here, we saw old friends say goodbye for now as Mike, Snooki, J-Woww, Pauly D, Ronnie, Vinny and Deena wrapped up the first of two Jersey Shore Family Vacations in Miami, with another one to come later at summer's end. It's with them in mind that two of this week's ExtraTime stories that accompany Champs vs. Stars feature those we first saw on MTV as far back to 16 years ago, and the person who we saw back in 2002 is our first subject, who with the help of a Challenge champ.
Twitter @MTVAshleyBrooke
After what we saw from her on the Reunion, you know Ashley is someone who is the epitome of a firecracker just waiting to go off on these shows: her Real World season and succeeding Challenges and what we've seen there explains how explosive she is emotionally. Last week, the Invasion champ got to play host to someone who we last saw back in 2004 on the winning Road Rules side on The Challenge: Inferno I in Mexico.
If you watched that season, you might remember Kendal Sheppard, that blonde girl who we saw on Shane's Road Rules Campus Crawl season of sixteen years ago. Her bio read, "With her golden hair and dimples, angel-faced Kendal is a total sweetheart with a penchant for trouble. When it comes to parties and boys, this 21-year-old is game for anything. She's had a steady stream of boyfriends over the years, and couldn't remain faithful to a single one. But Kendal has a heart-wrenching past: Her father committed suicide when she was 12, and her flight attendant mother was constantly away. Kendal was forced to fend for herself and is still dealing with those consequences; she wants to be strong, but can't help being vulnerable."
Kendal developed a romance with Floridian Eric during the RV trip across America's top colleges, then went onto her only Challenge of Inferno, where she shared in the victory elation with Darrell (part of his untouched Challenge four-peat), Christena of the South Pacific season, Holly from Latin America, Timmy from RR Second Adventure, and Veronica and Katie -- though it's what happened with the ladder two and that fight in the girls bedroom that's most remembered than the final.
Kendal and Ashley partied together in Sin City along with the Real World'er's sister, as the Road Rules alum took a break from her post-MTV gig of being a mom, wife and a nurse. She even walked by the Palms Hotel, which hosted the original Real World Las Vegas and recently went through a new hotel renovation. And during Final Reckoning, we'll take a look at a notable moment of that Road Rules Campus Crawl season: Kendal, Shane and their RV mates getting to dance in front of two of hip-hop's biggest names who were in the verge of worldwide stardom.
