The Look: Winter Break - Hunter Mountain

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Last year as its parent Viacom put their new strategy into action, MTV experienced a renaissance in relevance and ratings — 2017's second half garnering increased year-to-year viewership. There, they turned The Challenge into a year-round franchise, which made our work a bit busier along with two seasons of AYTO and their spinoffs. We also saw the state of Florida become a reality capital in Siesta Key and Floribama Shore premiering to much buzz. And in a time of TV returns and with Ludacris' help, a 2000's NBC hit was rebooted on MTV in Fear Factor, which returned for Season 2 this past weekend with new stunts and screams to scare the living hell out of those who dare to even try.

   Last September, a special postseason episode of that new Fear Factor pitted four Challenge icons: Bananas, Leroy, Aneesa & Laurel — versus four people who, like the British imports who have made a huge mark in Spain, were relative unknowns to most of us. This was because their show hadn't aired just yet, even though there was just a brief taste of it in a promo during last year's Video Music Awards when their show actually had a different title. The foursome who made their MTV debuts before the autumn equinox were no match for Team Challenge, and they didn't make it to the Final Fear and a shot at the $50,000 - which the guys eventually won.
   Now in the midst of the winter, those four who we saw in the SoCal sun are now ready to show us what they're really made of in their natural, ideal environment, in a much different climate. They and the rest of the cast live for the thrill of shredding it on the powder on the slopes with those skis & snowboards like so many of us who've been watching the Winter Olympics all this month along with The Bachelor Winter Games, all around Vendettas and Celebrity Big Brother. They are anxious to party like gold medalists and ready to kill it on the slopes, and what better place for this to go down then in a village three hours north of America's largest metropolis.
   If you enjoyed Floribama, are anxious for the Jersey OG's return in over a month, and/or wanting something house-based to fill that Real World void, you might've found the ideal candidate. And as a grand Olympiad in Korea has come to an end, tonight the focus of the year's coldest season will turn from the slopes of PyeongChang across the ocean to the mountains of New York State, as we take offer The Look at MTV's cooler hybrid of Jersey Shore and all things snow & ice: Winter Break: Hunter Mountain.

DC ExtraTime: Power Couples - Sweet Music... and a Baby

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

 JORDAN & TORI, and Sweet Music 

IG @Jordan_Wiseley

Before the long, dragged out finale of The Challenge XXX late last year, we shined a light on two of the finalists who competed for $1,000,000. For the man who bested two multiple champions in the final, we focused not on Jordan's prowess en route to his second title, but him playing the role of a rookie policeman on Tyler Perry's If Loving You is Wrong. For the lady who finished behind a beast mode of a competitor and who's widely seen as the least-popular champ ever, we looked at how Tori earned her stripes in the showbiz world not in her two past shows or her stellar rookie season on Dirty 30, but at New York City's biggest events talking to Nelly, Fat Joe and Ja Rule on the red carpet.
   Couples from same and separate seasons of their original and on subsequent show are commonplace not only in the ecosystem of The Challenge/Real World bubble and Are You The One, but also other MTV shows (and if a picture taken at a club down so fun last week is an indication, the two Florida-based shows might have a romance in Nilsa from Floribama Shore and dreamy stud Carson from Siesta Key). Jordan and Tori are the latest of these power couples which, if you follow them on SnapChat and Instagram and view their stories, you'll get a good glimpse of what they get to do everyday in that sunbaked SoCal paradise.

Both Jordan and Tori have been in high-profile cast romances, both on-camera and off: After we first saw him on Real World Portland, on The Challenge we have seen Jordan hook up with Sarah in the closet on Rivals II, with Jonna later in that rookie season, and then Laurel on Free Agents. For Tori, we saw her make out with Asaf on AYTO Season 4, then head to the Boom Boom Room with her eventual perfect match Morgan on both that season and on Second Chances. She then got romantic with another AYTO alum in Mike from Devin's Season 3 cast before he cheated on her in Seattle in the Real World Bad Blood house. And there was the mess of her latest relationship bust with Derrick H. from Season 5, for which she faced his fellow castmate Kam last night in elimination.

   Shortly after Season 30 wrapped up filming and them making the final together, Jordan and Tori returned stateside and things began to click for the both of them. This was brought into focus on the XXX reunion where supposedly the two got to do their thing, and though the question of them being officially a couple wasn't answered when The Miz asked them about it, what we've seen on social media from them suggests that this is more than a casual friendship… cross-country treks for them, then them in the mercenaries who invaded Vendettas along with the man he beat for in the final Derrick K., and one Tori had issues with on Dirty 30 and then on Champs vs. Stars, Aneesa.

When Dirty 30 entered the business part of the season, Tori's YouTube channel posted the first of three YouTube videos with Jordan being part of it, and all three have music in them. Below are the three tracks featuring these two people who have a lot in common of being very versatile (him as an athlete, actor, model and entrepreneur – her as a musician, model and having done that interview work) and both being very good Challenge competitors and people.

"BUDAPEST"

"WORK"

SONG #3

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 GIANNA & HAYDEN and a New Baby 

The day after last week's episode of The Challenge Vendettas was February 14th — and of course, it was Valentine's Day. And it was the most appropriate day for the revealing of the newest members of the Team MTV Parents Club, with a couple who met on Are You The One? last year, on the season where Kam, Alicia, Eddie and Tori's most recent ex come to us from.

   For the group who infamously lost the money last spring, there is silver lining for the one couple of the Season 5 cast who is still together. Gianna and Hayden met in that mansion in the Dominican Republic, and though they weren't paired in a matchup ceremony they were nonetheless together for most of that season, and they clicked from the moment they met. But they are also one of the many couples who were sent into the small space where hopes and dreams can live or die by laser beams, and returned out of the Truth Booth as non-matches. However, after he began to see Brazilian Carolina in the house -- and eventually become that season's other TB match, in the end his heart was with his fellow Midwesterner. Him stealing $60,000 when he and his perfect match were up for the Choice on Second Chances is indicative of this relationship.

IG @GiannaHammer

Last week on the biggest day of all in the love department, we saw the biggest thing to happen to Gianna & Hayden: no, not them announcing that they had gotten engaged though that day should be around the corner — but something just as magical. For days leading up to last week, they teased about something that would drop on Valentine's Day, and those wondered what it might be. And there, a photo was posted on both of theirs Instagram accounts to reveal to everyone that they are about to become parents.
   She posted on IG @GiannaHammer, "Happy Valentine’s Day! This came as a big surprise to us and am I nervous HELL YEA but I’m super super excited to grow this little bean into a cute lil mini me (or mini Hayden). God has a way of surprising people when they least expect it. Adding another baby to the AYTO fam 🎉, August better come quick! 💜 s/o to my friends and family who gave me the strength and support I needed throughout these last 2.5 months, Hayden was born to be a dad and i can't wait to be a mom and the love and support means everything to me. I love you all and you know who you are 💜💪🏽"
   For him, similar words on IG @Hayden.Parker.Weaver: "Happy Valentines Day to my girlfriend, best friend, and MOM of our first child ❤️👶🏽 I cannot wait to go on this exciting (and terrifying) journey with you into a new chapter of our lives and the rest of our family. You’re going to be the best (and hottest) Mom ever. August 2018 cannot get here soon enough. I love you. #August2018 #AugustBaby #BoyOrGirl ?"

Our congrats go out to them as they embark on this new stage in their lives which will reach a crescendo this summer, and check out our ExtraTime from last year when Gianna joined with fellow AYTO alum and Northern Ohio native Ashleigh from Season 1 to become Disney Princesses for a day with YouTube superstar Rachel Levin... we assume that if it's a baby girl, we're sure that she'll dress up like a princess on her first Halloween.

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This week saw something I've not had in a while: for the first time in over a year I missed a deadline to publish episode posts relating to last week's episode of The Challenge Vendettas before last night's episode aired. But it's for a valid excuse: I've been busy spending most of my free time watching the PyeongChang Winter Olympics with a bit more interest than others in my Twitter timeline. We apologize to those of you who didn't get the action, reaction and interaction of Episode 7 up in time.
   But need not worry: that will be part of a 'Pulse doubleheader covering that and last night's episode which will be up this weekend starting on Friday. Also, we'll have a Look at MTV's newest series, Winter Break: Hunter Mountain, as four of those who faced off against Bananas and The Challenge establishment on Fear Factor will carry that winter momentum from Korea to New York's Catskill Mountains for lots of drunken debauchery and lots of fun in the snow.
   Speaking of #DCGames18, tonight sees Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin and the U.S. Women's Hockey Team go for gold in Asia, plus final runs in the men's freestyle halfpipe and women's snowboarding big air — all with American medal threats. It's just starting over on DCNOW on Twitter @DC408DxNow... see you there right now, and we'll talk to you here this weekend.

- I AM DC

DC GAMES '18: Gus Kenworthy - A Pro's Profile

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

As this is being posted this long President's Day weekend, two things are going on that have been taking over the attention of this very blogger - two things that also happens to be two of my biggest passions. One is the current season of the fifth major pro sport, otherwise known as The Challenge, which is at the heart of what this site refers to as the MTV Trifecta, and for which this site covers wall-to-wall here. The other is the one event I look forward to most: the Olympics, and for which the Pyeongchang Winter Games are taking place half a world away.
   Usually, I would be spending much of my free time working on posts related to the MTV beat for this very DCBLOG site, which is then posted on weekends like these after you catch up on the episodes. But this month, I've been leveling off on that to spend virtually most of this month doing something a lot of you love but I don't do much: binge-watching the Olympics and live tweeting the competition every night. This offers the setting to this latest In-Depth longform, which is usually branded as DC ExtraTime and for which it takes its inspiration from the "Up Close and Personal" storytelling synonymous with Olympic TV coverage. And this story combines these two passions for something that took place last year and for which the moment of truth takes place tonight for our subject.

Last year, The Challenge launched a spinoff series pitting Champs – or at best, the show's most well-known competitors – against a group of Joe's from the sports and entertainment worlds to determine who is strongest, all in the name of charity. We saw several NFL stars, a U.K. celeb competition veteran who set the stage for the British invasion to Vendettas currently airing this season, a Wild 'N Out girl who showed that there was more to her than just looks and rhymes, and fighters from the WWE and UFC.
   Three weeks ago, the biggest event in American sports crowned the champion of this country's biggest sports league - Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis. And as soon as the Lombardi Trophy was given to the Eagles in a high-scoring affair over the Patriots, the sports world's attention, as well as that of the game's host network NBC, turned instantly across the Pacific Ocean to Pyeongchang, South Korea where four days later, the XXIII Olympic Winter Games begun competition a day before the Opening Ceremony.

   On Champs vs. Pros and on Champs vs. Stars, Team USA was well represented: snowboarders Lindsey Jacobellis and Louie Vito, hurdler turned bobsledder Lolo Jones, fellow 2008 Olympian and Des Moines native Shawn Johnson, Tokyo 2020 surfing hopeful Tia Blanco, and the man who had the most fascinating backstory of those who competed on either season. And as he goes for gold this coming weekend, we'd thought we like to bring you a post that was supposed to be posted during Champs vs. Pros but has been backtracked to this week as he competes in Korea.
   This story was slated to be posted during Champs vs. Pros last summer, but was put on the back-burner because of season 30 of the regular show which debuted shortly after the finale. But given the timeliness of him competing tonight in the U.S. and this morning in Asia, as well as making plenty of headlines both on the snow and in the lead-up to these Games, we thought that this was the perfect time to share with you this back-tracked post. This is our Pro's Profile of Olympian, proud LGBT athlete and Champs vs. Pros competitor Gus Kenworthy.

DC WRAP: The Challenge Vendettas - Thru 6, and Champs vs. Joes S3 Rumors

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

We are now six weeks down on The Challenge Vendettas, and things have already gotten very good over in Spain: newbies from Britain and America, intriguing gameplay, drama aplenty both in the house and on social media, and much more. With this webmaster who is also an avid Olympic fan giving precedent to the latter for a bit, we won't be doing our usual episode recaps until after the Games conclude, but it won't mean we won't still do these WRAP posts.
   With that in mind, coming up we'll had into the Strategy Room to reveal our Power List: the standouts of this season so far. We'll also look at a guy who's been in the news of late getting to meet a true OG, and we'll even view the long-range forecast at the latest season of Champs vs. Stars. All that is ahead.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Vendettas - "Notes on a Scandal"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

On this late Saturday night -- and after those of you got to see Cleveland native Red Gerard become America's first gold medalist in Korea and the Warriors dominate the Spurs, welcome to our DCBLOG look at Week 6 of The Challenge: Vendettas, where things have been getting a bit more juicy.
   Last week saw a British girl become the center of the house's attention when Melissa finds herself in plenty of drama with a fight with fellow firestarter Kam, which then saw her being voted into the Ring to face off against Sylvia. But her true strength in the game was tested when she fell ill and put into doubt whether she can continue and power through. The two then engage in a stellar elimination and despite not being at a full 100%, Sylvia came away victorious.
   This week, the challengers will tackle a daunting task of having to swim with the fishes and the sharks in a rare nighttime mission. A bromance between two guys then finds itself into some hatred ahead of guys elimination week and big moves by the Troika and in nominations. And as the Jersey Shore gang enjoys their time in Florida, The Challenge house takes on the task of wondering, "Who wrote the note?" as the girls try to figure out who left mean notes in their room.

You'll find out that and more as all the action, reaction and interaction is ahead, along with plenty of Twitter beefs between a vet and two girls over his actions. And after the Pulse, someone who has a British accent herself joins some friends for a good old fashioned eating contest, but it's not disgusting food that they're going for… find out what happens when they eat some wings.

A night in the water, the Note, Twitter beefs, and wings around the table... it's all ahead on The Pulse of The Challenge: Vendettas. And thanks for staying up for us tonight.

DC SocialPulse Extra: Before Vendettas Week 6

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language and objectionable content. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Welcome to the Weekend, and to this week's ride Inside the MTV Trifecta. As we have just watched the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics and before the first medals are awarded in a few hours in Pyeongchang, we're about to bring you all the cast interaction between Episode 5 and Sylvia & Melissa's fantastic elimination duel, and Episode 6 - for which the main diary of that will come to you tomorrow before competition commences in Korea. Included: the Super Bowl, the halftime show, This is Us, and Kylie baby fever. That and more on a Jersey Shore surprise is ahead...

DC WRAP: The Challenge Vendettas - "Guilty by Association"

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

As we all try and get through this Monday after the Super Bowl and the Eagles' upset win over the Patriots and the most heart-wrenching episode of This is Us, welcome back to our WRAP of last week's episode of The Challenge Vendettas. And before everything went down in Minneapolis last night, we saw more big drama take place with Melissa as she went at it with Kam before she faced off against Sylvia, who had to overcome taking on the flu just to compete and stay in the game. What took place after was a compelling elimination that added to those great "win or go home" battles we have seen on this show, just after some very good ones last year.
   Coming up, an abbreviated WRAP where we'll look at that round, have some reaction from Melissa and Kam post-fight, and look at some strong women's elimination rounds. Afterwards, we'll say hello to a new group of newbies who took on Bananas and friends on Fear Factor and are now ready for their closeup in the New York snow. That's all coming up.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Vendettas - "Guilty by Association"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and we have just witnessed the battle between the Patriots and the Eagles for the NFL Championship. And now DCBLOG has something just as appetizing: the Pulse of The Challenge Vendettas. And as football steps aside, things have been warming up over in Spain.
   Last week, Melissa was put into the ring to face Alicia in the first girls Ring, and despite being new to the MTV U.S. audience the Brit took care of the AYTO newbie. While all eyes were set on the house trying to break Brad and Britni up - and after a promising season on Dirty 30, Tony was last week's MVP when he killed the latest trivia and eating challenge to gain Troika status with Marie and Zach, and then forcing a team with his Vendettas of Brad and Sylvia to vote her in.
   This week sees her have to battle not only possibly going home, but also trying to fight an illness that may send her home. For those of us getting to see the Brit DJ for the first time that those outside the U.S. have seen on Ex on the Beach UK, we get to see what she kind of drama she brings, which may again reignite her feud with her vendettas Kayleigh. And after a year that saw a slew of great Challenge elimination matchups, this week sees another one join that list.

You'll experience that and all the action, reaction and interaction coming up, and after the diary there was another fight that took place this past week, but you might not have known about it unless you follow my Instagram. You'll see those ahead on the 'Pulse of The Challenge... and thanks for staying up for us tonight.

DC SocialPulse Extra: Before Vendettas Week 5

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language and objectionable content. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

As you indulge in this Super Bowl weekend, take the opportunity to enjoy all the cast interaction between Episode 4 and this week's Episode 5 of The Challenge Vendettas, before the main diary of the ladder comes your way later tonight. Included: yet another Twitter beef - this one involving one who would become a key figure this week and someone who was at the heart of much of the drama last season. As we say, Enjoy.

DC ExtraTime: AYTO Meets 98 Degrees

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

It's Friday, and it's the weekend as DCBLOG is about to again take you Inside the MTV Trifecta. Coming up, girls rule on The Challenge: Vendettas with a popoff queen from across the pond getting into battles both in the house and in the elimination chamber. But first on a day that those in Britain have eagerly awaited for many years in a potential reunion of the Spice Girls having social-verse abuzz, this week's sole piece of ExtraTime...
   Last week, we featured two musicians with ties to the year 2001: one-hit wonder Afroman who gave an ode to marijuana with "Because I Got High", and Canada's rock imports Nickelback who emerged on the world stage a few months later. The former got to hang out with the cast of Siesta Key in nearby Sarasota, FL before their most explosive episode yet, while the ladder and frontman Chad Kroeger got to spend some quality time with Johnny Bananas. Now, another musical flashback with members of Team MTV... but this time we shift to pop, and a true flashback to twenty years ago.

When Total Request Live and original host Carson Daly first took over Times Square in 1998, a group who broke through that same year was one who chose the right time to make a name for themselves as pop music began a renaissance that continues two decades later. While attending Kent State, Jeff Timmons decided to forgo college and NFL dreams to pursue a music career out west in L.A. after receiving good feedback at a local performance. There, he met another Ohio college student, Nick Lachey, who decided that they should form a vocal group. Nick called college friend Justin Jeffre, then his younger brother Drew Lachey - a New York EMT at the time, and 98 Degrees was born.
   Jeff, Nick, Justin and Drew took up usual day jobs in security, landscaping and food delivery to help foot the bills, then looked to Boyz II Men and other groups for their inspiration before making rounds in SoCal record labels in the hope they get discovered. Eventually, the legendary Motown Records won the signing battle, and 98 Degrees first made waves when they sneaked backstage at one of Boyz II Men's concerts and caught the eye of local radio who invited them to perform on air. Their debut single, "Invisible Man," went Top 15 in the summer of '97 and landed an opening act spot on Janet Jackson's Velvet Rope Tour. But that was the start of their journey.
   98 Degrees differentiated themselves from 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys by emphasizing their original songwriting skills that reflected R&B more than mainstream pop. And while the Orlando pop outfits were exchanging #1 on TRL, 98 Degrees plowed along scoring a cameo alongside Stevie Wonder on Disney's Mulan soundtrack, then released their debut album that scored two Top 5 hits, including breakthrough hit "Because of You" whose video saw them perform on the Golden Gate Bridge. Two more albums followed, and after taking a 10-yr. hiatus when Nick got hitched to Jessica Simpson and later TRL alum Vanessa Minillo, the guys reunited and are still performing.

Brittany, Jeff, Nicole and performer Nicole
Michelle (IG @BrittanyBaldi)

This brings us to this: last week, two Are You The One? alumni -- Brittany from Season 1 and Exes 2, and fellow New Englander Nicole from the most recent Season 6 (and one-half of the only Truth Booth perfect match in New Orleans) -- had the opportunity to welcome Jeff to their Boston home base for a benefit concert, the Generations Gala, where the heartthrob served as event host. Members of The Cars (2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees) and The Joe Perry Project, X Factor USA alum Jillian Jensen, aka Amber Eyes, and social media sensation Wolftyla performed at the Gala, along with emerging acts to benefit causes helping in the effort to battle substance abuse.
   Below & to the right are their embedded photos from backstage, with Brittany captioning to the right, "Amazing time last night at #GenerationsGala ! 😎👏🏼", while Jeff added below, "Great hanging w @brittanybaldi @niicoleamber @nicolemichellesings @generationsgala last night. Thanks #boston @dufresnebilly @royaleboston"

Great hanging w @brittanybaldi @niicoleamber @nicolemichellesings @generationsgala last night. Thanks #boston @dufresnebilly @royaleboston

A post shared by jefftimmons (@jefftimmons) on Jan 28, 2018 at 11:38am PST

And on the topic of the ladies featured here: last fall on Season 6, we saw Oregonian Joe having to deal with his ex, Season 5 alum Taylor, in the New Orleans house during the always spine-tingling visit from the exes during any AYTO season... if word on the vine is right this might not be the last time they get to be in the same house. But Taylor & Joe aren't the only ones among a group who pulled out a Patriots-esque last ditch comeback to win $1 million with ties to a past season.
   Before she went onto last season, Nicole had worked with Brittany on web videos for Boston web site Performer.com, including doing some together. Below is one of their projects - Wicked Bites, which is also a TV show that airs on regional sports network NESN, and of them checking out a sports bar and restaurant located down the street from Fenway Park... all set to the tune of "The Right Stuff" from, of all groups, old school boy band New Kids on the Block.

One might imagine what kind of advice the Season 1 original gave the Season 6 newbie about what to expect in the AYTO house. But Brittany and Nicole represent part of the recent crop of a long line of proud castmates of Are You The One? and The Challenge/Real World franchise who come to us from New England and those who are Boston born and bred. And when you count other shows from outside the Trifecta, the MTV universe will have some New England representation in the upcoming new show Winter Break: Hunter Mountain - which we will cover later this Super Bowl weekend.

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Tomorrow, we'll have the 'Pulse of week 5 of Vendettas. And for a little tease of what to expect, if you love drama and competition... you'll enjoy what's to come. See you then, and have a great Friday.

- I AM DC