#DCBLOG: The Moments That Get You Talking. Unique Perspective. Original Storytelling. Join Us as We Go Inside MTV Reality and Whatever You're Passionate About. Like, Comment, Share, Subscribe & Join In at @DC408Dxtr.
*** 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. ***
If you're just relaxing on this Saturday night of Easter weekend -- and if you have just gotten done watching the Final Four or today's binge-athon of Winter Break: Hunter Mountain, come step inside to our house as we bring you the Pulse of The Challenge Vendettas, and the semifinal... the last regular challenge before the big final.
Last week, the competition in Spain came to a conclusion with the last two challenges in Malaga: the first saw the players dive into the water, and strategy played in a role in that as those who were better swimmers than those who aren't took out the win. Queen Kam joined that illustrious list of those winning three eliminations in one season in staking her claim to potentially being Outstanding Rookie of Vendettas. And then the final regular mission: a demanding time trial to test everyone who wants to make the journey to a new location and whether they are tough enough to make it to the marathon for the cash.
Zach and Nicole were the top finishers for the men and women, respectively, and gained their ticket to the Czech Republic where the final will take place, and this week we'll find out who else will join them in the quest for the six-figure payday that will take place just around the corner. But before that comes one more challenge that takes the ten semifinalists to what one of them did on Fear Factor: high-octane which will determine who will be the Elite Eight gunning for the cash. And just as you thought that dirtiness of what's made this and last season so compelling is something, wait until you find out who the latest player to get blindsided is.
You'll find out that and so much more with all the action, reaction and interaction of Episode 13 of Vendettas coming up, plus March Madness and the March for Our Lives. And afterwards, with the disappointing news of the company announcing it will soon become a part of history, ExtraTime will join a man who we featured here just a couple days ago as he gets to become a Toys "R" Us kid.
A trip to the Czech Republic, a trip on eighteen wheelers, a blindside, and Toys R Us... all of that is ahead on the Pulse of The Challenge Vendettas.
*** Advisory: Pulse Diary below contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
We have arrived at the last weekend of March, and as you begin this holiday weekend with this Passover Friday, we're about to take you Inside the MTV Trifecta. Coming up, The Challenge Vendettas reaches its Elite Eight, but we start things off with some winter fun with our friends at Winter Break: Hunter Mountain.
On Episode 2 two weeks ago, two more visits by the cops for welfare checks being initiated by her mom saw the already brewing tension between JBrew and Alessandra reach new levels. For Jillian, she received the news that she has a broken arm, but decides to not leave the house this early into her trip. But on a lighter note, we saw our first hookup in the house, as was our first prank in ranch being put into Marc's lotion, as well as the mesmerizing sport of pink pong meeting Jack@$$.
On Episode 3 last week, JBrew and Alessandra's feud continues to hang over the house over whether it was the right thing to have the parents get into this thing in the first place. However, matters turn for a few to the most important people these people have back home, including one of them who might find themselves in a precarious spot when a call from home comes up. And for two of them who have been flirting a bit since they moved in, will they finally hook up?
Find out the answers to all of that after the jump as we bring you our look at Episode 3 of Winter Break: Hunter Mountain, as we welcome you to the weekend with DCBLOG.
As we speak to you at the end of this month of March, if you're checking us out from the East Coast, chances are you got snowed in last week. There, a fourth major Nor'easter in a month barreled across the East Coast as Winter Storm Toby caused headaches from D.C. to Boston, with New York City having as much as 3/4th of a foot of snow just as the seasonal calendar turned the page to the season of Spring. This even gave original Are You The One? host Ryan Devlin reason to go outside to celebrate spring and do his own Gene Autry imitation by dancing in the snow in the freezing cold in Kentucky… all while wearing boxers in his Instagram story last Tuesday on that first day of Spring.
For those college kids who've been inching to escape that cold, they've been given reason the course of the past month to do just that by either of two words. One has been of following the teams they follow or despise the most with March Madness, and an NCAA Basketball Tournament that's been anything but ordinary this time around, with teams going down like fall leaves including the first #16 over #1 upset in men's tournament history.
The other is defined by two simple words: Spring Break. There was a time for many years when MTV jettisoned its entire regular programming schedule for one weekend in March, and from Friday afternoon until the wee hours of Monday morning -- 60 hours in total -- gave America reason to binge-watch all of this wildness from Cancun, Florida and South Padre, TX to living rooms and dorm rooms before the term even actually existed.
In previous posts posted on here the past two years -- and a compilation of those that was soft-posted here on Sunday, this site has shared with you the times when alumni and current cast members of the Trifecta of The Challenge, Are You The One?, Real World and soon, Ex on the Beach, have flown down to the warmer climate to partake in all the Spring Break madness, and to keep that MTV tradition alive in the social media age. And now as Easter weekend begins tomorrow, we'd like to share with you some Postcards from Spring Break '18.
For one more time this week, welcome back to our look Inside the MTV Trifecta and the start of the serious business of The Challenge Vendettas. This season began roughly 45 hours into 2018 and a lot has gone down in Malaga, Spain, but at the same time it's also a fairly quick season compared to the long, dragged-out one that was Dirty 30. We started with a collection of names those who follow MTV's domestic offerings are familiar with appealing to both young and old, and those new to this family who came from across a link between former (and perhaps, soon to be reunited) corporate links and from across the pond. And as always, there's the big time drama, great competition and even greater elimination duels that's made this season worthwhile.
Last week saw the last competition to take place in where this season began in the westernmost part of Continental Europe, and by the time we reach the quarter-hour mark come Tuesday we'll be in the Czech Republic, where the most famous moment in Challenge history took place in CT treating Bananas as his own backpack on Cutthroat. And with Zach and Nicole having already clinched their spots on the 3-hour plane ride northeast, this will allow us to venture into our exclusive hideaway known as the Strategy Room to analyze where we stand right now. Ahead, we'll have capsules of each of the remaining players and break down how they've fared here this close to the location change, our latest power rankings and predictions of who we think will make it to the business end of Season 31. That's all ahead.
This month of March sees two rites of the year's second season take place for college kids across the country: one takes place in 13 arenas and a football stadium where 68 teams will be whittled down in stages to just one, and that team hoists the National Championship trophy at the end of March Madness and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. The other takes place on beaches in the sunbelt in places which are definitely warmer than New York, Chicago and other cities located up north, and where a tough time of studying and doing homework is set aside for them to lose their minds. It is the grand spectacle that is Spring Break, and this week DCBLOG will again join with those from the MTV Trifecta community to experience this annual tradition that MTV first featured over thirty years ago, and something college students look forward to every year.
During our ultra-busy 2017 here, for a few times we delved from primetime and the Trifecta, to the land of daytime. There, we looked at when Nelsongot his start on national TV on a game show hosted by Jerry Springer, fellow AYTO alum (and now star of Go90's My Dead Ex) Ryan Malatybringing his famous Aladdin outfit to Let's Make a Deal, and two other members of the extended family of the love fest, Brandon and Jasmine of Season 2, being spotted in the audience of Dr. Phil. Now, we have our first instance this year of an MTV alum going from a reality ecosystem that airs on basic cable to a broader audience on free-to-air TV but whose viewership consisting mainly of housewives, babysitters and those at home.
On Halloween last year, daytime viewers were left with their jaws dropped when, while wearing a Statue of Liberty costume, energetic talk show host Wendy Williams started to slur her words during her TV talk show, which unlike most shows in her genre is broadcast live. The drawback of shows like hers being beamed out straight from the studio and into living rooms every weekday instead of being edited for later on brings about the simple words of Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong," and anything can happen (ask a recent Mercenary who invaded Vendettas a few weeks ago about that). There, Wendy fainted and collapsed to the ground after going silent and stumbling, and after a commercial break she was back on her feet assuring the audience that she overheated in her costume and that it was no joke.
Because of that bizarre episode that became viral, last month during the heart of the industry's vital February ratings sweeps period, the media icon announced that she would take some extended time off from her show to not only recuperate from that fall on live TV, but also deal with complications from suffering from Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism. This past week after a three-week's hiatus, Wendy returned to our screens offering her show's signature mix of hot topics of tabloid & celeb news, the kind of unfiltered opinions that's made her enemies with some in the entertainment world, and everything else that makes her show one of the icons of daytime TV, continuing a legacy of hot takes she first pioneered on her radio talk show... all part of her media empire.
Ten years ago this summer, Devyn Simone was a KC pageant queen who came to New York to film Real World Brooklyn and to further her budding entertainment career in the biggest city of all. But back then, if you were one of those handful who had her go on a Challenge then those would ask you, "Have had lost your mind?" She joined the many times snake-bitten Sarah Rice, Team MTV's resident ultra-conservative Chet Cannon and dolphin trainer J.D. Ordonez to form Team Brooklyn on Battle of the Seasons II six years ago, and made it all the way to the end... but Devyn's inexperience of being athletic compared to the rest of her team ultimately cost them in the end and finished 3rd.
Being on one Challenge and making it all the way to the end is one thing and an accomplishment to take pride in, but being on two would've made everyone who found out about the cast feel up in arms. But again as luck would have it, Devyn would also make it to the end on Free Agents two years later and in a field of competitors who had trained so hard and earned their way into the final of a season based around individual gameplay. The most likely scenario in many's minds going into that last act in Argentina would've been that she would either quit or get medically evacuated and miss out on the payday that goes to those who complete the two-day final, which was a mix of individual and paired stages like what we saw last year. But while attention was paid to the favorites of Bananas and Laurel, rookie Johnny Portland who also rode luck to the final as well, new veteran Nany and Zach's in his 2nd final, not much focus was given to Devyn, and most expected her to not complete it.
While Johnny Bananas and Laurel would come away the worthy and deserved winners of that final, Johnny and Nany pushing them to the end on Day 2 and Zach infamously flaming out in Day 1, as expected Devyn was struggling and was far back of the leaders having to go it all alone. But in that true spirit that epitomized a person who would pass months after this aired, at no point did Devyn decide to give in and give up. Instead, she plowed along in the snow in the trek up the mountaintop, and when she finally finished well after the rest of the finalists, they were there to cheer her on and greet her when she finally finished. She indeed stole the show and won over the respect of everyone... and that joined an iconic moment of her having to grieve over her wig getting destroyed in a mission earlier in the season, and them holding a funeral in the Uruguayan sunset to say farewell.
Instagram Story @DevynSimone
Besides her role as matchmaker and dating coach alongside Clinton Kelly on TLC's Love at First Swipe, Devyn has become sought after by daytime talk shows to offer the same dating advice she gives to prospective candidates on First Swipe, including talking to Rachel Ray over a year ago. On Wednesday, she went onto Wendy's show as its entertainment insider for some Inside Scoop, and to discuss the prospects of one of Hollywood's long-lasting couples perhaps being headed for Splitsville: Beverly Hills 90210 alum and TV producer's daughter Tori Spelling and her husband of a dozen years, Dean McDermott.
And similar to what's been going down in the Winter Break Hunter Mountain cabin in the first few weeks, the cops were called in just as frequently not to do a welfare check as has been the case with Alessandra and her mom and ensuing the beef between her and JBrew, but trouble for Tori & Dean with domestic violence and police cars outside their home in the Hollywood Hills, which may mean the beginning of this marriage possibly bring brought down in flames.
Who knows if Devyn will return to defend a perfect elimination record or perhaps make it to a 3rd final against the odds. But if there's a natural fit for her, it's her and the camera, whether it's helping out those who want to make a greater impression on landing a date, and providing that kind of scoop from the entertainment world with that always energetic personality that we loved about her on her three MTV shows, and now to a broader audience as well. Next stop perhaps, hosting a Challenge reunion? Stay tuned to see if that happens... it guarantees to be Must See TV.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
On Tuesday, DCBLOG will head into the Strategy Room for an look at where the game stands for the current Challenge season of Vendettas as the field readies themselves for a trip to the heart of Europe for the stretch run, including a rookie looking to follow what Devyn did on her first season of making it into the final. But tomorrow, ExtraTime will venture to Spring Break as Team MTV ventures down south for the biggest college party anywhere that will sure warm things up. See you for that then.
*** 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. ***
As you all relax on a Sunday Funday, time for us here to take you again Inside the MTV Trifecta with the Pulse of Week 12 of The Challenge Vendettas. And compared to what we had at this stage last season, we're now knocking on the door of the final.
Last week in Spain, a game already shaken by Devin's shock win over Johnny Bananas got even more twisted when his fellow AYTO mate Britni found herself in the middle of everything with an episode that even included her name in the title. We saw a betrayal and a bond between Natalie and Nelson that saw the dirtiness of this game get the better of that. And the house learned what it's like when history repeats itself, when four Mercenaries and former champions Ashley, Darrell, Frank and Laurel emerged from the darkness, but saw three of the four hold up their half of the end.
This week marks last chance saloon for this season in its present surroundings of Malaga, Spain, as the last two challenges take place: the first sees the players go in too deep underwater, and when you have that and those who are not good swimmers, it always make for a recipe for disaster. And with an appearance from some Whoppers and a day of pleasure, the final regular mission by the sea sees it take a cue from one of summer's biggest sporting events to test everyone if they have the toughness to move forward, and to a new location -- which means... a treasure chest of gold is around the corner.
Find out what happens with all the action, reaction and interaction of this week ahead, plus St. Patrick's Day, March Madness and more. And after the diary on ExtraTime, a trip down memory lane as a member of an iconic Real World cast shares her first meeting in a decade with one of her roommates. All of that is ahead on the 'Pulse of The Challenge Vendettas.
*** Advisory: Pulse Diary below contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
As those of you out East are trying to get through the latest blast of winter, we have some good news here on this fourth day of spring: Winter Break: Hunter Mountain, that is. Despite it moving to MTV2 and to Friday due to unforeseen circumstances, that doesn't mean that DCBLOG is bolting out... in fact, things are only getting steamier for this latest guilty pleasure.
If you saw watched its premiere a while ago - or caught it for the first time last week, the lovable bunch of Alessandra, Carissa, J. Brew, Jillian, Marc, Sheen, Taylar and TJ all settled into their cabin in the Catskill Mountains north of New York City, and it didn't take long for them to gel and to enjoy the surroundings that their winter village offers. And with some love in the club, a bromance brewing and clothes being stripped off, those of you who yearn for a Real World-like show with the fun of the Shore franchise will no doubt be entertained.
On Episode 2, the fun vibe of the first few days in the snow evaporate as the tension between two of the housemates gets out of hand when something the cabin encounters the first night then becomes one they just can't seem to get out of their heads -- quite literally. For another, a spill on the mountain has put their vacation into some doubt. But not all is serious business: the question becomes of who will be the first to officially hook up in the house, and a condiment we all put into our salads becomes part of our first house prank. And who knew a mesmerizing Olympic sport can hurt so much?
After the jump, Winter Break: Hunter Mountain begins... again. And welcome to the weekend.
Last Friday saw something that had never happened before in the 80-year history of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship tournament -- better known as March Madness. For the first time since it expanded in the mid '80s to its present format of 64, and now 68, teams in the field, a team seeded #16th defeated a #1 seed in the first round proper of the biggest event in all of college sports. Of all things in American sports, this was perhaps the most improbable scenario that can happen, but after we've had a Triple Crown winner, a Cubs World Series title, a Cleveland sports title and other things the past few years, we're all fortunate to have witnessed it in the time we're alive.
The University of Maryland--Baltimore County, champions of the seldom-covered American East Conference, were tied with South #1 seed and ACC champions Virginia at 21 at halftime after a team who were 20-point favorites went up 3 earlier on and who led the NCAA in scoring defense limiting their opponents to a per-game average of roughly 53 points. But out of the locker room, the second half was a totally different game: UMBC's Jairus Lyles fought through cramps late in the affair in a 28-point night as the Retrievers outscored the Cavaliers 53-33 going home to finish off matters, 74-54 down in Charlotte, NC.
For a Virginia team who had a 31-2 record and were ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches polls, this 20-point loss was the largest defeat they had suffered all season and the first time that they had allowed 70 points -- all coming at the worst opportune time. For UMBC, they became the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and it became the biggest night in the school's 52-year history as students celebrated in the streets and brought back memories of the 2014 World Cup when they borrowed the "I Believe That We Will Win" chant that was everywhere that summer to the rite of spring for American sports fans.
Undoubtedly, UMBC's historic win over Virginia was the biggest upset in the history of an event whose beginnings date back to before World War II began when Oregon won the first national championship in 1939 well before Phil Knight and Nike came flying in to help. As we saw with another Cavaliers team who beat a powerhouse 73-9 Warriors team to win the 2016 NBA title, a Leicester City football team who were 5000-1 to win the EPL title and pulled off the trick that same season, and everything else we have seen the past two years, there has always been a love affair between sports fans and underdogs. That is certainly the case with what we call the MTV Trifecta.
Believe it or not, there is some symmetry between the feat of the Retrievers and two amazing feats of the show that fed six alumni to season 29 of The Challenge in Vendettas, and seven to the next show of huge interest here in next month's Ex On The Beach. Devin, Britni and Nelson were part of the cast of Are You The One? Season 3, when faced with potentially being the first cast to lose, Big D came up with the strategy that, with the help of a quarter and red solo cups, brought them from 2 matchup lights and a blackout to 10 lights and $750,000. And their cast also included 3-time Challenger and "Pop-Off Queen" Amanda, Cory's fellow baby mama Cheyenne, breakout star of Dirty 30 Hunter, and Tori's ex Mike -- who we then saw on Real World Bad Blood.
After Kam, Alicia and Eddie had to endure the stigma of being that AYTO cast who lost last year -- for which EOTB with fellow castmates Derrick H. & Taylor was revealed just last Wednesday, a year to the day of that heartbreak, the Season 6 cast came back from an even greater comeback than that of what went down in fall 2015. Like the Season 3 kids, they achieved little in the game through most of the season, only getting their only truth booth match late, and started their final matchup needing to get from one light to eleven in week 10 to win $1 million. They did just that in setting records in the process, and though there's been some bickering with that group who pulled out the biggest MTV underdog story in over a decade, them being able to pull off that win binds them all forever.
And that offers the bridge of this latest episode of Before They Were MTV Stars: last week, NBA megastar Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrated his 30th birthday in the kind of grand style that fits a multiple MVP, NBA champion and one of American sports' biggest figures. With the defending champions nursing injuries, an uncharacteristic losing form of late and battling a tough Rockets team for top seed in the Western Conference, the Dubs took the early part of last week off to rest up and to fete the face of the franchise who's come a long way from being drafted by a team desperate for relevance in the Association a decade ago to now become basketball royalty.
And fit for a king, Steph's 30th birthday party -- which came two days before the Davidson alum actually turned the magic dirty number -- featured him and wife Ayesha Curry arriving to the party on a yacht like what we saw Alex did before that ill-fated birthday bash for Chloe on Siesta Key. That shindig was a surprise one... one they had no idea that the entire team was throwing for them, and so was Bay Area hip-hop icon and devoted NorCal sports fan E40. For the always coveted task of being the ones who would sing "Happy Birthday" to the guest of honor, it fell to Paramore to perform that track to the birthday boy. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson went on stage to dance and loved it so much, he took off his show and threw it into the crowd, while the rest of his Warriors teammates dressed up for a photo booth. And head coach Steve Kerr and lead assistant Mike Brown had reason to also get down on the dance floor and finally let loose amidst the seriousness of the playoff push.
Curry, wife Ayesha and Ethan meeting in Summer 2014 (IG @EmoneyMakesBabies)
Last December in the homestretch of his season, this site devoted an entire ExtraTime post to Ethan Cohen from AYTO Season 6, best known by his nickname, "EMoney." With a signature collection of baseball hats, he became a cult favorite in bringing his unique outlook on things to the mansion in New Orleans, and brought his brand of hip-hop to the house in the form of what became the biggest song on the hit parade in the Big Easy: the appropriately-titled "Perfect Match Song" with fellow roommate Tyler. That is only part of EMoney's musical resume that sees him being poised for big things to come, which even included a trip to hone his craft with Nick Cannon and co. on Wild 'N Out.
Ethan is Bay Area to the core, most especially to the East Bay side of the Bay Bridge as a fan of those who play in the Oakland Coliseum & Arena complex of the A's, the Raiders and the Dubs. The perks of being a college grad who had his ode to his A's get radio airplay on the team's radio flagship 95.7 The Game, as well as undertaking an internship at its regional broadcast partner NBC Sports Bay Area, gave Ethan a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: hang out with someone who was about to become the biggest superstar in basketball... at least to those west of the Mississippi.
The last time the Warriors fell short of the trip to play basketball in June, it was the summer of 2014. The Dubs reached out to Steve Kerr to turn him from a TNT analyst into becoming their head coach, and the Bulls legend and 3-point specialist enabled Steph to get more freedom to shoot from behind the arc. Of course, the rest is history: MVP honors in the following season including a record season of threes, blowout victories for a title contender, and to him becoming LeBron James' equal in the post-Kobe era. And in the first of what would become three epic NBA Finals tilts, Steph had his crowning night in Cleveland as the Warriors becoming King for the first of two times in three years.
In that summer of 2014 -- and two months removed from the Warriors losing a hard-fought Game 7 of their playoff series to the LA Clippers, Ethan was invited by Steph and Ayesha to spend a day in his Sonoma home turf -- or make that, home vineyards. And as this region is known to everyone as Wine Country, they and their friends did, of course, some wine tasting. When he posted his selfie with Steph on Twitter @EmoneySunset, Ethan captioned, "Steph Curry for MVP." And upon the Warriors' 2015 triumph and his campaign to let the man who he met become MVP he added, "Yo @wardell30 and @ayeshacurry I hope y'all ain't too famous now to come back up to Sonoma for round 2. This time bring Riley and we'll go to TrainTown."
One of them has become a 2-time NBA MVP, 2-time NBA champion, a 5-time All-Star, a scoring crown and a slew of other honors too many to mention on his way to world domination, and where he is now a face of the league and of the Bay Area. The other might not have that large list of honors, but being part of a cast that pulled out a colossal comeback and win $1 million is something worth celebrating, along with a budding hip-hop career that may see him become the next big star. Things have changed for both Stephen Curry and Ethan Cohen since they met there in Wine Country -- both on that positive parallel to greatness, and perhaps there is more for them ahead.
Tonight, the Final Challenge is looming for the thirteen players still left on The Challenge Vendettas, but before we head into Episode 12 of what appears to be a relatively short season than last -- we have a WRAP of last week's proceedings to share with you here before we head there. Last week saw a game that's become more wide open once again deal with yet another Invasion of Mercenaries with championship meddle to Spain, while dirty gameplay gets in the way of a new budding romance and one that was formed here at the outset.
We'll look at all of that here coming up along with our latest power rankings from inside the Strategy Room. And for one who appears to be on her way to becoming outstanding rookie of this season, we'll look at the emergence of the latest Queen of this new crop of Challengers. That's ahead.
*** 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. ***
Yesterday was that one time every few or so years where the one day out of the week a lot of us anticipate to party up and get down coincides with the one day of the year where green is the magic color. And as you all wrap up this St. Patrick's Day weekend and recover from this great Irish holiday taking place on a Saturday along with a wild weekend of college hoops, come on in as we at DCBLOG bring you The Pulse of The Challenge Vendettas... where the magic color of this season is red.
Last week in Spain saw an episode some are calling one of the best they have ever seen of this series: British import Kayleigh was targeted by three girls in the house after a rumor was spread about her, and after some tension it was too much for her to handle and she left the house. And on the field, a master manipulator who excelled into the money in his first three MTV shows finally had the chance to meet his Vendetta face to face where it matters: an elimination, and by a bare margin Devin had his biggest day when he knocked out Johnny Bananas in the Ring.
This week, a lady -- who, along with Big D, shared in their unlikely miracle win like what went down Friday night in the NCAA Tournament -- finds herself in the middle of things after last week's blockbuster. Meanwhile, the game gets turned on its head with a betrayal, and a bond formed by two scorned lovers which, also, gets tested by the dirtiness of what this game is all about. And the house will then learn what it's like when history repeats itself, when once again that happens again to those who come walking into the elimination chamber.
You'll find out that and all of Week 11 here with all the action, reaction and interaction from Challenge Tuesday coming up, as we wrap up the weekend... and thanks for hanging with us.
*** 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. ***
Hello, and Happy St. Patrick's Day... and welcome to this week's ride Inside the MTV Trifecta. Ahead, all the action, reaction and interaction to this week's episode of The Challenge Vendettas... but while you are prepping to party up and get down on this Saturday, indulge yourself in the In-Between interactions of the cast after what went down last week and Challenge Tuesday, including the cast in New York to film the reunion, and much more.
Last weekend, life-changing news was granted to several members of Team MTV, involving either a baby being born, the announcement that a baby is forthcoming, or in one's case - him being the latest in the MTV community to settle down as a newlywed. Two of them are alums of The Challenge, a third was part of the most-recent Real World season, and two more from a revolutionary show of years gone by, but whose influence is seen in its much-more popular spinoff series and a show that debuted last year to great interest in the channel's most-coveted slot.
VINCE
First: the two Challenge alumni with links to the man who's won six of these, and was part of the winning Champs squad that totally dominated Champs vs. Stars. But of course, he had to endure yet another setback on the regular show when Devin joined Wes, Darrell and Derrick K. in those who have beaten Johnny Bananas since he stole his partner's money and being given the dreaded curse by Jemmye. Strangely enough, the man who outsmarted him the last time he went to the final on the regular show was in the same Rivals III final as the one who happens to be his Bloodline.
Just after filming the upcoming Reunion of Vendettas in a New York City shut down by the latest blast of winter, this past weekend Bananas flew down to Florida to partake in the biggest day ever for his cousin. When we watched Battle of the Bloodlines two years ago, Vince Gilatta was a former college football player but whenever you get partnered with the winningest player in Challenge history you're expected to step up your game. What happened in Turkey became something that became a bit hard for us to comprehend in him not being able to live up to what his well-known partner has been able to accomplish. Vince not being able to compete nearly as well as Bananas was a big story to come out of Season 27, and not surprisingly the one who went on to taste victory, Cara Maria & Jamie, beat Bananas & Vince in elimination. Then Vince was paired with Jenna on Rivals III and they went on to the final, finished 2nd to his cousin and Sarah and became witness to that steal.
Before he joined Bananas to offer a consolation prize of a club night on Spring Break with two members of the losing AYTO Season 5 cast in ultimate heartbreaker Tyler and fellow South Floridian Michael, it was a year ago on a weekend's retreat to his state of birth of Ohio that Vince got on one knee, popped out an engagement ring to his girl Sam, got down on one knee and asked the magic question of whether he would want her to be his wife... and she replied, "About Time!" And this weekend, Bananas and family headed down to Florida to see him and her say their "I do's." Then and now, Vince and the new Mrs. Piggy (as he refers to her) received words of congrats from those who competed with him on his two Challenges, from friends and adversaries of his cousin and of course from those who know them best: family & friends.
Tonight, the game known as The Challenge Vendettas will get turned on its head yet again with just over a bakers' dozen of players left in Spain. But before that goes down and to wrap up this week's posts, this week's Challenge WRAP... but not just any original write-up on the fifth major pro sport, but more or less this is a Special Edition of our recaps.
Because this blogger was whisked off from his usual post of blogging on MTV reality TV to the world's greatest sporting event in the Olympics and last month's Winter Games in South Korea, it was only last week that DCBLOG finally got caught up on all the missed time working on posts covering the episodes that went down while I busy binge-watching the Games. And because of that and the usual format of episodes being backlogged a bit due to so much drama taking place - it's only here & now after all that we have seen in the past month on this show that we are reviewing the episodes and everything that's transpired during this time in Spain.
Ahead, and instead of the traditional Things to Know recap of just pointing out a few notable items from the week's episodes, on this Midseason Review we'll count down our five biggest moments of the past five episodes from Episodes 6 through 10 -- 1-on-1 battles, controversy and all, plus reveal our latest power rankings. It's all ahead as our trip Inside the MTV Trifecta continues.
*** 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. ***
We're winding down this second weekend of March, which means hoops fans are now filling out those brackets, music fans are enjoying tonight's iHeartRadio Music Awards and the return of American Idol, and you can all rejoice to having that one precious hour of extra daylight - even if you lost an hour of sleep last night. And as DCBLOG looks Inside the MTV Trifecta, along with the jaw-dropping finale of Siesta Key one thing that's on everyone's minds this week in MTV land: The Challenge Vendettas and a season in Spain that's getting even more juicier by the second.
Last week, Kailah finally had a chance to shine when she took advantage of Marie having a subpar night in the elimination chamber to take out an easy win as she looks to take the next step after just missing the final last year. She also took that momentum into the ensuing challenge, where after a game that took advantage of Spain being home to both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, she, Tony and Zach formed the Troika upon them winning that soccer-themed challenge.
After his spat with the man who he has had immense hatred since they competed on the season where he made the dirtiest move of all, this week Big D will find out if he gets his wish to get the showdown he has waited for with bated breath... perhaps someone who has shined this season may grant him his gift. And what happens when something that has become an all too common sight comes into The Challenge? Of course, the house is gonna blow up and blow up it will.
You'll experience all the action, reaction and interaction of Episode 10 with us ahead, including the blow by blow of yet another challenge twitter beef, and reaction to what happened on The Bachelor through those of another TV love fest. And on a Sunday that also sees that megahit series I don't even watch also air, stay around after the diary as ExtraTime will look at the latest series to feature the public's fascination with dead people to the web, with an AYTO alum.
All of that is ahead on the 'Pulse of The Challenge Vendettas... it's great to have you with us this Sunday night.
*** 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. ***
If you're just relaxing on your Saturday night, come on in as we bring you our look at Week 10 of The Challenge Vendettas. Ahead, the action, reaction and interaction of this week's episode, but for now enjoy the In-Between interactions of the cast after what went down last week and Challenge Tuesday.
Fairly often, this site scours the web and YouTube for videos of interest involving the hundreds who've appeared on shows of the MTV Trifecta: either clips from past shows which we featured in our Vendettas version of "Who Are These Newbies?", or most especially those from the past before these people were casted. Before They Were MTV Stars gives us that chance sometimes, and last year, we looked at when Tori earned her stripes not on her four MTV shows but on the red carpet talking to hip-hop royalty, when Nelson appeared on a game show hosted by Jerry Springer, and when Asaf Goren did So You Think You Can Dance?, before he went onto not just two AYTO seasons but also a new show on Food Network to identify the Worst Cook in America. Speaking of food, the name of a vegetable is a co-subject to this bit...
This summer sees Shalley Marshaun Massenburg-Smith, a Hampton Roads, VA resident, turn 30 having become a musician and actor who took up the alias of DRAM, which means "Does Real @$$ Music." Being in a military family where his mom served the country, he was born in Germany but it was in spring 2015 that he began to became more well known outside of this military area where Challenge champ Sam from Back to San Diego and AYTO original Chris T. call home. There, he released his debut EP #1Epic under Atlantic, had a single "Cha Cha" that topped the Emerging Hip-Hop charts, and then dropped a mixtape later that year. The next year drop his debut major label album, saw him appear on The Tonight Show performing with Chance the Rapper, Ty Dolla Sign and Anthony Hamilton, and was part of Chance's Grammy-winning Best Rap Album and is now himself with a collaboration with the world's most famous animated band, British group Gorillaz.
DRAM's breakout moment came in April 2016 when he and fellow rapper Lil' Yachty hooked up for his hit single, "Broccoli." It gained much international success, became his first Billboard Top 5 peaking inside the Hot 100, and earned him Grammy, iHeartRadio, Billboard and MTV VMA nominations in the process. The track's video took place both outside in the neighborhood and inside the guys' house, and featured a piano, plenty of twerking from a lot of girls and wiggle stereoscopy that has garnered over 250 million YouTube hits.
One of those who were chosen by DRAM to twerk and dance in the "Broccoli" video, which was shot in that hip-hop hotbed of Atlanta, was Nurys from Season 6 of Are You The One?. On her season - which came a year after her U.S. TV debut in that video, she was part of that love triangle that she and New Jersey girl Diandra were involved in with one of the house's resident players, Malcolm, and well after they were a no match Nurys and Diandra decided to go all in on Malcolm towards the late part of the season when they had enough of them being played. Nurys posted a picture on Instagram when "Broccoli" was the rage that summer of 2016 with the caption, "Check out the video to BROCCOLI by the homie @bigbabydram ft. @lilyachty 🌳I had a blast shooting this! #youtube #spotify #applemusic #tidal"
After such a nice weekend with the Oscars, a big Sunday for golf fans and a lot more, we're into a new week. And before this week's episodes of the MTV series we cover here weekly take to the air, we have this week's WRAP to review last week's premiere of Winter Break: Hunter Mountain and a little Challenge talk before the drama goes down in Spain tomorrow. Last week's first stanza in the Catskill Mountains saw a lot go down in just the first night alone, while Vendettas rolls along with the sweet sixteen still left.
Due to our extensive slate of posts this weekend which began back on Thursday when we had to catch up on the two episodes that took place before last week's, we'll recap not only this week's Challenge but also the past several episodes before that and this coming week's show on here next week. But coming up, a recap of the eventful and fun premiere of Winter Break: Hunter Mountain, plus we'll share a couple photos with you with a few special guests... find out who just ahead.
*** 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. ***
You all have just enjoyed the Oscars on this Sunday Funday -- and all the envelopes got it all right this time, but now the party is just getting started if you're lucky enough to still be up here at the end of your weekend, as we now bring you the Pulse of The Challenge Vendettas for this week's show.
Last week -- or last night here, we saw Dirty 30 finalists Jordan, Tori and Derrick, and alum Aneesa invade Spain as the Mercenaries... and while the only one to escape this surprise invasion was Queen Kam, the showstopping moment so far of this season came from Mr. Bulldog himself, as he faced off against Joss in a pulse-pounding elimination battle that saw the veteran take out the win. And the week's challenge saw Leroy get taken to the hospital after a nasty fall when they went car hopping above the sea.
The end of that episode saw Kam vote in Marie to save herself, and this week the loyalty of the first AYTO Season 5'er to win an elimination is being put into question. However, it's the humiliating performance of one player that may cost her the game when she finds herself in something that you'll likely find next to the washer and dryer in your house. And with what happened two years ago in front of them still fresh in his mind, we may find ourselves heading towards another titanic battle between the champ and an upstart.
You'll find out what happens here with how the cast saw this past week's episode ahead, plus yet another Twitter beef that's worthy of making some popcorn and watching it unfold in your timeline. And afterwards, those who delighted us on the sand in Florida meets passes the torch to those who, after one episode, has done the same on the snow... we'll have their meeting on ExtraTime.
All of that is ahead on the Pulse of The Challenge... and thanks for staying up for us.
*** 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. ***
It's Sunday, and we hope you've been enjoying your weekend.. All weekend, we've been catching everyone up on the two episodes of The Challenge Vendettas that took place during the Winter Olympics, and we're caught up now on what went down there when this blogger was caught up in the Games and didn't do much blog work while binge-watching his favorite sporting event.
We'll have the Pulse of this past week's episode here in a bit, but we'll get you in the mood for that with the cast interaction in between Episode 8 and this week's Episode 9 before that diary is posted here later tonight... that includes a trip to Philadelphia and to nearby Atlantic City with not only Team Challenge, but also members from Floribama Shore, Winter Break Hunter Mountain (which we covered here late last night), and even a guy from Teen Mom. And after the diary, have with more on An American Comedian in London who might be familiar if you watched the original season of one of the competitors of this Vendettas season. That's ahead.
*** Advisory: Pulse Diary below contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
Wherever you are tonight -- except perhaps if you're in Florida, California, Hawaii or in South Padre Island, TX where Spring Break is about to begin, it is likely cold outside, and if you're out east chances are you are being snowed in by the latest Nor'easter, we at DCBLOG have the perfect remedy for your late Saturday night: something spankin' new as roll along on our ride around the MTV reality world.
The channel is in the midst of a Renaissance, and the hits just keep on coming: a new group of Teen Mom, this Monday's season finale of the sultry Siesta Key (which we covered here earlier), the upcoming reunion of the Jersey Shore OG's in Miami, and their Southern successors Floribama Shore to return afterwards. And just days removed from the flame being extinguished following an incredible Winter Olympics, this week sees another new MTV series take to the screen in one that was spawned by both Jersey and Floribama:Winter Break: Hunter Mountain.
The show promises to bring that both fun spirit of their Shore counterparts to the winter fun we all get to enjoy this time of year -- especially with what's going on this weekend along the Eastern seaboard, and to continue the wave of interest in all things winter sports thanks to the events of the past month. And this week, it all begins with Alessandra, Carissa, J. Brew, Jillian, Marc, Sheen, Taylar and TJ moving into their new quarters in a cabin where they'll have a case of cabin fever, but also the snow right outside for them to do their thing.
Yes, there's all the usual pomp and circumstance of the roomies getting to know one another in the first hours of them being together for the next month or so, and also getting used to their new surroundings. But also: what happens when cop visits, hot tubs, club kissing and stripping down all come together with having some fun in the powder? It's all in a first day's work in this winter paradise that's only a few hours' drive north of the Big Apple.
This is the latest new series -- over 20 in all outside my three favorite shows -- that I have been able to follow in my five years following the MTV world socially, and DCBLOG will offer Winter Break the same wall-to-wall coverage treatment that we do with Floribama Shore, The Challenge and other series with a Pulse diary of all the action, reaction and interaction of the week's episode from social media land, plus a traditional episode recap or one of our original stories from the ExtraTime files relating to this series -- time permitting.
After the jump, it's the premiere of Winter Break: Hunter Mountain. Have fun enjoying it... (and thanks for staying up here tonight)
*** 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. ***
It is the first weekend of March -- Oscars weekend for movie lovers, and we roll along on our extended DCBLOG weekend here. It's been a busy past couple days for us as we're halfway through a packed weekend of posts, as we're now into the second of a doubleheader of Backtracked Pulse diaries covering the two weeks of episodes before this week's Challenge Vendettas... again catching up on lost time due to this blogger taking a winter break for the action in Korea.
When we left here on Thursday, Brad went into an elimination for the first time since he beat RW Philly alum MJ on The Duel II, and the Cutthroat champ outlasted Big Brother rep Victor... and he also received encouraging news when the vendetta he formed here in Spain, Sylvia, was sent home when her illness became too much for her to overcome after her elimination win over Melissa. But this was just a minor story compared to what went down at that week's mission when a double elimination was announced, and four heavy hitters off of recent efforts on Dirty 30 and Champs vs. Stars showed up as the Mercenaries to wreck havoc in Spain.
Reigning champ Jordan, his girl Tori, fellow XXX finalist Derrick and longtime alum Aneesa all arrived to face off against, respectively, Shane, Kam, Joss and Veronica in eliminations... and one of those battles turns out to become the latest in a long line of epic "Win or Go Home" duels. Also in Week 8, the Grenade - designed to make things even more tense with those in the house, rears its ugly head with whoever survives the Ring, and the competitors face off against the cars above the sea. And whenever you have someone going all in above the water, chance are someone will wipe out dramatically when jumping above.
You'll experience all of that here with how the cast saw Episode 8 here ahead, along with two vets getting into it socially, and everyone reacting to the latest big-time elimination battle. And after the diary, what happens when one of MTV's most visible faces from a decade ago meets up with another from right now? ExtraTime will delve into the Funny File for when The Hills Meets Siesta Key, Punk'd Style.
An Epic Elimination, a Queen, a Fall, and a Prank... all the action, reaction and interaction is ahead on the Pulse of The Challenge.
Two weeks ago, the world watched with anguish and horror by something that's become all too familiar the past few years: a high-profile mass shooting in the United States. In the wake of the two tragic events in Orlando in summer 2016 where 49 people died, last fall's Route 91 tragedy where 58 concert-goers were killed in Las Vegas and so many other incidents like these, lobbyists have been calling for stricter gun control laws similar to those found in other countries.
The latest incident took place down on Valentine's Day in Parkland, FL outside Fort Lauderdale, where at Stoneman Douglas High School, 17 people were gunned down and 14 others were injured by the bullets fired by 19-year-old expelled student Nikolas Jacob Cruz. Right now, authorities and prosecutors haven't come to a conclusion of what caused Cruz to treat his old high school as his own shooting gallery, and as students have now returned from their grieving period the hashtag #NeverAgain has become a rallying cry for them to take action.
A person who has been featured a good number of times on this site has been John Jacobs from Season 1 of Are You The One?. If you don't remember who he is, he was that carefree comedian from Tampa who found himself in a tumultuous relationship with fellow fire-starter and 3-time Challenger Simone, and in a love triangle with Puerto Rican beauty Jacy and tough Brooklynite Scali. The ladder eventually determined the house's fate in them being the only cast to $1 million in less than 10 tries when they closed the deal four years ago this month, while the former was part of the first of the two invasions in three years of The Challenge by those outside the BMP universe on Battle of the Exes 2 when they and Adam & Brittany made that historic crossover before Big Brother and the Brits arrived on Vendettas.
But while those two shows gave him a national platform, the truest passions of this Tampa resident are comedy and videomaking, and when he's not on the stand-up stage at night, by day you'd likely find JJ on the scene with a suit, a microphone and a camera in tow. If that sounds familiar, then he's doing what a lot of us do in being an independent reporter and newsman, building off of the early experience he had of doing "man on the street" interviews with would-be passers by. His YouTube channel features a number of those, including talking to media and delegates when the GOP held their convention in the Cigar City in 2012, the city's biggest annual event - the Gasparilla festival each February, and even out west along Hollywood Boulevard.
While our attention last Sunday was divided among the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics, the winter return of The Walking Dead, the Celebrity Big Brother finale, a Bachelor Tell All special and a WWE PPV card, a gun show took place at the Tampa State Fairgrounds a mere eleven days after the Parkland shootings. JJ and his Tampa News Force had the opportunity to go around to talk to people about guns, gun control and everything related to them. This also includes mentions of the NRA, which has certainly found itself at the center of controversy in the past few days with sponsors pulling their support for the organization in droves in the aftermath of the Florida tragedy.
Those who work in the news business, whether with the mainstream media or independently as citizen journalists, always relish those moments of being on the scene when something newsworthy takes place right in front of them... yours truly had that moment when I shot a fight at a local Target store for SnapChat and posted it on Instagram within minutes. JJ had that moment happen to him when he saw a man getting chased down in the parking lot at that gun show after he stole a gun off a table. Below is of what those in the biz refer to as a "vox pop", then that gun robbery caught on tape.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Tomorrow -- or later today out East, a doubleheader: we'll have the Pulse of this week's episode of The Challenge Vendettas, and our look at the premiere of Winter Break Hunter Mountain. We hope you'll join us then, and have a great Friday.
