DC ExtraTime: Dating with a Felon

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Whenever anyone decides to audition to be on an MTV show, they go through a registration process as hard as trying to make it to Harvard or taking up a job at a Fortune 500 company. Glance over at the casting registration form in the back of any old Real World book at the local library, and the questions there will ask you just about any question imaginable: from what a typical weekend night would look like, what social issues you're passionate about, or what three wishes you'd have if you held the Aladdin lamp.

   When potential castmates go to open casting calls or when they fly to the final casting phase of any season of Real World, Are You The One? or other reality series, casting directors will ask them to go more in-depth on these questions than one in a several-page application would fit. And talk about being put under pressure: any spine-tingling answer that amuses the casting directors can be the difference between being casted, getting on MTV and scoring hundreds of thousands of social media followers, or not being chosen and being left on the outside looking in.

This winter, we saw Kam Williams prove that there is more to the Are You The One? Season 5 cast than the notoriety that they unfortunately have had to live the past year with being the only cast in that show's six-season history to not win the jackpot if they light all the matchup beams. Killa Kam joined a good list of those being able to win three eliminations in one season, but also a small list of those being to do it as a rookie… and she also made it to the final in her first go, as well as compete on Champs vs. Stars III.

   With a vibrant personality, Kam was part of one of the most intriguing love triangles to take place on an MTV show. What happened in the Caribbean brought her to the honeymoon suites, and created a vendetta with a girl who stole her perfect match under the rug after a successful trip to the Truth Booth (and who also happens to be an ex of the most high-profile cast member of Ex On The Beach and a rival of a few of those girls she grew close with), which was the reason why she went onto The Challenge: Vendettas in the first place. And perhaps there's more in store for her as part of this new generation of females who are being touted on a show that's now going around the world.

On the weekend after that now-infamous tenth matchup ceremony and reunion special last year, Kam posted many videos on her YouTube channel where she got to share some valuable tea of what went on in the Dominican Republic, but also got to share a story that helped her being cast. It begins in, of all places, in the self-checkout area of a Walmart store in the Philadelphia area, where when she was looking for her wallet, Kam finds that a guy from the hood is staring at her and - in usual fashion - decides to ask her for her number, then proceeding into a bowling date gone bad.
   Yes, a story like this is as creepy as it sounds in someone who had just been released from jail for a crime which usually involves violence and regarded as more serious than a small misdemeanor, and would usually see the person who committed the crime spend time behind bars or even get death. And it's when she asks for the check that Kam read her date's body language and behavior that he was not the person she was looking for, being someone who had a run-in with the law and did not embody the types she likes in a guy.

   The expanded version of this story is told below in lighthearted fashion by Killa Kam... the one story that, despite the nature of it, got her the chance to be part of history - both the one that no cast can ever want to be associated with on the show she got her start on, and of now becoming part of a new generation of the fifth major pro sport.

Besides this odd story, among other videos Kam also posted on her iAmKamiAM channel include three with fellow AYTO alum Kaylen from Season 4, and a New Year's vlog with the girl the Queen grew closest in the Dominican Republic, Tyranny. You might remember Tee as the one who got into the face of Alicia on the Season 5 reunion before the ladder made the two most dramatic ex entrances on Ex On The Beach.

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

Strategy Room: The Challenge Champs vs. Stars III - All Paired Up

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

This week, the real game begins on the third installment of The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars, as a twist revealed at the end of last week's elimination and episode will now see this game change drastically. There, Mike "The Miz" announced to the fourteen remaining competitors -- and who were split into Teams Red and Blue to begin with -- that for the rest of this campaign, they will be paired up into teams of two for the rest of the way until the finish line of the final challenge. And the possibility is very strong that, for the very first time, a Star can emerge victorious after we saw Cara Maria, Darrell, Bananas, CT and Emily have comprised the winners circle of the first two editions.
   And if this twist sounds familiar to most of you, this season has been following in much the same format as Battle of the Bloodlines two years ago where the game began as usual with the castmates and their bloodlines, followed by a draft dividing the teams into two and at random, then back into pairs the rest of the way. The only difference between what we saw in Turkey & Germany is that these players are mixed of the incumbent Champs and the Stars who were picked to compete against them, and now there are teams who will compete with each other to try and win the $150,000.
   With our next focus here being the Reality Debrief that will be posted here during the month of June, we won't do a recap for last week's episode. But with MTV.com providing us a leak of the teams who will be paired up for the Race to the Chase before Tuesday's episode, we have this trip into the Strategy Room to see where it all stands. So, let's get right to the point...

DC ExtraTime: A Party Under the Electric Sky

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Last weekend, two parts of the world became the epicenter for multiple events that brought hundreds of thousands to their neck of the woods spanning pop culture, sports and music (the three things that revolve around the world of this very blogger).
   In England, thousands descended upon Windsor Castle and St. George's Church in the county Berkshire - an hour east of London - for the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as the world watched an American actress tie the knot with a member of the Royal Family. Hours later in London itself, Wembley Stadium hosted the most prestigious day in English football as the FA Cup Final saw Chelsea defeat Manchester United in a titanic clash of Premier League powerhouses.
   Across the pond, Las Vegas took on the role as the capital of the country for several reasons. This year's darlings of American sports, the Vegas Golden Knights, clinched the NHL's Western Conference title as a journey of being the newest major sports franchise continued in magical style. Just hours after they posed with the Clarence Campbell Bowl, the MGM Grand hosted the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, as Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Christina Aguilera & Demi Lovato took the stage, Salt N Pepa and En Vogue brought everyone back some 25 years earlier, and noise levels reached its zenith when BTS performed a year after they were introduced to America on the BBMA's - and ultimately scoring their first #1 album in America.
   And a half-hour's drive up the way from the Strip, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the latest installment of what is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, and the rite of summer to the ever-increasing legion of fans of electronic dance music, or EDM. It's the one they call the party "Under the Electric Sky" -- the Electric Daisy Festival.

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach USA - The Return of The Ex

*** 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

As you enjoy Sunday of this Memorial Day Weekend and the start of summer in America, we now bring you into what has already been a dramatic season of Ex On The Beach USA. And with half of the season already in the books and more still to come, this season is about to get even more crazier in Hawaii.
   Though they've been making headlines through 5 episodes, as far as power in the house is concerned the Exes have been on the outside looking in, and last week they were offered a golden opportunity to flip the script. A message from a bottle announced a surprise twist that they were given the power to send home of the OG's in the house. And for someone who has been THE star guy of this season, Derrick used his muscle to send home the one who had been seeing his ex Angela in the house, Tor'i.
   With the original group of singles now being reduced by one to nine (and with the exes being joined by Are You The One? alum Cameron and Victoria's ex Luis), this week sees the biggest bombshell to drop yet in our 50th state. If we believe in the old saying "history can repeat itself," it does happen when one of the handful who had been voted off the island makes a return - and just as it was the first time it is dramatic as that will send the house into a shocked state of panic. Along with this, an ex will be sent to the Beach of Doom for the first time, while the Shack of Secrets will reveal some dirty secrets, as well as an elimination that again will leave this bunch all shook.

You'll experience all the action, reaction and interaction of Week 6 of EOTB USA coming up, along with a breakup with a fan favorite AYTO couple. And since a lot of you have been doing this activity this long holiday weekend, stick around after the diary when ExtraTime will share you a postcard of one of those who fell in love on MTV going fishing.
   All of that is ahead on the 'Pulse of Ex On The Beach USA... thanks for joining us.

DC ExtraTime: A Siesta Egyptian Fiesta

DISCLAIMER: Contains Potential Spoilers Below

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

As families and friends gather together to enjoy barbecue, the beach, basketball and more this long holiday weekend to celebrate Memorial Day and the start of summer 2018, fans of MTV Reality are reminded of those parties thrown on the various shows we've seen over the years. If you watch Are You The One?, you always look forward to that time under the night sky when the singles get down and dirty outdoors with hula girls, torches and a whole lot of dancing. But those are small events compared to the granddaddy of all MTV parties: the over-the-top soirées that made the mid-2000's hit My Super Sweet 16 a joy to watch to see those officially come of age in a grand way.

Last year, a show that came into the American consciousness was Siesta Key: the story of a group of college-aged young adults in a suburb of Sarasota, Florida. It has been likened in many ways to the ultimate soap opera for Millennials, Laguna Beach and its spinoff The Hills, and glued everyone to the drama, fun and lavish lifestyles that Alex, Juliette, Chloe, Kelsey, Garrett, Madisson, Brandon and the rest of their tight-knit clique got to live up summer and then this winter as well. Even this blogger used a discount to complete his collection of the entire first season to enjoy binge-watching this guilty pleasure whenever he's not writing on the Trifecta.
   Aside from the romances and the drama among this entire group, the Siesta Key kids became known for parties, both large and small, where drama often goes down. If you saw the Season 1 premiere last year, you may remember Alex's birthday party that quite literally became almost like the stage at Spring Break in Panama City Beach, and where he had to deal with his high school sweetheart Madisson and his ex (and later girlfriend) Juliette being in the same backyard. Or who can forget Chloe's birthday at the Tiki Bar she works at where it turned from a time to celebrate her big night to a chaotic one that changed the group dynamic?
   The mansion by the beach Alex and his family call home is known around Siesta, and now across the country, for lavish parties that they throw and which becomes the local equivalent of the Oscars: a happening that brings this community of 3,000 together. Those who watched the summer half of Season 1 last year may remember the Gatsby Gala: a black-tie affair that brought everyone back to the Roaring Twenties with vintage Rolls-Royce cars, gorgeous ladies and everything that made that decade great... inspired by the '20s novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

From: SK Cast Instagram Accounts

Just a few nights ago, the Kompo house was the venue for another blown-out extravaganza, and just as it was with the Gatsby gala - they teamed with local event design & rental boutique business So Staged and Sarasota-area child disability organization The Havens for their annual Autism Awareness night, as one of Alex's siblings lives with the developmental spectrum disorder and had recently graduated college. While it has not been announced publicly, cameras were inside shooting the event with the cast in black tie, which indicates that MTV did order a second season of Siesta Key for later this year, without any public fanfare.
   The theme of this year's Autism Awareness night in Siesta brought those back even further in time to when pyramids were the greatest wonder on this earth and where you can find Spinx and tombs just about everywhere. Yes, the theme is ancient Egypt, much like the time where the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas with its famous light on the Strip opened with a similar theme before Britney Spears' first Vegas residency. And the stars of Egyptian Night in Siesta were not the castmates who've become pop stars in the past year, but a live camel and a snake that adorned all of the guests who came, just like what we saw with Britney at the 2001 VMA's.
   Below are some photos from the cast on Instagram from Egyptian Night... something to whet the appetites for those who enjoyed Season 1 of Siesta Key, and to look forward to more big drama from our friends in Florida to come in the second half of 2018.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Champs vs. Stars III - "Champs Caught in Cross Fire"

*** 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

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, and welcome to this week's ride Inside The MTV Trifecta with DCBLOG. Ahead: the already steamy drama intensifies in Hawaii when a blast from the past returns, and we begin our look at the year and season that was in reality TV. But first, we begin with Week 6 of The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars as things begin to get interesting ahead of the dash to the cash.
   Last week in the spirit of the Stanley Cup, jumbo-sized hockey was the week's challenge and in fitting fashion, saw dirty play both in and outside the rink. In the wake of being traded the previous week, Ashley stated her plans to plot revenge to the team who she was traded to, while a twist of swapping out players for the arena saw the Red team in a spotty position, as Jozea was saved from an elimination that Wes would win to add to his elimination resume.
   For this week, we turn to ingenuity, slingshots and trying to stay up top above ground while finding yourself in the line of the "Cross Fire." One team has an even number of Champs and Stars on their team, and after the near whitewash the Champs had last season the Stars begin to plot their plan to take back control of their game. More politics take place with both teams ahead of the week's arena battle, but it's what happens after the final whistle that will send things into a tailspin.

All the action, reaction and interaction is ahead on this diary, plus find out how the Trifecta's biggest super fan saw this week's drama-filled episode of Teen Mom 2, as well as the Royal Wedding and a return of some good friends from an early summer vacation. All of that is ahead on the 'Pulse of Champs vs. Stars... and welcome to the weekend, and Summer '18. It's good to have you with us.

DC ExtraTime: Floribama Karaoke

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Thursday saw the biggest hurricane to hit South Florida in some time when a surprise from up north came to greet the Jersey Shore Family Vacation. A teaser video that was posted on the Jersey Shore Twitter account (@JerseyShore) back in February gave everybody one thing to look forward to when this season airs, featuring one who we featured on here a long time ago when she and the one who replaced her met the brother of Tony's castmate Bruno from their Real World Skeletons season.
   Besides being the one known for his positivity, blown-out hair and bromance with Vinny (including the latest chapter of him dressing up in drag as Victoria), DJ Pauly D. came up with a prank that would change the course of history of a group dynamic that met in the iconic Shore house in Seaside Heights in 2009. He rang up Angelina Pivarnick, told her to pack her bags and come down to South Florida for a visit to their house. Except for one who did not obey that precious code, this was a total secret to the unsung hero of Mike The Situation, who had no idea of what awaited him when he opened the door. His reaction was like that of everyone else: a state of shock on his face... and it will be one that will also greet the mom club of Snooki, J-Woww and Deena come next week.

Hollywood Life (HollywoodLife.com)

Around the moment of the latest bombshell to drop on the JS estate in a season full of them (the most notable being what we saw with Kailah's good friend Ronnie), MTV used the perfect time to tease all of us that MTV Floribama Shore will be back for its second season when it debuts in the spot Champs vs. Stars accompanies now, Tuesdays at 10PM starting June 19th. Season 1 of Floribama saw the newest group of eight party-hard Southerners take to Panama City Beach for a memorable summer that saw a parrot, a bar bet gone bad, a roommate's brother breaking the heart of one of the girls, parents deciding to party just as hard as their sons & daughters and, of course, those two famous bar brawls that turned this town into Fight City Beach.
   Because of Kyle Christie from Jersey's UK equivalent Geordie Shore being selected to go on The Challenge Vendettas, the Shore franchise was added to this blogger's MTV slate. When it debuted on April 5th, Family Vacation marked the first time I had watched & live tweeted Jersey Shore, while Floribama was added to DCBLOG's coverage schedule here - and we'll recap that first season on here early next month. And last weekend, the cast of Jeremiah, Codi, Kortni, Aimee, Kirk, Nilsa, Candace and Gus wrapped up filming an extended season compared to their first go in PCB -- 14 episodes taking them from Spring Break to even out of country. And without spoiling anything, perhaps a situation we've seen on Real World many times before may happen on Floribama... as we always say here, "stay tuned."
   Upon them leaving Panama City Beach and regaining access to their phones - and in turn returning to social media, Aimee posted a video on Twitter of her and Codi riding back from Florida, and him doing something we all like to do when we're cruising around town or just needing to kill time when sitting in rush hour traffic: sing whatever is playing on the radio. One of those songs is synonymous - at least to the millennials - with The Hangover and Mike Tyson.  Enjoy...

Whenever I’m having a bad day I just watch this. @codibutts @FloribamaShore pic.twitter.com/9tTp2SyW89

— Aimee E. Hall (@aimeehall1001) May 23, 2018

Oh lort. This guy is the funniest person I know. @codibutts @drewtappon check this one out. 😂 pic.twitter.com/trAxeKz1xu

— Aimee E. Hall (@aimeehall1001) May 26, 2018

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

DC ExtraTime: Empire and STAR

Excerpts from DCBLOG posts during Real World Bad Blood and The Challenge XXX

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

If you may have noticed by the sight of the season finales of Survivor, The Voice, American Idol and Dancing with the Stars in the past two days and just now, tonight wraps up the traditional September to May television season. And while it would be easy to for fans to have plenty of time to recover from this big time rush of our favorite shows coming to an end (for the season or for good), there's the bevy of summer series to take center stage starting on Thursday on the broadcast networks - including next week's premiere of America's Got Talent and next month's debut of the 20th season of Big Brother. Of course, that doesn't bring into account cable series such as the ongoing seasons of Ex On The Beach and Champs vs. Stars which we will cover here this weekend, as does a new season of Floribama Shore and Season 32 of The Challenge which should be around the corner - among other things.
   Tonight also saw the season finales of FOX's popular Wednesday night music drama series, Empire and STAR, and both were the subjects of separate ExtraTime stories that appeared during Real World Bad Blood and The Challenge XXX. Enjoy...

DC ExtraTime: A Personal Connection to Parkland

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Three months ago, students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL outside Fort Lauderdale were enjoying Valentine's Day when everything began to change just before classes were dismissed for the day. A former student who had been expelled from the school months earlier and the focus of authorities over threats made there, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, began to treat his former stomping grounds as his own walk-in shooting gallery. Stoneman suddenly went into lockdown once Cruz was reported to have entered school grounds with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle in hand. The shooter began to fire away at students and teachers like real-life targets in a six-minute barrage, and those in the school began to flee as did Cruz.
   Police eventually found the perpetrator shortly after, and once the dust had settled, fourteen students and three faculty members were gunned down, while seventeen others were wounded. The Parkland massacre surpassed the events in Columbine nineteen years earlier as the deadliest high school shooting to have ever taken place in the United States. And that, along with the Las Vegas festival shooting of a few months earlier, the Pulse Nightclub tragedy in Orlando in 2016 and the Santa Fe High School shooting just last week only more than fueled the debate over gun control laws, as high-profile shootings such as this have unfortunately become everyday news in the past few years.
   And shortly after the shooting in their hometown, twenty Stoneman Douglas school students banded together to form the student-led gun control organization, Never Again. The group, and social media movement with its hashtags #NeverAgain and #EnoughIsEnough, helped to stage many protests, both in the streets and in schools, as a call for action to legislators and Congress to prevent mass shootings like the one at their school, and has put politicians on blast for supporting the NRA, while its members also took to the cover of Time Magazine a month after Parkland.

Celebrities from around the entertainment industry began to show their support behind survivors of this unfortunate tragedy, but only a handful have as deep a personal connection as anyone as a proud alum of a school whose slogan is, "Be Positive, Be Passionate, Be Proud to be an Eagle!" Jordan Pundik, Steve Klein and Ian Grushka of punk band New Found Glory went to high school here, as did Chicago Cubs World Series hero Anthony Rizzo.
   But perhaps the school's most notable alum is also a member of the MTV family: Karamo Brown, who we first saw on Real World Philadelphia in 2004 as a Houstonian and nonprofit worker who dropped a bombshell on the roommates' first night that he was gay - the first African-American gay man on reality television. That season saw him express strong views on race and had dealings with police that stemmed from references to the N-word in front of his roommates, and who then appeared on The Challenge: Inferno II a year later.
   It was afterwards that he was confronted with an unexpected challenge when a letter in the mail demanding overdue child support led him to the Texas AG who informed him that he had a son that was kept secret by a high school friend who became pregnant while being a sophomore. 10-year-old son Jason and half-brother Chris would join Karamo as he would become a regular on Dr. Drew, Oprah's OWN network, red carpets, TV One's The Fame 15, last year's Are You The One? spinoff - AYTO Second Chances, and ultimately to the coveted spot as part of the new Fab Five on Netflix's revival of Queer Eye.

The shootings that shook the entire country that February day touched Karamo very much that he went to Washington, D.C. to join the 800,000 people who participated in the March of Our Lives, and the largest of the many protests that took place in America on Saturday, March 24, where 2 million took part in one of the largest youth-led protests to take place since the Vietnam War. He was not alone: Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Common and Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda were also part of the demonstrations.
   For Karamo, he used a Saturday morning session of the 2018 Equality Convention held by LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign - and held at the same time as March for Our Lives - to share publicly for the first time that he went to high school walking the same Parkland halls as those who endured those agonizing hours a month earlier. One of those who were killed in the attack was someone he personally knew: 37-year-old Aaron Feis was a football assistant coach and security guard who was one of the three faculty members who were killed when he acted as a shield to two students during the rampage, and sacrificed his life in preventing them from being killed by the gunman's bullets.
   Brown told Entertainment Tonight, "To see that school, my high school, on television, and students be running out of the same hallways that I used to walk around gleefully broke my heart. I can’t help but think about the parents who are grieving for their children that are lost, because no parent should ever outlive their child. It just shouldn’t happen. You know, not only as an alum, but also as a parent now, thinking about those precious lives that were lost, it means it’s time for change. Enough is enough."
   Below is the video and transcribed script of his impassioned speech to the HRC, which took place before the March of Our Lives two months ago tomorrow (as this is posted on Wed, May 23rd).

DC WRAP Double Shot: Ex On The Beach EP5 and Champs vs. Stars EP4/5

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Tonight, things get into full swing in MTV Trifecta land when Champs vs. Stars enters the business end of its season with just a handful of players left and the final is coming within reach for them in the California sun. And over in Hawaii, Ex On The Beach has certainly delivered the goods with no shortage of drama and twists as it is at the halfway point.
   Last week, we saw Stanley Cup fever hit the spinoff when hockey was the name of the game, and confirmed two trends involving a ginger and a man with his own nickname. And across the ocean as a volcano continues to erupt outside its door, a revolution has been in full swing when a group outnumbered in the house finally had the chance to prove that they were more than just the minority party.
   Coming up, a recap of the past two episodes of Champs vs. Stars before tonight's action begins with another twist awaiting them, and last week's game-changing Ex On The Beach. And continuing in the playoff spirit, we'll also show you a dunk reel by the one who now has a dubious title to his name. That's all ahead here.

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach USA - "Who's Exed Next?"

*** 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

The bad news for many of you: the weekend is now coming to an end, but the good news is: this is the last weekend before summer begins for most of you before Memorial Day Weekend, and if you're lucky enough to still be up here, we have this week's Pulse of Ex On The Beach USA, where an already juicy season is about to get even juicier.
   Last week, there was plenty of moments that made your jaw drop, such as a double elimination that, in actuality, saw three people get the heave-ho: two tied voting rounds saw Chris' ex Chelsko and Cory's ex (and nemesis of both Angela and Taylor) Alicia BOTH get their bags packing, followed after by Chase's ex Skyler who then bolted out just after that result was revealed. But the most talked about moment so far here also came last week: when Angela found out that Tor'i had a more than sexual date with Faith, she turned to the one ex that seems to be making this house his breakthrough Trifecta season: Derrick, when the two made out in the confessional.
   And if you thought that makeout session in the most secret room in the house was the biggest moment of the season, it pales in comparison to the twist that goes down this week. After the OG's have been having the upper hand in sending home four exes from Hawaii, this time a game-changing twist from left field and from the Shack of Secrets will leave the power in the hands of the exes. For the man who has found himself at the heart of the drama in Hawaii, he may find himself doing what those on a show he's been on before do best. And amidst the madness, two more exes arrive and the Aloha feeling may not get to both of them.

All the action, reaction and interaction from Episode 5 is ahead here, along with the return to Twitter of the one & only Alexis. And on a night where music has taken center stage tonight, stick around for ExtraTime afterwards when we'll have a new track from an AYTO original.
   All of that is ahead on the Pulse of Ex On The Beach... and thanks for staying up with us tonight... Dive In.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Champs vs Stars - "Fire in the Heart, Ice in the Veins"

*** 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

As you all enjoy this Super Saturday with the Royal Wedding and the FA Cup Final on the same day in Britain and a big event weekend in America as well, why not take a break from your festivities for this week's trip Inside the MTV Trifecta with DCBLOG? Ahead: the tables turn in the Ex On The Beach house, but we begin with the second half starting off on The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars III.

   Last week, the toughest challenge yet saw emojis collide with hits and tackles, and when the dust was settled Brooke had joined the infamous quitters' club (though she escaped somewhat from getting scolded) and Aneesa had to withdraw with a sprained ankle. And the other side of Ashley returned when a surprise twist was laid on the group in her being traded from her team, and leading to chaos on her part.
   For this week, it's only natural that our challenge takes place when the oldest trophy in North American sports is being contested and that this very diary is posted on the day those north of the border look forward to the most, as a life-sized game of jumbo table hockey takes center stage a few hours before Hockey Night in Canada. However, there may be dirty play on offering in the trader plotting revenge for last week's twist, and instability on the part of the team who did that one dirty.

We'll have all the action, reaction and interaction from Week 5 of Champs vs. Stars ahead, along with Team MTV celebrating Mother's Day. And after the journal, when happens when someone flies into your house expectedly? ExtraTime will head into the Funny File to look at when a bird flies into the house that a 3-time Challenge finalist calls home… and it was caught on camera.

   It's all ahead on the Pulse of Champs vs. Stars... and welcome to the weekend. It's good to have you with us.

DC WRAP: Ex On The Beach USA - Episodes 3 and 4

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

Tonight, the drama that has already been big in Hawaii intensifies on Ex On The Beach as yet another twist will turn the estate by the Pacific upside down. The past two weeks have seen more fireworks than you can have this close to the beginning of the summer in a place that quite literally has been blowing up outside: the most surprising invasion yet, a date that has seen the pop-off queen of her original show introduce MTV to what she does best, a hook-up that had our jaws dropping, and double trouble of different kinds.
   We'll recap the past two episodes ahead here on the WRAP, along with music videos featuring two of the exes before they invaded Hawaii. And we'll also look at what the rest of the year has in store for covering our strongest beat including a subtle but noticeable change of sorts coming to this site. That's all to come before Episode 5 goes down in just a few hours.

MTV Trifecta: Who Are These Newbies? - Ex On The Beach USA

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

For the many of you who check out our wall-to-wall coverage of The Challenge, DCBLOG always states before each season begins that we feel that any new competitor there should be given a proper welcome to those who don't watch other MTV series outside of The Challenge. Who Are These Newbies? has afforded us that chance to introduce every rookie and returning veteran of every Challenge season we have covered since we began covering that show in 2013. We've written on everyone from one-time rookies Zach and Tori, to Challenge champs Brad and Veronica, and newcomers to the most recent season in Vendettas -- Melissa, Joss and Kayleigh... the ladder three are also responsible for helping set the stage for a new kind of romantic reality show.
   As the new kid on the block in the MTV community, Ex On The Beach may be in many ways different from the other shows we have covered on this site the past five years, but still has the formula for success MTV viewers expect. But, to help ease the transition from what we saw from our British imports just recently in Spain, an icon of The Challenge who started on Real World four years ago, and many others from across the entire reality TV world are appearing on this first American installment of a show that debuted in Britain four years ago. So far, there's been plenty of drama that not only have glued people in from watching Jersey Shore, but also introduce new viewers to MTV's special brand of reality, and the precarious situation of MTV alumni and reality veterans being put through hell of seeing their exes invade Hawaii. 

   But like its Challenge counterparts, there are several people who are familiar to those who watch the broader range of reality TV, but are not quite well-known to those who just watch the channel that singlehandedly pioneered this genre. Conversely, EOTB represents the introduction to MTV Reality for those of you who got to know these people on ch2annels that have a broader appeal than just this channel's core audience of teens and young adults. And in the spirit of a preseason tradition in our Challenge coverage, we at DCBLOG would like to introduce you to the newbies -- in an MTV sense, at least -- to Ex On The Beach USA.

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach USA - "I Wanna Call You Babe"

*** 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

As we roll along on this DCBLOG 5th Anniversary Weekend as well as the one weekend Moms look forward to every year this second weekend of May, things are rapidly heating up on Ex On The Beach USA, with so much that has happened as we enter episode 4 of our stay in Hawaii.
   Last week, things got even more wild when the first of the original ten who entered this house had to deal with a second ex moving in when another of Chris' exes, Haley, emerged on shore. But her entrance paled in comparison to what Cory had to endure when he and Taylor rode down the elevator to the Shack of Secrets and found his ex and her vendetta from AYTO Season 5, Alicia, waiting to pounce on him. We also had our first Getaway Date of the season when Tor'i and Faith went to have some fun, but it's at the nighttime moment of truth where things explode between them and Angela.
   That episode ended just before the revealing of the second ex to go home, and this week we'll find who will get cut from Hawaii... and you will not believe the end result of that. It's what happens there and afterwards that will cause a girl who's had her moments both on this show so far and where she comes from that will might make you want to gasp. And the two ladies who've been fighting over the male representative of Bachelor Nation will soon find themselves in a love square when the next new ex moves in.

We'll have all the action, reaction and interaction from Week 4 ahead here, along with two people who we saw at this time last year revealing some big news. And as many of you are freshening up and getting set for the summer, after the diary on ExtraTime we'll be featuring that new ex in a TV commercial... a clue: haircuts.
   All of that is ahead on the Pulse of Ex On The Beach... Enjoy.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Champs vs. Stars III - "Face Off, Gloves On"

*** 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

Hello, and welcome on in to DCBLOG's 5th Birthday Weekend, and to this week's look at the week that was in MTV Reality... and quite a week it's been - kicking off with The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars as we reach the halfway point of the third installment of this special attraction.

   Last week, Team Blue found themselves all over the map when Casper disregarded his team to play for himself and costing his team a win. We also saw Tony Time continue with him taking elimination, and strategy playing a role in Team Red using their save option to keep Shane. But it all had to take a backseat to what went down before the arena: this season's pop-off queen Hennessy getting into it with Devin before nominations, and leading to her deciding to bolt back to the Bronx, like what we saw with T.O. last season.
   If the first three challenges were more like a cakewalk for these players having seen them go up a hill, play with ribbons and become human curling stones, this week sees the most demanding mission yet. It's those we love that that's physical and in your face, including those famous faces we see on our social media apps of those lovable emojis. It's what happens during and after this challenge that may change the complexity of this game, physically for one player, mentally for another, and a whole other level for one who's had their moments over the years.

We'll have all the action, reaction and interaction from Week 4 of Champs vs. Stars III ahead, along with Cinco de Mayo, the Met Gala and the return of a great American tradition: Jemmye and her live tweets of Teen Mom. And speaking of parenting, stay around afterwards as ExtraTime spends a day with the man who was a total hot mess express the first time we saw him on MTV, and who is now a new dad... find out who that is.

   All of that is ahead on the Pulse of The Challenge... and Welcome to the Weekend.

DC ExtraTime: A "1st Look" at Johnny Bananas

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

At the halfway point of the third installment of The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars, so far this spring we've been entertained by the dynamic personalities of the Stars, a team of "Champions" who despite having just three actual Challenge champions on their team is blending both old and new to this spinoff, and everything in between with the competition and drama we come to expect. And of course, there's the legends of The Miz, a Master Manipulator and the one with the Dad Bod.
   However... amidst all of what's taken place in this first half, there seems to be an emptiness to a CVS season that's already had it all... one that's considered in the record books as an exhibition but is delivering the goods just as good as a regular season. This is only the third time since 2009 that Johnny Bananas has decided to take a Challenge off: only Fresh Meat II in 2010 and Battle of the Seasons II in 2012 has he had not been selected to compete and do what he does best. This time though, he decided to take this third installment off not because of health or fatigue, but for what makes these spinoff seasons special.
   The special nature of Champs vs. Stars is that those players who compete also get to serve as benefactors to the charities, foundations and causes they are most passionate about, and where all of their winnings will go to once they win or not. And given that he is one the most notable celebrity supporters of Special Olympics - and one of his biggest fans getting to serve as a coach in last winter's dominant Champions season that he got to be a part of, Johnny knew that he had done what he set out to do and compete and win for an organization he's volunteered with many times and for which it celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer.
   But, it would not be a true Challenge season without making an ode to Bananas, and this past week those who prefer to stay in, or got home early on Cinco De Mayo Saturday, got a chance to see a whole different side of this six-time champion.

DC WRAP: The Challenge - Champs vs. Stars III: The First Three Episodes

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

In a matter of hours, the drama and competition resumes on The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars III, but not without a lot taking place in the course of the first three weeks. There have been big twists, big competition and big drama that's involved a Veteran with his own nickname when his time arrives, a Pro who's proven that she can hang with the big guns, and Stars who have proven that there's more to them than being J-Lo's ex and Cardi B's sister.
   We'll look back at the key moments of the first three episodes ahead, and we'll also have more on that link between a Champ and a man who has made his fair share of headlines down in Florida. All of that is ahead as we at DCBLOG kick off our 5th Anniversary festivities.

DC ExtraTime: Team MTV's Postcards from Coachella 2018

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

For those who had had to put up with having to wait out yet another week for the eventual final result of Cara Maria winning Vendettas, and those anticipating the premieres of both Champs vs. Stars III and Ex On The Beach in the same week, there was one thing on the minds of most everyone in mid-April. For those who are die-hard music fans like yours truly, those who just love just the pure spectacle of big events and those just obsessed with the celebrity life, there was one place you would rather want to be at for not one, but two weeks. And on a mid-April's weekend that had the NBA Playoffs, a country awards show, The Walking Dead finale and a high profile interview in relation to the biggest soap opera in this country, the Inland Empire in Southern California was the home to the spring's biggest happening... an event commonly known simply as Coachella.

DC SocialPulse: Ex On The Beach USA - "Two Exes Don't Make a Right"

*** 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 been an amazing weekend, and as we soak in all of what's left here on this Sunday, things are now getting into full-on heat mode in a state that, just these past few days, have seen both the heat turn up quite literally in a volcano erupting on the Big Island of Hawaii and several large tremors around our 50th State. We're talking about Week Three of Ex On The Beach.
   Last week, our group of singles and a few of their exes were introduced to two of the big twists that will radiate throughout the season in the Islands: first, MTV veteran Derrick H. and Bad Girls Club alum Angela were whisked down to the Shack of Secrets, and just as what happened last year with him, a phone was center stage as she went through his device to go all in on him for his lies. His AYTO mate Andre arrived to scare his Season 5 ex Taylor and who would then be voted off the island in the first elimination, as did Chris' ex Chelsko who revealed a steamy secret of his cheating ways only to be blown back by a claim that she slept with his uncle... That turned out to be a lie when they went to the Shack to face the lie detector.
   And just when you think it's gonna get more crazy, this week This week, things get even more twisted. One of the singles will begin to grapple with being the first of the original ten to move in to have another ex move into the estate Justin Bieber once called home. For another who has had it all good in landing the other member of Team MTV to move in, he also has to face the music with the ex he has most dreaded about coming here... one who also happens to be a vendetta of the girl he's seeing and who has a history of stirring the pot. And when Ex On The Beach has its first Getaway Date, things begin to go into absolute chaos -- both outside and then at the night formal... and it doesn't become a true reality show until things get as lit as you can get.

All the action, reaction and interaction of Week 2 of Ex On The Beach is ahead on this diary, as well as more Twitter beefing with the full blow-by-blow. And after the diary, we'll join a fellow roommate of one of the singles and two other MTV alumni who know what it's like to date an MTV star on the stage at Spring Break.
   All of that is ahead on the Pulse of Ex on the Beach, and dive in....

DC SocialPulse Extra: Before Ex on the Beach Week 3

*** 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

Happy Sunday... and Ahead, all the action, reaction and interaction to this week's episode of Ex on the Beach... but before that, indulge yourself in the In-Between interactions of the cast after what went down on Episode 2 last week and this week's episode...

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Champs vs. Stars - "From Rainbows to Storm Clouds"

*** 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 is a Friday night, and as we say hello to the month of May, we bring you in to this week's trek Inside the MTV Trifecta with DCBLOG. It's been quite a week for MTV fans in watching Ronnie lose his mind on Jersey Shore and him having just revealed his baby girl in the wake of his own baby mama drama, just as what's been going down with the originals and the fourth generation newbies of Teen Mom. But of most interest is the drama that's been going down on Ex On The Beach which we will be covering later, and first here with Week 3 of The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars.
   Last week, we saw flirting and politics take over when Kam and Booby got flirtatious before last week's challenge, only for that to go away when he decides to nominate her into an elimination that she would eventually lose, but also not give her a life raft after that loss in the arena. We also saw Tony get caught in the act by the magic of video playback when his hands touched the ground during that week's challenge, which resembled both a game your grandparents love to play and what became our guiltiest pleasure for 17 days a few months ago. And yes, we saw Hennessy cause much drama as Cardi B. Mania continues to sweep the social world.
   This week, the tensions rise among one team after a Vendettas finalist who had plenty of those moments this year alone, one Star plots their chance to gain some revenge for being sent into elimination the first time out. All this comes as they finds themselves in a scenario of either wanting to play for themselves against playing for an entire team during a mind-bending challenge... quite literally. On the other side of the ball, the other team is in a precarious position of their own: trying to retain unity while some members of their own team actively do what they can to plot against others in what is still, mentally, a Champs vs. Stars matchup when it's about Red vs. Blue. And yes, when you have a pop-off queen in the room, anything is possible.

We'll have all the in-fighting, the action on the field and pop-off's covered with all the action, reaction and interaction to Week 3 of Champs vs. Stars coming up for you here, along with reaction to Kanye Madness among others. And if you're in the mood for some tunes with summer around the corner, hang with us after the diary as ExtraTime will share with you some tunes from three of the Stars.
   All that is ahead on the Pulse of Champs vs. Stars, as we begin this week Inside the MTV Trifecta. And welcome to the weekend... it's nice for you to be with us.

DC WRAP: Ex on the Beach USA - The First Two Weeks

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

With respect to our friends down in Miami, we are two weeks into this spring cycle of the MTV slate with one season of a spinoff that's already established itself on the schedule and another in a new show from overseas taking over our screens. The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars has seen things already sizzle with the veterans and the celebrities/athletes already bringing us both the competition and drama... this week is no exception and we'll cover that this weekend.
   But even with that stacked cast of stars, our  site's main focus this spring is Ex On The Beach USA with a lot having gone down in just the first two weeks alone with no shortage of love and drama. So far, we've seen two Trifecta alumni get cozy to one another, romance blossoming for those from other non-MTV shows as they continue their invasion of this pioneering cable channel, and of course the super-twist of the exes of these singles invading the islands and making this trip to paradise feel like hell.
   As we've been doing the past two years, if there is any combination of two or more of the shows we cover of The Challenge, Are You The One?, Real World and/or now Ex on The Beach airing at the same time, we'll be combining original coverage of those shows into the same post... and Double Shot recaps of both shows will begin in just a few weeks. But first, we'll be focusing just on EOTB with a review of the first two episodes ahead of what will go down tonight, and also elaborating on two twists that didn't get explained when we did our season preview. Join us for that ahead.