Inside MTV Reality: Welcome to The Challenge - Double Agents

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Hello everyone and thanks very much for joining us... and if we haven't spoken yet, a pleasant Seasons Greetings to you here on this American Thanksgiving weekend. But most important of all, we hope that you & your family are safe & healthy during a year that, thankfully, will soon be left behind in the past. As we got to say on here back eight months ago in the last week of March, we know that 2020 has been an extraordinary and excruciating year for all of us... obviously, you don't need to be reminded of the many bad things that have happened in the past twelve months.

   However, if there's something that's given you, me and all of us an respite from what's been going on in this world of ours, then television has offered that much-needed "Escape You Deserve," regardless of what program you're watching, or where or how you're getting it. This very fact hasn't been as important in these times we are in right now as, just as it was in the spring and summer, we're spending this winter and these holidays at home in quarantine and on lockdown wherever you are. And the inescapable genre of reality television has offered us plenty to be entertained during this trying year.

Reality TV as MTV sees it has been affected a bit this year in some of the shows that we at DCBLOG cover not airing this year as production around the industry has been a hit by the pandemic. But for the shows that have aired, there's no doubt that they've entertained us and brought much needed escapist entertainment: Jersey Shore has returned once again as the OG's are taking over a private island just after Angelina's eventful wedding night and Pauly & Vinny taking over Vegas for A Double Shot at Love. Meanwhile, there was plenty going down in Florida: in Siesta Key, a Queen moved on from a King to a Bachelor and an ex-producer fell in love with one of her castmates, while in nearby Floribama Shore a bromance broke up along with an arrival of a girl from down south.

   Shortly after, Mattie made her way again into the beat we are familiar with: while all action in the world of sports was put on hold, this spring The Challenge provided action-hungry fans, reality viewers and those who have been rolling with this show from the start with plenty of goodies. From the unlikely alliance that was forged between two of its biggest legends, to a crop of rookies who more than earned their stripes, plus plenty of bold challenges to fit the time we are in now, Total Madness proved why this show is called "the fifth major pro sport" as it introduced more of America to how great TV's original reality competition series really is. And it ended with a familiar result: a Brit who proved her worth as a rookie last year ascending to the mountain top, while the biggest figure in this show's history added to his legend with an untouchable seventh Challenge crown.

Now, four months after Johnny Bananas & Jenny West rejoiced in the snow of the Total Madness final - and having been entertained by Da'vonne & Bayleigh on Big Brother All-Stars, as winter begins the stage is set for Season 36 of The Challenge. This time, the scene shifts to where Johnny reigned supreme when he won his fourth ring eight years ago: the country of Iceland which welcomed him, fellow Challenge champs CT, Camila and Emily, and the late Diem Brown for the last act of Battle of the Exes. But as the Banana man is taking this winter off to tend to his second job of traveling the world as host of NBC's 1st Look, there will be new (and/or returning) champions this time around, but the aspect of this game won't change that much.

   We should be in for a compelling, captivating and exciting season full of action, drama and much more which once again will be kicked off by the sound of the air horn of twenty-six season host T.J. Lavin, a decade after the devastating crash that ended his BMX career and the subsequent recovery that followed. Just as it was with the last act of the infamous trilogy of two years ago, it will be a partnered Challenge season that will see past champions of The Challenge and Big Brother compete alongside the big names of this show we know, and rookies that span the entire reality TV world. There is even representation from outside this genre in the field, too... we are definitely living in new times.

   In this island this close to the Arctic Circle, the game they will be playing will have the feel of a summer blockbuster Hollywood movie. And in Double Agents, these players will try to outsmart one another in a game of espionage full of secrets, spies and lies - all for a chance to gain a share of $1 million by the time the snow melts come next spring. Of course, no Challenge season would be complete without TJ unleashing one of his patented twists on the competitors, and we'll expect to see at least a few of those along with some insane challenges, plenty of drama and much more that we'll be witness to in the coming months, and it all premieres in ten days from tonight on Wednesday, December 9th.

In a time where, right now, it's just football of both the American and international kinds that's in action right now - and with college hoops at home now starting up along with cricket down under, Double Agents will once again take center stage in our midweek sporting and television entertainment this winter. And we at DCBLOG are pleased to again be the blog site of record to the mayhem that will be going down in Iceland, and we'll be breaking the ice here with this season preview as we look at what's ahead of us with how this season will play out and get our first look at the thirty competitors chosen for this season. Exactly a third of those Challengers are rookies, and later on we'll have our traditional deep dive into the first-time competitors as they try to earn some respect.

​   So, welcome on in Challenge Nation... get cozy, put on that uniform and join us after the jump as DCBLOG takes our first look at MTV's The Challenge: Double Agents. It's nice to have you with us.

DC ExtraTime Flashback: Before They Were MTV Stars - The First Step

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

The story of MTV Reality represents the history of the non-scripted genre as it is recognized by fans and those in the industry, encompassing nearly three decades of some of the most unique programming on television. In the coming months, DCBLOG ExtraTime is proud to bring you a special Flashback series as we look back at some of the most memorable moments, greatest shows and incredible personalities that have helped to shape this entire genre.

For nearly three decades now, MTV has written the book to an entire industry of how to do, perfect and master a genre it has made its own: reality TV. Starting with when The Real World premiered in 1992 and continuing with the likes of The Challenge and so many other shows since then, an entire form of entertainment was born which paved the way for every network to have a piece of the reality pie, and has produced a litany of incredible moments, shows and people that consistently dominate pop culture.

   So many of the biggest figures of the moment right now, and of the past twenty-eight years, come by way of MTV Reality shows: from a group of strangers from in & around New York City who became the closest thing to a royal family as MTV has ever produced, to a man who blazed a trail before eventually becoming part of the new Fab Five on Queer Eye. And thousands of others have followed in their footsteps on a slew of shows that range from just those living their lives on camera to competing their tails off in the quest for glory, and so many others along the way.

But regardless of whether they've done just one show or many of them over several years, for most of these people they share a common trait: their journeys to being part of the MTV family began began by simply auditioning to be on a show on the channel (or sometimes outside of it), or simply being chosen thanks to having an incredible story or background that would relate to the young adult crowd that watches its programming. And for many of them, they took time out of one of their days to create a video that would eventually change their lives and make them part of television history.

   If you are fond of the milestones we all get to mark in our lives, you'll never forget the first time a baby got to say anything out of their mouths, or when they take their first steps. For sports fans, there is nothing like winning a championship for the first time or when, as a parent, you see your son or daughter make their debut on the playing surface. And for musicians, there's that ultimate coming-of-age moment when you get to hear your song on the radio for the first time.

As we here at DCBLOG prepare to begin our ninth year going Inside MTV Reality and covering The Challenge Double Agents this Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we'd like to take a moment to look back at that time where some of those who have been part of this family got to film a casting tape that would eventually bring them to the likes of not just Real World and The Challenge, but also Are You The One, Jersey and Floribama Shore, and so many other series that have graced the channel.

   No matter how young they look, how long it's been since they made these tapes or what they were doing before becoming part of what's called the "D-List," there's nothing like taking The First Step.

DC ExtraTime: That MTV Love Girl Meets Up with a Stallion

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

For so many of us, we all look forward to the weekend after a long and excruciating week at work, at school and sometimes doing other things that would take up our Monday to Friday lives. In a perfect world, the period from Friday afternoon until Sunday night would be when the entertainment industry unleashes its biggest content... but given the huge effect of the pandemic that's not the case for the movie industry or for the live events scene. But even without the usual array of live concerts, the show must go on for the music industry to give us some fresh content during these tough times, and they've provided us with plenty of comfort food in an otherwise dark start to this decade.

   For years, it was a hodgepodge for when new music would be released around the world: those in Europe got first dibs on checking out new albums and singles from top artists on Mondays, a day before those across the Atlantic in North America would join in, and followed by other nations sometimes days later. But five years ago, the trade association that represents the global music industry decided to follow in their movie counterparts' steps and establish a uniform release day for new music releases on Friday. And for those in America and up in Canada, it's become a tradition for music fans here to stay up until midnight to stream new albums and watch new music videos premiere online when it's posted.

   The pre-Thanksgiving New Music Friday last week saw the holidays arrive one week early in music land, headlined mega collaborations of Canadian megastars Justin Bieber & Shawn Mendes in "Monster" and Miley Cyrus & Dua Lipa in "Prisoner." The world's biggest boy band BTS returned with a new album Be, as its lead single "Life Goes On" offers a message of hope to their fandom known as the Army, and there were also new music videos that were just as juicy. Ariana Grande dropped the second clip from her new album entitled "34+35," while Grammy queen Billie Eilish brought us to the mall on "Therefore I Am." New songs by Jason Derulo, Sia, DaBaby, Meek Mill, Future, Chloe x Halle, Ava Max, French Montana, Kelly Rowland and Josh Groban rounded out a stellar lineup, providing a lead-in to last Sunday's American Music Awards.

Another artist who joined in on the fun of both the AMA's and that star-studded NMF is one who has certainly had quite a 2020: Megan Pete turned 25 back in February having spent all her childhood and adult life in the Houston area. But her future was pretty much set in stone when her mom Holly decided to not drop young Megan at a daycare center and instead brought her to the recording studio while recording music under her alias of "Holly-Wood." Once the daughter reached that sweet age of 16, Megan began to write raps of her own but had to wait until she turned 21 and after graduating high school to pursue music full-time due to hip-hop's suggestive nature.

   While at Prairie View A&M, Megan began making waves when she uploaded videos of her freestyles on social media and one of those rap battles became viral, which kicked the wheels off of her rise to stardom. As she rapidly grew her following and by the time she got her diploma, she eventually adopted the name "Megan Thee Stallion" in reference to being like a horse while in high school due to her 5'10" height and her body frame, a large-boned endomorph.

DC ExtraTime: Swayleigh Says Yes to the Dress

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Screencaps Courtesy: TLC

As much as pretty much all of us can loathe this lost year of 2020, there are a few people who are, in fact, loving this year more than others - for good reasons, at least. They include the NFL's reigning king Patrick Mahomes, YouTube's notorious brothers of Jake & Logan Paul, sports fans in both Los Angeles and Tampa Bay, and two people who've been featured on this site a few times before. And those two are those who have continued to ride on Cloud 9 after being among the latest to cross from the most closely analyzed summer house to a reality house of a different kind in the reunited ViacomCBS umbrella.

We're talking about Bayleigh Dayton and Chris "Swaggy C" Williams -- better known to those in the reality TV community and the fandom that spends their summer watching Big Brother as Swayleigh. It was two years ago that they were riding a high after getting engaged on finale night of BB20 just after his early exit and her being the first member of the voting jury... and 48 hours later they and the cast of that show flew up to Las Vegas to celebrate their engagement with their fellow reality TV community. So began their amazing ride that's taken them to a number of places around the world and back including getting to know so many people along the way, including the boss lady of the NBA champs.

After stops at the 2017 Miss USA Pageant pre-BB and Family Feud post-BB, this year Swayleigh broadened their reach beyond just those who follow Big Brother to other places on the TV dial: they, along with BB20 winner Kaycee Clark and Fessy Shafaat, were rookies on The Challenge Total Madness. Three of them made it to the final but fell short of the top prize as the summer sensation continued its MTV takeover two years after it began on Vendettas... but we all remember the huge blowup in the bunker involving the two ladies.

Along the way - including having just hosted a large but COVID-safe housewarming last weekend at their new digs across the street from the Staples Center, there was another stop on the Swayleigh World Tour in 2020: a pit stop from the Total Madness final in the Czech Republic en route to the Big Brother All-Stars house brought them to the Big Apple, and another milestone towards becoming official in wedded bliss thanks to putting on a wedding dress.

DC ExtraTime: A Challenge Girl Meets NASCAR's Newest Champ

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Six years ago, the cameras of Season 30 of The Real World briefly ventured from the hustle & bustle of Chicago -- and those from the roommates' past making temporary visits to the house -- to the outskirts of the third largest metropolitan region in this country. For one day, MTV Reality intersected with one of man's biggest confrontations: that against speed and machine, all played out on a large speedway and in a stadium with football-sized attendances.

   It was there that the cast of Real World Skeletons spent a Sunday at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL south of the city to take in the 2014 installment of NASCAR's annual stop in Chicago for the opening race of that season's NASCAR Cup Playoffs. Tony, Nicole, Sylvia and their fellow castmates took a day out for a day at the racetrack, getting that first feel for competition that would eventually bring bring them to multiple Challenge seasons afterwards... they even hung out with a few of the drivers before they received the famous four-word command, "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!"

Motor Sports has been around for as long as there has been automobiles, and where competition ranges from motorcycles and monster trucks to rallying and drag racing. In the rest of the world, it's the Formula One World Championship that grabs the attention of fans everywhere with over 350 million tuning in during the season to follow several times' world champion Lewis Hamilton and others take to circuits around the globe. But it plays second fiddle in North America to its form of open-wheel racing, IndyCar, headlined by the Indianapolis 500.

   And yet, that too also doesn't have the kind of extensive year-round media attention that accompanies its stock-car counterparts: starting in the late 1940's, NASCAR has grown leaps and bounds from a regional happening throughout the Southeast to tremendous success across the country. Every weekend from its biggest race in Daytona in February through to the 10-race Playoffs in the fall, millions of fans follow the progress of what was, for a time, the most-watched sport in this country outside of the NFL. Though its growth has stalled somewhat, the top-tier Cup Series still remains strong, while the secondary national XFINITY Series and regional circuits showcase the next generation of drivers.

DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - Hooters Girls

Repost from during Are You The One? Season 4, a related story on this will be featured in the next DCBLOG post to come later today (Nov. 12, 2020).

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

In my six trips to Las Vegas the past decade, my preferred way of going up & down the Strip has been of taking the LV Monorail. An air-conditioned tram behind the casinos takes many of the city's 40 million annual visitors to their preferred places quicker & cheaper than a taxi. When I head down towards its southern terminus at the MGM Grand, across the way within view of the station is an off-strip hotel & casino bearing the name of America's most renowned restaurant brands, whose logo bears the image of an owl and the name of his famous call.

Since it began operations in 1983, Hooters has grown from a hometown restaurant in Clearwater, FL to a national brand now spotted in over 450 locations in the U.S. and 25 other countries. The company's image is best personified by the waiting staff featuring primarily attractive, young ladies wearing a white tank top and orange shorts and having sex appeal too... Thus, the term Hooters Girls is the most notable feature of this restaurant that serves up American food. And it's only part of a Tampa Bay empire that's also included video games, airplanes and sponsorship, even with occasional legal history too.

Two recent alums of the Real World/Challenge franchise are former Hooters Girls. When we first saw her on the premiere of RW Portland three years ago, we met Averey from Tempe, AZ as the girl from Michigan who had who moved out to the desert with her only piece of home, adorable dog Daisy, to get a new start. Clever video techniques she used in her casting tape saw her go from wearing her typical outfit in the sun-soaked locale that is the Phoenix metropolitan area, to wearing the signature Hooter Girl outfit. She says in the tape, "I do work for Hooters - as funny as that is.  So this would be, 'Normal Girl Day' (typical outfit)... Hooter Girl (Hooters outfit)... Don't Be Jealous." 

Four years earlier, we had Boston'er Emilee on Real World Cancun who, too, worked at Hooters. In her casting interview, she discussed the perceived enigma that comes with working there: "I hate when people treat me like I'm ignorant because I'm not. I mean, I work at Hooters. And I was just talking to a girl the other day about how we have these customers come in, and they come in with these expectations of that you're going to be stupid. And I hate people like that; that's my #1 pet peeve. My self esteem isn't with what I look like, it's with my intelligence. And I hate when people be a little mean.  It's not even sometimes words...It's just a superiority. And it's like, especially with guys, who I hate when someone tries to tell me what to do or questions my ability. It really just p.....s me off. That's my #1 pet peeve. My friends know it, my mom knows it, it really irritates me."

Credit: Hooters.com

Recently, last year saw not one, but two Hooters Girls on Season 3 of Are You The One?. When we met Augusta, GA native Britni - who we featured here last week, she had worked for some time at a local location there before she found her own perfect match in Chuck. And second, while her AYTO 3 ex Devin has made rounds in the Rivals house, Kiki recently spent the past two months focusing on her own challenge: winning the 20th Annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant in Las Vegas. She won the regional pageant for the Mid-Atlantic region back in May, which saw her advance to Nationals in Las Vegas over a week ago.

While all we saw from her in Hawaii was of getting played by Big D during the season and being sent into the Truth Booth many a time, it's a much different Kiki when she's at her local Hooters in Fairfax County, VA outside of Washington, D.C.  Their description of her writes, "Kirsten is a spirited jokster from Chantilly who loves to pull good-natured pranks on her co-workers. She has a master's degree in special education and loved her internship with a self-contained autism class at an elementary school. Kirsten's hobbies include snowboarding, wakeboarding, spending time with her two dogs and going on as many roller coasters as possible!"

Kiki spent last week in Vegas and at the PALMS Resort & Casino taking part in the Pageant along with 78 other beautiful women from around the world, as well as all related matters such as calendar photography and the like, which included the vote for Miss Fan Favorite. With that always lucky number of #7, she received strong support from her fan base who's followed her the past 12 months in voting for that award, which unfortunately she didn't win but is still a sign of her popularity among AYTO fans. In the end, Fort Lauderdale Hooters Girl Sable Jade Robbert took top honors, but Kiki did enjoy the great week she had in Sin City to make memories with the ladies and add more to her appeal as one of the most-popular Trifecta castmates of recent years. Next stop: Challenge perhaps?

- I AM DC @DC408Dxtr

#TheEscapeYouDeserve

DC ExtraTime: "This is the True Story" Inside The Sands of The Hourglass...

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

If there is a bright spot to what has been a dark year of 2020, it has been that more & more of us have been spending our time at home at all hours of the day, working and getting educated virtually in addition to the usual routines we have to start our day and then when we would usually get home from work and school until it's time for lights out. It has seen internet usage skyrocket to new heights thanks to technology keeping us all connected, and viewing in television dayparts have increased also.

If you are one of those who are obsessed with reality television like we are here, then you know that part of the genre we love is influenced by daytime soap operas and the experience that Mary-Ellis Bunim had producing them before joining documentary producer Jon Murray to create their production arm that has brought us The Real World, The Challenge, Keeping Up with The Kardashians and other iconic reality shows. Much of what you see on those shows and everything else in the reality genre are influenced by daytime soaps: the arcs, the characters and the pacing of episodes are all influenced by that genre.

The soap opera genre is officially known as "serial drama" in having storylines that continue from episode to episode every weekday... and of course, the moniker comes from these shows being sponsored & produced by companies that market popular soap brands. It may not have the kind of large appeal and ratings that it once had as talk shows, courtroom-based series and other program genres have taken over the late-morning and afternoon time periods. But watching the soaps remains a favorite for the at-home housewives after all these years, with a few of them still on air decades after they began airing during the golden age of television.

Something that's been as much a decades-long staple of NBC as Today, The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, Dateline and its Olympic coverage has been Days of Our Lives, which began airing on the Peacock back in November 1965, and is into its 56th year as its longest-running scripted series. Days has documented generations of the Horton, Brady and DiMera families in the fictional town of Salem with the many twists and turns that have gone down there. And every soap opera fan has grown up with the little-changed title sequence voiced by the series' patriarch MacDonald Carey: "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives."

Inside MTV Reality: The Challenge Invades Big Brother All-Stars

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

We've just had Halloween and THAT event last week, but for those of us who follow reality TV year-round, we've all finally have had a chance to take a breather in this unique time in our world after having a sense of normalcy being restored for most of this year. We witnessed Johnny Bananas conquer The Challenge once again as it provided us with much needed escapist programming to take our minds off of the world outside our windows, which made its way to Total Madness when controversy saw a recent champion get blacked out by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Season 35 of the fifth major pro sport was really the only big "sport" that was going on in the course of a spring and early summer of 2020 of this COVID world, and just shortly after came a rite of summer. After five seasons of having those who have stepped inside its famous house, CBS stalwart Big Brother took center stage among avid fans of the non-scripted space and those who watch the show every year. That includes those from Challenge Nation who joined the party watching the episodes with Julie Chen-Moonves and the live feeds if they're lucky to fork some money for CBS All Access, which added past Challenges, Real Worlds, other MTV shows and the UEFA Champions League to their lineup.

This was the first Big Brother season to take place in the new ViacomCBS, but the first since summer 2005 that the Eye network and MTV have been on the same team under the same corporate umbrella, and twenty years after that first season during the summer that helped put the Eye network back on the map. Of course, the seeds of the eventual integration of the two networks' parent companies can be traced back to when The Challenge needed to add some fresh blood to the competitor list, and they looked to former Big Brother houseguests to help pave the way for other reality shows outside the MTV fold to join in. Since then, seventeen of them have crossed over to doing not only the past four Challenges, but also three seasons of the U.S. version of global sensation Ex On The Beach.

Those of you who followed the fortunes of Josh, Natalie and the rest of those former houseguests from Vendettas to Total Madness joined with them and everyone else to watch BB All-Stars, the show's 22nd regular season but the second to cast an entire group of past alumni to take up residency in America's most heavily-watched summer house with over 100 high-def cameras to watch their every move 24/7. And you can tell from everyone buzzing about it on your social media feeds that, once again, things were back to normal in how your fellow followers got to analyze every move from their couches as once again, it took over our lives. And there were a couple familiar faces as after five seasons of it invading The Challenge, it was time for Big Brother to return the favor.

DC ExtraTime: A Team MTV Halloween 2020

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

IG Clockwise from top left: @T_Raines, 
@_Maria_Elizondo, @DJPaulyD, 
and @Taylor.Selfridge

We are now into the month of November, and today is a big day in this country... but this is not the biggest day of the 11th month of the year to this blogger nor is that four-day weekend of Thanksgiving that comes later on: my birthday comes in ten days from right now as this is being posted on this Tuesday. But the one day of the year that's best known in my universe by the hashtag #DCBDay comes right during the midst of the fall & winter holidays, which begins on Halloween.

When we rang in 2020 ten long months ago, we anticipated this among other holidays to fall during the most exciting time of the entire week: the weekend - and on the most ideal of days to celebrate that last day of the month on a Saturday night. What none of us didn't expect was that many of us would have to celebrate the spookiest of holidays in the comfort of our own homes, perhaps not having as many guests knock on the door for trick or treating due to the pandemic, or even risking it all to dress up for those parties that are such a part of our culture when we reach October 31st on the calendar.

Nonetheless, this year's installment of Halloween has provided us with plenty of options when it comes to picking those costumes, and that was perhaps the most important thing on the minds of the people who we keep our tabs on in going Inside MTV Reality on this DCBLOG site. Of course, that would be the cast members of the shows that we cover greatly on here, ranging from The Challenge and Are You The One to Siesta Key to the Shore franchise.

Below and in no particular order, a long but diverse sampling of what they dressed up as for a most unusual Halloween 2020 from the world of Instagram. And after they got to binge watch one particular program on a certain pay stream service in the past year, you'll never guess what the most popular costume was this time around...

DC ExtraTime: AYTO Takes Over Boogie's Comedy Slam

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Tomorrow is a day most of us have been looking forward to, or dreading, depending on the mood you are in right now as we are this close to Election Day. As a place you come to for a place of escape as detailed by a slogan I've taken ownership of since March - "The Escape You Deserve", we don't really need to elaborate on that title above... but one aspect of American society which has taken full advantage of this situation we are in has been the world of comedy. And judging by the playful jabs and jokes that Stephen Colbert and other late night talk show hosts have given us before bed all during this tough year, then they have treated this campaign and lead-up to tomorrow as a daily field day.

Making you laugh has been a regular fixture of this DCBLOG ExtraTime series, including the instances of online pranksters hanging out with MTV'ers, the lighter moments involving these people, and what we got planned next in showing those hilarious costumes from back on Halloween on Saturday night. And someone who's been a frequent subject on here has been the resident comedian of the show that brought me into watching romantic reality TV: John Jacobs was part of the first Are You The One? cast and paved the way for other shows to join The Challenge when he was on Battle of the Exes 2, but we've featured JJ many times here including his Tampa News Force YouTube satire series.

Two years ago, we had another comedian take a break from telling jokes to head to the one show where the hopes of a perfect match and a million dollars can live or die by lasers and lights. And just recently, that man got to do what he does best in front of a couple NBA stars and in two places he calls home: the stand-up stage and in the place he grew up in - the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area.