DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Rivals III - "The Curse of the Black Skull"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 

and 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 / @DC408DxNow

It's Sunday Funday, and we welcome you once again to our coverage of the MTV Trifecta on DCBLOG. And as we head towards the beginning of summer 2016 in some two weekends from now, things are starting to heat up. We had a carny, tears and roommates in Las Vegas which we'll discuss here later tonight, while the buzz is in full swing for AYTO Season 4 with the explosive trailer that dropped last Monday. And in Mexico, things are now starting to get into a groove on Rivals III.
   Last week, Season 28 of The Challenge got underway with the competitors kicking off their season with a rock star crying uncle when everyone skydived their way into this season. We also saw a girl whose original MTV stint lasted all of four episodes finally come out of her shell a bit by scoring a hookup with the defending champion. And we had a first challenge where trust and communication was being tested right out of the gate, which befell many a team and once again saw a team classified as rookies win that all important first mission.
   This week, Jenna and Vince - both with something to prove going into this season - hold the key to the fate of twelve other teams in the house for the season's first elimination. But as they deliberate with various teams and everyone else wheels and deals, what they don't know is that they're about to be put in for a stunning super-twist. Plus, there's a stunning revelation involving one of the teams, and a girl who has a positive outlook but has been ridiculed somewhat finds both a new person to cuddle with and finally silences the doubters.
   For all of how your favorite castmates saw what, in essence, was the second part of the premiere, then dig in to all the reaction that's ahead of you. But wait until what we have in store for you for ExtraTime after the diary, as you'll join one of my favorite sections of the media industry for one of the biggest nights, and who the most popular winner of the night is.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but they are kept uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, then do not proceed with reading this post. But need not worry...DCBLOG will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

Two eliminations, a hook-up, a twist and some "Garbage" - Join DCBLOG for the 'Pulse of Episode 2 of The Challenge: Rivals III...next.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Rivals III - The Premiere

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 

and 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 / @DC408DxNow

On this Mother's Day and Kentucky Derby weekend, hi, hello, what's up and welcome one & all to DCBLOG's ongoing coverage of the MTV Trifecta, and to DC SocialPulse for the premiere episode of Season 28 of The Challenge. As we begin a busy period that sees all three shows we cover wall to wall be showcased non-stop now until summer's end, and literally a few months removed from the most recent season of the fifth major pro sport, this week we begin anew with a familiar format but with a totally new twist.

   It's Rivals III, and unlike its first two incarnations, the teams of bitter rivals are not of the same gender but are of the co-ed variety as the girls will be paired with the guys, Exes style. And of course, it'll require everything the competitors need to succeed, and most especially overcome a history of bickering with a record winner's jackpot awaiting them. From a veteran pair whose rivalry formed by virtue of her last Challenge and a familar move of his, to an AYTO pair just rested up from Hawaii and everywhere in between, this promises to be a great season.
   This week, the competitors will arrive in Hautulco, Mexico on the country's south coast to all of the usual pomp and circumstance that comes with their first night, complete with a Bananas toast and a sparkling mansion. Then comes, perhaps, the most dramatic entrance we've ever seen to a Trifecta show (maybe since the balloon ride on St. Patrick's Day in Vegas) to find out all the details of what this season has to offer for them, plus a stunning first hookup and a defying first challenge where trust and communication is being tested right out of the gate.
   We've got all the interaction from the first Challenge Wednesday and the premiere episode itself covered here here in the first of what is now three (and sometimes more) weekly posts to cover not only this Challenge premiere, but also this week's Real World and our usual Wrap. And if you stick around through all of these tweets, and to offer added depth to a theme of this premiere, DC ExtraTime will offer perspective on what is the greatest underdog story in recent sports history: a 5000-1 long shot winning the biggest prize in domestic league soccer. That's all ahead here.

As we begin our eleventh Trifecta season and sixth Challenge we've covered here, once again a primer for those who are joining us for the first time in case you're happened to find us here or if you're been brought here by word of mouth. The 'Pulse is DCBLOG's signature feature presenting unique, exclusive running twitter diaries of the MTV Trifecta as seen by those watching the episodes in 140 characters or less - cast and fans alike. Social media has brought TV's communal viewing experience into the digital age, and often it's the twitter interaction during episodes that becomes the big show as the cast relives the drama in its edited form with more than just family and friends. We strive to bring that interaction to you here.

   If you wanna relive how you, the castmates and fellow fans reacted to a hookup, fight, mission or anything else that takes place, then dig in to action, reaction and interaction that's below. But most particularly, in the case of some of you such as yours truly, those who might have stayed off social media while the episodes aired and didn't get the benefit of having the true TV/Twitter experience of your favorites tweeting along to avoid those spoilers, The 'Pulse is your first destination to catch up on the tweets you missed. These diaries are specially designed, curated and pieced together by me in real-time - tweet-by-tweet & uncensored - to bring that experience and interaction as a service to you, the fans, so you don't miss a moment. It's easier to catch up here than there, all timeline style.
   The 'Pulse is only part of DCBLOG's wide-ranging MTV Trifecta coverage, offering a unique angle on the shows you & I love that's found only on this site. With these 'Pulse diaries, episode Wraps, original stories, thoughtful opinions and in-depth analysis covering the people, the stories, the drama and its history, you are covered like no other blog, easily complementing the other sites that cover these shows. It's all tailor made for this site and a channel with its intimate relationship and impact, with insight, storytelling and perspective that they all offer. And it's brought to you by a long-time MTV fan who now devotes energies and free time to covering this wild, crazy and always unique world of the Trifecta.

Now, the main event and the one you've all been waiting for: the following are the actual tweets of the cast, alumni, fans and me as we got to see the premiere, along with some of the buildup to, and the aftermath of, premiere day, and of course the first episode.
- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but they are kept uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, then do not proceed with reading this post. But need not worry...DCBLOG will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

So, strap in, get settled in and Join In with DCBLOG after the jump as we kick off Season 28 of The Challenge and the premiere of Rivals 3: SocialPulse style.

MTV Trifecta: Countdown to The Challenge - Rivals III

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

With a slightly new look in a brand spanking new logo, welcome back once again to DCBLOG's ride through the always fascinating and entertaining world of the MTV Trifecta, now into our 4th year covering the three shows that galvanizes this MTV fan and so many others everywhere. We are about halfway thru what's so far been a controversial & eventful 31st season of Real World: Go Big or Go Home in Las Vegas, and very soon, we'll be covering season 4 of Are You The One?, taking place once again in the Hawaiian islands, for which the buzz for it begins today as its new cast is revealed.

   But after taking an unplanned week off to pay homage of one of music's legends in Prince, we are about to enter the most-packed time of covering the Trifecta in quite some time, as in addition to those two shows above, we're into the final countdown to Season 28 of The Challenge, which debuts on Wednesday, May 4 - six days from now. It seems almost as if it was just yesterday that Cara Maria overcame her arch nemesis Johnny Bananas, her ex-boyfriend Abram and just about everything else to garner her first Challenge title inside the venerable Berlin Olympic Stadium. But time has flown by very fast, and now the slate has been wiped clean for a new book to be written.

This time, this season being held a bit closer to home as it will take place in Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico in the country's south coast. It's the first time The Challenge has ventured south of the border since Gauntlet III in 2008, best remembered for Big Easy quitting on the Veterans in the final and costing them a certain win. That moment provides the context for this season, which unlike Bloodlines last season promises to be something else when it comes to the drama, competition and all else we know & love. That's what you get when you have a format as intense as Rivals.

   Five years ago, we were witness to perhaps the greatest season ever of The Challenge when this format caught all of the castmates off guard the moment host TJ Lavin revealed that twist, and that set the table for everything that took place in Costa Rica --- and we'll look back on that epic season next week as we inch closer to the first week of May. In summer 2013, we saw the big name vets compete with the new generation for the first time, and saw the great CT and athletic Emily win their first Challenge, just as Paula did on the first one.

   This time, the format is not only being brought back for a third time, but also retooled in a big way, and the stakes are even greater than before. Instead of same-gender pairs as in the first two editions of Rivals, it's the usual shocking twist that we've come to expect from this show that will rear its head on everyone when it's the rival of the opposite sex that will be paired up with. And if you thought that the Exes format of guys and girls being paired off was something, then wait until you see what this season has in store for us.

This Rivals III Challenge is the 12th MTV Trifecta season that we have chronicled here on DCBLOG, and we will be surrounding this season like no other site can in the blogosphere. We're excited again to both watch this season and the  bringing you it in our unique way here, taking you from the preseason buzz through the crowning of a champion later on in the dog days of the summer.

   Coming up, we'll have a full preview of this Challenge and a look at all of the 13 pairs competing in Mexico, and their prior history of personal hatred that got them paired up in Mexico. Plus, we'll have Who Are These Newbies?, our tradition of introducing you to this season's six first-time rookie competitors, our service to fans so you'll get to know them before you see them on May 4.

   So, Join In after the jump as DCBLOG's coverage of Season 28 of The Challenge kicks off with our preview of Rivals III from south of the border.