DC FORUM: 2021 is a WRAP….

A Word from the Editor

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

In just a few days, we will say farewell to this year of 2021 where things just started to feel normal to a degree, but where in many ways things felt the same as it was at this time last year when we just wanted 2020 to just go out in a blaze. A lot of you who are reading this might feel the same way as we are about to ring in 2022 in around seventy hours from right now.

But as it has many times during the course of the past twenty-two months or so, you have found a haven in the shows you love to watch, the music you love to listen, the sports that unite us and the passions that bind us together. That's the premise that I have brought to DCBLOG over the past nine years, and where I have also done quite a bit of video work during the past five years.

This has formed the premise of what I call The Escape You Deserve, which I have been preaching over this traumatizing and exhausting time in our world in offering something else for you to check out: blog coverage of television's most-talked about reality shows and occasional posts covering sports and music. And there's also been a few posts covering that fourth passion of Las Vegas, which has evolved into the DC VEGAS vlog series that just premiered on my YouTube channel.

To keep this all short and sweet and simple -- and without wanting to elaborate much as I tend to be a private person and would prefer to keep it all to myself and to the inner circle, I am taking a break from both DCBLOG and YouTube for the remainder of this holiday period and perhaps for a week or two after we ring in the New Year this weekend. Being able to have worked my rear end off to bring you this outstanding content especially with posting fourteen videos on Christmas weekend alone and getting close to reaching 1500 articles on this site, the time feels right to take a deserved break

Once I come back from this self-imposed sojourn, we will have a ton of episode coverage and other things to cover from the MTV beat before we turn the attention to whatever comes in the first few months of the new year, plus another series of sports posts and other things on the side. And on the vlogs, there's my first-ever visits to Downtown Las Vegas, Resorts World and the World Series of Poker, as well as this fall's 20th anniversary reunion of my Milpitas High School graduating class.

I hope you all got to enjoy the amazing, quality work I got to offer all of you this year, and I look forward to resuming it all in the new year after this time to rest, relax, reenergize and recover while also spending quality time with my biggest fans -- my family and relatives. Enjoy the rest of the holidays and be safe out there especially right now... we'll see you soon.

- I AM DC   #DCBLOG

#TheEscapeYouDeserve

DC SocialPulse - The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies - The $1 Million Finale Part 2

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Merry Christmas to all of you on on the most merriest day of them all on the calendar, and wherever you are we hope you are having a good one, as a friend to us in the MTV beat Brian Cohen would say at the end of his podcasts. And along with plenty of videos on YouTube what did Santa DC bring to those of you who visit DCBLOG today? This blogger has brought you the 'Pulse of MTV's The Challenge... and the season finale of Season 37 of Spies, Lies & Allies, a season that began all the way back in the heat of summer and ending during the winter holiday season.

When we left Croatia at the end of the first hour of this battle back last Saturday (for reasons to be explained below), we began with TJ Lavin dropping his latest Teej-bomb on the ten remaining players of the almost thirty that began this whole thing back in August: in order to make the final, they would have to sweat out one more set of eliminations -- a double one. While it was Tori and Devin who won their way to the final eight, it was Amanda who won our hearts in falling short but having came here to compete for her newborn back home... though it was what happened with one of the agents helping out that left a sour taste in some.

Tori, Devin, CT, Emy, Kaycee, Kyle, Nany and Nelson advanced onward to the $1 million final which, once again, will last two days... and the teams were split down the middle into foursomes. And at the end of the first part it was the first four on that list that were in the lead... but you cannot win a Challenge crown on the first day alone. As we return to Croatia, the fight continues with the kind of exhausting test that brings every aspect the players have endured this fall & winter into the fore once again that will determine who reigns victorious. And en route to the finish line, a big story of this season may find itself going through one more big hurdle, while a moment etched in many's minds in the past five years of this show will have a role in what happens after the agents finish this marathon.

Ahead, DCBLOG offers you the SocialPulse of the nineteenth and final week of competition of Season 37 of The Challenge, as we find out who wins it all on Spies, Lies & Allies. And it's with what happens at the end that will offer the context of the ExtraTime story that follows: a night of history being made in reality TV that also gave one rapidly-growing section of our society reason to celebrate... and this blogger can also lay claim to being part of that community. So put on that ugly sweater, grab that cup of eggnog and welcome on in Challenge Nation, and thanks for joining us here on this Christmas Day.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 2 - The Second Half Begins...

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Happy Christmas wherever you are around the world, where it's already the big Saturday in Asia, Europe and Africa where Santa has already given your presents under the tree. And if you are lucky enough to be up at this hour in the U.S., we're glad you've joined us for this special late night presentation of the DCBLOG MTV Reality SocialPulse as we kick off a busy end to 2021 on here. And just ahead on here, the last act of Season 37 of The Challenge and Season 4 of Floribama Shore... but we begin for those of you who are up right now (including us in the Cueva Crib for our first in-person Christmas bash in two years) with Week 6 of The Challenge All-Stars Season 2.

Last we were in Mexico, one of the biggest alumni to make their debut on here was Tina, who came to Road Rules South Pacific in 2003 as a replacement and then made her mark on several Challenges. But perhaps, she must've saved her best work for when she decided to call attention to everyone in the kitchen with pots and pans and took a page out of not only Big Brother Josh's playbook but also from Taylor Swift's lyric book: "the Old Tina can't get to the phone." Her making her stand in the house and then in the elimination arena in throwing her battle added more to her legend, conceding victory to one who has had quite a tough year in Melinda after miscarrying her second baby earlier this year.

As what has been the case during the regular show's regular season and what will be the case when we get to cover the Spies, Lies & Allies finale later on this Christmas Day will show, it's not officially serious business time on a Challenge until TJ Lavin decides to throw a pebble at the players at the midway point. As we return to Cancun, that will be the case when he will twist things up once again when the players tackle a scary daily game in the water that involves jumping down into the lake... and for one player, it will put into focus a fear they have of tackling both the heights and the sea. What happens here and then in the arena will test out what has become the season's dominant alliance.

After the break, DCBLOG and Santa DC brings you an early Xmas gift: the 'Pulse of Week 6 of The Challenge All-Stars... plus, is Leslie Chow a Real World fan? And welcome to the merriest day of all...

DC Vegas: A Spotlight on the Vloggers

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

A much beloved aspect of normalcy that began to spring back up in the course of the past year has been of taking advantage of spare time to fly or drive to the destination of your choosing outside the place you call home and have been stuck in for most of this time. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to travel to some amazing places: the Philippines, Hawaii, New York, Southern California, and the Reno/Tahoe area. Sure, my travel itinerary is not as broad as what you have, but I don't get that much in the way of vacation time because of various factors that I would rather not elaborate on.... it's not the case for my parents, who have gone to well more places than I have. But for a quarter-century, one place has stood out above all others: Las Vegas.

Since 1994 - and most especially in the past decade & a half, it's become a near-annual tradition for me to emerge out of this shell of doing blog work like this in my Bay Area home and venture out on a 75-minute plane trip (or sometimes a 9-hour drive) to the playground that, if you're at least 21, you can treat as your own adult amusement park -- and lately I've referred to it as my happy place. The thing I refer to by the social media hashtag of #DCVegas has emerged from just the kid in me roaming the Circus Circus midway in that first trip into becoming my own Super Bowl: the biggest thing I look forward to and something I anticipate just as much as the Olympics, music awards shows, or a new season of an MTV reality TV show. It's always a huge deal for me to let my guard down in joining family and cousins for these vacations, and it is always a good time whenever I step foot in Southern Nevada.

The pandemic lockdown last year might've caused a lot of stress for many, but it afforded plenty of time at home to pursue another passion of mine: videography. Not being able to travel opened an opportunity for me to create plenty of escapable and enjoyable content from eight of those Vegas trips for the DC Vegas series on my YouTube channel which number in at over 180 videos. That total can be disputed a bit, as in truth it includes reposted versions of some of those due to having a faster internet speed and affording me the chance to reproduce them in higher definition. Just get a glimpse at the vlogs, and you can understand why I make my videos stand out from your usual Vegas YouTube videos in me taking greater steps to have it be just as nice as anything you see there but visually and sound-wise.

When the opportunity finally presented itself for me to safely travel to Vegas last month - and where conditions were favorable enough to also tackle my first big vacation since this world lost its mind, I will have been well-prepared to once again not only enjoy the experience of this amazing city, but also capturing it (thus defying the adage that "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"), Along with marking a belated birthday for me, a new goal coming into this trip was to also use this city -- the Strip and all -- as a canvas to creating great content for my digital channels, having watched a lot of Vegas-related content on YouTube during the pandemic. That, along with upgrading my technology to a new phone, gimbal and other gadgets since the last trip and gaining lots of experience in the last few years in videography and editing techniques, set the table for me to take my Vegas experience to the next level.

Tomorrow night before you gather either in person or virtually with your family and friends as I will for our holiday meet-up (no need to worry about all that's going on health wise for us, we'd rather save that chatter for another time), yours truly will be offering the perfect Christmas gift in "The Ultimate Escape" -- the DC VEGAS XI vlog series on YouTube. I have been working long and hard the past few weeks putting together an amazing array of videos that will help take your mind off of what's going on right now, and to make this an enjoyable experience that will bring the Vegas feeling into your homes and to your screens. But before the premiere of this year's videos, this blogger would like this opportunity to put a spotlight not on myself... but on those who I've gotten to enjoy watching during this time: the community who vlogs on everything Vegas.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 2 - "Old Tina Can't Come to the Phone"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

We welcome you back on this pre-Christmas Saturday night, and we've just had an enjoyable sports Saturday... one that started with just one match in the English Premier League, but where Tiger Woods returned to action after that horrific accident almost 200 days ago, the Colts take down the Pats and college bowl season has just begun. And now that we've just seen what's gone down with Jake Paul knocking the F out of Tyron Woodley, DCBLOG would like to offer you the appropriate nightcap as we now offer the 'Pulse of MTV's The Challenge -- All-Stars that is.

Last we were in Cancun, a gulf separating two strong alliances was starting to form in the house: Brad, Cohutta, Darrell, Derrick and MJ on one side; Nehemiah, Latterian, Steve, Teck and Melinda on the other. It wasn't apparent when the hilarity that always ensues went down in the annual hybrid of game show & diving fest known as trivia took over, but when Steve and -- of all people -- Casey were the last ones standing they chose to take the season's biggest power move on behalf of the King's Palace. It led to Brad and Derrick getting a rematch to their epic encounter of many years ago and saw the Cutthoat champ take the win, Katie joining him on the flight home after quitting that trivia earlier.

One of the biggest alumni to make their return to this game after not being on All-Stars 1 this winter is Tina, who first made waves as a replacement roadie on Road Rules South Pacific eighteen years ago. She has made plenty of those during this first half of this season, and as we return to Mexico she may figure once again in a week where the daily sees the Stars will be jumping for joy on trampolines. We will also be delving more into an item we shared with you earlier this year involving one of the Stars on here, as the Palace tries to hang onto their power... and a rather familiar moment to reality TV fans makes its way down south to this paradise.

After the break, DCBLOG wraps up this Saturday night with the 'Pulse of Week 5 of The Challenge All-Stars... and could this show be bringing one of its names to the world of food? Find out next.

DC SocialPulse - The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies - The $1 Million Finale Part 1

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Hello everyone and welcome -- to many of you, at least -- to winter break at the end of what has been some 2021. If you're one of those who loves wintertime in a TV sense, then we're in for quite the finish to this year in the reality world after the crowning of this year's Survivor winner, the fall's Masked Singer champ, and before Michelle chooses her Prince Charming on The Bachelorette. And this one right here will morph into Santa DC as yours truly has quite an offering of Christmas goodies in the week ahead both here on DCBLOG and over on YouTube, starting here and now as we begin to cover something that began all the way back in the heat of summertime in August.

Season 37 of MTV's The Challenge began just three nights after the cauldron was extinguished in Tokyo and, as it was for the world's best across the Pacific, it's a global competition that brought together reality stars from here in America and ten other overseas countries for $1 million... and plenty has gone down ever since. We fast-forward to when we were last in Croatia, where it was the season's last regular daily challenge and elimination round -- something that we at this site refer to as "semifinal week." And the focus was the last two remaining rookie men: her fellow Romanian Emmanuel and Spaniard Logan... and when they met in the Lair, it was the former who took the win delighting Emy.

In the end, everyone thought that they were safe to head on to the venue of the last act of this drama, but TJ Lavin gave the Romanians, Amanda, CT, Devin, Kaycee, Kyle, Nany, Nelson and Tori another one of those "Teej-bombs." And as we rejoin them here, a double elimination Purge will send two of those players above their marching orders just before the final challenge... and it's what happens in the Lair involving one who doesn't get chosen to go down into the arena that might be cause for concern in the house. And whoever survives the battles of a physical and mental nature will go onto the marathon for the cash, which may shape up to be anyone's game.

After the break -- and on a delayed, backtracked basis, DCBLOG brings you all the action, reaction and interaction of the first part of the finale of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies... and we'll also delve into a possibility for what Season 38 might hold. And welcome to the weekend, Challenge Nation...

DC ExtraTime: Let's Have A Parade with Tai Verdes!

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

When you look over at the long history of MTV Reality television, just about every successful show that's come on in the past three decades have produced some memorable characters. The just-debuted season 2 of The Real World Homecoming on Paramount+ is paying homage to the Los Angeles season of 1993, which gave the reality TV world Tami Roman and introduced us to longtime stalwart of The Challenge, Beth Stolarczyk. It's among the many instances where television's most buzzed-about reality shows have offered us not only endless entertainment, but also a glimpse into the future by introducing those relative unknowns who would later make their mark on pop culture.

This DCBLOG site has covered the past decade of The Challenge and a few seasons of The Real World, but we've also chronicled the entire journey of several series that have come on in our eight years on this beat. Just seeing Amanda, Devin, Nelson and Tori on Spies, Lies & Allies reminds us of where they all began their MTV journey in a similar scenario going for $1 million back then as it is now with each still in the running in Croatia. Six years ago, the first three were part of a legendary cast of one of MTV's two takes on reality dating as it can only offer in Are You The One?, where Season 3 saw the puppet-master put his team on his magic carpet with the help of some plastic red cups and a quarter en route to the money. And this month, Devin's original AYTO season joined the first two on Netflix, along with Season 4 where Tori and Jake Paul's scandalous girlfriend Julia Rose first made waves.

Two years after the Season 3 cast lived out that miracle in Hawaii came a comeback for the ages: the kids of AYTO Season 6 found themselves staring down joining Season 5 in going home broke, but in a game of momentum they got it just before midnight set in on their New Orleans mansion. Just before that moment of the improbable happening where his case lit up all the lights in the tenth & last matchup ceremony that made them $1 million richer, a man from out west was part of the only moment all that autumn 2017 where a room with lasers can turn a house of despair into a house with hopes of the impossible coming true. And who knew that four years later, that one who saw the word "Perfect Match" on the screen would be taking his act to the one event that marks the kick-off to the magical time that is the holiday season... and now, everybody knows who Tai Verdes is.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 2 - "New Divide"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

We bring you back here on this winter's weekend, where across the Atlantic the serious business has begun on MTV's The Challenge and the battle for $1 million is on on Spies, Lies and Allies. But while we'll be covering all of that for you here next week, things are just starting on Season 2 of All-Stars -- and it's as if we have been gifted with an early slice of Christmas.

When we left Mexico last on this page, the house was still reeling from what might be a candidate for biggest Challenge moment of this year: Ayanna helping Leah complete the season's first elimination battle. Just after all that, the Road Rules alum experienced a falling out with Sophia in the midst of this heated game, which saw the players battle both each other and the heat in a game that saw Tina and Darrell take the win and power, and saw the boss lady put in Jodi against Sophia & gave the 2-time champ the win while Cohutta sent Ryan packing for the airport.

As we return to Cancun, there is a clear divide in the house: two strong alliances have formed that's split between Derrick, Brad, Darrell, MJ and Cohutta, and Nehemiah, Laterrian, Teck, Steve and Melinda in the other... and pitting the first names in that chain against each other again as it was back in the spring. It offers the backdrop for what might lie ahead considering past history among that first alliance, which you might not notice much when something that is always anticipated on any season of this show goes down: the always lighthearted & fun daily challenge known as trivia.

After the break, we bring you on a backtracked basis, the 'Pulse of Week 4 of The Challenge: All-Stars... and stick around afterwards for the link that Challenge Nation has to the hottest team in American sports and the man who's considered the GOAT in modern football. Welcome on in...