DC ExtraTime: Angela Strong

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Last week, Challenge fans who have been on this ride for the entire 20-year run were given a special gift when the competitor with the longest lineage of anyone on Final Reckoning, Shane, asked old-timers from back in the day to pop in on his Instagram takeover. If you haven't had a chance, open up the IG app on your phone and check out those we haven't seen on these shows in years say hello to fans for the first time... and chances are, we have featured them in our posts here.
   Next month will be five years since the most devastating news ever for Jay G. from Real World Ex-Plosion when a call he got from his dad back home left him in tears: his mom, Lucy Mitchell, died unexpectedly after a several years' battle with Breast Cancer. Last week came two devastating pieces of news from two people from different worlds: first, one-half of the duo who made Olympic history becoming the first Americans to win cross-country skiing gold, Kikkan Randall, announced that she had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, five months after she and teammate Jessie Diggins won gold in Korea when Diggins' last-second sprint finish netted them Winter Games history.

The other person who bravely announced a prognosis with this disease is someone who older MTV fans can remember from long ago. Angela Trimbur appeared on Road Rules X-Treme in summer 2004 as a replacement roadie who joined Challenge Mania's Derrick Kosinski and the cast who rode that RV in South America, was part of the series' last-ever handsome reward, and then competed on Battle of the Sexes II.
   But for someone whose aspirations was not on spending the next decade with Bananas and co., her MTV stint served as a springboard to success for her in the entertainment industry afterwards in following through on her dreams to be an actress. She got to do improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade, guest spots on CSI, Entourage and Workaholics, playing Harley David in Halloween II, Tina in The Final Girls and various other TV and movie roles. And she's on a celebrity basketball team alongside Aubrey Plaza from Parks & Recreation and Legion.
   More than a week ago, Angela took to Instagram to share a photo from the doctor's room before she went for a regular checkup, and the news she received would change her life. The caption on @AngelaTrimbur read, "My dear friend Josette took this photo of me moments before the doctor came in to tell me my biopsy results: that i have breast cancer. I am still in such shock and extremely nervous for the journey. I will need to have my breast/s removed soon and eventual implants to replace. Possible post chemotherapy tbd hopefully not. I want to share this life event to feel less alone and find strength in the love & support of others who care."

Like so many others who have gone through an experience millions of American women have gone through, Angela was in stunned by this prognosis but like anyone who's been in many comedic roles in her post-MTV career has remained upbeat - even having some Starbursts candy. As of now, her eggs have been freezed ahead of having surgery early next week to have her breasts removed, followed by treatment and waiting for the doctors to tell her if that cancer has spread. And if needed, there's the always excruciating process of chemotherapy and radiation that, no doubt, will be her toughest challenge yet.
   Angela launched a GoFundMe effort to ask for the public's help in helping to foot the bill on everything related to the next several months, from surgery to recovery and everything before and after. And nearly 1,500 people have pitched in over $100,000 in the past week to help to these efforts, and the effort is still active at that website. Our thoughts are with Angela as she goes through these next few months with this battle she has ahead of her.

My dear friend Josette took this photo of me moments before the doctor came in to tell me my biopsy results: that i have breast cancer. I am still in such shock and extremely nervous for the journey. I will need to have my breast/s removed soon and eventual implants to replace. Possible post chemotherapy tbd hopefully not. I want to share this life event to feel less alone and find strength in the love & support of others who care.

A post shared by Angela Trimbur 🌳 (@angelatrimbur) on Jul 10, 2018 at 8:58am PDT

Bawled on the drive to the prep-op double maseptomy implants meeting and bawled right after...but this was in-between! (Gotta get the highs when u can 🎢 ) vid by @amandafunbuns

A post shared by Angela Trimbur 🌳 (@angelatrimbur) on Jul 18, 2018 at 5:24pm PDT

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

MTV Reality: Floribama Shore - "Dirty But Worth It"

*** Advisory: Running diary below 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 reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Howdy, and Happy Friday... and we're glad you're here for our trip Inside MTV Reality this mid-July weekend. There's already been a big bombshell in regards to the baby mama drama that blew up earlier today, adding to a week that sees the first regular challenge take place on Final Reckoning - and we'll have more on the ladder to come later. But first: we're off to Florida for Floribama Shore.
   Our favorite Southerners returned last week to Panama City Beach for their second summer stay in this Spring Break town together, and right out of the gate we saw a prank being pulled by the guys on Kortni... which in turn sparked a fight in the house - a familiar sight to those who miss Real World. But, the house then turns up for their first night out a year older - that includes Codi deciding to have a moment in the men's room to throw up as well.
   In the end, the group has a little bit more fun than they should, but that's okay - it is the start... and this week, we see what happens with our Florida playboy - and perhaps, there could be two girls who could win him over. Meanwhile, the bond between these newly-reunited roommates slowly gels a bit when yet another prank livens the house up again, and words open up some bad blood between two of the roommates.

After the jump, our look at Episode 2 of Season 2 of Floribama Shore, and one of the episode's key figures speaks out. Welcome to the weekend, friends...

DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - Fear Before Floribama

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

In an MTV sense, the past year has been nothing but a resurgence that has taken the channel to the enviable position of the fastest-growing network on cable. Double-digit viewership growth has bucked industry trends and made viewers want their MTV in a whole new way.
   The choice MTV and new channel boss Chris McCarthy made was to send the scripted content it tried out and had little results to its new natural habitat at the newly-launched Paramount Network, and return to what made the channel famous in the first place. That would be non-scripted reality programming that tailored to its younger Millennial audience, as well as relaunch TRL as both an on-air and digital franchise.
   Think about the past year: bosses upped the ante on The Challenge in making two of the three trilogy seasons' final prize pool a cool $1 million and launched a Pros/Stars spinoff series. They relaunched the Shore franchise after years of overseas success and used the massive audience of the return of the Jersey Shore originals and Teen Mom to help launch Ex On The Beach, Siesta Key and two of the shows that are our focus here.
   One of them helped to spur that Family Vacation we just saw down in Miami, while the other helped launch this renaissance. And both are the subject of this installment of Before They Were MTV Stars, where one person who appeared on both of those shows has had something to do with this success.

DC WRAP: The Challenge Final Reckoning - The Girl Fight and Redemption

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Welcome back blog friends, as we are now into Week 2 of Summer 2018 in MTV Reality, as we're still reeling from what went down last week on The Challenge: Final Reckoning, and preparing for what goes down there tomorrow along with tonight on Floribama Shore. Last week's first act in South Africa saw the competitors who dug up caskets from the ground in the opening purge get a rude awakening in finding who they had to put up with in their partners... only for that to take a back seat to what happened at the end: a fight that cost two ladies their place in the game and possibly, it could lead to their partners getting the heave-ho as well.
   Usually - and in addition to offering analysis and more covering the week's episodes, our recaps will include the Things To Know - the week's top moments from The Challenge and come next month, Season 7 of Are You The One? - Season of Fate. But as is our custom for whenever episodes leave on a cliffhanger, the original half of our weekly episode coverage is tabled over to the recap covering the following week's episode. So if you're looking for stuff like the Purge and the rest of the house drama that took up the rest of the episode time before the fireworks went off, we will instead be covering that on the Episode 2 recap along with a review of this week's activities.
   As for this first original episode post of Season 32, this WRAP will focus on two of the key talking points of the premiere: the fight with Kailah and Melissa, and a familiar twist from last year that wasn't brought up in my season preview but will sure make the game we're in more interesting as this drama plays out over the next several months. We'll also delve into one of reality TV's most revered series, more life-changers for Team MTV and "Summer's Biggest Blockbuster"... that's all ahead.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Final Reckoning - The Premiere

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

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Wherever you are around the world, it is World Cup finals weekend, and as soccer's greatest event draws to an end in less than 24 hours with a David vs. Goliath matchup, the summer in now just starting as we kick off the second half of 2018 in MTV Reality with an epic premiere week. Earlier, we brought you the fun and little dramatic opening salvo of Season 2 of Floribama Shore... now, we're at the main event with those our favorite Southerners got to party with before the countdown began in earnest for what's about to go down here.

That would be Season 32 of The Challenge, and it marks the climax of a three-part, year-long journey that began a year ago this coming week when XXX: Dirty 30 welcomed the MTV Trifecta's dirtiest players to Colombia and saw plenty of drama that, in the end, had a controversial ending. Then, many of them made their way to Spain, where five British imports and two from a summer TV tradition awaited them for Part 2: Vendettas... and a worldwide audience became first-time witnesses to the kind of drama and action that can only take place in this arena.
   Now, Part 3: Final Reckoning, as those who have had bad blood during the course of this trilogy, as well as several exes straight out of Splitsville, a Champs vs. Stars competitor with his Big Brother vendetta, and a few just off the plane from Hawaii from the hell in paradise that was the American version of Ex On The Beach. And this week, it all begins as the competitors are brought to South Africa to be dared to settle the score in front of TJ Lavin, and with the goal to make it all the way to the end. And as it was last summer, $1 million is on the minds of everyone, with the grand prize being winner-take-all at season's end.
   Just as it has been throughout this trilogy, an opening Purge will test the competitors in right out of the starting gate, with those who finish last on their way out just after they arrive... or so, they think. Then, once the competitors get settled in their estate, some belated fireworks just after the 4th of July explode in the house, and it may cause their Challenge to end before it really gets started.

Coming up, all the action, reaction and interaction to this first act of this latest season of the fifth major pro sport, as well as the aftermath of what goes down at the very end. If you don't believe us, we guarantee your jaw will be dropped by the time this diary ends. And during this time of year where everyone is celebrating that special moment in the summer sun, afterwards we will send our congrats out to those who have had babies and have donned wedding rings during the ladder part of the first half of the MTV year.
   First, if you are new to this site, a warm welcome to those of you, get cozy and indulge yourself in our look at what's widely seen as the most exciting programming in the reality TV genre, and one of its longest-running shows of The Challenge. Whether you're watching these shows for the first time or for a long time, DCBLOG is the place to go to for our unique, insightful and distinctive look at your favorite reality TV guilty pleasures, and where you can get more out of the shows you love.
   That includes the Pulse, which we've been doing for every episode of The Challenge since Rivals II, as well as the feeder shows Are You The One, Real World and Ex On The Beach. This is our trademark feature offering everyone the other show that takes place concurrent to the madness of you and us see every week on TV: the social interaction between the cast members, fellow MTV (and in this case, reality) alumni and fans from Twitter, all as part of the communal viewing experience that comes with watching these episodes live as they air, and before and after they air too.
   These are exclusive running diaries specially designed, curated & pieced together, in its entirety, in real-time and uncensored, to bring the action, drama, the intense moments and all else to you here as a service to fans. If you just want to relive the action, reaction and interaction, dig in and enjoy it all over again. But if you're one of the many who didn't experience the episode as it aired on TV, we are your first opportunity to check out everything you missed from its original airing -- all carefully compiled while you're catching up on the episodes before we get to post this a few days after it airs.
   The Pulse is only part of the DCBLOG MTV Reality experience with our all-encompassing and top-class coverage: like other sites, we also recap the episodes with analysis & opinions, but through our other important element of ExtraTime, we also go beyond the screen to focus on the people and stories of TV's most fascinating reality ecosystem. And this devoted MTV fan who loves these shows as much as you do and who's good friends with a lot of the castmates, proudly brings you this coverage every weekend... one that continues to receive much acclaim and recognition.

Enough of that, to the reason you have come here: the following are the actual tweets of the cast, alumni and fans as everyone got to see the premiere on Tuesday night, along with the buildup to, and the after hours & day-after aftermath of, 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, welcome on in... and join us after the jump for the Pulse of the Premiere of The Challenge: Final Reckoning. It's so good to have you with us as we begin this roller coaster ride.

DC ExtraTime: Summer Break - Cliff Diving with TJ (of Winter Break)

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Amidst this madness of Premiere Week and the launch of the month-long countdown to Are You The One? Season 7 along with the first half of this year, it would be easy to forget that there are other shows to look in at besides just The Challenge, Jersey & Floribama Shore, and Ex On The Beach. And the journey that involved one of those other series began last fall and has been on more of a roller coaster ride than your usual MTV reality series.

If you remember watching Fear Factor last year, the season finale of Season 1 saw Bananas, Laurel, Leroy and Aneesa face off against four relative unknowns from a show that didn't air on MTV for another six months: Marc, Carissa, Alessandra and J-Brew of what would become Winter Break: Hunter Mountain. The genius behind Jersey/Floribama Shore, Sally-Ann Salsano, brought a show and formula synonymous with the beach to the snow and the Catskill Mountains, where there was a lot of drama taking place with them, TJ, Taylar, Jillian and Sheen.
   TJ (Angus, not TJ Lavin) found himself in plenty of drama during their stay in the winter cabin in Hunter Mountain, starting when he opened up about his experience serving as a serviceman in the Army, him having a girlfriend back home, and drama with Alessandra and Jillian that even spilled over into the Twitter-sphere. And as he waits out this long summer to go back into snowboarding following what we saw on that short but sweet season north of the Big Apple, TJ is keeping himself busy with a rite of summer of going diving into a lake... only this one is more adventurous.

Old-time sports fans who remember watching ABC's Wide World of Sports in the pre-ESPN age saw the sport of cliff-diving: a sport that's not for the faint of heart being brought from the springboards and platforms to the cliffs of Acapulco, Mexico, and at higher elevations than in the most dangerous of all the summer Olympic sports. A group of divers based in that Mexican paradise dive from 30-40 meters above the sea down into La Quebrada, and high diving is now featured in the Red Bull action sports series and at the FINA World Aquatics Championships sharing the same worldwide stage as diving, swimming and water polo in between Games.
   Whether it's warmer or colder, TJ frequently travels with friends who share that passion for activities that get the adrenaline pumping... and in this case, it's going all the way down 35-110 feet into the waters below for the thrill of it - the most dangerous activity anywhere which often claims lives when not done properly. Last week, a YouTube video was posted at NoahMouth that saw TJ join more than 80 other cliff divers from home and abroad to his Vermont backyard, down to Tennessee and everywhere in between to take on the task of diving off of some of the most beautiful waterfalls and quarries anywhere, from North to South.
   The last scene before the credits features TJ throwing the bird at the camera, and the video caption adds, "This has truly been one of the craziest trips yet for sure!!"  As they always say, please do not try this at the nearest waterfall.

For the handful who watched that show including this fan, due to matters beyond everyone's control Winter Break: Hunter Mountain had a short run on MTV and MTV2 and it led to only my second time binge-watching most of a season of a TV series. We've archived all those posts from that Binge-Fest of five episodes that aired on Final Four Saturday in late March, and we'll share that here later during this cycle (Don't go in on us... it is, after all, winter in the Southern Hemisphere and at last check snow was falling at Thredbo Mountain six hours south of Sydney).

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

MTV Reality: Floribama Shore - The Season 2 Premiere

*** Advisory: Running diary below 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 reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

If you're just chilling on this Saturday, then we're glad you've taken some time out of your weekend for our look at Week 1 of the Second Half of 2018 in MTV Reality. Ahead: fireworks and twists abound as a chance to go for $1 million beacons for our latest group of Challengers as they embark on their Final Reckoning, but first: something else that's familiar is back, and it's bigger than ever.

On the heels of what we got to enjoy this spring with the originals of Jersey Shore returning for a Family Vacation in Miami, the attention now turns up the way to Panama City Beach in Florida's Panhandle as a new season of crazy gets underway with Season 2 of Floribama Shore. Last season saw lots of fun, lots of drama and love too take over their house by the beach. From a couple bar brawls to a brother hookup, parents getting turnt up to new single life, we saw a whole lot as our Southern friends showed us how to party.
   This week, it all begins again as Aimee, Candace, Codi, Gus, Jeremiah, Nilsa, Kirk and Kortni return to PCB for another summer at the shore. And something a bit familiar from watching our Jersey friends as well as during many Real World seasons past breaks out when pranks go wrong, everything boils over. But, the castmates are ready to enjoy their first night out a year older as they take in all of what makes this vacation paradise so good, and party up in a way only they can. That includes even having to have a moment in the men's room and still not miss anything.

After the jump, we return to Panama City Beach, Florida for the madness of Floribama Shore, again... plus a Real World gives his thoughts on the world of catfishing. And welcome back to the beach, and welcome to the weekend...

DC SocialPulse Extra: Prelude to the Final Redemption (Part 2)

*** 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  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Hello and we're at the weekend... and welcome back all as we continue to showcase the Road to the Final Redemption, and the Prelude to this week's premiere of The Challenge: Final Reckoning. And here, this is the back end of this special SocialPulse Extra covering the cast interaction leading into Tuesday's much-anticipated first episode of Season 32 of the fifth major pro sport. Enjoy all the buzz from last week's holiday week before we offer the diary of the episode itself to come this weekend.