MTV Reality WRAP: A Double Shot at Love with Pauly & Vinny - Makeups & Strip Kisses

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Hello again... it's been a little while since we talked, but after the 4th of July weekend and a sojourn to my YouTube channel, we're back in blog land as we head to a place where this time of year, it's America's hottest big city. Of course, it's Las Vegas, site of this summer's attraction in MTV's take on reality dating: A Double Shot at Love with Pauly D. & Vinny.

When we at DCBLOG last left the desert, Marissa & Brandon had become the first roommates of the summer to hook up, and she had to confess her sins from Sin City to her mom back home, much to her displeasure and the daughter getting teary-eyed. But with memories still lingering from a redhead trying her hand to perfect her European beach club, the Double Shot ladies and their three newbies had their first day on the job... and it almost ended in disaster when, after their first work shift ended, B-Lashes & Derynn jumped into the pool, leaving everyone face-palmed.

Now, what will happen next to those ladies? And will the Jersey boys' crushes from last year open their hearts once again to the girls who they broke their hearts last year? We'll recap Episode 4 next...

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Total Madness - "Your Time is Gonna Come"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & 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

It is the 4th of July as this country pauses not only to mark this Independence Day, but also to deal with the realities of a once-again growing pandemic and at a crossroads created by a summer of change. And we welcome you Inside MTV Reality where Season 35 of The Challenge is also at a point of transition as the season now heads into the business end of the deal, which means that a treasure chest with $1 million is starting to get within sight.

With production of most everything in reality-ville on hold, last week Big Brother took center stage in what would've been Season 22 premiere week: a blow-up between one-half of 2018's reality TV love story Bayleigh getting into it with BB20 champ Kaycee over her relationship with Nany and a nomination vote that didn't go her way. There was a flashback challenge to one that took place in an earlier season from years back saw players tackle a puzzle involving cars, and Melissa continued her impressive comeback season taking down her first elimination.

There are twelve players left in the draw after that latest purgatory trip, and this week is our third double elimination week, and it's a co-ed one featuring a modified version of the game that saw an elimination beast lose her touch on Invasion. But before that, the players are awakened late night for a nighttime challenge... and the results of that may force a Rookie of the Year candidate to choose between loyalties, as well as ask the challenger with the longest duration between this season and her original MTV season if she has the power to make a finals run.

We'll have all action, reaction and interaction on the Pulse of Week 14 of The Challenge Total Madness just ahead. But first after the jump, one of the true originals in the MTV Reality sphere makes his case for his section of Challenge Nation. Thanks for joining us... we're glad you've joined us here on the 4th.

MTV Reality WRAP: A Double Shot at Love with Pauly & Vinny - Going for A Swim

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

We are knocking on the door of the long holiday weekend, but as you get to browse through this site on this July 2nd Thursday you can certainly dream of being around the pool, going partying and having plenty of fun. That's the case for Pauly, Vinny and those chosen for a second chance at A Double Shot at Love... and we might as well call this Vegas Shore, for that matter.

Six of last year's suitors and three guy friends of theirs have settled into the Southern Nevada desert, and previously the two stars of the show began their efforts to try and make amends with two of those who broke their hearts last year. But because it's a show within the global Shore franchise, you know there's never a dull moment as Vinny & Pauly decided to give Antonio, Brandon and Nicky the ideal rookie treatment: getting a butt message. And it's not officially a Jersey Shore season until someone in the house falls in love... and Marissa & Brandon were the first ones to hook up.

Now comes the hard part: working for the weekend pool party at Cromwell's... but could something like what happened to a guy who hung out with the British version of this franchise spell doom for the group on the first day? We'll recap last week's events straight ahead before episode 4 tonight.

MTV Reality WRAP: Siesta Key - Season 3's First Two Weeks of Summertime

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

(clockwise) Instagram's: @JuliettePorter, @ChloeTrautman,
@Alex_Kompo, @TheKelseyOwens, @Amanda_Marie_Miller

It's now officially the summer of 2020, and usually we would all be celebrating and jumping for joy. That's not happening this time, as we're still in the COVID wilderness along with the social upheaval going on in the streets. But there is something to look forward to for those who love sultry drama coming to us from where there's over 300 days of sunshine every year: Florida, and the beachside enclave of Siesta Key. It's our fifth time heading down to this town on the outskirts of Sarasota outside of Tampa Bay, and officially it is the second half of Season 3 of the East Coast cousins of Laguna Beach & The Hills. And we were here earlier this winter as they shared top billing with their crazy cousins at Floribama Shore.

To get you up-to-speed on what went down in the first half of this steamy & scandalous season: the item that had day one'rs and the casuals alike glued to their TV's was of Juliette getting over her ex-boyfriend Alex. She did exactly that with a man someone much more well-known and where we relived his first journey to stardom last night: The Bachelorette's Robby Hayes, who snapped her up at Stagecoach... but as time went on that romance dissipated into the ocean as did a phone during that infamous housewarming. We also had Madisson landing a romance of her own: this time with someone behind the fourth wall in a former executive producer much older than her, while her ex Brandon found himself in a love triangle involving bad girl Amanda. And there's that bombshell at the end of that, which came after that trip up to Nashville.

Now, we're back in town for more drama and where more secrets will be uncovered, as they only can in this small town. We'll recap the episodes 1 & 2 of the summer half of Season 3 ahead to get you set for Episode 3 tonight, and we'll also meet the first all-Siesta Key baby. Welcome back to paradise....

DC ExtraTime: Before They Were MTV Stars - Big Brother Takes Over A Television Game Show

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

On a few occasions at this site, our ExtraTime lens have zoomed in on a staple of American life that has existed for as long as there's been television: the excitement and fun of game shows. They've been around since the medium's golden age of the '50s, and survived the ordeal of the quiz show scandal that brought about change and transparency in the entire TV industry. Us being quarantined and spending time at home in lockdown have seen us spend much more time at home with your family, and shows like this still delight people of all ages with hours of endless entertainment.

Here, we have featured those two times where Are You The One? alumni and a girl from an often-forgotten Real World season have donned a Disney outfit, Christmas dresses and got down on the dance floor on the modern-day revival of Let's Make A Deal. There was that time where we saw a guy who was there when I began following MTV Reality on a social basis go onto The Price is Right but used his original name instead of the name on the back of his two Challenge jerseys. And there was that time when a future Hurricane and a Brooklynite fell in love on a Voice-style dating show.

For the next two nights, MTV will take center stage on ABC when we get to see how it all started for Chad Johnson, Chase McNary, Daniel McGuire and Robby Hayes when they were on JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette before they invaded Ex On The Beach and Siesta Key. But before that trip down memory lane tomorrow night with plenty of roses & rosé on offer, tonight the casts of Jersey Shore and The Hills face off on one of TV's most enduring programs whose lineage dates back over five decades and before all but one of the contestants were even born.

And that brings us to this latest edition of Before They Were MTV Stars, where one notable member of this year's Challenge cast took her talents to after she was part of a Big Brother season that debuted two years ago this weekend. This story also involves someone who she was at war with on Total Madness the other night, who also had her own moment on a couple of the occasions of when Big Brother Takes Over a Television Game Show.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Total Madness - "Victim of Love"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & 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

This last weekend of June is Pride Weekend as the LGBT community unites to celebrate who they are fifty years after Stonewall. Yesterday, MTV itself spent a whole Flashback Friday looking back at some of its most memorable shows. And amid this backdrop, we bring you Inside MTV Reality and into a long-running favorite in The Challenge, as Season 35 in Total Madness rages on.

A week ago, we saw a preview of what the competitors will have to deal with once the cash is on the table when they tackled a grueling challenge with tanks and trash involved as the women got to take the lead. There was also a tension convention in nominations when Melissa and Josh got into it verbally, all while Fessy has been making a run to garner rookie of the year honors. And in time for Father's Day, the dad of this year's Challenge cast and the man who flies the flag of Challenge Nation in the Teen Mom universe, Cory, won in elimination and sent home Swaggy C.

Usually at this time, you reality buffs would be enjoying that slice of summer known as Big Brother - which has made quite an impression on MTV since Vendettas, and it's been twenty years since it came onto our shores from Europe. But until Season 22 rolls around, you'll have to get your BB dose through The Challenge, and this week the lady who hangs out with Swaggy 24/7 is finding herself in the middle of the drama as is the lady who won it all two years ago, and the veteran she is tied up with. There are also cars involved for the week's challenge, as time is running short for those skulls.

After the break, it's the DCBLOG SocialPulse of Week 13 of Total Madness, plus we have more baby news in the Challenge community as a veteran from many years ago is joining in on the fun. And welcome to the weekend everyone... we're glad you've joined us.

DC ExtraTime Special: When Reality Got A Reality Check - A Genre at a Crossroads

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the controversial nature of the featured content, comments are turned off. Certain social posts contain content that may be offensive to some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Wanna Blow Back? Tweet Me @DC408Dxtr.

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Right now as we go through the first month of this lost summer of 2020, we are living in such peril times in our world, and we have absolutely no idea of what the future holds. From the uprising that has seen everyone across this land unite against police brutality, to the ongoing battle against the coronavirus pandemic as the world opens up again, and the country in increasing numbers turning its back on an embattled President, it's such a critical time to be alive... and nowhere is this being felt than right here in America.

The effect that the Black Lives Matter protests and the renewed tensions we've been going through in the course of the past month have seen plenty of casualties. For example, the popular form of police television has gone through a sizable shift in the wake of the small events in Minneapolis that saw riots all across this country. As a result, one of TV's longest-running non-scripted programs and a staple of weekends on basic cable have, with the snap of a finger, been given their pink slips in COPS and Live P.D., and even sparking talk of sending to the pound the adorable police dogs of Nickelodeon's Pup Patrol.

Close to home in where we are situated in covering everything related to the primary beat of this site, something that you are accustomed to as a source of escapism has also been touched quite a bit by the ongoing animosity and new revelations coming up during this timeframe may also see the world of MTV Reality be not quite the same anymore once we are finally over the tough times we are in. And in the snap of a finger, three of the channel's most prominent figures have been blacked out from its roster, while a fourth had a hand in taking down key figures of another series that she got her start on before she joined the MTV family two years ago.

Yes, we are living in unprecedented times... and we here at DCBLOG - and me being this lifelong MTV fan who has been shook by the events of the last few weeks, thought it would be an appropriate time to take stock in what has been a hard time. Though it is not our thing here to take the chance to go after people for what they have been go, it's worth an opportunity to take a look at what has gone down in as brief & to the point as possible, as well as what it all means and what is next. We caution that some of the content being presented may be upsetting and we advise viewer discretion.

MTV Reality WRAP: A Double Shot at Love with Pauly & Vinny - A Prank & A Hookup

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Welcome back... in time for the 100+ degree heat that epitomizes what makes the city the capital of all things wild, Las Vegas is slowly reopening. It is also the host city for Season 2 of A Double Shot at Love with DJ Pauly D. and Vinny, as Jersey Shore's take on love now takes center stage in the aftermath of Angelina's wedding night gone bad.

Previously in Sin City, the bromance opened up shop in their new digs in a posh penthouse on the Strip, as six of those who most impressed them during last year's quest for love earned a second chance to live it up. But B-Lashes, Derynn, Marissa, Maria and Suzi decided to also bring along three newbies into the mix in friends of the Beast Coast Squad -- Antonio, Brandon and Nicky for the fun. But their entrance paled in comparison with that of the girl Pauly rejected in last season's last cab ceremony, as Nikki arrived in grand style and picked up where she left off.

With the returning stars and their new friends in place, now comes Pauly & Vinny having to make amends with all of them... but it wouldn't be a Jersey Shore show without a prank and a one-night stand. We'll recap Episode 2 after the break to get you prepared for Episode 3 in a few hours' time...