Return of the Challenge!

It's a great day to be an American. Why, you ask? Because in just 2 weeks, we are to be treated to the premiere of the 18th season of the single greatest television show ever created: The Real World / Road Rules Challenge! When I first saw this show in 1999 at the ripe old age of 16, I had no idea how much it would fulfill me over the next decade. You might wonder what it is about this admittedly low-brow TV show that makes it my favorite program of all-time. The list is too long for publication, but some of the reasons are as follows:

• Badly-done breast implants
• Rampant alcoholism
• 'Roid rage
• Fights for no apparent reason
• America's stupidest young people destroying their resumés, and coming back year after year to do it again
• TJ Lavin telling people "congratulations, you killed it" right after they get eliminated
• The back-stabbing and double-dealing of alliance members
• How everyone grossly over-estimates their own athletic ability, repeatedly declaring "I'm a strong competitor!" while chain-smoking and downing bottle after bottle of booze

In light of the Challenge's triumphant return, I decided that I have to record my thoughts on "the Ruins" for posterity's sake.

The setting: Thailand. All I know about Thailand is that my cousin-in-law is from there and the food is considered way hipper than Chinese food. And that is all that I will continue to know about Thailand because we shouldn't expect any great cultural lessons from this show.

More importantly, what are the rules of this new format? By now we're all so familiar with "the Gauntlet," "the Inferno," and "the Dual" that the rules scarcely need repeating. But every once in a while the good folks at MTV throw us a new version of the Challenge that goes in a totally different direction ("Fresh Meat," "the Island"). One hopes that "the Ruins" will blow our minds in the same manner.

The two teams are "the Champions," players who have won at least 1 previous Real World / Road Rules Challenge, and "the Challengers," players who have never won. These teams will face off each week in a team challenge, for which the winning squad will receive $20,000 to be put away in each players "bank account," split evenly.



Before the team round, each team will nominate 3 men and 3 women from their own group as possible eliminate candidates. Those 6 will then serve as their team's "match-makers," selecting from the other team's group of 6 which man and which woman will be sent to "the Ruins," aka the individual elimination round. So really it's "the Gauntlet" with a new name. The main difference is the risk/reward aspect of going into "the Ruins," as the player who wins will walk off with everything in the loser's bank account. Which basically rips off "the Island." But I'm willing to give Bunim / Murray Productions the benefit of the doubt and not say that they're just repeating their Greatest Hits.



It's unclear how many players will advance to the finale, but I'd be shocked if it wasn't some kind of marathon race with elements from each elimination format put in. And it will all come down to the puzzle. And your whole team has to cross the finish line to win.



Next week, the 4th Major Sport will introduce the cast, with background info and preseason predictions. But for now, to whet your appetite for what's to come, check out MTV's trailer for "the Ruins": http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/431167/rw-rr-challenge-the-ruins-trailer.jhtml#id=1619551