The Challenge Historian

I'm earning my stripes as a true Challenge Historian by rewatching and recapping every single season! We are on to season 12, Fresh Meat, an all-time favorite of mine and one that by episode's end I will argue is in the running for best so far 12 seasons in! A lot to cover, we get to it all using the following topics:

State of the Challenge, basics of the season, evolutions and history made (03:15).

Main storylines of the season, including: Real World Austin vs everyone (20:30), Coral and Evan dominate and almost die (36:26), Diem's cancer diagnosis and her and Derrick's partnership slash romance (46:22), the draft and Fresh Meat concept in general (59:51).

Awards for Best Daily Challenge (01:08:20), Best Elimination (01:16:15), Best Athletic Performance (01:21:32), Best Quote (01:24:05), Best Moment (01:33:58), and Best Episode (01:43:08).

We name the Rookie of the Season and the Full Season MVP (01:44:47).

Finally a full season grade and it's placement in the pantheon of all Challenge seasons ever (01:55:24).

#TheChallenge #WeWantOGs #TheChallengePodcast #FreshMeat #TheChallengeFreshMeat #TheChallengeHistorian

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Tyson, what a star! Plus: the algorithm releases its first pairings, Cinco and Cashay are reunited and forced to speak, TJ laughs at people falling into the water from dangerous heights for the first time this season, the politicking heats up in a big way, and Big Brother becomes the first show based alliance to fully turn on itself - who would have seen that coming! It’s the Challenge USA Episode 2 recap, topics include:

Cliffnotes recap of everything that happened on this week's episode (02:42).

Main storylines of the episode including: the algorithm kind of works for me, Tyson is an absolute star, the Survivor crew is running this game and Big Brother is imploding already, TJ is being way too nice (05:55).

Awards for the Best Quote, Best Moment, and Episode MVP (27:06).

Power Rankings on power rankings, my personal favorites of the season and then the top three women and men who I see running this game (34:49).

End on some predictions for the episodes and season moving forward (38:24).

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeUSA #TheChallengeCBS #TheChallengePodcast #TheChallengeHistorian #WeWantOGs

For more content and to get in touch with Jacob follow and DM on Instagram @ChallengeHistorian

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All Stars 3 is officially in the books with Jonna (back to back) and Wes (now 3x) taking home the title. It was an awesome season, I really loved it, and there is a lot to discuss as we take one last long look back at the entire body of work. Topics include:

Breaking down the main storylines, things that worked, and things that didn't in a segment I call The Good, The Great, The Bad, The Ugly (03:18).

Awards for the Best Daily Challenge, Best Elimination, Best Quote and Best Moment of the Season (25:19).

Performance reviews for every single cast member including a letter grade, would I want them back, and a few highlights or notes on their season. That leads right into naming our full season MVP (49:31).

A final grade for the season itself and where it ranks in the Challenge Pantheon of all time seasons (01:22:28).

Hopes for the future of the franchise (01:33:24).

#WeWantOGs #TheChallenge #AllStars 3 #TheChallengePodcast

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A brand new season (and franchise) of the Challenge is upon us with the premiere of The Challenge USA! New cast, new format, new place to watch, but same great TJ, same great Challenge games, and same great Challenge recap podcast (says the host of that podcast). A lot to cover with a premiere episode of a brand new version of the show, I get to it all using the following topics:

Cliffnotes recap of everything that happened in episode 1 (05:16).

Who the show catered to more - Challenge fans or CBS fans - and how I felt about it (08:56).

First impressions of the cast including five people I loved and five people I maybe didn't love (16:06).

TJ's performance, the format, the daily and the elimination round (36:16).

Awards for Best Quote, Best Moment, and Episode MVP (47:41).

Some predictions for the season moving forward (56:10).

#TheChallengeUSA #TheChallenge #TheChallengePodcast

For more Challenge content and to get in touch with Jacob, follow or DM @ChallengeHistorian on Instagram!

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We’ve got ourselves another back to back champion!! Plus: TJ goes soft, Wes needs some dramamine, we’ve got callbacks to past seasons everywhere you look, moonlit conversations about life and redemption, pounds of rotting animal parts are eaten, and two champions are officially crowned! It’s the All Stars 3 Finale episode recap, topics include:

Introduction and programming notes (00:41).

Cliffnotes recap of everything that happens in this finale episode (04:46).

A stage by stage breakdown of the final and what I liked or didn't like (07:22).

Performance review for each of the eight cast members in the final (31:20).

Awards for Best Quote, Best Moment, and Episode MVP (49:54).

Remember that I will be back next Monday with the All Stars 3 Full Season Recap and Awards, so hit that follow button to make sure you don't miss a single episode when they drop!

For more Challenge content or to get in touch with Jacob, hit him up on Instagram @ChallengeHistorian

#TheChallenge #AllStars3 #WeWantOGs #TheChallengePodcast

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I'm earning my stripes as a true Challenge Historian by rewatching and recapping every single season of The Challenge from start to finish. Today we are on to season 11, The Gauntlet 2, aka the first TJ Lavin hosted season! A lot to cover, we do so with the following topics:

State of the Challenge, Basics of the Season, Evolutions & History Made (04:22).

Storylines of the Season including: TJ hates quitters, Captains run the show, an alliance propositioned, and Jo's freak out and exit (22:49).

Award for Best Daily Challenge of the Season (51:00).

Award for Best Elimination of the Season (55:01).

Award for Best Athletic Performance (59:43).

Award for Best Quote of the Season (01:05:07).

Award for the Most Iconic Moment of the Season (01:12:13).

Award for Best Episode of the Season (01:18:27).

Award for the Full Season MVP and Rookie of the Season (01:20:57).

The final season grade and it's placement in the Challenge pantheon for all time (01:33:33).

#TheChallenge #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengePodcast #WeWantOGs

For more Challenge content and to get in touch with Jacob, DM on Instagram @ChallengeHistorian

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The Challenge USA launches next week and I of course have to do a full preview! The problem? I don't know who any of these Big Brother, Survivor, Amazing Race, or Love Island people are!?!? Luckily, I've got a heavy hitter within the Challenge universe here to help me out, as the Queen of Challenge Tik Tok and the host of Most Likely Two podcast, Paige, is here to help me sort through what we know, fill me in on every single cast member, and answer the burning question of what the f**k an algorithm has to do with The Challenge. Topics for the podcast include:

• Introducing Paige and some background on her Challenge fandom and how she became so embedded in this world (03:39).
• Our thoughts when the initially announced this new version of the show compared to where we are now one week out from it's debut, the future of the flagship MTV version, and thoughts on what type of casting has worked or not worked (12:22).
• Thoughts on the format, an algorithm being involved, the term "handsome reward" being reintroduced, how many winners will make it to the global tournament portion, and if production really rigs the game for better TV or not (20:44).
• A full cast breakdown where I fully judge every player based solely on their casting photo before Paige let's me know how wrong I almost always am and fills us in on actual facts about each player (34:21).
• Amazing Race alums: Cayla (37:12), James (39:42), Leo (42:02).
• Big Brother alums: Alyssa (44:16), Angela (46:22), Azah (51:52), David (53:36), Derek (55:42), Enzo (58:04), Kyland (01:00:33), Tiffany (01:03:24), Xavier (01:05:03).
• Love Island alums: Cashay (01:10:24), Cashel (01:11:29), Cely (01:13:13), Cinco (01:14:00), Javonny (01:15:54), Justine (01:16:43), Kyra (01:18:30), Shannon (01:19:33).
• Survivor alums: Ben (01:22:25), Danny (01:24:07), Desi (01:26:06), Domenick (01:27:08), Sarah (01:28:35), Shan (01:31:15), Tasha (01:33:21), Tyson (01:34:20).
• We wrap up by choosing the players we are most rooting for to win, as well as our predictions for who we think the winners will ultimately be (01:38:07).

Isn't Paige the best? You should totally follow her, listen to her podcast, and buy all the cool Challenge merch she's got going on. Here's where to do all of that:

Listen to Most Likely Two on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Follow Paige on Instagram and Tik Tok

Pick up some incredible Challenge themed merchandise here, and use code HISTORIAN so that your proceeds will go to help Challenge alum Anastasia in her recovery from a traumatic birthing. You can also donate straight to Anastasia via this gofundme.

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It’s finally time for TJ’s Final! Plus: Nehemiah EARNS him some stars, Kailah gets caught cheating, Wes is carb loading like a mad man, everyone's headed to a private island to run the final in that hot hot Panama heat, and Jonna and Wes use their legs and their brains to earn them the early leads! It’s The Challenge All Stars 3 Episode 9 recap, topics include:

Introduction and programming notes (00:33).

Cliffnotes recap of everything that happens in episode 9 (04:54).

Storylines breakdown including Nehemiah's pole wrestle win, the bonus game TJ makes them play and Kailah getting caught cheating, Wes' preparation for the final, and the first two rounds of the Final that we see (08:24).

Awards for Best Quote, Best Moment, and Episode MVP (47:43).

Predictions for next week's finale (55:05).

#TheChallenge #AllStars3 #WeWantOGs #TheChallengePodcast

For more Challenge content and to get in touch with Jacob, follow @ChallengeHistorian on Instagram.

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The penultimate episode of All Stars 3 is here and I am breaking it all down. Derrick's decision, Nia's search for confidence, Wes' call to Bananas, the late game obsession over stars, and everything else of consequence from this episode is discussed via the following segments:

Introduction and programming notes (00:50).

Cliffnotes recap of everything that happened (03:32).

A not-so-quick rant about the editing team setting unrealistic expectations and the negative impact it continues to have (06:54).

Storylines of the episode including Veronica's DQ, Nia's vulnerability, the daily challenge, and the newfound desire for star gathering (19:43).

Awards for the Best Quote, Best Moment, and Episode MVP (41:17).

Power rankings for Women and Men heading into the final, and predictions for who will win (50:07).

#TheChallenge #WeWantOGs #AllStars3 #TheChallengeAllStars #TheChallengeHistorian #TheChallengePodcast

For more Challenge content and to get in touch with Jacob you can follow and DM @ChallengeHistorian on Instagram.

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I'm earning my stripes as a true Challenge Historian by rewatching and recapping every single season! We are on to season 10, The Inferno 2, our second straight sequel and a possibly all-time great season of The Challenge. Loads to get into, topics for the day include:

The State of the Challenge at the time, basics of the season, evolutions in the show and history made on this season (04:59).

Breakdown of the main storylines of the season including: the most competitive season to date, Beth vs her team, Tonya vs the Mean Girls, and Good Guys unity prevailing (23:31).

Hand out awards for Best Daily Challenge (49:30), Best Elimination (54:10), Best Athletic Performance (01:02:12), Best Quote (01:07:56), Most Iconic Moment (01:12:47), and Best Episode (01:31:23).

Discuss individual performances and hand out our Rookie of the Season award as well as name the full season MVP (01:33:33).

Finally, we rate the season and give it a grade to help place it in the all-time rankings of Challenge seasons (01:43:47).

#TheChallenge #TheInferno #WeWantOGs #TheChallengePodcast #TheChallengeHistorian

For additional Challenge content and to get in touch with Jacob follow and DM on Instagram @ChallengeHistorian

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.