General Reality TV Thread

[Nick]

The Challenge is getting absolutely ridiculous with their finals. What in the hell was the final this season? At least Tori and Devin won and not a team like Jordan & Aneesa who were in last place all final, but just theoretically thinking if TWO things had gone differently, they easily could've. Nothing mattered excepted for the two challenges. Had Anessa & Jordan beat Nany & Bananas, then all they would've had to have done was win the final challenge against Tori & Devin. Literally NOTHING else mattered.

I really wish The Challenge would go back to one day finals, but they seem like they just want to keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger and in the process it's neutering the enjoyment of the final runs and it's also putting players in more danger than ever as there's more chance of severe injury as we saw this final with Olivia particularly, but also Aneesa and Nany. The Challenge: All Stars finals are much more compeling to watch because it's more like the old way of doing things.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The Mole’s been renewed for a second season on Netflix.

 

[Legacy]

The Challenge is getting absolutely ridiculous with their finals. What in the hell was the final this season? At least Tori and Devin won and not a team like Jordan & Aneesa who were in last place all final, but just theoretically thinking if TWO things had gone differently, they easily could've. Nothing mattered excepted for the two challenges. Had Anessa & Jordan beat Nany & Bananas, then all they would've had to have done was win the final challenge against Tori & Devin. Literally NOTHING else mattered.

I really wish The Challenge would go back to one day finals, but they seem like they just want to keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger and in the process it's neutering the enjoyment of the final runs and it's also putting players in more danger than ever as there's more chance of severe injury as we saw this final with Olivia particularly, but also Aneesa and Nany. The Challenge: All Stars finals are much more compeling to watch because it's more like the old way of doing things.

This final was a mess and, despite the “100 hour final” hype, I think was the EASIEST final I’ve ever seen. After day one, it basically boiled down to a series of eliminations with multi-hour breaks in-between. Which isn’t a “Challenge Final.”

I know they ran into an issue the last time they were in Iceland where the final day got cut because of a blizzard, and they could have been hesitant to go all out with this final, and they could have just made a lay-up final. But this was frustratingly sad. It boiled down to a basic elimination.

And if shoddy production of the final hadn’t knocked out Olivia, it would have been VERY different in the end.

 

[Nick]

This final was a mess and, despite the “100 hour final” hype, I think was the EASIEST final I’ve ever seen. After day one, it basically boiled down to a series of eliminations with multi-hour breaks in-between. Which isn’t a “Challenge Final.”

I know they ran into an issue the last time they were in Iceland where the final day got cut because of a blizzard, and they could have been hesitant to go all out with this final, and they could have just made a lay-up final. But this was frustratingly sad. It boiled down to a basic elimination.

And if shoddy production of the final hadn’t knocked out Olivia, it would have been VERY different in the end.

Yeah, I think Olivia and Hoacio had a real chance to win.

 

[Legacy]

Challenge Australia is available on Paramount+. You have to dig, but it’s there.

And it’s SO BAD. Take the mediocre challenges and eliminations from Ride or Dies and USA, with a cast made up predominantly of Bachelor/Bachelorette/dating show vets, and an incessantly chatty, Probst-like host…

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Traitors UK and Aussie is on Peacock now.

Traitors reunion for the US has filmed and will be streaming February 28, the evening before the Survivor 44 premiere.

Also, best reveal ever on The Masked Singer this week. The Gnome, was none other than the iconic…..

Spoiler: Gnome reveal

Dick Van Dyke!!! He makes my heart feel so full. Icon of my and many’s childhoods. He even did some Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Was pure joy!

 

[Nick]

Thinking of watching the international Traitors… which one is better, UK or Australia?

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Thinking of watching the international Traitors… which one is better, UK or Australia?

I liked UK better personally, but both are worth it!

 

[Legacy]

Thinking of watching the international Traitors… which one is better, UK or Australia?

The US version is basically the UK version. Same challenges. The hosts of both even use the same script for a couple of challenges (same jokes, specifically).

Aussie is a “hotel” that feels like it was done with a lesser budget.

Both have unique twists to them that the US version didn’t have which make them compelling though.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Survivor 44 was one of the better premieres in the shows history I’d say. Gonna be a banger season!

 

[Legacy]

Not reality competition related, but who watches Vanderpump Rules? :freak:

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Anyone been watching Survivor 44? It’s been great so far. The cast is absolutely stellar so the silly game dynamics are easier to numb than previous few seasons, at least imo. Plus the chaos is pure fun. Highly rec!

 

[DeadSexeh]

Anyone been watching Survivor 44? It’s been great so far. The cast is absolutely stellar so the silly game dynamics are easier to numb than previous few seasons, at least imo. Plus the chaos is pure fun. Highly rec!

It's been fine. Struggling with US Survivor as the last 4 sessons are basically the same thing. I really miss large tribes and swaps. With small tribes some of the can be rough if you dont enjoy any of the peeps on them which is more likely due to trubes being small. I have started to tune out when they go the green tribe as i dont really emjoy anyone there. I probably would like it more, but I have been spoiled by Australian Survivor Hereos vs Villians. Whole season has been fun, but that premerge was top tier.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Time to revive this thread, especially since we will only be getting more reality tv in the future. A few quick hits/recs for me at this time:

Survivor 44: Such a fun season, I’ve been re watching some of the new era seasons. I think they play best on a binge. The twists here and there still suck but every season of the new era has been pretty unpredictable game/winner wise. If you’re someone who enjoys the ride while trying to guess the outcome, binging seasons 41-44 of survivor is fun. It’s not old survivor, but it’s still good. On Paramount +

Traitors Australia: Gosh, I’m in love. Might be my favorite version of the Traitors so far? All US, UK, and AU Traitors are on Peacock.

Claim To Fame: If you’ve not seen this show… stop your other reality tv watching and start here! It’s just pure fun summer tv. Game is very interesting, the personalities they cast are great, and season 2 is shaping up to maybe be better than season 1??? Very easy watch to add to your week imo, this show I recommend the most right now. On ABC Mondays at 8:00, and Hulu the following day.

 

[Nick]

BB has been fine so far. Nothing special yet, but do like the older makeup of the cast as I feel that does help make the competitions a bit more fair. Also really like that they are (finally!) bringing back the Pressure Cooker competition tomorrow. I currently don't have feeds but may have to get them specifically to watch that.

Anyway, really came to this thread to chirp in here about The Challenge USA so far this season. While I dislike the idea of the secretive vote in a game like this, I feel like it fits the CBS format fairly well, especially when you have a bunch of Survivor and BB players who are used to playing that way.

Also, I kinda like - for the first time in literally probably over a decade for someone like Bananas - that they are not in control of things or being respected and the rookies and banding together, forcing it to feel more like the rookies are the vets and people like Wes, Bananas, Tori, etc to feel like they are the rookies. It's forcing the Challenge vets (including some not labeled vets by the show like Josh and Faysal) to have to think outside of the box to survive or actually go into elimination and fight to comeback extremely early into the game, which we haven't seen on this show in years. Already Jonna, Tori, Bananas, and Amanda go down with Amanda and Jonna going home.

Josh had a big moment reminiscent of many of his stints on BB that ultimately won him the game the worked for him getting him exactly what he wanted, although I do think it was foolish to want to send Desi in there. She's the strongest female in the house so while he was trying to protect Amanda, he ultimately hurt her by insisting on Desi instead. Amanda probably has a better chance there if she is the Red Team vote and maybe she can get a weaker female against her from the blind votes.

 

[Legacy]

BB has been fine so far. Nothing special yet, but do like the older makeup of the cast as I feel that does help make the competitions a bit more fair. Also really like that they are (finally!) bringing back the Pressure Cooker competition tomorrow. I currently don't have feeds but may have to get them specifically to watch that.

Anyway, really came to this thread to chirp in here about The Challenge USA so far this season. While I dislike the idea of the secretive vote in a game like this, I feel like it fits the CBS format fairly well, especially when you have a bunch of Survivor and BB players who are used to playing that way.

Also, I kinda like - for the first time in literally probably over a decade for someone like Bananas - that they are not in control of things or being respected and the rookies and banding together, forcing it to feel more like the rookies are the vets and people like Wes, Bananas, Tori, etc to feel like they are the rookies. It's forcing the Challenge vets (including some not labeled vets by the show like Josh and Faysal) to have to think outside of the box to survive or actually go into elimination and fight to comeback extremely early into the game, which we haven't seen on this show in years. Already Jonna, Tori, Bananas, and Amanda go down with Amanda and Jonna going home.

Josh had a big moment reminiscent of many of his stints on BB that ultimately won him the game the worked for him getting him exactly what he wanted, although I do think it was foolish to want to send Desi in there. She's the strongest female in the house so while he was trying to protect Amanda, he ultimately hurt her by insisting on Desi instead. Amanda probably has a better chance there if she is the Red Team vote and maybe she can get a weaker female against her from the blind votes.

Challenge has had secret voting before. They’ve done it as recently as Spies, Lies, and Allies. And the “Rookies banding against the Vets” strategy happens every time the rooks are 40% the cast or more. Regarding the targeting of Bananas, he went around five seasons where he couldn’t make a Final because the entire house made an effort to get him out. It was typically Josh, Fessy, Tori/Devin, and Cory leading that charge. That’s why is last win was such a big deal… he broke his curse. He’s familiar with the position he’s in.

 

[Nick]

Challenge has had secret voting before. They’ve done it in Spies, Lies, and Allies. And the “Rookies banding against the Vets” strategy happens every time the rooks are 40% the cast or more. Regarding the targeting of Bananas, he went around five seasons where he couldn’t make a Final because the entire house made an effort to get him out. It was typically Josh, Fessy, Tori/Devin, and Cory leading that charge. That’s why is last win was such a big deal… he broke his curse. He’s familiar with the position he’s in.

I forgot about Spies, Lies, & Allies. That was actually my entrance into truly watching the show for real and then I went back and binged through season after season. I didn't watch every season up to SL&A though... I fell a few seasons short and missed some of the late 20's seasons so perhaps that's how I missed that with Bananas. I was a bit sad to see Paulie leave though and he used to be insufferable on every show he's ever been on.

It's funny you say that it was typically Josh, Fessy, Tori/Devin, and Cory leading that charge as all are on the show except Devin and all are actually (kinda) working with him out of necessity. Wes is in trouble going forward I think as his team doesn't give a crap what he has to say and he's also on the smallest team.

I think so far this has been a really good season. Most of the rookies imo aren't actually that memorable unfortunately, but in her second season, Desi remains a great addition to The Challenge and i'd love to see her on the MTV version. I think due to the nature of Survivor and Big Brother, a lot of those players (even winners) are playing more scared games than i'd like to see. Tyler for example I think has the athleticism and potential to get far... but he's terrible TV. He seems about as athletic as Tyson was last year, but Tyson was great TV and had a hell of a political game. Tyler is lacking there so far.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Loving BB, I’ve been non stop enjoying the live feeds thanks to Cirie. It’s a blast this season.

Challenge USA is great and I feel they’re finally starting to get a good group of rookies together who actually wanna play, and not just play with Wes or Bananas. Loving it!

 

[Nick]

Loving BB, I’ve been non stop enjoying the live feeds thanks to Cirie. It’s a blast this season.

Challenge USA is great and I feel they’re finally starting to get a good group of rookies together who actually wanna play, and not just play with Wes or Bananas. Loving it!

If Cirie can somehow pull off her Cirie thing AGAIN just months after what she pulled off on The Traitors and people knowing her Survivor track record, i'll be incredibly impressed.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

If Cirie can somehow pull off her Cirie thing AGAIN just months after what she pulled off on The Traitors and people knowing her Survivor track record, i'll be incredibly impressed.

As of now she’s not going anywhere. Anything can change of course, but I see no way they take her out before final 7. It’s been an extreme joy watching her. Her son on the other hand…. Yikes.


Claim To Fame season 2 has been a blast also. That show is a hit for me, they’re 2 for 2 in great seasons and casting, just a fun easy reality strategy show. Highly recommend for the people in this thread