Real World/Road Rules Challenge

Infobox Television
show_name = Real World/Road Rules Challenge


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genre = Reality television game show
creator = Mary-Ellis Bunim Jonathan Murray
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country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 16
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channel = MTV
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last_aired = March 19, 2008
preceded_by = "The Real World" "Road Rules"
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tv_com_id = 11492

"Real World/Road Rules Challenge" is a reality television series on MTV that was spun off from that network's two flagship reality shows, "The Real World" and "Road Rules". Each "Challenge" pits cast members from past seasons of the two shows against each other (only the ' introduced new cast members that never appeared on either "Real World" or "Road Rules"), usually dividing them into two separate teams according to different criteria, such as by sex, which of the two shows they first appeared on, or how many previous "Challenge" seasons they have done. The two teams must complete challenges in order to win prizes and advance in the game. Each "Challenge" season has a subtitle, such as '. Recent seasons have taken a cue from other reality shows by adopting the system of eliminating contestants based on performance, or having a team vote a member into an elimination round, in which they must compete against a member from the other team to determine which one goes home.

History

During the filming of ' and ', the two casts met while the "Real World" cast was vacationing in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Producers set up a face-off where both teams would compete for a cash prize. The intensely competitive challenge brought in high ratings and this set ideas in motion to produce yet another spin-off series. In 1998, the "Challenge" series was born with "".

After "All Stars", producers decided to include former castmembers of "The Real World" in as well. In the next season, two six-member teams were sent around the world in a competition to see which show could best the other in head-to-head competition. The series followed the format for three years and brought in hugely successful ratings.

Following the hugely successful boom of reality television in the new millennium, producers decided to add new elements to the series. In 2001, production began on "Battle of the Seasons". This season, the first to depart from the previous six-member structure, brought in a large group of former cast members to compete in one location. During the filming of this season, it was heavily rumored that the "Challenge" would borrow heavily from the hugely popular reality television show, "Survivor". Cast members were "voted off the island" and for a short time during production, it was rumored that the cast was sleeping outside in tents. (This later proved to be false as the cast stayed in a five-star resort.)

Beginning with the "Battle of the Seasons", MTV added a fantasy challenge game to their website. Players "draft" cast members, a la fantasy baseball and cast members are given points for performing certain tasks, such as cursing or "hooking up."

After switching to the "vote off" format, the series would alternate between "Battle" seasons, including two seasons of "Battle of the Sexes" and themed "Challenges" which included the "Gauntlet" and "Inferno" seasons. Both the "Gauntlet" and "Inferno" seasons contained "showdown" matches between members of the two opposing teams. The cast member who lost the showdown would be sent home. The "Gauntlet" seasons featured an intra-cast dynamic as teams were forced to vote off cast members within their own groups into the showdown, while the "Inferno" seasons featured an inter-cast dynamic as teams were forced to vote off cast members from the other group into the showdown.

In 2005, Bunim-Murray Productions decided to invite new people to the "Challenges" who were never a part of either "Real World" or "Road Rules". This decision was forced, in part, because of the status of "Road Rules" at the time. While "Road Rules" had stopped production until further notice after its thirteenth season, "Real World" had just finished wrapping its sixteenth season in Austin, Texas. This created an imbalance between the casts, as newer cast members were invited to participate in the "Challenges" more often than older cast members.

Seasons

Cast members appearing on the most "Challenges"

As of "The Island"

Notes

External links

* [http://www.mtv.com/onair/rwrr_challenge/ Official MTV Real World / Road Rules Challenge site (redirects to information for current or most recent season)]
* [http://www.tv.com/real-world-road-rules-challenge/show/11492/summary.html TV.com series reference page]
* [http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/real-worldroad-rules/191739 TVGuide.com series reference page]