Behind the Screen: The Real World & The Challenge: Top 5 Seasons

For over two decades, MTV's The Challenge has been the proving ground where reality TV's fiercest competitors come to cement their legacies. What started as a Real World/Road Rules spinoff has evolved into one of the most physically and mentally demanding competition series on television.

The franchise's expansion — with spinoffs in the USA, UK, Argentina, and Australia — speaks to a global appetite for the brand of cutthroat competition and alliance-driven gameplay that Vevmo's community has been tracking since 2007.

My Top 5 Challenges in no particular order. (I only did the challenges I watched while it was aired...

— melm3

The Challenge: 1. Duel 2: This season felt like so much of a toss up, I never really knew who would make it into the finale...

— pandawho

Thread Summary

Discussion thread about The Real World & The Challenge: Top 5 Seasons with 30 replies from the Vevmo community.

The Real World & The Challenge: Top 5 Seasons

melm3 ·
My Top 5 Challenges in no particular order. (I only did the challenges I watched while it was aired.) 1. The Inferno 2: The very first challenge I watched. Had so many great moments from Tonya vs Beth, Mean Girls vs Tonya, Bad ***** vs Jodi, and lets not forget "The road to God is straight and narrow." Hahaha 2. The Duel: IMO it had a great cast and the format was new and exciting. I loved how Svetlana and Aneesa took turns knocking the other girls one by one and Wes outsmarting Evan was great. Wes was also my favorite player so him winning made the season better. If only Svitz won as well, it would have been the cherry on top. 3.Cutthroat: 3 team dynamic, secret voting, and IMO the best missions in challenge history made this a fav season. Also who will forget johnny backpack. I know some thought the cast was weak but it had a good amount of oldies(Brad, Katie, Abram), recurring vets(Jenn, Johnny, Dunbar) and Newbies( Ayiia, Fres Meat 2 kids, Emily & Ty). 4. The Gauntlet 2: even though it didn't have the outcome that I wanted, it was filled with many moments such as Beth vs Vets and Susie & Cara vs Rooks. And no one will forget crazy Jo. Lol. As many said before, it def. marked the end of an era. 5. Battle of the Seasons 2012: despite San Diego winning, I loved the missions, the format, and the cast. It was great giving the spotlight to others not named Johnny, Paula, etc.
30 Comments
melm3#32
My Top 5 Challenges in no particular order. (I only did the challenges I watched while it was aired.) 1. The Inferno 2: The very first challenge I watched. Had so many great moments from Tonya vs Beth, Mean Girls vs Tonya, Bad ***** vs Jodi, and lets not forget "The road to God is straight and narrow." Hahaha 2. The Duel: IMO it had a great cast and the format was new and exciting. I loved how Svetlana and Aneesa took turns knocking the other girls one by one and Wes outsmarting Evan was great. Wes was also my favorite player so him winning made the season better. If only Svitz won as well, it would have been the cherry on top. 3.Cutthroat: 3 team dynamic, secret voting, and IMO the best missions in challenge history made this a fav season. Also who will forget johnny backpack. I know some thought the cast was weak but it had a good amount of oldies(Brad, Katie, Abram), recurring vets(Jenn, Johnny, Dunbar) and Newbies( Ayiia, Fres Meat 2 kids, Emily & Ty). 4. The Gauntlet 2: even though it didn't have the outcome that I wanted, it was filled with many moments such as Beth vs Vets and Susie & Cara vs Rooks. And no one will forget crazy Jo. Lol. As many said before, it def. marked the end of an era. 5. Battle of the Seasons 2012: despite San Diego winning, I loved the missions, the format, and the cast. It was great giving the spotlight to others not named Johnny, Paula, etc.
pandawho#33
The Challenge: 1. Duel 2: This season felt like so much of a toss up, I never really knew who would make it into the finale. 2. Cutthroat: I loved the voting and the whole thing until the final mission. I like silent voting, brings a lot more drama because you have no idea who's voting whom. 3. The Island: Only because of the Paula toss aside and freak out. Totally made my season. 4. BOTS: I really liked this season even though I hated the team that won. The missions and Challenges were extremely entertaining. And DEVYN! 5. Duel: SVETLANNNNAAAAA Real World: 1. Brooklyn: SO intense and amazing, it was all just serious drama and not the drama we see now with egos. 2. Key West: Same as Brooklyn, and with Svetlana. 3. New Orleans Recent: Even though it was only a 3 cast member show, it was still entertaining with those 3. 4. New Orleans old: Yes, just yes... 5. New York: Who wouldn't like this season.
Zoltan#34
5. Rivals 1 and 2 were a tie 4.cuthroat- the backpack scene with Ct and Bananas was epic. Also laurel and abram dominating even though they fought 3.The duel- probably the best cast of all the challenges, loved how bananas and kenny both got sent home within the first 3 guys eliminations. 2.the gauntlet 3- I loved Frank and jillian, ankle breaker with frank vs Mj is an all time great elimination and threw a big middle finger to that b**** Tori. 1. Inferno 1,2,and 3- loved the aspect of the lifeshield. Abe being in all 3 was great, Timmy is awesome as well as derrick,the miz, and darrell. Ct dominated the first 2 Infernos and probably would have done so on the 3rd one.
mcteng2012#35
the top old old school era 1 inferno 1 2 inferno 2 3 gauntlet 1 4 gauntlet 2 5 battle of the seasons 1 the top old school era 1 inferno 3 2 gauntlet 3 3 duel 2 4 fresh meat 1 5 duel 1 the top new school era 1 cutthroat 2 the ruins 3 fresh meat 2 4 rivals 5 spring break challenge the top new new school 1 free agents 2 battle of the seasons 2 3 rivals 2 4 battle of the exes 2 5 battle of the exes 1
ChampyFiend#36
Loving the Inferno 3 love I'm seeing. Not a very popular challenge at all but I think it's a bit underrated. Maybe it's the cast, I personally had a lot of favorites on it. Also Derrick getting his first win was pretty big after all those devastating losses. I'm not saying it deserves to be recognized as an all time great, but it's better than a lot of the other crap seasons imo. Seasons I personally consider to be worse than I3 (just my personal opinion): G3, Island, Ruins, both Sexes (no elimination rounds), Cutthroat, Seasons 2, Rivals 2. (Not saying all these seasons are bad I just did not enjoy some of them as much as I3). Note: I have not seen any of Challenges 1-5 so by default they are out of my discussion. I hear Extreme Challenge and Seasons 1 are amazing can't find them anywhere online :(
Youssarian#37
ChampyFiend;460047 wrote:
Loving the Inferno 3 love I'm seeing. Not a very popular challenge at all but I think it's a bit underrated. Maybe it's the cast, I personally had a lot of favorites on it. Also Derrick getting his first win was pretty big after all those devastating losses. I'm not saying it deserves to be recognized as an all time great, but it's better than a lot of the other crap seasons imo. Seasons I personally consider to be worse than I3 (just my personal opinion): G3, Island, Ruins, both Sexes (no elimination rounds), Cutthroat, Seasons 2, Rivals 2. (Not saying all these seasons are bad I just did not enjoy some of them as much as I3). Note: I have not seen any of Challenges 1-5 so by default they are out of my discussion. I hear Extreme Challenge and Seasons 1 are amazing can't find them anywhere online :(
Challenge 2000 was amazing. Extreme Challenge was boring as heck. Battle of the Seasons (the original) is really good too.
Nostalgic#38
Youssarian;460118 wrote:
Challenge 2000 was amazing. Extreme Challenge was boring as heck. Battle of the Seasons (the original) is really good too.
I just like EC for the Ayanna/Christian fight and the introduction of "virgin Susie". Challenge 2000 was good I agree and Los and Piggy should've came back although technically she did on The Inferno but was sent home.
Nostalgic#39
ChampyFiend;460047 wrote:
Loving the Inferno 3 love I'm seeing. Not a very popular challenge at all but I think it's a bit underrated. Maybe it's the cast, I personally had a lot of favorites on it. Also Derrick getting his first win was pretty big after all those devastating losses. I'm not saying it deserves to be recognized as an all time great, but it's better than a lot of the other crap seasons imo. Seasons I personally consider to be worse than I3 (just my personal opinion): G3, Island, Ruins, both Sexes (no elimination rounds), Cutthroat, Seasons 2, Rivals 2. (Not saying all these seasons are bad I just did not enjoy some of them as much as I3). Note: I have not seen any of Challenges 1-5 so by default they are out of my discussion. I hear Extreme Challenge and Seasons 1 are amazing can't find them anywhere online :(
I don't hate I3 cast it was just a boring snoozefest. Aneesa vs. Evelyn was awesome but not like in the trailer.
JL81790#40
I actually love the I3 cast. I would've loved to see that cast as a whole in a later challenge. That was still when Kenny, Johnny, Paula, and Ev were all new and not as opinionated as they are now (less so Ev and Johnny, but Johnny was still pretty deferential to Alton and Timmy then). Kenny, Bananas, Derrick, Alton, Timmy, and Abram are a pretty stacked set of guys to have there and it's always funny to see Danny with his delusions of grandeur. My one complaint about the cast is the Good Guys needed one really good girl. Susie and Cara are great politically but neither of them is physically amazing, and that was back when Paula was all skin and bone. Bad ***** had the two best (physically) girls on that season by a MILE in Ev and Tonya.
Challenge 17#41
JL81790;460730 wrote:
I actually love the I3 cast. I would've loved to see that cast as a whole in a later challenge. That was still when Kenny, Johnny, Paula, and Ev were all new and not as opinionated as they are now (less so Ev and Johnny, but Johnny was still pretty deferential to Alton and Timmy then). Kenny, Bananas, Derrick, Alton, Timmy, and Abram are a pretty stacked set of guys to have there and it's always funny to see Danny with his delusions of grandeur. My one complaint about the cast is the Good Guys needed one really good girl. Susie and Cara are great politically but neither of them is physically amazing, and that was back when Paula was all skin and bone. Bad ***** had the two best (physically) girls on that season by a MILE in Ev and Tonya.
Everyone there thought Rachel was going to be good because she was in the army. Jodi or Kina instead of Colie would have been MUCH better for the good guys.
JL81790#42
Challenge 17;460734 wrote:
Everyone there thought Rachel was going to be good because she was in the army. Jodi or Kina instead of Colie would have been MUCH better for the good guys.
Having Kina there would've been perfect...especially given her issues with Cara and Susie.
TheKorean#43
Challenge 17;460734 wrote:
Everyone there thought Rachel was going to be good because she was in the army. Jodi or Kina instead of Colie would have been MUCH better for the good guys.
After Gauntlet 2, there was no way in hell Kina ever would've been on a good guys team. Maybe she could've been a Bad *** & Evelyn had her spot on the Good Guys.
Challenge 17#44
TheKorean;460738 wrote:
After Gauntlet 2, there was no way in hell Kina ever would've been on a good guys team. Maybe she could've been a Bad *** & Evelyn had her spot on the Good Guys.
That could be true, but Kina has more drama with Susie & Cara so I can see them putting her on the same team as them. Plus you could ague that she defended the team from Susie & Cara throwing missions.
TheKorean#45
Challenge 17;460739 wrote:
That could be true, but Kina has more drama with Susie & Cara so I can see them putting her on the same team as them. Plus you could ague that she defended the team from Susie & Cara throwing missions.
She was just nasty that challenge. However, with them on opposing teams they would've probably voted for each other. I wasn't sure why Evelyn was a bad *** when she was only on 1 prior episode of Fresh Meat.
Debut Album#46
TheKorean;460740 wrote:
She was just nasty that challenge. However, with them on opposing teams they would've probably voted for each other. I wasn't sure why Evelyn was a bad *** when she was only on 1 prior episode of Fresh Meat.
You Know That's one thing I never got. Why was Evelyn on The Bas *** Team? She didn't really do anything that would consider her a bad ***.
Fresh Meat#47
Debut Album;460780 wrote:
You Know That's one thing I never got. Why was Evelyn on The Bas *** Team? She didn't really do anything that would consider her a bad ***.
I'm gonna assume her stats on FM1 and how she was chosen first based off of that.
missmeggerz#48
1. Duel 2. Gauntlet 3 3. Ruins 4. Freshmeat 2 5. Rivals Clearly I am a JEK and Laurel/Cara fan lol
dagr317#49
Debut Album;460780 wrote:
You Know That's one thing I never got. Why was Evelyn on The Bas *** Team? She didn't really do anything that would consider her a bad ***.
I always assumed that her bad *** status was due to her attitude on Fresh Meat. She talked herself up as being the best girl there and having control of the game but then got eliminated first. I liked Evelyn but she did have a tendency to be cocky sometimes. Granted, she could usually back it up but people get labeled pretty quickly on a challenge, even in just 1 episode.
Debut Album#50
dagr317;460855 wrote:
I always assumed that her bad *** status was due to her attitude on Fresh Meat. She talked herself up as being the best girl there and having control of the game but then got eliminated first. I liked Evelyn but she did have a tendency to be cocky sometimes. Granted, she could usually back it up but people get labeled pretty quickly on a challenge, even in just 1 episode.
LOL. #suchafail
CrazyRealityGuy#51
1. New Orleans 1 2. Chicago 3. Back to NY 4. San Diego 5. Austin Challenges: 1. BOTS I 2. Inferno II 3. Inferno I 4. Gauntlet I 5. Cutthroat I just dated myself way back. Hahah. I like the old school seasons.
hardbitten#52
Top Five RW: 1. Las Vegas (2011) 2. Ex-Plosion 3. Portland 4. Austin 5. Brooklyn (others like St. Thomas was an okay season) Top Five The Challenges: 1. Cutthroat 2. The Ruins 3. Rivals 4. Free Agents 5. BOTSeasons
chris151#53
1) New Orleans (original) 2) DC 3) Cancun 4) Boston 5) Los Angeles 1) The Inferno 2)Battle of The Seasons 2 3)Free Agents 4)Battle of the Sexes 5)The Gauntlet 1)South Pacific 2)Camus Crawl 3)Latin America 4)USA 2 5)Europe
Debut Album#54

I thought I'd update this thread since my top 5(and honorable mentions) have changed.

5.Gauntlet 2-This season had a very untypical cast but it really paid off in the end because we got alot of great moments from this season. Jo's freakout, Beth beating Ruthie to become team captain, Kina vs Cara's elimination and so much else. This was also one of the few seasons that the competition was worth Caring about because BOTH teams were stacked and a good back and forth between the teams in challenge wins insured because of that. When it came to the final either team you thought either team could've taken the win and that is VERY ******* rare in a big team challenge format. And this is one season where the team I actually want to win did(The Rookies) and as said before this marked the end of an era. The last true Real World/Road Rules challenge. A damn fine way to go out I must say.

4. Inferno 2-This season was fun. Great challenge moments abound in this season. Tonya throwing Beth's clothes in the pool, Brad's Wedgie, The infamous Balls in Elimination and so much more. This season also gets props for having a rare strategic move in the good guys choosing who they would throw in based on who the Bad ***** picked. Good Shit. This also marked the debut of Landon who one of my favorite challengers. This also was the last season Dave Mirra hosted RIP Dave.

3.Challenge 2000-This was a fun season. 2 teams of 6 going around various places competing against each other for money and braging rights. They really did alot of cool shit this season. Demolition Derby, Swamp Buggy racing, wrestle midgets, have swimsuit contests, Bungie Jumping. Can you imagine any of that now? And this also had it's fair share of moments. The Fake mission The RW team created for RR, the whole Dan/Holly love thing, Amaya getting called out by production for eating pork. Amaya clotheslined the shit out of Veronica, Piggy slapping los etc. Also this season had alot of characters I liked, Dan(Northern Trail) Yes, Heather B(New York), Teck, Mike(Miami), David(Seattle), Kat, Piggy,...Damn good cast and a damn good season.

2-Battle of the Sexes 1-This one is one of the top challenges for me because it had it all: Drama, competition, fun, excitement. The girls team was so messy as shit while the guys stayed unified and played the game fair. Add to that the great moments: David vs Puck, Puck vs Ellen, Battle of the Opposite Sexes, Emily being so cold and ruthless, Puck's Wedding. This season also had one of the best locations: Jamaica. It was very tropical and beautiful. They don't do locations(and houses) like that anymore. Also satisfied with the winners.

1. Battle of the Seasons 1-This is the ultimate challenge for me because just like Battle of the Sexes it had everything this show should be about. Competition, drama, fun, entertainment, and excitement amongst REAL WORLD and ROAD RULES castmembers. Loved the format: 2 people represent a 2 teams consists of pairs that represent various RW/RR seasons. This season had so many good moments. Belou cussing out Chadwick/Holly, Kelly climing up the rope so fast in the Vertical Limit mission, The Toga party, the sidekick showdown mission. Mike going crazy on himself etc. As I stated before this was the ultimate love letter to this franchise as a whole and it really sucks the fans don't get challenges like this anymore.

Honorable mentions: The Duel, Cutthroat, Battle of the Seasons 2, Battle of the Exes 2, The Inferno 1, The Gauntlet 1, Challenge 99.

Nostalgic#55
1) New Orleans (original) 2) DC 3) Cancun 4) Boston 5) Los Angeles 1) The Inferno 2)Battle of The Seasons 2 3)Free Agents 4)Battle of the Sexes 5)The Gauntlet 1)South Pacific 2)Camus Crawl 3)Latin America 4)USA 2 5)Europe

just ordered road rules europe. I am so excited to see the fight between Belou/Patrice/Christian's knife fight.

FireballMario#56

Challenges:

5- Battle of the Seasons 2 - Loved the fact that it was one of the only challenges where the rookies actually successfully managed to take out the vets and turn the game upside down.

4- Fresh Meat 2 - Loved the fact that all season long it was all about Kenny vs. Wes and yet, in the end none of them won and Landon took home the win.

3- Rivals I - Loved it for the fact that the rivalries actually were real, loved seeing the evolution of Cara Maria and Laurel's relationship.

2- Bloodlines - Initially I was dreading this challenge but it is actually one of my favourite ones, with so many twists and loved the fact that this final is one of the closest finals of all time.

1- Free Agents - This was by far my favourite theme, the fact that there was a draw that could mess up your plans, this challenge was very undpredictable.

I don't usually watch the Real World a lot but here are my tp 5

5- DC - Loved the drama between Emily and Ty, one of the most dramatic casts. Didn't a guy fall down a balcony on this challenge?

4- San Diego (2011) - The whole LGBT drama between Frank, Zach and Sam. They had their personal driver (Priscilla). Overall dramatic season.

3- Ex-Plosion - Loved the fact that no one expected their Exes would be coming in, Cory and Ashley drama, Cory thought he was gonna be a dad.

2- Skeletons - I like that their past came back and some people got to solve their issues. Love Sylvia and Tony, still want a reunion.

1- Hollywood - This was the most dramatic season and I must have watched it twice. Joey's issues with anger and alcohol. Brianna's story with drugs. This season had the most potential in challenges: David, Will, Greg, Kimberly, Brianna, Brittini. MTV/BMP need to bring them back to The Challenge.

Challengefan134#57

Challenge 2000 was by far the best challenge out of the none vote off seasons

bluehatchet2#58

Exes 2 had the best eliminations of all time imo

Bloodlines, from what I've seen, is my favorite final. Love the location and lack of mountains and oceans lol.

Exes, Free Agents, Cutthroat, and Fresh Meat 2 has my favorite daily challenges.

Kripsters1#59
I thought I'd update this thread since my top 5(and honorable mentions) have changed.5.Gauntlet 2-This season had a very untypical cast but it really paid off in the end because we got alot of great moments from this season. Jo's freakout, Beth beating Ruthie to become team captain, Kina vs Cara's elimination and so much else. This was also one of the few seasons that the competition was worth Caring about because BOTH teams were stacked and a good back and forth between the teams in challenge wins insured because of that. When it came to the final either team you thought either team could've taken the win and that is VERY ******* rare in a big team challenge format. And this is one season where the team I actually want to win did(The Rookies) and as said before this marked the end of an era. The last true Real World/Road Rules challenge. A damn fine way to go out I must say.4. Inferno 2-This season was fun. Great challenge moments abound in this season. Tonya throwing Beth's clothes in the pool, Brad's Wedgie, The infamous Balls in Elimination and so much more. This season also gets props for having a rare strategic move in the good guys choosing who they would throw in based on who the Bad ***** picked. Good Shit. This also marked the debut of Landon who one of my favorite challengers. This also was the last season Dave Mirra hosted RIP Dave.3.Challenge 2000-This was a fun season. 2 teams of 6 going around various places competing against each other for money and braging rights. They really did alot of cool shit this season. Demolition Derby, Swamp Buggy racing, wrestle midgets, have swimsuit contests, Bungie Jumping. Can you imagine any of that now? And this also had it's fair share of moments. The Fake mission The RW team created for RR, the whole Dan/Holly love thing, Amaya getting called out by production for eating pork. Amaya clotheslined the shit out of Veronica, Piggy slapping los etc. Also this season had alot of characters I liked, Dan(Northern Trail) Yes, Heather B(New York), Teck, Mike(Miami), David(Seattle), Kat, Piggy,...Damn good cast and a damn good season.2-Battle of the Sexes 1-This one is one of the top challenges for me because it had it all: Drama, competition, fun, excitement. The girls team was so messy as shit while the guys stayed unified and played the game fair. Add to that the great moments: David vs Puck, Puck vs Ellen, Battle of the Opposite Sexes, Emily being so cold and ruthless, Puck's Wedding. This season also had one of the best locations: Jamaica. It was very tropical and beautiful. They don't do locations(and houses) like that anymore. Also satisfied with the winners.1. Battle of the Seasons 1-This is the ultimate challenge for me because just like Battle of the Sexes it had everything this show should be about. Competition, drama, fun, entertainment, and excitement amongst REAL WORLD and ROAD RULES castmembers. Loved the format: 2 people represent a 2 teams consists of pairs that represent various RW/RR seasons. This season had so many good moments. Belou cussing out Chadwick/Holly, Kelly climing up the rope so fast in the Vertical Limit mission, The Toga party, the sidekick showdown mission. Mike going crazy on himself etc. As I stated before this was the ultimate love letter to this franchise as a whole and it really sucks the fans don't get challenges like this anymore.Honorable mentions: The Duel, Cutthroat, Battle of the Seasons 2, Battle of the Exes 2, The Inferno 1, The Gauntlet 1, Challenge 99.

Couldn't agree more, i didn't think a challenge was gonna be so good without eliminations. The drama and competitions was perfect. The funny thing is this challenge was so low budget because of the storm.

Kripsters1#60
Loving the Inferno 3 love I'm seeing. Not a very popular challenge at all but I think it's a bit underrated. Maybe it's the cast, I personally had a lot of favorites on it. Also Derrick getting his first win was pretty big after all those devastating losses. I'm not saying it deserves to be recognized as an all time great, but it's better than a lot of the other crap seasons imo. Seasons I personally consider to be worse than I3 (just my personal opinion): G3, Island, Ruins, both Sexes (no elimination rounds), Cutthroat, Seasons 2, Rivals 2. (Not saying all these seasons are bad I just did not enjoy some of them as much as I3). Note: I have not seen any of Challenges 1-5 so by default they are out of my discussion. I hear Extreme Challenge and Seasons 1 are amazing can't find them anywhere online

I recommend Seasons 1, i'm pretty sure it's on youtube

anon4981298798#61
Exes 2 had the best eliminations of all time

Exes II is second to The Ruins.

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