Hello and Happy November!
I’m currently freezing my ass off in -15 Celsius weather, on a work trip in Edmonton. I have a long day tomorrow, working 8:30 to 4 and then immediately hopping on an overnight flight back home, arriving at 1:30 am and still going into work the next day.
But DAMMIT, this is important! It’s the tenth and therefore last entry into my series on casting archetypes found on MTV’s The Challenge, along with similar shows like Survivor and Big Brother! If you’ve been living under a rock, the previous nine are:
- Spicy Latinas
- All-American Studs
- Feisty Black Women
- Weak Gay Men
- Alpha Women
- Southern “Gentlemen”
- Bubbly Blondes
- Dumb Jocks
- Wily Women Underdogs
Today’s is similar to the last two, in that they are more funny categories for Challengers as opposed to casting roles production aims to fill. Sue me.
Today I am discussing the Unhinged but Competent people we’ve seen on The Challenge. They are good competitors, at least physically, and found success as a result. But at the same time, they have a screw loose, or a chip on their shoulder, or are just generally unstable or wacky in some way. Typically, you need a good head on your shoulders to succeed on the show, since it’s an all-around game (mental, physical, strategic, political) and only the strong survive. But these people have proved you can excel even while being slightly unhinged.
Let’s hop to it.
Unhinged but Competent
Ayanna Mackins — originated on RR Semester at Sea; debuted on Extreme Challenge. Unhinged moment: “I SLEPT IN MY UNIFORM BECAUSE I WANTED TO WIN TODAY!”
Julie Stoffer — originated on RW New Orleans 1; debuted on Extreme Challenge. Unhinged moment: peeing on Coral’s bed; messing with Veronica’s safety harness; “the road to God is straight and narrow”
early Mike “the Miz” Mizanin — originated on RW Back to New York; debuted on Battle of the Seasons 1. Unhinged moment: drunkenly yelling at himself “Mike!” and hitting his head on a palm tree
David “Puck” Rainey — originated on RW San Francisco; debuted on Sexes 1. Unhinged moment: spitting on David; quitting the show by threatening production with a machete
Tonya Cooley — originated on RW Chicago; debuted on Sexes 1. Unhinged moment: putting rocks in her mouth during the ice-melting daily on Sexes 2; throwing Beth’s clothes in the pool; the fight with Veronica on The Ruins
Trishelle Cannatella — originated on RW Las Vegas; debuted on Gauntlet 1. Unhinged moment: drunken argument with Miz and Coral at the club on Gauntlet 1; the fight with Aneesa on Rivals 2
Katie Doyle — originated on RR The Quest; debuted on Gauntlet 1. Unhinged moment: “When I was talking to Kendall, did it involve your skank ass? NO IT DIDN’T BITCH, IT DID NOT!”; “Sarah is too CRAZY for Katie” during the plunger fight.
Abram Boise — originated on RR South Pacific; debuted on Gauntlet 1. Unhinged moment: the bees nest on The Island, tattooing himself, bleeding from the nose from hyping his brother up
early Chris “CT” Tamburello — originated on RW Paris; debuted on Inferno 1. Unhinged moment: cold-cocking Davis; trying to murder Adam
Jo Rhodes — originated on RW San Francisco; debuted on Gauntlet 2. Unhinged moment: “I am being MANHANDLED. I will SUE THE ISLANDS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO”
early Dan Walsh — originated on RR Viewers’ Revenge; debuted on The Island. Unhinged moment: a drunken argument with Robin about his whiskey / limp d*ck
Isaac Stout — originated on RW Sydney; debuted on Duel 2. Unhinged moment: blackface costume; calling a dominant Landon into a duel because he clipped his weird, long toenail
Camila Nakagawa — originated on Spring Break Challenge; debuted on Cutthroat. Unhinged moment: “You CHEATER! You’re gonna DIE!”; walking into the pool with all her clothes on; wrapping the rope around her neck during the Invasion daily; the racist tirade on XXX; drunkenly stealing a golf cart then punching a producer
Ty Ruff — originated on RW DC; debuted on Cutthroat. Unhinged moment: flipping out, smashing a houseplant, and knocking over a bunk bed while in an argument with Emily
Adam Royer — originated on RW Las Vegas 2; debuted on Rivals 1. Unhinged moment: “Don’t call me a guy, Ty”; failing the psych test for Exes 1
Frank Sweeney — originated on RW San Diego 2; debuted on Battle of the Seasons 2. Unhinged moment: “I will NOT be made to look like a crazy person again. I will NOT!” while slamming down pillows and looking like a crazy person; shoving Sam up a sand dune
Nia Moore — originated on RW Portland; debuted on Free Agents. Unhinged moment: attacking Reilly with a hair dryer; calling Jordan homophobic slurs and poking his d*ck, getting herself kicked off
Tony Raines — originated on RW Skeletons; debuted on Bloodlines. Unhinged moment: fighting with Camila and getting kicked off; making out with Camila on a different season despite hating each other; the drunken fight with Cara about how he said she looks like his mother
Ashley Mitchell — originated on RW Ex-Plosion; debuted on Rivals 3. Unhinged moment: threatening to quit on Invasion; getting kicked out of the RW house
Paulie Calafiore — originated on Big Brother 18; debuted on Final Reckoning. Unhinged moment: crying about a butterfly; licking Theo’s face in a heated row; (rumour) failing the psych test for Season 35: Apocalypse
Stephen “Bear” Bear — originated on Shipwrecked; debuted on War of the Worlds 1. Unhinged moment: jumping on the poker table and doing everything possible to piss his team off
Turabi “Turbo” Camkiran — originated on Survivor Turkey; debuted on War of the Worlds 1. Unhinged moment: “You canNOT COPY MY WALK!”
Honourable Mention
Queen Brooke LaBarbera —originated on RW Denver; debuted on Gauntlet 3. Unhinged moment: having a meltdown because Davis didn’t like her nose on RW; “DON’T YOU GODDAMN TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, EVER AGAIN!”; the mysterious romance with Evelyn on Gauntlet 3
If only she were competent at the show :/
