Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III
Genre Reality game show
Created by Mary-Ellis Bunim
Jonathan Murray
Presented by T. J. Lavin
Starring Winners
Rookies Team Members
Frank Roessler
Jillian Zoboroski
Johanna Botta
Nehemiah Clark
Rachel Moyal
Tori Hall
Opening theme "15 Minutes" performed by Wired All Wrong
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of series 15
No. of episodes 10
Production
Location(s) Puerto Vallarta, Mexico[1]
Running time 60 minutes (including commercials)
Release
Original network MTV
Original release January 23 (2008-01-23) – March 26, 2008 (2008-03-26)
Chronology
Preceded by The Inferno 3
Followed by The Island
External links
Website

The Gauntlet III is the 15th season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge (at the time known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge).

Being the third in The Gauntlet series, The Gauntlet III marked the show's 2nd trilogy (Inferno III is the first), continuing on from The Gauntlet (7th season) and The Gauntlet 2 (11th season). The season was filmed in Riviera Nayarita, Mexico, with former cast members from The Real World and Road Rules competing, along with several cast members from the Fresh Meat challenge. This season was in the format of two teams: Veterans vs. Rookies, with a format similar to The Gauntlet 2. The contestants on the Veterans team had been on at least two prior seasons of the Challenge, and the contestants on the Rookies team had been on fewer than two prior seasons.[1]

Cast

Host: T. J. Lavin, BMX rider

Veterans Team
Player Original season Finish
Adam King RW: Paris Runner-Up
Brad Fiorenza RW: San Diego Runner-Up
Chris "CT" Tamburello RW: Paris Runner-Up
Diem Brown Fresh Meat Runner-Up
Eric Banks Fresh Meat Runner-Up
Evan Starkman Fresh Meat Runner-Up
Evelyn Smith Fresh Meat Runner-Up
Kenny Santucci Fresh Meat Runner-Up
Paula Meronek RW: Key West Runner-Up
Robin Hibbard RW: San Diego Runner-Up
Danny Jamieson RW: Austin Episode 8/9[lower-alpha 1]
Katie Doyle RR: The Quest Episode 8
Casey Cooper Fresh Meat Episode 7
Coral Smith RW: Back to New York Episode 7[lower-alpha 2]
Beth Stolarczyk RW: Los Angeles Episode 5
Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio RW: Key West Episode 3
Rookies Team
Player Original season Finish
Frank Roessler RW: Las Vegas Winner
Jillian Zoboroski RR: X-Treme Winner
Johanna Botta RW: Austin Winner
Nehemiah Clark RW: Austin Winner
Rachel Moyal RW: Austin Winner
Tori Hall RR: Viewers' Revenge Winner
Ryan Kehoe Fresh Meat Episode 7
MJ Garrett[lower-alpha 3] RW: Philadelphia Episode 6
Melinda Stolp RW: Austin Episode 6
Derek McCray RR: Viewers' Revenge Episode 5
Zach Mann RW: Key West Episode 4
Janelle Casanave RW: Key West Episode 4
Tyrie Ballard RW: Denver Episode 3[lower-alpha 3]
Brooke LaBarbera RW: Denver Episode 3
Tyler Duckworth RW: Key West Episode 2
Angel Turlington RR: Viewers' Revenge Episode 2
Alex Smith RW: Denver Episode 1

Format

The competition consists of a series of team challenges (sometimes called "missions") with an elimination challenge, known as the "Gauntlet", following each of the team challenges except the final. Each team challenge puts the team of Veterans against the team of Rookies. Prior to the challenge, it is announced whether males or females will compete in the Gauntlet following the challenge.[2]

After each team challenge, on a male Gauntlet day, the winning team selects a male member of the losing team to protect from the Gauntlet and another male member to send into the Gauntlet. The losing team then selects one of its own males to go against the person picked by the winners. On a female Gauntlet day, the players protected and sent into the Gauntlet are females.[2]

After the two players for the Gauntlet are picked, host T. J. Lavin spins a wheel to determine which challenge will be played in the Gauntlet. The loser of the Gauntlet is eliminated from the game.[2]

In this season, minor prizes are awarded after each challenge to the team members that were not vulnerable to elimination in the following Gauntlet; i.e. on challenges before male Gauntlets, prizes are awarded to female members of the winning team, and vice versa. The grand prize is $300,000, which is split among the remaining members of the team that wins the final challenge.[2]

Gameplay

Challenge games

Gauntlet games

In the Gauntlet, the game played is determined by spinning a wheel. The wheel contains six sections, one for each Gauntlet game and one for 'spin again'. The game that was played in the previous Gauntlet is replaced by another 'spin again' section, and therefore, no Gauntlet game can be played twice in a row.

Army Strong final challenge

Each team starts out on a yacht half a mile off the Mexican Riviera, with once key handed to them by T. J. Lavin. Every player has to jump off the yacht, and swim to the shore, in which the remainder of the challenge will be a footrace, containing checkpoints that are reminiscent of the aforementioned challenge games. T. J. Lavin explains to each team that all team members must cross the finish line to win the Army Strong Final Challenge. Each checkpoint contains a key that a team will need in order to obtain instructions for further checkpoints, and after the first checkpoint, teammates must be connected together by chains for the remainder of the race unless they are instructed otherwise. The first checkpoint is a combination of the "Chill Out" and "Assembly Required" games, in which players from each team must jump into a large ice tub in order to retrieve 20 pieces of a puzzle that are located at the bottom of the ice tub. Once a team has solved their puzzle, they can obtain another key, and then race to the next checkpoint, which is based on the "Screw You" challenge. Each team has to unscrew an oversize wing nut until it has been removed off a track, which contains the key to the next checkpoint, which is based on the "Sliders" elimination game. Note: Prior to this checkpoint, Eric collapsed and needed medical assistance, and the Veterans team became disqualified when he was removed from the final challenge. The final two checkpoints are based on the "Man Overboard" and "I Dig You" games. At the "I Dig You" checkpoint, each team must dig deep through the sand in order to retrieve a treasure chest that contains a flag. After digging through the sand, the Veterans raise their flag ahead of the Rookies, however T. J. Lavin does not blow horn, because the Veterans had already been disqualified. Once the Rookies raise their team flag, they are declared the winning team.[10]

Game summary

Elimination chart

Episode Challenge Winner Gauntlet Gender Gauntlet The Gauntlet Winner Eliminated
# Challenge Protected Winners' Pick Losers' Pick
1 Pinata Pit Veterans Male Ryan Nehemiah Alex Force Field Nehemiah Alex
2 Screw You Veterans Female Brooke Jillian Angel Ram It Home Jillian Angel
Roped In Veterans Male Tyrie Tyler Frank Force Field Frank Tyler
3 Wring Out Veterans Female Tori Jillian Brooke Ball Brawl Jillian Brooke
Blind Man's Maze[lower-alpha 3] Rookies Male Adam Evan Johnny Sliders Evan Johnny
4 Push It Veterans Female Johanna Janelle Jillian Ball Brawl Jillian Janelle
Man Overboard Veterans Male Ryan Frank Zach Sliders Frank Zach
5[lower-alpha 4] Assembly Required Rookies Female Casey Coral Beth Ball Brawl Coral Beth
Walk The Plank Veterans Male MJ Derek Ryan Sliders Ryan Derek
6 Pole Push Veterans Female Rachel Melinda Tori Ball Brawl Tori Melinda
I Dig You Veterans Male Ryan Frank MJ Ankle Breaker Frank MJ
7 Over The Edge[lower-alpha 2] Rookies Female Katie Evelyn Casey Ball Brawl Evelyn Casey
Mexican Blanket Veterans Male Frank N/A[lower-alpha 5] Ram It Home Nehemiah Ryan
8/9 Chill Out Rookies Female Diem Paula Katie Sliders Paula Katie
Well-Balanced[lower-alpha 1] Rookies Male Eric Adam Danny Ball Brawl Adam Danny
9 Army Strong Rookies[lower-alpha 6]
     Rookies team.
     Veterans team.

Gauntlet progress

MalesEpisode
1234[lower-alpha 3]5678/9Finale[lower-alpha 6] [lower-alpha 1]
Frank SAFEELIMWINELIM SAFEELIMSAFEWIN WINNER
Nehemiah ELIMSAFEWINSAFE SAFESAFEELIMWIN WINNER
Adam WINWINSAFEWIN WINWINWINELIM LOSER
Brad WINWINSAFEWIN WINWINWINSAFE LOSER
CT WINWINSAFEWIN WINWINWINSAFE LOSER
Evan WINWINELIMWIN WINWINWINSAFE LOSER
Kenny WINWINSAFEWIN WINWINWINSAFE LOSER
Eric WINWINSAFEWIN WINWINWINSAFE LOSER
Danny WINWINSAFEWIN WINWINWINOUT
Ryan SAFESAFEWINSAFE ELIMSAFEOUT
MJ N/A[lower-alpha 3]SAFESAFEOUT
Derek SAFESAFEWINSAFE OUT
Zach SAFESAFEWINOUT
Tyrie SAFESAFEQUIT
Johnny WINWINOUT
Tyler SAFEOUT
Alex OUT
FemalesEpisode
23456[lower-alpha 4]78/9[lower-alpha 2]Finale[lower-alpha 6]
Jillian ELIMELIMELIM WINSAFEWINWIN WINNER
Johanna SAFESAFESAFE WINSAFEWINWIN WINNER
Rachel SAFESAFESAFE WINSAFEWINWIN WINNER
Tori SAFESAFESAFEWIN ELIMWINWIN WINNER
Diem WINWINWIN SAFEWINSAFESAFE LOSER
Evelyn WINWINWIN SAFEWINELIMSAFE LOSER
Paula WINWINWIN SAFEWINSAFEELIM LOSER
Robin WINWINWIN SAFEWINSAFESAFE LOSER
Katie WINWINWIN SAFEWINSAFEOUT
Casey WINWINWIN SAFEWINOUT
Coral WINWINWIN ELIMWINQUIT
Melinda SAFESAFESAFE WINOUT
Beth WINWINWIN OUT
Janelle SAFESAFEOUT
Brooke SAFEOUT
Angel OUT
Teams
     The contestant is on the Rookies team.
     The contestant is on the Veterans team.
Competition
     The contestant's team won the final challenge by default.
     The contestant's team finished first in the final challenge, but was disqualified due to a missing team member.
     The contestant's team won the mission.
     The contestant was protected from the Gauntlet by the winning team.
     The contestant won the Gauntlet.
     The contestant lost the Gauntlet and was eliminated.
     The contestant withdrew from the competition.
     The contestant was removed from the competition due to illness.
Note: Male gauntlets were only held after odd challenges, while female gauntlets were only held after even challenges.

Partners

Screw You
Kenny & Evelyn Derek & Nehemiah
CT & Diem Frank & Tyrie
Brad & Robin Ryan & Tyler
Johnny & Paula Janelle & Tori
Danny & Beth Johanna & Melinda
Evan & Coral Jillian & Rachel
Eric & Katie Zach & Brooke
Adam & Casey Derek & Angel
Note: Due to the Rookies having one less male player than the Veterans, one male player, Derek, had to go twice.[3]

Episodes

No. in
season
No. in
series
Title Original air date
1205"Viva Mexico"January 23, 2008 (2008-01-23)
The Gauntlet is back! And season 3 of The Real World/Road Rules Challenge promises to have more drama and backstabbing than ever. Wrangling in the troops is host T. J. Lavin, who welcomes the contestants to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It's time to get down to business! Two teams are formed—it's Veterans vs. Rookies.[2][11]
2206"It's Personal"January 30, 2008 (2008-01-30)
The Veterans face the Rookies at the "Screw You" Challenge, an utterly exhausting and disorientating obstacle course. At the Rookie deliberation, all hell breaks loose. Tori announces her suspicions of some of her teammates having alliances with people on the Veteran team. The next day, the Rookies face the Veterans in the "Roped In" Challenge, where the teams race to complete an elaborate puzzle.[3][12]
3207"Less Is More"February 6, 2008 (2008-02-06)
It's time the woman's Gauntlet, so the Rookies face off against the Veterans in the "Wring Out" challenge. The Veterans feel pretty confident that they have this in the bag. The Rookies, on the other hand, are already dealing with some drama while deciding who's going to do what, leaving Brooke insecure about how the team views her. With Brooke on the defensive, she and Johanna get into a bickering match before the challenge even starts. After cooling off, the Rookies and Veterans are ready to face-off. The next morning, it's time for the next challenge. The Rookies and the Veterans meet TJ on the beach, where they see a giant maze of ropes and poles making up "Blind Man's Maze." The first team to get all their teammates across that finish line wins. The Rookies have four less players than the Veterans, and, as a result, they will end up with a severe advantage in this challenge. After the challenge, Tyrie withdrew from the game after learning of a family emergency back home.[4][13]
4208"It's Not Fair"February 13, 2008 (2008-02-13)
After Tyrie's unexpected departure from The Gauntlet III, the Rookies are down several people, and they aren't even halfway through the challenges! Right now, the Veterans are feeling pretty confident. At the challenge, the Rookies are thrilled to discover that they're getting a replacement player. With their new teammate and boosted spirits, the Rookies are ready for the "Push It" challenge. With two cars resting on a series of wooden slats, each team must use the slats to build a road for their car to move across the beach.it doesn't matter whether the car touches the sand or not. The first team to cross the finish line wins. The Rookies take an early lead, despite having fewer people than the Veterans. But the Veterans trick the rules of the challenge to get even. After the challenge, Rookie Melinda, who was accidentally hit in the head with one of the slats, is rushed to the hospital with fiancé Danny. The next challenge, called "Man Overboard," involves a huge sled that's hanging from a track that's suspended 25 feet above the water. Three to five teammates must sit on the sled and pull themselves across to the opposite side, where one person will jump off. Then they'll go back to the other side, where another person will jump off. When the last person jumps off the sled, time will be called. There will be three rounds and the team with the fastest combined time wins. The Rookies get off to a rough start when Melinda decides not to compete because she's afraid she might injure herself again.[5][14]
5209"Match-Up of the Century"February 20, 2008 (2008-02-20)
Fearing that their girls are weighing them down, the Veteran guys secretly agree that the time has come to actively start getting rid of some of their teammates. Taking advantage of the confusion during the "Assembly Required" challenge, the men purposely mess up, handing the Rookies their second win and landing the Veteran girls in The Gauntlet. The Rookies have a hard time deciding on which female to send to the Gauntlet. They leave it up to a coin toss, which lands on Coral. After the Veterans deliberate, they decide to send Beth in against Coral's wishes. And so it is ... challenge "queens" Coral and Beth step into The Gauntlet to compete in a brutal game of "Ball Brawl." During the next challenge, "Walk the Plank," the Veterans and the Rookies must get their players across a small plank without getting knocked off by large balls being hurled at them by their opponents.[6][15]
6210"All Alone"February 27, 2008 (2008-02-27)
Each week of The Gauntlet III is intense from start to finish line, and the contestants are starting to show wear and tear. When Melinda mentions that the Rookies are going to keep losing because they're down so many players, Danny flips out on her and an argument ensues. Meanwhile, the Veteran guys continue to plot against the girls. When the Veterans and the Rookies meet host TJ Lavin on the beach, they're told they'll be competing in "Pole Push." Inside a ring, the Veterans will be on one end of a pole while the Rookies are on the other. The team that pushes their opponent outside the ring wins. After the challenge, tensions rise at deliberations when Danny calls Rookie Johanna a backstabber for not backing up Melinda ending the "Austin Alliance" and Rookies Tori and Jillian get into a screaming match. The next challenge, "I Dig You," involves two rows of coffins lined up on the beach, in which each team member will be buried two feet underground. There will be one digger who must correctly answer a series of questions before he or she can dig each teammate out of the sand. Whoever unearths all their teammates first wins, so the Rookies have an advantage because they will have considerably fewer people underground. As the Rookies and the Veterans climb into their coffins, everyone starts freaking out, there's a lot of pressure on the diggers and they start making mistakes.[7][16]
7211"What Goes Around"March 5, 2008 (2008-03-05)
Scheming and sneakiness abound in this episode of The Gauntlet, as the Veterans plot to drop a few of their girls, who are just dead weight as far as these strong guys are concerned. But Coral overhears the conversation and confronts Evan, criticizing his untrustworthy friendship. At competition day, the guys on the Veterans team know that if they throw the challenge, a girl will be sent packing. But when they find out what the challenge is, they realize they have a huge disadvantage and might lose, anyway. When it's C.T.'s turn to brave the heights of this challenge, he fakes a slip, giving the Veterans a 15-minute penalty. But C.T. isn't the best actor; the girls immediately realize what's happening, and feel embarrassed and disrespected. Minutes before the Veteran girls are sent to the Gauntlet, Coral throws everyone for a loop no one expected. The next challenge is Mexican Blanket, where the team members are wrapped in blankets, burrito-style, and have to roll their way to the finish line, with only three rookie men left, losing is not an option for the Rookie team.[8][17]
8212"Cold Blooded"March 12, 2008 (2008-03-12)
It's the penultimate week of The Gauntlet III and everyone is worried about how things will play out. The Rookies are especially concerned because they only have two guys left while the Veterans have seven. The next day, the teams meet up with host T. J. Lavin in front of a giant freezer for the "Chill Out" challenge. Inside the freezer are two tanks filled with ice water. For the first round, the players must fully jump into the freezing water and then jump out. The second round forces everyone to submerge themselves neck-deep for five seconds. During each subsequent round, everyone has to spend an additional five seconds in the water. As the challenge begins, the Veteran boys quickly start dropping out in an attempt to throw the challenge and send their girls into The Gauntlet. The rest of the Veterans continue to drop off until Danny is the only Vet left. In between rounds, the Rookies ask Danny why he hasn't quit yet, since they know his team wants to lose. Danny says he'll quit if they promise to protect him if the Veterans lose the male Gauntlet challenge. All the Rookies agree, except for Frank—and with that, Danny decides to stay in the game and try to win it for the Veterans. The next day, the Veterans and the Rookies head to the next challenge, "Well Balanced", where there are two giant wooden platforms tilted to one side. The teams will have to spread out on the giant scales and move around until they are perfectly balanced. Once balanced, they must hold that position for 10 seconds. the Veterans, who are usually the paragon of teamwork and communication, are screaming and fighting with each other. While slowly but surely the Rookies begin to formulate a strategy and inch their way toward perfect balance while the Veterans are caught in utter chaos.[9][18]
9213"The Finale"March 19, 2008 (2008-03-19)
It's judgment day on The Gauntlet III and we're about to find out who has what it takes to go the distance! Will it be the Veterans or the Rookies?[10]

Reunion special

Trim the Fat: The Gauntlet III Reunion was hosted by Lyndsey Rodrigues, filmed in New York, and premiered March 26, 2008. In this reunion show, several cast members discuss their experiences on the show. The most common topics of discussion are the various romances, backstabbing and deceit amongst the cast members. Frank and Jillian are still a couple and living together. Tori and Brad are together, though living apart. Johanna and Wes broke up. Paula and Derek decided to remain friends and Casey and Johnny are not a couple, nor are Ev and Brooke. Ev is told that Brooke is dating her ex-girlfriend, which Ev refuses to discuss. Although C.T. and Diem are not present, Katie tells everyone that they have broken up. Evan and Kenny say they are honeymooning in Mexico the next day. Coral heavily criticized Ev for betraying the women, but Ev says she didn't betray them but also didn't care if the men threw challenges to get rid of them. Evan openly mocks Lyndsey's view that Danny and Melinda were a "power couple", saying Danny's opinion had 0% value to the Veterans. Both Rachel and Tori say that their conflicts with Frank were in the past, and Evan and Kenny praised Frank for digging for hours to retrieve the winning chest of money in the final challenge, saying Frank should have gotten an extra cut up to $100,000 of the final $300,000 prize. Some, however, noted he already had due to his relationship with fellow winner Jillian. Beth was heavily criticized, with Brad stating they wanted her out because she might have thrown missions, and Kenny telling Coral that everyone wanted her to defeat Beth in the Gauntlet. Rachel apparently began a relationship with Eric, but neither of them will confirm this. Johanna comments about Melinda's false belief that she was betrayed over the Gauntlet deliberations. Eric's failure in the final challenge is discussed, and it is revealed that only Brad, Coral, and Katie are still friends with him. Katie says she likes the fact that Kenny and Frank were blunt about her lack of ability, and hates duplicitous individuals. Coral and Ev do not part on amicable terms, and footage from the upcoming The Real World: Hollywood season is shown, thus ending the reunion.[19]

Music from the Gauntlet III

Challenge 15: Army Strong

Source for this section:[10]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 The last male Gauntlet day was split between Episodes 8 and 9. The challenge "Well-Balanced" and the deliberation by the Rookies were shown in Episode 8; the Rookies' Gauntlet selection, the whole deliberation of the Veterans' choice for the Gauntlet and the Gauntlet itself were shown in Episode 9.[9][10]
  2. 1 2 3 Following the "Over The Edge" challenge in Episode 7, Coral withdrew from the game due to her outcast status on the team, being abandoned by former friend and ally Evan, and being voted into the Gauntlet against Evelyn. Casey volunteered to take Coral's place and was eliminated by Evelyn.[8]
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Tyrie withdrew from the game at the end of Episode 3 due to a family emergency back home.[4] MJ was brought in as a replacement prior to the "Push It" challenge in Episode 4.[5]
  4. 1 2 In Episode 5, three female Gauntlets into the game, it is mentioned that there are five female Gauntlets left.[6] At the end, only four of those were played, likely due to Coral's departure in Episode 7.
  5. The Rookies only had three male players who were vulnerable for the Gauntlet — Frank, Nehemiah and Ryan. The Veterans were prohibited from protecting Ryan from the Gauntlet (see the rules above), so they protected Frank, forcing Nehemiah and Ryan to face each other in the Gauntlet.[8]
  6. 1 2 3 The Veterans beat out the Rookies in the final challenge, but were disqualified after Eric collapsed and was sent to the hospital midway through the final race. Host T. J. Lavin explained that a team would only win the "Army Strong" final challenge if each player was present at the end. Therefore, the Rookies won the "Army Strong" final challenge by default.[10]

References

External links

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