The Island is bad, but I have a soft spot for it, because Evelyn is sooo good in it. ❤ On the other hand, I was waiting for S37 appear since the very beginning of this countdown. It deserves a low spot just for the atrocious name, not to mention everything else.
My bottom 7 would consist mostly of the newer seasons. The drama from the earlier years of the challenge is just unmatched. It's raw and feels genuine, unlike with the newer seasons where everything feels manufactured. I'll take the old school cast members any day over a bunch of wanna be social media stars.
It wasn't just that the newer seasons are bad. They are also so long. A lot of the bad earlier seasons are like maybe 8-10 hours of tv that you can get through quickly. These modern bad seasons are 30 hours long and the content is so stretched that it feels even longer. Their just no reason to rewatch any of the last 3 seasons or so.
I actually love the Gauntlet 2... The underdog story from Derrick... Beth being an epic villain... Susie low key being an additional villain... Alton being superhuman... But you are right about the final. After Derrick is eliminated it's no longer watchable.
I loved watching this video. It made me laugh because I agreed with some of those seasons being low and it also makes me want to rewatch all the seasons and do my own rankings. Look forward to your videos every week Drew!
I think inferno 3 had one of the best moments in the history of the show. Timmy's farewell speech is everything I love about the challenge. Timmy was a big part of the bridge from RW/RR into the challenge. He was always the heart and captain of road rules, and on inferno 3 he brought that leadership to a bunch of young players, including bananas. The season as a whole might be lacking, but Timmy's speech alone brings it up a few spots for me. Also Derrick, Evelyn, Tonya, and Kenny all getting their first wins was big, especially Derrick coming off 4 straight seasons of rough endings. It's also the last time we see Alton being a top tier competitor. It definitely doesn't belong in the top their of seasons, but I would have ranked it higher. Just watch Timmy's speech again.
I was definitely going to say this when he said what was memorable im thinking “uhhh Timmy’s retirement announcement”. It is still to me the best speech in challenge history and his retirement along with Coral’s exit from the Gauntlet 3 signaled an end of an era. Also, there were definitely memorable eliminations you had the Danny-Davis tag elimination which I thought was cool, Derrick-Davis football style elimination as well as Timmy and Abram’s shattered glass elimination…which was also one of the more dangerous eliminations they’ve ever done.
me too! idc if he said not to be mad at him but that was utter horse s*** to put it ridiculously low. below halfway is one thing but even then I'd rank it higher but seriously... this is the only ranking where I was like ok wtaf. Not even seasons like WOTW2 and Final Reckoning being ranked so high would have me disagree with him in comparison. Double Agents however wasn't really a good season for me
@@thecamishere4344honestly the challenge format was horrible. The cast and drama was good but once a team lost an elimination they were done lol. It was just dumb
I don't know that you can say that the "everyone must cross the finish line" rule hasn't been used since. While they don't come out and say it in the show, it is definitely implied quite often during finals. Most recently, in partner seasons, if your partner is DQd, you're gone too, e.g. Olivia and Horacio.
I think the Ruins was decent. Kellyanne and Sarah actually put up a great fight in the finals. The first half they were in 1st place. Also, The Island was significantly better than S35, 36 and 37. I remember watching it when it was coming out. It was so exciting rooting for Evelyn and she took Johnny's key! Ended up giving in to him. The begining of his reign. Derrick's first win! I loved the girls sticking up for themselves against the guys. Idk. It was them trying something different.
Derrick’s first win was actually on inferno 3 not the island. Kenny talks about it in a confessional about having Ev on his boat he talks about how him Ev and Derrick had just won together on I3. I only know that cause I just watched it for the first time on P+ lol
I feel like the best aspects of sla outshone the best of ride or die but rod overall is better? Idk the ct effect plays a part I feel like in our memories
I feel like TM should have been near the bottom. The fact that production did zero character development for half of the people that made the final is just poorly made television.
I actually really liked the ruins, I just think the cast was so great and the drama is what carried over the actually competition. IMO its one of the best actual casts of all time it has all the greats form that era minus ct (which fun fact in adams contract it specifically stated ct would not be there) but imagine if ct was on the challengers side, that wouldve really made things interesting!
I I love you channel! You are like the ESPN of the challenge! The content is great with detailed facts and history and what not. Good job!! I love your passion haha.
my hot take is that the island is overhated and interesting and has a good payoff with evelyn winning and that battle of the seasons 2012 might be my favorite season. it’s such a mess but in a great way
Love the content...thanks. I was curious how you are applying finals to the rankings, since in later seasons the final essentially becomes its own category. Also, you low balled the Guantlet 3 cast it was a stacked cast 😀
My Sickly 7: Final Reckoning, Vendettas, Ride or Dies, Battle of the Seasons 2012, Double Agents, Spies Lies Allies, Total Madness. The casting is a major factor for me and so is the longer, drawn out episodes filled with boring drama.
Exactly I see your a real fan the first ten seasons were the best because we actually had personalities on screen and it was a fun vibe and all those seasons had such high ratings and millions of ppl watching them
@@GoonersVillains The first ten seasons feel good to watch and are very fun. I also very much enjoy seasons 11-20. They had the best balance of competition and fun. After that, it starts going down the road of more seriousness. There are a few good seasons still, but the influx of people from outside of RW/RR really turned me off. It just gets progressively worse in my eyes.
The Ruins is underrated. I recently did a rewatch and from ep1 it was one of the most entertaining of any season. The realtionship drama and the political drama between Wes and the rest of the house is great TV, and the cast was full of heavy hitters. I don't judge the show just by competitiveness, in house politcal drama and fights are equally as important to making a great season imo. It is a TV show after all. The less drama, the weaker the season.
I think spies lies and Allies was a terrible season we saw rookies like michaela Michele and Corey L went home early because of the vets alliance and Cory and Nelson did nothing about it
Your weird criticism of the older casts really shows you didnt start watching til the mid seasons at EARLIEST. Those earlier seasons are fire and there are a ton of mid to newer seasons that are so boring and predictable but you like better cuz youre more familar with the cast. If you actually got to watch The Real World and Road Rules when it was on, The Challenge was amazing when it started, and the TERRIBLE misogyny that erupted in the mid seasons because of people like Johnny and Kenny was so cringe worthy.
For gauntlet 3, mtv was sponsored by the us army and one of their mottos is to never leave a soldier behind or something like that, explaining why the final was set up like that. They were also sponsored during the island which is evident with the crate drops and stuff.
Battle of the Seasons was one of my favorites because of the drama. I thought the cast was memorable. Camila yelling at Big E in elimination, Frank and Zack bullying Sam, Devon confessionals, Trashille and Dustin arguments, Jonna sacrificing Jasmine in the hall brawl, Knight and Preston dynamic, CJ and Zack hall brawl. The female cast was strong with Cara, Sarah, Nany, Camila but the male cast could have been better.
Where is vendettas? That season was pretty bad too. Besides that so far your list is pretty spot on…vendettas to bring back bananas to flip cards in a final was such a waste
I would say season 15 needs to get a little more respect. Lol because it was predictable but….Easy’s DQ made it iconic. The rookies were not suppose to win. I’ve watched that final episode so many times 😂😂😂
The Island was bad but it really is where the legend of Johnny Bananas was born as prior to that he was mainly a background nice guy. Derrick's run on the Gauntlet 2 was what made of a fan of the franchise initially. Looking forward to how you rate the JEK era which dominated the show for quite a while.
I haven't watched most of the early seasons so I can't comment on them. But I agree with you on Spies, Lies and Allies, however I thought Double Agents was worse. The spy theme was just as heavy and maybe I'm biased but the BB alliance running the show just pissed me off, it was so long, it's probably the only season I've watched where I just wanted it to be over well before the final. I think that's a critique of the last three seasons though, they've all been too long. Coupled with the cold climate, not a fan of Double Agents. Surprised Ride of Dies is so low, but the format change did kill it! I'm looking forward to seeing what the top seasons are, my money is on Rivals 1 or 2. Great video!
I find the Island redeemable because of its story. It's one of the few seasons won by JEKD where it doesn't ruin the season for me because of Evelyn winning and how she wins. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Eeyore(Dunbar) gets so close to a win despite doing nothing only for it to be taken away. I also vehemently disagree about the Gauntlet 2's format. That what made the season and Derrick as a character. Derrick going into elimination every week and winning only to get so close and lose in the one competition he didn't have an advantage in right before the finale. It what made him a huge fan favorite for the rest of his career despite being the silent partner and sometimes enforcer (The Island) to the show's unrootable bad guys in JEK.
Tbh ignoring the boot order I actually liked most of the SLA rookies. It’s just unfortunate that the ones I didn’t like are all the ones that made it far 😂. For both SLA and R/D the seasons are so much better if it’s not for the mid season format change. I fear the only season to correctly pull off a mid season format change is WOTW
I honestly hate the format change in WotW too. I don’t think it helped the season at all. I just think the cast that season was so excellent that they were able to provide entertainment anyway.
Battle of the Seasons 2012 is way too low IMO. Yea the cast wasn’t what we were used to but it gave us drama and fresh faces that we continued to see in future seasons like Jemmye, Marie, Nany, Knight, Zach etc. I think the one negative was San Diego winning since they were truly awful people.
island is bad sure but if there was no island we wouldn't have Wes vs kenny rivalry, the ruins should be higher, gauntlet 3 would of been CT first win, SLA wasn't that bad but should of had more vets
Surprised by how low BOTS (2012) was cause I thought it was pretty entertaining. Also would rank Ride or Dies higher than some of the newers seasons like Total Madness and Double Agents because at least the first half of the season is really strong, whereas the other two are snoozefests from beggining to end.
What I will say about Inferno 3, i think without it its almost like a pothole missing. I hadn't seen it until they put it on Paramount, but I hear you on it being not memorable. But! It is Derrick's first win ❤ big deal to me personally lol
I kinda liked the Island... Drama in spades. Everyone's stress level to the max. Very interesting to see how it went from "hey, it's a party! Let's all get wasted and screw!" to "I'd eat a fricken tree. I hate you. I hate you all." Ruins also was hard to watch from a Tonya and Wes standpoint. Those two girls almost pulled it off (at least the edit made it seem close). Pretty sure the Ruins was also the last appearance of two challengers for legal reasons. Wes is in my top 5 GOATs... rough time watching all that go down. Cast was fairly memorable. I do agree with Drew that some of these latest seasons should be ranked low. Kacey essentially got her ticket punched to Champ by CT. Half the cast is from.... where? They weren't relatable.... slow drama. I'm mean if Josh and Messy are your drama highlights... I'll pass.
As someone who is only watched the newer seasons (s32 final reckoning and up) and is currently watching the old seasons on paramount plus (10 and up), I am currently on season 18 and I can agree that IT IS BAD
As a newcomer to challenge Watching this having only seen the challenge usa challenge world championships and the new season of challenge usa currently airing definitely using these 3 videos as a sort of good guide Also wow I'm shocked that hall brawl came from one of the worst seasons given that both seasons I've seen use it as the last elimination before finals
I will say this in defense of the ruins. if the challengers had any intelligence, they would have gotten rid of Casey in that challenge they won where they got to choose who went into elimination. if they had done that they would have won more of the challenges. there were quite a few they lost because of and only because of Casey. but the way eliminations happened made it impossible to get rid of her because the champions refused to and rightly so. I also loved the drama between Wes and bananas/Evan/kenny. maybe its the editing but I honestly think that Sarah and kellyanne could have won that final had kellyanne hurried up more on that balance beam thing. they were only 5 minutes behind the guys after that last puzzle that they couldn't solve. so if the girls had gotten done with the balance beam sooner they would have timed out at the puzzle sooner than the guys and maybe won. (ive watched this season too much) plus you have the hilarious Shavon busting an implant scene which makes me laugh every time.
Battle of the seasons should be ranked higher I mean yeah it has a really weak cast but politically and drama wise the cast delivers. Plus it gives us the introductions of cast members including Jemmye, Preston, Frank, Dustin, and nany .
I agree with the island being the worse. I binged all the challenges last year and I got to episode 3 and just watched the finale. The boys were so disrespectful too. Cringe 😬
I was really into the show at the time and I still to this day haven't watched that full season. Only season I couldn't get through and never really wanted to, such a bad season
I will still never understand what the fuck they were doing with casting for the Challengers team on The Ruins 2. While the Champions have big, beefy guys like Syrus, Wes, Darrell, and Evan, on the Challengers team Dunbar is literally the only beefy guy they have, arguably Brad as well, but then the rest of their men were filled with smaller, scrawny guys like Cohutta, Adam, Nick, and Chet. Coupled with the decision of putting Shauvon and Casey on the same team, the Challengers honestly looked like cannon fodder to the Champions.
I know you have a few gimmicks from earlier season lower but could a gauntlet esque season with the other team voting people in as well as the life shield to help the underdog help to create a season devoid of the vacation alliance? Part of me feels like the only way to truly break up these alliances is through a cutthroat 2
camila jumpscare
😂
Litteraly 😂
The Island is bad, but I have a soft spot for it, because Evelyn is sooo good in it. ❤
On the other hand, I was waiting for S37 appear since the very beginning of this countdown. It deserves a low spot just for the atrocious name, not to mention everything else.
"F*ck you, and f*ck your alliance" is LEGENDARY.
My bottom 7 would consist mostly of the newer seasons. The drama from the earlier years of the challenge is just unmatched. It's raw and feels genuine, unlike with the newer seasons where everything feels manufactured. I'll take the old school cast members any day over a bunch of wanna be social media stars.
Thats because wanna be reality tv stars of the 2000s were more vicious
@@casswashwash1070 Yes. I miss them. Lol.
It wasn't just that the newer seasons are bad. They are also so long. A lot of the bad earlier seasons are like maybe 8-10 hours of tv that you can get through quickly. These modern bad seasons are 30 hours long and the content is so stretched that it feels even longer. Their just no reason to rewatch any of the last 3 seasons or so.
@@jessepaiz6356 Good point
@@casswashwash1070 Because there wasn’t as much social media at the time that would’ve gotten people in trouble for being vicious
The Island was "OK", I mainly enjoyed it bc of EV, and her beef with Bananas 🍌 was golden.
I wish they would do Knot So Fast every season over Hall Brawl. It's always fun to watch.
I love them both
@Amanda Johnson Hall Brawl is only entertaining for me if it's evenly matched.
I actually love the Gauntlet 2... The underdog story from Derrick... Beth being an epic villain... Susie low key being an additional villain... Alton being superhuman... But you are right about the final. After Derrick is eliminated it's no longer watchable.
So just one episode
I loved watching this video. It made me laugh because I agreed with some of those seasons being low and it also makes me want to rewatch all the seasons and do my own rankings. Look forward to your videos every week Drew!
Decent list, I think Spies, Lies and Allies should be ranked right above The Island
I think inferno 3 had one of the best moments in the history of the show. Timmy's farewell speech is everything I love about the challenge. Timmy was a big part of the bridge from RW/RR into the challenge. He was always the heart and captain of road rules, and on inferno 3 he brought that leadership to a bunch of young players, including bananas. The season as a whole might be lacking, but Timmy's speech alone brings it up a few spots for me. Also Derrick, Evelyn, Tonya, and Kenny all getting their first wins was big, especially Derrick coming off 4 straight seasons of rough endings. It's also the last time we see Alton being a top tier competitor. It definitely doesn't belong in the top their of seasons, but I would have ranked it higher. Just watch Timmy's speech again.
I was definitely going to say this when he said what was memorable im thinking “uhhh Timmy’s retirement announcement”. It is still to me the best speech in challenge history and his retirement along with Coral’s exit from the Gauntlet 3 signaled an end of an era. Also, there were definitely memorable eliminations you had the Danny-Davis tag elimination which I thought was cool, Derrick-Davis football style elimination as well as Timmy and Abram’s shattered glass elimination…which was also one of the more dangerous eliminations they’ve ever done.
imagine if back then they had The Island 2 and brought in players from Survivor
Great video. Looking forward to this series. The best part of The Island is the fact that Evelyn is on it.
HOW IS BATTLE OF THE SEASONS SO LOW??? There was jaw dropping top tier drama EVERY episode! I’m appalled by this
me too! idc if he said not to be mad at him but that was utter horse s*** to put it ridiculously low. below halfway is one thing but even then I'd rank it higher but seriously... this is the only ranking where I was like ok wtaf. Not even seasons like WOTW2 and Final Reckoning being ranked so high would have me disagree with him in comparison. Double Agents however wasn't really a good season for me
@@thecamishere4344honestly the challenge format was horrible. The cast and drama was good but once a team lost an elimination they were done lol. It was just dumb
Spies, Lies & Allies deserves more love.
I don't know that you can say that the "everyone must cross the finish line" rule hasn't been used since. While they don't come out and say it in the show, it is definitely implied quite often during finals. Most recently, in partner seasons, if your partner is DQd, you're gone too, e.g. Olivia and Horacio.
Drew, I can’t wait for your explanation of why Total Madness is not in either of these bottom tiers.
Total Madness 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Because it was good.
I think the Ruins was decent. Kellyanne and Sarah actually put up a great fight in the finals. The first half they were in 1st place.
Also, The Island was significantly better than S35, 36 and 37. I remember watching it when it was coming out. It was so exciting rooting for Evelyn and she took Johnny's key! Ended up giving in to him. The begining of his reign. Derrick's first win! I loved the girls sticking up for themselves against the guys. Idk. It was them trying something different.
Derrick’s first win was actually on inferno 3 not the island. Kenny talks about it in a confessional about having Ev on his boat he talks about how him Ev and Derrick had just won together on I3. I only know that cause I just watched it for the first time on P+ lol
Amazing funny video Drew, love the transitions, commentary and listing. You are a CHAMPION!! 🏆
I actually liked Spies, Lies & Allies more than Ride or Dies.
I feel like the best aspects of sla outshone the best of ride or die but rod overall is better? Idk the ct effect plays a part I feel like in our memories
Great rankings! And loving the color coordinated shirts for different tiers. We love a man with a cork board and an extendable pointer stick!
BOTS 2012 being at the bottom is WILD
😂😂
Love the list, gotta say though the ruins and the island made us see so much of all our favorite characters, definitely rewatchable in my opinion
There's a lot of elimantions over the years that favor Beth's body type over Ruthie. A lot.
Although ranked differently I had the same 7 on my list. Good job Drew!
Season 37 is why the challenge shouldn’t be international for the MTV season. The rookie cast may be the worst rookie cast of seasons in the 30s
Yessss! Just got here! This RULES! THANK YOU
OMFG SO HERE FOR THIS!!
I love your humor in this video I’m only 10 mins in and loling
I feel like TM should have been near the bottom. The fact that production did zero character development for half of the people that made the final is just poorly made television.
Great list. I agree with all of it.
Don't know why but The Ruins is one of my favorite seasons..
I was expecting Final Reckoning and Rivals 3 to be somewhere in there
I figured rivals 3 wouldn’t be in there (dramatic final, dramatic characters and fights, etc) but I whole heartedly agree about final reckoning
BY FAR, my favorite challenge content. Keep it up drew
I actually really liked the ruins, I just think the cast was so great and the drama is what carried over the actually competition. IMO its one of the best actual casts of all time it has all the greats form that era minus ct (which fun fact in adams contract it specifically stated ct would not be there) but imagine if ct was on the challengers side, that wouldve really made things interesting!
BOTS (2012) is a top 5 of mine I fear 😭. I thought the entertainment was A+ only thing that I didn’t like was the winners
same he is on crack lmao
Spinoffs need reunions. I'm sad there will be no new episode tomorrow 😢😄
I I love you channel! You are like the ESPN of the challenge! The content is great with detailed facts and history and what not. Good job!! I love your passion haha.
my hot take is that the island is overhated and interesting and has a good payoff with evelyn winning and that battle of the seasons 2012 might be my favorite season. it’s such a mess but in a great way
The chubby civilian comment gets me every time tho 💀
To be fair in baseball the houston astros were doing a spy theme
Love the content...thanks.
I was curious how you are applying finals to the rankings, since in later seasons the final essentially becomes its own category.
Also, you low balled the Guantlet 3 cast it was a stacked cast 😀
Imagine trying to get into the Challenge and what you see in Pluto is some of those sickly 7 seasons
not really, this is just his opinion, people have different taste and they're a lot of people that like some of those seasons.
Surprised we didn’t get final reckoning here
The Challenge needs to hire you. I don't know for what exactly, but they need you.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Looking forward to part 2.
Great video! I love your assessments even when I don’t agree.
Battle of the sexes 2 was amazing for the first 6 challenges we had Angela Trimbur in. She was such a GREAT source of drama lol
All of the first ten seasons to me were the best seasons when the drama was real and we actually had personalities on screen
My Sickly 7: Final Reckoning, Vendettas, Ride or Dies, Battle of the Seasons 2012, Double Agents, Spies Lies Allies, Total Madness. The casting is a major factor for me and so is the longer, drawn out episodes filled with boring drama.
Exactly I see your a real fan the first ten seasons were the best because we actually had personalities on screen and it was a fun vibe and all those seasons had such high ratings and millions of ppl watching them
@@GoonersVillains The first ten seasons feel good to watch and are very fun. I also very much enjoy seasons 11-20. They had the best balance of competition and fun. After that, it starts going down the road of more seriousness. There are a few good seasons still, but the influx of people from outside of RW/RR really turned me off. It just gets progressively worse in my eyes.
The Ruins is underrated. I recently did a rewatch and from ep1 it was one of the most entertaining of any season. The realtionship drama and the political drama between Wes and the rest of the house is great TV, and the cast was full of heavy hitters. I don't judge the show just by competitiveness, in house politcal drama and fights are equally as important to making a great season imo. It is a TV show after all. The less drama, the weaker the season.
I think spies lies and Allies was a terrible season we saw rookies like michaela Michele and Corey L went home early because of the vets alliance and Cory and Nelson did nothing about it
Your weird criticism of the older casts really shows you didnt start watching til the mid seasons at EARLIEST. Those earlier seasons are fire and there are a ton of mid to newer seasons that are so boring and predictable but you like better cuz youre more familar with the cast. If you actually got to watch The Real World and Road Rules when it was on, The Challenge was amazing when it started, and the TERRIBLE misogyny that erupted in the mid seasons because of people like Johnny and Kenny was so cringe worthy.
Good Ranking, hilarious how you remind me of a teacher just using a pointer needlessly.
BOTS 2012’s cast might not have been the most competitive, but it was an incredibly entertaining season. The drama was on top.
the drama in the island is bomb
I'm pretty excited to see what content you put out between seasons 🩵
For gauntlet 3, mtv was sponsored by the us army and one of their mottos is to never leave a soldier behind or something like that, explaining why the final was set up like that. They were also sponsored during the island which is evident with the crate drops and stuff.
Did not expect ROD lower than Total Madness
Hello! Timmy vs Abe and the break glass challenge for Inferno 3, very memorable
Battle of the Seasons was one of my favorites because of the drama. I thought the cast was memorable. Camila yelling at Big E in elimination, Frank and Zack bullying Sam, Devon confessionals, Trashille and Dustin arguments, Jonna sacrificing Jasmine in the hall brawl, Knight and Preston dynamic, CJ and Zack hall brawl. The female cast was strong with Cara, Sarah, Nany, Camila but the male cast could have been better.
Good video I want MTV to do another bloodlines & battle of the exes seasons again
Where is vendettas? That season was pretty bad too. Besides that so far your list is pretty spot on…vendettas to bring back bananas to flip cards in a final was such a waste
Nice video man
I would say season 15 needs to get a little more respect. Lol because it was predictable but….Easy’s DQ made it iconic. The rookies were not suppose to win. I’ve watched that final episode so many times 😂😂😂
Everyone had to cross the finish line because that specific season(15) was sponsored by the military and they had the whole No Man left behind thing.
The Island was bad but it really is where the legend of Johnny Bananas was born as prior to that he was mainly a background nice guy. Derrick's run on the Gauntlet 2 was what made of a fan of the franchise initially. Looking forward to how you rate the JEK era which dominated the show for quite a while.
You mentioned the competitors missing from The Gauntlet 2. Evelyn's season had not aired yet. It would air the following season; Season 12 Fresh Meat.
WHATTTTTTTT? the ruins is in my top 5 too
The only season I thought was going to be in the bottom that was not was Bloodlines. Lol
The island is really entertaining.. people call it the worst for pc reasons
Yep. Invasion onwards show is hallow as hell(But hey at least aren't pRoBlEmAtIc).
I think your rankings are largely spot on! The only grievance I have is the harsh words for Susie. I think she's a top five political player ever.
As long as Rivals is at number 1 & War of Worlds is in the top 4, that’s a good list.
I haven't watched most of the early seasons so I can't comment on them. But I agree with you on Spies, Lies and Allies, however I thought Double Agents was worse. The spy theme was just as heavy and maybe I'm biased but the BB alliance running the show just pissed me off, it was so long, it's probably the only season I've watched where I just wanted it to be over well before the final. I think that's a critique of the last three seasons though, they've all been too long. Coupled with the cold climate, not a fan of Double Agents. Surprised Ride of Dies is so low, but the format change did kill it! I'm looking forward to seeing what the top seasons are, my money is on Rivals 1 or 2. Great video!
I find the Island redeemable because of its story. It's one of the few seasons won by JEKD where it doesn't ruin the season for me because of Evelyn winning and how she wins. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Eeyore(Dunbar) gets so close to a win despite doing nothing only for it to be taken away. I also vehemently disagree about the Gauntlet 2's format. That what made the season and Derrick as a character. Derrick going into elimination every week and winning only to get so close and lose in the one competition he didn't have an advantage in right before the finale. It what made him a huge fan favorite for the rest of his career despite being the silent partner and sometimes enforcer (The Island) to the show's unrootable bad guys in JEK.
I feel like it was the first season we saw man Derrick not boy Derrick. It definitely changed the narrative for him as a character
Tbh ignoring the boot order I actually liked most of the SLA rookies. It’s just unfortunate that the ones I didn’t like are all the ones that made it far 😂.
For both SLA and R/D the seasons are so much better if it’s not for the mid season format change. I fear the only season to correctly pull off a mid season format change is WOTW
I honestly hate the format change in WotW too. I don’t think it helped the season at all. I just think the cast that season was so excellent that they were able to provide entertainment anyway.
Battle of the Seasons 2012 is way too low IMO. Yea the cast wasn’t what we were used to but it gave us drama and fresh faces that we continued to see in future seasons like Jemmye, Marie, Nany, Knight, Zach etc. I think the one negative was San Diego winning since they were truly awful people.
The stipulation in season 15 was because the final was sponsored by the army, that was completely obvious.
island is bad sure but if there was no island we wouldn't have Wes vs kenny rivalry, the ruins should be higher, gauntlet 3 would of been CT first win, SLA wasn't that bad but should of had more vets
Surprised by how low BOTS (2012) was cause I thought it was pretty entertaining.
Also would rank Ride or Dies higher than some of the newers seasons like Total Madness and Double Agents because at least the first half of the season is really strong, whereas the other two are snoozefests from beggining to end.
What I will say about Inferno 3, i think without it its almost like a pothole missing. I hadn't seen it until they put it on Paramount, but I hear you on it being not memorable. But! It is Derrick's first win ❤ big deal to me personally lol
I kinda liked the Island... Drama in spades. Everyone's stress level to the max. Very interesting to see how it went from "hey, it's a party! Let's all get wasted and screw!" to "I'd eat a fricken tree. I hate you. I hate you all." Ruins also was hard to watch from a Tonya and Wes standpoint. Those two girls almost pulled it off (at least the edit made it seem close). Pretty sure the Ruins was also the last appearance of two challengers for legal reasons. Wes is in my top 5 GOATs... rough time watching all that go down. Cast was fairly memorable.
I do agree with Drew that some of these latest seasons should be ranked low. Kacey essentially got her ticket punched to Champ by CT. Half the cast is from.... where? They weren't relatable.... slow drama. I'm mean if Josh and Messy are your drama highlights... I'll pass.
As someone who is only watched the newer seasons (s32 final reckoning and up) and is currently watching the old seasons on paramount plus (10 and up), I am currently on season 18 and I can agree that IT IS BAD
As a newcomer to challenge
Watching this having only seen the challenge usa challenge world championships and the new season of challenge usa currently airing definitely using these 3 videos as a sort of good guide
Also wow I'm shocked that hall brawl came from one of the worst seasons given that both seasons I've seen use it as the last elimination before finals
I either agree with most of your list or would make slight tweaks. Love the content jeep it coming.
I truly hated battle of the seasons 23. with you on that one.
I will say this in defense of the ruins. if the challengers had any intelligence, they would have gotten rid of Casey in that challenge they won where they got to choose who went into elimination. if they had done that they would have won more of the challenges. there were quite a few they lost because of and only because of Casey. but the way eliminations happened made it impossible to get rid of her because the champions refused to and rightly so. I also loved the drama between Wes and bananas/Evan/kenny. maybe its the editing but I honestly think that Sarah and kellyanne could have won that final had kellyanne hurried up more on that balance beam thing. they were only 5 minutes behind the guys after that last puzzle that they couldn't solve. so if the girls had gotten done with the balance beam sooner they would have timed out at the puzzle sooner than the guys and maybe won. (ive watched this season too much) plus you have the hilarious Shavon busting an implant scene which makes me laugh every time.
The Island is my favorite season. It was also the first season I watch each week.
I really like Gauntlet 2
I cant stand it when production manipulates the game, such as the finals of Gauntlet 3 and War of the Worlds 2, so that certain people/teams lose.
Battle of the seasons should be ranked higher I mean yeah it has a really weak cast but politically and drama wise the cast delivers. Plus it gives us the introductions of cast members including Jemmye, Preston, Frank, Dustin, and nany .
i always appreciate a spreadsheet and ranking factors, and for that, i subscribed
YESSSS W video
I must be the only one who likes the island lol
How did battle of the seasons get a 0.5 in drama?
I agree with the island being the worse. I binged all the challenges last year and I got to episode 3 and just watched the finale. The boys were so disrespectful too. Cringe 😬
Literally the only reason to watch that season is for Evelyn's speech.
I was really into the show at the time and I still to this day haven't watched that full season. Only season I couldn't get through and never really wanted to, such a bad season
Honestly 37 should be in sickly seven. I literally could not name a single reason to rewatch that season
i really like the ruins, maybe because its nostalgic and its the begining of the johnny wes rivalry idk, i love the cast
I will still never understand what the fuck they were doing with casting for the Challengers team on The Ruins 2. While the Champions have big, beefy guys like Syrus, Wes, Darrell, and Evan, on the Challengers team Dunbar is literally the only beefy guy they have, arguably Brad as well, but then the rest of their men were filled with smaller, scrawny guys like Cohutta, Adam, Nick, and Chet. Coupled with the decision of putting Shauvon and Casey on the same team, the Challengers honestly looked like cannon fodder to the Champions.
Your pointer waving is a little intimidating I won’t lie
I know you have a few gimmicks from earlier season lower but could a gauntlet esque season with the other team voting people in as well as the life shield to help the underdog help to create a season devoid of the vacation alliance?
Part of me feels like the only way to truly break up these alliances is through a cutthroat 2
I love the ruins and I think they should do it again now. The challengers team could be stacked unlike the ruins
The Island's ONLY redeeming quality to me is how much of a badass Evelyn was but I would still probably put it at the bottom of my list