Cara Maria was first introduced in Fresh Meat II, another attempt to increase the field of contestants by Bunim-Murray Productions. She lasted one mission before losing the Exile with her partner Darrell. Since then, Cara Maria has competed in seven seasons of The Challenge. She has only made it to the finale three times. This season, she came into the game with her cousin, Jamie Banks. In the penultimate episode, they wound up finishing second in the grueling first part of the final mission, placing behind Jenna (Jay's ex from Real World: Ex-Plosion) & Brianna (her cousin), but ahead of Corey (another Ex-Plosion cast member) & Mitch (his cousin).
Throughout the season, Cara Maria has been front and center. To start, she got flirtatious with rookie Thomas (Ex-Plosion), to the point where she gave him a handjob in the van. This was scandalous since she had a boyfriend: Abram, the guy I covered in four Challenges (including Inferno II), and whom I dubbed "The Bozo From Bozeman." After two teams (Leroy & Candice, Tony & Shane) were released due to injuries (Candice's broken toe, Tony's ruptured spleen), Abram and his brother Mike were brought in as replacements. Needless to say, the drama thickened. "Johnny Bananas" (who has long outstayed his welcome) wound up bursting the bubble, sending his idiot cousin Vince to tell Abram about the incident. This not only led to painful moments on the show, it also spilled over to an After Show on MTV that was hard to watch. I'm convinced that the producers had to give horse tranquilizers to Abram to prevent a catastrophe.
Cara Maria was placed in jeopardy when Jamie had to compete in the Pit (this season's endgame format), since "Bloodlines" had to accompany each other from the show upon a loss. To make things more interesting, Jamie and Mike did not face each other, but rather CT and Zach, who were brought in as muscle. Jamie lasted longer in the Pit against CT than Mike did with Zach, and Abram & Mike left, leaving Cara Maria to focus on the game. In the following episodes, the "Bloodlines" were reunited, and Cara Maria and Jamie teamed up again . . . only for them to finish last in the mission, forcing them into the Pit. They wound up beating Johnny & Vince, which made me happy because fuck "Johnny Bananas." After that, Cara Maria was sent into the Pit to take on Aneesa (another long-time veteran unable to win the big one), and that spilled into on-the-bus drama. Cara Maria won the Pit, but StopBeingPolite.com added Aneesa to its "Comprehensive List of People Who Don’t Like Cara Maria."
I figure that a win by Cara Maria & Jamie in the finale would lead to her retirement from The Challenge. Her constant presence does raise a question: Has a season of this show ever hinged that heavily on a particular person? Yes, it has. Because I have spent too many years watching this dreck, I can point out other cast members who have shined brightly on the big stage.
Julie Stoffer (Extreme Challenge)
At the dawn of the modern era of reality television (2000), Julie was at the forefront alongside the celebrities spawned from the original Survivor, becoming the show's most memorable ingénue since Julie Oliver from the original season in 1992. She was presented as a sheltered Mormon girl exploring her boundaries on RW: New Orleans. She was the one most viewers zeroed in on, which was a feat given that three other cast members could be consider breakout stars (gay/loveable Danny, playa/egomaniac David Broom, neurotic/hilarious Melissa). Back when Real World/Road Rules Challenge was a traveling circus, Julie's inclusion was more than likely a slam dunk, especially after she was kicked out of Brigham Young for living with boys.
But something bad happened on Extreme Challenge. Julie wound up getting more bratty with each passing episode, and some viewers figured the second "m" in "Mormon" was silent. She got into a blood feud with Emily (who started her three Challenge career here). Watching a Real World team uncharacteristically get the better of a Road Rules squad became painful to watch because of Julie's involvement, despite the inclusion of nice people like Kameelah, Syrus and Dan Renzi. When a frustrated James wound up pelting her with paintballs past his allotted time during a mission, you couldn't totally blame the rugby-playing sore loser. Julie wound up winning a $110,000 pool with her team, as well as a new car, but her attitude left a bad taste in viewers' mouths. It also was her peak as a Challenger. Two season later, in Battle Of The Sexes, she was pulled into a feud with Melissa, who wound up convincing the Inner Circle to vote her out first. Needless to say, that made me a happy camper, because like Melissa, I couldn't stand the bitch.
Sarah Greyson (The Gauntlet)
Sarah was the weak link on Road Rules: Campus Crawl. She struggled in missions, and she was eventually voted out by her castmates, most of whom didn't give her a second thought afterward. The following season, she was part of a team to face the current edition (RR: South Pacific) in a marathon of missions. Midway through that, Sarah was shown covering her eyes, leading to her ouster. Campus Crawl wound up winning, but the "Sarah as scrub" narrative had been strengthened. So when the first episode of Gauntlet included two of her teammates (Darrell and Rachel Robinson) scheming to get rid of her, most viewers weren't surprised.
This was the season of BMP's experiment of giving outcasts a chance to stay in the game by winning in the Gauntlet, and Sarah was the mouse most frequently in the maze. In the first mission, she withstood a freezing pool longer than Road Rules teammate Laterrian, but the team voted her in the Gauntlet. In the inaugural elimination round,. she had to hang by her legs from a trapeze (Dead Man's Drop), and she outlasted the heavier David Broom to win. She would go two-for-two in the same Gauntlet five episodes later, dispatching Matt. Three episodes after that, she defeated Trishelle competing in the puzzle-assembling A Perfect Fit, prompting Theo Vonkurnotowski to proclaim that she should take the Gauntlet home with her. But sides had been drawn when it came to Sarah, and an alliance led by Rachel, Veronica and ADD-addled douchebag Adam Larson seemed hellbent to lose Sarah before the final mission, lest she hold the team back.
Things got ugly in a log-balancing mission (Rolling On a River), as Laterrian caused Sarah to fall off early. In the ensuing vote, Sarah was declared to be a weaker link than her underachieving teammate. Worse, she was pitted against her best friend, Rachel Braband (the overgrown pixie from RW: Back to New York). Sarah barely outlasted Rachel on the bull-riding Gauntlet to stay in the game. Coral felt for Sarah to the point where she comforted her and bitched out Adam for his poor treatment. Two episodes later, Abram and Sarah tied in the voting format set up by the team, and Abram was sent in by Theo, who had been given the Aztec Lifeshield for finishing the mission (All or Nothing) better than his teammates. Abram wound up losing to Mike Mizanin in the Gauntlet, but he wound up having a steamy threesome with Rachel Robinson and Veronica. Worse, the girls dubbed "Butterface" and "Kleptronica" by the forums dwellers bitched out Sarah for her illicit romance with Theo (which was elaborated on in the Inferno II preview special). My belief is that Sarah and Theo didn't do that much in comparison to other "showmances" at that time (Mike/Trishelle, Dave/Cara). They certainly tried to hide it from the cameras, as opposed to some people. Yes, I'm still bitter.
In the following episode, Sarah flamed out of a rappelling mission (Vertical Sweep, according to Wikipedia), and she was sent into the Gauntlet for the fifth time. She wound up competing in Dead Man's Drop with Irulan. On her (now-defunct) blog, she said that she was in agony from hanging on the trapeze in prior Gauntlets to the point where the production staff gave her painkillers. She wound up outlasting Irulan, much to the delight of the staff, many of whom likened Irulan and teammate/boyfriend Alton to Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.
In the final mission, Sarah did not provide to be an albatross to the nine-person Road Rules team. At one point, Adam actually gave Sarah a piggyback ride. While some people figure Road Rules won due to Real World's coping with an ailing Coral (who had been bit by a spider and suffered an allergic reaction), I think they would have triumphed anyway. Against all odds, Sarah won her Challenge. . . and unlike the rest of the people on this list, she would never come back. While her 5-0 endgame record has been equaled, I don't think her example will ever be surpassed.
Katie Doyle (The Inferno)
It took me a while to warm up to Katie in general. She made history as the first substitute on Road Rules, replacing the more exciting Jisela on The Quest. In The Gauntlet, she got into a feud with Veronica and was sent into two Gauntlets, where she defeated Montana, but lost to Rachel Braband. In The Inferno, she was once again on the Road Rules team, and she was seen by her side as a weak link.
Unlike Sarah, Katie was a lot more mouthy about her team's dislike of her. The Real World would not choose her to go into the Inferno because she was a crap player. After one mission where Real World won (I don't remember which one), a few of the guys lifted her on their shoulders in celebration. Road Rules came up with a plan to send her into the Inferno by letting their Inferno nomination win the Aztec LifeSaver, which would allow that person to pick a replacement for the endgame. The first effort failed in Don't Yank My Chain, where Katie wound up outlasting Christena in the mission. Four episodes later, Veronica was in a similar situation, and the team sacrificed a win to Real World in order for her to get the best time on the rappelling mission, Balcony Swing. The low point came when Abram made a mockery of the mission, whooping it up and dropping flags, rubbing the plan in Katie's face. She wound up replacing Veronica in the Inferno, where she faced Julie (who had rubbed a lot of people -- Coral in particular -- the wrong way). In one of the dumbest elimination rounds ever devised, Katie endured a three-hour trek on a treadmill covered in itching powder, and she wound up outlasting Julie while jumping rope. This made me a happy camper, since I still hated Julie, and she had challenged Coral to a wrestling match in the previous episode, leading Coral to declare, "I don't wrestle! I fuckin' beat bitches up!"
Road Rules was not happy. Despite the following Inferno nominations being male-based, the team schemed to send Katie in again. In Saturn Valet Ballet, most of the team tried to make sure nominee Timmy got the best time in the mission. They only won because a faction of the Real World side (led by CT) was throwing the mission to send in Leah to replace David Burns. In the ensuing chaos, Kendall (who was not in on the plan) got the best time on Road Rules, and she elected to go in Timmy's place. Kendall won, but RR was upset that Katie was still in the game.
In the final nomination process, Veronica was once again placed in peril. Katie gave it her all in the penultimate mission (Window Washing), and she wound up with a decent time. The problem: Veronica got the best time on her team's side, and she sent Katie to the Inferno to face David. Katie had to endure four hours being in a Plexiglass coffin with foul-smelling items (once again: the endgames were so lame), and she wound up winning the tiebreaker against David when she stayed submerged in the gunk longer than David.
What turned me around on Katie? It came in the penultimate episode, showed after she beat David, but actually taking place following the Kendall/Leah Inferno. Katie had a massive figurative diarrhea attack, she lost her shit so much. She cursed out Veronica, referring to her as "Verantula" in an interview. It got to the point where Katie had to be restrained from strangling her rival, as Mike had to carry her out of the room. It was a delightful scene, starting with the uncharacteristic show of a cameraman's hand in frame pushing a door open, and including background shots of Mike and Syrus getting a huge kick out of her tantrum. Between that, Veronica's treatment of Sarah in Gauntlet and the threesome, I didn't regard her as human anymore, and I came to be on Katie's side.
Road Rules wound up winning the final mission, scoring a $260,000 pot. While Katie would appear in subsequent seasons, she wound not be as dramatic or as spotlighted as she was in Inferno.
Tonya Cooley (Inferno II)
After a rocky stint on RW: Chicago, Tonya came across as normal on Battle of the Sexes (where she lasted eight rounds before being voted out by her team's Inner Circle) and The Gauntlet (three missions before Real World sent her to the Gauntlet, where she lost to Steve in A Perfect Fit). She became unglued in Battle of the Sexes 2, where she ruffled feathers,. completing twelve missions before being voted out, and allegedly wound up going out with Mark Long afterward . .. and this came following his showmance with Robin on BOTS2.
Tonya was cast in her fourth Challenge as a member of the Bad Asses team. With Robin on the Good Guys, sparks wound up flying, as Beth (who will be covered soon) fanned the drama flames. After Tonya and Robin argued, Tonya had it out with Beth, and that ended with Tonya dumping some of Beth's bags in the pool, and throwing the rest off the roof. Beth wound up bailing out of the show two episodes later. The good news for the Bad Asses was that their weakest link was gone. The bad news: the remaining women on the team -- Rachel Robinson, Tina and Veronica -- would form a clique for the purpose of harassing Tonya to no end. Without Beth as a potential punching bag, they turned on Tonya . .. particularly before, during and after Never Ending Climb. She would eventually be nominated by the Good Guys for the Inferno, and she was unable to get out of it in the subsequent mission (best known as "The One Where Julie Kept Muttering 'The Road To God Is Straight And Narrow,' Then Immediately Went Into The Water")., but she saved herself by defeating Julie in the Inferno. Naturally, I liked that development, because I still hated Julie.
The penultimate episode was not fun for Tonya. It started with harassment by Tina and Veronica while she tried to go to sleep. In the Inferno deliberation prior to the mission, those two girls joined Veronica in questioning Tonya's choice of Jamie Chung over potential weak link Shavonda. Then came the mission, where contestants had to get their heart rates below 100 beats per minute before performing a 125-foot tandem bungee via trapdoor. Paired with CT, she tried to ignore the taunting by Shavonda and Jamie (who never struck me as a "mean girl"), but she couldn't break the 100 bpm barrier. She wound up going to the Inferno, stuck on a spinner for fifteen minutes before Shavonda tapped out, giving Tonya a spot in the final mission for the first time in her career.
Sadly, Tonya did not get Katie's happy ending. The final mission pitted a seven-strong Bad Ass team against a quartet of Good Guys. Tonya lagged for most of the finale, to the point where Rachel bitched her out to the camera during the mission. From what I heard, Tonya had been partying the previous night, and that led to her subpar performance. I figured the Bad Asses might have won had the Rachel/Tina/Veronica troika had bothered to treat Tonya like a human being. Also, Tina's performance was lackluster, but apparently Rachel and Veronica did not seem to notice. Typical, especially since Tina was (and will always be) a scrub. While the final Good Guys team was notable for their lack of numbers and various stages of development (Mike Mizanin's second win and his swan song before taking up pro wrestling; Landon's first Challenge win on his way to three; Darrell's third win out of four; Jamie's sole win before becoming a starlet), it was Tonya who was the star, for better and for worse. She would wind up winning on the Bad Ass team in Inferno 3, but she came back for The Island and The Ruins. It was in Ruins where she was kicked off for attacking Veronica, and where she would accuse two other Challengers of violating her in her sleep. May Tonya be living the peaceful life denied to her on television.
Beth Stolarcyzk & Derrick Kosinski (Gauntlet 2)
I know, this is a bit of a cheat, but Beth and Derrick had a few things in common. They were both on the Veterans team. They're both Polish-American. But man, did they take different paths in Gauntlet 2. Beth was old-school . . . annoying the shit out of viewers and cast members since 1993 (RW: Los Angeles) and coming up with very little in four previous Challenges. Derrick was part of the last conventional Road Rules season (X-Treme), debuting in Battle of the Sexes 2 where he only lasted five missions before being voted off by his team. He did gain distinction in Inferno II as the only male on the final Bad Ass team who didn't need to be throttled.
Derrick's path to notoriety began roughly, as the Veterans lost their first mission, which forced them to send a male to face teammate Adam Larson in the Gauntlet, since he was the captain. Derrick got the most votes from the group, setting up the first endgame, which turned out to be Name That Coconut, a cross between a trivia contest and full-contact football. Adam and Derrick wound up tied 3-3, but Derrick won the last two rounds to eliminate Adam (which thrilled me to no end) and assume the male captain's position for the Veterans. The bad news was that Derrick would have to fight for his position when the Vets lost on a male elimination day. In addition to having an episode-long conflict with Brad, the undersized scrapper wound up having to fight in three more Gauntlets, dispatching Ace, Syrus and Brad. The Veterans wound up losing the penultimate mission, and they were unable to decide between David Burns and Timmy to send against Derrick. The captain responded with a dramatic monologue where he straight-up murdered a table. Eventually, Timmy volunteered, and he beat Derrick in Reverse Tug-Of-War, ending his season. Derrick would have similar luck on subsequent seasons (Fresh Meat, The Duel) before joining the Bad Ass team in place of the ejected CT in Inferno 3, scoring his first win. And then he turned into an asshole, hanging out with the "cool kids" while winning on The Island and The Ruins. Pity.
As for Beth? Put it this way . . . had I not been fired by Reality News Online for my increasingly negative recaps in Battle Of The Sexes 2 (brought about by the men curb-stomping the women and Eric Fucking Nies and his stupid jump rope), I would have been booted for my treatment of Beth in Gauntlet 2.. She had been her usual annoying self, but she was spared a date with female captain Ruthie in the Gauntlet when Jisela volunteered (and lost). The Veterans lost two episodes later, and Beth was selected by the team to face off against Ruthie. Host TJ Lavin spun the wheel, and it came up "Challenger's Choice," which let Beth pick Reverse Tug-Of-War for the Gauntlet. Ruthie was strong, but she gave up a lot of weight against Beth, and she wound up succumbing in one of the most painful endgames ever aired. As experienced viewers suspected, she was not a gracious winner, getting snitty with Derrick and Montana.
Two episodes passed. The Veterans lost again, in part due to Beth's lack of performance. Beth wound up getting Montana in the Gauntlet, which was an interesting contrast, given that Montana was an older woman who proved that you didn't have to suck on a regular basis. The wheel came up "Captain's Choice," allowing Beth to pick Reverse Tug-Of-War again. Needless to say, Montana fared no better than Ruthie, as the captain cackled about her position in front of the camera. My final thought on her that week: "She can go fuck herself, because nobody else will." What can I say? She brought out the worst in me. I wasn't alone . . . in one episode, several males had a good laugh at the prospect of one of them having to "bang Beth."
The madness of "Bad Beth and Beyond" (coined by Timmy) last four more episodes, including her underachieving in two missions. After another loss, the Veterans voted in Aneesa to face Beth. This time, the wheel came up Beach Brawl, which was basically a wrestling match with oil thrown in. And Beth . . . wound up taking the coward's way out, opting to quit rather than get beaten in a humiliating manner to Aneesa. While the Veterans would wind up losing the final mission, they managed to unite in their unyielding hatred for Beth. Viewers would have to wait for her to be eliminated in The Duel (by Svetlana) and Gauntlet III (Coral) to satisfy their bloodlust. Thankfully, she has not reared her heinous head since then.
(Note: At this point, my recollection of the show gets hazy. I'm going by vague memories and suggestions from the forums. And Wikipedia, which is the lazy man's best friend.)
Evelyn Smith (The Island)
It may not be obvious, but there are a lot of parallels between Evelyn and Cara Maria. Both debuted on a "Fresh Meat"-themed season. Both were the top picks in their respective drafts, and they both lost in their first Exile. The big difference is that Evelyn would rebound and have success, winning Inferno 3 with the Bad Asses and completing Gauntlet III with the Veterans. With Rachel Robinson appearing less frequently (she would also star on The Island, as well as Battle Of The Exes with Aneesa), it looked as if Evelyn took her place as BMP's go-to lesbian with an attitude.
The Island was a bizarre season, where three contestants at a time competed for one of four keys to a treasure chest filled with $300,000. The losers would be subject to a vote by the rest of the cast, with the leading vote-getter being booted. Evelyn became a sympathetic character by clashing with Johnny and his clique. After winning the fifth mission, Evelyn called out Johnny, punctuating that with "Fuck you, and fuck your alliance" before taking Johnny's key, which he threw on the ground, making her pick it up. It was glorious to behold. But since this is The Challenge, a show where karma often goes to die, Johnny won the mission in the following episode, and wound up taking the key back from Evelyn.
In the penultimate mission, Evelyn defeated Dan Walsh, Johanna and KellyAnne, guaranteeing herself a shot at the big prize. Given her choice of keyholders, she elected to take hers from Dunbar (who was given a key by a departing Abram) instead of Johnny. TJ Lavin ordered the final eight players to split into two teams of four, and Evelyn . . . threw in with Johnny, Derrick and Kenny (another scumbag who kept getting lucky in Challenges). Selling out rather easily, Evelyn sailed to an easy win over Jenn, Robin, Ryan and Paula (who could not believe her ex-roommate from RW: Key West could throw her under the bus). Needless to say, it was an ugly end to an ugly season.
Chris "CT" Tamburello (Rivals)
To say that CT's Challenge history is checkered is an understatement. He competed for the grand prize in The Inferno and Inferno II, coming up short each time. In The Duel, he kickstarted a romance with Diem before losing the final Duel to Brad. The cast members had barely settled into Inferno 3 before CT was kicked off for drunkenly punching Davis before the first mission. He was on the Veterans team in Gauntlet III that lost because Eric "Big Easy" Banks could not complete the final mission. And he repeated his feat from Inferno 3 in Duel II, getting into a brawl with ex-housemate Adam King (RW: Paris), which led to another dismissal. Obviously, he needed time away from the spotlight, but BMP brought him back as a glorified gladiator in Cutthroat, sent to face Johnny and Tyler in the Gulag. That led to one of the greatest moments in Challenge history: CT utterly humiliating Johnny by carrying him like a backpack. Let's see that again.
Get More:
The Challenge (Season 20), Full Episodes
Once it was determined that CT was capable of showing up without killing and devouring everybody, he was cast in the following season, Rivals. He would be reunited with Adam, and he would often try to bury the hatchet with his one-time adversary. While the cynical part of me thinks he might have been playing for the cameras, CT was more fun to watch that the trio I dubbed the "Axis of Ass": Evan (paired with Nehemiah), Johnny (Tyler) and Kenny (Wes). He ran afoul of that clique, but he and Adam managed to win two missions as well as one Jungle, sending Evan & Nehemiah home. In the last Jungle, CT & Adam faced Johnny & Tyler, with a spot in the final mission on the line. They played T-Bone, where they had to move balls from one end of a hall to another. The two halls intersected, which led to collisions. CT tried valiantly to win, often running interference for his partner by slamming violently into his opponents. It was as if he was attempting to cremate Johnny & Tyler without using fire. In the end, Tyler outraced Adam, and CT found himself losing yet another Challenge. Still, he managed to be a good sport about how things shook out, as opposed to the tantrum he threw after his elimination from The Duel.
CT's story has yet to end. He would team up with Diem in Battle Of The Exes and place second behind Johnny & Camila. Two seasons later, he wound up winning Rivals II, teaming with Wes to defeat the noxious duo of Johnny & Frank. He lasted through most of Free Agents before falling to eventual winner Johnny in the final Elimination. And he reunited with Diem for Battle Of The Exes 2, only for her to succumb to the cancer that would take her life. While CT may not escape his thuggish past, his time on Rivals is proof that an irritating contestant can be redeemed and embraced by the audience as a heroic figure . . . something freakin' Johnny Bananas has yet to do.
Sarah Rice (Battle of the Exes II)
Unlike Sarah Greyson, Sarah Rice was a BMP lifer. Hailing from RW: Brooklyn, Sarah had competed in seven Challenges. She completed three seasons (The Ruins, Cutthroat, Battle of the Seasons), but couldn't get the big win. On two occasions, she was dismissed from the show due to the actions of her partner (Vinny in Battle of the Exes after he exposed Mandi's breasts; Trishelle in Rivals II after she quit the show).
Sarah cut a break in Battle of the Exes II, as she was partnered with Jordan, whom she had a showmance with prior to leaving Rivals II. Unlike many of Sarah's past teammates, Jordan was a capable partner, whose only handicap was being born with no fingers on his left hand. He was itching to settle the score with Johnny Bananas, especially after he took him out in Free Agents. Five missions into BOTSII, Johnny and his partner Nany were defeated in the Dome by Leroy & Nia. What the remaining contestants did not know was that eliminated teams were battling it out in the "Battle of the Ex-iled," which was run on MTV.com. Johnny & Nany wound up beating three other ousted pairs before they were revealed to the surviving field, where they beat Zach & Jonna to get back in the game. With their greatest enemy returning, things did not look good for Sarah & Jordan. But they won the last two missions before the finale, and they sent Johnny & Nany back into the Dome. In a bizarre twist, Leroy saw his partner Nia removed for the game for grabbing Jordan's package, but she was replaced by one-time fling Theresa, who had been eliminated with Wes in the previous episode. Amazingly, there was no reaction shown from Sarah, who had been left in the lurch twice in the past.
Fate would smile on Sarah & Jordan. The new Leroy/Theresa team managed to take out Johnny & Nany, earning their way into the final mission. Johnny would whine about being sent to the Dome in The After Show and the reunion special. In the end, Sarah got her first Challenge win alongside Jordan, as Leroy & Theresa finished second, and Jay & Jenna got disqualified for failing to complete a task. It felt like the end of an era for Sarah, as she got married in May 2015. While she has been rumored to be appearing on the next season of The Challenge (Rivals III), Battle of the Exes II would be a fitting finale for her. Well . . . that and this sketch from Robot Chicken:
Aside from Johnny being in the sketch and the lack of tattoos on "Sarah's" arm, I think the show did a good take on The Challenge.
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