There were so many things that were amazing about it that to cover them all in detail would require a lengthy news magazine-style analysis. I'm just going to hit on the high points.
Opening montage/show credits:
* I knew this show was going to be awesome during the first 30 seconds when they showed that ridiculous opening montage. The sounds that went with it were roughly in the style of the kind of montage they do for World War II movies. Except the sounds of gunfire and people dying were replaced with loud drunken yelling and pensive stares. When CT's bloody face came on the screen, well, you could just tell we were in for something special.
* As for the show's opening credits, I'll have a full analysis tomorrow but for now let's just say that the opening of the Duel II is the greatest show opening in the history of television. Nothing else comes close.
The Contestants:
There will be plenty of time to explore the psyche of each contestant but for now we just have to wonder -- are the dudes on this show basically spending their whole year training for this thing? Evan is right when he says in the beginning that it looks like every guy has added 40 pounds of muscle. There are, of course, other explanations for their significant gain in muscle mass (not to mention wild mood swings) but I'll steer clear of the obvious joke that everybody has already made.
The Fight:
This was the obviously high-point of the show and there's just so much to say. I've watched this thing over and over like its the new Zapruder film; every time I find something new and awesome about it.
* First, who could have guessed that it would take CT all of about three hours to become totally unhinged? We learn later on that the guy was apparently going through some tough personal times, but really was anyone's reaction to the fight anything other than, "I KNEW this was coming." CT gets into a fight pretty much every time he's on the show. That's why it was so ridiculous that the great TJ Lavin later declared, "We here at The Challenge don't condone fighting."
Oh really? Is that why you (a) brought CT on in the first place (b) had two replacement contestants ready to go when an inevitable fight broke out. Cut the crap, TJ.
I can't blame MTV for continuing to bring CT on the show, he is by far the most entertaining person on this thing and just makes every episode better. I'm even a little sad that he won't be around for the rest of the season.
So how about this: From now on bring him on, but have a production member that's equipped with a powerful tranquilizer gun and give him instructions to put down CT every time it looks like he's about to take a swing at somebody. This way we'll still have the benefit of being entertained by CT's overall insanity and the producers won't have to kick him off when he inevitably explodes. Problem solved.
* Next. While its obvious that CT has some emotional issues to work through, the guy that is really the "villain" in this whole thing is Adam. He's like The Challenge's version of the NBA's Nate Robinson -- the little guy who has a huge chip on his shoulder, so he tries to compensate by picking fights with everyone. And just like Robinson, people still continue to embrace him. I just don't get it.
Thanks to MTV's excellent work on the aftershow with a play-by-play analysis that's reminiscent of an ESPN post-game show, we clearly see that Adam is the instigator here (watch the uncut footage below). It's obvious that CT was willing to rip Adam's head off at the drop of a dime, but we also see that initially he's just posing and has little interest in fighting. Adam, however, proceeds to take small jabs at CT and talk trash. He even takes the first swing, after which CT finally swings back.
First of all, even someone like Adam should know that he has no business taking on CT. I'm fairly certain that CT could win a fight against a grizzly bear; Adam doesn't stand a chance. But of course he's willing to stand toe-to-toe with him, knowing that as soon as anything happens it will be immediately broken up.
Then, while it takes a whole team to restrain CT, Adam's is dragged outside by one dude who doesn't even seem to be trying that hard. And as soon as Adam is outside he tries to act like he wants to get back in there even as his one-piece pajamas are wrapped around his ankles -- no one has ever looked less intimidating in a fight. Of course, as soon as CT gets outside, Adam starts running as if he's being chased by a bull down the streets of Pamplona.
Adam's action during this fight is just the clearest demonstration of the attitude that one sees in a college bar every night of the week -- "I'm going to act tough and pick fights with everyone in sight, but only because I know that I'll never actually have to fight anybody cause people will break it up."
* One final thing. Watch the fight again and keep your eye on Isaac. No one has EVER been less interested in breaking up a fight. He's in every shot but he just kind of stands there without doing or saying anything. There's two possibilities: He was smart enough to realize that it's insane to try to stand between CT and his target OR he's so out of it that he has no idea where he is or what's going on.
Diem's "crazy girlfriend" reaction
Diem always seemed to be one of the more stable people on this show. And we have to give her major props for not only overcoming cancer but also reportedly doing something worthwhile with her life outside of The Challenge. It's for that reason that CT's and Diem's relationship never quite made sense.
But after watching last night's show it finally clicked -- she's may be just as crazy as he is. Not in the same way obviously, but in that, "I'm a crazy obsessive (ex-)girlfriend that's just a little out of touch with reality and have convinced myself that my (ex-)boyfriend is totally different from the person that he actually is."
In the midst, of the CT-Adam fight, Diem, while in tears, delivers the following gem -- "All I wanted to do is see him, because I know if he sees me he won't do anything and he'll calm down."
Oh really? Because as I recall that hasn't worked in the past. Actually, all such previous encounters have resulted with CT getting even more mad and Diem storming off in tears. The more likely scenario is that CT would have run over you like you were a bowling pin. But keep the hope alive.
A few second later Diem says, "It's my fault that Adam is hurt."
You know what? You're kind of right here because you flipped out and went on an inquisition to find out who hooked up with a guy that YOU'RE NOT DATING ANYMORE! And the thing is, based on what we can gather, it's Diem that ended the relationship. There's a whole series of other statements that Diem makes over the next few minutes, all of which demonstrate a detachment from reality including this one -- "I wonder in his head if he really thinks he didn't do it."
Whatever CT's flaws may be, he seems to be very aware of his actions, but you keep telling yourself that he's two different people and sharing your hurt feelings with the world over a guy that YOU ARE NOT DATING.
What's amazing is that during this whole crazy incident, it's CT who makes the most salient point: "I'm not with her, I could f*ck the whole freshmen line if I wanted to. Why is she crying?"
Well said.
The Rest of the Show:
Oh, who are we kidding there was nothing really that interesting in the rest of the thing when compared to the first 20 minutes or so. I actually have a gripe with the producers: the fight was spectacular and you could clearly tell it went on far longer than what was actually shown to the viewing public; we can see that besides tearing apart Adam's face, CT also tore up the house.
Why not just show the whole fight for an hour? You could have called at an "introductory episode" and start the actual challenges on the next show. After watching such an entertaining battle, no one is going to care about a stupid rugby game.
There's plenty more that can be said about the format of the eliminations, the challenges and the trainwreck that is is the aftershow but it can wait for another time. For now, let's just focus on CT -- it's his world, we're just living it.
No comments:
Post a Comment