If you think you’ve seen everything The Challenge, Real World, and Road Rules have to offer, you’re probably wrong. The franchise has its share of lost media that has disappeared over time.
What is lost media? It’s content that the general public cannot access, but we know exists. Usually, it has aired at least once, but it qualifies as long as we know it did exist at some point in time.
Lost media is not necessarily content you can’t find on streaming, like the first episode of “The Duel 2.” While it might be difficult to find, it’s been recorded and you can download it somewhere on the internet if you look deep enough. Lost media is content that people can’t access because no one has shared (or even has) a copy. Maybe MTV has copies somewhere, but until they empty their archives, there aren’t known duplicates floating around the internet.
Maximum Velocity Tour
Perhaps the most well-known lost media in the franchise is Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour. The bulk of the season has disappeared, but in more recent years, episodes 1, 10, and 19 have found their ways online. Still, this leaves 16 episodes that fans have been trying to find for decades.
Total Madness: Original Edit
Starting with episode 11 of Total Madness, MTV edited Dee out of episodes due to her insensitive comments. Well, MTV Canada didn’t get the memo, because they aired the original edit of episode 11 and it told a very different story than the one we saw in the US. However, the rest of the season aired across the globe with Dee edited out, and it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the originally-planned edits of episodes 12-15.
The Unaired Universal Challenge
In the past, MTV filmed small competitions at Universal Studios, and there was one special that never made it to air. It was filmed after War of the Worlds 2, and it’s speculated that it would have aired around the time Total Madness premiere. Fundamentally, this was promotional material for Universal, so it was shelved in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as theme parks were being closed and Universal didn’t want to attract guests. Then, their reopening and staggered, and the mini Challenge lost its value.
We don’t know all the details, but Rachel Robinson has said that she won with Mark Long. We also know Devin and Da’Vonne were involved, and it’s believed mercenaries show up, likely Sarah Rice and Nehemiah. Like the other specials, Devyn Simone was the host.
Rachel and Kenny Aftershows (Inferno 3)
During seasons 10-13 of The Challenge, Blair Herter hosted The Aftershow. Many of these episodes have resurfaced, but the series stopped once The Inferno 3 started to air. Instead, “Blair” was writing a blog for that season. Early on, there was some video content uploaded to accompany the posts, specifically episodes with Kenny and Rachel. They were shorter than Aftershows from prior seasons and lacked games, and just like The Inferno 3 itself, these clips have been given little attention since airing.
MTV Dailies
This is a catch-all because MTV used to upload many clips to its “Dailies” site during The Island through Cutthroat. A few of them have been preserved by fans with enough foresight to know this service wouldn’t last forever. But now, hundreds (maybe even thousands) of clips are gone.
The Extreme Challenge: Episode 14
The fourth season of The Challenge got “Extreme,” and it features one extremely rare episode. The episode titled “Good Intentions” features the Famous Couple Fashion Show mission that was filmed in a European fetish club. Costumes included Syrus as a white tiger and Kameelah as Marge Simpson, as well as other cast members portraying John and Lorena Bobbitt. MTV only aired it once, and there’s no official explanation as to why it was never re-aired. Some people think it’s because the episode is too risqué, but there’s also a possibility that there were some legal issues because copyrighted characters were depicted.
The full Duel Reunion
Before the disaster that was the Rivals 2 live reunion, MTV attempted it before. The Duel reunion was filmed live immediately following the final episode — but there was a catch. It streamed on Overdrive, MTV’s online video service at the time. The episode we saw on TV is edited, though it did encompass most of the content from the original recording. Still, some lucky fans did see a longer version.
Real World in Coral Vision
During Real World Sydney and Real World Hollywood, MTV aired season marathons on weekends. But, to freshen up the content, Coral and guests would provide commentary throughout episodes, usually directly before and after commercials. While the actual Real World seasons remain, Coral’s commentary has been lost to time.
BONUS: “The Reality Show.” This was a 2005 MTV reality competition where random people pitched their ideas for reality shows, and the winner would allegedly get to star in an MTV reality show. This series was a huge flop, but Veronica and Trishelle served on the judging panel during a couple of episodes. The series was pulled from TV, being regulated to MTV.com, and the winner never got his reality series.
Stop Being Polite 