At this point, it’s no secret that the Challenge 39 looks really unusual. Many of the elements that fans have come to expect are missing from the season, but there’s also a possibility the season could be a breath of fresh air.
But, if the show is going to truly be different, it can’t emulate every element seen on prior seasons. So, if Challenge 39 is going to feel fresh, production needs to make changes that will get rid of the show’s repuation it’s built over the past few seasons.
No more explosions and theatrics
During seasons like Total Madness and Double Agents, previews were filled with army tanks, firey explosions, and speeding cars. This looked cool, until we got to the actual challenges. The explosions were usually just gimmicks to replace TJ’s airhorn and it seemed like all the challenges atop speeding cars ended up just being puzzles.
No doubt, these theatrics look cool in the previews, but now viewers know what to expect, and we don’t get our hopes up because we’re going to be let down.
Let people leave
Modern Challenge seasons have 90-minute episodes, which can be fun, but when nobody is leaving the show, they feel useless. Total Madness and Double Agents are very guilty of this. Ride or Dies started off on a good pace, but it got seriously slow when the pairs split into teams.
With a fresh cast, there’s going to be temptation to keep people around so we’ll familiarize ourselves with new Challengers. But, the season will be much more interesting if people actually leave the game.
Keep the drama
When The Challenge moved to its 90-minute format on War of the Worlds 2, it was fun. Those episodes were packed with fights and arguments, and the show was full of interesting moments. Two seasons later, the pace got much slower. If we’re going to have longer episodes, we can’t leave good drama on the cutting room floor for the sake of boring conversations and irrelevent alliances. People watch the Challenge because it’s a reality competition show, and they want it to feel like reality TV.
Don’t reward mediocrity
Many of the recent seasons have given competitors reasons to float through the game rather than fight to win. On Ride or Dies, some people admitted that they didn’t want to win daily challenges because they didn’t want to get targets on their backs by nominating four teams.
When there’s no money at stake, and last place isn’t guaranteed to go into elimination, there’s no reason to perform well. Many competitors recognize this, and if they have enough allies, they coast through the first 75% of the season like its a vacation.
Make the mercenaries make sense
A few seasons have had mercenaries on them, but for the most part, the mercenaries had no reason to win at all. On Vendettas, the eight mercenaries received nothing for winning. While some put up a tough fight, others felt bad taking away someone else’s opportunity to win. On Cutthroat, Tina even admitted to going easy on Tori as some sort of a wedding gift.
Since we know Season 39 has mercenaries, let’s hope there’s some sense in their inclusion and they have a reason to compete rather than just helping people they want to see advance in the game.
Stop Being Polite 