Ah very well said there

On some things we will simply have to trust Bacchus because if he tried to explain how he knows what he knows, his sources would be obvious to MTV and the production company. It's one thing to have a little fun with this and see what we can collectively discover as people do with The Amazing Race, but it is quite another to expose the sources to potential retaliation by saying too much.

Sometimes questions can be answered privately, by PM, and need not be made completely public. I'm always more comfortable providing more information privately. There are some things I just won't post on any message board.

Personally, I've been impressed with how responsible Bacchus has been with information that has come his way. It is one of the principal reasons I found my way here, and the most important reason that I've stayed.

Nice, I can't wait.

So are we thinking late this year or early next year for the first episode?

I wish I could read minds inside MTV. The have all gone a little cloudy as ratings overall have dipped and people have been told to produce or get the Hell out. One interview in a NY paper said Brooklyn will air in January or at least after the first of the year. That leaves November sweeps currently uncovered on Wed at 10 pm without a traditional Bunim/Murray produced show.

If I were programming for MTV, that is when I would air the show, but I would not program a start date until I knew where in the sequence of episodes are the most dramatic/salable ones (aka Beth/Coral during sweeps for Gauntlet 3). Then I would schedule that episode in the middle of sweeps and take home the best ratings possible.

Why are sweeps ratings important? They are the benchmarks for future advertising revenue. Many people forget that TV is first and foremost a business with investors who demand results or new management who will deliver the biggest profits soonest.

So then, are we certain that the upcoming Challenge is a new competition style, or are we just assuming so?

Cuz I would think that the challenge will be something new that we haven't seen before, but obviously others would know better than I.

I don't make any assumptions, but I do assess probability.

I think I wrote elsewhere that the challenge was advertised to the cast as being different; "Survivor Style" were the exact words used by a producer when the invites were issued. The cast was totally in the dark when they left, or so they told their families/significant others. In fact, speculation among the cast ran even wider than the most crazed fan speculation with one cast member suggesting that all the old Survivor immunity challenges from 'Pearl Islands' could be reused for this challege. That, of course, is a little silly, since CBS as a company was spun off from Viacom which owns MTV networks. MTV would have to buy the rights to portions of Survivor, and since they barely pay they cast anything, I can't see them forking over big bucks to CBS and Mark Burnett.

Based on the cast not knowing the format of this challenge, and the fact that going back at least six challenges in my work experience the cast has known every format before leaving home, I assess the probability as high that this challenge is different. The few hundred people on message boards who care about spoilers don' t rate BMP working so hard to keep the format quiet if they are simply redoing the same old, tired stuff. I mean, why go to the trouble of hiding "sliders?" JMO

All we can do is take what we know thus far:

1. The Challenge takes place in Panama where three previous Survivors have been filmed.
2. The cast was told not to bring basic electric grooming products as they would be of no use (i.e. blow dryers, curling irons.)
3. Some cast members were told that watching previous Survivor seasons would be a good idea.
4. The smaller cast is in line with a more standard reality show (like Survivor) and much less than the 32 in The Gauntlet 3.

We will have to continue to piece this together before anything can be said definitively.

I've used the term "Survivor Inspired" in the past and that does fit in well with my above points , but that in no way should preclude the entirely realistic chance that this challenge is just a sequel to a pedigreed show in the BMP stable with a rebooted conceptual leaning.

(Although I still have a strong belief that it will have a new moniker and be a different type challenge.)

Alright thanks.

Man you guys are crazy with all of your Challenge knowledge, It makes me feel out of the loop. I don't know how you guys are so well informed, but I'm glad that somebody is well informed, cuz otherwise, I wouldn't know anything about the challenges except stuff from Fresh Meat to present.