Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno
Genre	Reality game show
Created by	Mary-Ellis Bunim Jonathan Murray
Presented by	Dave Mirra
Starring	Winners Road Rules Team Abram Boise Christena Pyle Darrell Taylor Holly Shand Katie Doyle Kendal Sheppard Timmy Beggy Veronica Portillo
Opening theme	"Miles Apart" by Yellowcard
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	8
No. of episodes	19
Production
Production location(s)	Acapulco, Mexico
Release
Original network	MTV
Original release	February 2 (2004-02-02) – May 31, 2004 (2004-05-31)
Chronology
Preceded by	The Gauntlet
Followed by	Battle of the Sexes 2
External links
Website

The Inferno is the 8th season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge (though at the time, known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge). The season is directly subsequent to The Gauntlet.

The Inferno aired in 2004. The season was composed of twenty cast members, and took place in Acapulco, Mexico. In this challenge, the winning teams would receive a prize at the end of each mission. They would then nominate two players from their team to the Inferno elimination challenge. Unlike The Gauntlet, there would be another challenge with an immunity life-saver up for grabs before the Inferno. Each team then selected one of the two nominees from the opposing team to go into the Inferno.

This is the first edition of The Inferno series, with The Inferno II following in 2005 and The Inferno 3 following in 2007.

Cast

Host: Dave Mirra

Real World team Player Original season Finish Coral Smith Back to New York Runner-Up Chris "CT" Tamburello Paris Runner-Up Mike Mizanin Back to New York Runner-Up Syrus Yarbrough Boston Runner-Up David Burns Seattle Episode 15/16 Leah Gillingwater Paris Episode 14/15 Julie Stoffer New Orleans Episode 12 Mallory Snyder Paris Episode 8 Trishelle Cannatella Las Vegas Episode 4 Ace Amerson Paris Episode 2

Road Rules team Player Original season Finish Abram Boise South Pacific Winner Christena Pyle South Pacific Winner Darrell Taylor Campus Crawl Winner Holly Shand Latin America Winner Katie Doyle The Quest Winner Kendal Sheppard Campus Crawl Winner Timmy Beggy USA - The Second Adventure Winner Veronica Portillo Semester at Sea Winner Shane Landrum Campus Crawl Episode 10 Jeremy Blossom South Pacific Episode 6

Game summary

Episode		Challenge winners		Aztec LifeSaver winners		Inferno Selections				Inferno game	Inferno outcome
#	Challenge			Real World	Road Rules	Real World		Road Rules			Winner		Loser
1	Grope the Rope		Road Rules			Ace	Syrus	Jeremy	Timmy
2	Bird Feeder		Real World	Syrus	Darrell		Ace			Bug Helmet		Jeremy		Ace
3	Wreck N' Roll		Road Rules			Leah	Trishelle	Holly	Katie
4	Climbing Wall		Road Rules	CT	Timmy					Chili Counter		Holly		Trishelle
5	Disco Domino Derby		Real World			David	Mike	Abram	Jeremy
6	Balls Out		Real World	CT	Veronica					Human Candelabra		Mike		Jeremy
7	Ultimate Saturn Road Trip		Road Rules			Coral	Mallory	Christena	Katie
8	Don't Yank My Chain		Road Rules	Mike	Veronica					Noise Pollution		Christena		Mallory
9	Come Sail Away		Road Rules			CT	David	Abram	Shane
10	Bungee Bound		Road Rules	CT	Holly		CT			Don't Toss Your Cookies		CT		Shane
11	Twist And Shoot		Road Rules			Julie	Leah	Katie	Veronica
12	Balcony Swing		Real World	CT	Veronica				Katie	Scratchathon		Katie		Julie
13	Fallen Angels		Road Rules			David	Syrus	Darrell	Timmy
14	Saturn Valet Ballet		Road Rules	David	Kendal	Leah			Kendal	Brick by Brick		Kendal		Leah
15	Window Washing		Road Rules			Coral	N/A	Katie	Veronica
				Coral	Veronica	David			Katie	Smell You Later		Katie		David
16	Seven Deadly Sins		Road Rules

     Real World won the challenge.

     Road Rules won the challenge.

     The contestant won the Life Saver and saved themselves.

     The contestant was placed in the Inferno by the Life Saver winner.

     The contestant was saved by another contestant with a Life Saver.

     The contestant won the Life Saver and put themselves in the Inferno, in place of the contestant nominated in the previous episode.

Inferno progress

Contestant		Episodes
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Finale
	Abram	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
	Christena	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	INFERNO	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
	Darrell	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
	Holly	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	INFERNO	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
	Katie	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	WINNER
	Kendal	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	SAFE	WINNER
	Timmy	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
	Veronica	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WINNER
	Coral	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	LOSER
	CT	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSER
	Mike	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	INFERNO	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSER
	Syrus	INFERNO	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSER
	David	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	WIN	OUT
	Leah	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
	Julie	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	OUT
	Shane	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	OUT
	Mallory	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	OUT
	Jeremy	INFERNO	INFERNO	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	OUT
	Trishelle	SAFE	SAFE	INFERNO	OUT
	Ace	SAFE	OUT

Teams

     The contestant is on the Real World team.

     The contestant is on the Road Rules team.

Competition

     The contestant won the final challenge.

     The contestant lost the final challenge

     The contestant won the Aztec Life Saver and saved themselves.

     The contestant won the Aztec Life Saver but chose not to use it.

     The contestant was safe from the Inferno.

     The contestant was selected to go into the Inferno.

     The contestant was nominated but not selected to go into the Inferno.

     The contestant was saved by the Aztec Life Saver winner.

     The contestant was selected to go into the Inferno and won.

     The contestant was put into the Inferno by the Aztec Life Saver winner and won.

     The contestant won the Aztec Life Saver, went into the Inferno and won.

     The contestant lost in the Inferno and was eliminated.

Infernos

• Ace and Jeremy: Bug Helmet
  The contestants put their heads into glass boxes filled with hundreds of cockroaches with syrup covering their face. The player who stays in their box the longest wins.

• Holly and Trishelle: Chili Counter
  The player who eats the most chilis in a one-hour sitting wins.

• Jeremy and Mike: Human Candelabra
  The two players have a candle in each hand while holding their arm's out straight, the player who holds that position the longest wins.

• Christena and Mallory: Noise Pollution
  Each player must wear a set of headphones while standing on a two-foot high platform for two hours. If there is a tie, then the players must stand on a four inch block with one leg, the last person standing wins.

• CT and Shane: Don't Toss Your Cookies
  The players must eat cookies and drink milk, then get onto a spinning platform for 10 minutes, they continue this until one of the players vomits. The player who does not vomit wins the Inferno.

• Julie and Katie: Scratchathon
  Each player is covered in itching powder and must walk on a treadmill for three hours, whoever outlasts there opponent wins. In the event of a tie, each contestant must jump rope, whoever jump ropes the longest wins the Inferno.

• Kendal and Leah: Brick by Brick
  The players must transfer their bricks one at a time from one pile to the next, while walking across a plank. Players are disqualified if they drop a brick, break one, or fall off the plank. Whoever has transferred the most bricks at the end of three and a half hours wins.

• David and Katie: Smell You Later
  The contestants are each placed into their own plexiglass coffins, after every half hour for the first hour and a half, another layer of bad smelling substances are added to the coffins. At the end of four hours, if both players are still in their coffins, each player must hold their breath in the water, whoever holds it the longest wins the Inferno.

Final results

• The final Real World team consisted of Coral, CT, Mike, and Syrus.
• The final Road Rules team consisted of Abram, Christena, Darrell, Holly, Katie, Kendal, Timmy and Veronica.
• The Road Rules team won the final challenge.

Bank accounts
Real World	Road Rules
$40,000	$260,000
Each member receives:
$10,000	$32,500

Episodes

No. in season	No. in series	Title	Original air date
1	90	"Grope the Rope"	February 2, 2004 (2004-02-02)
2	91	"Birdfeeder"	February 2, 2004 (2004-02-02)
3	92	"Wreck n' Roll"	February 9, 2004 (2004-02-09)
4	93	"Climbing Wall"	February 16, 2004 (2004-02-16)
5	94	"Disco Domino Derby"	February 23, 2004 (2004-02-23)
6	95	"Balls Out"	March 1, 2004 (2004-03-01)
7	96	"Ultimate Saturn Road Trip"	March 8, 2004 (2004-03-08)
8	97	"Don't Yank My Chain"	March 15, 2004 (2004-03-15)
9	98	"Come Sail Away"	March 22, 2004 (2004-03-22)
10	99	"Bungee Bound"	March 29, 2004 (2004-03-29)
11	100	"Twist and Shoot"	April 5, 2004 (2004-04-05)
12	101	"Balcony Swing"	April 12, 2004 (2004-04-12)
13	102	"Fallen Angels"	April 19, 2004 (2004-04-19)
14	103	"Saturn Valet Ballet"	May 3, 2004 (2004-05-03)
15	104	"Window Washing"	May 10, 2004 (2004-05-10)
16	105	"The Final Burn"	May 17, 2004 (2004-05-17)
17	106	"Handsome Reward"	May 24, 2004 (2004-05-24)

Reunion special

The reunion special, Montezuma's Revenge: Inside the Inferno, was aired on May 31, 2004, featuring the finalists and was hosted by VJ La La Vazquez.

Memorable moments

• Piggy from Road Rules: Down Under arrived to compete in The Inferno and can be seen in both footage and photos from the cast's arrival. Soon after arriving, she left to go home and was consequently never mentioned. Christena was flown in to replace her. The title credits reflect this, as they were filmed when Piggy was there and Christena's scenes were shot later. The official reason for her departure has been cited as "family reasons", but according to Norman Korpi's website she had an OD.
• Katie went into two Infernos and won both, eliminating a male player (David) in the process. She crowned herself "Inferno Queen".
• CT used his life-saver to save his friend David, then sent Shane home in the Inferno.
• Leah had to be taken to a hospital because she hyperventilated during a challenge.
• The Road Rules team won every female Inferno and all five females made it to the final.
• A feud broke out between Katie and Veronica, and there was tension between the two throughout the entire show. The rivalry culminated in a very heated shouting match the night before the final mission, and the two almost came to blows.
• Being fed up with what she perceived as bullying, Julie lashed out at Coral and challenged her to a wrestling match, to which Coral remarked, "I don't wrestle, I f*cking beat bitches up!"
• During the Kendal and Leah Inferno, Mike openly berated Kendal, sparking an argument between Katie and Veronica. CT then denounced Leah as weak, and David jumped in the Inferno nude.
• The first mission had the challengers on a zipline. In an attempt to secure a Real World win, Julie began to yank on Veronica's safety harness, sending Veronica and the rest of the challengers into a panic.
• After Trishelle claimed she would physically assault them in a jealous tirade, Coral and Mike voted her into the Inferno, which would result in an argument between Coral and Trishelle later that night.
• Coral became infuriated with her team when they forced her to pick Veronica for the final Inferno. She won the Life Saver at the next challenge, sparing herself from the inferno.
• The "Bird Feeder" mission saw challengers dress up in chicken suits.
• Julie accused Coral of throwing Mallory under the bus following an Inferno deliberation.
• The Real World called Katie their mascot after she performed poorly in the "Balls Out" mission.
• Christena informed Katie of the Road Rules team's plan to guarantee her the Life Saver and have Katie thrown into the inferno. To ensure her safety, Katie, to the shock of her teammates, held her arms up for longer than Christena, sparing herself from the inferno. When Katie subsequently quit, she dumped her bucket on arch-rival Veronica.
• Julie was insistent that Coral was a weak player, in spite of the fact that Coral outperformed her in the majority of the missions, as CT asserted. When it came to the end of the game, when Julie said it would be time for strong players like herself to go in, Julie attempted to have Coral nominated a second time instead of herself. The team went against her and then forced her to pick Veronica over Katie, which led to Julie's infamous fight with Coral.
• CT bluntly told Leah she was a weak player and that they would do whatever necessary to send her home before the final, which hurt Leah's feelings. CT eventually assisted in the scheme to get David the Life Saver, and Leah was successfully ousted from the game.
• David routinely performed lazily and badly, even spending the Come Sail Away challenge relaxing in a chair.

External links

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived November 30, 2006)
• MTV's official Real World website
• MTV's official Road Rules website