Battle Lines: Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Sexes 2 Preview

Welcome back my friends to this show that never ends ... at least as long as the sponsor money holds up. Once again, MTV and Bunim-Murray Productions (BMP) is bringing to you, whether you want it or not, The Real World/Road Rules Challenge.

The Theme

We're back to an old concept: the Battle of the Sexes. Some fans might remember the original Sexes season, which aired in early 2003. I think it's never a good idea. It's not that men are better than women overall, but the women on these shows never come off well. Don't believe me?

Battle of the Sexes: While the men's team managed to vote out their lowest scorers from their ranks with minimal drama, the women didn't stick to that plan. Emily managed to convince her Inner Circle members to vote out strong females Rachel and Veronica. Emily eventually left the show after her boyfriend was voted off the men's team, thus taking away any chance the women's team had of winning the final mission.

Survivor: The Amazon: The men's tribe (Tambaqui) set up camp with little difficulty. The female group (Jabaru) struggles in the early going. After a tribal swap and two councils, the men outnumbered the women 6-4 heading into the first individual immunity challenge… where Jenna and Heidi volunteered to take off their clothes for chocolate and peanut butter. In the final episode, Jenna was the last female standing, but ended up winning the title of Sole Survivor, much to the chagrin of viewers.

The Apprentice: The all-female Protege group opened with four straight victories, halving the hapless males of Versacorp. Once the groups mixed, seven of the next eight candidates that got fired were women. The last lady left, Amy Henry, failed to impress Donald Trump's executives, and she was subsequently fired.

The Apprentice: Season Two: Two words: Stacie J. Thanks to one isolated incident with a Magic 8 Ball, Stacie was targeted by her fellow Apex members. In scapegoating reminiscent of Road Rules' treatment of Sarah (The Gauntlet) and Katie (The Inferno), the ladies convinced Trump that Stacie was out of her gourd, and she was shown the door.

My guess is that the endgame situation (Gauntlet and Inferno) were deemed obsolete, since women were shoved in most of the time. Also, both Survivor and The Apprentice started off with male/female competition this season. Personally, I think Mark Burnett should be checking for moles within his company.

The Process

Happily, the inner circles are a thing of the past. Since MTV.com didn't list the official rules on their web site, I don't feel right in telling you what I heard. But I will say this: if the rumors of "leaders and followers" are true, then we might have found the best elimination process since the Gauntlet. Or it could reek something fierce. With BMP, it's usually one or the other. The main goal is probably the same as the first BOTS: each team starts with 18 players. After each round of competition, both sides lose one member. In the end, each side will have three members, and they will play for a grand prize.

The Host

Jonny Moseley returns for his third Challenge. While the one-time moguls gold medalist cannot rate amongst hosts such as Jeff Probst and Phil Keoghan, Jonny does exude a vacuous charm that fits just right for this show. Also, Dave Mirra was practically a big-time zero in the hosting department during Inferno, so Jonny's comeback works for me.

The Players

Some are old-school, while others are from the most recent season. Some are rookies at Challenges, while others are seasoned veterans. Some players I will support and coddle, and some players will be targets from the first minute. I'll go into detail in future articles, but I'll give you the names and seasons right now.

Real World Guys: Eric (New York); Mike (Back to New York; Frank and Steven (Las Vegas); Ace and Adam (Paris); Brad, Jacquese and Randy (San Diego)

Road Rules Guys: Mark (Season One); Dan (Northern Trail); Shawn (Semester at Sea); Theo (Maximum Velocity Tour); Shane (Campus Crawl); Abram and Chris (South Pacific); Derrick and Nick (X-Treme)

Real World Girls: Cynthia (Miami); Genesis (Boston); Ruthie (Hawaii); Coral (Back to New York); Aneesa and Tonya (Chicago); Arissa (Las Vegas); Cameran and Robin (San Diego)

Road Rules Girls: Ayanna and Veronica (Semester at Sea); Katie and Sophia (The Quest); Rachel (Campus Crawl); Tina (South Pacific); Angela, Ibis and Kina (X-Treme)

What to Expect

I got wind of a few early spoilers, but I won't ruin them here. Basically, the stuff here is just guessing. Feel free to rub them in my face in case I screw up.

• Mike will hook up with a girl… again… running his streak to four.
• I'll probably be humming the theme song by the fourth week. I liked Yellowcard's "Miles Apart," and I actually sought out their video for "Way Away," which they played during Wreck & Roll last season.
• Katie will stink things up, then rip into whoever calls her out. Sure, she literally kissed and made up with Veronica on MTV's reality awards show, but do you honestly believe those two will ever be at peace?
• Coral will probably be gone by mid-season, but not before targeting some hapless bozo who needs her special kind of tough love.
• Ruthie and Mark will have a tougher experience this time around. One of them will be gone in the end.
• Theo and Ayanna will make your head hurt in their interviews, but in a good way.
• At least three women will gun for Veronica. Unlike the unholy trinity of Emily, Anne and Christina, I'll be rooting this faction on.
• Once again, Tonya's body will fall apart at the wrong time, and she'll have to go home.
• The final rosters? For the men: Brad (the aggressive newbie), Dan (the end-all be-all Roadie), and Theo (the unquestioned leader). For the women: Ayanna (wild guess), Kina (another wild guess), and Ruthie (keeping her reputation as Superwoman). In the end, the men will once again come out on top.

Jason Borelli is a writer based in Staten Island, NY. If you want to compliment him or complain, e-mail him at lantern75@earthlink.net.

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