Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III
Genre	Reality game show
Created by	Mary-Ellis Bunim Jonathan Murray
Presented by	T. J. Lavin
Starring	Winners Rookies Team Members Frank Roessler Jillian Zoboroski Johanna Botta Nehemiah Clark Rachel Moyal Tori Hall
Opening theme	"15 Minutes" performed by Wired All Wrong
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	15
No. of episodes	10
Production
Location(s)	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico[1]
Running time	60 minutes (including commercials)
Release
Original network	MTV
Original release	January 23 – March 26, 2008
Chronology
Preceded by	The Inferno 3
Followed by	The Island
External links
Website

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III is the 15th season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge (at the time known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge).

Being the third in The Gauntlet series, The Gauntlet III marked the show's 2nd trilogy (Inferno III is the first), continuing on from The Gauntlet (7th season) and The Gauntlet 2 (11th season). The season was filmed in Riviera Nayarita, Mexico, with former cast members from The Real World and Road Rules competing, along with several cast members from the Fresh Meat challenge. This season was in the format of two teams: Veterans vs. Rookies, with a format similar to The Gauntlet 2. The contestants on the Veterans team had been on at least two prior seasons of the Challenge, and the contestants on the Rookies team had been on fewer than two prior seasons.^[1]

Cast

Host: T. J. Lavin, BMX rider

Veterans Team Player Original season Finish Adam King RW: Paris Runner-Up Brad Fiorenza RW: San Diego Runner-Up Chris "CT" Tamburello RW: Paris Runner-Up Diem Brown Fresh Meat Runner-Up Eric Banks Fresh Meat Runner-Up Evan Starkman Fresh Meat Runner-Up Evelyn Smith Fresh Meat Runner-Up Kenny Santucci Fresh Meat Runner-Up Paula Meronek RW: Key West Runner-Up Robin Hibbard RW: San Diego Runner-Up Danny Jamieson RW: Austin Episode 8/9 Katie Doyle RR: The Quest Episode 8 Casey Cooper Fresh Meat Episode 7 Coral Smith RW: Back to New York Episode 7[lower-alpha 1] Beth Stolarczyk RW: Los Angeles Episode 5 Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio RW: Key West Episode 3

Rookies Team Player Original season Finish Frank Roessler RW: Las Vegas Winner Jillian Zoboroski RR: X-Treme Winner Johanna Botta RW: Austin Winner Nehemiah Clark RW: Austin Winner Rachel Moyal RW: Austin Winner Tori Hall RR: Viewers' Revenge Winner Ryan Kehoe Fresh Meat Episode 7 MJ Garrett[lower-alpha 2] RW: Philadelphia Episode 6 Melinda Stolp RW: Austin Episode 6 Derek McCray RR: Viewers' Revenge Episode 5 Zach Mann RW: Key West Episode 4 Janelle Casanave RW: Key West Episode 4 Tyrie Ballard RW: Denver Episode 3[lower-alpha 2] Brooke LaBarbera RW: Denver Episode 3 Tyler Duckworth RW: Key West Episode 2 Angel Turlington RR: Viewers' Revenge Episode 2 Alex Smith RW: Denver Episode 1

Format

The competition consists of a series of team challenges (sometimes called "missions") with an elimination challenge, known as the "Gauntlet", following each of the team challenges except the final. Each team challenge puts the team of Veterans against the team of Rookies. Prior to the challenge, it is announced whether males or females will compete in the Gauntlet following the challenge.^[2]

After each team challenge, on a male Gauntlet day, the winning team selects a male member of the losing team to protect from the Gauntlet and another male member to send into the Gauntlet. The losing team then selects one of its own males to go against the person picked by the winners. On a female Gauntlet day, the players protected and sent into the Gauntlet are females.^[2]

After the two players for the Gauntlet are picked, host T. J. Lavin spins a wheel to determine which challenge will be played in the Gauntlet. The loser of the Gauntlet is eliminated from the game.^[2]

In this season, minor prizes are awarded after each challenge to the team members that were not vulnerable to elimination in the following Gauntlet; i.e. on challenges before male Gauntlets, prizes are awarded to female members of the winning team, and vice versa. The grand prize is $300,000, which is split among the remaining members of the team that wins the final challenge.^[2]

• No player can be saved from the Gauntlet on two consecutive opportunities.^[3] (For example, if the Veterans win the sixth challenge and save Johanna, lose the eighth challenge, and win the tenth challenge, then they cannot save Johanna from the tenth Gauntlet; even though they aren't two consecutive female Gauntlets, they are two consecutive opportunities.)
• No Gauntlet challenge is played twice consecutively (see "Gauntlet games" below).
• This season differs from The Gauntlet 2 in that the teams do not have captains.^[2]
• This season differs from most prior two-team Challenges in that there are no bank accounts; prize money is only given for the final challenge.^[2]

Gameplay

Challenge games

• Piñata Pit: After T. J. Lavin strikes a Mexican piñata hanging over a mud pit, orange and green colored balls drop into the pit, and players from each team have to retrieve their designated colored balls—orange for the men, green for the women—from one side of the pit to the other. The challenge is played in multiple rounds, and in each round, there are fewer balls than there are players. A player is eliminated if he/she exits the pit at the end of a round without a ball. The process continues until the last player of each gender advances the last ball to the end of the pit. If a tie occurs with one gender per team winning the final round, a tiebreaker round will be held to determine which team wins the challenge and earns immunity from the Gauntlet.^[2]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Screw You: Played in two-player pairs, teams have to advance each player through a pair of obstacle courses and unscrew an oversize wing nut at the end of the first two obstacles. Once each pair advances to a stairway at the third obstacle, the next pair repeats the process, and the process continues until each pair crosses the finish line. (Note: Since the Rookies were short one male player, one guy has to go through the obstacle course twice.) The first team to advance all of their players through the obstacle course wins.^[3]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Roped In: Each team must designate one male player to stand on a rope swing that has 12 ropes attached to wooden poles. Each pole is spread out with a circumference of 20 feet, and six of the wooden poles have puzzle pieces in various shapes on the sides, while the other six poles have slots matching each puzzle piece. Each team must pull and swing the ropes that will guide their designated male player to a pole, and retrieve the wooden puzzle piece that he chooses to the pole with the matching slot. The first team to match all pieces in the proper slots wins.^[3]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Wring Out: A pair of clothes lines are hanging on a beach with designated colored buckets and white clothing. Teams must designate which players will put on the clothing, run into the ocean, and soak themselves with as much water as possible, as well as which players will load the soaked clothing (after the "soakers" undress), transfer to their teammates, and wring out the water in their designated colored bucket on the other side of the clothes line. The process continues until the first team to fill up their water bucket to a fill line wins.^[4]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Blind Man's Maze: Teams must advance each player one-by-one through an obstacle course that has an observation deck in the center. One player from each team is designated as the "eyes" of the team and stands atop the deck, and will try to guide their blindfolded teammates through the maze, over and under ropes, wooden logs and tires in the sand. Once each player advances to the end, he/she must ring a bell, then tag the next teammate, and the process continues until the first team to advance each player through the obstacle course wins.^[4]
  • Winner: Rookies
• Push It: Teams have to build a road along an obstacle course on the beach, by using 12 wooden planks underneath two cars — one car for each team, and each team has to designate one player to steer the car, while the remainder of the team pushes the car on the wooden planks, and move the wooden planks to the front in order to push the car through the obstacle course. The first team to push their car through the course and to the finish line wins.^[5]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Man Overboard: Teams have to advance on a sled, from one side of a horizontal 120-foot track to another, that is suspended 25 feet above water. A maximum of five players can sit on the sled, and each player can only compete once. The challenge is played in three heats per team, with a heat defined as making it from one end of the track to the other. When T. J. Lavin sounds the horn, players on the sled have to use a rope to pull themselves from one side of the track to the other, have one player jump 25 feet into the water at the end of the track, and repeating the process until the last player on the sled reaches the end of a track, and jumps into the water, which will stop the team time. The team with the fastest average time per heat wins. (Note: Melinda did not participate in this challenge, after she suffered a mild concussion in the previous challenge, "Push It.")^[5]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Assembly Required: Each team will disassemble a 20-foot tall, 900-square foot pyramid, which is a replica of El Castillo, Chichen Itza, and transport the pieces to another location and reassemble the pieces again on their designated loading zone. The team that completes their pyramid wins.^[6]
  • Winner: Rookies
• Walk The Plank: Players from each team have to advance from one end of a narrow plank to the other that is suspended 20 feet above water, while five players from the opposing team and same gender that are sitting on a nearby platform will try to knock them off the bridge by using swinging medicine balls, two balls per player. A player trying to advance on the plank is disqualified if he/she touches the swinging medicine ball with their hands. The challenge is played in separate male and female heats — two per gender, and the team that advances the most players from one end of the plank to the other wins.^[6]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Pole Push: A pole is situated in the middle of a large circle in the sand, and players from each team must grab onto the pole on both sides, and push the opposing team out of the circle until each player from the opposing team is out of the circle. The challenge is played in separate male and female heats, and if a tie occurs with each team winning one heat, a tiebreaker would be held with one girl per team trying to push each other out of the circle. The team that pushes their opponent out of the circle twice wins.^[7]
  • Winner: Veterans
• I Dig You: A series of half-buried coffins are spread out on the beach — two for each team, and all but one player from each team will be buried in their designated coffins, two feet deep in the sand, while each team will designate one player to dig his/her teammates out of their coffins. Next to each coffin, there is a sign containing three true/false questions about each player, and if that player solves each question correctly, he/she can rescue his/her teammate out of the coffin, however, if one answer is incorrect, the player designated as the digger has to move on the next coffin. The first team to rescue all of their teammates out of their coffins wins.^[7]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Over The Edge: A pair of planks are hanging from the top of a 25-story building. A 10-foot cable ladder, with a flag at the bottom, is attached to the end of each plank. When T. J. Lavin sounds the horn, players from each team have to make their way onto the planks and down the ladder, retrieve their team flag, then make their way back up the ladder and touch a truss at the start of the plank, which will stop a team time. If a player falls off the ladder or refuses to compete (due to a fear of heights), a 15-minute penalty will be added to the slowest time. The team with the fastest average time wins.^[8]
  • Winner: Rookies
• Mexican Blanket: Players from each team are wrapped up in Mexican blankets on opposite sides of a course on the beach. The goal is for each team is for each player to roll toward the opponent's side of the course, by passing each other and blocking opposing players from advancing. The team that advances all of their players across the finish line at the opposite side of the course wins.^[8]
  • Winner: Veterans
• Chill Out: Players from each team have to submerge themselves in a large tub of ice water, one player at a time, for at least five seconds. The game is played in multiple rounds — five minutes per round, and a player is eliminated if he/she decides that the freezing temperatures become too much for him/her to handle, or requires the assistance of a medic. A team time is stopped once each player has exited the ice tub. The team that can withstand the freezing ice water for the longest time wins, with the women from the winning team automatically in the final challenge.^[9]
  • Winner: Rookies
• Well-Balanced: Each team has to balance on two 25-foot circular platforms — one platform for each team — by dispersing the weight of each player. Once each team has perfectly leveled their platform, they will have 10 seconds to keep their platform level, with the first team to accomplish this twice not only winning the challenge, but also with the men from the winning team automatically competing in the final challenge.^[9]
  • Winner: Rookies

Gauntlet games

In the Gauntlet, the game played is determined by spinning a wheel. The wheel contains six sections, one for each Gauntlet game and one for 'spin again'. The game that was played in the previous Gauntlet is replaced by another 'spin again' section, and therefore, no Gauntlet game can be played twice in a row.

• Force Field: The two competitors are joined together by a rope that goes over the top of them by a pulley system. For one player to move forward he has to drag the other backwards. Each competitor starts at their line and at the start of the Gauntlet they both race to cross their opponents line. First one to do this wins.^[2][3]
  • Played twice: Nehemiah vs. Alex, Frank vs. Tyler
• Ram It Home: The two competitors start with a wall at their back and a sled that hangs on an overhead track in front of them. They must then use the sled to push each other. The first player to push their opponent all the way back into their own wall wins the Gauntlet.^[3][8]
  • Played twice: Jillian vs. Angel, Nehemiah vs. Ryan
• Ball Brawl: The two competitors have to return footballs, which are aligned in a longitudinal pattern, back the starting point. Beginning with the nearest ball, the competitors both race at the same time to get the ball, and they are allowed to tackle the person and strip the ball. The five balls are each contested separately (not continuously). The first three balls, black, are worth 1 point. The last two balls are white, and worth two points each. The first person to get four points wins.^{[4][5][6][7][8][10]}
  • Played 6 times: Jillian vs. Brooke, Jillian vs. Janelle, Coral vs. Beth, Tori vs. Melinda, Evelyn vs. Casey, Adam vs. Danny
• Sliders: The two competitors each have to solve a slide puzzle at the same time. They are 16 space puzzle boards and each of them has the same design, and are given a picture of what the final design should look like. One of them is blue, the other red. Their teammates (and the opposing team) are allowed to watch and help them solve it.^[4][5][6][9]
  • Played 4 times: Evan vs. Johnny, Frank vs. Zach, Ryan vs. Derek, Paula vs. Katie
• Ankle Breaker: Ankle Breaker is a variation of Tug Of War with both participants tied together by one ankle. They have to pull their opponent through the sand until they reach a rope which will help them reach the finish line. This is very similar to Reverse Tug of War used in the Gauntlet 2.^[7]
  • Played once: MJ vs. Frank

Army Strong final challenge

Each team starts out on a yacht half a mile off the Mexican Riviera, with once key handed to them by T. J. Lavin. Every player has to jump off the yacht, and swim to the shore, in which the remainder of the challenge will be a footrace, containing checkpoints that are reminiscent of the aforementioned challenge games. T. J. Lavin explains to each team that all team members must cross the finish line to win the Army Strong Final Challenge. Each checkpoint contains a key that a team will need in order to obtain instructions for further checkpoints, and after the first checkpoint, teammates must be connected together by chains for the remainder of the race unless they are instructed otherwise. The first checkpoint is a combination of the "Chill Out" and "Assembly Required" games, in which players from each team must jump into a large ice tub in order to retrieve 20 pieces of a puzzle that are located at the bottom of the ice tub. Once a team has solved their puzzle, they can obtain another key, and then race to the next checkpoint, which is based on the "Screw You" challenge. Each team has to unscrew an oversize wing nut until it has been removed off a track, which contains the key to the next checkpoint, which is based on the "Sliders" elimination game. Note: Prior to this checkpoint, Eric collapsed and needed medical assistance, and the Veterans team became disqualified when he was removed from the final challenge. The final two checkpoints are based on the "Man Overboard" and "I Dig You" games. At the "I Dig You" checkpoint, each team must dig deep through the sand in order to retrieve a treasure chest that contains a flag. After digging through the sand, the Veterans raise their flag ahead of the Rookies, however T. J. Lavin does not blow horn, because the Veterans had already been disqualified. Once the Rookies raise their team flag, they are declared the winning team.^[10]

• Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III Winner: Rookies (win $300,000 — $50,000 for each player)

Game summary

Elimination chart

Episode		Challenge Winner		Gauntlet Gender	Gauntlet			The Gauntlet	Winner	Eliminated
#	Challenge				Protected	Winners' Pick	Losers' Pick
1	Pinata Pit		Veterans	Male	Ryan	Nehemiah	Alex	Force Field	Nehemiah	Alex
2	Screw You		Veterans	Female	Brooke	Jillian	Angel	Ram It Home	Jillian	Angel
	Roped In		Veterans	Male	Tyrie	Tyler	Frank	Force Field	Frank	Tyler
3	Wring Out		Veterans	Female	Tori	Jillian	Brooke	Ball Brawl	Jillian	Brooke
	Blind Man's Maze[lower-alpha 2]		Rookies	Male	Adam	Evan	Johnny	Sliders	Evan	Johnny
4	Push It		Veterans	Female	Johanna	Janelle	Jillian	Ball Brawl	Jillian	Janelle
	Man Overboard		Veterans	Male	Ryan	Frank	Zach	Sliders	Frank	Zach
5[lower-alpha 3]	Assembly Required		Rookies	Female	Casey	Coral	Beth	Ball Brawl	Coral	Beth
	Walk The Plank		Veterans	Male	MJ	Derek	Ryan	Sliders	Ryan	Derek
6	Pole Push		Veterans	Female	Rachel	Melinda	Tori	Ball Brawl	Tori	Melinda
	I Dig You		Veterans	Male	Ryan	Frank	MJ	Ankle Breaker	Frank	MJ
7	Over The Edge[lower-alpha 1]		Rookies	Female	Katie	Evelyn	Casey	Ball Brawl	Evelyn	Casey
	Mexican Blanket		Veterans	Male	Frank	N/A[lower-alpha 4]		Ram It Home	Nehemiah	Ryan
8/9	Chill Out		Rookies	Female	Diem	Paula	Katie	Sliders	Paula	Katie
	Well-Balanced		Rookies	Male	Eric	Adam	Danny	Ball Brawl	Adam	Danny
9	Army Strong		Rookies[lower-alpha 5]

     Rookies team.

     Veterans team.

• The first episode featured a game of tug-of-war between the Veterans and Rookies to determine which rooms would be assigned to which teams. The Veterans won the game.^[2]
• The Veterans in the final challenge were Adam, Brad, CT, Diem, Eric, Evan, Ev, Kenny, Paula, and Robin.
  • Brad, CT, Diem, Eric, Kenny, and Robin were never sent into the Gauntlet.
• The Rookies in the final challenge were Frank, Jillian, Johanna, Nehemiah, Rachel, and Tori.
  • Johanna and Rachel were never sent into the Gauntlet.
  • In addition; between Frank and Jillian they won all five games in the Gauntlet. (Frank: Force Field, Sliders, and Ankle Breaker. Jillian: Ram it Home and Ball Brawl.)
• The Rookies earned $300,000. Each Rookie earned $50,000.

Gauntlet progress

Males Episode 1 2 3[lower-alpha 2] 4[lower-alpha 2] 5 6 7 8/9 Finale[lower-alpha 5] Frank SAFE ELIM WIN ELIM SAFE ELIM SAFE WIN WINNER Nehemiah ELIM SAFE WIN SAFE SAFE SAFE ELIM WIN WINNER Adam WIN WIN SAFE WIN WIN WIN WIN ELIM LOSER Brad WIN WIN SAFE WIN WIN WIN WIN SAFE LOSER CT WIN WIN SAFE WIN WIN WIN WIN SAFE LOSER Evan WIN WIN ELIM WIN WIN WIN WIN SAFE LOSER Kenny WIN WIN SAFE WIN WIN WIN WIN SAFE LOSER Eric WIN WIN SAFE WIN WIN WIN WIN SAFE LOSER Danny WIN WIN SAFE WIN WIN WIN WIN OUT Ryan SAFE SAFE WIN SAFE ELIM SAFE OUT MJ[lower-alpha 2] N/A[lower-alpha 2] SAFE SAFE OUT Derek SAFE SAFE WIN SAFE OUT Zach SAFE SAFE WIN OUT Tyrie[lower-alpha 2] SAFE SAFE QUIT Johnny WIN WIN OUT Tyler SAFE OUT Alex OUT

Females Episode 2 3 4 5 6[lower-alpha 3] 7[lower-alpha 1] 8/9 Finale[lower-alpha 5] Jillian ELIM ELIM ELIM WIN SAFE WIN WIN WINNER Johanna SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN SAFE WIN WIN WINNER Rachel SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN SAFE WIN WIN WINNER Tori SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN ELIM WIN WIN WINNER Diem WIN WIN WIN SAFE WIN SAFE SAFE LOSER Evelyn WIN WIN WIN SAFE WIN ELIM SAFE LOSER Paula WIN WIN WIN SAFE WIN SAFE ELIM LOSER Robin WIN WIN WIN SAFE WIN SAFE SAFE LOSER Katie WIN WIN WIN SAFE WIN SAFE OUT Casey WIN WIN WIN SAFE WIN OUT Coral WIN WIN WIN ELIM WIN QUIT Melinda SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN OUT Beth WIN WIN WIN OUT Janelle SAFE SAFE OUT Brooke SAFE OUT Angel OUT

Teams

     The contestant is on the Rookies team.

     The contestant is on the Veterans team.

Competition

     The contestant's team won the final challenge by default.

     The contestant's team finished first in the final challenge, but was disqualified due to a missing team member.

     The contestant's team won the mission.

     The contestant was protected from the Gauntlet by the winning team.

     The contestant won the Gauntlet.

     The contestant lost the Gauntlet and was eliminated.

     The contestant withdrew from the competition.

     The contestant was removed from the competition due to illness.

Note: Male gauntlets were only held after odd challenges, while female gauntlets were only held after even challenges.

Partners

Screw You
	Kenny & Evelyn		Derek & Nehemiah
	CT & Diem		Frank & Tyrie
	Brad & Robin		Ryan & Tyler
	Johnny & Paula		Janelle & Tori
	Danny & Beth		Johanna & Melinda
	Evan & Coral		Jillian & Rachel
	Eric & Katie		Zach & Brooke
	Adam & Casey		Derek & Angel

Note: Due to the Rookies having one less male player than the Veterans, one male player, Derek, had to go twice.^[3]

Episodes

No. in season	No. in series	Title	Original air date
1	205	"Viva Mexico"	January 23, 2008
The Gauntlet is back! And season 3 of The Real World/Road Rules Challenge promises to have more drama and backstabbing than ever. Wrangling in the troops is host T. J. Lavin, who welcomes the contestants to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It's time to get down to business! Two teams are formed—it's Veterans vs. Rookies.[2][11]
2	206	"It's Personal"	January 30, 2008
The Veterans face the Rookies at the "Screw You" Challenge, an utterly exhausting and disorientating obstacle course. At the Rookie deliberation, all hell breaks loose. Tori announces her suspicions of some of her teammates having alliances with people on the Veteran team. The next day, the Rookies face the Veterans in the "Roped In" Challenge, where the teams race to complete an elaborate puzzle.[3][12]
3	207	"Less Is More"	February 6, 2008
It's time the woman's Gauntlet, so the Rookies face off against the Veterans in the "Wring Out" challenge. The Veterans feel pretty confident that they have this in the bag. The Rookies, on the other hand, are already dealing with some drama while deciding who's going to do what, leaving Brooke insecure about how the team views her. With Brooke on the defensive, she and Johanna get into a bickering match before the challenge even starts. After cooling off, the Rookies and Veterans are ready to face-off. The next morning, it's time for the next challenge. The Rookies and the Veterans meet TJ on the beach, where they see a giant maze of ropes and poles making up "Blind Man's Maze." The first team to get all their teammates across that finish line wins. The Rookies have four less players than the Veterans, and, as a result, they will end up with a severe advantage in this challenge. After the challenge, Tyrie withdrew from the game after learning of a family emergency back home.[4][13]
4	208	"It's Not Fair"	February 13, 2008
After Tyrie's unexpected departure from The Gauntlet III, the Rookies are down several people, and they aren't even halfway through the challenges! Right now, the Veterans are feeling pretty confident. At the challenge, the Rookies are thrilled to discover that they're getting a replacement player. With their new teammate and boosted spirits, the Rookies are ready for the "Push It" challenge. With two cars resting on a series of wooden slats, each team must use the slats to build a road for their car to move across the beach.it doesn't matter whether the car touches the sand or not. The first team to cross the finish line wins. The Rookies take an early lead, despite having fewer people than the Veterans. But the Veterans trick the rules of the challenge to get even. After the challenge, Rookie Melinda, who was accidentally hit in the head with one of the slats, is rushed to the hospital with fiancé Danny. The next challenge, called "Man Overboard," involves a huge sled that's hanging from a track that's suspended 25 feet above the water. Three to five teammates must sit on the sled and pull themselves across to the opposite side, where one person will jump off. Then they'll go back to the other side, where another person will jump off. When the last person jumps off the sled, time will be called. There will be three rounds and the team with the fastest combined time wins. The Rookies get off to a rough start when Melinda decides not to compete because she's afraid she might injure herself again.[5][14]
5	209	"Match-Up of the Century"	February 20, 2008
Fearing that their girls are weighing them down, the Veteran guys secretly agree that the time has come to actively start getting rid of some of their teammates. Taking advantage of the confusion during the "Assembly Required" challenge, the men purposely mess up, handing the Rookies their second win and landing the Veteran girls in The Gauntlet. The Rookies have a hard time deciding on which female to send to the Gauntlet. They leave it up to a coin toss, which lands on Coral. After the Veterans deliberate, they decide to send Beth in against Coral's wishes. And so it is ... challenge "queens" Coral and Beth step into The Gauntlet to compete in a brutal game of "Ball Brawl." During the next challenge, "Walk the Plank," the Veterans and the Rookies must get their players across a small plank without getting knocked off by large balls being hurled at them by their opponents.[6][15]
6	210	"All Alone"	February 27, 2008
Each week of The Gauntlet III is intense from start to finish line, and the contestants are starting to show wear and tear. When Melinda mentions that the Rookies are going to keep losing because they're down so many players, Danny flips out on her and an argument ensues. Meanwhile, the Veteran guys continue to plot against the girls. When the Veterans and the Rookies meet host TJ Lavin on the beach, they're told they'll be competing in "Pole Push." Inside a ring, the Veterans will be on one end of a pole while the Rookies are on the other. The team that pushes their opponent outside the ring wins. After the challenge, tensions rise at deliberations when Danny calls Rookie Johanna a backstabber for not backing up Melinda ending the "Austin Alliance" and Rookies Tori and Jillian get into a screaming match. The next challenge, "I Dig You," involves two rows of coffins lined up on the beach, in which each team member will be buried two feet underground. There will be one digger who must correctly answer a series of questions before he or she can dig each teammate out of the sand. Whoever unearths all their teammates first wins, so the Rookies have an advantage because they will have considerably fewer people underground. As the Rookies and the Veterans climb into their coffins, everyone starts freaking out, there's a lot of pressure on the diggers and they start making mistakes.[7][16]
7	211	"What Goes Around"	March 5, 2008
Scheming and sneakiness abound in this episode of The Gauntlet, as the Veterans plot to drop a few of their girls, who are just dead weight as far as these strong guys are concerned. But Coral overhears the conversation and confronts Evan, criticizing his untrustworthy friendship. At competition day, the guys on the Veterans team know that if they throw the challenge, a girl will be sent packing. But when they find out what the challenge is, they realize they have a huge disadvantage and might lose, anyway. When it's C.T.'s turn to brave the heights of this challenge, he fakes a slip, giving the Veterans a 15-minute penalty. But C.T. isn't the best actor; the girls immediately realize what's happening, and feel embarrassed and disrespected. Minutes before the Veteran girls are sent to the Gauntlet, Coral throws everyone for a loop no one expected. The next challenge is Mexican Blanket, where the team members are wrapped in blankets, burrito-style, and have to roll their way to the finish line, with only three rookie men left, losing is not an option for the Rookie team.[8][17]
8	212	"Cold Blooded"	March 12, 2008
It's the penultimate week of The Gauntlet III and everyone is worried about how things will play out. The Rookies are especially concerned because they only have two guys left while the Veterans have seven. The next day, the teams meet up with host T. J. Lavin in front of a giant freezer for the "Chill Out" challenge. Inside the freezer are two tanks filled with ice water. For the first round, the players must fully jump into the freezing water and then jump out. The second round forces everyone to submerge themselves neck-deep for five seconds. During each subsequent round, everyone has to spend an additional five seconds in the water. As the challenge begins, the Veteran boys quickly start dropping out in an attempt to throw the challenge and send their girls into The Gauntlet. The rest of the Veterans continue to drop off until Danny is the only Vet left. In between rounds, the Rookies ask Danny why he hasn't quit yet, since they know his team wants to lose. Danny says he'll quit if they promise to protect him if the Veterans lose the male Gauntlet challenge. All the Rookies agree, except for Frank—and with that, Danny decides to stay in the game and try to win it for the Veterans. The next day, the Veterans and the Rookies head to the next challenge, "Well Balanced", where there are two giant wooden platforms tilted to one side. The teams will have to spread out on the giant scales and move around until they are perfectly balanced. Once balanced, they must hold that position for 10 seconds. the Veterans, who are usually the paragon of teamwork and communication, are screaming and fighting with each other. While slowly but surely the Rookies begin to formulate a strategy and inch their way toward perfect balance while the Veterans are caught in utter chaos.[9][18]
9	213	"The Finale"	March 19, 2008
It's judgment day on The Gauntlet III and we're about to find out who has what it takes to go the distance! Will it be the Veterans or the Rookies?[10]

Reunion special

Trim the Fat: The Gauntlet III Reunion was hosted by Lyndsey Rodrigues, filmed in New York, and premiered March 26, 2008. In this reunion show, several cast members discuss their experiences on the show. The most common topics of discussion are the various romances, backstabbing and deceit amongst the cast members. Frank and Jillian are still a couple and living together. Tori and Brad are together, though living apart. Johanna and Wes broke up. Paula and Derek decided to remain friends and Casey and Johnny are not a couple, nor are Ev and Brooke. Ev is told that Brooke is dating her ex-girlfriend, which Ev refuses to discuss. Although C.T. and Diem are not present, Katie tells everyone that they have broken up. Evan and Kenny say they are honeymooning in Mexico the next day. Coral heavily criticized Ev for betraying the women, but Ev says she didn't betray them but also didn't care if the men threw challenges to get rid of them. Evan openly mocks Lyndsey's view that Danny and Melinda were a "power couple", saying Danny's opinion had 0% value to the Veterans. Both Rachel and Tori say that their conflicts with Frank were in the past, and Evan and Kenny praised Frank for digging for hours to retrieve the winning chest of money in the final challenge, saying Frank should have gotten an extra cut up to $100,000 of the final $300,000 prize. Some, however, noted he already had due to his relationship with fellow winner Jillian. Beth was heavily criticized, with Brad stating they wanted her out because she might have thrown missions, and Kenny telling Coral that everyone wanted her to defeat Beth in the Gauntlet. Rachel apparently began a relationship with Eric, but neither of them will confirm this. Johanna comments about Melinda's false belief that she was betrayed over the Gauntlet deliberations. Eric's failure in the final challenge is discussed, and it is revealed that only Brad, Coral, and Katie are still friends with him. Katie says she likes the fact that Kenny and Frank were blunt about her lack of ability, and hates duplicitous individuals. Coral and Ev do not part on amicable terms, and footage from the upcoming The Real World: Hollywood season is shown, thus ending the reunion.^[19]

Music from the Gauntlet III

Challenge 15: Army Strong

• "15 Minutes" - Wired All Wrong (Theme song)
• "Ten Thousand Strong" - Iced Earth
• "Life is Beautiful" - SIXX:A.M.
• "Freakum Dress" - Beyoncé Knowles
• "Running Up That Hill" - Placebo
• "Take This to Heart" - Mayday Parade
• "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" - Say Anything
• "When I Get Home, You're So Dead" - Mayday Parade
• "Shut Up and Drive" - Rihanna
• "Would You Love a Monsterman?" - Lordi
• "Going Through Changes" - Army of Me
• "Scream Out Loud" - Baltimore
• "Supermassive Black Hole" - Muse
• "Lose It" - Cartel (Last song played, as Vets raise their flag, but do not win the competition)
• "Maniac (R.O.D.)" - Four Year Strong

Source for this section:^[10]

Notes

1. Following the "Over The Edge" challenge in Episode 7, Coral withdrew from the game due to her outcast status on the team, being abandoned by former friend and ally Evan, and being voted into the Gauntlet against Evelyn. Casey volunteered to take Coral's place and was eliminated by Evelyn.^[8]
2. Tyrie withdrew from the game at the end of Episode 3 due to a family emergency back home.^[4] MJ was brought in as a replacement prior to the "Push It" challenge in Episode 4.^[5]
3. In Episode 5, three female Gauntlets into the game, it is mentioned that there are five female Gauntlets left.^[6] At the end, only four of those were played, likely due to Coral's departure in Episode 7.
4. The Rookies only had three male players who were vulnerable for the Gauntlet — Frank, Nehemiah and Ryan. The Veterans were prohibited from protecting Ryan from the Gauntlet (see the rules above), so they protected Frank, forcing Nehemiah and Ryan to face each other in the Gauntlet.^[8]
5. The Veterans beat out the Rookies in the final challenge, but were disqualified after Eric collapsed and was sent to the hospital midway through the final race. Host T. J. Lavin explained that a team would only win the "Army Strong" final challenge if each player was present at the end. Therefore, the Rookies won the "Army Strong" final challenge by default.^[10]

References

1. "The Gauntlet III at MTV.com".
2. "Video of Episode 1 at MTV.com".
3. "Video of Episode 2 at MTV.com".
4. "Video of Episode 3 at MTV.com".
5. "Video of Episode 4 at MTV.com".
6. "Video of Episode 5 at MTV.com".
7. "Video of Episode 6 at MTV.com".
8. "Video of Episode 7 at MTV.com".
9. "Video of Episode 8 at MTV.com".
10. "Video of Episode 9 at MTV.com".
11. "Summary page for Episode 1 ("Viva Mexico") at MTV.com".
12. "Summary page for Episode 2 ("It's Personal") at MTV.com".
13. "Summary page for Episode 3 ("Less Is More") at MTV.com".
14. "Summary page for Episode 4 ("It's Not Fair") at MTV.com".
15. "Summary page for Episode 5 ("Match-Up of the Century") at MTV.com".
16. "Summary page for Episode 6 ("All Alone") at MTV.com".
17. "Summary page for Episode 7 ("What Goes Around") at MTV.com".
18. "Summary page for Episode 8 ("Cold Blooded") at MTV.com".
19. "Trim the Fat: The Gauntlet III Reunion – Video at MTV.com".

External links

• Official website
• Episode summaries at TV.com
• Cast information and other show data at the Internet Movie Database