Road Rules
Encyclopedia
Road Rules was an MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 reality show that debuted on July 19, 1995. The series, which was MTV's second reality show after The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

 followed six strangers between the ages of 18 and 24 (five strangers in the first four seasons) after stripping them of their money and putting them on an RV
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...

 traveling from location to location only guided by a set of clues and a mission to complete at each location. It was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 in 2001.

The ground-breaking series was a pioneer in travel/adventure/reward reality television (together with Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...

's Eco-Challenge
Eco-Challenge
Eco-Challenge: The Expedition Race is a multi-day expedition length adventure race in which teams of four compete. It aired from April 1995 to April 2002....

productions). Road Rules was created by Jonathan Murray
Jonathan Murray
Jonathan Murray is an American television producer and co-creator of MTV's The Real World, Road Rules, and the Oxygen Network's The Bad Girls Club.-Biography:...

 and Mary-Ellis Bunim
Mary-Ellis Bunim
Mary-Ellis Bunim was an American television producer and co-creator of MTV's The Real World and Road Rules.-Biography:A native of Massachusetts, Bunim began her career in daytime dramas...

 of Bunim/Murray Productions
Bunim/Murray Productions
Bunim/Murray Productions is an entertainment production company based out of Van Nuys, California, and is considered a pioneer in the reality television genre. It is best known for The Real World, The Bad Girls Club, and Road Rules...

. After Bunim died of cancer in early 2004, the show went on hiatus for three years. After season 14 ended, it has been confirmed that Road Rules is no longer in production, although neither MTV nor Bunim-Murray have commented on the status of the series.

The show was spawned from its sister show The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

. The idea of Road Rules came to mind, when Real World castmates Jon, Tami and Dominic traveled in an RV across the United States to get to their The Real World: Los Angeles
The Real World: Los Angeles
The Real World: California is the second season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of several diverse strangers living together for several months, as the cameras follow their lives and interpersonal...

house in the first two episodes of the second season. Bunim-Murray began working on the show soon after the third San Francisco season, and finally debuted in 1995
1995 in television
The year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...

. The show garnered a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 series, Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
The Challenge is a reality television game show on MTV that is both dependent on and spun off from the network's two flagship reality shows, The Real World and the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It is currently hosted by T.J...

, which is still in production.

There was also a 1998 mini-series, Road Rules: All Stars
Road Rules: All Stars
Road Rules: All Stars is the first season and original title of the MTV reality television game show, The Challenge. The first season of the show premiered on June 1st, 1998.-Format:...

, in which five former stars from The Real World go on a short Road Rules course managed by infamous former Real World housemate Puck, who, until the very end of the series, was disguising his identity with the alias "Mr. Big". However, this is generally considered the first season of Real World/Road Rules Challenge.

Seasons

Season Year Cast members Handsome Reward
1 USA - The First Adventure 1995 Allison Jones Kit Hoover
Kit Hoover
Catherine "Kit" Hoover is an American television personality, sportscaster and broadcast journalist, best-known for her stints on Fox News Channel and ESPN...

Los Jackson Mark Long Shelly Spottedhorse N/A European Trip
2 USA - The Second Adventure
Road Rules: USA - The Second Adventure
Road Rules: USA – The Second Adventure was the second season of Road Rules. It first aired on MTV on July 15, 1996. They started their journey in Key West, Florida.-Cast:...

1996 Emily Bailey Tim Beggy Christian Breivik Devin Elston Effie Perez N/A Honda Civics
3 Europe
Road Rules: Europe
Road Rules: Europe was third season of the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It took place exclusively on the continent of Europe, the first time the series ever ventured outside the United States. This was also the only cast in Road Rules history in which non-American citizens outnumbered American...

1997 Patrice Boudibela Antoine de Bouverie Elizabeth "Belou" Den Tex Chris Melling Michelle Parma N/A Home entertainment center and $1000 cash
4 Islands
Road Rules: Islands
Road Rules: Islands is the fourth season of MTV's reality television series, Road Rules.-Cast:*Bold indicates the contestant was a finalist on the Challenge, but lost in the Final Race.-Memorable Moments:...

1997 Jake Bronstein
Jake Bronstein
Jake Bronstein , is best known for being one of the founding editors of FHM Magazine - US edition. A self-styled "fun evangelist," he consults on facilitating fun work environments and engagement, and runs an alternative marketing agency called GiantMINIATURE.-Career:At 18, he was cast for the...

Kalle Dedolph Vincent Forcier Oscar Hernandez Erika Ruen N/A Enrollment and Tuition on Semester at Sea Program
5 Northern Trail
Road Rules: Northern Trail
This was the fifth season of Road Rules. It took place along the northern border of the United States, often landing the cast in parts of Canada.-Cast:This is the first cast to have six castmembers....

1998 Jon Holmes Roni Martin Tara McDaniel Dan Setzler Noah Rickun Anne Wharton Trip to Greece
6 Down Under
Road Rules: Down Under
This was the sixth season of Road Rules. It took place exclusively in the continent of Oceania. This season is often noted as Road Rules: Australia.-Cast:*Bold indicates the contestant was a finalist on the Challenge, but lost in the Final Race....

1998 Susie Meister Chadwick Pelletier Shayne McBride Christina Pazsitzky
Christina Pazsitzky
Christina Pazsitzky is a Stand Up Comedian and Writer who appears regularly on the E! show "Chelsea Lately". She was a cast member of MTV's Road Rules Australia and also made an appearance on the Real World/Road Rules Challenge Battle of the Sexes...

Kefla Hare Piggy Thomas Choice of Seadoo, Motorbike or Harley
7 Latin America
Road Rules: Latin America
This was the seventh season of Road Rules. It took place in Latin America in the countries of Mexico and Costa Rica, as well as the United States of America.-Cast:This is the first cast to have six castmembers....

1999 Brian Lancaster Sarah Martinez Gladys Sanabria Josh Florence Holly Shand Abe Ingersoll Volkswagen Beetle
8 Semester at Sea
Road Rules: Semester at Sea
Road Rules: Semester at Sea was the eighth season of MTV's reality television series, Road Rules. This season, which first aired in 1999, featured six castmembers in the shipboard Semester at Sea study program, and followed the cast as they travelled aboard a cruise ship, both while taking school...

1999 Veronica Portillo
Veronica Portillo
Veronica Portillo is an American reality television participant, Playboy model, and co-creator of the College Dropout t-shirt line.-Road Rules:...

Yes Duffy Pua Medieros Pawel Litwinski Ayanna Mackins Shawn Sealy iMac Desktop Computer Package
9 Maximum Velocity Tour
Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour
Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour is the ninth season of Road Rules. It took place mostly in the Southern areas of the United States.-Cast:*Bold indicates the contestant was a finalist on the Challenge, but lost in the Final Race....

2000 Laterrian Wallace Kathryn Omeg Holly Brentson James Orlando Msaada Nia Theo Vonkurnatowski Cumulative Cash Prize on Cobalt Credit Card
10 The Quest
Road Rules: The Quest
Road Rules: The Quest is the tenth season of Road Rules. It first aired on MTV in 2001, and featured six strangers chosen to compete in missions, while living in a RV...

2001 Jisela Delgado Sophia Pasquis Adam Larson Blair Herter Steve Meinke Ellen Cho Suzuki Grand Vitaras
*Katie Doyle
11 Campus Crawl
Road Rules: Campus Crawl
-Cast:*Bold indicates the contestant was a finalist on the Challenge, but lost in the Final Race.* During the season, Sarah was voted off and Raquel took her place.*The group toured various university campuses around the United States.-Memorable moments:...

2002 Kendal Sheppard Shane Landrum Rachel Robinson Darrell Taylor Sarah Greyson Eric Jones Trip around the World
*Raquel Duran
12 South Pacific
Road Rules: South Pacific
Road Rules: South Pacific is the twelfth season of MTV's reality show Road Rules that takes place in the South Pacific.- Original cast members :-Replacement cast members:...

2003 Cara Zavaleta
Cara Zavaleta
Cara Zavaleta is an American model and actress.-Reality TV career:Zavaleta was a cast member of MTV's reality show Road Rules during the Road Rules: South Pacific season...

Dave Giuntoli
Dave Giuntoli
David C. Giuntoli is an American actor.In 2007, he moved to Los Angeles, CA to pursue an acting career. He has since appeared on several TV series including Nip/Tuck, Veronica Mars, Grey's Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer, Privileged, Without a Trace, and Cold Case among others. He is currently in the...

Christena Pyle Abram Boise Mary Beth Decker
Mary Beth Decker
Mary Beth Decker is an American model who attended Texas A&M University. She was the "Cyber Girl of the Week" for Playboy in the fourth week of September 2002, and "Cyber Girl of the Month" for January 2003....

Donell Langham Car
*Tina Barta *Chris Graebe *Jeremy Blossom
13 X-Treme
Road Rules: X-Treme
Road Rules: X-Treme is the 13th season of the MTV reality television series, Road Rules, which takes a group of young people and places them on a series of quests and challenges to compete for prizes...

2004 Jodi Weatherton Danny Dias Kina Dean Derrick Kosinski Ibis Nieves Patrick Maloney Subaru WRXI
*Nick Haggart *Angela Trimbur *Jillian Zoboroski
14 Viewers' Revenge 2007 Abram Boise Kina Dean Shane Landrum Adam Larson Susie Meister Veronica Portillo
Veronica Portillo
Veronica Portillo is an American reality television participant, Playboy model, and co-creator of the College Dropout t-shirt line.-Road Rules:...

Mazda3 and Cumulative Cash Prize
*Dan Walsh *David Leech *Angel Turlington *Tori Hall
Tori Hall
-External links:*...

*Derek McCray *Dan Walsh *Susie Meister
*LaMonte Ponder

Show's evolution

The series began with a simple format, closely mirroring its parent show The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

. The concept was simple, abandon five strangers on the road, take away their money, have them drive around in an RV completing missions and doing odd jobs for money, and if they lasted to the end of the trip, they would win a "handsome reward". It was touted as The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

 on an RV, but as the show progressed, several changes were made to the show for various reasons, mostly having to do with causing excitement and raising sagging ratings.

Europe (Season 3)

In its third season, producers of the show took production to the next level by deciding to move the show from the United States to Europe. While the first two seasons were not themed according to the series' location, the third season introduced the subtitle into the concept which would usually strand the Roadies in different locations around the world.

Islands (Season 4)

For the first time, the RV was completely abandoned for a short time in favor of an alternate mode of transportation. The cast traveled in and around the Caribbean islands and for a short time traveled on a catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

. This season also competed against the Boston season of the The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, planting the seeds for The Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
The Challenge is a reality television game show on MTV that is both dependent on and spun off from the network's two flagship reality shows, The Real World and the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It is currently hosted by T.J...

 and future face-offs.

Northern Trail (Season 5)

Changing the dynamic of the cast in hopes of creating more drama by including more people in the RV, an additional cast member would be included in each season, changing the number of cast members from five to six.
Jon is considered the "stand out" of the season. With his zany antics and half-baked notions of romantic hijinks, he became both one of the most loved and conversely despised characters in the show's history.

Semester at Sea (Season 8)

Enticed by the idea of sailing around the world, producers put the cast on the (for 2005) University of Pittsburgh's
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

 Semester at Sea
Semester at Sea
Semester at Sea is a study abroad program founded in 1963, now managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education in Charlottesville, Virginia. The University of Virginia is the current academic sponsor for the program while the program, itself, is run on a cruise ship called the MV Explorer...

 educational program. For the first time in any season, in order for the cast to get their handsome reward, the cast needed to complete coursework aboard the ship. Prior to this, cast members only needed to get to the end of the trip, and would not be penalized for refusing to do a mission. The most unusual mission was "Anime Mission", visiting Japan and experiencing ADR recording by their voices with Japanese director, Yuji Moriya who was center in the anime industry in the USA at that time.

Maximum Velocity Tour (Season 9)

Due to an exaggerated trend of sagging ratings, some say due to the Semester at Sea season, the show underwent a major re-tooling. The Maximum Velocity Tour represents when the series transitioned from a documentary-style reality show to an entertainment reality show. The show was brought back to the US and given a "game show" format. At the helm of a trip was a fictional character named the "Road Master" completed. After the cast would complete a mission, they would have money added to the group pool and if they failed to complete a mission, they would lose the money.

The Quest (Season 10)

Producers continued to re-tool the show. This time, if the cast members lost two missions, they would have to vote out a cast member. Any additional mission lost after that, another cast member would be voted off. Also, instead of adding money to a group pool, the cast competed each mission for a "key" to the handsome reward. The "keys" were placed in the RV on a large board where each "key" represented a virtue the cast learned in that mission. For this season, the "key" would be represented as part of a crest. If the cast lost a mission, they would not receive the "key" until they voted off a cast member. Jisela Delgado was the first cast member to be voted off in the series. Katie Doyle was the first replacement in the series. The series remained largely unchanged after this season, although each subsequent series had its own variation on the rules of the game.

Viewers' Revenge (Season 14)

After the series' thirteenth season, MTV decided not to renew the series, giving the official status of "on hiatus" for four years. In March 2005, Bunim-Murray Productions pitched the idea of an interactive format to the show in which viewers at home would be a part of the series, and running the series in real time in order for the viewers at home to have a say in the competition.

Road Rules face-offs

Setting up the idea for Real World/Road Rules Challenge
Real World/Road Rules Challenge
The Challenge is a reality television game show on MTV that is both dependent on and spun off from the network's two flagship reality shows, The Real World and the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It is currently hosted by T.J...

, the face-offs have come to be an instrumental part of each season. The current cast competes either with a current "The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...

" cast who would be filming their series parallel to theirs or a former Road Rules cast, if Real World was ever out of its production season. The first official face-off, between the Islands and Boston casts gained such high ratings, that another spin-off series was begun, the ever-popular Challenges, and a pattern in every season where the cast would compete against another cast for a separate prize.
  • First Adventure - No face-off during this season. Although cast member Mark initially appeared on the Real World: San Francisco season as one of three possible replacements for ousted housemate, Puck. The housemates chose Jo over Mark.
  • Second Adventure vs. Real World Miami - The Road Rules cast posed as house cleaners and stole the Miami's cast eight-ball. They did so successfully. Timmy fooled Miami's Dan and Cynthia who were obviously suspicious of the unannounced cleaning crew.
  • Europe - No face-off.
  • Islands vs. Real World Boston - The casts competed in a series of competitions in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Boston cast narrowly won the games. Syrus, while competing in the final mission, busted his shin on a bench for his team to take the prize. The Islands crew, who desperately needed money at that time asked the Boston cast to split their winnings. The Boston cast declined to do so. They also played paintball with a team of former Road Rulers from different seasons.
  • Northern Trail vs. Road Rules All-Stars - The casts competed in a series of Olympic-themed games including luge, ski jumping, and figure skating. The Olympic-theme was due in part to the fact that the casts were competing in the Olympic facilities at Lake Placid, New York. The All-Stars won the competition in the figure skating competition. The Northern Trail handed the keys off to their RV, which the All-Stars cast used for their season.
  • Down Under vs. Real World Seattle - The cast competed in the "Aqua Games" in Seattle's main harbor. They competed in various games, including holding onto the back of a raft attached to a seadoo, jumping into rings from a platform, and the finale: a bull-riding contest. Nathan won the competition for the Seattle cast, while Christina and Susie both took the competition as a joke.
  • Latin America vs. Road Rules Down Under - The cast competed in Veracruz, Mexico in a series of games. The Down Under cast took the prize, but the more serious implication of this face-off was when Abe of the Latin America cast hooked up with Susie in the RV. This started the tension between Abe and Gladys, which led to Gladys hitting Abe and being sent home.
  • Semester at Sea - Did not do a face-off. However, during the filming and airing of the series, rumors were rampant that the two casts met up in India, where The Real World Hawaii took their vacation and the Semester at Sea cast landed in port. This was never confirmed or denied. Various students on the Semester at Sea program participated in various missions during this season.
  • Maximum Velocity Tour vs. Real World New Orleans - In a throwback to the very first face-off, the Maximum Velocity Tour cast worked with a Make-A-Wish child to pull off a sting on the Real World: New Orleans cast. They included the Make-A-Wish child in the mission, as the cast posed as Make-A-Wish ambassadors to distract the cast members while James and Laterrian jumped a back wall to steal the New Orleans' cast robotic dog. Hearing that the cast was in town, Melissa of the New Orleans cast hid the eight-ball in anticipation of the cast stealing it. This cast also competed in Los Angeles, CA against the cast of the first season of Making the Band
    Making the Band
    Making the Band is an ABC/MTV reality television series that exists in separate iterations, each iteration focusing on a specific music act. It spawned musical acts O-Town, Da Band, Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang...

     (O-Town) in which O-Town won. They also competed against a group of winners from an MTV.com contest in Provo, Utah, which Road Rules won, and competed against the Playboy Extreme Team.
  • The Quest vs. Real World Back to New York - The casts met up in Morocco. These two casts met up after spending a week in Palm Spring during casting. Members of each cast had already made friends and enemies, creating instant drama and the casts playing practical jokes on each other. In direct contrast to her competitive persona on the Challenges, Back to New York's Coral and fellow cast member Nicole refused to compete in a mud wrestling challenge. This left Back to New York's Lori and Rachel to compete alone against the Road Rules girls. In a grueling mud wrestling competition, Road Rules won because Coral and Nicole refused to compete.
  • Campus Crawl vs. Real World Las Vegas - The Campus Crawl cast first had to take a photograph with one of the Las Vegas cast members handcuffed to the bathtub. Because Raquel had met Steven of Las Vegas in the College Station casting call, Raquel was able to coax Steven to show her and Rachel the Las Vegas suite. Not knowing that the two were from Road Rules, they were able to handcuff and photograph Steven. The cast competed at Lake Red Rock near Las Vegas, Nevada which The Real World won.
  • South Pacific vs. Road Rules Campus Crawl - This cast competed in a marathon challenge, in which the cast was required to compete in different games but were not allowed to sleep during the 48-hour period. In the last competition, in which they had to remember various details in the past 48 hours, the Campus Crawl cast pulled off a win.
  • X-Treme vs. Road Rules South Pacific - The two casts competed in a series of games which concludes with a boxing match. The X-treme cast beat the South Pacific cast.
  • Viewers' Revenge vs. Pit Crew. Roadies beat out the Pit Crew in a mission that had players carrying tires from sand dunes. They also beat the Pit Crew in a mission that involved weight lifting and weight puzzles, along with a football game. The final challenge was carrying boxes across semis and dropping them into the hole; Pit Crew finally won, making the score 3-1.

External links

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