Bully Beatdown and Final Reflections

. What's up everyone? Welcome to another episode of Nostalgia And. Now as always, it's your host, Kelly Williams, and this week's episode is going to be about shows from MTV that I don't think would air today. And I just want to give a shout out because somebody suggested it in one of the Apple reviews and I was like, no, that episode needs to happen. So thank you for requesting that, suggesting it And I'm really excited to talk about some of these shows that I have truly forgotten about over the years. And I know I keep talking about Patreon, but I just wanted to say thank you to the people who have signed up If you're still unsure about signing up, totally understand. but I did want to let you guys know we just released we, meaning me. U We just released our first Patreon episode and Blaair joins me and we talk about the real Wor Las Vegas episode where Dustin is found out to be a camboy, which was actually like really interesting to revisit in a twenty twenty six lens. But let's get into these shows and let's try and figure out together if they would be made today. I mean, there was a period between I would say like two thousand three and twenty ten Wh MTV executives would literally hear any idea and say, yeah, let's get that on camera. You want to dump your boyfriend because your parents pick someone hotter? Sure. Want strangers to dig through your dirty laundry before deciding whether you're attractive or not? Absolutely. Wantna publicly humiliate your bully by having them fight an MMA professional? Yes, let's lock it in. inccredible television Looking back now, it almost feels impossible that these shows aired on basic cable, but for an entire generation, this was appointment viewing after school So today we're talking about MTV shows that absolutely would not get made in twenty twenty six. And what's funny is that at the time, none of this seemed like super strange. We would rush home to watch these shows after school. We quoted them with our friends, We argued over who would have been picked on Room Raiders or next or whatever I mean, we laughed at people being embarrassed on national television without thinking twice about what it must have been like to actually be that person You know, the early two thousands were a completely different era of television. Reality TV wasn't polished yet Social media didn't exist in the same way that it does now. And people weren't worried that clips would follow them forever because we didn't have TikTok, we didn't have Instagram reels. YouTube was barely getting started. There was no meme reactions at the time. And MTV really like leaned into all of that chaos The network had started with music videos, but I mean eventually realized that weird social experiments got bigger ratings and every show would push boundaries just a little bit further than the last one Dating, especially became much more humiliating Tanks would become meaner and competition became way more public. And privacy, I mean, I feel like that practically disappeared. and now nothing's really private. It's hard to be a private person But today we are going to revisit some of the wildest MTV concepts and ask one simple question, okay? Would this survive even one day on television with modern social media? Spoiler alert, Absolutely not. Absolutely not. There is no way. And what's funny is I talk about this with a guest that you guys are gonna have on Wednesday About how like, yeah, stuff was really inappropriate, but that was also the time. We were in a time of inappropriateness. And yeah, I think these shows that I'm going to talk about really highlight that. Okay, we're gonna start with probably my favorite one out of this list, which was next. And if you grew up in the two thousands, you know exactly what show I'm talking about Just hearing the word next, probably like activated something in your brain. but the premise was simple if you're not familiar Five singles waited on a bus while one person went on dates with them one at a time. And the catch was the dator could eliminate someone immediately, literally the second they walk off the bus, someone could say hello, take three steps and then hear next, like imagine flying somewhere, getting your makeup done, signing release forms, sitting on a bus for six hours, stepping outside and getting rejected before even introducing yourself It was brutal. It was basically real life Tinder. You know how you swipe right, swipe left? Like you walk off that bus. someone is swiping left immediately. I would never recover And if the date lasted longer, contestants earned one dollar for every minute they stayed, and eventually they had to decide whether to take the money or pursue a relationship And looking back, the entire premise rearded instant judgment People were judged entirely on appearances, one awkward sentence or like a weird laugh or what they were wearing. And today we'd call that like superficial. You know, We'd be like, oh my God, you have to get to know someone before you judge them No, no, no. back then we called it entertainment. And I mean, the best part was obviously the editing. If you guys remember they would have like three fun facts and one would be absolutely insane. It would be like, My name's Meadow and I love sunshine. I once went in the ocean naked and I shit on the bathroom floor sometimes. Like it would just be out of this world And I don't know if this is true, but one time someone DMmed me and they allegedly worked for N And they said that they would just make up those three facts. Like people had no input of what would actually be on those three facts. But yeah, I mean, they would freeze it with a caption absolutely roasting them and there were cheesy sound effects. We'd get crazy reaction shots, embarrassing conffessionals. The entire show It felt like the interternet comments section before interternet comment sections existed. Does that make sense? You guys know what I'm saying. But would it work today I'm gonna say I don't think so. I think modern audiences are much more aware of public humiliation. and the first clip of someone being rejected within two seconds would be all over TikTok with millions of comments calling the show cruel. People would have think pieces on next, definitely. But somehow in two thousand five, we all watched it We knew these people were getting humiliated, but I always just assumed that all these shows were fake Even with Dr. Drew, there was a recent episode we covered over on Beyond the Blinds on the Patreon, I believe where it was Dr. Phil. And I guess I grew up thinking like all those stories were fake. So I didn't know like how much of an impact Dr. Phil's show had on people's lives because I was like, my mom told me it was all fake. so I just like believed her. But yeah, I assume with next, everything is fake other than the rejection right off the bat, which is brutal I would be I would have been rejected. I would have walked down those four steps, probably like slid on one, my insane three facts that I didn't even provide. It wouldn't be good for anybody, especially not for me. The next one I'm not sure about is Room Raiders, which I think was my favorite one out of all of these shows. I know I just said next was my favorite, but I think Room Raiders then next were probably the ones that I loved watching the most. And before we get going on why this show was inappropriate, I just want to say, I have always been like, were they really kidnapped? Like what was that about? Did they know that producers were coming? but they didn't know when exactly? So just to be clear, the contestants were not kidnapped on Room Raiders. the quote uctions were highly staged and rehearsed by the production crew, so participants knew they were being filmed, applied to be on the show, and were expecting the crew to arrive. The dramatic takedowns on the street or at home were scripted and filmed multiple times to get the best reactions for camera And since the participants knew the raid was happening that day, they often had time to clean up or in some cases, producers would even plant props in their room to make the segment more entertaining. And the element of surprise was largely for entertainment value to ensure contestants couldn't hide embarrassing items, but everyone involved was a willing participant who knew that the cameras were coming. So they probably got a call being like, Hey, we're going to come to your house within the next twenty four hours type of situation. Theyd probably get like another call being like, we're outside, we're gonna kidnap you now. If anyone was on Rom Raiders, please come on this podcast. I have so many questions. I have more questions than answers But yeah, room Raiders, basically, three people were interested in dating one person and instead of meeting them, the person that they wanted to date would be allowed to search their bedrooms. And then the three people would search the searcher's bedroom So again, they would search the bedroom without them there and hosts would wear gloves, and they would literally dig through drawers, trash, the closet, nightstands, laundry baskets. Nothing was off limits. They would hold up underwear, dirty underwear, underwear with holes in them. They would read journals aloud They find embarrassing collections of things, they'd look under mattresses. and then they had to decide who would they date based entirely on what they found. Could you imagine letting strangers into your room today, not just friends, millions of television viewers? I mean, in my opinion, your bedroom says a lot about you and what's really funny is I can remember being like sixixteen, mayaybe not sixteen. When I was younger watching Room Raiders, I'd be like, when I'm sixteen, what if I'm on Rom Raiders and I don't have a cool bedroom? No one would pick me And I remember my brother being like, yeah, they'd see all your backstreet boys posters and be like, not her. And I'd be like, shut up time U But yeah, I do think your bedroom says a lot about you. Even when you're an adult, I think your bedroom says a lot about you as it should because your bedroom should be your safe place. It should be like one of your favorite places in the world. I mean, it is where you get like the most vulnerable Whether you're sleeping, doing other things, you're vulnerable in your bedroom. anyway Room Raiders turned all of that into entertainment. And like one dirty sock could ruin your chances. An unmade bed, you're eliminated, a weird hobby, red flag Or, you know, they used to have like photos up and they'd be like, Ohh, her friends look hotter than her. I don't know. And theyd put like stickers over your faces if you had pictures on your walls of yourself. They would have like a black light to see if there was anything on your sheets. This show was absolutely nuts, especially because it was like teenagers going through other teenagers' bedrooms. I want to know how that got green lit I want to know how they were like this one is going to take off And honestly, some of the rooms were horrifying. And I think the funniest part is that contestants were sitting in a surveillance van watching these strangers like destroy their bedrooms. They'd all be cramped together, watching a tiny little screen, having the time of their lives But you'd hear things like, they found my action figures or, oh no, oh no, that's my vibrator, Even though they wouldn't say vibrator They open that drawer, thoseose are my panties. Yeahah, there was like no recovering for that U I don't know. Do you guys think this one would be made today? I don't think it's that crazy to think that this show could be made today Um, MTV I have so many ideas on how to revive MTV. and I think bringing back Rom Raiders could be one of those things. I don't know enough like teenagers, which is good because I'm thirty four and don't have kids. You know, It wouldd be weird if I knew a bunch of teenagers. I could ask my niece, like is this a show that you think you would be a part of? But what do you guys think? Do you guys think that the younger generation would like allow themselves to be this exposed online? Because they've grown up with the internet their entire lives and social media their entire lives. You would think that they have like their own aesthetic, I guess, what I'm trying to say, but I'm curious. I think that this one could be green lit today. Would it look a little different? mayaybe like maybe they wouldn't use black lights, but I think that Rom Raiders could work today. Tell me what you guys think in the comments. either on Instagram, Patreon, Spotify. I don't think you can leave comments on Apple. U But yeah, let me know because I do think Room Raiders has a chance of surviving twenty twenty six Now what happens if your parents hated your significant other? What would happen then? Well, MTV had a solution parental control You would just replace the significant other. You would have your parents replace your significant other. That is what MTV thought was the only appropriate way to get rid of your significant other and let your parents have some control over it. So parental control followed couples whose parents couldn't stand their child's boyfriend or girlfriend. So the parents would select two new potential dates And the child would spend the day with both of them while their current partner watched from home. So imagine sitting on your couch, watching your significant other flirt with someone their parents hand picked while also like sitting with their parents. Like the three of you are watching this all happen. I would lose my mind. And basically that entire time, the other significant other, the original significant other are waiting to find out if they're going to be dumped on television And the parents were absolutely ruthless. They criticized people's looks, their jobs, personality, fashion choices. Sometimes they barely met the person and already like wanted them gone. And the show thrived on awkwardness because it forced families into the middle of romantic relationships And looking back, I think it says so much about that specific reality TV era. Conlict wasn't enough. You needed family conflict. and today, we'd probably have conversations about boundaries, manipulation, unhealthy dynamics. But again, back then it was entertainment. I don't know if pntal control would be good in this day and age Do you remember how mean the parents were? Like they would say the nastiest stuff to the significant others. they didn't enjoy. And I feel like again, TikTok would be making like think pieces on if a parent should be allowed to be that involved their child's relationship This is another one. I mean, I hope everyone who listens DMs me and tell me tell me like your thoughts But I'm really curious what you guys think on this one too. I'm gonna say that after every single show, and I apologize ahead of time because I think I've said it after every show so far. So I'm gonna assume it's going to continue. my apologies. And now we're going to be talking about a little show called Date My M. I do think that this is one of the stranger dating concepts that MTV like ever approved, but I also think that this would work today I also think that Netflix has a show just like this lurking just beneath the surface that we will get like next year or something. But yes, date My Mom is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of dating three potential matches, contestants would spend time with each of their mothers. They'd grab lunch, go shopping, hang out at home, ask questions Then choose someone to date without ever meeting them. It's honestly one of those concepts that sounds fake until you remember it was a real show. And this was another one where obviously I thought about myself being on this show and I'd be like, listen. I don't know if I would trust my mom to represent me for someone who I wanted to be with. I don't think it would go well for me if my mom was the one making the first impression But yeah, anyway I think the funniest part was that every mom approached the assignment differently. Some genuinely tried to describe their child like honestly, whether that was for the better or worse, like they were pretty honest about who their kid was, but others would act like they're running a political campaign for their child, usually it was like a boy mom My son is perfect, or you know, it could be a pageant mom who says, my daughter, she never causes drama. She's so sweet. You know, they're the sweetest person that you'll ever meet. Meanwhile, MTV would immediately cut to footage, like proving the exact opposite. And the moms would become the real stars. someome would overshare and share like embarrassing childhood stories. Some talked about dating habits no parent should ever have to discuss on television And others embarrassed their kids so badly you almost wanted to like hide behind a pillow. You'd be like, why? she say that? Why would she talk about her daughter playing with stuffed animals until she was twenty one That is not something that this man needs to know. And I think that the reveal at the end was always like really fascinating because contestants had built an entire image of someone based solely on their parent And sometimes they matched the expectations, sometimes they couldn't have been more different. And it's actually, in my opinion, a pretty interesting social experiment Like how much can you learn about someone through their family? Apparently not enough to, you know, build a full relationship And what's funny is that date My mom perfectly represents early MTV dating television. You know, the actual person Almost didn't matter. Next would judge appearances, room raaiders would judge bedrooms, date my mom would judge parents, and the gimmick was always more important than any kind of genuine connection. And if this show aired today, I get again, I think social media would spend more time like psycho analyzing the mom than talking about the actual dates and the parents, they'd become influencers overnight. Viewers would be diagnosing family dynamics in the comments, but twentywenty years later The thing people remember isn't who found love. It's the momombs, obviously. And I think we should bring it back. This is on my bring it back list. Netflix, I know you're out there. I know you have a show like this. just release it Give us date, my mom, ten point zero, please. The next one is going to be a shot at love with Tila Tequila. And I know I know people are going to be like Kelly. There are a lot of dating shows out there now. there are a lot of LGBTQ dating shows, there are a lot of differentnt things out there, I'm going to be honest, I still think bisexuality isn't expressed the way it should be. You know, you'll never see like a bisexual bachelorette. You have shows like love is blind, but those are all straight couples Yeah, I just I think when it comes to bisexuality, people don't really Not that they don't believe it, I don't know, but it's not as visible on television unless it's presented in like a very, very specific way. And I do think a shot at love with Tila Tequila. Also, Tila Tequila would not pass in twenty twenty six. Tila Tequila, I don't know if you guys have looked her up lately. Last I saw she was a Nazi sympathizer It would be canceled before it aired if Tila Tequila was at the helm of it. Anyway, back to Tila Tequila. This show is fascinating because it was groundbreaking and problematic at the same time. If you don't remember Tila Tequila, dated sixteen men and sixteen women, and the contestants didn't initially know that they were competing against both genders. So when the twist was revealed, it became one of the biggest reality TV moments of the decade. And for many viewers, this was their first exposure to someone openly identifying as bisexual And I do think that that visibility mattered. I know for me, I didn't even know you could be bisexual basically until Tila Tequila. I basically thought girls would get drunk and kiss another girl but then always go back to guys. L and that's just what I thought, and I'm glad I don't think that way anymore. But seeing Tila Tequila openly date women and Tila Tequila at the time was like one of the first influencers for my space. She was so famous for being online. I mean You know, she's not great and I understand we don't want to give her streams, but fuck you man, that used to be my MySpace song Um Are you getting rewarded for paying your rent and mortgage? If not, you need to check out Built. Bilt members earn points on every housing payment, which can be redeemed for flights, lift rides, amazon. com purchases, and more. Built also gives members access to its agentic neighborhood concierge in the Bilt A It's connected to your home and over fifty thousand merchant partners, so you can ask it to pay your rent, schedule a lift, and more. Just download the buildilt app. link any credit or debit card, then ask the neighborhood concierge pretty much anything Download the built app and join the membership for where you live at joinbuilt d. com slash ACast. That's J Oi N B I LT d. com slash Acast But Looking back, the show framed bisexuality as like a shocking twist rather than a normal identity, and the reveal itself became the spectacle. Contestants reacted dramatically, producers leaned into confusion and surprise, The marketing focused on controversy, and today I do think the LGBTQ plus representation evolve significantly and audiences they want authentic stories. they don't want identities presented as gimmicks But I do think the show deserves some credit for introducing conversations that many networks weren't having, but it's also a reminder of how much television has grown because representation today is kind of like expected. And back then it was treated as a plot twist Again, I think with bisexuality, people still struggle with it. I don't know if I'm saying it right. I feel like if you get what I'm saying, you get what I'm saying, but you will never see like a bisexual bachelorette. And again, I don't think Tila Tequila what made this show perfect. You know like being like, oh, I'm here to date women, I'm here to date men, surprise I'm dating all of you and we're all have to live in the same house and figure it out and live together. pete against each other and she ended up picking Danny who I thought was so cute U So Tila, you know, she picks Danny and then dumps Danny and I think actually ended up with the last guy from Tila Tequila until they broke up and then I wasn't able to keep tons of track of Tila Tequila's life after that. But this is another show that could be bubbling just beneath the surface over at like Tie or Netflix. and we will end up with a bisexual bachelorette. now that I said there has never been a bisexual bachelorette, or at least not like an openly bisexual bachelorette is what I should say. because some of the bachelorettes have come out since leaving the franchise, as we know The show I want to talk about is I Want a famamous Face. I don't know if you guys remember it, but it had two seasons, only fourteen episodes. It aired between march fifteenth, two thousand four and june seventh, two thousand five. And basically the show featured young people who wanted to look like celebrities. They'd undergo plastic surgery with the goal of looking like a specific famous person someome celebrities that the participants chose to look like, Pam Anderson, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Brittney Spears, Brad Pitt, Ricky Martin, and Victoria Beckham, the show would also show like short spots of how plastic surgery can go wrong from people that have experienced poor health. resulting for their attempts at plastic surgery. So at first it's like, hey, listen, we are going to completely change your face. And yes, we will pay for it. MTV, we're foot in the bill, donon't you worry? And then they'd be like, after getting their face done, I remember the Brad Pitt guy thought he looked like Brad Pitt, but then didn't think he looked like Brad Pitt and wanted of basically reverse it back to his old face, but he couldn't because he had plastic surgery. So that was MTV's way of being like, think about it before you do it. I think people are still open to watch stuff about plastic surgery, but I do not think a show like this would happen in twenty twenty six Obviously people are getting their many facelifts in. Hollywood is looking younger than ever. N a forehead is moving in those Hollywood hills. but I still don't think people would like a show I Want a Famous face. I think people enjoy watching like TikTokers be able to do makeup and kind of change their face rather than Going under the knife and truly trying to look like Brad Pitt or truly trying to look like Brittney Spears or whomever you w to choose. But in two thousand five, it made sense because we had shows like the San, which is another insane show that I do not think would be greenlit today. And I know like obviously people still have celebrity idolization. People still worship celebrity culture and celebrities But I think less people are trying to look like celebrities, mayaybe just getting like their lips done. But outside of that, I'm not sure if it would be as popular. Yes, of course, some people do want to look like specific celebrities. I mean, there was some girl over on Instagram a few years ago who looked just like Chelsea from Teen Mom. No shade, Chelsea's gorgeous. I get why someone would want to look like Chelsea. But yeah, I'm not sure I want a famous face would be great in today's Enertainment landscape. Before we get to our last show, this is kind of random, but I don't think punked would be made today. I don't think like those kind of prank shows, especially like prank shows on celebrity would be as popular today because again, everyone is so like image conscious. I know they did do like a mini revival of punked with Justin Bieber when he was like fifteen or whatever But I think in twenty twenty six, any of those prank shows like boiling points huned I can't think of any other ones. I do not know if those would fly just because people are so out of their minds now if I'm being honest. Boiling points. like someone would already have a camera in your face so the show wouldn't work because everybody will like record people when they're acting up in public now that the show boiling points wouldn't work unless it was done virtually, which it could be TikTok, you could make your own version of boiling points, but I don't think it would be able to become like a full show. It would be more of like a web series than anything. But yeah, I don't think celebrities would enjoy being punked these days. As far as made and true life and maybe even like pimp My Ride, I think those three shows would be able to survive twenty twenty six Honestly, they should bring back madeade. MTV, again, I have so many ideas to save your station. Obviously, you want to tank and not be on the air anymore because not a ton of people have cable, but I would do anything to save MTV or at least give them a better streaming platform than Paramount Pus because that is not user friendly. All right, the final show that I'm going to talk about is Bully Beat downown. Out of every show we're talking about today This might be the one that feels the most unbelievable in hindsight Bully Beatdown premiered in two thousand nine and was hosted by Jason Mayham Miller, a professional MMA fighter. And if you're unfamiliar with MMA, it is mixed martial arts. But the premise was simple Someone who claimed they were being bullied would nominate the person making their life miserable The show would confront that bully, offer them cash to step into an MMA cage with a professional fighter, and the longer they survived, the more money they earned. So let me read that sentence back for you. MTV literally aired a show where alleged bullies got beaten up by trained fighters for entertainment and somehow it became a hit Every episode followed a similar formula And the victim would tell their story, a friend would back them up. The audience was encouraged to root for justice, then the bully would appear, usually acting like overc confonfident and convinced that they would win. and then they'd step into a cage with someone who had years of professional training. Now I do have to say my dad really loved this show because my dad hates bullies. If there's one thing that my dad hates, it's bullies and I'll tell you all the time And I think anyone who's been picked on has always kind of been like I wish they'd pick on someone their own size type of thing. Is their own size a UFC fighter? I don't know, but MTV said so. So yeah, they'd step into a cage with someone who had years of professional training and it was rarely a fair fight The professional fighter almost always dominated while the victim watched from the sidelines, and the audience was supposed to cheer. and honestly, a lot of us did, because almost everyone has dealt with a bully. Like I mentioned before, my dad got bullied when he was young and he loved bully beat down. The show tapped into that fantasy of finally seeing someone face consequences. but looking back, I think it raises some like fascinating questions with like Was this justice or was this another form of humiliation? Did anyone actually leave better than they came in? orr was MTV packaging revenge as entertainment because it made great television You know, over the years, former participants in online discussions have questioned how authentic some of these stories really were. You know, someome suggest that certain scenarios may have been exaggerated or heavily produced. And whether that's true, For every episode or not, it's another reminder that reality television has always blurred the line between fact and entertainment If fully Beat downown premiered today, the conversation would be completely different People would ask whether allegations had been verified. Mental health experts would weigh in Viewers would debate whether violence should ever be presented as conflict resolution Today's anti bullying conversations focus on prevention, you know, support systems and accountability, not cage fights But I also, again, understand why the show resonated with people. It sold people the fantasy that the bad guy finally loses. The problem is that real life is rarely that simple It's one of the clearest examples of early reality television turning a serious issue into a spectacle. And somehow in two thousand nine, we all watched it Now before we wrap up, I have to mention a few more shows. There's dismissed Three people one day, one elimination halfway through because apparently one awkward dinner wasn't dramatic enough Scarred an entire show built around skateboarding injuries and BMX crashes. Looking back, it's amazing how like how many teenagers voluntarily watched broken bones for entertainment. I think especially with our generation, I probably watched every episode of Jackass and Wild Boys that you could watch and I was like, fall again Get more hurt. Hell yeah Silent Library, This show I hated. I know everyone loves Silent Library. I did not think it was funny, but contestants, they'd endure like insane punishments while trying not to laugh I think this one would still work. They should bring this back. There's hot ones. Why not bring back silent liibrary Like I mentioned, made, madeade would come back, true life would come back And looking back at these shows, it's easy to laugh and it's easy to think like, how was this ever on television? But the truth is, these shows existed because millions of us watched them and we made them hits They reflected a culture that valued shock value, instant reactions and public embarrassment in a way that feels completely foreign today. And the fact that they couldn't exist now says less about MTV than it does about us. Our conversations have changed, our expectations have changed. We've become more aware of privacy, consent, mental health, representation and long term effects of public humiliation and that's growth. But there's also something like nostalgic about this era of TV. It was messy, unpredictable, completely unfiltered. and for better or worse, it defined a generation of television I still think about somebody getting next after three seconds, you know I still can't believe people let strangers dig through their bedrooms on television. And I can't believe a room full of executives approved a show called Date My Mom But maybe that's why we're still talking about these shows twenty years later because they captured a version of pop culture that could only exist in that exact moment, before algorithms, before influencers, before every mistake lived online forever. And I'm kind of glad I got to experience it, you know? I'm kind of glad that I got to like live through it and can talk about the craziness Thank you so much for listening to Nostalgian now.