Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island

*The Island*
The Island
Season 16
Presented by	T. J. Lavin
No. of contestants	20
Winners	Derrick Kosinski ; Evelyn Smith; Johnny Devenanzio ; Kenny Santucci;
Location	Boca del Drago, Panama
Opening Theme	"Devour" by Shinedown
No. of episodes	9
Release
Original network	MTV
Original release	September 10 –; November 5, 2008
Season chronology
	← Previous; The Gauntlet III Next →; The Duel II

Last updated October 12, 2024

Like previous seasons of The Challenge, The Island featured cast members from various past seasons of The Real World and Road Rules , competing along with several cast members from the Fresh Meat season of The Challenge. This season featured the contestants "stranded" on an island off the coast of Panama, where the cast competed for a buried treasure chest filled with $300,000 in gold. Unlike in previous seasons, the cast was not housed in a luxurious dwelling, but was "forced" to improvise and "work" for the basic necessities of food and shelter, as on the TV series Survivor . There were no predetermined teams. Instead, the cast members had to forge their own alliances. Of the twenty cast members, there were only four winners.^[1]The Island premiered on September 10, 2008, and concluded on October 29, 2008.

Format

The contestants are "stranded" on an island, the objective of the challenge is to construct two boats that they are eventually going to be used to reach a nearby island where the buried treasure of $300,000 is hidden. Once the boats are complete, only eight key-holders are allowed to board and compete in a 4-on-4 race to get to the buried treasure.^[2]

At the beginning of each episode, materials to build the boats, food, information about the boats and some luxury are air-dropped, it's up to the contestants to decide how the food is divided and to assemble the pieces and make sure their vessels are seaworthy.^[2]

They then have to choose 3 contestants to go into a face-off. In order to get one of the keys to be in the final race and have a shot for the money, contestants must risk it all in this three-way face-offs. After each face-off, the winner receives a key, the losers get a chance to speak in front of every contestant as should why they should stay in the island, the contestants (except for the winner of the face-off) vote on who should leave the island. In the case of a tie, the winner of the face-off decides who leaves and who stays.^[2]

However, the rules of the challenge are given to the competitors as the challenge advances,^[3] and the way to get the keys can change at any moment. At the end of the season, the eight key-holders have to divide themselves into two teams of four, build their boats and race to the island where the buried treasure of $300,000 is hidden. The final eliminated contestants can help.^[4]

Contestants

Contestants^[5]	Original season	Finish
Derrick Kosinski	Road Rules: X-Treme	Winner
Evelyn Smith	Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat	Winner
Johnny Devenanzio	The Real World: Key West	Winner
Kenny Santucci	Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat	Winner
Jenn Grijalva	The Real World: Denver	Runner-up
Paula Meronek	The Real World: Key West	Runner-up
Robin Hibbard	The Real World: San Diego	Runner-up
Ryan Kehoe	Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat	Runner-up
Dunbar Merrill	The Real World: Sydney	Episode 8
Johanna Botta	The Real World: Austin	Episode 8
KellyAnne Judd	The Real World: Sydney	Episode 8
Dan Walsh	Road Rules 2007: Viewers' Revenge	Episode 8
Colie Edison	The Real World: Denver	Episode 7
Cohutta Grindstaff	The Real World: Sydney	Episode 6
Tyrie Ballard	The Real World: Denver	Episode 5
Ashli Robson	The Real World: Sydney	Episode 4^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Rachel Robinson	Road Rules: Campus Crawl	Episode 3
Abram Boise	Road Rules: South Pacific	Episode 2
Dave Malinosky	The Real World: Hollywood	Episode 2^{[lower-alpha 2]}
Tonya Cooley	The Real World: Chicago	Episode 1

Face-offs

Leaning Tower: Contestants must swim out to retrieve 12 pegs that will help them climb a telephone pole with a bell at the top. The first to the climb to the top and ring the bell wins.
- Played by:Abram vs. Kenny vs. Tonya
Ring Wrestle: Contestants must all hold onto a ring and wrestle it out of the other's hands. The last person remaining wins.
- Played by:Abram vs. Derrick vs. Johnny
The Rack: Contestants must sit on two parallel bars situated over water and never lose contact with both bars. The last person remaining wins.^[6]
- Played by:KellyAnne vs. Rachel vs. Robin
Ball Buster: Contestants get to pick a partner and they all must fight to push a 9-foot-tall (2.7 m) ball into their goal twice. The first person to do so wins.^[7]
- Played by:Ashli vs. Jenn vs. Paula^{[lower-alpha 3]}
Bridge It: Contestants must walk back and forth across a bridge. After every time they walk across, they must remove one of the planks, making it more difficult for the next person to walk across. The only person who does not fall from the bridge wins.
- Played by:Dan vs. Evelyn vs. Tyrie
Rat in a Cage: Contestants are each be locked in their own cage and each has four locks. Four keys are scattered that they have to untie. The first out of the cage wins.^[8]
- Played by:Johnny vs. Cohutta vs. Derrick
Timbur: Contestants must stand on a stump and hold two heavy tree trunks up with each arm. Whoever holds the two tree trunks the longest wins.^[9]
- Played by:Johanna vs. Colie vs. Ryan
Water Bound: Contestants are shackled at the ankles and dropped in a tank of water with a weight. They must continuously bounce up and sink back down with the weight. The person who holds the weight the longest wins.^[4]
- Played by:Dan vs. Evelyn vs. KellyAnne vs. Johanna

Game summary

Episode		Face-off participants	Face-off outcome
#	Face-off	Face-off participants	Winner	Key Stolen	Saved	Eliminated	Vote
1	Leaning Tower	Abram	Abram	—	Kenny	Tonya	14-3
		Kenny
		Tonya
2^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Ring Wrestle	Abram	Derrick		Johnny	Abram	9-6
		Derrick
		Johnny
3	The Rack	KellyAnne	KellyAnne		Robin	Rachel	8-6
		Rachel
		Robin
4	Ball Buster^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Ashli	Paula		Jenn	Ashli^{[lower-alpha 1]}	7-0
		Jenn
		Paula
5	Bridge It	Dan	Evelyn	Johnny	Dan	Tyrie	9-2
		Evelyn
		Tyrie
6	Rat in a Cage	Cohutta	Johnny	Evelyn	Derrick	Cohutta	10-1
		Derrick
		Johnny
7	Timber	Colie	Ryan	KellyAnne	Johanna	Colie	10-0
		Johanna
		Ryan
8	Water Bound	Dan	Evelyn	Dunbar	—	Dan	—
		Evelyn				Dunbar
		Johanna				Johanna
		KellyAnne				KellyAnne
	Final Challenge	Winners: Derrick, Evelyn, Johnny, Kenny			2nd place: Jenn, Paula, Robin, Ryan

Red Boat

Blue Boat

Face-off progress

Contestants	Episodes
Contestants	1	2^{[lower-alpha 2]}	3	4	5	6	7	Finale
Derrick	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	RISK	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
Evelyn	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WON	LOSE	SAFE	WON	WINNER
Johnny	SAFE	SAVE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSE	WON	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
Kenny	SAVE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
Jenn	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAVE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSER
Paula	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSER
Robin	SAFE	SAFE	SAVE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSER
Ryan	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WON	SAFE	LOSER
Dunbar	SAFE	KEY	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOST
Johanna	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	RISK	LAST
KellyAnne	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	LOSE	LAST
Dan	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	RISK	SAFE	SAFE	LAST
Colie	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Cohutta	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Tyrie	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Ashli	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Rachel	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Abram	WIN	OUT
Dave	SAFE	QUIT
Tonya	OUT

Competition: The contestant won the competition; The contestant made it to the end of the challenge, but lost in the final; The contestant won the face-off and a key; The contestant won the face-off and took the key of another contestant; The contestant lost the face-off, but was not eliminated and received a key; The contestant lost the face-off, but was not eliminated; The contestant had their key stolen by the face-off winner; The contestant had their key stolen by the face-off winner and was automatically eliminated; The contestant lost the face-off and was automatically eliminated; The contestant lost the face-off and was voted out; The contestant quit the competition; The contestant was given a key by an eliminated player

Voting progress

Players		Episodes
Voted Out		Tonya 14 of 17 votes	Abram 9 of 15 votes	Rachel 8 of 14 votes	Ashli 7 of 13 votes	Tyrie 9 of 11 votes	Cohutta 10 of 11 votes	Colie 10 of 10 votes	No Vote
Players		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Derrick	Kenny		Rachel	Ashli	Tyrie		Colie
	Evelyn	Tonya	Johnny	Robin	Ashli		Cohutta	Colie
	Johnny	Tonya		Rachel	Ashli	Tyrie		Colie
	Kenny		Abram	Rachel	Not Shown	Tyrie	Cohutta	Colie
	Jenn	Kenny	Johnny	Robin		Dan	Cohutta	Colie
	Paula	Tonya	Abram	Rachel		Tyrie	Cohutta	Colie
	Robin	Tonya	Johnny		Not Shown	Tyrie	Cohutta	Colie
	Ryan	Kenny	Abram	Rachel	Not Shown	Tyrie	Cohutta
Dunbar		Tonya	Abram	Rachel	Not Shown	Tyrie	Cohutta	Colie
Johanna		Tonya	Abram	Rachel	Not Shown	Not Shown	Cohutta
KellyAnne		Tonya	Johnny		Ashli	Tyrie	Derrick	Colie
Dan		Tonya	Abram	Rachel	Ashli		Cohutta	Colie
Colie		Tonya	Abram	Robin	Not Shown	Dan	Cohutta
Cohutta		Tonya	Abram	Robin	Ashli	Tyrie
Tyrie		Tonya	Abram	Robin	Ashli
Ashli		Tonya	Johnny	Robin
Rachel		Tonya	Johnny
Abram
Dave		Tonya
Tonya

Key holders

Key	Episode
Key	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	Abram	Dunbar						Evelyn
2	Kenny
3		Derrick
4		Johnny			Evelyn	Johnny
5			KellyAnne				Ryan
6			Robin
7				Paula
8				Jenn

Key holder at the end of each episode

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original air date
213	1	"Welcome to the Island"	September 10, 2008 (2008-09-10)
214	2	"Calling It Quits"	September 17, 2008 (2008-09-17)
215	3	"Girl Fight"	September 24, 2008 (2008-09-24)
216	4	"Are You a Quitter?"	October 1, 2008 (2008-10-01)
217	5	"Ev vs. The Island"	October 8, 2008 (2008-10-08)
218	6	"Island King"	October 15, 2008 (2008-10-15)
219	7	"Down to the Wire"	October 22, 2008 (2008-10-22)
220	8	"Sailing to Victory"	October 29, 2008 (2008-10-29)

Reunion special

The Island Reunion: The Final Face Off aired on November 5, 2008 and was hosted by Carlos Santos from MTV Tres. The cast members who attended were: Johanna, Paula, Kenny, Derrick, Johnny, Evelyn, Ryan, Jenn, KellyAnne and Robin. A promo from the upcoming The Real World: Brooklyn season is shown.^[10]

Controversy

The season sparked controversy for production's poor respect of the local environment. Panamanian locals criticised MTV for clearing a small patch of forest for construction, developing an access road through the forest and installing generators and lighting on the beach.^[11]

Notes

1 2 Ashli cut her foot prior to the Face-off. She was still able to compete, but the injury affected her performance.
1 2 3 Dave quit in episode 2, being fed up with the living conditions.
1 2 Ashli, Paula and Jenn had to pick a partner for the "Ball Buster" face-off. They respectively chose Derrick, Dunbar and Tyrie.

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References

↑ "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
1 2 3 "Episode 1: "Welcome To The Island" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 19, 2009.
↑ "Episode 5: "Ev vs. The Island" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 20, 2009.
1 2 "Episode 8: "Sailing To Victory" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 18, 2009.
↑ "Cast bio page for Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
↑ "Episode 3: "Girl Fight" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 19, 2009.
↑ "Episode 4: "Are You A Quitter?" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 20, 2009.
↑ "Episode 6: "Island King" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on June 15, 2009.
↑ "Episode 7: "Down To The Wire" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 18, 2009.
↑ "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island Reunion: The Final Face Off – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 18, 2009.
↑ Lewis, Hilary (September 17, 2008). "MTV Destroys Rainforest for Reality Show". Business Insider.

External links

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[Asli-6] 1 2 Ashli cut her foot prior to the Face-off. She was still able to compete, but the injury affected her performance.

[Dave-7] 1 2 3 Dave quit in episode 2, being fed up with the living conditions.

[episode4-10] 1 2 Ashli, Paula and Jenn had to pick a partner for the "Ball Buster" face-off. They respectively chose Derrick, Dunbar and Tyrie.

[1] "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.

[Episode1-2] 1 2 3 "Episode 1: "Welcome To The Island" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 19, 2009.

[Episode5-3] "Episode 5: "Ev vs. The Island" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 20, 2009.

[Episode8-4] 1 2 "Episode 8: "Sailing To Victory" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 18, 2009.

[5] "Cast bio page for Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.

[Episode3-8] "Episode 3: "Girl Fight" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 19, 2009.

[Episode4-9] "Episode 4: "Are You A Quitter?" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 20, 2009.

[Episode6-11] "Episode 6: "Island King" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on June 15, 2009.

[Episode7-12] "Episode 7: "Down To The Wire" – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 18, 2009.

[13] "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island Reunion: The Final Face Off – Video at MTV.com". MTV . Archived from the original on May 18, 2009.

[14] Lewis, Hilary (September 17, 2008). "MTV Destroys Rainforest for Reality Show". Business Insider.

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v t e The Challenge
Seasons	Road Rules: All Stars Real World/Road Rules Challenge Challenge 2000 Extreme Challenge Battle of the Seasons (2002) Battle of the Sexes The Gauntlet The Inferno Battle of the Sexes 2 The Inferno II The Gauntlet 2 Fresh Meat The Duel The Inferno 3 The Gauntlet III The Island The Duel II The Ruins Fresh Meat II Cutthroat Rivals Battle of the Exes Battle of the Seasons (2012) Rivals II Free Agents Battle of the Exes II Battle of the Bloodlines Rivals III Invasion of the Champions XXX: Dirty 30 Vendettas Final Reckoning War of the Worlds War of the Worlds 2 Total Madness Double Agents Spies, Lies & Allies Ride or Dies Battle for a New Champion 40: Battle of the Eras
Spin-offs	Spring Break Challenge Champs vs. Pros Champs vs. Stars Season 1 2 All Stars Season 1 2 3 4 USA Season 1 2 Australia Argentina: El Desafío UK World Championship Sweden
Related	Cast members The Real World Road Rules Are You the One? MTV