Double Dare
Double Dare was a children's
game show, originally hosted by
Marc Summers, that aired on
Nickelodeon. It is often credited with putting the then-fledgling network on the map.
The show originated from the
WHYY-TV studios in
Philadelphia in
1986. In
1987, the show temporarily moved to
New York City for a special weekend edition called
Super Sloppy Double Dare. The show returned to Philadelphia in
1988; by then
Viacom syndicated the show to the young
Fox network (in markets where the Fox station wasn't an
O&O, or there was no Fox station, the show aired on
Independent stations). The
Super Sloppy format reappeared the following year, and production of the show moved to
Universal Studios Florida, where it remained until its cancellation in
1992. The final episodes aired in
1993.
Main Game
|
Every episode of "Double Dare" begins with a toss-up physical challenge performed by both teams. |
The show begins with Marc Summers saying these six words: "On your mark, get set, GO!"
Two teams of two kids each competed for cash and prizes. Originally, both teams wore red uniforms, but after
Double Dare's syndication began in 1988, one team began wearing blue uniforms.
Each round began with a toss-up challenge in which both teams competed. The winner received $20
USD and control of the round. Summers would begin the round by asking trivia questions to the team that won control in the toss-up challenge. A correct answer would earn money and maintain control of the round; an incorrect response would give the other team control. If a team did not know the answer, they could "dare" the other team to answer it. Host Marc Summers typically explained the rules of the game as follows:
Scoring
=Double Dare and Super Sloppy Double Dare
=
| Round | Toss-Up | Question with NO Dare | Dare | Double Dare |
|---|
| 1 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 40 |
| 2 | 40 | 20 | 40 | 80 |
=Family Double Dare (1988)
=
| Round | Toss-Up | Question with NO Dare | Dare | Double Dare |
|---|
| 1 | 50 | 25 | 50 | 100 |
| 2 | 100 | 50 | 100 | 200 |
=Family Double Dare (1990-1993) and Double Dare 2000
=
| Round | Toss-Up | Question with NO Dare | Dare | Double Dare |
|---|
| 1 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 100 |
| 2 | 50 | 50 | 100 | 200 |
Additionally,
Double Dare 2000 featured the "Triple Dare Challenge" in round two. If the team chose to take it, physical challenges were worth $300 and a prize.
Physical Challenges
Physical challenges were stunts, usually messy, that a team had to perform in an allotted time, usually either 10, 15, 20 or 30 seconds. Most challenges involved filling a container past a line with a variety of substances: water, uncooked rice, green
slime, whipped cream, "a milk-like substance", etc. to name a few.
Others involved catching a certain number of items before time ran out. "Pie in the Pants," where a contestant had to catch 3 or 4 pies in under 30 (or 20) seconds, is an example of this.
Completing the stunt won the team $40 USD ($80 USD in round 2) and control of the round. Otherwise, the money and control of the round went to the other team.
A later spinoff,
Double Dare 2000 introduced the "Triple Dare Challenge." Available only in round two, this allowed a team to make their physical challenge more difficult in exchange for six times the dare amount (or $300, in this incarnation of the show) and a bonus prize. Sometimes this included shaving time off (turning a 30-second challenge into a 25-second one, for instance), or adding difficulty to the stunt (catching 5 pies instead of 4).
The Obstacle Course
The team with the highest score at the end of round two went on to the final challenge of the game, the Obstacle Course. The course consisted of 8 obstacles which had to be completed within 60 seconds. Each obstacle had an orange flag either at the end of or hidden within it.
One team member would start at the first obstacle and upon completion, pass its flag to his partner, who would then move on to the second obstacle. The team would continue to alternate like this until they completed the course or time ran out- whichever came first.
The team won a prize for each obstacle completed. During the Fox run of
Family Double Dare, cash was awarded at obstacle #7 in place of a prize, and the eighth flag won the grand prize. In the original and
Super Sloppy versions, the grand prize was usually a vacation. In Fox
Family Double Dare, as well as the first season of the Nickelodeon run, it was a brand new car. In 1992, it was changed back to a vacation; however, the family that won the tournament held that season had the chance to run the Obstacle Course for a car (see below).
Super Sloppy Double Dare
The format of
Super Sloppy Double Dare copied that of the original program. Launched in 1987, it aired on the weekends on Nickelodeon. To compete with other children's game shows at the time, the format returned on the air in
1989.
Family Double Dare
Family Double Dare premiered on Fox on
April 3,
1988, and moved to its regular Saturday night slot that week. This spinoff featured two teams of four: two kids with two parents. The same rules used for the regular version of
Double Dare applied.
More money was at stake in this version. The opening toss-up challenge netted a team $25 USD ($50 on FOX) in round one ($50 USD ($100 on FOX) in round two). Dollar values doubled in round two. The grand prize for the obstacle course was a new car (in 1988 and 1990) or a family vacation (in 1992).
Family Double Dare ended its Fox run by July 1988. Nickelodeon put it back into production in
1990, and finally cancelled it in
1992. Producers taped some new episodes after the cancellation. Summers himself has said about the show, "We could do reruns forever."
The final season of the Nickelodeon run ended with a Tournament of Champions. The two teams with the highest scores of the season, along with the two teams with the fastest obstacle course times, were invited back to participate in the special hour-long final episode in a battle of "Brains vs. Brawn". The two "Brains" (high scoring teams) played each other in a full game of Double Dare (sans the Obstacle Course); a full game with the "Brawns" team immediately followed. The winning families from these two games then faced each other in a final full-length game (labeled "Brains vs. Brawn) to determine the grand champion, who won a large
trophy and the right to run the Obstacle Course one final time for a car. The winning family, whose team moniker was "Granite Toast", indeed won the car at the end of the show.
The final original episode aired in 1993, and
Family Double Dare reruns continued up to February 1999. The Fox run was distributed by
Viacom.
Celebrity Double Dare
A 1988 pilot,
Celebrity Double Dare was produced by
Ron Greenberg and featured celebrity team captains and host
Bruce Jenner, with
Bob Hilton announcing. The format was also slightly different: questions had two possible answers, with each team member giving one, and the obstacle course offered a new car as the grand prize. This version was never picked up.
Super Special Double Dare
Super Special Double Dare was a short series of special
Double Dare episodes featuring celebrities just like the aforementioned-above version, sport teams, cast members from other Nickelodeon shows. These episodes used two teams of four contestants, with all winnings going to charity.
Double Dare 2000
Double Dare 2000 was the revived version of the show which premiered on
January 22,
2000.
Jason Harris hosted this version of the show; original host Summers was the executive consultant. The purpose of Double Dare 2000 was to only be in production of the year
2000.
Double Dare 2000 followed the
Family Double Dare format with a revamped set and bigger physical challenges. It also featured the new "Triple Dare Challenge" option in round two, introduced "goooze", and referred to the obstacle course as the "Slopstacle Course".
Double Dare 2000 was cancelled in December 2000. The show itself was similar to
Family Feud and
Beat the Clock.
Rerun status
All four versions of
Double Dare have aired in reruns on Nickelodeon's digital cable network
Nickelodeon GAS at some point since
2001; however, the only version currently airing is
Double Dare 2000.
During
Double Dare's original run, the set changed very little. The most noticeable change during the course of the series was changing the background behind the host's podium to a similar glass-block style as was behind the contestants' podiums which started in 1988. Also, a physical challenge floor was added in 1989 during the second run of SSDD. Originally, the Philly shows had the physical challenge and obstacle course floor merged as one. Halfway when the show moved to Orlando, the physical challenge and obstacle course floor became separated as two different floors.
When the show started in 1986, 3-digit triangular scoreboards were used and had a "$" on the bottom. Eventually, the dollar sign was replaced by a "DD" logo. On the Fox Family Double Dare run, rectangular-shaped four-digit scoreboards replaced the three-digit ones. Nickeloeon initially used the three-digit scoreboards for their run. However, early in the Nickelodeon run of Family Double Dare, a team happened to win the game with $1,050. Due to the lack of a fourth digit, only "050" could be displayed. To prevent this from happening again, the four-digit scoreboards were brought back (except Super Special Double Dare in 1992).
Double Dare's popularity led to a variety of products made available for sale.
Games and Toys
Double Dare home game (tie-in with first version of
Super Sloppy Double Dare),
1987Double Dare LCD handheld games ("Pie in the Pants," "Balloon Buster," and "Flying Sundaes"),
1988Double Dare jigsaw puzzle, 1988
Double Dare computer game (IBM and Apple versions),
1989Wet 'n Wild Double Dare home game (tie-in with second version of
Super Sloppy Double Dare), 1989
Double Dare yo-yo, 1989
Super Sloppy Double Dare pinball machine, 1989
*
Double Dare video game (
NES),
1990Double Dare 2000: the Game (tie-in with
Double Dare 2000),
2001Apparel
*
T-shirts, available in retail stores and on
Double Dare Live Tour stops
*
belt buckles
*
painter's caps, available on
Double Dare Live Tour stops
*
pajamas |
"Messiest Moments" video cover |
Home Videos
Double Dare: The Messiest Moments,
1988Double Dare: The Inside Scoop,
1988How to Throw a Double Dare Party,
1989Double Dare: Super Sloppiest Moments,
1994Books
The Double Dare Game Book, by
Daniella Burr,
1988The All-New Double Dare Game Book, by Daniella Burr,
1989School Supplies
Double Dare lunchbox, featuring the Dueling D's on the Sundae Slide, 1988
Double Dare folders, 1988
*
Marc Summers (host
1986-
1993; producer
1992-
1993; executive consultant
2000)
*
John Harvey ("Harvey," announcer, 1986-
1992)
*Robin Marella (stage assistant, 1986-1993)
*Dave Shikiar (stage assistant, 1986-
1989)
*
Doc Holliday (announcer, 1992-1993)
*
Jason Harris (host, 2000)
*Tiffany Phillips (announcer, 2000)
*
Edd Kalehoff (composer, 1986-1993)
*
Rick Witkowski (composer, 2000)
*
Quebec,
Canada - A
French language version hosted by Gilles Payer, called
Double Défi, which aired on
TVA.
*
The Netherlands - A
Dutch language version called
DD Show.
*
Germany - The German version
Drops! was broadcast by
Sat.1.
*
United Kingdom - This
BBC version was part of a Saturday morning block of programming called
Going Live with
Peter Simon.
*
Australia - Several episodes of this version were taped for broadcast in the United States with the tagline "G'day U.S.A.!" One special episode featured an American team and an Australian team playing for the Kangaroo Cup. Australia also produced a version of
Family Double Dare, which only lasted for three episodes, but marked the debut of veteran emcee
Larry Emdur. The hosts of the regular version were Gerry Sont, then Tom Jennings, and then Simon Watt (who served as announcer during Gerry and Tom's runs). The program aired on
Network Ten from 1989-1992.
*
Brazil - A
Portuguese language version called
Passa ou Repassa (Pass or Repass). Family, celebrity and school versions were also produced. This program had a moment named "Torta na Cara" (Pie on the Face) where the teams would face off answering questions. The contestant who incorrectly answered received a pie in the face from his or her opponent. There were several hosts of this version, with
Augusto "Gugu" Liberato being the most popular and longest-running of the hosts. It aired on
SBT from 1987-2000.
*
India - Nickelodeon India's version called
Nick Dum Duma Dum, which uses the
Family Double Dare format. It is hosted by Vrajesh Hirjee, a popular film and TV actor.
*
doubledare.tv*
Joe's Double Dare Page*
The Double Dare Deluge*
The Double Dare Supersite*
Double Dare(Nick)*
Double Dare tshirt at RetroDuck.com
