Double Dare
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Double Dare was a Nickelodeon game show hosted by Marc Summers. It was originally produced at the PBS affiliate WHYY in Philadelphia in 1986; and in 1987 moved to New York City for a special weekend edition of the program. In 1988 the show returned to Philadelphia once again and also became syndicated on FOX affiliates for two years, but before long made its permanent move to be produced in Orlando, Florida at the Universal Studios, until 1992, with the final episodes airing in 1993.
The game was played by two teams of two kids, the red team and the blue (although both teams were originally red until 1988). At the start of each round, the two teams performed a toss-up challenge, with the winner of that receiving twenty U.S. dollars and control of the first round, until that team either incorrectly answered a question or failed to complete a physical challenge. Marc would then ask the winning team a question worth $10. If they didn't know the answer or think the other team didn't have a clue, they could "Dare" them to answer it for double the dollars. However the second team could "Double Dare" them back for four times the amount. The first team would either have to answer that question or take the physical challenge. Dollar amounts were doubled in round two. The team with the highest score at the end of round two went on to the obstacle course.
The goal of the obstacle course was to run through 8 "stations" in 60 seconds or less. In each obstacle, a team member would try to retrieve/find a small pennant/flag and give it to their partner, who would then do the next obstacle. A prize was assigned for each obstacle, and if the team successfully finished the course in 60 seconds or less, they would win the grand prize, which was in most cases a trip (or a car in the "Family" version).
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Spinoffs
- Super Sloppy Double Dare (1987) - Nickelodeon's short-lived weekend version of the original.
- Family Double Dare (1988) - A short-lived version, syndicated to FOX, in which two families of four people each competed; The values were now $25, $50 on a dare, and $100 on a double dare.
- Celebrity Double Dare (1988) - The pilot for an adult version of the show, featuring celebrity team captains and hosted by Bruce Jenner; this version was never picked up.
- Super Sloppy Double Dare (1989) - The '87 spinoff was returned to production for a year to compete with other children's game shows
- Family Double Dare (1990 - 1993) - Nickelodeon's redesign of FOX's version. (The kids-only version was cancelled in 1991)
- Super Special Double Dare (1992) - A very short-lived version in which teams were made of Nickelodeon or sports celebrities
- Double Dare 2000 (2000) - Hosted by Jason Harris, this was an updated version of Family Double Dare; it lasted for one year and used the Family format.
International Versions
- Quebec, Canada - A French language version called Double Défi.
- The Netherlands - A Dutch language version called DD Show.
- United Kingdom - This BBC version was part of a Saturday morning block of programming called Going Live.
- 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 Austrailian team playing for the Kangaroo Cup. Australia also produced a version of Family Double Dare, which only lasted for three episodes.
- 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.
- India - Nickelodeon India's version called Nick Dum Duma Dum, which uses the Family Double Dare format.
Links
- doubledare.tv (http://www.doubledare.tv)
- Joe's Double Dare Page (http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/joeyddfan/index2.html)
- The Double Dare Delue (http://members.fortunecity.com/gameshowplaza/doubledaredeluge/ddintro.htm)
- The Double Dare Supersite (http://www.doubledaresupersite.com)
Miscellaneous
- Double Dare was also the name of a short-lived quiz show that ran on CBS in 1976 and 1977; see Double Dare (1976)
- Double Dare is also a film that screened at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival.