Nickelodeon Game Shows

[DodgerGirl]

Right now I am currently watching reruns of Legends Of The Hidden Temple on Paramount+ and it brings to mind how Nickelodeon's game shows were fun and exciting and I wonder why Nickelodeon has lost interest in game shows today and focuses mainly on kids sitcoms and cartoons? Because when Double Dare debuted on Nickelodeon in 1986 it made Nickelodeon king of game shows and they were the best kids game shows. I think of all the 90's Nickelodeon game shows Legends Of The Hidden Temple Nickelodeon Arcade and Nickelodeon Guts were hit shows but I cannot figure out how Double Dare had so many versions of it like Super Sloppy Double Dare and Family Double Dare too and it seemed that Nickelodeon was gonna make a franchise of Double Dare. Another Nickelodeon game show I couldn't figure out was Figure It Out and when my cousins and I saw it I thought it was confusing and cannot figure out why it became a hit. In my eyes I think Nickelodeon saw these game shows as a way for the hosts of the shows to become popular and that's why Marc Summers and Mike O'Malley became big Nickelodeon game show stars. If Nickelodeon had game shows again I bet they would gain a huge audience jump and expand their channel a lot more

 

[LuvOrlando]

The Nickelodeon my kids grew up with in the 2000's was fantastic, they created such a fun space for kids with cartoons, slime and some game shows. So much silly fun!

Things went off the rails when they shifted attention to the Nick at Night and started to aim at the older audience, such a mistake to not just stay still and do more of what they were already doing well, ruined it.

 

[CynBeth]

I loved watching that network growing up especially the different game shows.

 

[tvguy]

Hard to believe those game shows were on OVER a generation ago. My kids grew up with them. Don't think they would work today, not what kids expect today.

 

[tvguy]

Things went off the rails when they shifted attention to the Nick at Night and started to aim at the older audience, such a mistake to not just stay still and do more of what they were already doing well, ruined it.

That is why our TV was mostly on Nick, the game shows and Nick and Nite. Something for everyone. But the reality is, the money was in Nick and nite.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I cannot figure out how Double Dare became such a hit? Because from what I watched of it I found the show very unappealing and I think the only reason why Double Dare became a hit in the first place was because of Marc Summers because that was his first big break in TV and now he's a star on Food Network. But the game show that Nickelodeon did that should've never made it to the air was Double Dare 2000 because that version tried hard to be like the original version but failed especially with new host Jason Harris and announcer Tiffany Phillips. But at least they tried to bring back Legends Of The Hidden Temple with the movie but for some reason they remade it for the CW with Cristela Alonzo as hostess and made it Survivor-like. If Nickelodeon brought back great game shows kids would love them a lot

 

[BrianL]

I cannot figure out how Double Dare became such a hit? Because from what I watched of it I found the show very unappealing and I think the only reason why Double Dare became a hit in the first place was because of Marc Summers because that was his first big break in TV and now he's a star on Food Network. But the game show that Nickelodeon did that should've never made it to the air was Double Dare 2000 because that version tried hard to be like the original version but failed especially with new host Jason Harris and announcer Tiffany Phillips. But at least they tried to bring back Legends Of The Hidden Temple with the movie but for some reason they remade it for the CW with Cristela Alonzo as hostess and made it Survivor-like. If Nickelodeon brought back great game shows kids would love them a lot

I think the gross-out factor played a part. That was very popular at the time.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Did you also watch Legends Of The Hidden Temple on Nickelodeon too growing up? I started watching reruns of it on Paramount+ and found it very cool and the final round was really exciting but really tough but kind of reminded me of the Double Dare Obstacle Course and my mom even likes Legends Of The Hidden Temple too because it reminded her of Survivor. Speaking of the Double Dare Obstacle Course when I would see Double Dare sometimes I always thought the obstacle course was cool but some of the obstacles were weird. Like I remember there was this obstacle where the players had to search for a flag in a giant nose while resting on a mat shaped like a round pillow and I thought the nose was so weird. But I do wish Nickelodeon would go back to creating their own original game shows in the future because they were so fun and entertaining. But it seems they had new game shows but they failed like BrainSurge and the remake of Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader with John Cena and as I am a huge John Cena fan I was curious to see how he'd do as a game show host and he did alright but not as great as Jeff Foxworthy

 

[RangerPooh]

I watched Double Dare back in the 80s and 90s. It was the games/challenge that brought you in. Legends of the Hidden Temple had the obstacle course, right? Who wouldn't want to run one? We also enjoyed Finders Keepers back in the 80s because you got to ransack rooms to locate the clues. My brother watched Guts, but it was meh for me.

I do think that they draw of these shows was the activity, messiness, and that a kid could participate. I mean you could replicate some of these games into scouts/youth groups/team building, etc. Another show that I enjoyed but wasn't technically a game show was "wild and crazy kids", again for so many of those reasons.

 

[tvguy]

I cannot figure out how Double Dare became such a hit? Because from what I watched of it I found the show very unappealing and I think the only reason why Double Dare became a hit in the first place was because of Marc Summers because that was his first big break in TV and now he's a star on Food Network. But the game show that Nickelodeon did that should've never made it to the air was Double Dare 2000 because that version tried hard to be like the original version but failed especially with new host Jason Harris and announcer Tiffany Phillips. But at least they tried to bring back Legends Of The Hidden Temple with the movie but for some reason they remade it for the CW with Cristela Alonzo as hostess and made it Survivor-like. If Nickelodeon brought back great game shows kids would love them a lot

In our household our kids hated Marc Summers but loved the stunts kids had to do.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I LOVED Double Dare as a kid - I used to imagine getting to be on the show and I would spend time thinking about who I would chose as my partner and what things I would like to be in the final obstacle course if I got to run it. Yeah - I was a total dork!!

 

[BrianL]

I LOVED Double Dare as a kid - I used to imagine getting to be on the show and I would spend time thinking about who I would chose as my partner and what things I would like to be in the final obstacle course if I got to run it. Yeah - I was a total dork!!

What were everyone's favorite obstacles? I really liked "Down the Hatch" but the "Sundae Slide" and "One-Ton Human Hamster Wheel" were classics too.

 

[DisneyHardin]

What were everyone's favorite obstacles? I really liked "Down the Hatch" but the "Sundae Slide" and "One-Ton Human Hamster Wheel" were classics too.

I liked those. I didn't like the pick the nose and dig in the ear ones.

 

[BrianL]

I liked those. I didn't like the pick the nose and dig in the ear ones.

The ear one really grossed me out. I was okay with "Pick It."

 

[DodgerGirl]

In our household our kids hated Marc Summers but loved the stunts kids had to do.

I couldn't figure out why Marc Summers became Nickelodeon's game show king when he hosted Double Dare? Because when I would see him I thought Marc Summers was annoying and always a comedian and his hairstyle reminds me of Jeremy Renner's hairstyle. But the Nickelodeon game show star I think is cool and he should've become a bigger star is Kirk Fogg from Legends Of The Hidden Temple because he not only made the show cool but fun and reminded me of Jeff Probst from Survivor. I sure do wish more of the classic Nickelodeon game shows would be put on Paramount+ because it's about time we saw Get The Picture and Finders Keepers reruns be shown again

 

[KPeterso]

I loved Double Dare as a kid. My friends and I would pretend we were on the show and make up obstacle courses around the backyard. We had so much fun and got creative how we could use swingsets and other toys as part of our obstacles.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I remember hearing about Finders Keepers and seeing clips of it on Youtube and I think when it first debuted in 1987 on Nickelodeon they were hoping that it would be just as successful as Double Dare but I do remember reading a story about how the host of the Nickelodeon version of Finders Keepers Wesley Eure was dropped from the show because he was too old and that's why the show got cancelled on Nickelodeon but when Finders Keepers was remade for syndication a guy named Larry Toffler became the new host and he was better than Wesley Eure. Prior to Finders Keepers Wesley Eure was on the old Land Of The Lost series. Another Nickelodeon game show that showed promise was Make The Grade which debuted in 1989 but also got cancelled too after three seasons. I think when you look at Nickelodeon in the past compared to the Nickelodeon of today they were very strong in the game show department but I don't know why Finders Keepers isn't on Paramount+ now

 

[DodgerGirl]

I couldn't figure out how Figure It Out became a hit game show for Nickelodeon but when I saw an episode with my cousins with my dad we thought the show was weird and we could guess the answers easily. The only reason I think Figure It Out became a hit was because of Summer Sanders as hostess and she made the show fun. But why Nickelodeon rebooted Double Dare i'll never know because I saw clips of the new version and it was more Minute To Win It like than the original Double Dare and why they cast Liza Koshy to host this version of Double Dare is a mystery to me and Nickelodeon should've put someone like Apolo Ohno as host. But if any game show needs to be rebooted for Nickelodeon and Paramount+ Legends Of The Hidden Temple should be rebooted because each time I see reruns of it it looked fun. And Olmec the mascot of the show is so funny and reminds me of Darth Vader when he speaks and when paired with Kirk Fogg made the show successful. I wonder if they ever made replica necklaces of the famous Pendant Of Life from Legends Of The Hidden Temple? Because when I see them I think it would look very pretty to wear with my outfits when I would go out shopping

 

[DodgerGirl]

I also watched Nickelodeon Guts too and my mother always thought it reminded her of a kids version of American Gladiators and that show was really cool and the referee on Nickelodeon Guts was always so full of energy and happy and the coolest thing about that show was the final challenge where the kids had to climb a mountain and got to take a piece of the rock mountain as a prize. My mother couldn't believe that Mike O'Malley hosted Nickelodeon Guts because she used to see the sitcom Yes, Dear and she liked Mike O'Malley on it because he was funny and it's hard to believe Mike moved from Nickelodeon game shows to sitcoms today

 

[DodgerGirl]

What were everyone's favorite obstacles? I really liked "Down the Hatch" but the "Sundae Slide" and "One-Ton Human Hamster Wheel" were classics too.

Was that the obstacle on Double Dare where one contestant climbed into the hamster wheel and the other contestant controlled it and got the flag? I do recall seeing that one. And the obstacle with the ear was called In One Ear which I thought was weird. I think the bonus round of Legends Of The Hidden Temple is also cool but better than the Double Dare Obstacle Course. What was your favorite challenge of Legends Of The Hidden Temple's bonus round Brian?