50 Fun Facts About Double Dare

In what year did Double Dare premiere as Nickelodeon's first game show?

Within weeks it had more than tripled viewership for the network's afternoon lineup.

What protective gear were kids given before running the obstacle course?

Even so, host Marc Summers has said two children were injured on the course over the years.

What were the messy stunts on Double Dare officially called?

Both kids on a team took part in every stunt on the original version.

On the original Double Dare, how much was a question initially worth?

Family Double Dare and Double Dare 2000 started questions at $25, and the 2018 revival at $50.

After a dare and a double dare, a question is worth how many times its original value?

The team in control then has to answer or take the physical challenge.

How many obstacles make up the Double Dare obstacle course?

Teams get a single minute, passing a flag from one partner to the next after each obstacle.

The messy stunts usually had to be completed within what time limit?

Double Dare 2000 standardised them at 30 seconds.

The obstacle called Pick It was a giant version of what?

A flag was hidden inside, and it became the obstacle everyone remembers first.

Which obstacle sent kids down a chocolate-covered ramp into ice cream?

It led onto a playground slide with the ice cream waiting at the bottom.

The oversized rodent exercise contraption on the obstacle course was known by what name?

It became one of the course's signature obstacles across every version of the show.

On the Gum Drop obstacle, contestants leapt into a giant version of what?

They had to slide out through the dispensing hatch at the bottom, through a sea of plastic balls.

On Double Dare, the grand prize for finishing the obstacle course was usually a vacation or a trip to what?

The full eight-prize haul was usually worth $3,000 to $4,000, occasionally nearing $10,000.

On the 1988 Fox run of Family Double Dare, the obstacle course grand prize was typically what?

The Fox version had a bigger budget and a bigger prize board than the Nickelodeon original.

The 1988 Family Double Dare episodes aired on Saturday nights on which network?

Thirteen episodes ran from April to July before the network cancelled over 'creative differences'.

Who hosted the 2000 revival, Double Dare 2000?

Tiffany Phillips announced, and Marc Summers stayed on as an executive consultant.

Which YouTube star hosted the 2018 Double Dare revival alongside Marc Summers?

The pair earned a joint Kids' Choice Award nomination for Favorite TV Host in 2019.

What new option did the 2000 revival add to round two?

Taking it could also shave time off the 30-second physical challenge clock.

The original Double Dare announcer, a local radio host, was known on air simply as what?

John Harvey skipped the final Family Double Dare season to be with his newborn son and was replaced by a Florida DJ, Doc Holliday.

Along with Dave Shikiar, who was one of the two original on-camera stage assistants on Double Dare?

She was later joined by Jaime Bojanowski and Chris Miles for Family Double Dare.

The original set's glass bricks and pink-and-yellow checkerboards were inspired by which 1980s Italian design group?

Producer Geoffrey Darby also asked for the set to look like an indoor swimming pool.

Producer Geoffrey Darby directed that the original set should resemble what kind of building?

That is a fancy word for a swimming pool, which suited a show built on getting soaked.

Double Dare's developers based the format on trivia, truth or dare, and which board game?

Dee LaDuke, Robert Mittenthal, Michael Klinghoffer and Geoffrey Darby put the combination together.

Which comedian was among the initial candidates considered to host Double Dare?

Soupy Sales was another early name; Marc Summers won a two-man final audition.

Why was Marc Summers obligated by the network not to mention his age publicly for years?

He was 34 at the time; viewers guessed he was more than a decade younger.

The original Double Dare was taped at the studios of PBS station WHYY-TV in which city?

The city was chosen for its lower production costs; the whole 65-episode first season was shot in 23 days.

How many days did it take to record the entire 65-episode first season?

Taping began on September 18, 1986, less than three weeks before the premiere.

Family Double Dare and later Super Sloppy Double Dare were produced at Universal Studios where?

Nickelodeon Studios opened there in 1990, and 80 Family Double Dare episodes were shot over two seasons.

Who composed all of the original Double Dare music?

Double Dare 2000 remixed his soundtrack in a surf-rock style courtesy of former Crack the Sky guitarist Rick Witkowski.

Before Double Dare entered syndication in 1988, what colour uniforms did both teams wear?

Only afterward did one team switch to blue so viewers could tell them apart.

In 1987, Viacom produced adult-player Double Dare pilots hosted by which Olympic gold medallist?

The adult versions never made it to air, but Fox soon partnered with Viacom on the syndicated run.

How many stations was Super Sloppy Double Dare syndicated to by the end of its run?

The series left syndication on September 8, 1989.

The 1992 special NBA All-Star Double Dare featured alumni of which league competing?

A companion special pitted the casts of Clarissa Explains It All and Welcome Freshmen against each other.

Family Double Dare ended on February 7, 1993, with a one-hour episode of what kind?

It included a 'brains vs. brawn' mini-tournament.

In 2001, TV Guide ranked Double Dare where on its list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows?

It also won a CableACE Award in 1989 and remains Nickelodeon's longest-running game show.

On the 2018 revival, which side got to keep the money it earned?

Every earlier version let both teams keep their winnings regardless of the result.

The 2018 Double Dare episodes were recorded at which Los Angeles lot?

Nickelodeon ordered 40 episodes and shot them all in June 2018.

Which NBA star raced Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps through the obstacle course on the 2018 revival?

Other episodes brought back All That alumni Jamie Lynn Spears and Josh Server as contestants.

A 2019 Double Dare special with NFL players was simulcast on the day of which NFL championship game?

It aired across Nickelodeon, TeenNick and Nicktoons on February 3, 2019.

Double Dare Challenge opened in 2016 at Nickelodeon Universe inside which giant mall?

Before that, Double Dare Live ran nightly for guests of a Nickelodeon-branded Florida resort from 2012 to 2016.

Stages based on Double Dare are playable in which 2020 video game?

The show also turned up as downloadable content in the 2021 fighter Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.

Marc Summers was born under what surname?

He grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and went on to a long second career on Food Network.

Which condition did Marc Summers discover he had in 1994, an irony for the host of TV's messiest show?

He wrote about it in his 1999 memoir Everything in Its Place.

After Double Dare, Marc Summers became best known for hosting which Food Network series?

The show toured candy and snack factories; he now hosts a podcast called Marc Summers Unwraps.

How many viewers watched the June 2018 revival premiere, making it Nickelodeon's top show that day?

The 2016 30th-anniversary reunion special had drawn 1.126 million on Nick at Nite.

Reruns of every Double Dare version cycled from 1999 to 2009 on which Nickelodeon spin-off channel?

GAS stood for Games and Sports; the channel closed in 2009.

Which shoe company sponsored Double Dare throughout its run?

Nickelodeon turned down other tie-ins, including a Casio logo on the stage clock and a Double Dare breakfast cereal.

Which magazine spoofed the show in 1988 as 'Double Damp', hosted by 'Muck Slummers' and 'Hardly'?

Both Marc Summers and Harvey consider being parodied there a high point of their careers.

Which band's 2011 video for 'Last Night' staged a game of Family Double Dare?

Guitarist Benji Madden played the announcer Harvey while his bandmates ran the questions, physical challenges and obstacle course.

Which company published a Double Dare video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990?

The same publisher had released a PC version in 1988, and Pressman had already sold two board games based on the show.

Which Orlando hotel staged Double Dare Live nightly for guests from 2012 to 2016?

The scaled-down Double Dare Challenge at Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe grew out of that stage version.