If you have been listening to the podcast for some time, then you probably know that I and my sister were HUGE fans of Nickelodeon, both their 'tween shows (i.e. Salute Your Shorts, Hey Dude, etc.) and their game shows. On this week's podcast episode, I was joined by Dan from the Generation S Podcast and we took a look back at some of the most beloved children's shows of the 80s and 90s.
Join me as we take a deeper look at these shows!
Double Dare: Ran from 1986- 1993
The show was hosted by Marc Summers - the beloved host was in his mid-30s when he was on the show, audiences thought he was 20 so he didn’t discuss his age on the show. The show was inspired by elements of trivia, truth or dare, and mouse trap. The show ended with an obstacle course. At one point this show was the most-watched original programming on a cable network. The show eventually evolved into Family Double Dare. Reboots of the show happened in 2000, and 2018 but nothing was quite as good as the original!
Wild and Crazy Kids: Ran from 1990 to 1992
Ran for 3 seasons, and 65 episodes. Each episode had 3 games. The show had 3 hosts - Donny Jeffcoat, Omar Gooding, and 2 different female hosts. No prizes were awarded on the show, just the glory of being on TV! There were several events that I distinctly remember: jumping off a diving board trying to catch a football, sitting on a skateboard opposite each other going down a large path in a park, closing down a mall for relay races, etc.
Nick Arcade: Started airing in 1992- it is unclear how many seasons there were, but sounds like there were two.
The show was hosted by Phil Moore who had to audition 5 times for the role! It was one of the first shows to be filmed at the Nickelodeon studios. Each episode had 2 teams of 2 contestants. Contestants competed in video game competitions both in the traditional sense and real-life video games where they got inserted into a live-action game. Contestants started the game in jeans and a t-shirt, and wore a beige jumpsuit in the final round - The Video Zone! The show was housed in a 10,000-square-foot facility so that the contestants could participate in real-life video games. Ground-breaking technology that could sense movements and actions to play games i.e. sense throwing snowballs was created and implemented just for this show! Contestants could see what they were doing on large tube tv off to the side. Many well-known (or soon-to-be well-known) celebrities on the show like Joey Fatone from N’Sync, the cast of Clarissa Explains it All, and the cast of Salute Your Shorts to name just a few!
Guts: Ran from 1992-1995
Three kids competed in various athletic events such as an obstacle course, pedaling a recumbent bike around a track, and pulling themselves across a pool while strapped to a boogie board. The show emphasized safety - had stunt experts at each event. Contestants wore helmets, long-sleeve moisture-wicking shirts, bike gloves, etc. The end of the show culminates in the final event where they climbed the agro-crag!
Legends of the Hidden Temple: Ran from 1993-1995
Hosted by Kirk Fogg with his sidekick Olmec, the talking character was supposed to look like an ancient stone carving. Dee Baker voiced Olmec, he actually moved the mouth to make it show movement and pulled a wire to make the mouth move up and down. Originally the show was going to be titled Secret of the Haunted House. Six teams competed, all wearing matching colored T-shirts- purple, red, gray, teal, etc. and wore gold helmets. There was an intense recording schedule - sometimes up to six episodes a day, filming each segment six times before moving on to the next, working late into the night. Sometimes the crew would have a few drinks and would run through the obstacles themselves. The last segment was the temple run where the winning team had to move through twelve different rooms. The set sort of looked like Hollywood Squares, there were several different spaces, but one side was open to the audience!
Check out my latest episode to learn even more about these classic shows!
