Double Dare - Definition and Overview

Double Dare was a game show hosted by Marc Summers that aired on Nickelodeon from 1986 to 1993.

The game was played by two teams of two kids, the red team and the blue. At the start of each round, the two teams performed a physical challenge; twenty U.S. dollars and the first question in the quiz segment were given to the winner of the challenge. In a quiz segment, the team in control was asked a question worth ten or twenty dollars by Summers; if they chose to answer, they would receive a set amount of money for a correct response and loss of control for an incorrect answer. If a team chose not to answer, the question would be asked for double the amount of the other team. If this team didn't answer, the first team would be asked the question again for four times the original sum. If the team refused to answer, they would attempt to receive the money and retain control by successfully completing a physical challenge. After the first commercial break, a second round was played. Whichever team had the larger sum at the end of this round won the game.

The winning team would then try to complete an eight-stage physical challenge within one minute. In each stage, a team member would try to retrieve a small pennant and give it to the person performing the next stage before he could start that stage. After time was up, the team would receive a prize for each stage completed. The eighth flag won the grand prize, usually a trip.

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
• 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
• 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

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, but only aired three episodes.
• Brazil - A Portuguese language version called Passa ou Repassa (Pass or Repass). Family, celebrity and school versions were also produced.This program have a moment named ´´Torta na Cara´´ (Pie on the Face) who´s the most audience of the show. The program is aired for the last time on 2002----

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.