During the late 20th century, kids were just beginning to love Nickelodeon. If you weren’t watching live action shows like Salute Your Shorts or You Can’t-Do That on Television, you were immersed in their game shows. Nickelodeon was one of the few family-friendly television channels that families could watch together without worrying about racy content. Parents felt safe about the content their children were consuming, which inspired kids to become more athletic to compete on Nickelodeon game shows.
It can be easy to assume that these game shows are a walk in the park. The kids on these competitions made the various obstacle courses look easy. When one kid failed, it was hard not to laugh and believe we could do it better. That’s part of the magic of editing. Producers made the shows look easy to convince more kids to sign up. Once they were on-set, they had to learn the hard way. Long hours, junk food filled bellies, and delusions of grandeur led to disasters that made for great television.
Now that the magic of Nickelodeon’s game shows has faded, former contestants and hosts brought light to common falsehoods viewers had of the programs. Due to their suffering on set they can now share their experiences and even warn kids of what they may go through on future shows. Keep reading if you want to know about some of the most common things everyone gets wrong about Nickelodeon game shows.
20 Nothing Was Better Than A Suit Full Of Slime
The hosts on Nickelodeon quickly became household names. Everyone wanted to compete on Double Dare to meet Marc Summers. He seemed like he was thrilled to be on air with the massive live studio audience and inexperienced families ready to win fabulous prizes.
Summers later admitted that being on the show caused him some unwanted stress.
He suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which often has the symptom of being afraid of germs or disliking items that are out of place. Summers stated that being on the show made him incredibly uncomfortable at times, such as getting splashed by some unruly green slime. He had to stay on-set and deal with the mess for the audience and viewers at home. Summers had a great attitude about the mess for the fans.
19 Kids Always Had The Support Of Family
For games like Family Double Dare, families of four were the main draw of the show. Parents and grandparents were right beside their kids as they ran through the grueling obstacle courses. In other game shows like Legends of the Hidden Temple or Guts, none of the parents were on set. They weren’t even part of the live studio audience. Nickelodeon didn’t want kids to depend on their parents for help. Parents were not allowed to be on-set at all while the show was filmed. They were only allowed to come back to drop-off, pick-up their child at the end of the day, or to see their child if there was an emergency on set. It’s no wonder those kids seemed so miserable.
18 Everyone Had Fun Running The Obstacle Course
Nickelodeon’s game shows were meant to look incredibly fun and challenging for viewers. They looked hard, while at the same time, who didn’t want to slide down a giant slide covered in slime (besides from Marc Summers)? It turns out that some of the obstacles were traumatizing for some of the young contestants.
In one section of the Legends of the Hidden Temple course, Temple Guards would jump out and scare the kids as they moved through the course. The guards would pop out at any time, so the kids could not plan their movements. After the show ended, past contestants admitted that they were terrified of the Temple Guards. We can’t even imagine how many nightmares happened when filming was over.
17 Every Kid Made Up Their Own Creative Nickname
Every contestant on Guts used their real name. On the screen under their name, was always a nickname that was predetermined. The hosts of the show would then refer to the kids by their nickname. Many kids arrived on set with a nickname picked out in advance. Other kids were too nervous to decide on a nickname or simply weren’t as creative as the other children.
Producers would then have to pick out a name for the child.
This was usually a quick process to get the show moving. The A.V. Club interviewed a few former contestants of the show, including one woman who was dubbed “The Roadrunner.” Other names included “The Fighter” and a member of Backstreet Boys even appeared as a contestant as A.J. “Mean” McLean.
16 You’ll Instantly Become Popular After Returning Home
A majority of kids wanted to appear on Nickelodeon’s game shows so they could impress their friends back at home. Sean Robinson, a cartoonist, drew his experiences in a series of comic strips. When he competed on Guts, he didn’t do very well, according to his classmates. Robinson lost to his two fellow female contestants and was mocked by his friends. He was also teased for the answers he gave to the hosts. It seems that unless you win the top prize, kids aren’t very impressed if you merely appear on a tv show. Even worse, they’ll have one more reason to tease you. Though some contestants would later go on to become stunt-doubles, like Anna Morris, most kids just went back home with a more sour look on Nickelodeon.
15 Everyone Ate Well On Set
Most children love junk food. Nickelodeon, a channel made with young viewers in mind, knows this. A safe meal to have at the catering table is pizza and soda because it’s most kids’ favorite food combination. The cast and crew can recall seeing kids come back from a break with pizza stains on their uniforms. Though this might sound like Heaven, this seems like a terrible trap for active kids. The game shows are intensely physical activities, which adults know cannot be fueled by greasy carbs. After drinking dehydrating sodas and scarfing down a slice, the last thing these kids wanted to do was have a Temple Guard scream in their faces. The kids ended up being slowed down by the heavy meal, which caused many to fail the course.
14 Kids Can Take Anything You Throw At Them
It’s not easy being a contestant on a Nickelodeon game show. Not only do you have to be physically fit, but emotionally prepared. Unless you’re on Double Dare, you’re by yourself with several other children you’ve never met. The pizza and soda sitting in your stomach probably aren’t doing you any favors, either. Nickelodeon doesn’t test for mental fitness, so many kids let the pressure get to them and can’t handle the attention.
One prime example is during the taping of Legend of the Hidden Temple.
One young contestant could no longer handle going through the maze. She got trapped in the Pit of Despair and started sobbing uncontrollably right before vomiting all over herself and in the room. The crew had to get everything cleaned up and make her go through it all over again.
13 Competitors Were Always In Peak Physical Condition
When game shows for children were first beginning to take television by storm, there were lax laws on how to treat them. Kids can rebound quickly, but some of the working conditions were too awful, even for adults. Viewers only saw 30 minutes, including commercials, so we had no clue how things were on-set. Kirk Fogg, the host of Legends of the Hidden Temple, divulged some secrets about the game show. That included admitting the first episode took eighteen hours to film. On a regular day, one show took a full day to complete, and many scenes had to be re-filmed. It’s easy to see why so many kids failed at the end: they were exhausted. The kids probably just wanted to go home and never watched Nickelodeon again.
12 Friends Always Stick Together
On Legends of the Hidden Temple, kids are paired off in teams of two. The producers wanted to show off the power of teamwork. The kids were usually not paired off until they arrived on set since many signed up without a partner. For younger kids under ten, they were more excited about meeting someone new. They just wanted someone to play with, and their chemistry was more natural on-screen.
Former contestants who were teenagers admitted they didn’t feel comfortable being randomly teamed up with a stranger.
This uneasiness was evident when they had to do team-based events on the show before the final. Their awkwardness was more than just being teenagers. Many worked through their introvert nature and went on to win a few competitions.
11 Every Obstacle Was Fair And Square
The Aggro Crag was the pièce de résistance of Guts. It was a gigantic rock climbing wall that took up most of the stage. Kids who reached the top could take home the top prize. Former contestants state it’s just as intimidating in person as it is on screen. Not only did it take tons of athleticism to climb the thing, but the kids also had to deal with the show element. While they climbed up the Aggro Crag, kids were blinded by bright lights, confetti cannons going off inches away from their faces, and water squirting in their faces. The producers certainly didn’t make climbing the mountain any easier on purpose. Their goal was to create an entertaining show by making the kids challenge themselves.
10 Obstacle Courses Aren’t Impossible
When you’re watching kids go through the various obstacle courses, it looks like anyone can do them. We don’t see the pain those kids go through. The courses may look easy on-screen, but unless you have run through them in person, they’re almost impossible. The kids are given mouth guards, helmets, and goggles to prepare them for many of the more intensive courses, like Guts. Once those are on the kids, the crew will make their lives miserable. All of the courses are paired with glitter, water hazards, and screaming fans. These courses are designed to be difficult with as many distractions as possible. If they’re too easy, too many kids will win, and that would mean Nickelodeon loses money.
9 Gak Is A Family-Friendly Term
Working on a game show is hard work for both the hosts and crew. When they weren’t dealing with screaming kids, they were taking time off for themselves. The crew of Nickelodeon’s game shows liked to party hard. Using illegal substances was one of the ways they relaxed at the end of the day.
Marc Summers, the host of Double Dare, made a shocking admission.
The crew was so well-versed in illegal substances that they named the iconic slime “Gak” after one of their favorites. The word “gak” is also used to describe one particular illegal substance. It was just obscure enough not to get noticed by producers. While kids were happily shouting it on stage, the crew was backstage laughing at them.
8 The Hosts Were Naturally Upbeat
Though Mike O’Malley has built a long acting career for himself, he had to start somewhere. He first started his road to stardom on shows like Guts and Get the Picture. O’Malley was a tame host, like his friend Marc Summers. Nickelodeon decided they didn’t want two hosts with the same personality. They told O’Malley he needed to get more excited on-screen or else they would replace him. It wasn’t an empty threat. With the rise of Nickelodeon’s game hosts, there were many willing to take the job. O’Malley didn’t want to lose his coveted hosting gig. He began to act much more excited on screen, even though there were sometimes it was obvious he felt forced to act that way. At least now he’s doing well enough that producers are offering him amazing gigs instead.
7 Anyone Was Allowed To Compete
Watching Nickelodeon’s game shows were fun. We wanted to see contestants both fail and win. The obstacle courses looked easy, and most of us had them memorized. Being on-set is a different story. Many kids thought they were ready, only to be told they weren’t physically fit enough to participate. If a child previously diagnosed with medical conditions wanted to sign up as a contestant, they would be turned away.
Why would Nickelodeon be so cruel? It’s not because they didn’t want all the willing participants. Legally, they had to be careful about who they allowed competing. If they let a kid with an injury to compete, the network would get in trouble or might even get sued. Nickelodeon decided to remove that possibility early.
6 The Prizes Were Worth The Pain
Back in the late 80s and 90s, the terms and conditions for child actors were different. There weren’t many laws that protected children from being paid less and working for long hours. There was no safety net or union to save these kids. Nickelodeon may have been a network for children, but they treated their workers poorly. They paid all kids a one-time fee for their services and then cut them loose. If a show the child appeared on was a rerun, children would not get paid again. At the time, kids were just happy to be part of the show or to have the opportunity to win one of their fabulous prizes. Little did they know that they were getting taken advantage of. Thankfully, laws have changed, and kids have a better chance of being paid well for their work.
5 Green Slime Was Meant To Make You Comfortable
Every last detail is planned out when media is being made for children. Designers pick out the coolest looking gear to run through obstacle courses, yet be comfortable. The designers even planned out the colors, distracting bright orange and green. The colors were vivid enough to grab your attention, especially the orange used on Nickelodeon’s logo.
The green color used for slime was also intentionally crafted.
Put both vivid colors together, and you’ll have the international distress colors. These colors are distracting enough to catch any kid’s attention, either as a viewer or on set. Place these blinding colors together, and they’re enough to cause a kid a valuable win in a tough obstacle course. Who knew that Nickelodeon could be so sneaky?
4 Hosts Were Happy To Witness Failure
The obstacle courses on Nickelodeon’s game shows looked fun for kids but also adults. Kirk Fogg of Legends of the Hidden Temple always made sure he could run through the temple. His best time was three minutes. Sure, this sounds like a brag from a grown man, but he ran through the course with a purpose. If kids took long, he was able to coach them. If he didn’t, they would have to film the entire scene again, or the kids would just fail. That would make for a boring television show. Fogg gave kids clues to help them along the way, while not making the answers too obvious. He wanted these kids to win the course. But, we’re sure that after a long day of filming, some hosts just wanted to go home.
3 Kids Were Always Well-Rested
For most networks to maximize profits, they have to make the most of their day. Kirk Fogg divulged the filming schedule of Legends of the Hidden Temple. Each area had to be prepared beforehand, and they didn’t have that much room to set up everything at once.
The cast had to film five episodes at one time.
Fogg stated, “So we’d shoot all the moat, all the steps, all the Temple games, and then finally at the end of the night when they were properly delirious, then we would send them through the Temple.” There was an average of two hours between each event, even though we see it seamlessly edited together on-screen. Not only were multiple episodes filmed at once, but the kids had to sit and watch them each scene get filmed.
2 You Can Keep That Trophy
When someone tells you they signed up to be on a game show to challenge themselves, they’re hiding the truth. The best part of competing on a game show is winning prizes. One of the most coveted prizes was the giant green jewel of Nickelodeon. Contestants on Guts who climbed the Aggros Crag won a glowing piece of the beautiful trophy. Viewers watched in awe as those kids lifted that giant trophy above their heads. At the end of the day, that trophy wasn’t theirs to keep. They had to give it back to the prop team and go home empty-handed. They were later mailed a cheaper, mass-produced version of the trophy to keep at home. It makes you wonder if it was worth climbing through that disorienting cloud of glitter.
1 The Game Wasn’t Rigged From The Start
Do you believe that anyone could win a Nickelodeon game show? Sure, you might be able to assemble the Shrine of the Silver Monkey, but it might not be authorized. Not every kid was allowed to win. If they were, it would cost the network more money to hand out those prizes. Nickelodeon was only authorized to allow eight wins a year on their game shows. That explains why some kids got hit with a little more glittery dust or chased longer by a Temple Guard. It’s disappointing that the network would destroy some dreams this way, but it made them more money that they used for more quality children’s programming. We wouldn’t be surprised if other game shows employ these same tactics to save themselves some money.
