Double Dare is a children's
game showA game show is a type of television program in which members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving problems usually for money and/or prizes. On some shows contestants compete against other players or another team while...
, originally hosted by
Marc SummersMarc Summers is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and a two-time talk show host. He is best known for hosting the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare and currently hosts Unwrapped on The Food Network.- Early life and career :Summers was born Marc Berkowitz in...
, that aired on
NickelodeonNickelodeon is an American cable television channel owned by Viacom. Since the mid-1990s and early 2000s Nickelodoen as a brand has expanded into other territories including Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and Asia.It is often referred to by its shortened name, Nick, a practice that dates back to...
. The show combines trivia questions with often messy "physical challenges". It is often credited with putting the then-fledgling network on the map, and ranked #29 in
TV Guides list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time.
The show originated from the WHYY-TVFor the former channel 12 in Wilmington, see WVUE .WHYY-TV channel 12 is the PBS member station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its main studio and office facility is co-located with sister station WHYY-FM in Center City Philadelphia. The station also operates a secondary studio in Wilmington,...
studios in Philadelphia in 1986. In 1987, the show temporarily moved to New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
for a special weekend edition called Super Sloppy Double Dare. The show returned to Philadelphia in 1988; by then
ViacomViacom , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks , and movie production and distribution with Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Paramount is also the distributor of movie studio DreamWorks...
syndicated the show to the young
FoxThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
network. In markets where there was no Fox station, the show aired on
independent stationAn independent station is television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any network...
s. In 1989, more episodes of Super Sloppy Double Dare were made. Tapings began in Philadelphia, but later that year was moved to Universal Studios in Orlando. The show moved to
Nickelodeon StudiosNickelodeon Studios was an operating television taping studio as well as an attraction at Universal Studios Florida...
in 1990, where it then became Family Double Dare, and it remained that until its cancellation in 1992. The final episodes aired in 1993.
Main game
The show typically begins as a
cold openA cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
with Marc Summers saying, "On your mark, get set, GO!" As the teams raced to complete a toss-up challenge, the announcer would quickly explain the challenge, then introduce the show. Only when one team completed it would the announcer then introduce Marc Summers.
Two teams of two kids each competed for cash and prizes. Originally, both teams wore red uniforms, but after Double Dares syndication began in 1988, one team began wearing blue uniforms.
Host Marc Summers typically explained the rules of the game as follows:
Each round began with a toss-up challenge in which both teams competed. The winner received $20
USDThe United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
and control of the round. Summers would begin the round by asking trivia questions to the team that won control in the toss-up challenge. A correct answer would earn money and maintain control of the round; an incorrect response would give the other team control and, if a Dare/Double Dare was in play, the money as well.
Double Dare and Super Sloppy Double Dare
| Round | |Normal Question | |Double Dare |
|---|
| 1 |
$20 |
$10 |
$20 |
$40 |
| 2 |
$40 |
$20 |
$40 |
$80 |
Family Double Dare (1988)
| Round | |Normal Question | |Double Dare |
|---|
| 1 |
$50 |
$25 |
$50 |
$100 |
| 2 |
$100 |
$50 |
$100 |
$200 |
Family Double Dare (1990-1993) and Double Dare 2000
| Round | |Normal Question | |Double Dare |
|---|
| 1 |
$25 |
$25 |
$50 |
$100 |
| 2 |
$50 |
$50 |
$100 |
$200 |
Physical challenges
Physical challenges were stunts, usually messy, that a team had to perform in a specified time, usually 20 or 30 seconds, although occasionally 10 or 15 seconds. All physical challenges on
Double Dare 2000 were 30 seconds in length, unless a time reduction was in play.
Most challenges involved filling a container past a line with one of a variety of substances: water, uncooked rice, green slime, whipped cream, and "a milk-like substance", to name a few. Others involved catching a certain number of items before time ran out. For example, during "Pie in the Pants," a contestant had to catch 3 or 4 pies in the specified time limit.
Completing the stunt won the team money and control of the game; otherwise the money and control went to the opposing team.
Double Dare 2000 introduced the "Triple Dare Challenge." Available only in round two, this allowed a team to make their physical challenge more difficult in exchange for triple the dare amount ($300) and a bonus prize. Sometimes this included reducing the time limit (turning a 30-second challenge into a 20-second one), adding an extra item to the stunt (catching 5 pies instead of 4), or increasing the overall difficulty of the stunt (blindfolding the players). If the team did not successfully complete the challenge, the money, the bonus prize, and control of the game went to their opponents.
Obstacle course
The team with the highest score at the end of round two went on to the final challenge of the game, the
obstacle courseAn obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual or team must navigate usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling and balancing elements with the aim of testing endurance; sometimes a course involves mental tests.-...
. Regardless of the outcome, both teams keep the money they have obtained with $100 being the house minimum ($200 on
Double Dare 2000 and $500 on the FOX version of
Family Double Dare). If a tie occurs at the end of the game, both teams advance to the obstacle course. (occurred only once on "Double Dare 2000").
The course consisted of eight obstacles which had to be completed within 60 seconds (61 seconds on
NBA Allstar Double Dare, 65 seconds on the Christmas episode of the original
Double Dare, and 99 seconds in a course run by Summers and Harvey). Each obstacle had an orange flag either at the end of or hidden within it. One team member would start at the first obstacle and upon completion, pass its flag to his partner, who would then move on to the second obstacle. The team would continue to alternate like this until they completed the course or until time ran out, whichever came first.
The team won a prize for each obstacle completed, escalating in value up to a grand prize for completing the entire course. In the original and
Super Sloppy versions, the grand prize was usually a vacation or a scholarship to
United States Space CampU.S. Space Camp is hosted by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "Space Camp" refers to both the actual camp and a family of related camp programs offered year-round by the facility. The camp provides residential and day camp educational programs for children in various age...
, and each member of the team got identical prizes. In FOX
Family Double Dare, as well as the first season of the Nickelodeon run, the grand prize was a car. In 1992, the prize was changed back to a vacation; however, the family that won the tournament held that season had the chance to run the Obstacle Course for a car (see below).
In the FOX run of
Family Double Dare, the prize for the seventh obstacle was a cash jackpot that began at $2,000 and increased by $500 for each consecutive episode it was not claimed.
Super Sloppy Double Dare (1987)
The format of
Super Sloppy Double Dare copied that of the original program. Launched in 1987, it aired on the weekends on Nickelodeon. This incarnation featured a home viewer contest during physical challenges, with Summers taking a postcard from a large plastic box behind his lectern. The viewer would receive a prize if the team won the physical challenge, and a T-shirt (regardless of the outcome). This version was filmed at Unitel Studios in New York.
Super Sloppy Double Dare (1989)
To compete with other children's game shows at the time, the format returned to the air (minus the home viewer contest) in 1989. This newly revamped
Super Sloppy Double Dare filmed from WHYY's Forum Theatre for approximately the first 50 episodes, eventually to moving to Universal Studios in Florida to film the approximately 50 remaining episodes of this version. Many special "theme shows" were taped during the 1989 run, including "Salute to Baseball", "Backwards Day", "Marc vs. Harvey", and many more.
Since there were two different locations for this one version, there were noticeable set changes between the Philadelphia and Orlando-taped episodes.
In Philadelphia, the timer always displayed "00" when not in use (as typical of the original Double Dare), and the 1987 run of Super Sloppy Double Dare, and the First season of Nickelodeon's Family Double Dare as well, background behind the center stage was colored blue-to-red.
In Orlando, the timer displayed the "Super Sloppy Double Dare" logo when not in use, and turned around to show the timer's digits when needed for a physical challenge/obstacle course (as also done for Fox's
Family Double Dare, and as well as the final season of Nickelodeon's "Family Double Dare"). Also, the contestants' lectern triangles were not lit in the center (this would also mark the last time the lecterns contained the colored triangles for any version of the show). Also, the background color scheme was different.
Family Double Dare
Family Double Dare premiered on Fox on April 3, 1988, and moved to its regular Saturday night slot that week. This version featured two teams of four: two kids with two parents. The same rules used for the regular version of
Double Dare applied, but more money was at stake.
(See Scoring above.)
Family Double Dare ended its Fox run in July 1988 after 13 episodes. After the first order of episodes were produced, Fox insisted upon producing specials, such as WWF Wrestlers vs. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Since Viacom (Nickelodeon) was in charge of production and wanted to keep it a kid-related show, they refused the idea. When an argument struck between the two stations, Nickelodeon walked out on Fox, ending its production. Nickelodeon resumed production in 1990, and finally canceled it in 1992. Producers taped some new episodes after the cancellation.
The final season of the Nickelodeon run ended with a Tournament of Champions. The two teams with the highest scores of the season, along with the two teams with the fastest obstacle course times, were invited back to participate in the special hour-long final episode in a battle of "Brains vs. Brawn". The two "Brains" (high scoring teams) played each other in one eight-minute round of Double Dare sans the Obstacle Course; an eight-minute round with the "Brawns" (fastest obstacle course completion times) team immediately followed. The winning families from these two games then faced each other in a final full-length game (labeled "Brains vs. Brawn") to determine the grand champion, who won a large
trophyThe trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and usually afterwards serves as proof of merit. They are most often awarded with sporting events. These range from youth sports through professional level athletics...
and the right to run the Obstacle Course one final time for a car. The winning family, whose team moniker was "Granite Toast", indeed won the car at the end of the show. The final original episode aired in 1993, and
Family Double Dare reruns continued up to February 1999 on Nickelodeon. From Feb 1999 until November 1, 2005 Family Double Dare was on Nick GaS daily. It was produced by Viacom.
Celebrity Double Dare
A 1988 pilot,
Celebrity Double Dare was produced by
Ron GreenbergRon Greenberg is an American television game show producer who worked on numerous successful network and syndicated programs of that genre from the 1960s through the 1990s...
and featured celebrity team captains to adult contestants; it was hosted by
Bruce JennerWilliam Bruce Jenner is a former U.S. track and field athlete, motivational speaker, socialite, and television personality, known principally for winning the gold medal for decathlon in the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics....
, with
Bob HiltonRobert "Bob" Wesley Hilton is an American television game show personality. Although known mainly for his role as announcer, he has hosted game shows as well, including The Guinness Game, Truth or Consequences and the 1990 revival of Let's Make a Deal for NBC.Hilton has announced several game...
announcing. The format was also slightly different: questions had two possible answers, with each team member giving one, and teams did not keep control after correctly answering a question. The obstacle course was basically the same, except the players hit a buzzer after completing each obstacle rather than grabbing a flag, and a new car was the grand prize (and they had to hit seven buzzers in 90 seconds). The team that made it to the obstacle course on this version won the grand prize. This version was never picked up.
Super Special Double Dare
Super Special Double Dare is a short series of special
Double Dare episodes featuring celebrities, sport teams or cast members from other Nickelodeon shows. These episodes used two teams of four contestants, with all winnings going to charity. One Special was NBA All Star Double Dare and the other was just entitled Super Special Double Dare with the Girls from Clarissa/Welcome Freshmen vs. the boys. 2 civilian kids were also on each team. On NBA All Star Double Dare the time on the Obstacle Course was 61 seconds, and the team that made it to the obstacle course won the grand prize.
Double Dare 2000
Double Dare 2000 was the revived version of the show, which premiered on January 24, 2000. Jason Harris hosted this version of the show; original host
Marc SummersMarc Summers is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and a two-time talk show host. He is best known for hosting the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare and currently hosts Unwrapped on The Food Network.- Early life and career :Summers was born Marc Berkowitz in...
was the executive consultant.
Double Dare 2000 followed the
Family Double Dare format with a revamped set and bigger physical challenges. It also featured the new "Triple Dare Challenge" option in round two (which would be worth $300 and an additional prize), introduced "goooze", and referred to the obstacle course as the "Slopstacle Course". Five episodes were shot in
high definitionHigh-definition television is a digital television broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems...
with a widescreen
aspect ratio of 16:9The aspect ratio of an image is its width divided by its height.Aspect ratios are mathematically expressed as x :y and x×y . The most common aspect ratios used today in the presentation of films in movie theaters are 1.85:1 and 2.39:1...
as a promotion for sponsor
Sonyis a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. . Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game...
.
Double Dare 2000 was canceled in December 2000. During the "back to" and "up next" bumpers of
Double Dare 2000 on
Nick GASNickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids is an American cable television network that was part of MTV Networks's suite of digital cable channels...
, the show's tagline is
The Mess For The New Millennium. Nick GAS went off-air at the end of 2007, currently broadcasting only a small selection of
Double Dare 2000 episodes on
TurboNickTurboNick was an online Nickelodeon-branded broadband channel that launched in 2005.TurboNick features up to 15 hours of new programming every week and includes advertising...
, an internet exclusive.
Set changes
Throughout the show's run, the set maintained a basic structure. The main part of the game was played on a stage with the host's lectern at center and a timer mounted above. The contestant lecterns with scoreboards behind them were set at an angle on either side of the host. Space was provided in front of all the lecterns for physical challenges, and the obstacle course had space in front of that. Over time, aesthetic changes were made to the set, including:
- A glass block wall with lights behind them, similar to those behind the contestants' lecterns, was installed behind the host's lectern in 1988. This first appeared on the Fox run of Family Double Dare, was used during the 2nd half of syndicated run of Double Dare, and remained throughout the run until 1993.
- From 1986-1988, a blue triangle was on the front of both contestant lecterns. When the show entered syndication later in 1988, the triangle on the Red team's lectern changed to match their respective color. On both the Fox and Nickelodeon versions of Family Double Dare and Super Special Double Dare, the show's logo appeared in the place of a triangle on the contestant lecterns.
- The physical challenge floor was set two steps below the lecterns during the 1989 run of Super Sloppy Double Dare. Episodes taped in Philadelphia had the physical challenge floor on the same level as the obstacle course. When the show moved to Orlando, the physical challenge and obstacle course floors became separated by one step as two different floors, essentially creating a stage with three different levels.
- The original 3-digit triangular scoreboards were tall and featured a vane-style dollar sign
The dollar sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various dollar and peso units of currency around the world.-Origin:The sign is attested in business correspondence between the British, Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans in the 1770s, as referring to the Spanish-Mexican peso, known as...
underneath the score and were both red. Eventually, the encircled "DD" logo replaced the dollar sign and the scoreboards were slightly shortened, which allowed the contestants and the score to be visible in the same shot. The blue scoreboard was added during the first Super Sloppy Double Dare run and returned at the beginning of the syndicated run of Double Dare to match their respective color. A rectangular, 4-digit scoreboard was introduced in the Fox run of Family Double Dare to accommodate potential scores of $1,000 or more. Nickelodeon's Family Double Dare initially used the 3-digit scoreboards until a team won the game with $1,050 (only "050" ended up appearing on the scoreboard).
- The timer rotated on the Fox version of Family Double Dare and in the 1992 season of the Nickelodeon run of Family Double Dare, the Orlando episodes of Super Sloppy Double Dare, and the run of Super Special Double Dare episodes. When not in use, the timer displayed the series logo (earlier, it displayed "00").
The Fox run of
Family Double Dare made a few set changes never seen on other versions:
- The timer had no chase lights around the digits.
- The set's chase lights were covered.
- The familiar yellow/purple checkerboard scheme was removed entirely; a confetti scheme replaced it.
- The host and contestant lecterns were all plain yellow, except for the top portions which remained light blue.
Double Dare 2000 featured some notable changes to the set:
- A four-panel video screen was set behind the host's lectern, and was used to display the show logo and the timer.
- The scoreboards were oval-shaped and used light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In early episodes, the studio lights drowned out the LEDs, particularly on the blue team's side. This made the numbers hard to read on screen.
- There were no chase lights on the set. Instead, a wall with randomly placed lights was used behind the host lectern.
- The contestant lecterns were asymmetrical.
Music
All of the original
Double Dare music was composed by
Edd KalehoffEdward Woodley "Edd" Kalehoff is a music composer who specializes in compositions for television.-Notable pieces:Composer of about 1000 pieces, mainly for television, his credits include the theme and majority of cues used on The Price is Right as well as the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare, a...
(who earlier composed the theme for the 1976-1977 version of Goodson-Todman's
Double DareDouble Dare is an American television game show, produced by Mark Goodson—Bill Todman Productions, that ran from 1976 to 1977 on CBS. Alex Trebek was the host, with Johnny Olson and later Gene Wood announcing...
) and was basically the same throughout the show's run with some minor changes to the music.
From 1986-1988, the music had a synth lead. From 1988 - starting with
FOX Family Double Dare and the 2nd half of the syndicated run of
Double Dare through the end of the run - all music was remixed with a horn lead (however, the 1986 variation theme was used for the opening from 1988-1990).
For
Double Dare 2000, the music was composed by Rick Witkowski with a surfer feel for the show; however, the theme song had the same melody from the original.
Episode status
All versions and episodes of
Double Dare still exist and have been seen on Nick GAS. One episode of the FOX version of
Family Double Dare aired on Nick GAS. However, for the final two years of the channel's existence, the only version of
Double Dare to air was
Double Dare 2000.
With the conversion of the Nick GAS channel to "the N" format on December 31, 2007,
Double Dare and all of its revivals are no longer reran on the network. Today,
CBS Television DistributionCBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, a merger of CBS Corporation's three television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television, CBS Paramount International Television, and King World Productions including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
owns the rights to
Double Dare and all other Viacom programs.
Double Dare: The Inside Scoop
The Inside Scoop, a 1988 release under the "Nick Video" brand, explained the conception of
Double Dare and featured clips from its early years. Included are Marc's host audition and clips of the original pilot with Geoffrey Darby as host and a very basic set.
The video also includes unused footage from the very first episode taped of the series (September 18, 1986): Four successive re-takes were needed on the very first item of the Obstacle Course, aptly titled "Nightmare"; while the object was simple (find the flag hidden within a giant pillow), the flag itself was not in the pillow
at all for the first two takes. For the third take, not only did the clock not start but one of the show's cameramen blocked the contestants' progress. The fourth take is the one seen in the episode as aired.
Games and toys
- Double Dare home game (tie-in with first version of Super Sloppy Double Dare), 1987
- Double Dare LCD handheld games ("Pie in the Pants," "Balloon Buster," and "Flying Sundaes"), 1988
- Double Dare jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
, 1988
- Double Dare computer
A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions.Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century . These were the size of a large room, consuming as...
game (C64, IBM, ZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. Referred to during development as the ZX81 Colour and ZX82, the machine was launched as the ZX Spectrum by Sinclair to highlight the machine's colour display, compared with the...
and Apple versions), 1989
- Wet 'n Wild Double Dare home game (tie-in with second version of Super Sloppy Double Dare), 1989
- Double Dare yo-yo
The yo-yo is a toy consisting of two equally sized but not specifically equally weighted pieces of plastic, wood, or metal, connected with an axle, with a string looped around the axle...
, 1989
- Super Sloppy Double Dare pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
machine, 1989
- Double Dare video game
Double Dare is a video game based on the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare. It was released by GameTek for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, and ported to the NES by Rare Ltd..-Game options:...
(NESThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
), 1990
- Double Dare 2000: the Game (tie-in with Double Dare 2000), 2001
- Goooze, a gooey substance replicating the slime used on the show.
Apparel
- T-shirts, available in retail stores and on Double Dare Live Tour stops
- belt buckle
A belt buckle is a buckle, a clasp for fastening two ends, as of straps or a belt, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other...
s
- painter's caps, available on Double Dare Live Tour stops
- pajamas
"Pyjama" redirects here; for cartoon character, see Vasco Pyjama; for Google Web Toolkit, see Pyjamas ; for blog hosting company, see Pajamas Media
Image:Muslim girl india1844.jpg|Muslim girl, India, in paijama and kurti, 1844....
Home videos
- Double Dare: The Messiest Moments, 1988
- Double Dare: The Inside Scoop, 1988
- How to Throw a Double Dare Party, 1989
- Double Dare: Super Sloppiest Moments, 1994
Books
- The Double Dare Game Book, by Daniella Burr, 1988
- The All-New Double Dare Game Book, by Daniella Burr, 1989
School supplies
- Double Dare lunchbox, featuring the Dueling D's on the Sundae Slide, 1988
- Double Dare folders, 1988
Personalities
- Marc Summers
Marc Summers is an American television personality, comedian, game show host, producer, and a two-time talk show host. He is best known for hosting the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare and currently hosts Unwrapped on The Food Network.- Early life and career :Summers was born Marc Berkowitz in...
(host 1986-1993; producer 1992-1993; executive consultant 2000)
- John Harvey ("Harvey," announcer, 1986-1992)
- Robin Marella (stage assistant, 1986-1993)
- Dave Shikiar (stage assistant, 1986-1989)
- Greg Lee
Greg Lee is an American actor, voice-actor, and comedian. He attended York College in York, Nebraska, and Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City in the early 1980s. Greg Lee co-hosted Nickelodeon's variety show "Total Panic" from 1989 to 1990...
(contestant coordinator, 1986-1991)
- Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday is a radio personality. His career began during high school in early 1979 in New Jersey. He was the anchor of the Doc & Johnny Morning Show on WXXL-FM in Orlando, Florida, for over 17 years, before resigning in March 2007...
(announcer, 1992-1993)
- Jason Harris (host, 2000)
- Tiffany Phillips (announcer, 2000)
- Edd Kalehoff
Edward Woodley "Edd" Kalehoff is a music composer who specializes in compositions for television.-Notable pieces:Composer of about 1000 pieces, mainly for television, his credits include the theme and majority of cues used on The Price is Right as well as the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare, a...
(composer, 1986-1993)
- Rick Witkowski (composer, 2000)
- Brad Barat (talent scout, 1986-1991)
International versions
On all international versions of the show (except for Brazil, Canada, and India), teams play for points rather than cash due to specific laws stating that contestants under the age of 18 can't win money on a game show.
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
A
French languageFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
version hosted by Gilles Payer, called
Double Défi, aired on
TVATVA is a Canadian French language privately owned television network.TVA is based in Quebec and has affiliates only in Quebec, although the affiliates in Rivière-du-Loup and Carleton-sur-Mer have rebroadcast transmitters in New Brunswick. Also, the affiliate in Gatineau is part of the Ottawa...
in
QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
from 1989-1991. The set was identical to the US show, while the music was the same.
The Netherlands
A
Dutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
version called
DD Show was broadcast by
TROSTROS is a Dutch television and radio organization part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting...
. Host: Norbert Netten.
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
The German version
Drops! was broadcast by
Sat.1Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station and started one day before RTL Television....
from April 1991 to the end of 1992 every Sunday and every Saturday morning in 1993.
The show's title was an acronym which was explained by an off-voice in every show intro: "D wie denken, R wie raten, O wie O, P wie Preise, S wie Sieg" (translated - "D like thinking, R like guessing, O like the letter O, P like prizes, S like victory").
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
A
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
version was part of a Saturday-morning block of programming called
Going Live with Peter Simon as host and Nick Wilton as announcer. Peter became famous on this show for constantly falling down during Physical Challenges and the Obstacle Course.
Celebrity (though it used kids and not adults like America's
Celebrity Double Dare pilot did) and family versions (with two-person teams instead of four) have also been made for the network.
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
The series aired on
Network TenNetwork Ten, or Channel Ten, is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
from 1989-1992 with a set identical to the US show; while the music was the same, it was used differently.
The hosts were Gerry Sont, followed by Tom Jennings, and then finally Simon Watt (who served as announcer during the Sont and Jennings runs); when Watt took over as host, Margie Nunn became the announcer.
A version of
Family Double Dare was attempted, but although lasting for only three episodes it marked the debut of veteran emcee
Larry EmdurLarry Emdur is an Australian media personality. He is the co-host of Seven Network's The Morning Show with Kylie Gillies....
. Simon Watt also announced this version.
Five Sont-era episodes were taped for broadcast in the United States with the tagline "G'day U.S.A.!" One special Jennings-era episode featured an American team and an Australian team playing for the Kangaroo Cup.
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
A
Portuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
version called
Passa ou Repassa (Pass or Repass) aired on SBT from 1987-2000. Family, celebrity, and school versions were also produced. This program had a moment named "Torta na Cara" (Pie on the Face) where the teams would face off answering questions. The contestant who answered incorrectly received a pie in the face from his or her opponent.
This version had several hosts, with Augusto Liberato (or "Gugu") being the most popular and longest-running (the other hosts were Brazilian TV legend
Silvio SantosSilvio Santos is a Brazilian TV show host and billionaire entrepreneur. He is the owner of SBT, the third largest television network in the country....
, "
AngelicaAngelica is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far North as Iceland and Lapland...
", and Celso Portioli).
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
Nickelodeon India's version is called
Nick Dum Duma Dum. It began in 2004 and uses the
Family Double Dare format. The show is hosted by
Vrajesh HirjeeVrajesh Hirjee is a prominent Gujrati Theatre actor who is also well known for his comic roles in Hindi movies. Vrajesh was born Rajesh Kumar Hirjee in 1972 and changed his name to Vrajesh for numerological reasons....
, a popular film and TV actor.
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