Double Dare (1986 TV Show)/Trivia

• Dueling Shows: With Fun House, at which several Take Thats were directed. In one noteworthy example, Marc Summers had a Cable ACE award given to Double Dare prominently displayed on his podium, and he proudly declared "Fun House doesn't have one of these, we do!"
  • In an episode of Super Sloppy Double Dare in which a curse had ostensibly been placed on the show, Marc joked that perhaps Fun House host J.D. Roth was responsible for the curse.
  • They had a somewhat more friendly rivalry with Finders Keepers, as both Nickelodeon shows were conceived and produced by Geoffrey Darby and Michael Klinghoffer, and even recorded at the same studio complex in Philadelphia until 1988 (Finders Keepers actually drew bigger audience figures than Double Dare for much of its short run). In one memorable episode, Summers asked a young audience member "What's your favourite show on TV?", and received the immediate reply "Finders Keepers!" (In addition to the usual Double Dare T-shirt, said youngster was also given a Finders Keepers shirt.)
  • They also had another friendly rivalry with Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego??, as host Greg Lee previously worked on Double Dare as a contestant coordinator and studio audience warm-up comedian. In addition, series director and co-developer Dana Calderwood also previously worked on Double Dare in a variety of roles, including associate director, director, producer, and writer. In the 1st episode of the 5th season of the latter show, Summers made an appearance in one of the sketches which gave out the clues to where the crook had gone, and even began reciting the rules to Double Dare before Greg corrected him.
• Screwed by the Network: There was a brief primetime version of the show which aired on FOX during the summer of 1988. However, it only lasted 13 episodes due to disagreements between Nickelodeon and FOX, as FOX wanted to produce more specials while Nickelodeon wanted the show to remain kid-friendly. This became the first volley which led to FOX striking out on their own and creating Fox Kids.