Episodes of the revived Double Dare air weeknights, 8 pm on Nickelodeon.
By Jessica Biwer
I spent a large chunk of my childhood in front of the TV watching Nickelodeon. When I think of summer, I think of Stick Stickly and reruns of Hey Dude more than I do playing softball or tag outside. As a child of the 90’s, I spent time imaging myself on Double Dare, sticking my hand up that giant nose, searching around for a flag.
With all the reboots these days, Double Dare was a fun new surprise among them. An obscure kids game show wasn’t exactly the first thing I thought they’d bring back. I naively thought, that like all the other reboots, I would be all in. I set a series recording, no question asked.
However, this reboot isn’t meant for me and others in their 30’s who grew up with this show. Sure it was fun to see it back on the air and watch that final obstacle course again, but this show is for the kids. Sorry guys, but if you’re trying to recreate childhood, this isn’t the place. The nostalgia alone doesn’t make watching this juvenile show worth it for adults. Even Marc Summers can’t save it. He’s not even the host! I guess they thought kids today wouldn’t appreciate a white-haired man way based his stardom prime. They are probably right.
So as excited as I was for the reboot, I say to all my fellow Nick kids of the 90’s, this isn’t worth any more than the 20 minutes it would take to watch one episode. The games are ridiculous and the prizes even more so. Sure yard games and bikes are cool prizes for kids, but you won’t be as excited as your ten year-old-self was about some Gak or a Skip-It.
If they were going to bring back Double Dare in any of its forms, it really should have been Family Double Dare. How great would it be for all those people out there who watched this show in their youth to come back and play with their kids now?
If you have kids, definitely point them in this direction, and they will get a taste of what we enjoyed as kids. If not, move on. There is way too much good TV out there for your time to be used watching this.
TV and City 