Nickelodeon GUTS
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GUTS was a 30-minute "action-sports" game show which aired on Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1995. Mike O'Malley presided as host; Moira Quirk (often called Mo) was the referee. The show was taped at Nickelodeon Studios in Universal Studios Florida. There was also an SNES game of the same name released in 1994.
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[edit] Gameplay
Three children or teenagers competed in four athletic events at the "Extreme Arena" for points. First place in each event was worth 300 points. Second place received 200 points and third place earned 100.
Some events were based on skills in popular sports, such as basketball, baseball, football and soccer. Others, like "Invisible Boat," made use of a wave pool, and sometimes a racing track was used, as in "Mad Max." "Basic Training," which was renamed "Extreme Baseball" in 1994 but changed back in 1995, made use of an obstacle course. During the show's run, more creative and ambitious events were invented, including a fabricated ski slope and the famous "Peak to Peak." Each event was said to allow the contestants to "live out some of their greatest sports fantasies" in a competitive arena.
Between each event, one of the three players would be asked to "Spill Your GUTS." During a brief pre-recorded segment, the players would introduce themselves and reveal a few athletic and non-athletic interests. During early seasons of the show, contestants also were asked what GUTS "equals" to them. On Global GUTS, the contestants introduced themselves in their native language, and a translator did an English voice-over.
[edit] The Aggro Crag
A fifth event, the Aggro Crag ultimately decided the winner. All three contestants raced to climb a fabricated mountain, activating eight (originally six or seven) lighted targets (otherwise called actuators) on their way to the peak. If the contestant missed an actuator along the way, they could not complete the climb until they returned and activated the target they missed.
Each contestant had their own identical side of the mountain to climb, and was not permitted to cross into another's path. If they inadvertently did so, even by grabbing another player's hand rail, they automatically were awarded third place points. The climb was made more difficult with special effects that simulated lightning storms, avalanches, flying snow, "nuclear flying crystals" and steep walls. The first contestant to successfully activate each target, including the final one at the peak of the mountain, earned first-place worth 725 points. The second- and third-place contestants earned 550 and 375 points, respectively.
The increased point structure in the event allowed contestants to come from behind to win, despite earlier mistakes. It also ensured that no two contestants could achieve a tie score. The only way two contestants could tie on the Crag was if they both violated the rules, i.e. leaving their side of the mountain, or not going back to hit any actuators they missed. (This happened at least once.)
The highest possible score for a contestant was 1925 points, and was attained several times throughout the show's run.
The Aggro Crag went through several revisions in the show's run, each longer and more difficult than the previous version.
In the first two taped seasons (1992 and 1993), the mountain was called the Aggro Crag. For the show's third season in 1994, the mountain was renamed the Mega Crag ("mega large, mega sharp, mega challenging!"). For the show's final season, Global GUTS (1995), it changed yet again to the Super Aggro Crag.
There is rumor around the internet that while at the end of each show the winner was presented with a piece of the Aggro Crag, they never actually got to take it home with them. In reality, while they did not take home the piece presented on the show, which was hollowed out for the contestant to be able to lift, a complete piece of the Aggro Crag was mailed to their home after taping.
[edit] Winning
The player with the most points after all five events won the game and received a gold GUTS medal and a "glowing piece of our radical rock," a large trophy representing a piece of the Aggro Crag. As in the Olympic Games, second place received a silver medal and third received a bronze medal. A tie never happened, even when two players got disqualified on the Aggro Crag, but if it had, it is likely that both players would be given the higher medal (i.e., two golds and a silver, or one gold and two silvers).
[edit] Global Guts
Towards the end of its run, GUTS became Global GUTS. The format remained the same with four athletic events and the mountain, but the contestants included children from the United Kingdom, Mexico, Israel, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Commonwealth of Independent States (simply referred to as "CIS" on air, this included only Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Georgia), and the United States. Each country had its own team of broadcasters; O'Malley retained this role for the US broadcast.
At the end of each Global GUTS episode, in a manner similar to the Olympics, the flags of the contestants' countries were raised while the national anthem of the gold medal winner played in the background. Each player then took a lap around the Extreme Arena with his or her country's flag draped over their shoulders.
In each Global GUTS episode there was a medal count to see how many gold,silver,and bronze medals each country had (as seen below)
USA - 6 gold-4 silver-2 bronze
UK - 8 gold-2 silver-2 bronze
Spain - 2 gold-2 silver-8 bronze
Portugal -1 gold-6 silver-5 bronze
Mexico - 7 gold-3 silver-2 bronze
Israel - 4 gold-3 silver-5 bronze
Germany - 4 gold-6 silver-2 bronze
CIS - 0 gold-8 silver-4 bronze
Repeats of Global GUTS have been on hiatus on Nickelodeon GAS since November 2005. Nickelodeon GUTS is currently being repeated on Nick GAS.
[edit] Famous contestants
In 1992, Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean appeared on GUTS, finishing with the silver medal. He was referred to on the show as "AJ 'Mean' McLean".
In 1994, on the 3rd season of GUTS, actress Ashley Drane competed on GUTS with Nicole "Bomber" Bozzard, and UK resident Leanne "The Panther" Kelly finishing with the silver medal. She was known as Ashley "The Face" Drane.
In 1993, future Survivor contestant Christopher Louis Bloome appeared on GUTS, finishing first with the gold medal.
In 1994, D.C. United defender Bobby Boswell appeared on GUTS, finishing with the silver medal. He was known on the show as Bobby "Lightning" Boswell and won the soccer event "Shootout", just a hint of what was to come for the career of Bobby Boswell.
[edit] Special Guests
The following were guests during the 1994 season:
[edit] Notes
- GUTS and Super Sloppy Double Dare were the only known shows to be taped at soundstage 21.
- Many of the events were over-the-top compared to those on previous childrens' game shows, and GUTS was often compared to American Gladiators in initial reviews. GUTS upped the ante for stunts on future Nickelodeon game shows, including Legends of the Hidden Temple and Double Dare 2000.
- Because of safety and liability concerns, there were a large number of "stunt spotters", or adults present to assist the contestants through the events. They were largely there to maintain safety in what was mostly a safe environment to begin with: players always wore helmets, mouth guards, elbow pads and knee pads, and most events employed elastic cords and harnesses (although those were mostly used to increase jumping ability). The players often used facemasks as well.
- On one episode, O'Malley reveals that the spotter at the top of the Aggro Crag (who he calls the "crag troll") is named Frank.
- Throughout the run, the actuators on the Aggro Crag were orange rotating lights. However, in a very early episode (possibly the pilot), the lights on the actuators were covered up and made to look like rocks themselves; these lights lit up in the color of the contestant who was climbing that section of the mountain. Also in this episode, the "Extreme Arena" graphic over the scoreboard was different, and Moira Quirk's explanation of the rules for the Aggro Crag was reworded somewhat.
- For the Global GUTS season (which aired in 1995), the scoreboard for the Extreme Arena received a makeover, with red LED style lights replacing the old display up on the board.
- For the GUTS All-Stars Special, three of its contestants (Mike "Superman" Schmidt, Jana "The Warrior" Waring and Kelly "The Maniac" Marchewka) who scored a perfect score of 1925 in their previous shows returned to face each other in a one-hour special that consisted of 7 events (8 including the Aggro Crag). Schmidt wore blue, Waring was red, and Marchewka wore purple. Waring ended up winning in the gold in this special. Schmidt came second, and Marchewka came third.
- For Season 3 of GUTS, after the first two events, the recap was called the "Mike & Mo Halftime Show".
- The highest score possible on GUTS was 1925 points, and the lowest possible score was 775 points.
- During the first two seasons of GUTS, O'Malley gave a disclaimer at the start of each show:
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- "Now, remember, all of our events here on GUTS are specifically designed with our players' safety in mind. They will have a stunt coordinator and stunt spotters with them at all times, so, please, do not try this at home."
In the third and fourth season, O'Malley either dídn't say the disclaimer, or only mentioned it in passing.
- According to Bobby Boswell, due to Moira's short stature, she would stand on a prop during her stand-up shots with Mike.
- In a version of the GUTS theme song, after "...level of precision that is needed to be risen to the top", and after the following "Do you have it?", you can hear "Aggro Crag" as if it were a background sound effect.
- The show no longer airs on "Nickelodeon" but rather the networks smaller channel, "Nick GAS"(Games And Sports). It shares time with other old "Nickelodeon" shows such as "Figure It Out" and "Double Dare 2000".
[edit] External links
| Game Shows on the Nickelodeon Network |
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| Channels on the Nickelodeon Network: TV Land | Nick Too | Nick GAS | Nicktoons Network | Noggin / The N |
| Premired between 1986-1989:
Double Dare | Super Sloppy Double Dare | Family Double Dare | Finders Keepers | Make the Grade | Think Fast! | You're On! |
| Premired between 1990-1996:
Get the Picture | Nickelodeon GUTS | Global GUTS | Legends of the Hidden Temple | Nick Arcade | What Would You Do? | Wild and Crazy Kids | NickAmerica |
| Premired between 1997-2006:
Figure It Out | Figure It Out: Family Style | Figure It Out: Wild Style | You're On! | Double Dare 2000 | Nickelodeon Robot Wars | Scaredy Camp |
