For seven seasons in the late eighties and early nineties, Marc Summers hosted the wildly popular Nickelodeon series Double Dare. The game show encouraged kids to compete in physical, goofy and often messy challenges and its success on the small screen led some kids to create their own challenges at home. While this was great for TV ratings, some moms were ultimately not too happy with the show, as their kids started wreaking havoc at home. In a recent interview, Marc Summers recounted exactly what happened, when one unhappy mom confronted him about what his game show was doing to her home. Here's what he had to say:
It was Halloween, Double Dare had been on five or six years. I open the door and this woman goes, 'You're the guy from Double Dare.' Let me tell you why I don't like you. My kids destroyed my house doing an obstacle course.' Apparently they took coffee grounds and put them all over the house, ruining her carpet. The next morning I wake up, and in my shrubs there were packing peanuts. I think I was pranked by this woman.
While it's one thing to call out a TV host for all of the shenanigans he has inadvertently caused, it's quite another thing to prank him yourself. According to what Marc Summers told EW, however, that's exactly what happened. The game show host was just being a nice guy and handing out candy on Halloween when one vengeful mom expressed her dismay over his series. She presumably took things a little bit further, paying him back for the coffee grounds that took hold in her carpet.
Of course, I suppose it could always have been another vengeful mom---or a set of sly trickster children---who actually chose to throw packing peanuts into Marc Summers' shrubs.
Although some moms may not have been a fan of the long-running series, I personally know one mom who put together a slew of Double Dare obstacle courses for her son on his birthday in the nineties, although she smartly set all of those challenges up outside. At the end of the day, that's how not to ruin the carpet.
Marc Summers has been talking about bringing Double Dare back for years, and tonight Nickelodeon finally is going to do it---sort of. The network has plans to air a 30th Anniversary special that will bring Summers back and will show a bunch of vintage clips from the series. It's all part of a wave of revivals and nostalgic programming the network has been trying in recent months. You can catch the Double Dare special tonight at 9 p.m. ET, only on Nick. In addition, you can check out what is headed to TV around the holidays with our premiere schedule.
