With the way that everyone is obsessed with nostalgia these days (*looks around nervously*), it’s downright shocking that Nickelodeon hasn’t already rolled out new versions of its classic kids game shows like Double Dare and Legends of the Hidden Temple. However, for at least the last year or so, the network’s executives have reportedly been working on another new version of Double Dare, so we can hope that someone somewhere is vigorously preparing the green booger goop for the giant nose. That, of course, leaves the question – who’s going to host?
Marc Summers would like to have his old job back, as the original Double Dare host told HuffPost Live that if Nickelodeon’s suits are willing to have a conversation with him, he’d be more than happy to start issuing Physical Challenges again.
“Here’s the deal. I would love to do some form or fashion of it. Let’s just say that right now … the people who run the Nickelodeon network and I don’t necessarily see eye to eye,” Summers told host Josh Zepps. “I’ve been trying to make nice to those people, but they refuse to talk to me.”
Summers added that he may not be the demographic Nickelodeon is looking for.
“I think they think I’m way too old to do it. I still have the energy and I think I could,” Summers said. “So I’m putting a call out to the folks at Nick: return the phone calls, have a discussion.” (Via the HuffPo)
The extent of Summers’s efforts to “make nice” with Nickelodeon will probably matter a lot more than his age if he’s serious about getting the new gig. While he’s never been entirely open about why an unnamed executive at Nick has such a problem with him, Summers has been very vocal about his problems with the network in recent years. In Matt Klickstein’s “Slimed: An Oral History of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age,” the Double Dare host explained that the show’s “drug-loving production crew” named the green slime after street slang for heroin, among other fun facts, but his rants to some radio stations last year really had people buzzing.
“Well, I have all sorts of issues with Nickelodeon these days… There’s somebody in upper management who for some reason has decided that they hate my guts. Meanwhile, their network is going in the dumper.” (Via MAX 98.3/TMZ)
Their network is going in the dumper. Disney beats it. They have no idea what they’re doing. They put on a bunch of cartoons and stuffed animals instead of real human beings that other people can associate with. Whatever they want to do is fine. They play games with me, and I play games with them … the creative people are gone. It’s become a ‘how much money can we make from this merchandise’ and ‘how many tours can we put out and steal money from the parents.’ (Via 98 Rock/Pajiba)
Summers’s biggest problem with Nickelodeon seems to be that the network switched from programming that featured kid contestants and actors who looked like ordinary kids with pimples and goofy faces to shows that had 11-year olds who looked like Britney Spears. Summers was, of course, the big, doofy older brother, and now he comes across as a creepy, angry uncle. Looks and age aside, the Double Dare resurrection will eventually happen and when it does, we should just all keep our fingers crossed that Nickelodeon at least brings this guy back:
