Most people who work in TV are really fun, free spirited types of people.
I never got to be in the audience for Legends but I did get to see Double Dare 2000, which was like a dream come true because I had always wanted to see a taping of the original version. Nick Studios was an amazing environment, and it was every bit as fun and enjoyable as you would imagine.
That's awesome. Do you remember anything about it? 
Absolutely! It was one of the best days of my life! I mean, I don't know how much you wanna hear about, but basically, as soon as I saw the first teaser commercial air for the DD2K, I flipped out and begged my family to make a trip to Orlando to attend a taping.
I somehow managed to find a taping schedule, I don't remember how. But anyways, we got down there and went into the park at opening. There was a representative from Nick standing in the main thoroughfare providing complimentary tickets to the tapings. I believe they taped four shows per day. Our taping was scheduled for around 3:00.
We hung out at the Studios for most of the day impatiently waiting. Well, I was impatient anyway. We took the Studio tour and got a great overhead look at the new set, which blew my mind. I also recall seeing the original DD podium Marc Summers used on display along the tour route.
When the time came for our taping, we formed up in a line and entered Soundstage 18 through a door on the front part of the building. Let me tell you, it was like walking into a dream.
We lucked out as we would be present for the filming of two obstacle course runs, both for the red team. We were shuffled into seats left of center, facing the stage. I kept looking around, taking it all in. It was honestly pretty overwhelming. There were some crew members who talked to the audience to keep us entertained while they set up for the obstacle course, but for me, that set-up process was far more entertaining than anything they could have been doing.
They put the gak and other finishing touches on all the obstacles. The day of our taping they were using The Wringer/Kid Squisher, Down The Hatch/Big Mouth, Dump Truck, Drum Roll, The Blimp, Pick It, Blue Plate Special, and Big Scoop.
While the crew finished setting up, I noticed Jason Harris appear on the set. At this point, not too many people knew who he was yet, but being the fanatic I was, I knew exactly who he was. I actually had the nerve to call out to him and ask for a picture, to which he happily obliged. That was so against the rules (NO PHOTOGRAPHY OF ANY KIND!!!) But Jason didn't seem to care. He was honestly probably just stoked that someone knew who he was. I thanked him for the picture and also thanked him for hosting the new version of the show and let him know how excited I was. A few moments later one of the hype people introduced Jason to the audience and then they brought out the red team.
They explained to the audience what show was and the obstacle course was, while some crew people took the family around the course and explained each obstacle in detail. They also had preselected a kid to demonstrate the Big Mouth obstacle. Once everyone was all set, they started filming the obstacle course run down. Those crowd hype people actually encourage and lead the audience with the cheering. They practice it with you a few times prior to filming. If you watch carefully on Legends, when there is a camera person in the Crypt, look through the doorway, and you can often see a crew member flailing their arms wildly to get the crowd to make some noise.
Once that was all set, the red team was cut loose for the messiest minute in television. We were seated right by the Dump Truck. The family managed to win six of the eight prizes. Interestingly, after they were done and escorted off stage, Tiffany the announcer actually redid her prize rundown to a silent crowd. Apparently there was a foul up during the first rundown, because this didn't happen during our second taping. Although I could see them filming it this way regardless.
After that, we were shifted over a section and a new audience was also brought in. Now we were stationed in front of The Blimp. The second red team family was brought in, and the whole process started again while the crew retouched the obstacles, and also rearranged a few things. They rotated the direction of the Kid Squisher and Blue Plate and Down The Hatch switched places. They also adjusted the order of the obstacles slightly. This way each obstacle course run is slightly different, even on the same filming day.
Then the entire process started again. This time they also picked a kid to demonstrate The Wringer. Once again, the family managed to win six of the eight prizes. I got slime on me from The Blimp. I believe it was the pudding variety. I know this is gross, but I didn't wash my hoodie for like three months after that, lol.
After the second run was over, our experience drew to a close and we were taken out of the studio through a second door that led us back out to by the Slime Geyser.
If you guys are super curious I'll try and find my episodes on YouTube.
It was truly an incredible experience. I will never ever ever forget it. It inspired my cousins and I to build our own Double Dare set. We threw a DD party for one of their birthdays. I was the host. It was so awesome!
Side note: there were various props from some older Nick shows laying around unused portions of the Studios. Presumably either incase they decided to revive the show, or they were just too cool to get rid of. One of them was actually Olmec! And in fact, for a while during Nick GAS's run, Dave Aizer (another guy I was able to meet later that year) and Vivian Collins filmed some Nick GAS segments with Olmec just hanging out in the background. (All the live action GAS stuff was also filmed at Nick Studios).
This concludes my long winded memoir from my Double Dare 2000 taping experience. Sorry if this was a lot of text! It's impossible for me to recall this story without lots of detail. If there is anything else you want to know that I may have left out, let me know!
Topic: Season 1 Wrap Video (Read 3126 times)
