Nickelodeon GUTS (USA)
Nickelodeon Guts is an American television "action sports" competition series hosted by actor/comedian Mike O'Malley and officiated by British actress Moira "Mo" Quirk. The series was broadcast by the cable television network Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1995. The show features young athletes competing in various athletic events in the "Extreme Arena", a set built on Sound Stage 21 at Universal Studios Florida. Guts reruns were shown on Nickelodeon GAS from March 1, 1999 until the network's closure on December 31, 2007 (April 23, 2009 on Dish Network).
Its mascot is Stretch, a yellow humanoid figure with no face and a round head. He appeared in the small logos for the event categories in the first and second seasons.
In 2008, Nickelodeon produced two seasons of a revival of the program, My Family's Got Guts.
On each episode, three children or teenagers, (individually represented by blue, red, and purple) compete against each other in four events that are based on skills in popular sports, such as basketball, baseball, football, and soccer. While most of these events include the use of an elastic harness, others make use of a wave pool, and sometimes a racing track is used. During the show's run, more creative and ambitious events were invented, even including a fabricated ski slope. Contestants earn points to their total score at the end of each event based on their performance. First place in each event is worth 300 points. Second place receives 200 points, and third place earns 100 points. The fifth and final event is known as the Aggro Crag (later renamed the MegaCrag, and finally the Super Aggro Crag.) This is the only event that featured a different scoring system. First place is worth 725 points. Second place is worth 550 points, and third place receives 375 points.
After each event, one of the three players is asked to "Spill Your Guts", or introduce themselves, between the remaining events. In season one, Mike talks about the player and his or her athletic and non-athletic interests. In season two, Moira discusses the player's interests, and also mentions what "guts" equaled to that player. In season three, during a brief prerecorded segment, players introduce themselves and reveal their athletic and non-athletic interests, what "having guts" means to them, why they are excited to be on the show, and/or usually also give a shout-out to their friends and family back home. On Global Guts, contestants introduce themselves; non-English speakers introduce themselves in their native language, and a translator does an English voice over for them.
Its mascot is Stretch, a yellow humanoid figure with no face and a round head. He appeared in the small logos for the event categories in the first and second seasons.
In 2008, Nickelodeon produced two seasons of a revival of the program, My Family's Got Guts.
On each episode, three children or teenagers, (individually represented by blue, red, and purple) compete against each other in four events that are based on skills in popular sports, such as basketball, baseball, football, and soccer. While most of these events include the use of an elastic harness, others make use of a wave pool, and sometimes a racing track is used. During the show's run, more creative and ambitious events were invented, even including a fabricated ski slope. Contestants earn points to their total score at the end of each event based on their performance. First place in each event is worth 300 points. Second place receives 200 points, and third place earns 100 points. The fifth and final event is known as the Aggro Crag (later renamed the MegaCrag, and finally the Super Aggro Crag.) This is the only event that featured a different scoring system. First place is worth 725 points. Second place is worth 550 points, and third place receives 375 points.
After each event, one of the three players is asked to "Spill Your Guts", or introduce themselves, between the remaining events. In season one, Mike talks about the player and his or her athletic and non-athletic interests. In season two, Moira discusses the player's interests, and also mentions what "guts" equaled to that player. In season three, during a brief prerecorded segment, players introduce themselves and reveal their athletic and non-athletic interests, what "having guts" means to them, why they are excited to be on the show, and/or usually also give a shout-out to their friends and family back home. On Global Guts, contestants introduce themselves; non-English speakers introduce themselves in their native language, and a translator does an English voice over for them.
Nickelodeon GUTS (USA)
Technical
CPU
- maincpu 5A22 (@ 21 Mhz)
- soundcpu SPC700 (@ 1 Mhz)
Chipset
- SNES Custom DSP (SPC700)
Display
- Orientation Yoko
- Resolution 255 x 225
- Frequency 60.098476 Hz
Controlers
- Number of players 2
- Number of buttons 6
- Kind of controler
- joy (8 ways)
- joy (8 ways)
- joy (8 ways)
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Nickelodeon GUTS (USA) Screenshots
Events
There were several different types of events, ranging from field sports to pool sports. Many events made use of elastic harnesses for aerial purposes. There were also track events and one event taking place in the gym called Basic Training, obstacle course.
Aerial Events:
Aerial Events:
- Slam Dunk
- Bull's Eye
- Make Your Mark
- Over the Top
- Off the Wall
- Spirals
- Attack
- Spike It
- Rebound
- Jump Ball
- The Longest Yard
- Jump! Jump!
- Triple Jump
- Dodge It
- Zero G
- Slam-A-Jama
- Vertiboggan
- Spin Out
- The Edge
- Touchdown
- Double Play
- Shoot Out
- Skyball
- Free Kick
- Wild Pitch
- Aces
- Fumble (Scrumble in Global Guts)
- Extreme Baseball
- Rugby
- Slap Shot
- Blast It
- Moon Race
- Eat My Dust
- Wild Wheels
- Tornado Run
- Blade Runner
- Mad Max (similar to Wild Wheels)
- Invisible Boat
- Boogie Down
- White Water
- Splash Down
- Tottaly Tubular
- Hang Ten
- Power Ski
- Wave Runner
- Skurfin' Safari
The Aggro Crag
The Aggro Crag (i.e. MegaCrag, or Super Aggro Crag) is the fifth and final event. All three contestants race to climb a fabricated mountain, activating a series of lighted targets commonly referred to as "actuators" (six and later seven in the first season; eight from the second season on) on their way to the peak. If a contestant misses any actuator(s) along the way, a spotter at the top (often referred to on-air as the "crag troll") prevents that player from completing the climb until he or she returns and activates the target they missed. The climb is made more difficult with special effects that simulated lightning storms in the form of strobe lights, rock avalanches, flying "snow" in the form of glitter and confetti, "nuclear flying crystals", and steep walls. Each contestant has a separate but identical side of the mountain to climb, and is not permitted to cross into another's path. The first contestant to successfully activate each target, including the final one at the peak of the mountain, earns first-place worth 725 points. The second- and third-place contestants earn 550 and 375 points, respectively.
A number of violations/errors on the Crag could result in a player automatically receiving third place points. These include:
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. For the show's final season, Global Guts (1995), it changed yet again to the Super Aggro Crag. In the third season in 1994, its color was changed to be molten. Sound Design for the action on the Aggro Crag was created by Nickelodeon Senior Sound Designer Mark Schultz, who converted the voltages supplied by the infrared actuator "eyes" to triggers read by a MIDI-based sampler.
The total height of the Aggro Crag is 28 feet. For Global Guts, the Super Aggro Crag was 30 feet tall.
A number of violations/errors on the Crag could result in a player automatically receiving third place points. These include:
- Inadvertently crossing into another player's section of the mountain
- Accidentally hitting someone else's actuator (excluding the final actuator)
- Reaching the top of the mountain by grabbing a hand rail, a rule enforced during the MegaCrag
- Making a false start at the beginning of the climb, i.e., beginning before the whistle
- Finishing the climb without lighting all of one's own actuators
- Not stepping on all of the boulders in the Crag's "Boulder Canyon" section at the base of the mountain, a rule introduced in the Guts All-Stars special.
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. For the show's final season, Global Guts (1995), it changed yet again to the Super Aggro Crag. In the third season in 1994, its color was changed to be molten. Sound Design for the action on the Aggro Crag was created by Nickelodeon Senior Sound Designer Mark Schultz, who converted the voltages supplied by the infrared actuator "eyes" to triggers read by a MIDI-based sampler.
The total height of the Aggro Crag is 28 feet. For Global Guts, the Super Aggro Crag was 30 feet tall.
Winning
The player with the most points after all five events wins the game and receives a gold Guts medal, as well as a faux glowing piece of the Aggro Crag. When the show changed to Global Guts, the medals were redesigned to reflect the show's new logo. With all seasons of the show, second place receives a silver medal and third receives a bronze medal.
The highest possible score for a contestant was 1925 points, and was attained several times throughout the show's run. Three contestants who achieved this score in 1992 were invited back to compete in a one-hour Guts All-Star Special in 1993, which featured seven events plus the Aggro Crag.
The highest possible score for a contestant was 1925 points, and was attained several times throughout the show's run. Three contestants who achieved this score in 1992 were invited back to compete in a one-hour Guts All-Star Special in 1993, which featured seven events plus the Aggro Crag.
Global Guts
In 1995, Nickelodeon produced an international spinoff, Global Guts, featuring contestants from various countries, including the United States of America, Mexico, United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (simply referred to as "CIS" on air, this included only Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. Although the countries had multiple contestants, no country was ever represented twice in a single episode except for the Special Olympic special where it had 2 U.S. players.) Each country had its own team of broadcasters; O'Malley retained this role for the US broadcast. The format remained identical to the original version, but the Mega Crag was upgraded to the Super Aggro Crag. In the "Spill Your Guts" segments, for players from non-English-speaking countries, an interpreter was used.
Taping of Global Guts took place from July 12 to August 15, 1995, and episodes began airing September 5, 1995.which was part of Nick in the Afternoon
Medal presentations were also accompanied by the raising of flags and the playing of the national anthem of the winning country, and a victory lap by the contestants, draped in the flags of their home countries.. A medal count was also tabulated at the beginning of each episode, similar to the Olympics.
In addition to airing the program on Nickelodeon in the United States, it aired on the Ukrainian Television Network in the CIS, Nickelodeon (Germany) in Germany, the Israeli Children's Channel in Israel, MVS Multivisión in Mexico, Sociedade Independente de Comunicação in Portugal, TVE in Spain, and Nickelodeon UK in the United Kingdom.
As a precursor to Global Guts, season 3 of Guts featured six contestants from the United Kingdom, competing in six separate shows. Of the six, four contestants ended up winning the gold medal. The six UK contestants were as follows:
Taping of Global Guts took place from July 12 to August 15, 1995, and episodes began airing September 5, 1995.which was part of Nick in the Afternoon
Medal presentations were also accompanied by the raising of flags and the playing of the national anthem of the winning country, and a victory lap by the contestants, draped in the flags of their home countries.. A medal count was also tabulated at the beginning of each episode, similar to the Olympics.
Medal count
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 8 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 2 | Mexico | 7 | 3 | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | United States | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 | Germany | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 | Israel | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | Spain | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| 6 | Portugal | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 7 | CIS Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine | 0 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
As a precursor to Global Guts, season 3 of Guts featured six contestants from the United Kingdom, competing in six separate shows. Of the six, four contestants ended up winning the gold medal. The six UK contestants were as follows:
| UK Contestant | Medal | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| Jonny "Spider" Evans | Gold | Jonny vs. Ryan vs. Lindsay |
| Wayne "Night Master" Norbury | Gold | Chad vs. Joy vs. Wayne |
| Abi "Abster" Weston | Bronze | Bret vs. Abi vs. Jessica |
| Lorraine "Sapper" Hurst | Silver | Lorraine vs. Chris vs. Gabrielle |
| David "Dynamo" Myall | Gold | Ronny vs. David vs. Kristen |
| Leanne "Panther" Kelley | Gold | Ashley vs. Nicole vs. Leanne |
Famous contestants
In 1992, Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean appeared on Guts, competing against Amanda "The Accelerator" Bulger and Jamie "The Jackal" Mendelsohn, and finished with the silver medal. He was in blue and referred to on the show as AJ "Mean" McLean. He had one event win during his appearance, that being a win in the Slam Dunk event.
In 1993, Hollywood stuntwoman Anna Mercedes Morris competed on the show under the name Anna "Roadrunner" Morris. She was dressed in red, competing against "Lawless" Lauren Shealy and Paul "Running Man" Battson, and she finished with the gold medal, despite injuring her knee in the Basic Training event. During that event, Paul broke a record, and completed the event in under 20 seconds.
In 1993, actor Mike Vogel competed on Guts with Christy "Blast" Gast and Cam "The Ice Man" Burke, and finished with the silver medal. He tied with the other players for first place on Over the Top and also won the Aggro Crag event, coming from third place to take second overall. He was known as Mike "Flea" Vogel and was dressed in blue.
In 1994, actress Ashley Drane competed on Guts with Nicole "The Bomber" Bozard and UK resident Leanne "Panther" Kelley, and finished with the silver medal. She was known as Ashley "The Face" Drane and was dressed in blue.
In 1994, Houston Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell appeared on Guts, competing against Robin "The Lizard" Rexroat and Jennifer "The Jaguar" Barnes, and finished with the silver medal. He was known on the show as Bobby "Lightning" Boswell and won the soccer event "Shoot Out", just a hint of what was to come for his career. Boswell, who was dressed in purple, also won the Mega Crag event in that very same show.
In 1993, Hollywood stuntwoman Anna Mercedes Morris competed on the show under the name Anna "Roadrunner" Morris. She was dressed in red, competing against "Lawless" Lauren Shealy and Paul "Running Man" Battson, and she finished with the gold medal, despite injuring her knee in the Basic Training event. During that event, Paul broke a record, and completed the event in under 20 seconds.
In 1993, actor Mike Vogel competed on Guts with Christy "Blast" Gast and Cam "The Ice Man" Burke, and finished with the silver medal. He tied with the other players for first place on Over the Top and also won the Aggro Crag event, coming from third place to take second overall. He was known as Mike "Flea" Vogel and was dressed in blue.
In 1994, actress Ashley Drane competed on Guts with Nicole "The Bomber" Bozard and UK resident Leanne "Panther" Kelley, and finished with the silver medal. She was known as Ashley "The Face" Drane and was dressed in blue.
In 1994, Houston Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell appeared on Guts, competing against Robin "The Lizard" Rexroat and Jennifer "The Jaguar" Barnes, and finished with the silver medal. He was known on the show as Bobby "Lightning" Boswell and won the soccer event "Shoot Out", just a hint of what was to come for his career. Boswell, who was dressed in purple, also won the Mega Crag event in that very same show.
Special guests
The following were guests during the 1992 season:
- Wendy Bruce
- Dominique Wilkins
- Evander Holyfield
- Charlie Ward
- Picabo Street
- Adam Oates
Episode Status
All of the episodes of Guts exist, and have aired on the now defunct Nick GaS from 1999 to 2007.
Revival
Main article: My Family's Got Guts
A revival of the show, My Family's Got Guts, debuted on September 15, 2008, filmed at Universal Studios Florida as with the original (but due to it already being occupied, not on the same sound stage as the original). This version is hosted by Ben Lyons, along with Australian celebrity Asha Kuerten as the referee. Unlike the original, it follows a bracket tournament format featuring 2 families competing as teams per episode, with points earned being used instead to provide a head start during the Aggro Crag rather than deciding the winner. Video game
In November 1994 Nickelodeon released a video game based on the Guts game show for the Super Nintendo. One or two players may compete in many of the events that debuted in the TV show, including the Aggro Crag. The game is based on the actual footage of the show and contains filmed contestants.
