Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: My Family's Got GUTS

At this point in time, game shows for Nickelodeon were dead. Just plain dead. After Nickelodeon Studios shut down its doors in 2005, people's interest for kids' game shows waned down fast, especially when Nickelodeon GAS was done in 2007. However, Nickelodeon decided to bring back kids' game shows with another revival. The first two attempts of game show revivals such as Double Dare 2000 and the 2002 Wild & Crazy Kids were such colossal failures that they didn't last longer than a year and people still look back to the original with fondness. Third time would be the supposed charm with the revival of the 1992 game show Nickelodeon GUTS with My Family's Got GUTS debuting on September 15, 2008.



The game show starts with a group of two families competing each other in a tournament filled with extreme games and concluding it at the Aggro Crag. The families with the highest points will move on to the next round, receive a piece of the Aggro Crag and the next family competes. It continues on until the final two families compete in the Aggro Bowl and the winner receives a full Aggro Crag trophy and a family trip. The host of My Family's Got GUTS is film critic/actor Ben Lyons and his co-host is Australian celebrity Asha Keurten.



What makes My Family's Got GUTS interesting is the fact that it was filmed in Sound Stages 23 and 24 of Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, which is something to behold since as previously mentioned, Nickelodeon Studios had shut down 3 years prior and every show that was being filmed were taking place at Nick on Sunset in California. Similar to the original Nickelodeon GUTS being a kid version of American Gladiators coming out around the same time, My Family's Got GUTS came out a few months after the American Gladiators revival back in January 2008. However, My Family's Got GUTS lasted for 2 seasons ending its run on October 10, 2009 despite the fact that Season 2 was never shown in North America due to most likely low ratings. There are a lot of reasons that My Family's Got GUTS frustrates me.

First off, this would've been a great opportunity to not only to revive the Nickelodeon game show genre that had been dead for 3 years, but it could've been the thing to bring back Nickelodeon Studios. If the show would've been a big hit, maybe more game shows or live action shows could've been filmed at the different Sound Stages at Universal Studios. Unfortunately, there was no mention of My Family's Got GUTS being filmed at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida similar to most of the game shows during the 80's and 90's during the ending credits. Parents could've taken their kids there and Universal Studios could've made a lot of money, but it was wasted potential.



Secondly, the hosts of Ben Lyons and Asha Keurten are very forgettable. It seems that the people who created this revival wanted them to be the next Mike O' Malley and Moira Quirk, with Lyons being kooky and wild and Keurten having a exotic language, but didn't understand what made O'Malley and Quirk work in the first place. Mike O'Malley was very goofy and silly, which would have normally been out of place for an "extreme" game show like Nickelodeon GUTS, but he was likable. Moira Quirk was the steady, down-to-earth referee who explained the rules to the kids and had a cheerful personality that was a much needed balance for O'Malley. They worked great together and no other Nickelodeon game shows accomplished this feat ever since. Lyons and Keurten were rehashes of what O'Malley and Quirk did 15 years prior as oppose to their own true personalities with no chemistry or likability.

Double Dare 2000 was a revival that played itself way too safe with little to no changes. Wild & Crazy Kids back in 2002 had too many changes that didn't make it unrecognizable from the original. My Family's Got GUTS was a mixture of both. While it retained the extreme games, the Aggro Crag, the theme song, and the criteria of the hosts' personalities, there were a lot of changes that were made that were mostly unnecessary. For example, the addition of the families being the contestants didn't mesh very well and made the pacing slower. The scoring system is very different from the original and can be confusing at times. Plus, the Aggro Crag was very confusing with the different gameplay, having a few seconds start with the teams with the highest score, and it being 5 feet smaller than the original Aggro Crag, it became a letdown since every Crag in each season became taller with more challenges with the Mega Crag being 28 feet tall and the Super Aggro Crag being 30 feet.



Overall, I have mixed opinions of My Family's Got GUTS. On one hand, it was the best revived game show that Nickelodeon had at that point and it felt like Nickelodeon GUTS. However, due to a mixture of keeping things way too safe with things that needed to be changed and having unnecessary changes that shouldn't have been made makes it a game show makes this a very frustrating experience to sit through. I think the game show would've done better if it wasn't based on Nickelodeon GUTS and was an original idea. It's an okay game show by itself, but it's nowhere near as good when compared to the original.

That's all for now. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

-Patricia

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: Interview with Moira Quirk

If there's one person who is just as beloved and memorable for a game show than the host, it's their counterpart. Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune, Robin Marella and John Harvey from Double Dare, Dee Baker as Olmec from Legends of the Hidden Temple. Today's interview is with one of these counterparts. From 1992 to 1996, Moira Quirk was the referee in Nickelodeon GUTS alongside Mike O'Malley discussing the rules of the sports and the Aggro Crag. Her sweet, down to earth, loving personality and her wonderful British accent made fantastic chemistry alongside Mike's lovingly goofy personality.



Today she does voice acting for animated shows and video games such as My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Stroker and Hoop, Xenogears, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Infamous 2. She's also done TV roles such as Pretty the Series and Dirty Work. Not to mention being a stand up comedian, lending her voice in audio books, doing various amounts of podcasts, and being a loving wife and mother. Due to her extremely busy schedule, I was able to receive her interview two days after I posted my Nickelodeon GUTS review, so thank you Moira for taking the time to answer these questions.

I hope everyone enjoys this very special interview with Moira Quirk.



Patricia- First of all, I really like your British accent. Where in the U.K. are you originally from?

Moira- I grew up in Rutland, the smallest county in England.

Patricia- What was your childhood like?

Moira- I was a happy kid. I was the mischievous kid, but all my friends parents thought I was really good. It was a handy combo!

Patricia- What were your favorite cartoons/shows growing up?

Moira- I loved a lot of Hanna Barbera stuff: Hong Kong Phooey, The Hair Bear Bunch, Scooby Doo. My first animation job was at the old Hanna Barbera Studios on Cahuenga. Magical! And when I got to play the villainess in Scooby Doo and utter the immortal "And I would have got away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!" I was overjoyed. Made my lifetime!

Patricia- At what age did you realize that you wanted to be an actress?

Moira- Pretty young. I was in primary school. I did the Christmas play, and that was that.

Patricia- When did you move to America? What was it like living there at first adapting to a new way of living and culture?

Moira- I moved from London to Orlando. It was a huge adjustment, and sometimes I was very homesick, but obviously I liked it enough to stay. Not Orlando- sorry Orlando- but America. And then, of course, I met my husband to be.

Kevin- How did you hear about the Nickelodeon game show GUTS?

Moira- My agent just sent me to audition. I was there amongst a bevy of sporty, blonde goddesses, but they kept calling me back.

Kevin- What was it like working side by side with Mike O'Malley?

Moira- Mike was, and continues to be, the biggest source of energy ever. He could be the answer to global warming.



Patricia- What would be the process of getting a typical episode done?

Moira- Oh goodness, as I remember we'd shoot three episodes a day. I really can't remember if we'd have each set of competitors go one after the other, but that seems the most sensible set up. Doesn't it?

Patricia- How were the kids chosen to be part of Nickelodeon GUTS?

Moira- There were talent scouts. At first they just looked locally, then after the first season they went further afield.



Patricia- Where there any major changes that came from transitioning from GUTS to Global GUTS?

Moira- Yep. It was shot quite differently because each country needed their own feed with their own hosts. I got more time off!

Patricia- For the contestants for Global GUTS who didn't speak any English, where there any translators for them so they could understand the rules or interact with the other kids?

Moira- Yes, there were translators.

Kevin- What fond memories can you tell us when you were doing GUTS?

Moira- Many. I still have friends from my days on GUTS, and Mike and I keep in touch.

Kevin- Have you ever tried to do any of the obstacles whenever they were setting it up?

Moira- Of course!

Kevin- What was your reaction when you saw Mike on Yes, Dear, Parenthood, and Glee?

Moira- It's so funny, my elder daughter loves Yes, Dear. So I see of much of Mike now as I did then, although not in person of course. I thought Mike's work on Glee was extraordinary. It was a very well deserved Emmy nomination.

Patricia- What made you decide to go into voice acting?

Moira- I'd always been interested in it.

Patricia- What was the audition process like for My Life as a Teenage Robot?

Moira- I went in and met with Rob Renzetti. He had me read a few portions of the script. I felt it went well. I didn't hear for a while, but I was super excited to get the role. It was a great role to play and I totally loved the look of the cartoon.



Patricia- What was it like working with Rob Renzetti?

Moira- He's a really cool, really talented guy and very low key. It was the best.



Patricia- What was the experience like with working with talented voice actors like Candi Milo, Janice Kawaye, Cree Summer, Eartha Kitt, and Quinton Flynn?

Moira- Didn't get to meet Eartha Kitt, but all the above are awash in awesomeness.

Patricia- What would a typical recording session be like?

Moira- Fun

Patricia- What was your favorite episode?

Moira- Am I allowed to say all of them? It was a really fun show.

Patricia- What was it like voicing the character Jane for The Wild Thornberrys Movie?

Moira- That was another great time. Charlie Adler directed me, who has been such a wonderful friend and mentor. His was one of the first voice-over classes I took, so we both enjoyed the fact that now I was his employee really.

Patricia- You had voiced other characters in video games such as Xenogears, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Do you play video games? If not, is voicing a character in a video game the same as voicing a character in a cartoon?

Moira- I can't play anything too gorey or intense because, well I could say I'm sensitive, but I think a better adjective would be wussy. I'm wussy. More often than not for games, I find myself alone in a recording booth being directed by Skype. Animation you still have a chance of recording as a cast. I like having a cast, but I also love me, an engineer and a director just getting the job done and having a great time doing it. Because it is a job, although one that I love.

Patricia- When looking at your website, I had no idea that you also do comedy sketches. What made you interested to go into comedy?

Moira- I suppose it was a fait accompli. Making people laugh and being made to laugh were and are important things to me.

Patricia- Who are your comedic heroes?

Moira- I used to see Zach Galiafinankis (sp?) at this little coffee shop in LA, and I'm thrilled at his success. I liked a lot of comedic actors: Judy Holliday, Dick Shawn, Alan Arkin (obviously I watched a lot of old stuff). This is all of the top of my head. As a kid I loved Julie Walters and Victoria Wood and Jasper Carrott. If I were to choose to watch a comedy special of listen to a comedian it might be Eddie Izzard, Mitch Hedburg, Eddie Pepitone and Frank Conniff. It's quite a long list... I like Marc Maron's podcast and listening to all the comedian's stories.

Patricia- I read in Summer Sanders' blog recently that she had introduced her children to Figure it Out during the years that she hosted. The results were that 5 minutes into it, they wanted to watch SpongeBob. They were 3 and 5, so they were too young. Did you show your children when you were co-hosting GUTS? If so, what do they think of it?

Moira- They might have seen a bit. They know I did it, but they are always perpIexed if someone is excited to recognise me. I mean if your mother did it, it can't be cool can it?

Patricia- Finally, what are your upcoming projects?

Moira- I'll let you know when I find out! I do have a couple of web series. Dirty Work just got an Emmy nomination! If you want to watch it, please do here dirtywork.com, but, be warned, I play someone with a really, really filthy mouth! Filthy! I'm working on a couple of games, too. It could be a while until they are released and I've signed those pesky non-disclosure forms! I also do plays for radio for the BBC and with L.A. Theatre Works for syndication on NPR and to be sold as audiobooks/plays. You can find them online too. I just did Look Back in Anger, so you might still be able to stream that at latw.org.

Patricia- Thank you so much for answering this, Moira. I know that I said too many questions and I apologize, but I was really excited to have the opportunity to interview you. I grew up watching you on GUTS and I always loved watching you on TV. I love Mike as well, of course. Haha! Hope that everything goes well for you and your family. Thanks.

Moira- Thanks, Patricia. Please forgive my lollygagging.

You can find out more information about Moira and her amazing work at moiraquirk.com. Also you can find her at Twitter @moiraquirkable.

That's all for now. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care and thanks for reading.

-Patricia and Kevin

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: Nickelodeon GUTS

Around the 90's, if you wanted to see some over-the-top sports competitions involving big, burly men and women, you would see American Gladiators.




This sports game show tested out their strength, agility, stamina, and speed as they competed to win $10,000 to $25,000. Nickelodeon decided to copy off the idea of American Gladiators and do it for kids. On September 19, 1992, Nickelodeon GUTS debuted on TV asking everyone this question: Do you have it?

The show involved with three kids wearing the colors red, blue, and purple competing against each other to win a glowing piece of the "radical" rock. Each game had four events that would test out their strength, stamina, agility, and speed. The first three events were regular sports like basketball, soccer, football, track, and obstacle courses, but pumped to the extreme. For the highest score of each event, it would be 300 points. Second place would get 200 points. Third place would get 100 points.



As usual for any Nickelodeon game show, they save the best for last. In the final event, the three contestants had to climb a huge mountain known as The Aggro Crag. The Aggro Crag had many obstacles that they had to avoid in order to hit 8 light targets located on their side of the Crag. There were a few rules involving not crossing into another player's side of the Crag, hitting someone else's light target accidentally, etc. that would prevent them from winning the rock. The height of the Aggro Crag was 28 feet.



Finally, all the points are tallied and a winner would be announced. They would be awarded medals of gold, silver, and bronze. The winner of GUTS would be awarded with the piece of the "radical" rock. The rock was green and it would even glow in the dark. When you would look at that rock, you would die to have a chance to compete in GUTS and try to win it. It looked so cool back then and it still does today.



In fact, one of the GUTS winners even sold his "radical" rock on eBay. Today it's one of the most rarest and iconic items in Nickelodeon history. Since there was 126 episodes of GUTS, there are 126 rocks in the world. He eventually sold his rock for around $1500.00.



Around Season 2, they changed the Aggro Crag to the Mega Crag. There were some changes with the obstacles, the looks, and the designs.



Many kids competed in GUTS, even soon-to-be celebrities and athletes. In one episode, future Backstreet Boy member A.J. McLean competed in GUTS.

In another episode, Houston Dynamo soccer player Bobby Boswell competed in GUTS.

In 1995, they decided to change it into a different direction and include contestants from all over the world. This was known as Global GUTS.

Similar to the Olympics, various countries like the United States, Israel, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan) would compete to win the "radical" rock, the gold medal, and the proud representation of their country. Similar to the Olympics, they would count down on who was in the lead for winning the gold, silver, and bronze medals. According to the official tally, this was the results of who won overall.

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
T4	Germany	4	6	2	12
T4	Israel	4	3	5	12
6	Spain	2	2	8	12
7	Portugal	1	5	6	12
8	CIS  Georgia,  Kazakhstan,  Russia,  Ukraine	0	7	5	12

Global GUTS also included a huge overall to the Crag: The Super Aggro Crag. It was bigger, had more obstacles, and more challenging than all the previous Crags. It was 30 feet high compared to the 28 feet of the previous Crags.



The show was hosted by Mike O'Malley from Get the Picture and refereed by Moira Quirk. Similar to Get the Picture, Mike showed off his goofy side when it came to calling out the contestants' nicknames and shouting out "Spill your guts" and "Do you have it?" throughout the show. Moira was very sufficient when it came to explaining the rules to the contestants and the audience with her British accent. Similar to Robin Marella from Double Dare and What Would You Do?, she was just as well known and beloved as the host was.



The show lasted for 4 seasons ending its run on January 14, 1996. Overall, it was a really neat concept to bring athletics and sports for kids. It was done very well, the sports and obstacles looked like a ton of fun, and the hosts look like they were having as much fun as the kids were. Sure the phrase "Do you have it?" seems a little ridiculous and cheesy nowadays and Mike O'Malley still kept his goofy personality, but everything else holds up pretty well. It may not be as crazy and over-the-top as say Wipeout or American Ninja, but hey, I would love to see a remake of GUTS.



Ugh! We'll talk about that some other time.

Overall, if you're a huge sports fanatic and loved to see American Gladiators, then GUTS is for you. I highly recommend checking it out. It was my second favorite Nickelodeon game show in the 90's. As for my favorite 90's Nickelodeon game show, we'll discuss about that really soon.



That's all for now. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care.

-Patricia