Twenty-five years ago today, ‘90s kids discovered something they didn’t know they needed: a glowing piece of Radical Rock from the Aggro Crag.
Alas, no one could simply circle it in the Toys ‘R’ Us holiday catalog. If you really wanted a piece of the mountain, later called the Mega Crag in season three, you had to don the blue, purple, or red uniform as a competitor on Nickelodeon GUTS, or its successor, Global Guts*.
*Which the UK won! :D
Amongst the Nickelodeon programming block that also included Legends of the Hidden Temple and Nick Arcade, the series has come to represent an era of a specific genre of TV that has yet to be successfully replicated. An action competition show, young players were given the chance to perform in a literal sports fantasy, provided they didn’t mind doing it on national television. Today, nostalgia for the series is alive and well within its original demographic, who are still reminiscing about what made GUTS such great entertainment (conversations that are perhaps sparked by watching Mike O’Malley on Glee or noticing his writing credits on Shameless).
To celebrate the anniversary, they have unveiled little known behind-the-scenes facts about the Nickelodeon classic for fans!
1. GUTS had a mascot. Really.
Photo: Nickelodeon
Its name was ‘Stretch,’ and the seemingly human relative of Cheesasaurus Rex only inhabited onscreen graphics for event categories during the first couple seasons.
2. While developing the series, producers would run ideas by kids.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
“The development process of the show started with Nickelodeon saying, ‘We'd like to do some kind of crazy, off-the-wall sports show,’ and then from that we went out and talked to kids and pitched them ideas,” Andy Bamberger (vice-president of production of Nickelodeon Studios) told Entertainment Tonight, who was lucky enough had the chance to visit the set at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando and Universal Studios, Florida multiple times throughout the show’s four-season run.
3. One idea that was axed: a human pinball game.
GUTS had its fair share of events with bizarre premises (looking at you, recumbent tricycle races), but this one did not make the cut.
4. Just one word: ELASTICS.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
“We do a lot of elastic sports events, which involve using elastic cords to give kids heightened gymnastic ability,” Albie Hecht (co-creator and executive producer of GUTS) told ET. A major component of GUTS was the introduction of elastic sports, which allowed contestants to sometimes fly 15 feet through the air to dunk basketballs or perform a macro-sized long jump.
5. Potential contestants were tested for agility and enthusiasm.
This audition phase included testing for gymnastic ability, basketball scoring and obstacle course speed. Producers also wanted to ensure kids weren’t being pressured to be on the show and that competing on GUTS (and national television) was something they wanted to do.
6. The “Extreme Arena” was born out of a manic brainstorming session.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
Early on, producers got together to discuss building a mini-arena where every event could be held in one location. During one such energetic meeting, a marker was passed around as everyone took turns writing down ideas for their vision of what the arena should contain. By the end, Scott Fishman (Nickelodeon executive in charge of production) claims the sketch pad they were using looked like it had been written with “a 3-year old’s crayon.”
7. Nickelodeon hired a professional Hollywood stunt team to make sure each event was safe for kids.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
“Safety is the No. 1 concern when we're dealing with kids at Nickelodeon, and there's a number of steps that we take in order to ensure safety,” said Fishman. Watching the show now, you can easily spot a dozen adults who look terrified that Brandon from Newark might get tangled in the elastic jungle.
8. The stunt coordinator made Nickelodeon executives test out the events and equipment.
“They thought it was easy, but it was not easy, as they found out,” stunt coordinator Kim Kahana told ET. He believed it was important for them to get a sense of each event from a kid’s perspective.
9. The most common injury: bruises from bumping into the aerial bridge.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
Kahana claimed they made each event “kid proof,” but the few injuries they encountered were mostly from jumping back onto the aerial bridge.
10. AJ McLean was once a contestant.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
Aside from being a member of one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, McLean also has a silver medal from GUTS to taunt Justin Jeffre with.
11. Former contestants who weren’t in the Backstreet Boys have gone on to do some pretty cool stuff, too.
Including: Stuntwoman Anna Mercedes Morris, professional soccer player Bobby Boswell and Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda.
12. Referee Moira ‘Mo’ Quirk did indeed require some height assistance to appear in frame with co-host Mike O’Malley.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
FYI: Did you know that Moira also help launch Nickelodeon UK in 1993 with a epic transatlantic sliming? Moira was also one of Nickelodeon UK's first presenters!:
Additionally, Moira also revealed that:
Yes, she did climb the Aggro Crag, and yes it was awesome. How can that much mylar not be?
Yes, she does have a piece of the Crag.
No, she won’t sell it to you. Not a week goes by that she doesn't get some request for it, sometimes for worthy reasons but mostly not. She's kind of fond of it - who wouldn't be. If, however, you would like to trade your trust fund for it, she might think about it...
13. Part of O’Malley’s job was keeping the kids excited and energetic throughout the day.
“My stand-up comedy experience gives me that witty banter, so I can do that play-by-play stuff and keep the kids going,” O’Malley told ET. He added, “But the energy comes right from the kids. They're so ready to aggressively attack these events.”
14. O’Malley and Quirk believed what made GUTS special was that kids simply wanted to do their best.
Photo: ET / Nickelodeon
“It's not a show where people are competing for prizes and money,” said O’Malley. Shots fired at Double Dare! As kids paddled through the wave pool, there was no prospect of a shopping spree or brand-new in-line skates. “This is kind of new for Nick in that it's not a game show. It's about what the kids can achieve and not about stuff they can get,” Quirk told ET.
15. There was a GUTS Nintendo game.
From what I've heard about preordering of the SNES, simply attaining the new Nintendo console was an online Aggro Crag of its own. The video game is also one of the most watched installments from the popular YouTube channel Game Grumps.
16. It's become a go-to 1990s throwback costume.
If you can’t gather the materials for a player costume, NickSplat has provided a template to create your own costumes for ‘Mike’ and ‘Mo.’
17. For the second season of Global Guts, producers were planning to add a roof that opened up to make the studio open-air. 1.
18. Mike and Moira recently reunited for a GUTS-themed episode of Nickelodeon's Sanjay and Craig!
Picture: Nickelodeon
19. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was a guest during the Medal Ceremony on one episode of Global Guts!
20. In 2008, Nickelodeon revived the franchise with My Family's Got Guts, which debuted on Nickelodeon USA on September 15, 2008. The series was taped at Universal Studios Florida as the original show was, but due to it already being occupied, not on the same sound stage as the original. GUTS was filmed in Stage 21, and My Family's Got Guts was filmed in Sound Stages 23 and 24. Stage 21 was most recently occupied by production of Impact Wrestling.
Hosted by Ben Lyons, along with Australian celebrity Asha Kuerten as the referee, the series ran for two seasons (although the second season never aired in the USA). Unlike the original, it followed a bracket tournament format featuring two 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.
21. NickSplat revived GUTS in partnership with Mountain Dew in 2016 for the Moutain Dew's DEWggro Crag event in NYC.
Happy 25th anniversary, GUTS! :)
More Nick: Profile: Rick Witkowski, Iconic Nickelodeon Theme Song Composer (Including "GUTS" theme)!
Watch all your '90s Nickelodeon favorites on NickSplat, your late-night destination for your favorite childhood Nickelodeon cartoons and live-action shows! NickSplat doesn't question football-shaped heads, but embrace them - along with Reptar bars, a Big Ear of Corn, orange soda, and even slime for Pete (and Pete's) sake. Make your slime-covered Nickelodeon childhood dreams come true every night at 10pm ET/PT, only on TeenNick USA! #NickSplat!
Additional sources: 1 Nickelodeon UK's NickText (RIP); Wikipedia (I, II).
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