In a nutshell, Nickelodeon GUTS is a child-sized version of American Gladiators. On each episode, three children, aged 10-15 and from both sexes, competed in five extreme athletic events which tested the contestants' speed, agility, accuracy, and perseverence. The events were usually based on a common sport or other athletic competition, made more extreme by the use of elastic cords, or harder due to the lack of all the equipment usually used in the competition. Events took place on several different sections of the arena. There was a pool in which water events took place, enhanced by water jets or a wave ball; the track, where foot and vehicle races took place; the field, where most traditional sports competitions took place; the gym, where obstacle course events took place; and the "Aerial Bridge", basically a set of padded mats piled several feet high, where which most events involved an elastic cord attached to the kids and the ceiling so they can fly high and long. Players were scored in each individual event according to the rules, then scored points based on a standardized system: first place in an event scored 300 points, second place scored 200, and third place scored 100. In case of a two-way tie, the tied players get 300 points each if they tie for first, and the other player gets 100; if two players tied for second they get 200 points each and the other gets 300. If a three-way tie happens, all the players get 300. Between events, players would introduce themselves in a segment called "Spill Your Guts". In season 1, host O'Malley would read the bios.

The fifth and final event on each episode was the Aggro Crag, which is just what it sounds like: an aggressive mountain. The mountain was filled with obstacles such as slimy ledges, water and slime geysers, snow, smoke, and falling rocks. All three players climbed the mountain simultaneously. They must hit each of 6 actuators on the way up (7 later in season 1), including the final one at the top of the mountain, and must stay within their designated sides of the crag. The first player to hit all of the actuators and reach the top gets 725 points, the second player up gets 550 points, third place wins 375 points. If a player misses any of the actuators and fails to go back down to hit them, or stray off their designated side of the crag, he is disqualified and automatically receives third-place points, and the other players' scores are adjusted appropriately.

Finally, the three contestants are lined up for the medal ceremony, where the third-place overall scorer gets the broze medal, the second-place finisher gets the silver, and the winner gets the gold. The winner also gets a trophy, which was referred to as "a glowing piece of our awesome rock". A tie due to a double disqualification never happened so it is not known what would have happened in that case.

In season 2, a few changes were made. Obviously, new events were added and some older ones departed, and now, Moira Quirk read the bios for the Spill Your Guts segments. The most notable change was in the Aggro Crag. A new section called Boulder Canyon was added to the beginning of the mountain. This was basically a series of boulders sticking up several feet, and contestants must touch each boulder to avoid being disqualified. There were now 8 actuators to hit. Everything else stayed the same. The season opened with an All Star special which featured three perfect-scoring champions from season 1.

Season 3 brought even more radical changes. The theme song was remixed, and the opening changed significantly. More new events were added, and many of the existing events were made harder. Players now read their own bios in Spill Your Guts. The Aggro Crag was now completely redone. It was now known as the Mega Crag. The ledges were much tougher to navigate and there were more obstacles, plus there was a maze of petrified lava known as the shard zone which boggled up many competitors. The format and gameplay remained the same. The first week of the season featured appearances by famous athletes: Adam Oates, Picabo Street, Dominique Wilkins, Charlie Ward, and Evander Holyfield. in addition, 6 contestants from the UK competed during the season. This lead into...

...Season 4, which brought perhaps the most radical change to the game: It was now known as Global Guts. Gameplay remained the same, but now contestants came from 8 different countries (USA, Mexico, Isreal, the UK, the CIS (Russia and the Ukraine), Spain, Germany, and Portugal) to compete. 12 contestants from each country competed, for a total of 96 contestants, 32 episodes. The show was now an Olympic-style competition, and each country had its own host (O'Malley hosted for the USA and the UK). A few new events were added, but a lot of old ones were dropped. Contestants read their Spill Your Guts bios for themselves, with an English translator overriding for the English-speaking audience (I assume the other countries also had translators). The mountain was renamed the Super Aggro Crag, with more obstacles and distractions than ever. During the awards ceremony, the three flags of the contestants' countries rose in such a way that the winner's country's flag was raised the highest, second place flag next, and third place flag lowest, and the winner's country's national anthem was played. Each episode ended with the three players taking a victory lap around the track, during which the crowd would go wild and the players would then be congratulated by their families.

There were two specials that aired for Nickelodeon's Big Help program. On in 1994 for different organizations, and one during Glodal GUTS for the Special Olympics.

Final thoughts...
Perhaps what makes this show my favorite children's game show ever made is that the events were so fun to watch, and they provided good, clean, friendly competition and fun to those kids who chose to participate on the show. The Aggro/Mega/Super Aggro Crag was very exciting, and made for some very close finishes. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the Crag is one of my most, if not the most, favorite game show endgames of all time.

What most made this show memorable, though, was the great chemistry between host Mike and referee Moira. Between events, the two would sometimes joke, and even during events when Mike would ask for the official results from Moira, he would sometimes do it in a very energetic matter which Moira would usually laugh at. During season 3, they added the "Mike and Mo Halftime Show" where the duo would usually joke around and/or chat with one of the contestants while discussing highlights of the first two events.

However, when the series became Global GUTS, the presentation resembled the Olympics and was very serious. The joking between Mike and Moira was gone. The loss of this chemistry, plus the fact that lots of older events were retired, probably equalled the show's demise. On the other hand, this was 1995, a horrible year for game shows (cancellations of Legends of the Hidden Temple, Combs/Dawson II Family Feud, the Nighttime Price is Right with Doug Davidson, and others, not to mention the removal of the game show block on the USA Network), and so GUTS may just have been another victim.

Reruns of Global GUTS aired on Nickelodeon weekdays between October 1995 and Jaunary 1996, then weekends from then until March 1999. Between March 1999 and December 2007, all four seasons of the show (though mostly the first three seasons) reran on the Nickelodeon Games and Sports network (Nick GAS), a channel that specialized in rerunning classic Nickelodeon game shows. Since January 2008, the Nick GAS service has only been available through the TurboNick online site.

Here they are, in no particular order…

Slam Dunk – Played on the aerial bridge. Elastic cord-enhanced basketball. Players play simultaneously and have 60 seconds to shoot as many basketballs into the basket as possible. Players must jump off the ground before shooting. Highest scorer wins.

Bullseye – Played on the aerial bridge. Elastic cord-enhanced archery. Players play simultaneously and have 60 seconds to shoot as many Nerf arrows into the middle of the raised targets as they can. Player must jump off the ground before they shoot. Highest scorer wins.

Off Da Wall – Played on the aerial bridge. Contestants play simultaneously and have 45 seconds to knock as many baseballs off of the blue walls in front of them as possible. Highest scorer wins.

Tornado Run – Played on the track. Players run one lap around the track which is filled with obstacles that they must endure. In the first three seasons, players ran simultaneously with the person crossing the finish line first winning. In season 4, players took turns running the track, with the fastest time winning.

Blade Runner – Played on the track. Each contestant, in turn, does a lap around the track in a pair of roller blades. They must go through or around each obstacle. Fastest time wins.

Eat My Dust – Played on the track. Each player, in turn, goes around the track, adorned with obstacles, on a BMX bicycle. Fastest time wins.

Mad Max – Played on the track. Each player, in turn, pedals a weird-looking vehicle around the track which is filled with “post-nuclear” obstacles. Best time wins.

Wild Wheels – Played on the track. Similar to Mad Max, but with less apocalyptic obstacles.

Invisible Boat – Played in the pool. Players, in turn, paddle themselves across the pool, filled with rapids, as if they were canoeing, but there’s no boat. In the first two seasons, contestants only had to go from one end of the pool to the other. In seasons 3 and 4, players had to go across and back. In either case, fastest time wins.

Totally Tubular – Played in the pool. Players simultaneously swim across the pool, collecting five (six?) tubes and placing them around their bodies as they go. They touch the far end of the pool and then swim back with all the tubes on them. The player who completes the lap first wins.

Basic Training – Played in the gym. Each player, in turn, runs through an obstacle course similar to those used to train new military recruits. Player must complete each obstacle before moving on to the next one, and best time wins.

Extreme Baseball – Played in the gym. Similar to Basic Training, but with more obstacles, a baseball theme, and exclusive to season 3. My personal favorite event.

Make Your Mark – Played on the aerial bridge. One of two elastic cord-enhanced high jump events. Each player, in turn, has three chances to jump off the aerial bridge, pick up some paint on their shoes, and kick the wall in front of them as high as they can. Both feet must make a mark to count. The lowest point of the higher foot mark is measured, and the highest mark is counted. Highest mark wins. On early epsiodes, players used their hands to make their marks, but otherwise the game was played the same.

Over the Top – Played on the aerial bridge. The other of two elastic cord-enhanced high jump events. Each player, in turn, has three chances to jump off the aerial bridge and try to jump over the hurdle in front of them. In the first two seasons, the hurdle started at 6’ 9”. If cleared, the player can use any remaining chances to clear 7’ 5”, and then 8’ 1”. In season 3, the hurdles were set at 8’ 8”, 9’ 4”, and 10’; in season 4, they were set at 2.5 metres, 2.75 metres, and 3.0 metres. In any case, best jump wins.

The Longest Yard – Played on the aerial bridge. Elastic cord-enhanced long jump event. Each contestant, in turn, has two (later three) chances to jump off the aerial bridge, fly through the air, and land in the area of sand in front of them which has a ruler going along the side. Both feet must touch the sand in order for the jump to count. The farthest point of the closer foot mark is measured, and the farthest jump is counted. Best jump wins.

Zero G – Played on the aerial bridge. Each player, in turn, runs around the horizontally-oriented track, held horizontally by an elastic cord. It’s supposed to resemble zero gravity. Best time wins.

Spin Out – Played on the aerial bridge. Each contestant, in turn, goes down a luge-type course on fake snow. Best time wins.

Skurfin’ Safari – Played in the pool. Each player, in turn, goes across the pool and back on a “skurfboard” with the help of a rope for the hands. They must go around each of the buoys in the pool. Fastest time wins.

Slam-a-Jama – Played on the aerial bridge. Each player, in turn, has 30 seconds to jump off their aerial bridge and shoot a basketball into the hoop at the center while the other contestants try to reject their shots. Best score wins.

Boogie Down – Played in the pool. Each contestant, in turn, goes across the pool and back on a kneeboard with the help of a hand rope. Fastest time wins.

Hang Ten – Played in the pool. Each contestant, in turn, has 30 seconds to swim around the pool on a surfboard, enhanced by the wave ball, and try to collect as many buoys scattered around the pool as possible. Highest number of buoys collected wins.

Free Kick – Played on the field. Each contestant simultaneously tires to block as many soccer balls being shot out of cannons on the other side of the field from going into their goals as possible. Players must stay within their designated zones. Most number of blocks in 30 seconds wins.

Dodge It – Played on the aerial bridge. Each player simultaneously has 60 seconds to catch the balls being released from the ceiling and throw them at the other players. The player with the most hits wins.

Wild Pitch – Played in the field. Contestants compete simultaneously and have 45 seconds to hit as many baseballs being shot out of cannons at the other side of the field as possible. Highest score wins. Very early in the run, players had to dodge the balls and the player with the fewest hits after 45 seconds wins.

Moon Race – Played on the track. Each player simultaneously runs, er, bounces around the track wearing a pair of moon shoes. Players must stay within their designated lanes. First player to cross the finish line wins.

Spike It – Played on the aerial bridge. Each contestant, in turn, has five chances to jump off the aerial bridge, hit a volleyball thrown by a spotter over the net, and try to get it to land in one of six targets on the floor. Players get one extra chance for every time the spotter’s throw is considered “unfair”. Most number of targets wins.

Jump! Jump! – Played on the aerial bridge. Each player, in turn, jumps off the aerial bridge, over two hurdles in front of them, onto the opposite aerial bridge, and back. The player incurs a 5-second penalty for each hurdle knocked down. Best time wins.

Peak to Peak – Played on the aerial bridge. Each contestant, in turn, crosses the “mountain range” (a series of fake mountains) in front of them, to the opposite aerial bridge, and back. Players must put at least one foot on each peak, or they are penalized 2 seconds for each miss. Best time wins.

Attack – Played on the aerial bridge. Contestants compete at the same time and have 60 seconds to jump off the aerial bridge and use their lacrosse scoops to get as many balls into their designated goals as possible. Highest score wins.

Splashdown – Played in the pool. Each player is in a tube at the center of the pool and the three players try to knock each other off by bumping into each other’s tubes. They do this for 60 seconds, and the player that stays in their tube the longest wins. This was played very rarely and almost always ended in a three way tie with nobody falling in.

Rebound – Played on the aerial bridge. Each player simultaneously has seven chances to jump off their aerial bridges (which face the center) and try to get the basketball from the post in the center back to their bridge. Most number of rebounds wins.

White Water – Played in the pool. Each contestant, in turn, has to paddle their boats across the pool, enhanced by the water jets, making sure to pass the two buoys in the pool on the side with less room. Best time wins. If a player exceeds the time limit of 60 seconds, s/he automatically receives third-place points.

Fumble – Played in the field. Players play simultaneously and have 45 seconds to get the footballs being dropped onto the field and toss them into their designated buckets. The players are connected by elastic cords such that each player’s movement affects the others’. Best score wins. This was named Rugby in the season 3 episodes that featured UK contestants. It was renamed Scrumble in season 4, with a rugby theme to fit with the international theme, and players have to throw balls between their respective goalposts instead of in buckets.

Power Ski – Played in the pool. Very similar to Skurfin’ Safari, but with no buoys, and the pool enhanced by the wave ball rather than the water jets. Players simply go across the pool and back. Best time wins.

Aces – Played on the field. Tennis Event. Each player, in turn, has 30 seconds to hit as many balls being shot out of cannons over the net as possible. Highest score wins.

Spirals – Played on the aerial bridge. Players compete at the same time and have 45 seconds to throw as many footballs as they can through the middle of their respective tires. Best score wins.

Vertiboggan – Played on the Aerial Bridge. Players race down the slope by using a knee board. Best time wins.

The Edge – Played on the aerial bridge. Players race down the slope course and maneuver around the gates using skis. Fastest time wins.

Wave Runner – Played in the pool. Similar to White Water, but gates were used instead of buoys and the wave ball was used instead of the water jets. Best time wins.

Special Thanks to: Rollergirl2001, Ian Wong