Fun House (1988)

Country

United States

Length

11 seasons, 148 episodes

Rating

6.2 of 10 from 5 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two teams of kids answer trivia questions and play sloppy physical games. The winners get a chance to run a carnival-themed obstacle course for cash and prizes.

livelyplayfulmessycompetitivefast-pacedenergeticchildlikechaotic

What happens

Fun House is an American children's television game show that aired from September 5, 1988 to April 13, 1991. The first two seasons aired in daily syndication, with the Fox network picking it up and renaming it Fox's Fun House for its third and final season. The format of Fun House was similar to that of Nickelodeon game show Double Dare, which was being produced for syndication at the time and which became a primary competitor for ratings. Two teams of children answered questions and played messy games, competing for a chance to run an obstacle course and win cash and prizes. The course was modeled after the funhouse attractions seen in carnivals and amusement parks, from which the series took its title. The show was hosted for its entire run by J. D. Roth. John "Tiny" Hurley was the original announcer and appeared on the first two seasons in syndication. Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers, a famous breakdancer-turned-actor, replaced him when the show moved to Fox and took on the name "MC Mike". Identical twin sisters Jacqueline and Samantha Forrest ("Jackie" and "Sammi", respectively) served as the show's cheerleaders. The show was created by Bob Synes, a veteran producer of game shows who previously worked on Let's Make a Deal and had created several other programs of his own, with Synes and Scott A. Stone serving as executive producers. Fun House was initially a co-production of Stone Television and Lorimar-Telepictures, the latter of which took on the role of distributor. From the second season onward, Lorimar Television became the co-producer and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution the syndicator. After Bob Synes died in 1990, Scott Stone replaced him with David G. Stanley and his production company then took on the name of Stone Stanley Productions, a name which it kept until the company dissolved. British Knights sponsored the show during its first two seasons, replaced by LA Gear for the third. Everyone appearing onstage wore a pair of the sponsoring company's shoes. A year after the show premiered, a spinoff series called College Mad House was created. Premiering in 1989 (the same year as the British version that outlasted the American one by 8 years) and running in weekly syndication for one season, it was hosted by Greg Kinnear and featured teams of college students from various universities around the United States competing against each other. Stunt props from the show were used in a 1989 episode of Perfect Strangers titled "Games People Play". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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