Season 4: Global GUTS (1995)

The fourth and final season of *Nickelodeon GUTS*, which was also known as *Global GUTS.* This was Mike O'Malley's fourth and final season as the host, who first appeared on Nickelodeon with his first game show *Get the Picture* in 1991. The show moved to weekdays at 4:30/3:30c on Nickelodeon on September 4, 1995, as part of Nick in the Afternoon, and ran until December 10, 1995, because Mike O'Malley went on to pursue his acting career in 1996. Referring to as "Nickelodeon's World Championship for Kids", this season featured 96 players from twelve countries competing in eight teams. Mike's hair became thinner for this season, a few new events were added, but a lot of old ones were dropped, along with a new opening sequence and new graphics, and a team of international presenters bringing the action to an audience of over 250 million people all over the world. The "Spill Your GUTS" segments took place outdoors, and players read their own bios with an English translator doing the voiceover. Also during the fourth and final season, Mike interviewed the players after the fourth and final event, and the MegaCrag gained a new look as the Super Aggro Crag, bigger, sharper, and filled with new surprises and obstacles.

## Countries participating

* Although a contestant originating from Belarus never competed on the show, its flag was still visible in the rafters.

## Changes to the show formula

Each country had its own team of broadcasters; Mike O'Malley's hair is now thinner. The "Spill Your GUTS" segments took place outdoors for this season. At the end of each *Global GUTS* episode, the flags of the players countries were raised while the national anthem of the gold medal winner played in the background for example, if a player from the U.S.A. won a gold medal, the Star-Spangled Banner would play in the background. Each player then took a lap around the Extreme Arena with his and her country's flag draped over his and her shoulders. In addition to airing the program on Nickelodeon in the United States, it aired on the Ukrainian Television Network in the CIS, Nickelodeon Deutschland in Germany, Arutz HaYeladim in Israel, MVS Multivisión in Mexico, Sociedade Independente de Comunicação in Portugal, TVE in Spain, and Nickelodeon UK in the United Kingdom.

## National anthems

* C.I.S.: Russia's Patrioticheskaya Pesnya (The Patriotic Song) in C Major, Ukraine's Glory Hasn't Perished Yet in A Major, Kazakhstan's national anthem in G Major & Georgia's Dideba (Glory) in B-flat Major
* Germany: Deutschlandlied (Song of Germany) in E Major
* Israel: HaTikvah (The Hope) in F Minor
* Mexico: Himno Nacional Mexicano, also known as Mexicanos, al grito de guerra (Mexicans, at the Cry of War) in E-flat Major
* Portugal: A Portuguesa (The Portuguese Hymn) in E-flat Major
* Spain: Marcha Real (Royal March) in G Major
* U.K.: God Save the Queen in D Major
* U.S.A.: The Star-Spangled Banner in E Major

## Medal outcomes

* 9 episodes end in the blue player getting the gold, the red player getting the silver and the purple player getting the bronze.
* 2 episodes end in the blue player getting the gold, the purple player getting the silver and the red player getting the bronze.
* 6 episodes end in the red player getting the gold, the purple player getting the silver and the blue player getting the bronze.
* 6 episodes end in the red player getting the gold, the blue player getting the silver and the purple player getting the bronze.
* 8 episodes end in the purple player getting the gold, the blue player getting the silver and the red player getting the bronze.
* 2 episodes end in the purple player getting the gold, the red player getting the silver and the blue player getting the bronze.

## Events introduced

* Skyball
* Scrumble replaced Fumble and Rugby
* Blast It

## Events modified

* Basic Training now has seven stations rather than six.
* Rebound is back to seven attempts.
* Tornado Run shows players taking turns by running through different tracks.
* Over The Top has heights to clear 2.5 meters, 2.75 meters and 3.0 meters.
* White Water has the pylons removed, and the buoys were added.

## Event Lineups

 Slam-A-Jama & Free Kick
 Skyball & Basic Training
 Dodge It & Mad Max
 Rebound & Skurfin' Safari
 Peak To Peak & Tornado Run
 Over The Top & Basic Training
 Zero G & Tornado Run
 Slam-A-Jama & Basic Training
 Skyball & Basic Training
 Slam Dunk & Mad Max
 Blast It & Tornado Run
 Global GUTS: Special Olympics Edition

## Episode Guide

The behind-the-scenes special, The Road to the Extreme Arena (a.k.a. episode 160), aired on September 4, 1995.

## Special Guest Stars

* E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, appearing in episode 160 (4-33), where he hands the Special Olympics Edition medals to Moira Quirk during the medal ceremony.