Nickelodeon Is Bringing Back Figure It Out

That sound you hear is the screeches of 90′s kids everywhere. Nickelodeon has ordered 40 episodes of the game show Figure It Out. Gabe and I would normally be super excited about this until we realize the veterans probably won’t be on it. Instead of Lori Beth Denberg and Josh Server, we’ll be getting whatever C list actor is on ICarly for the week.

Will Summer Sanders host? We should incorporate a secret slime action to the Secret Shows.

From EW:

In a move that will no doubt evoke cries of sweet nostalgia from those crazy ’90s Nick kids (an occurrence I can confirm because I, in fact, celebrated as such), Nickelodeon is bringing back the hidden talent game show Figure It Out, almost 13 years after the show went off the air.

The network, which brought back other ’90s favorites to TeenNick last summer, has ordered 40 episodes of the show, which will begin production in Los Angeles in April, a rep for Nickelodeon confirmed to EW.

Originally airing from 1997 to 1999 and hosted by Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders (who was no doubt the Angelina Jolie for 12-year-olds), Figure It Out featured a celebrity panel attempting to guess the hidden talent, skill, invention, or hobby of kid contestants whose random aptitudes ranged anywhere from the unimpressive (“I have a pet pig”) to the fascinating (“I drove a lawnmower across the country”). The celebs would ask Yes-or-No questions to the precocious youngsters in an effort to figure out all the words that complete a phrase listing the kid’s talent. The new celebrity panel will most likely include the network’s current roster of tween stars, but more importantly, I hope the new format invites Sanders as host and includes the same signature green slime that defined old-school Nickelodeon.

As a child of the ’90s, this is fantastic news, and only fuels my hope that we will ultimately be treated to reboots of some other old favorites. Double Dare? (Consider the slime!) Nick Arcade? (Consider the technology!) Legends of the Hidden Temple? (Consider Olmec!)

Nothing would make me happier than to see Double Dare or Legends reincarnated. But the more I think about it, the more I figure I’ll just be incredibly bitter and jealous that I’m not a contestant. I’ll settle for reruns.