My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad
Encyclopedia
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad is a reality sports TV show on NBC
that premiered on February 18, 2008. The show is produced by Mark Burnett
, producer of other shows like Survivor
, The Apprentice
, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
, and was hosted by actor Dan Cortese
. Four teams of kids and their fathers compete in each episode, with the winning team having the chance to win up to $50,000.
It replaced American Gladiators
in its Monday 8 p.m. timeslot.
The series was cancelled on April 2, 2008 after NBC
announced its 2008-2009 schedule.
Round 1 - My Dad is Faster: All four teams participate in a stunt that tests how fast Dad is. For example, on the first episode, the fathers had two minutes to destroy desks, and putting each piece of their desk into a bin to determine the weight. The team who has scored the least in that round is given a 15-second penalty carried into the next round.
Round 2 - My Dad is Stronger: This tests how strong the dads really are. For example, in most episodes, they have to swing their kids into an oversized dartboard, with their kids carrying large foam darts with sticky pads on the bottom (they only counted if the darts were simply put on the board, throwing them didn't count, and if a dart fell off, it still counted [note: As of the third episode, throwing a dart now counts, and a dart falling off doesn't count]). The team that scores the least in the round is eliminated and sent to "The Garage", but they leave with an Xbox 360.
Round 3 - My Dad is Smarter: Another test—this time to determine how smart Dad is. A question and four choices appear on a video screen to their left. The child rings in, but it's the dad who has to answer. A right answer earns 1 point, but a wrong answer causes the other teams to have the chance to answer from the remaining choices. The first two teams to score 3 points move on to the final round, while the losers get sent to the Garage with the Xbox 360.
Final Round - My Dad is Braver: For the final round, this tests how brave Dad is. An example from the first episode is when each father had two minutes to score points by shooting newspapers from an air gun through windows worth 100 and 500 points. The opponent has to dodge the windows and make sure the newspaper doesn't break them. The winning team goes to the bonus round to play for $50,000 (and it all depends on how well a dad knows his son/daughter) while the losers get the Xbox 360.
Bonus Round - My Dad Knows Me Better: Before the round begins, the winning team earns a mountain bike and the Xbox 360 no matter what happens in the game. In the bonus round, similar to another NBC game show Amne$ia, the father was asked up to six questions about his child, earning his team $10,000 for each right answer. Unlike most primetime game shows of this era (not counting another NBC show, The Singing Bee
), a wrong answer does not take away money. The round ends when they hit $50,000 or two wrong answers have been given. During the show's run, no one walked away with the full $50,000. The most ever won was $40,000. Also, not one team has failed to answer any question correctly, thus winning no money.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
that premiered on February 18, 2008. The show is produced by Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...
, producer of other shows like Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
, The Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a television game show format based on asking grade-school level questions to adults, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy...
, and was hosted by actor Dan Cortese
Dan Cortese
Daniel James "Dan" Cortese ; born September 14, 1967) is an American actor, director and spokesperson. He is known for his roles as Perry Rollins on Veronica's Closet and as Vic Meladeo on What I Like About You.-Early life:...
. Four teams of kids and their fathers compete in each episode, with the winning team having the chance to win up to $50,000.
It replaced American Gladiators
American Gladiators (2008 TV series)
American Gladiators is an American competition TV show that aired on NBC and Citytv in Canada. Hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, the show matches amateur athletes against each other and the show's own "gladiators" in contests of strength, agility, and endurance...
in its Monday 8 p.m. timeslot.
The series was cancelled on April 2, 2008 after NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
announced its 2008-2009 schedule.
Gameplay
Four dads, paired up with their kids, compete in each episode, playing in stunts and answering questions, in what may have been a cross between Double Dare and American Gladiators.Round 1 - My Dad is Faster: All four teams participate in a stunt that tests how fast Dad is. For example, on the first episode, the fathers had two minutes to destroy desks, and putting each piece of their desk into a bin to determine the weight. The team who has scored the least in that round is given a 15-second penalty carried into the next round.
Round 2 - My Dad is Stronger: This tests how strong the dads really are. For example, in most episodes, they have to swing their kids into an oversized dartboard, with their kids carrying large foam darts with sticky pads on the bottom (they only counted if the darts were simply put on the board, throwing them didn't count, and if a dart fell off, it still counted [note: As of the third episode, throwing a dart now counts, and a dart falling off doesn't count]). The team that scores the least in the round is eliminated and sent to "The Garage", but they leave with an Xbox 360.
Round 3 - My Dad is Smarter: Another test—this time to determine how smart Dad is. A question and four choices appear on a video screen to their left. The child rings in, but it's the dad who has to answer. A right answer earns 1 point, but a wrong answer causes the other teams to have the chance to answer from the remaining choices. The first two teams to score 3 points move on to the final round, while the losers get sent to the Garage with the Xbox 360.
Final Round - My Dad is Braver: For the final round, this tests how brave Dad is. An example from the first episode is when each father had two minutes to score points by shooting newspapers from an air gun through windows worth 100 and 500 points. The opponent has to dodge the windows and make sure the newspaper doesn't break them. The winning team goes to the bonus round to play for $50,000 (and it all depends on how well a dad knows his son/daughter) while the losers get the Xbox 360.
Bonus Round - My Dad Knows Me Better: Before the round begins, the winning team earns a mountain bike and the Xbox 360 no matter what happens in the game. In the bonus round, similar to another NBC game show Amne$ia, the father was asked up to six questions about his child, earning his team $10,000 for each right answer. Unlike most primetime game shows of this era (not counting another NBC show, The Singing Bee
The Singing Bee
The Singing Bee may refer to the game show franchise:* The Singing Bee , the original US version* The Singing Bee , the Australian version* The Singing Bee , Philippines version...
), a wrong answer does not take away money. The round ends when they hit $50,000 or two wrong answers have been given. During the show's run, no one walked away with the full $50,000. The most ever won was $40,000. Also, not one team has failed to answer any question correctly, thus winning no money.
Winners
- Mark and Jim Fier (defeated Teams Kirby, Rutherford, and Kang)
- Leo and Christopher Li (defeated Teams Sass, Kabat, and Stephenson)
- Rick and Dustin Avila (defeated teams Grayston, Martin, and Basile)
- Dave and Mickey Cortez (episode 11 defeated teams Carbungco, Salas, Gonzales)
Replacement
During the third episode's first-round stunt, "Uphill Battle" (in which dads had three minutes to push as many balls up a hill into giant holes), contestant Al Gaines had a very strong lead over his opponents at the start, but towards the end, he ended up struggling to get more balls down the holes, even at the urging of his son. At the end of the round, it was quite apparent that Gaines was suffering from a heart attack, as teaser trailers show him being rushed from the Sony studios to an ambulance. According to the rules, if a father or child is unable to compete, a replacement family takes their place. The replacement family was the Gavero Family.International versions
| Country | Name | Host | Network | Date premiered |
 Brazil |
Meu Pai é Melhor que Seu Pai | Celso Portiolli | SBT | April 18, 2010 |
 Independent State of Croatia |
Moj tata je bolji od tvog tate | Toni Jericevic | Nova TV | August 23, 2008 |
 Egypt |
الفائز أبى El Faez abi |
Mohammad El Qusi | Channel 1 ERTU The Egyptian Radio and Television Union , Ittihād al-Idhā‘ah wal-Tilīfizyūn al-Miṣrī), is the public broadcaster of Egypt, operated by the Egyptian government... |
September, 2009 |
 Finland |
Meidän isä on parempi kuin teidän isä | Ville Klinga Ville Klinga Ville Klinga is a Finnish sportsman and TV presenter.Klinga has been a supplier of radio and worked for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He is married and has children.... |
Nelonen Nelonen Nelonen is a Finnish commercial TV channel. It started out as Helsinki's local television channel PTV in 1989 on the HTV cable network, which name was changed first to PTV4 and then to Nelonen. It started on June 1, 1997. Nelonen, in Finnish, means the glyph of the number four. The channel is... |
2008 |
 Panama |
Mi Papá es mejor que Tu Papá | Miguel Esteban | TVN TVN TVN may refer to:*TVN , a horse racing channel*TVN , a public broadcaster*TVN , a television station*TVN or TVNorge, a commercial television channel*TVN , a commercial broadcaster... |
September 11, 2011 |
 Philippines |
My Dad is Better Than Your Dad | Paolo Contis Paolo Contis Paolo Enrico Contis , better known as Paolo Contis, is a Filipino-Italian actor who first appeared as a child actor in the ABS-CBN show Ang TV. In 2004 he transferred to GMA Network... |
GMA Network GMA Network GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company... |
February 8, 2009 |