| Host | |
| Dan Cortese | |
| Broadcast | |
 | |
| Packagers | |
| Hotchkiss Industries Mark Burnett Productions Reveille | |
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad was a short-lived game show where four teams of kids and their fathers competed in physical challenges, with the winning team having the chance to win up to $50,000.
Gameplay[]
Four dads, paired up with their kids, competed in each episode, playing in stunts and answering questions, in what was possibly a cross between Double Dare and American Gladiators.
Round 1: My Dad is Faster[]
All four teams participated in a stunt that tested how fast Dad was. 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 scored the least in that round was given a 15-second penalty carried into the next round.
Round 2: My Dad is Stronger[]
This tested how strong the dads really were. For example, in most episodes, they had to swing their kids over to 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 counted, and a dart falling off didn't count]). The team that scored the least in the round was eliminated and sent to "The Garage", but they left with an Xbox 360 as a consolation prize.
Round 3: My Dad is Smarter[]
Another test: this time to determine how smart Dad was. A question and four choices would appear on a video screen to their left. The child would ring in, but it was the dad who had to answer. A right answer earned 1 point, but a wrong answer caused the other teams to have the chance to answer from the remaining choices. The first two teams to score 3 points would move on to the final round, while the losers were sent to the Garage with the Xbox 360.
Final Round: My Dad is Braver[]
For the final round, this tested how brave Dad was. An example from the first episode was 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 had to dodge the windows and make sure the newspaper didn't break them. The winning team advanced to the bonus round to play for $50,000 (and it all depended on how well a dad knew his son/daughter) while the losers got the Xbox 360.
Bonus Round: My Dad Knows Me Better[]
Before the round began, the winning team earned a mountain bike and the Xbox 360 no matter what happened in the game. In the bonus round, similar to another NBC game show Amnesia, the father was asked up to six questions about his child, earning his team $10,000 for each correct answer. Unlike most primetime game shows of this era (not counting another NBC show, The Singing Bee), a wrong answer didn't take away money. The round ended when they hit $50,000 or two wrong answers were 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 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 (deafeated Teams: Sass, Kabat and Stephenson)
- Rick and Dustin Avila (deafeated Teams: Grayston, Martin and Basile)
Replacement Rule[]
During the third episode's first-round stunt called "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 most likely suffering from a heart attack, as teaser trailers show him being rushed from the Sony studios where the show was taped to an ambulance. According to the rules, if a father or child was unable to compete, a replacement family would take their place. For this particular episode alone, the replacement for the Gaines family was the Gavero family.
International Versions[]
The following are a list of countries that have previously aired their version of My Dad is Better than Your Dad:
- Brazil (Meu Pai é Melhor que Seu Pai; My Dad is Better than Your Dad)
- China (Lao bi pin ba)
- Croatia (Moj tata je bolji od tvog tate; My Dad is Better than Your Dad)
- Ecuador (Mi Papa es el Mejor; My Dad is the Best)
- Egypt (El Faez abi; The winner refused)
- Finland (Meidän isä on parempi kuin teidän isä; Our Father is Better than your Father)
- The Netherlands (Mijn Vader is de Beste; My Father is the Best)
- Panama (Mi Papá es mejor que Tu Papá; My Dad is better than Your Dad)
- Philippines
- Russia (Moy papa kruche!; My Dad is cooler!)
- Sweden (Min pappa är bättre än din pappa; My Dad is Better Than Your Dad)
Trivia[]
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad replaced American Gladiators (2008 version) in its Monday timeslot. Michael "Titan" O'Hearn did promos for the show alongside his father in preparation for the show.
On April 2, 2008, the series was cancelled after the network announced its 2008-2009 schedule.
Inventor[]
Mark Burnett