The reboot of Nickelodeon’s “Legends of the Hidden Temple” has become the best new TV series for fans of game shows like “Survivor” and “Indiana Jones.” In this competition show, teams of contestants face mental and physical challenges to retrieve a valuable artifact from an ancient Mayan-inspired temple. It’s difficult to please everyone with a remake, as there’s a lot of nostalgia connected to the original, but many viewers enjoyed the reboot.
Here’s all you need to know about the new “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” including where you can watch the latest episodes today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydp-vqaDzQM
What is “Legends of the Hidden Temple” TV Show About?
If you grew up watching these game shows, you surely remember the Shrine of the Silver Monkey puzzle room and the tension of waiting to see who would hit the gong on the tiebreaker pedestal first. The original “Legends of the Hidden Temple” from Stone Stanley Production was an epic action-adventure game show for kids of the ‘90s. It was billed as a combination of the trivia game show “Jeopardy” and the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
“Legends of the Hidden Temple” featured kids from in and around Orlando, Florida. It was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios on the Universal Studios property. It began airing on September 11, 1993, and ran for three seasons, ending in 1995.
Teams were eliminated each round until there was only one team left to attempt the Temple Run. The winning team’s goal was to retrieve the artifact so they could win the grand prize, a trip to space camp. Kirk Fogg was the host of this very popular series for its entire run, while Dee Bradley Baker was the announcer and the voice of Olmec, the stone guardian of the mysterious Mayan temple. Olmec provided vital information to the players, including the story behind the ancient legend and the themed artifact.
Each episode featured six teams of two contestants and four rounds of gameplay, which included:
The Moat
The Moat was the first round of the game, in which teams had to cross a pool of water using various means: a rope bridge, a raft, a set of monkey bars, or a pole. The first team to get both members across the moat won the round and moved on to the next.
The Steps of Knowledge
The Steps of Knowledge was the second round of gameplay in “Legends of the Hidden Temple.” It consisted of a set of questions that revolved around legends and mysteries from ancient times. The first team to answer three questions correctly advanced to the temple, while all other teams were eliminated.
The Temple Games
If both teams from the Steps of Knowledge made it to the temple, they went head-to-head in a series of physical challenges called “The Temple Games.” These games were specifically geared toward kids and were designed to test agility, dexterity, and mental acuity. Each challenge was worth a certain number of points, and teams had two minutes to complete as many games as possible. The team with the most points at the end of the round moved on to play in the temple, while other teams were eliminated.
The Temple Run
The final challenge was called “The Temple Run.” This is where legends and artifacts from ancient lore came into play, as teams had to work together to retrieve a specific artifact from the temple. If a team completed the task, they won the game and advanced on to compete for a trip or a grand prize.
What Were the “Legend of the Hidden Temple” Teams?
In case you’re new to “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” or if you simply need a refresher, here are the six teams featured on the show:
- Red Jaguars
- Blue Barracudas
- Green Monkeys
- Orange Iguanas
- Purple Parrots
- Silver Snakes
Even though every team won’t compete in each episode of the reboot, viewers will still get to see competitors representing all six teams across the entire season.
All About the New “Legends of the Hidden Temple”
The revival of “Legends of the Hidden Temple” premiered on October 10, 2021, on The CW. The basic format of the game show is the same as the original version, with four rounds of gameplay, but some of the rules and rooms of the temple have changed.
The production team also made some big changes to the show, including the following:
- A new host
- An outdoor set
- No live audience
- Only four teams
- Adult contestants
- $25,000 grand prize
Contestants still need to avoid the Mayan temple guards to stay alive during the Temple Run, but the guards don’t appear as soon as someone enters the room like they did before. Players can also still earn Pendants of Life to use during the Temple Run to revive their life, but they can only receive full pendants and not half pendants. Contestants enter the temple one at a time, and the second team member only enters if the first team member is caught by a temple guard without a pendant.
Season one of the new “Legends of the Hidden Temple” had a total of 12 episodes. Each episode is an hour long instead of the original show’s half-hour runtime. Season one was also much shorter than the 1990’s show, in which there were 40 episodes per season. The original “Legends of the Hidden Temple” ran for three seasons for a total of 120 episodes on Nickelodeon. Reruns were aired on Nick GAS from 1999 to 2007 when the network ended.
Where Can You Watch the Original “Legends of the Hidden Temple?”
Great news for all you ‘90s kids out there — you can take a trip down memory lane and stream any original episode of “Legends of the Hidden Temple” today. The whole series was made available on Paramount+ on March 24, 2021.
Where Can You Watch the Reboot of “Legends of the Hidden Temple?”
Season one of the new “Legends of the Hidden Temple” is available to stream on The CW app or with a Paramount+ subscription.
Everything You Need to Know About the Cast of “Legends of the Hidden Temple”
The new “Legends of the Hidden Temple” has two regular cast members. Dee Baker has returned to reprise the role of Olmec, the animated stone temple figure. Baker is a voice actor from Bloomington, Indiana, whose career has included voicing animals, creatures, and other characters in animated shows and movies. Baker has also provided voices and creatures for video games.
The other regular cast member is the show’s new host: Cristela Alonzo, an actress, and writer from San Juan, Texas. Alonzo is best known for being the first Latina to create, produce, and star in her own show. ABC aired her sitcom “Cristela” from 2014 to 2015. Alonzo is also a comedian and released a Netflix stand-up special “Cristela Alonzo: Lower Classy” in 2017. She replaced the show’s original host, Kirk Fogg.
Each episode of the “Legends of the Hidden Temple” features new teams of adult contestants. Teams were randomly paired in the original show, but now they know each other in real life in the new series. Contestants are usually friends or family members, and many of them are very excited to participate as they are fans of the original show.
In a behind-the-scenes interview, the show’s producers revealed how amazed they were at the response to the casting call. They expected about 3,000 responses but were inundated with over 50,000 applicants for season one. Executive producer Scott Stone estimated that about 95% of applicants were childhood fans of the show.
What Happened to the OG Host of “Legends of the Hidden Temple?”
After the cancellation of “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” host Kirk Fogg had a couple of notable projects in the entertainment industry. He wrote, directed, and starred in the films “Yeah Vous!” in 1998 and “Distortion” in 2006. When Nickelodeon produced a film based on the “Legends of the Hidden Temple” game show, Fogg played himself as a tour guide at a Hidden Temple theme park. Fogg is now in his 60s and appeared in the “Legends of the Hidden Temple” reboot as a guest co-host for some episodes.
Fun fact from his younger days – Fogg revealed in a TMZ interview that he used to try to complete the Temple Run in three minutes before the contestants took a crack at it! What a fun job to have.
What Happened in Season 4 of “Legends of the Hidden Temple?”
Friends and family members worked together to complete challenges, overcome obstacles, and retrieve artifacts in season four of “Legends of the Hidden Temple.” Here’s a quick guide from IMDB of all the episodes you can add to your watchlist today:
- Hero Twins
- The Hawaiian Legend of Pele
- The Ilocano Legend of Lam-Ang
- The Nyanga Legend of Mwindo
- The Hindu Legend of Rama
- The Norse Legend of Freyja
- The Greek Legend of Atalanta
- The Japanese Legend of Susano’o
- The Irish Legend of Cuchulainn
- The Egyptian Legend of Isees
- The Lakota Legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman
- The Sumarian Legend of Gilgamesh
Are the Legends in “Legends of the Hidden Temple” Real?
While not all the legends were true in the original show, the new season of “Legends of the Hidden Temple” features real stories from cultures around the world. The script is written by Scott Stone, the show’s executive producer. Telling authentic stories and representing multiple cultures on TV was a big goal of the show this time around. The show now uses animated segments to help viewers understand the legend as Olmec narrates it.
The producers also wanted to improve the look of the 1990s set, so they hired an expert in Mayan culture to help the art directors design a more authentic set. The glyphs you see on the set are actually written in Mayan — and they’re accurate, too. For example, the glyphs on the steps say “Steps of Knowledge.” The temple guard costumes are also authentic Mayan attire.
Will There Be Another Season of “Legends of the Hidden Temple?”
It’s unknown at this time whether “Legends of the Hidden Temple” will return for season five. The game show has yet to be renewed or canceled, so we’re all just waiting for the news to come. Its ratings weren’t the best, but fans are hopeful that production will work out some issues and come back even better for another season.
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“Double Dare,” “Wild & Crazy Kids,” and “Legends of the Hidden Temple” are classic ‘90s game shows that kids just loved back then. Nostalgia is running high with The CW’s reboot of “Legends of the Hidden Temple” season four, now available for streaming for free on their app. Check out more BuddyTV articles today for all the latest movies and TV news.
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
