One of Nickelodeon’s big announcements at San Diego Comic-Con was the unveiling of the full trailer for the film adaptation of Legends of the Hidden Temple. But are you at all familiar with the show that inspired the movie project?
Legends of the Hidden Temple debuted in September 1993 as a game show aimed at children. The show was hosted by Kirk Fogg, and featured a talking Olmec Head – known simply as Olmec – voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Baker is now considered one of the most prolific voice actors in the business, with roles in shows like Samurai Jack, American Dad, Young Justice, Gravity Falls, and dozens others, but his appearance as Olmec was actually his first national television role.
The show was divided into four rounds – the Moat, the Steps of Knowledge, the Temple Games, and the Temple Run. Six teams of two competed for the right to enter Olmec’s Temple and attempt a run; the teams featured different colored shirts and were themed to various animals (the Red Jaguars, the Orange Iguanas, the Green Monkeys, the Blue Barracudas, the Purple Parrots, and the Silver Snakes). The show matched the physical challenges with mental ones, as the Steps of Knowledge portion had the teams listen to the episode’s specific legend and then have to answer questions correctly to proceed.
The Legends of the Hidden Temple’s Temple Run was notorious for how difficult it was; over the course of 120 episodes filmed, it was completed successfully in just 30 of those attempts. The goal was to grab the artifact specified by Olmec and make it out of the Temple itself in under three minutes. The Temple had 12 total rooms, each with its own unique challenges, the best-remembered probably being the Shrine of the Silver Monkey, which children often struggled with despite it only being a three-piece puzzle. On top of that, Temple Guards – large men in Mayan-looking costumes – would lurk in three rooms of the Temple and grab the contestants if they got too close, which could end a Temple Run.
Legends of the Hidden Temple ran for just three seasons, between 1993 and 1995, but continued on in reruns until 1998 and later ran on Nick GAS from 1999 to 2007 in syndication; it can currently be seen on TeenNick’s “The Splat” block on occasion. The show still maintains a strong cult following and fans can often be seen at conventions sporting their best golden helmets and team t-shirts.
