Legends of the Hidden Temple – Who Won the Most Pendants of the Hidden Temple Challenges?
When I was a kid, Legends of the Hidden Temple was my favorite game show. It was a mashup of adventure and danger, obfuscating puzzles and obstacles that terrified the young contestants. It was the olympics of our childhood, with teams of two, each with a Pendant of Life, running through a temple and competing tasks that were so incredibly difficult it was painful to watch.
It was a shame that the show wasn’t around longer, as it had one of the greatest minds in television behind it and was always pushing boundaries. The series was created by Stephen Brown, Scott Stone and David Stanley, who wanted to create a show that was more challenging than other similar games shows.
To do this, they created a set in Simi Valley, California. The set was meant to look like a Mesoamerican temple, and it even had its own theme music. The show also featured Mayan temple guards, who would sneak up on the team in trees, outside walls and inside set pieces. The kids would run through the temple, completing challenges that weren’t easy and avoiding the Temple Guards.
Then, in the end, they’d face a series of rooms that acted as a gauntlet of obstacles and puzzles. Each room had its own theme, and if they were able to complete the challenge in that room and get back to the next one before time ran out, they’d win $2500 and an artifact.
In addition, there were a few other challenges that were a bit more straightforward but still very stressful. There was a puzzle that required them to use their bodies as a lever, another that involved using their hands and feet to move things, and a puzzle where they had to assemble a silver monkey headpiece. The assembly of the monkey was probably one of the most stress-inducing challenges, because it meant that they didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver and they had to think very quickly.
Each of these challenges gave them a half Pendant of Life, and if they won, they advanced to the next round and received a full piece. If they lost, the team that won that challenge got the Pendant of Life and advanced to the next round; if they tied, a question about the legend would be asked to decide which team went to the temple.
After three temple games, the team that earned more pendants won the right to enter the temple. Then, in the temple, they had three minutes to enter the temple, retrieve an artifact, and escape with it before time expired. If they were caught by a temple guard, the team that won the Temple Game would be eliminated.
It might seem a little strange to have a kids’ game show rebooted with adults, but this is actually a great idea. The show has the feel of a show that many people grew up watching, and Cristela Alonzo is an enthusiastic host. The result is a show that’s perfectly suitable for adults and millennials alike, and it does a good job of translating the feel of the original version to a primetime format.