Legends of the Hidden Temple

Legends of the Hidden Temple was a show that aired in mid-September 1993. Kirk Fogg, the host, would be introduced by Olmec, a large talking rock in the middle of the stage. Kirk Fogg would ask Olmec what legend they'd hear about that day, and Olmec would name a historical figure and an item used by them. (i.e. Galilleo's Cannonball, The Mysterious Manuscript of Mary Shelley, the Lost Lion Tale of Little John, etc.) Kirk would then repeat what Olmec said and would then introduce the teams.

ROUND 1: THE MOAT

The Moat started off with all six teams (The Red Jaguars, Blue Barracudas, Green Monkies, Orange Iguanas, Purple Parrots and the Silver Snakes). Each team consisted of a boy and girl. The Moat was a small pool built into the stage. After the teams were introduced, Kirk Fogg (the first year) or Olmec (years 2 and 3) would tell the teams how to cross the moat. Sometimes it consisted of climbing across tire swings, paddling your way across and other creative ways. Falling into the water usually made the team go back to the starting line and try again. Once the first partner crossed, the second partner would usually cross the moat in the same manner. Once both partners got to the other side, they would hit their gong. (which was basically a small podium with a button that lit up and made a sound once the player hit it) The first four teams to hit their gongs would proceed to the Steps of Knowledge. The two other teams would be eliminated.

ROUND 2: THE STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE

The four teams leftwould be at the top of a roll-away staircase. Olmec would tell a brief story about how the Historical Figure came across and/or used the artifact that he mentioned at the beginning of the show,and after the story, Olmec would quiz the players on their memory of the story. If a team thought they knew the answer, they'd buzz in by stomping on an "ancient marking" in front of them. If they got the question right, they would move down a step. If they gave an incorrect response or took too long to answer, they would be excluded from answering the question and the other teams would get the chance to. Once a team got three correct answers, they'd move down to the bottom level of the stairs and move on to Round 3. Once two teams accomplished that, both would move on to the Temple Games.

ROUND 3: THE TEMPLE GAMES

The two remaining teams went on to the Temple Games. There were three temple games...one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for both. The first two would be played for half a pendant of life, and the third would be played for a full pendant. Each Temple Game required the players to do a physically challenging task, such as knocking down opponents statues, tossing a (fake) boulder to your teammate and having them catch it, and other things like that. Each Temple Game usually lasted for 60 seconds. Whichever team won or was further along in that time won the game and would recieve the pendant it was worth. If the game was a tie, both teams would get the pendant. At the end of the third Temple Game, whichever team had the most pendants went on to the fourth and final round. If both teams had the same amount of pendants, a tie-breaker question was asked and whichever team got it right went on to the Temple. No pendants could be won from a tie-breaking question.

ROUND 4: THE TEMPLE

This is probably the most exciting round of the game. The last remaining team would navigate Olmec's temple (which consisted of 12 rooms). Before they entered the Temple, Olmec would explain how to open the doors in all the rooms of the temple. However, there were at least two doors leading out of almost every room, and there was no telling which one would open once the objective to open the door was completed. The pendants of life earned in the temple games played a huge role in how the team could do in the temple. In three rooms, there were temple guards. If you went into a room with one, it would come out and grab the player. If the player had a full pendant handy, they could give it to the Temple Guard and the Temple Guard would back off. If the player did not have a full pendant, the Temple Guard would take them out of the Temple and their teammate would have to go in and finish the job. In one of the rooms was the artifact mentioned at the beginning of the show. If they grabbed it, all the doors to the Temple would unlock and any of the remaining Temple Guards would retreat. The team had 3 minutes to go in the temple, grab the artifact and come out. If the team had 1 1/2 pendants, the other half of a full pendant would usually be in a well hidden part of the Temple. Getting it would give the team an extra life and an invulnerability to temple guards and could only lose if time ran out. If the team got the artifact and came out of the temple, they would win the grand prize.