This show stuck out amongst the other Nickelodeon game shows by having a theme that it stuck to. Instead of random obstacles and antics, it took the theme of myths and an ancient temple, and while it wasn't perfect, it was a cool show with a lot of potential.
Many of the challenges were themed around adventure-styled athleticism. For example, trying to cross a moat in the first round, things like climbing up walls or going up a slippery slide.
But what took the cake was the legendary "temple run" in the last round. The final team, one boy and one girl, took turns running through a temple while surprisingly accurate NES-style chiptune music played in the background, and a miniature map on the bottom-left side of the screen showed the kid's progress. They used the pendants they had won from previous challenges as "lives", which were also displayed onscreen, and if "caught", the kid would have to give up a life, or if out of lives, "die" and have the other kid take over.
That was really the high point of the show and where most of its popularity came from. It felt like a live-action video game, with video game-style obstacles for the kids to navigate and with epic and upbeat chiptune music blaring in the background. The music itself felt both adventurous and gamey at the same time.
And yet, it also felt like the kids were running through an Indiana Jones-esque adventure movie, in a sense. The obstacles, while game-like, were also the sorts of things you'd expect to find in an abandoned temple in the middle of a Mayincatec civilization, with booby traps that still work and guards (undead?) that still watch over the place. It's unrealistic, but it's been seen in so many cartoons, TV shows and movies, that it's instantly familiar.
And THAT, is what made this show so great. If the "temple run" theme itself were able to be expanded upon and fleshed out to make an entire show, we'd have something truly awesome. And sadly, probably too expensive to maintain unless it were really popular.
An adventure in game show form... almost
This show stuck out amongst the other Nickelodeon game shows by having a theme that it stuck to. Instead of random obstacles and antics, it took the theme of myths and an ancient temple, and while it wasn't perfect, it was a cool show with a lot of potential.
Many of the challenges were themed around adventure-styled athleticism. For example, trying to cross a moat in the first round, things like climbing up walls or going up a slippery slide.
But what took the cake was the legendary "temple run" in the last round. The final team, one boy and one girl, took turns running through a temple while surprisingly accurate NES-style chiptune music played in the background, and a miniature map on the bottom-left side of the screen showed the kid's progress. They used the pendants they had won from previous challenges as "lives", which were also displayed onscreen, and if "caught", the kid would have to give up a life, or if out of lives, "die" and have the other kid take over.
That was really the high point of the show and where most of its popularity came from. It felt like a live-action video game, with video game-style obstacles for the kids to navigate and with epic and upbeat chiptune music blaring in the background. The music itself felt both adventurous and gamey at the same time.
And yet, it also felt like the kids were running through an Indiana Jones-esque adventure movie, in a sense. The obstacles, while game-like, were also the sorts of things you'd expect to find in an abandoned temple in the middle of a Mayincatec civilization, with booby traps that still work and guards (undead?) that still watch over the place. It's unrealistic, but it's been seen in so many cartoons, TV shows and movies, that it's instantly familiar.
And THAT, is what made this show so great. If the "temple run" theme itself were able to be expanded upon and fleshed out to make an entire show, we'd have something truly awesome. And sadly, probably too expensive to maintain unless it were really popular.