When the screen fades back in, we see a shot of the back wall of the Boneyard, focused on the faint murals on it, with the show’s logo in the corner and the words “Wild Jungle” next to it. The Pendant and the words shatter and spin off in different directions, and the camera zooms out before fading back to Kirk and the two teams, standing in front of Olmec.
“Welcome back to Legends,” says Kirk. “Now the glory goes to the fastest and the strongest, so before we get started, let’s meet our teams.”
Kirk turns to a short redheaded girl with freckles and her hair in a ponytail on the Green Monkeys. “On the Green Monkeys, we have Erica. Erica, it says here that you like to draw. What do you like to draw?”
“Um, buildings… and other stuff,” Erica says.
“Ever thought of being an architect?” asks Kirk.
“No, not really,” Erica replies sheepishly. “I just like to draw buildings, not design them.”
“Well, okay,” says Kirk in response, turning to a much taller brunette boy with green eyes. “And also, we have Jason. Jason, I understand that you play baseball. Tell me about that.”
“Um, I’ve been playing Little League for about two years,” he explains with an evident Southern accent, “and so far I’ve hit three home runs.”
“Sound pretty good to me,” comments Kirk. “What’s your favorite team?”
“Uh, Braves,” says Jason. “I’m from Atlanta, so…”
“All right,” Kirk says. “Let’s hear it for the Green Monkeys!” The audience cheers for the team while Kirk moves over to the average-height girl on the Blue Barracudas, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes.
“And on the Blue Barracudas,” continues Kirk, “we’ve got Michelle. Michelle, it says here that you’re into singing, but also it says that you’re a cheerleader. Tell me about that.”
“I’m a cheerleader at my high school,” Michelle says, “but I was also a cheerleader for a year in junior high.”
“All right, and why do you like cheerleading?” Kirk then asks.
“‘Cause people say I have a lot of energy,” replies Michelle, smiling and laughing slightly.
“Let’s see if you can put that energy to good use in the Temple Games,” says Kirk, turning to an average-height boy with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. “And John here plays football and basketball, but it also says here that you’re working on a comic book. Tell me about that.”
“Yeah, I’ve been working on it for about a year now,” John explains, “and it’s just like this collection of comic strips that I’ve made.”
“Do you have a favorite, uh… comic strip?” asks Kirk.
“Uh… not really,” laughs John.
“All right, we’ve got a talented team here,” declares Kirk. “Let’s hear it for the Blue Barracudas!” The audience once again applauds, this time for the Blue Barracudas.
“You guys all ready to play?” Kirk then asks. The players shout and cheer in response. “All right then, why don’t you all get ready for the Temple Games and I’ll explain what’s gonna happen…” The players all walk off-camera in different directions before Kirk continues.
“In the Temple Games,” he explains, “teams are competing to win Pendants of Life…” Kirk grabs a Pendant out of his pouch and holds it up to the camera. “The winning team will need those Pendants to protect themselves from the dreaded Temple Guards as they make their way through the Temple. There are three Temple Games, and Olmec will tell us about Temple Game #1.”
The lights beneath Olmec turn on as he begins:
“No king can be king without a crown, and King Arthur’s crown was decorated lavishly with diamonds. At the base of the mountain before you is King Arthur’s crown, and somewhere on the slopes of this mountain are five diamonds. When Kirk gives the signal, climb up your side of the mountain—but be sure to avoid the obstacles! When you find a diamond, come back down and place it on the crown. The first player to place all five diamonds on King Arthur’s crown—or the team that’s further along at the end of 60 seconds—wins.”
“Decorating a crown,” says Kirk. “Sounds tough. Let’s put 60 seconds on the clock!”
A countdown timer with Olmec’s face on the side of it lands in the bottom-right corner of the screen. “On your marks,” begins Kirk, “get set… GO!”
The screen immediately switches to a split-screen to show both players’ progress as Kirk begins his commentary. “All right, finding those diamonds up in that mountain!” says Kirk as both Jason and John climb the slopes of the mountain, looking around their feet for the diamonds. “They’re hidden pretty well; Green Monkeys having a little trouble finding a diamond, there…” John finds a diamond at the first switchback, racing back down the first slope and sticking it on the blue-marked crown. [0:46] “All right, Blue Barracudas’ve got one,” Kirk narrates as John heads back up the mountain, with Jason still walking up and down his second slope looking for a diamond. “Green Monkeys found a diamond!” shouts Kirk as Jason finally picks a diamond up with 39 seconds remaining, “now they just have to come down and put it on their crown.”
[0:30] Jason finally scores, but John is having trouble finding a second diamond, running up and down the second slope on his side of the mountain looking for one. “Green Monkeys found another one!” shouts Kirk as John grabs a diamond embedded into the wall of his second slope, but at the same time, Jason finds one hidden among some rockwork on the mountain, picking it up and making it a footrace to the bottom. [0:23] “Nice job!” shouts Kirk as Jason just barely beats out his opponent in attaching a second diamond. John quickly follows suit and races back up the mountain, slowing down to double-check his first switchback with 15 seconds on the clock remaining. “Blue Barracudas found another one!” commentates Kirk as the camera zooms in on Jason, who carries the diamond he found buried into a boulder next to his first switchback down his first slope, tripping slightly but recovering quickly. “And that’s three for the Blue Barracudas—just a few seconds left!” [0:09] John walks up and down the third slope on his side of the mountain trying to find a diamond, and Jason continues to race his way up the mountain, about to turn his second switchback, but before he does, the clock hits zero and explodes—TIME IS UP!
“All right, stop!” shouts Kirk as the boys continue looking around them for a few moments. “Stop right there—come on down, come on back down here…” As Jason and John begin making their way down the mountain, Kirk goes over to the crown marked with a strip of blue tape first.
“All right, let’s count it up,” says Kirk. “The Blue Barracudas got one… two… three diamonds on their crown.” The camera briefly shows a close-up of the Blue Barracudas’ crown before cutting back to Kirk checking the Green Monkeys’ score. “And the Green Monkeys had one… TWO diamonds— The Blue Barracudas get the half Pendant of Life!” The audience cheers briefly and a small scoreboard appears in the corner, with a half-Pendant under Orange and an empty space below Purple.
“Green Monkeys had some trouble at first finding some diamonds,” Kirk says, putting his hand on John’s shoulder, “but that’s okay, because they can catch up in the next game. It’s also worth a half a Pendant. Olmec, tell us about Temple Game #2.”
The camera cuts back to Olmec as he explains:
“To determine who would be the new king of England, Merlin set a sword inside a stone and whoever could pull it out would become king. Today, you could become the king of four different countries if you do the same. When Kirk gives the signal, crash through the wall of the first palace and pull the sword out of the stone. Then run back, sheathe the sword, and do it again. The first team to pull out all four swords—or the team that pulls out the most swords at the end of 60 seconds—wins.”
“All right, let’s see who’s gonna be the new… Queen of England, I guess,” says Kirk, backing away from the Temple Game equipment. “Let’s put 60 seconds on the clock!”
The clock lands in the corner of the screen with a bang. “On your marks,” shouts Kirk, “get set… GO!”
As soon as the music kicks in, both girls race forward and sideways into the first breakaway wall. “Whoa!” exclaims Kirk as blocks go flying over the pathways. “Four swords, four sheaths, sixty seconds to do it…” Erica and Michelle both pull their first swords out of their stones at around the same time, and begin to run back to the sheaths. [0:51] “All right, it’s neck-and-neck so far…” Erica manages to score just slightly ahead of Michelle, pulling slightly ahead as she runs through the frame of the first wall with 46 seconds remaining. “Green Monkeys, nice job!” says Kirk. Michelle smashes through her second wall and pulls the sword out of its stone, then quickly turns around and begins to run back to the start just as Erica pulls her second sword out. [0:40] Both girls race back quickly—Michelle having minor troubles getting through the first frame, with stones in the way—and sheathe their second swords with about 34 seconds left for the Green and 30 for the Blue.
“It’s two-to-two!” shouts Kirk as the girls begin racing back along the pathway. “Whoa, nice move there by the Green Monkeys!” Erica leaps through the first doorway over a small pile of stones, with Michelle once again slowing down to kick one out of the way. [0:22] Erica smashes through her third wall with her hands in front of her slightly ahead of Michelle. She tugs on the third sword momentarily before it slides out of its stone; Michelle does the same as she smashes through her third wall and retrieves her third sword with 18 seconds on the clock. “Green Monkeys comin’ up fast!” yells Kirk as the cameraman runs along with Erica as she jogs her way through the first two doorways, sheathing her third sword with 11 seconds remaining. “All right, nice job… Can the Blue catch up in time?” [0:08] Michelle races onto the start platform, sheathing her third sword as Erica begins to pass through the frame of her first stone wall. “Just a few seconds left…” declares Kirk as time ticks down; Michelle starts to make her way out again as Erica passes through her second wall, but time runs out before any further progress is made.
“All right, time’s up! Let’s check it out…” shouts Kirk as he runs back into view of the camera’s aerial shot of the game. The camera then quickly cuts to a wide shot of the start platform, where the girls return to. “The Blue Barracudas got… three swords—” We see a momentary close-up of the blue-colored sheaths “—and the Green Monkeys got… three swords! It’s a tie—they each get the half Pendant of Life!” The camera cuts away from a close-up of the green sheaths as the scoreboard appears in the corner, with one Pendant under Blue and a half-Pendant under Green.
“So it’s a half-a-Pendant—or one Pendant for the Blue Barracudas,” Kirk announces, “and a half-a-Pendant for the Green, uh, Monkeys, here… We’re going into our third and final game. It’s worth a full Pendant. Olmec, tell us about Temple Game #3.
We see a close-up of Olmec as he speaks:
“According to legend, Merlin wrote down all of his magical spells in scrolls. In this game, you and your partner will be organizing Merlin’s spells. When Kirk gives the signal, place a scroll between your feet, grab the trapeze, and swing out to meet your partner. Then, transfer the scroll to your partner’s feet, who will then swing back to their platform and place the scroll in their bucket. The team who transfers the most scrolls at the end of 60 seconds… wins.”
“This is for the Temple!” reminds Kirk. “Let’s put 60 seconds on the clock!”
The clock slams down into the corner of the screen. “On your marks,” begins Kirk, “get set… GO!”
A clash of cymbals is heard as the Temple Games track starts, but all four players stay at their platforms for a few split seconds before moving. “All right, this game is all about teamwork,” explains Kirk as the Green Monkeys swing toward each other first. “Can they make the most transfers? That’s the question here…” The Green Monkeys lose their first scroll—it comes off Erica’s foot as she scrapes the ramp—leaving the Blue Barracudas to be the first to score. [0:53] “Blue Barracudas scored on that one,” notes Kirk as the boys each attach a second scroll to their shoes. “Now can they communicate to get another scroll in?” Both Jason and John successfully transfer a scroll to their partners this time, bringing the score to 2-1 Blue with 44 seconds remaining. Both teams swing out a third time almost simultaneously again, but the Blue Barracudas drop theirs while swinging out and the Green Monkeys lose theirs while coming up their ramp again. “It’s still two-to-one,” commentates Kirk as the Green Monkeys swing toward each other, transferring a scroll successfully and bringing tying the score at 2-2 with 34 seconds on the clock, but the Blue Barracudas bring it to 3-2 in their favor as they score with 30 seconds left.
“It’s still neck-and-neck—anybody’s game,” Kirk narrates as the players return to their platforms to prepare for their next swings. “Here come the Blue Barracudas—nice swing!” John swings out, meeting Michelle perfectly and make another transfer, Michelle placing the team’s fourth scroll into her bucket with 19 seconds on the clock, just slightly after the Green Monkeys brought their score up to three scrolls. “Whoever wins this game goes to the Temple!” shouts Kirk. [0:15] The Green Monkeys swing out, meeting and transferring their fourth scroll, and they tie the score again. The Blue Barracudas also swing out together, but the scroll remains stuck to John’s feet instead of transferring it to Michelle. “Oh, Blue Barracudas missed—that means it’s all tied up!” shouts Kirk. With nine seconds on the clock, the Green swing out again and transfer another scroll, with Erica dropping it into her bucket to bring the score to 5-4. [0:05] The Blue Barracudas make one final attempt to score, but again, do not make a transfer. No further progress is made before TIME IS UP!
“That’s it!” shouts Kirk. “That’s it! You can stop! All right, come on over here…” Kirk runs over to the Temple Games equipment as stunt spotters are stopping the players and bringing the baskets center-stage. “All right, teams, come on over here… let’s check out the scores…”
Kirk kneels down in front of the two baskets, tossing the scrolls out of the blue-marked basket first as he counts them. “The Blue Barracudas had one… two… three… four scrolls,” he says, “and the Green Monkeys had one… two… three… four… FIVE scrolls—that gives them the full Pendant!” The audience cheers briefly before Kirk continues.
“That gives them a Pendant and a half,” calculates Kirk. “The Blue Barracudas had one— The Green Monkeys are goin’ to the Temple!” Jason and Erica hug in celebration as the scoreboard comes up in the corner again—reading 1.5-1 Green and the Green side’s border flashing a bright yellow.
“The Blue Barracudas gave it a great, great effort,” Kirk reminds. “It all came down to that last Temple Game—if they’d won it, they’d have gone to the Temple—but we’re gonna give them a great gift instead… tell us what it is, Olmec.”
Olmec announces the prize as a picture of it appears onscreen:
“Listen to your favorite songs with this $50 gift card from… iTunes. Good for music, movies, and more, all from the iTunes Store.”
The prize plug cuts away to reveal Kirk standing next to the Green Monkeys, standing in front of the Temple Games equipment for the third game. “Let’s see if the Green Monkeys can make it through Olmec’s Temple,” he shouts, “retrieve the Sacred Scrolls of Merlin… right after this!” The camera quickly cuts away from them, stopping in front of the Steps of Knowledge and zooming in on the Rapids and the audience sections. Two halves of a Pendant of Life crash together to form the show’s titlecard, the words “Wild Jungle” appear under it, and then the screen fades to commercial.
Topic: Wild Jungle EP: The Sacred Scrolls of Merlin the Wizard (Read 1012 times)