Legends Episode Ranking System - COMPLETE

[The Red Jaguars]

Finally finished my episode review for Roland. It has been a year since I watched it, but I do actually like this whole episode. The win was very easy, but this episode was great and fun. It got a good score because of how good all of the rounds were.  

THE IVORY HUNTING HORN OF ROLAND

MOAT:  7/10

MOAT:  7/10 (PPF)

The six teams had to cross this moat by sliding on their bellies across the slippery foot path. The players had to make it all the way to the other side while sliding through in order for their partner to get a chance to cross. Once both players have slid across the foot path successfully will move onto the next round. This moat didn't really have any teams that made it across their first try. But the Red Jaguars clocked in first, Silver Snakes second, Green Monkeys third, and the Orange Iguanas dead last. This wasn't  too bad of a moat, and I liked the slippery path idea they used. It looked fun and definitely wasn't easy. Another memorable part about this round is Olmec's "Let's get Roland!" line. We will be hearing a lot of Roland puns throughout this episode.

PPF's Description

For this moat, the players had to slide across a slippery foot path on their bellies. Once across, the first player had to grab a small rope to assist them on pulling themselves out of the moat. Then it was their partner's turn to cross in the same manner. If you fall into the water or grab the edges of the footpath, then you had to go back and start all over again. This was an okay round, it seemed like a lot of the teams struggled to get across on the first try. The Blue Barracudas and the Purple Parrots especially struggled to get across. What I did like about this moat is the "Let's Get Roland!" pun before the moat started. Oh Olmec. At the end of the round, the Red Jaguars, Silver Snakes, Green Monkeys, and Orange Iguanas got to advanced to the Steps of Knowledge in that order. Good round and great idea for a moat. The slippery foot path was one of the producers better ideas on the show.

LEGEND: 6.5/10

LEGEND: 6/10 (PPF)

One of the mightiest nights of the Middle Ages was Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, who was King of France. With his sword, Roland led his Uncle's armies to battle and conquered most of Europe. In 777, Charlemagne expanded most of his empire into Spain. He and Roland conquered all of the Muslims except the King of Zaragoza who made an offer of peace. The King of Zaragoza promised that he would pledge eternal obedience if Charlemagne and Roland retreated from Spain. He even gave the keys to Zaragoza as proof of his promise. Roland did not believe the King however, but Charlemagne did not listen to him. Charlegmagne gave Roland an Ivory Hunting Horn to play if his men are attacked. As predicted, the King ambushed Roland's army and he had no chance to sound the horn. With a mighty strike with his sword, Roland carved up a mountain and then played his Hunting Horn which called Charlemagne and drove the Muslims away.

This legend was both interesting and confusing. There was so much going on in the story that I was confused on what was happening half of the time. But still, the legend was very interesting and I have to give the producers credit for trying to actually flesh out their legends more. I liked stories that actually gave details about an historical battle. The one down-side to this legend though is the lame reference to David Copperfield. Seriously? We all know that Copperfield did not even exist in the Middle Ages.

PPF's Description

This legend centered around Roland, who was not only the King of France, but the nephew of Charlemagne. Roland led his Uncle's armies to battle with his sword, and conquered most of Europe in the process. In 1777, Charlemagne expanded his empire into Spain, as he and Roland conquered all the Muslims except for King Zaragoza. Zaragoza promised to pledge eternal obedience to Charlamagne and Roland if they departed Spain. Roland didn't believe the King, and the promise fell on deaf ears, as Charlamagne gave Roland an ivory hunting horn for Roland to play in case the were attacked. Naturally, Roland's army was ambushed, and Roland was not able to play the horn. However, Roland was able to carve a mountain with his sword and then played his hunting horn again. This got Charlemagne's attention, and it drove all the Muslims away. The hunting horn eventually made its way to the temple. This was an alright legend. The problem was there was way too much going on, and it was very sloppily told. I liked the details in the legend, and how the ivory hunting horn was actually mentioned and used in the legend. Unlike most legends that don't even mention the artifact namesake until the end of the legend. Oh yeah, and there was a very lame "He plays more tricks than David Copperfield!" line in the legend. This was the middle ages, David Copperfield didn't even exist back then! Nice try with the humorous line, producers. But at least make a reference that's actually accurate and makes some sense.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 9/10

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 7/10 (PPF)

This was actually a pretty exciting and impressive Steps of Knowledge round. Most of the answers to Olmec's question from the teams occurred before Olmec even gave his first choice of answers. Of course, this bit the Orange Iguanas in the ass a little bit because they answered a question with an answer that was wrong before Olmec revealed any of his choices. But still, it was impressive to see most of the questions answered with any of Olmec's choices being revealed. The Green Monkeys made it to the temple games first, followed by the Red Jaguars. The Roland puns by Kirk added to the memorableness of this round.

PPF's Description

This was an alright Steps of Knowledge round. The teams were very smart, and it was a close match, but it was felt very uneventful. Besides the endless Roland puns by Kirk, nothing really stood out at all in this round. Besides a few wrong answers, the teams were very smart and got all of Olmec's questions right before all the choices were revealed. The Green Monkeys ended up finishing the round first, with the Red Jaguars finishing second very closely behind them. The Orange Iguanas got two questions correct, and the Silver Snakes only got one question correct. This Steps of Knowledge round was just plain average to be honest with you. The wrong answers given and uneventfulness kind of dragged it down for me.

TEMPLE GAMES: 7/10

TEMPLE GAMES: 7/10 (PPF)

The temple games featured Yakerra, who enjoyed reading and ran track, and her partner Kraig who wanted to be a marine biologist of the Red Jaguars. Their opponents were Courtney, who was going to be part of a diving team, and her partner Gerald who was a football player of the Green Monkeys. For the most part, the temple games were average and slightly competitive. The most impressive part though was the team game where the Red Jaguars dominated the boulder catching game. That was something that rarely happened when this type of game used. See the "Sforza" team game for reference.

Temple Game #1 - Knock Over the Enemy's Tower

Kraig and Gerald each had four towers on their side of the playing field and had two giant boulders in the middle that they must use to knock down the other person's tower. They had 60 seconds to take the boulder and try to knock down each of the four towers. They also had to protect their own towers too from getting hit by the boulder. The player that knocks the most towers down after 60 seconds will win. In the end, both players only knocked down one tower a piece and ended the game in a 1-1 tie.

Temple Game #2 - Mountain Passage

Yakerra and Courtney were both inside an enclosed space with many rocks surrounding their feet. Both players had to take their rocks and shoot it in the passage on the opponent's side of the field. Once they made a rock into the opening, that will net them one point. They could also block their opponent's shot while making their own. The player that gets the most rocks into their opponent's passage will win. In the end, Courtney scored more and won with a score of 9-7.

Temple Game #3 - Catapult the Boulders

In the team game, the one player had to take a boulder and catapult it over their heads while their partners had to grab the boulder and put it into their team bin. Since both players have their bodies strapped against the wall, they must synchronize when completing their tasks. The team that gets the most boulders into their team bin will win. In the end, the Red Jaguars dominated this temple game with a score of 7-5. That is impressive on both team's parts. That is not even counting the boulder that the Jaguars missed at the last second. Overall, the Red Jaguars go to the temple with 1.5 pendants.  

PPF's Description

This was a pretty good temple games match. It featured some decent competition, and I liked the set up of games used. And yes Kirk kept the Roland puns coming in this round. Just like he did in the rounds before this one. In the first game, Kraig and Gerald had to push a boulder and knock over the towers on the opposing side. Both players each knocked one tower down, and tied the game 1-1. In the second game, Yakerra and Courtney had to jump up and down on a trampoline, and throws balls into their opponents holes. Just like the last game, this was another defense game where the players were able to block the opposite player's shots. This is one of my personal favorite temple games ever used on the show. Very fun looking and it was incredibly underused. And I believe this was the only time this game was played by female players. In the end, Courtney of the Green Monkeys beat Yakerra in this game 9-7, giving her team a pendant of life. This put the Green Monkeys in the lead 1 pendant to the Red Jaguars half before the third game, so it was do or die for both teams. In the last temple game, the teams had to throw a rock over their heads, while their partner caught the ball, and put it in their bin. All while their backs were turned to each other, and facing a wall. Unlike the second temple game, this was one of my personal least favorite temple games. The game looked too hard and for that reason, it always seem to give the players more trouble than most team games. At the end of the game, the Red Jaguars beat the Green Monkeys 7-5, giving them the full pendant, and giving Yakerra and Kraig access to the temple with 1.5 pendants!

TEMPLE RUN: 6.25/10

TEMPLE RUN: 7/10 (PPF)

You can tell the producers were desperate for a win by the simplicity of this team's layout. Seriously, the last time there was a win before this temple win was in "The Secret Map of the Bandit Queen", which was taped four production days back. Because of the temple layout, Yakerra finished with the second fastest win on the whole show. While this team did finish with a fast win, this layout was way too easy for Season 3 standards. The team only had to enter through five rooms to reach the Ivory Hunting Horn. Yakerra didn't do a bad job at all, but she doesn't really deserve all the praise she gets for her fast win. She reached the Hunting Horn with 1:34 on the clock. After wasting time trying to exit through the temple guard's door, Yakerra gets her act together and exits the temple with 1:10 left on the clock. It was a pretty exciting solo win, but this team should've beaten Shaka Zulu's record with how easy the layout was. If a fast contestant like Zac or Gator got this layout, they would've easily beaten the fastest time. But still, this win was better than half of the runs in Season 3 and the ending was pretty exciting too for the team's enthusiasm. Yakerra even has a spider from the Crypt in the credits.  

PPF's Description

While this was an exciting win, it was way too simplistic for Season 3 standards. It was obvious this win was rigged in favor of Yakerra, as the last win prior to this was "The Secret Map of the Bandit Queen," filmed four days earlier. Still, Yakerra did a decent job and breezed through five rooms enroute to the Shrine, grabbing the Horn with 1:34 on the clock, and escaping with a whopping 1:11 left on the clock. Thus making this the second quickest victory in the shows history, behind "The Mask of Shaka Zulu," which was THE quickest finish with 1:14 left on the clock. Besides Yakerra trying to exit the temple via the temple guard door in the Shrine, she still did a decent job in the temple. If she had moved just a little faster, she would've beat Shaka Zulu's time for sure. Overall, this was a generally exciting run, and much better than most Season 3 temple runs. Also note how Yakerra is holding a spider from the Crypt during the credits. Which I found to be pretty humorous.

FINAL VERDICT: 7.2/10

FINAL VERDICT: 7.2/10 (PPF)

"Roland" was an exciting episode where everyone on the set was having fun. Kirk and Olmec's Roland puns added to the memorableness of this episode. Every round was memorable and exciting, and the producer's went above and beyond when making this episode. This episode also marks the first temple win after several production days of all loses too. While the temple win was pretty easy and overrated, it was still enjoyable and more respectable and some of the other easier wins. I found this episode to be very fun and I would recommend this one to watch for anyone. It may not have the highest quality win on the show, but everything else about it was good and I don't regret watching it at all. I am sure you would enjoy it just as much too.  

PPF's Description

Overall, Roland was one of the more exciting episodes on a very fun production day. While I wouldn't call it THE most exciting episode of Season 3, the Roland puns and the close match in each round make for a very pleasant watch. You can definitely tell Kirk, the producers, and the contestants were having fun with this episode. The only downside to this episode was the legend and Steps of Knowledge. But the rounds were not overly bad and did not detract from the excitement this episode had. The temple run however, is quite overrated. While it was exciting, and it was nice to see a team finally win after several taping days full of losses, the temple layout was way too easy. And I also felt like Yakerra hesitated at some points too. She definitely should've beaten Shaka Zulu's time despite winning in very quick time. Regardless, this episode was very exciting and I recommend this episode to anyone.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Roland was an exciting episode, especially for all the puns Kirk and Olmec made all episode. It eventually got to the point where they were starting to wear out the "Let's Get Roland" bit. Just like with Lost Hornpipe, every round was competitive, where it could've gone either way. In the end, the Red Jaguars won and made it to the temple. The temple run itself is overrated, but Yakerra still gave it a great effort. Plus, you can tell it had been a while since a team won because Kirk was more excited than usual.

Overall, great job with the review.

[The Red Jaguars]

Roland is pretty much the "Silk Ladder  " win of S3. That layout was way too easy, and this team should've beaten the Shaka Zulu time. As a Red Jaguars fan though, I don't mind this win too much though. It was much better than Shaka Zulu for me at least. I really wish this was the fastest win on the show. But you can tell the producer's were desperate for a win either way. Too bad the other layouts that day were pretty tough, even though the Enormous Feather team should've won.

We are at 53 episodes remaining right now. I am going to make a vow to not claim any new episodes until I am done completing the ones that I have claimed now. I went to aim for the 40 episode mark by the middle of October. I am definitely going to do Sir Edmund Hillary next. My tentative schedule goes like this:

Sir Edmund Hillary -> Lost Taj Mahal Turban -> Poseidon -> Buddha - > Montezuma -> Useless Map -> Benzibab

I might claim Blackbeard too just because I want to see how low it ranks. I think that is the only remaining episode that could rank as low as Alhambra and One-Eyed Jack. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I thought we were past 60 episodes? I thought for sure we had already passed the halfway mark....

[The Red Jaguars]

I meant we only had 53 episodes left to cover.  That is actually not a lot at all since I had only like 15 episodes covered before you helped me out.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Oh, I gotcha now. And yeah, it's definitely time to stop claiming episodes before we finish what we currently have highlighted. Plus, my interest in Legends is seriously waning, and it feels like a lot of work to keep up with all these reviews. I'm not gonna stop writing them though. As for my next review, I'm probably gonna do "Wild Bill Hickok and the Dead Man's Hand." That was a pretty average, albeit quirky episode. I don't expect it to rank past the 6 range. I figure I should cover some early Season 1 episodes, since not many early ones have been covered yet.

And here's the order of episodes I want to cover next:

Dead Man's Hand > Oracle Bowl > Freydis > Sforza > Scheherazade > Ahmed Baba > William Tell

Also, didn't you want to rank Anne Bonny and Napoleon as well, according to the OP?

[The Red Jaguars]

Don't worry, I feel the same way about Legends also. I think everyone else here feels the same way too. But you should go at your own pace with your reviews. That is what I do with mine right now. I only write so much about a certain round instead of doing it in one sitting. Like I will write the moat and Steps section first and do the other rounds later. As for Dead Man's Hand, I think it will finish around the same score as Belshazzar myself (6-ish range). If I would've ranked that episode, I would definitely be a little lenient towards scoring it. I still remember a lot of parts from that episode though from the memorable quotes in the Steps and temple games, to the bizarre temple run. It was a pretty decent episode despite being the third one taped.

And yeah, you can add Two-Cornered Hat and Anne Bonny to that my list too. I will probably rank those ones last. But Sir Edmund Hillary will be first.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Here it is, my episode review of "Wild Bill Hickok and the Dead Man's Hand."

WILD BILL HICKOK AND THE DEAD MAN'S HAND

MOAT: 6/10

For this moat, the players had to use "King Tut's Staff" to pull themselves across the moat while kneeling on a raft. Once across, the players had to put the staff on the raft, so their partners can cross in the same manner. The staff had to be in their possession when the teams rang in. This was a pretty average round, the Silver Snakes, Red Jaguars, Green Monkeys, and Orange Iguanas ended up advancing to the Steps of Knowledge.

LEGEND: 5/10

This legend was about Wild Bill, who was an amazing outlaw and a ladies man. He was tall, handsome, and sported long hair and a mustache. When he became marshal of Abilene, Kansas, he was known to have killed over 100 men! One day, while playing poker in Deadwood, South Dakota, he was shot in the back by an angry gambler. His poker hand was a full house, three aces and two eights. Naturally, the hand was named after him as "Dead Man's Hand." Someone then grabbed the cards off the table, and they eventually made it to the temple. I personally found this legend to be lame, honestly. While I usually like Wild Wild West stories, this one just came across silly. I mean, getting shot in the back and having a card hand named after you? Furthermore, this legend was way too short, and lacked quite a bit of detail.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 5/10

The Steps of Knowledge featured A LOT of wrong answers. Though it was pretty entertaining, which is why it only ranks as low as a "5." One wrong answer had two teams guessing the SAME wrong answer. While a lot of the questions asked were taken from the legend told backstage, pay attention kids! Repeating the same answer isn't going to make it any less incorrect. And of course we get the infamous "Colonel Sanders" guess by the Silver Snakes. I'm guessing the Silver Snake boy has never had fast food before. The Green Monkeys guessed the correct answer "General Custer" and joined the Orange Iguanas on the final step, ending the round. You could totally tell the Silver Snakes looked utterly humiliated after the round ended. You could even hear laughter (albeit canned) from the audience!

TEMPLE GAMES: 7/10

The temple games were a decent round. Kirk calls the teams "Green Team" and "Orange Team," and the Orange Iguanas introduce themselves by first and last names. In the first game, Josh and Ian had to climb up a soapy ramp and grabs the cards on top. They tied 3-3, though Kirk miscounted it as 2-2. But, both guys were still rewarded a half pendant. In the second game, Sara and Amber had to slide down a slippery chute and throw balls through a bulls eye. The game was declared another tie, but Sara should've won because Amber missed one of her bulls eyes. It ended up being a 1-1 tie between both teams before the final game. In the third game, the players had to throw balls at their tied up partners. Sara kept shooting between Josh's legs, prompting Kirk to say "You don't want to shoot there, you want to shoot higher!" XD Regardless, the Orange Iguanas won the game, giving them a full pendant, and earning them a trip to the temple with 2 pendants! The pendant score was 2-1, but it should've been 2-0.5 because Kirk incorrectly declared the second game a tie. Either way, the Orange Iguanas still won fair and square in their first temple appearance of the series.

TEMPLE RUN: 6/10

The temple run in this episode featured a wildly difficult layout. Every room Josh and Sara entered featured locked door after locked door. After Josh was removed from the Heart Room with 2:16 on the clock, Sara took over and spent the majority of her time racing up and down the central shaft, only to encounter multiple dead ends. I guess the production crew expected a little too much from this team. Sara eventually made it to the Swamp at the end of the run, only to find that the doors leading to the Tomb was locked. Her time ended there, and the temple run music ended on a strange note, like it was gonna start over again. This also happened in "Galileo's Cannonball." Tough luck and tough layout, there was really nothing they could do differently to prevent it. Maybe enter the Swamp sooner, but the room was so poorly lit, I don't blame the Orange Iguanas for not seeing the door opened. Josh and Sara weren't a bad team, they just got stuck with a difficult layout.

FINAL VERDICT: 5.8/10

This was a very quirky episode. From the Steps of Knowledge, to the miscounted temple games, to the incredibly difficult layout. I know the final score is a little low, but I'd be lying if I said this was an uneventful episode. Either way, I still recommend this episode. And I especially recommend it for the "Colonel Sanders" answer.

[The Red Jaguars]

Dead Man's Hand... the episode that is actually not about a deceased hand but rather some playing cards.    I actually thought this artifact was like the Shriveled Hand and Mummified Hand.   It pretty much finished with around the same score as Belshazzar. Which is pretty good since it was literally the third episode ever taped. It wasn't a bad episode at all, and I do remember parts of it. First off, I thought the King Tut Staff moat was the best most used in S1. I remember the very brief legend very well. This had to be the shortest legend on the show. At least they didn't throw in any filler crap like they did in "Galileo's Cannonball".

The Steps round is memorable for the "Colonel Sanders" answers.   The poor kid looked embarrassed after giving that answer. That is the one answer I would've NOT given if I was in that episode. The temple games were pretty good too for the third episode ever. Although Kirk miscounting two temple games in the same round makes me wonder if he was really challenged in S1. He did the same thing in "Map to the Lost Gold Mine" with miscounts also. The temple games featured a rare time where both individual games ended in ties. Hell, the team game almost ended in a tie too. The temple run was kind of uneventful, but I don't blame Sarah and Josh at all. They got shafted by their layout. I never understood why didn't the  letHeart Room or Observatory open up for them though? Instead, they were forced into the Swamp and then forced them up into the Room of the Golden Idols. And they never used that passage again in S1. Maybe it was because of this run? Too bad, because Josh and Sarah really deserved a second chance. I can guarantee that they would've done much better in any other layout.

Good job with Dead Man's Hand.   It's a pretty unusual episode due to the early S1 quirks, but it wasn't bad at all for an episode on the very first production day. I always give this episode and Belshazzar leniency whenever I rank them. They were kind of boring and forgettable, but I don't expect much from an episode from the very first day. Luckily though Galileo turned out pretty successful for a first production day episode too. My turn to do a S1 episode, and it will be Sir Edmund Hillary.  

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I always thought the reason the doors leading up from the Swamp never worked was because of this episode. But Sara never got a chance to try it, why penalize every other contestant for it? And yeah, Kirk was not having a good day when it came to counting the temple games. He was quite unprofessional in Season 1, especially in the early part of the season. No wonder Kirk has said he hated his performance then.

And thanks, can't wait for Sir Edmund Hilary. That was a pretty good episode, and Danny and Tara were a solid team in the temple.

[The Red Jaguars]

Kirk was very bad in S1. His jokes were awkward, he Fogged up a lot, and he lacked so much enthusiasm. But then again, he had to narrate a lot of rounds in S1. And that is not easy for a first time host. At least they delegated most of those tasks to Olmec in later seasons. But I can't stand Kirk that much in S1 though. Map to the Lost Gold Mine and Amelia Earhart are the only runs where he showed any enthusiasm. Also, he Fogged up a lot in S1. Especially in runs like Kamehameha and Lawrence of Arabia.  

And I can't wait until I watch Sir Edmund Hillary again. Danny and Tara were a really good team in the temple and in their episode. This is my favorite losing team from S1. Either them or the Kamehameha team. The whole episode was solid and I can see it ranking close to an 8. There is a lot of interesting tidbits about this episode. And I am pretty sure the Sir Edmund Hillary team were the only Silver Snakes team to sweep the temple games. After that, then I am going to rank Taj Mahal Turban. That was one of the few triple captures I can tolerate and the episode can't rank that bad.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, Sir Edmund Hilary is a great episode. And yes, they were the only Silver Snake team to sweep the temple games. For a team that was known as a "power house" team, that's kind of sad. Either way, Danny and Tara were a great team. My personal favorite losing team is them, the Kamehameha kids, and the Great Seal kids. All three Silver Snake teams too no less. As for Taj Mahal Turban, I can see that ranking in the 6 range. It was a pretty average episode, but it was definitely one of the more tolerable triple captures like you said.

[The Red Jaguars]

I finally finished my review for Sir Edmund Hillary! It was a great episode as expected, and one of the few good episodes from S1. I had fun rewatching this episode.  

THE MEDAL OF SIR EDMUND HILLARY

MOAT:  6.5/10

MOAT:  6/10 (PPF)

The first player on each team had to cross the moat hand-over-hand with the use of the rope above. Once they made it to the other side, then they must tie another rope to the bottom of the pole and allow their partner to cross with both ropes in place. The first four teams to make it across will move onto the next round. If you have read my other recent review for "The Silver Saddle Horn of Hannibal", you will remember that the moat in that episode featured the longest recorded moat on tape. This episode uses the exact same moat. However, it was nowhere near as long as the Silver Saddle Horn one. In fact, this one was very quick and the teams hardly struggled to get across. Although I had to deduct points because this had to be the most bland and uninspiring moat used on the whole show.  

PPF's Description

For this moat, the first player had to cross the moat hand over hand with assistance from the overhead rope. Once across, the first player had to tie another rope to the bottom of the pole, so the second player can cross with ease. This was a pretty bland round honestly. While the players got across quickly, (unlike Silver Saddle Horn's moat), nothing interesting happened whatsoever. Not to mention this was by far the least creative moat ever. On a more interesting note, the Orange Iguanas who failed to get across this moat, were Tim and Retina, the same team that went to the temple in "Alexander and the Gordian Knot." They failed to across this moat, but made it to the temple in the aforementioned episode, taped later in the day. At the end of the round, the Blue Barracudas, Red Jaguars, Green Monkeys, and Silver Snakes made it to the Steps of Knowledge, in that order.

LEGEND: 8/10

LEGEND: 8/10 (PPF)

The first two men to climb the Mt. Everest and stand on top of the tallest mountain in the world were Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay. One day, while climbing the mountain, a block of ice the size of a house broke off and started sliding towards them, moving faster and faster down the slope. There was no place for Hillary or Tenzing to escape to as the ice was in yards away from them. Suddenly, the huge block of ice plunged into a crevasse and disappeared without a sound. Hillary and Tenzing moved on and a few days later reached the top of Mt. Everest, planting their British and Nepalese flags respectively. Sir Edmund Hillary was knighted by the Queen of England with a Medal, and legend has it he gave his Medal to Tenzing and it ended up in Olmec's temple.

This legend was interesting for several reasons. First off, this legend is the only time Legends of the Hidden Temple covered a historical figure while they were alive at the time of the legend. In this case, Sir Edmund Hillary was alive when this episode aired. Secondly, I liked how the legend described Sir Edmund Hillary's dangerous expedition to the top of Mt. Everest. It was a different story from all the war and love stories that usually aired on the show.

PPF's Description

This legend centered around Sir Edmund Hillary, and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay. They were the first two men to ever climb Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. One day, during their climb up the mountain, a huge block of ice broke off and started to slide towards them. There was no place for the men to get out of dodge, but the huge block ended up plunging into a crevasse instead. With that, Hillary and Tenzing moved on and continued their climb. A few days later, both Hillary and Tenzing reached the top of Mt. Everest, and planted their respective flags (British and Nepalese) on top of the mountain. Hillary was then knighted by the Queen of England, and given a medal, who he then gave to Tenzing. Eventually, the medal made its way to the temple. This to me, was by far of the best legends of Season 1, and one of the best ever on the show. I loved the detail it went into regarding Sir Edmund Hillary and his trek up the mountain. I especially liked how both Hillary and Tenzing made it all the way to the top completely unscathed. Furthermore, Sir Edmund Hillary was the only legendary figure to still be alive when this episode aired. Overall, this was a great legend, and it's MUCH better than lame, love story legends that the show usually had.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 6/10

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 6/10 (PPF)

The Silver Snakes dominated the Steps of Knowledge where they got 3/4 questions asked correct. The Blue Barracudas on the other hand gave two wrong answers. The second wrong answer was sort of a *facepalm* moment. Olmec's question was - "Which of the following legendary creatures that Hillary went on another expedition to find?". The Blue Barracudas answered "Velociraptor" as one of the answers. Really? Sir Edmund Hillary went to Mt. Everest to find a dinosaur? The correct answer was the "Abominable Snowman", which makes much more sense than the Velociraptor answer.  

PPF's Description

While this Steps of Knowledge round was mildly entertaining, it could've been better. On the one hand, the Silver Snakes dominated the steps and were the first to finish in a flash. The Blue Barracudas on the other hand, were extremely stupid on the steps. They gave two wrong answers, one of them being "Velociraptor." Because Sir Edmund Hilary went to find dinosaurs on Mt. Everest, right? That ridiculous wrong answer is up there with "Colonel Sanders" from "Dead Man's Hand" as one of the most hilarious answers ever. Fortunately, the Red Jaguars got the correct answer "Abominable Snowman," and joined the Silver Snakes on the final step. Thus ending this somewhat eventful double sweep on the steps.

TEMPLE GAMES: 8/10

TEMPLE GAMES: 8/10 (PPF)

The temple games featured a matchup between the Red Jaguars and Silver Snakes. The Red Jaguars featured Adam, who was 13 and wrote his own comic strips. His partner was Shelly, 13, who liked to draw for her own school newspaper. The Silver Snakes featured Tara, 14, who liked to practice Karate and had a second degree brown belt. Her partner was Danny, 13, who wanted to be a pro baseball player. This temple games round were very fun to watch, and I liked the choice of temple games used. The first temple game was an exclusive game to only the S1L7 production day. I also liked the team game where the players had to turn of the faucets. In the end though, the Silver Snakes dominated and got a rare temple game sweep. The only other teams to sweep the temple games in Season 1 were the "Lawrence of Arabia's Headdress" and "Golden Chains" team.

Temple Game #1 - No Rest on Everest

Shelly and Tara had to scale Mt. Everest by using their pegs to climb to the top of the mountain. Once they reached the top, they had to plant their flag and scale back down the mountain. The player that plants their flag and reaches the bottom the fastest will win. In the end, Tara made further progress than Shelly and earned the Silver Snakes their first half-pendant.

Temple Game #2 - Camping Bags in the Crevasse

Danny and Adam were both in a crevasse with three camping bags. When time started, they had to climb up the crevasse and throw their camping bags outside of it. They had 60 seconds to throw all three bags out of their crevasse. The player that got rid of all three sleeping bags after 60 seconds will win. Danny absolutely dominated this temple game and won with a score 3-1. That puts the Silver Snakes ahead 1-0.

Temple Game #3 - Stop the Glacier

In the team game, there were three faucets at the top of the slope that will spew out water. The two teams' tasks were to climb up the slope and turn each of the faucets off one-by-one. The team that turns off all three faucets or the team furthest along after 60 seconds would be winners. The Red Jaguar boy technically cheated in this temple game. The players were suppose to climb up the slope by staying on their knees. Adam did this the first time, but fell down while trying to turn off the second faucet. So he used his feet to reach the top on his second attempt, which he was NOT suppose to do. It didn't matter because the Silver Snakes won by the time he reached the top. The Silver Snakes won with their first ever and only temple games sweep.  

PPF's Description

The temple games in this episode featured a great match, and a solid temple game set up. I really liked the unique games set up, especially the one in the team game. In the first game, Tara and Shelley had to climb up Mt. Everest by using pegs to climb up the mountain. Once on top, they had to plant their flag on top of the mountain, then climb down. Tara of the Silver Snakes won this game, and earned her team a half pendant of life. In the second game, Danny and Adam had to climb up the peanut filled mine shaft and throw all three bags out of the shaft. The Silver Snakes once again proved dominate as Danny creamed Adam 3-1, earning yet another half pendant for the Silver Snakes. This put Danny and Tara in the lead 1-0 heading into the final game. In the third temple game, the players had to take turns turning off three faucets on top of the slope. The Silver Snakes came out on top yet again, earning them a full pendant, sweeping the temple games and giving them two full pendants to the temple! This would be the only time a Silver Snake team would ever sweep the temple games.

TEMPLE RUN: 8/10

TEMPLE RUN: 8/10 (PPF)

Most of the Season 1 losses were average and riddled with mistakes that prevented a team from winning. Danny and Tara were a solid temple team that faced one of the tougher temple layouts in S1. Danny started off in the Room of Three Gargoyles where he met a temple guard and the Troubled Bridge opened from that space. However, the Troubled Bridge was a dead end and he was forced down into the Cave of Sighs. He was removed from the temple with 1:56 left on the clock. Tara takes over and he immediately enters the Cave of Sighs - being the only contestant in Season 1 to run into the opposite dead end entrance room. She moves swiftly through the rooms of the temple before hitting her last guard in the Shrine. One room away from the Medal, Tara struggles a little bit in the Shrine before assembling the Silver Monkey and being forced down into the Well. She grabs the Medal with 24 seconds left on the clock and races to bring it out of the temple! It looks like she could pull it off, but she makes the bad mistake of taking the central shaft out of the temple instead of taking the convenient Troubled Bridge out of the temple. Her time ended as she was entering the Wheel Room.

While the temple ending was disappointing, this was still an exciting run and good effort by the Silver Snakes. Both Silver Snake players were fast and they tried taking the shortest routes possible. They would've won if Danny didn't take a direct path or Tara avoided the central shaft. But still, this was an exciting run and both Danny and Tara were a good team.  

PPF's Description

This was one of the more exciting Season 1 temple runs. Danny heads in first and is immediately greeted by a temple guard in the Gargoyle Room. He tries the door to the Observatory, but it fails to open. Forced to retrace his steps, he runs back across the Troubled Bridge, and makes his way down to the bottom floor of the temple. Once he reaches the Heart Room, a second temple guard removes him from the temple with 1:56 left on the clock. Tara goes in next, and very smartly uses the Cave entrance instead of the Gargoyle Room. Making her the only contestant to use an entrance room different from their partner. Tara makes great time through the temple, even while running into the final temple guard in the Shrine, and while having slight difficulty assembling the monkey. Once she finished assembling the monkey, she ran into some bad luck. She was forced down the Well instead of being granted direct access to the Torch Room, where the Pendant Medal was sitting. Once she does make her way to the Torch Room, she grabs the medal with 24 seconds left on the clock. Victory looked certain! Unfortunately, Tara had poor plans for exiting the temple. Instead of using the Troubled Bridge, she scaled all the way down the central shaft. Apparently Ron from Anne Bonny took notes on this. Her time ended when she entered the Wheel Room. This temple run would've been much more successful if Danny had used the Cave instead of the Gargoyle Room, and if Tara didn't scale the whole central shaft upon exiting the temple. Despite that, Danny and Tara were a solid team, and they were MUCH better than most Season 1 teams. This temple run was very exciting, albeit had a slightly disappointing ending. This is also the first ever time an artifact is grabbed, but not brought out of the temple in time.

FINAL VERDICT: 7.3/10

FINAL VERDICT: 7.2/10 (PPF)

"Sir Edmund Hillary" was one of the rare episodes from Season 1 that was enjoyable to watch. The Silver Snakes were a good team throughout the episode, and there were many memorable moments. The legend was solid, the temple games featured a strong Silver Snakes team, and the temple run was very exciting. Danny and Tara may have not won their temple run in the end, but they put up a great effort and it was very exciting to watch these two perform in the temple. I would recommend this episode to anyone easily, even though the team didn't win. It was easily a top 10 Season 1 episode, and one of the best losses on the show too.  

PPF's Description

Overall, Sir Edmund Hillary was easily one of the strongest Season 1 episodes, despite it not being a win. Besides the moat and Steps of Knowledge, every round was very exciting. Danny and Tara were a very strong team all day, and gave it a great effort in the temple. If they had taken more shortcuts in the temple, both en route to the artifact and exiting, they would've won for sure. But that didn't stop their temple run for being a great watch. This was one of the best losses ever on the show, and one of the best episodes ever in Season 1. Despite this being a loss, I would recommend this episode to anyone.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Her partner was Chris, 13, who wanted to be a pro baseball player.

Once again with the Fogg Ups. It's Danny, NOT Chris. You might want to fix that.

As for Sir Edmund Hilary, it was a great episode. Danny and Tara were a solid team and got the only Silver Snake sweep ever. This team would've won if Tara didn't go all the way down the central shaft, and if Danny didn't take a direct path. I'm willing to bet it would've saved over a minute total. I definitely consider Sir Edmund Hilary a Top 10 Season 1 episode, and a Top 10 Silver Snake run. Overall, great review. I'm gonna do Oracle Bowl next, which is far from a Top 10 episode.

And by the way, the Golden Chains of Zenobia team also swept the temple games, AND were the first team to do so. So it wasn't just Sir Edmund Hilary and Lawrence of Arabia.

[The Red Jaguars]

Oops, fixed the Chris -> Danny mistake. Also, I forgot about Zenobia being a sweep also. So that makes three temple game sweeps in S1 alone? Geez, that is very low. And there were 20 temple game sweeps on the show in total. It goes to show how strong the teams in later seasons are. Although the Zenobia team sweep wasn't really as deserving as Sir Edmund Hillary or Lawrence of Arabia since the Purple Parrots sucked badly in that episode.

But yeah, I enjoyed Sir Edmund Hillary and it was one of the few enjoyable losses from S1 next to Great Seal, Kamehameha, Golden Jaguar, and Blue Pearl. They would've definitely won in any of the other Torch Room runs like Anne Bonny or Cleopatra.

I think Oracle Bowl's ranking is going to be very interesting. We all know how bad the temple run was, but the other rounds of that episode were good. The Purple Parrots were definitely a good team before the temple run and Jackie even won her individual game. Unfortunately, the temple run is pretty bad and Jackie ruins the whole thing. At least it won't be like Lost Lion Tail were every round was bad. The low score for this episode will come from the temple run.

I am going to do Lost Taj Mahal Turban next myself. This was just a forgettable episode, but it wasn't bad either. Although the legend was kind of crappy with Needmore Rupees. But I don't mind the temple run too much, even if it ended in triple capture.