Legends Episode Ranking System - COMPLETE

[The Red Jaguars]

Queen Boadicea is a step up from Smashed Printing Plate. Both episodes are identical - Tomb of the Headless Kings artifacts, Red Jaguars sweep temple games, and pretty near identical layouts. But Lissy and Nate and did everything better than Jason and Dana. But you're right, if Lissy moved faster, than this team would've won. And it would've been a legendary win and one of the Red Jaguars best runs. I love this episode a lot as a Red Jaguars fan and it is very memorable to me. But I won't lie, I like Empress Eugenie and Polynesian Girl better. Speaking of Polynesian Girl, I want to rank that one pretty bad. But I am going to hold off on that episode and wait towards the end of the project to review it like Map to the Lost Gold Mine.

I will definitely send you Blue Pearl next. Every section has a summary at least, but it could definitely use more detail. That review uses the old format too like Belle Boyd and Iron Mask. Which is not a bad thing and I think we can keep it that way. The episode lacks pictures though. Do you want me to add it or do you want to add them? Can't wait to post Blue Pearl either. 

We also have 23 episodes left to rank. Not a lot of episodes at all. For my individual project, I think I am going to do Attila the Hun. Maybe I even have my T90'sAAT version of that episode still saved to my DVR. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I wouldn't say their layouts were identical. Lissy and Nate entered the Chamber in their temple run, but Jason and Dana never entered that room. Plus, Jason didn't take any shortcuts in his run, but Nate did. But yeah, Royal Torque was a MAJOR step up from Smashed Printing Plate. How people defend Jason and call him a "great player" is beyond me. And I don't just hate him just because he cheated in his temple game.

And you can post the pictures for Blue Pearl. I don't have screencaps for it, and you can compile the three temple games together. Just like I do for my reviews and what you did for your old reviews. I'd also love to read your review on Golden Goblet, even if it is a rather dull episode. And you should totally use screencaps from the Teenick airing, if you have them. That would definitely make your screencaps and overall review more interesting.

[The Red Jaguars]

Sounds like a good plan. I will send Blue Pearl to you later this evening along with the pictures included with them. And I will also work on Attila the Hun over the weekend too. Once those two reviews get posted, we will have 100 episodes completed.  I am thinking about picking a really good episode to represent "Episode 100". The possible candidates that I can think of could be Davy Crockett,          , or Missing Eye. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

How about Silk Ladder? Since we love talking about what a pathetic win it is. And we have that down for another collaboration, we can do that one together too. Plus, it IS an eventful episode, from the Steps of Knowledge all the way down to the temple run. But we're definitely gonna do Blue Pearl next. These reviews go by a lot faster when we collaborate on them.

[The Red Jaguars]

I am going to send you Blue Pearl is about an hour. I have some changes to make and I am going to add the images to it. And the collaboration idea has been pretty good so far too. It saves a lot of time then one person writing it.

Also, I think          is a good choice for the 100th episode review. I actually like that episode, minus the temple run. The Steps of Knowledge was funny, the temple games were memorable for Jeremy and Erika's temple interviews, and the win was very pathetic.            I still see that episode getting a good score though.       

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Great, I'll be expecting the Blue Pearl review in my inbox. And I updated the production day rankings, again. You should check out where Roland/Queen Boadicea's filming day ranked. I guess not even Enormous Feather brought it down. I know I keep bringing it up, but I figured you might want to know since the production day rankings are part of this thread too.

[The Red Jaguars]

I sent you the message for Blue Pearl. The temple games round and "Final Recommendation" section are the only area that really need details. Just like for Queen Boadicea, you can make any changes that I might need tweaked. Everything else, including pictures, are already included into the review. Just let me know if you want me to add anything else.  

Also, the Queen Boadicea day was an excellent day ruined by one episode. The first three episodes (Roland, Queen Boadicea, and Pirate Captain) were all great and exciting episodes. But then Enormous Feather comes around and ruins it all. I personally hate the Enormous Feather episode and would give that episode a 2/10. But the other three episodes were very strong and make this day very fun. Too bad Karisa ruined Enormous Feather, but I liked everything else about this day.     

[Purple Parrots Fan]

And I've filled in my bits in the episode. You can post it whenever.

Totally agreed about Roland/Lost Hornpipe's filming day too. Had it not been for Enormous Feather, this episode probably would've made Top 3. Stupid Karisa and her slowpoke-ness. I was rooting for the Parrots.

[The Red Jaguars]

Here is our next episode review that we worked on together for Blue Pearl. This is a great episode for Season 1 despite the ending to it. I love this episode a lot too and there is a reason it gets a lot of praised. Of course, PPF helped me out a lot too. She found all my Fogg-ups and fixed them, and helped me complete certain sections of it. It really makes reviewing these episodes go by much quicker. So here is Jennifer and Albert from Blue Pearl in the spotlight! 

THE DRAGON LADY AND THE BLUE PEARL

MOAT: 5/10

This production day used a pretty tough moat that took the players longer than usual to finish. The first player had to cross by grabbing the rope above them and crossing "hand-over-hand" to reach the other side. If they fell in, they had to start over again. Once they reached the other side, they had to take their tube and throw it back to their partner. This was another tough challenge because the tubes were not easy to throw. Once their partner got their tube though, they simply had to paddle themselves across the moat and hit their gongs when they reach the other side. Like I mentioned above, this was a tough moat for the players. The moat was so tough that the Red Jaguars were the first team to cross, but the Silver Snakes didn't have their first player across yet. It was hardly the players fault though because the moat crossing was tough. Plus, the moat idea was kind of bland and cliche for a Season 1 moat. Hence a more average score.

LEGEND: 9/10

This legend talks about the Dragon Lady, who was the Empress of China at the time. One day, a messenger from England named John Smith arrived in front of the Dragon Lady with some gifts from his queen. The Dragon Lady gave John Smith a giant Blue Pearl and a letter for the Queen of England for him to give to her in peace. The messenger took the Blue Pearl and exited the Dragon Lady's palace. Suddenly, the people in the streets attack the English because they were ordered by the Dragon Lady to seize all of the foreigners. The Blue Pearl was confiscated back and made its way to the temple. This was an interesting legend because of the "plot twist" about the Dragon Lady being a back-stabbing wench. This episode featured one of the best legends of Season 1. When you first hear the legend, you are led to believe that the Dragon Lady was an open-minded and welcoming ruler. But the ending is very surprising because of how she turns on the messenger and foreigners. The Blue Pearl was also a very beautifully designed artifact and probably the best looking artifact from Season 1.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 6/10

This was a rather lackluster Steps of Knowledge round because none of the questions had anything to do with the legend. If anything, this round felt like a "history test" or something. You had to know the answers to Olmec's questions from things you learned in school. There were quite a few wrong answers, but that was because of how tough the questions were. While the Red Jaguars did get 3-4 questions wrong, they were also the first team to make it to the last step. The Orange Iguanas were the second team, and they were smart enough not to get any wrong answers. The Silver Snakes and Blue Barracudas each managed to get one question correct a piece. Overall, this was a mediocre Steps of Knowledge round. It would've helped greatly if the questions actually had something to so with the legend.

TEMPLE GAMES: 7/10

(Credits to "Purple Parrots Fan" for her contribution to this section)

The temple games featured a very interesting sequence of games, and was a very exciting round, albeit a tad one sided. It was pretty obvious who was gonna win each round. In the first game, Jennifer and Robbie had to climb up a wall, and had to place blue pearls on top of each spot. Both players got two pearls up at the end, and thus were each rewarded half pendants. In the second game, Albert and Christine had to grab a wig, climb through the dragon tunnel, and put the wig on the dragon head on the other side. Christine had an early lead, but Albert quickly caught up, and won the game with 21 seconds to spare. This gave the Orange Iguanas a 1-0.5 lead going into the final temple game. In the third game, the teams had to lay down on a mat, and unwrap silk attached to them. This was an extremely rare game, having only been used one other time in the episode before them, "King Tut's Cobra Staff." Jennifer and Albert finished this game with 20 seconds to spare, giving them the full pendant, and earning them a trip to the temple with 2 full pendants!

TEMPLE RUN: 8/10

As a Legends fan, we mostly enjoy temple runs where the team finishes with a winning effort. Sometimes a temple run is better when it ends in a loss. Some losses are even better than some wins. And this episode featured one of the most exciting and memorable temple losses on the show. Albert, the frontrunner in this temple run, was a little hesitant and slow for a frontrunner. He got lost in several rooms of the temple. After meeting his first temple guard in the Treasure Room, he got confused on which direction that he should move to next. The temple guard in the Treasure Room did sort of "stagger him" according to Kirk. After entering the Shrine, Albert had some trouble assembling the Silver Monkey. He even put the torso of the monkey in the wrong area in front of the temple. In his defense, he did get his act together when Kirk told him that the Silver Monkey was wrong. After getting the Silver Monkey together, Albert is forced to take the sloooooooow Well bucket down to the bottom floor. When he finally enters the Tomb of the Ancient Kings, he is removed from the temple by the typical one room away guards from Season 1. With about a minute to herself, Jennifer was an amazing second runner. She blazed all the way across Albert's path, including another trip down the slow as hell Well bucket. She completed the Tomb of the Ancient Kings objective and raced into the Holes of Python. With 10 seconds left, Jennifer makes her signature dive for the Blue Pearl. She misses out on grabbing the Pearl though by literally a couple of inches! This was by far one of the closest artifact acquisitions on the show, next to "The Imperial Purple Robe of Empress Theodora".

This was a very exciting temple run despite it ending in a loss. Of course, this team really should've reached the Blue Pearl if Jennifer learned how to crawl. I blame most of this loss on Albert though. He was way too slow and hesitant to be a frontrunner. But still, the final outcome of this run is very memorable and sometimes a temple loss is better than a temple win. Due to the fact that this temple run was both memorable and exciting, it finishes with a strong score.

FINAL VERDICT: 7/10

(Credits to "Purple Parrots Fan" for her contribution to this section)

In conclusion, Blue Pearl was easily of the better Season 1 episodes. It got off to a rocky start with the lackluster moat and Stepsof Knowledge round. But the temple games were very exciting, and the temple run was a nailbiter. Jennifer's last ditch effort to reach the pearl at the last second is easily one of the most heartbreaking losses in the shows history. Though she could've very easily have reached the pearl if she had learned to crawl. Plus, Albert should've moved faster. Overall, this was a very eventful and great episode, and I recommend it to anyone.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

These reviews really do go by so fast when we collaborate on them. If we had done this sooner, we probably would've been done months ago. And yes, Blue Pearl was a great episode. I was almost expecting it to rank higher then 7, but close enough. I take it you're gonna do Golden Goblet next, by yourself? After that, we can work on yet another collaboration, and another S1L8 episode, Silk Ladder. That one should especially be interesting since it's our 100th episode reviewed. Plus, it's well known for it being a pathetic win.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, I thought Blue Pearl would rank in the mid seven range. But it is hard for Season 1 episodes to rank high because they suffer from some pretty weak rounds. It felt like the competition in Season 1 was weak and none of the rounds were really memorable or produced thoroughly. Even great episodes like Galileo and Sultan Saladin barely broke the 7 range. Not that it was the contestants or producers fault. It was a learning experience after all for everyone. I try to be lenient when I rank some of the Season 1 episodes. I don't expect high quality production like the last day of Season 3. But some of these episodes like Shiva and Golden Cricket Cage are so bad that they deserve low scores.

My personal ranking for Blue Pearl would be a 9/10. I love this episode. Great legend, fun temple games, and the temple run is exciting and memorable. I am surprised that some people don't put this temple run higher on their favorite losses list. Same with Galileo, I give it around an 8-9/10 for my personal rankings.  

I am going to do Attila the Hun next for my individual project. I can remember some details from when I watched it on T90'sAAT. It is still a very boring episode, and I can see it rank as low as the 5 range. I think Silk Ladder will be a good choice for a team project too. I actually remember a lot from that lame episode. There were a lot of bad answers at the Steps. And of course, the win is pretty "famous" around here.           I can actually work on parts of that episode while I complete Attila the Hun.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Season 1 was unprofessionally filmed altogether. It definitely wasn't the contestants fault most of the time. For most of the rounds in Season 1, it was almost always so obvious who was gonna win. The temple games in Golden Chains was a perfect example of that. If some of the rounds had been stronger, Blue Pearl probably would've ranked in the mid 7 range, maybe even the 8 range too. And good luck ranking Golden Goblet. That episode was so dull, it will probably rank in the low 5 range.

And here's a fun fact for you: Both Royal Torque and Blue Pearl (our first two collaborations), were the first two episodes I saw when I watched the show on YouTube last year. It's funny how I remember that stuff. Then again, whenever I watch episodes on YouTube, I always want to start out with the best possible episodes.

[The Red Jaguars]

Season 1 really could've used more temple game ideas. I swear it felt like the water ramp temple game was used in every single episode. Why couldn't they use the bamboo forest or mummy wrapping game more? But yeah, the competition was very weak in Season 1. I bet most of the Season 1 contestants wouldn't even make it past the tryouts for Season 2 or 3. There were still some really good players though like Jammin John, David, Jennifer and Damian, Lea, Tara, Steve, Robbie and Tina, and a few more I can't remember. There are only like a dozen episodes I like from that season.

And I always go back and watch the good runs too. I never ever watch boring or crappy episodes like William Tell or Snow Cone unless I need them for reference or completion like this project and THK's thread. Those episodes are definitely not worth your time. But Queen Boadicea and Blue Pearl are some runs that never get old. When my interest in Legends came back a few years back, I remember the first runs I watched were William the Conqueror and Map to the Lost Gold Mine.   

But yeah, I am going to post Attila the Hun either tonight or tomorrow. Nothing good about this episode at all so far. It was just average all around.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I bet most of the Season 1 contestants wouldn't even make it past the tryouts for Season 2 or 3.

Contestants like John, Tia, Sabrina, and Kristen from Lucky Pig would NEVER qualify for Seasons 2 or 3. If they couldn't even cut it for Season 1, imagine what they would've been like in the later seasons. And yeah, I only like maybe a dozen episodes from Season 1 too. The again, if the production wasn't so thrown together when the show started, the episodes probably would've improved more in quality.

And as soon as you're done with Golden Goblet, then we can work on Silk Ladder together. Since it's a collaboration, it shouldn't take too long to write up. You could probably start writing it now if you'd like. But, one step at a time of course.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, Season 1 was very weak production wise. Everything looked so cheap during that season. The artifacts were lame, the rooms were lame and empty spaces, and the production quality was all over the place. But there is a huge difference though in production quality between the S1L1 episodes and S1L9 episodes. The S1L9 episodes were close to Season 2 episodes production wise. It was a learning experience for everybody at the end of the day. Season 2 improved the whole show a lot.

So, Attila the Hun will finally be posted tonight. I am 3/4 done with it. It really is a boring episode that is so uneventful. I am kind of exciting about doing            next too. It will be interesting where that episode will rank.  After that, maybe we can work on Lion-Slashed Jacket together? Since I do have pictures for that episode.