When the screen fades back in, we see a shot of the mountain in the corner of the Temple Games floor, spewing mist out of its base, 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 tall, large-framed blonde boy on the Red Jaguars. “On the Red Jaguars,” he begins, “we’ve got Christian. Now, Christian, it says here that you like basketball and baseball, but you also play keyboards—tell me about that.”
“Well, my mom put me into piano lessons when I was… four,” Christian explains, pausing to think, “and I just got better and I started to do keyboards as well.”
“And do you play in a band?” Kirk then asks.
“Yeah, my friends and I… we started a band, I play keyboards, and piano, if we play songs that have piano in them,” says Christian.
“All right, sounds cool,” Kirk remarks, turning to Christian’s partner: a much shorter brunette girl with long hair and near-black eyes. “And over here, we have Melissa. She tells me that she paints watercolor paintings—tell me about that.”
“Um, I paint… just for fun, I guess,” she laughs. “When I’ve got an idea, or some ideas that I can combine, I just sit down and paint.”
“Is there any reason why you prefer watercolors or—?” Kirk asks.
“Uh, not really…” Melissa replies. “It’s just easier for me.”
“Okay, sounds good,” Kirk then says. “Let’s hear it for the Red Jaguars!” The audience cheers briefly for the team, as Kirk moves over to the next player—a tall Asian boy with dark brown eyes and a buzz cut. “And over here on the Green Monkeys, we’ve got Darren. You tell me you’re a real thrill-seeker—why’s that?”
“I like skateboarding and BMX biking, so I mean, I guess I kind of am one,” Darren says. He laughs.
“All right, and uh… do you have any special stunts that you do while skateboarding or biking—any favorite ones?” asks Kirk.
“Um… I’m still really trying to do a good 360 consistently on my skateboard,” explains Darren. “Have to work on that a little more.”
“Wear a helmet!” says Kirk, turning to a girl with long blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and freckles. “And over here, we have Loraine. You tell me that you really want to become a football player. Tell me about that.”
“Oh, um… when I was young,” Loraine begins, “my friends used to think that girls could never play football, so I guess I’m here just to prove them wrong—” She breaks out in a laugh that she had been trying to suppress.
“All right,” Kirk replies, trying to control his own laughter as well. “Watch out, everyone—this is a tough team. Let’s hear it for the Green Monkeys!” The audience applauds once again, this time for the Green Monkeys.
“Okay, you guys ready to play?” Kirk then asks. The players shout and cheer in response. “All right, boys—why don’t you get ready for the first Temple Game over there, and girls, you go get ready for the second…” Kirk sends the players off in different directions, leaving just Kirk facing the camera.
“In the temple games,” he explains, “teams are competing to win these 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:
“The Ancient Egyptians felt obliged to build monuments for their deities as a sign of worship, and they were often made of large limestone blocks. Today, you’ll be collecting some of these blocks for a new monument in the desert. When Kirk gives the signal, run around, jump up, and grab a limestone block from the pedestal. Then, swing back around and drop it in your bin. The team that collects the most blocks in 60 seconds wins.”
“It’s tough work, but somebody’s gotta do it,” comments Kirk. “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!”
A short drum solo kicks off the Temple Games track in the background, as the two boys launch themselves off the ground and immediately spinning around in their lever. Both of them reach up as they pass the column—which is much too high up for both of them—and miss. “They both miss,” commentates Kirk. [0:56] “Might wanna try and get that momentum going first before trying to get one of those blocks—that’s the key to this game: momentum.” With 49 seconds on the clock, Christian uses his long right arm to grab one of the blocks, but is unable to secure it under his arm before it falls onto the floor. “Oh, that’s gonna leave a mark…” jokes Kirk, as Darren flies past his pedestal without grabbing a block again. “They’re really gonna have to pick up the pace if they wanna win—there he goes!” Christian sets his hand on a block, this time taking care to hold on to it tightly, and then drops it in his bin. [0:44] “All right, the Red Parrots—er, Jaguars, have one block…” Kirk commentates, but not quickly enough before Darren drops in his first block to tie up the score. “And so do the Green Monkeys! Now he’s got the rhythm down.” Christian scores another block with 37 seconds on the clock, with Darren just right behind him with 35 seconds on the clock, as both boys now get into the bounce-grab-bounce-drop sequence.
[0:28] Christian and Darren both drop their third blocks into their baskets at virtually the same time, but Darren scrapes the side of his pedestal trying to grab a fourth, falling behind. “Oh no, he might’ve lost his momentum there…” Kirk says as he watches Darren struggling to time his bounce as he spins a little out of control with 21 seconds remaining. The score is now 5-3, with Christian grabbing a sixth block… but dropping it a few seconds later. “Oh, dropped that one… He has to go back for another one, now.” [0:17] Darren finally grabs a fourth block, dropping into his basket with 13 seconds remaining, but Christian scores a sixth shortly after. “It’s gonna come down to the end…” comments Kirk as the audience begins to shout out the last ten seconds. [0:06] With the seconds ticking down fast, Christian places his seventh block in his bin just as Darren retrieves a fifth block, but as he spins run, ready to drop it in, TIME IS UP!
“All right, that’s it!” announces Kirk as the clock explodes. He runs over to the players, who are being slowed down and stopped by the stunt spotters. “Let’s count up those scores, shall we…?”
Kirk kneels down in front of the red-marked basket first to count up. “Red had one… two… three… four… five… six… seven blocks…” He pushes the blocks that he counted aside, then moves over to the green basket to count the blocks in it.
“And on the Green,” he continues, “we have one… two… three… four blocks— The Red Jaguars get the half Pendant of Life!” The audience cheers as a small scoreboard appears in the corner, with a half-Pendant under Red and an empty space below Green.
“The next game is also worth a half-Pendant,” Kirk declares. “The Green Monkeys can catch up here. Olmec, tell us about Temple Game #2.”
The camera cuts back to Olmec as he explains:
“Ra made his son, Thoth, the god of the moon. Today, you will be crossing the moon’s dangerous and rough terrain—but there’s only one correct way across. Before you lies one of the many valleys of the moon. When Kirk gives the signal, choose a step and move onto it. If it stays still, pick another step and move on, but if it sinks into the water, you must return to the beginning and start again. The first team to correctly navigate the valley—or the team that’s further along at the end of 60 seconds—wins.
“It’s gonna be tough navigating that valley,” says Kirk, running out of view of the camera. “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!”
Melissa and Loraine immediately spring forward, Melissa placing her right foot on her first step and her left on her second—both of which are on the first row from the front—without sinking. “Nice move by the Red Jaguars!” shouts Kirk, as Loraine hesitates slightly before choosing a second step—but it remains still. [0:52] “All right, now our players are gonna choose a next move—will it be the right move?” Melissa tries the step diagonally to the left of her, but it drops down, sending her feet into the misty water below. “Nope, gotta go back now—it’s a long, tiring swim back!” Loraine moves forward another step, and chooses a fourth on the innermost row—the row closest to the Temple in the background—but it sinks, making her go back. With 42 seconds remaining, Melissa has finally began a second attempt, following her first two steps from her first try and then trying the third step on the third row from the foreground, which stays intact. [0:37] “All right, she’s gonna keep moving forward now,” Kirk commentates; back at the start platform, Loraine steps onto her first step for the second time. With 32 seconds on the clock, Melissa has picked a fourth step—still remaining on the third row from the front view, and quickly swings over to it, resting both of her feet on it as it sways slightly. “That’s the fourth step! He—I mean, she’s a third of the way across now!”
[0:27] The camera segues back to Loraine, who is on the fifth step of the second row from the back. “The Green Monkeys are catching up quick!” shouts Kirk, as Loraine moves to the sixth step of the same row, still with a flawless second try. “The Red Jaguars are really gonna have to make up some time now…” Melissa continues on the third row from the front, moving to the fifth step and then the sixth step on that row, but as she steps on the seventh with 22 seconds left, it sinks. “NO! She was making great progress… but now she has to go back,” Kirk laments, as Melissa begins to wade back to the start platform. [0:18] Loraine moves onto the ninth step of the second row from the back, which sways slightly—but it does not fall, and Loraine then sets foot on the tenth step of the row… and it gives way with 14 seconds remaining! “Oh no, Green Monkeys are down—Red Jaguars better move!” narrates Kirk excitedly, as Melissa finally begins a third try, following her previous path with caution, hesitating before moving from step to step. “She’s gonna have to really move now!” says Kirk, referring to Loraine this time, as the camera zooms in on her grabbing on to the eighth step of the second row from the back, and then to the ninth, but it sinks. [0:04] The camera now switches to a wide shot from the front, with Melissa stepping onto the eighth step of the fourth row from the front—but it sinks! “Oh, she has to go back—” Kirk begins, but TIME IS UP before he can finish his sentence!
“All right, stop right there…” instructs Kirk, as he runs back into view of the camera. The spotters assist the girls in exiting the maze, and they run back around to the front of the “valley” to Kirk.
“Okay,” says Kirk, once both girls are standing next to him. “So, no one made it to the end, but Loraine made eight steps without sinking, and Melissa only made seven before sinking… so the Green Monkeys get this half Pendant of Life!” The audience cheers as the scoreboard appears in the corner, with a half-Pendant each under the Red and Green spaces.
“So now it’s a half-Pendant apiece,” Kirk reveals as the audience quiets down. “We’re going into our third and final game. It’s worth a full Pendant. Olmec, please tell us about Temple Game #3.”
We see a close-up of Olmec as he speaks:
“Thoth, being one of the greatest Egyptian deities, had a great throne to sit upon—and his was high up in the heavens. Today, you will be paying a visit to Thoth’s throne by climbing the mountain before you up to the sky. When Kirk gives the signal, the first player will climb their side of the mountain, through the boulders and mist. When the first player reaches the halfway point, that’s their partner’s signal to climb the cliffs of the mountain. When you reach the top of the mountain, ring Thoth’s gigantic doorbell! The first team to reach the top—and ring the doorbell—wins.”
“Why do I get the sudden urge to sing a certain song by Bob Dylan?” Kirk jokes while frowning in the camera. “All right, ha, ha… let’s get in position, teams! And… on your marks, get set… GO!”
The girls begin from the base of the mountain, disappearing into clouds of thick fog before reappearing, each of them navigating their own set of switchbacks. “It’s a difficult way up that mountain—there’s smoke and boulders and all sorts of obstacles in their way!” shouts Kirk as the camera zooms in on Loraine rounding the second corner of her side about 10 seconds into the game. “Higher and higher they go, trying to reach the heavens…” Kirk commentates, with a wide shot of the mountain showing Loraine clearly ahead of Melissa, making her way to the fourth corner as Melissa just rounds her third one. “One more switchback and then it’s gonna be up to Darren to bring the Green Monkeys to victory!” announces Kirk. Loraine rounds the last switchback, reaching a narrow ledge at the mid-point—height-wise—of the mountain.
“All right, Darren’s climbing the cliffs!” narrates Kirk, as the audience cheers the teams on. Melissa reaches the halfway point roughly 25 seconds into the game, allowing Christian to begin, but Darren is already powering himself up his side of the cliffs. “Look at Darren go!” exclaims Kirk, watching Darren pass the ¾ mark of the cliffs with ease. “He’s almost there…” Christian is a little more than halfway up the cliffs now, but Darren grabs hold of the top ledge, using his legs to push himself up onto it. “He’s gonna make it—he’s done it!” yells Kirk as Darren slams down on the “doorbell”—really a Rapids-style gong—to end the game. “That’s it!”
The camera segues back to Kirk, standing at the base of the mountain. “Once again, our new Temple Game here on Legends,” he reminds, slightly out of breath. “Well… the Green Monkeys got to the top first, and they rung Thoth’s doorbell—that gives them the full Pendant of Life! That gives them one-and-a-half—the Red Jaguars had a half—the Green Monkeys are going to the Temple!” Applause erupts in the audience as the camera cuts to Darren cheering at the summit. As they do so, the scoreboard comes up in the corner again—reading 1.5-0.5 Green and the Green side’s border flashing a bright yellow.
“The Red Jaguars gave it a great, great effort,” Kirk consoles. “It came down to that last Temple Game… they’re not going away empty-handed, though. Olmec, tell us what we’ve got for them.”
Olmec announces the prize as a picture of it appears onscreen:
“You’ll ride your way home on an… electric scooter! This Pulse Kick N’ Go scooter uses a unique self-propulsion pedal for balance while riding.”
The screen fades to reveal Kirk standing with the Green Monkeys on the mid-point ledge. “Let’s see if the Green Monkeys can make it through Olmec’s Temple,” shouts Kirk, “retrieve the Eye of Horus… right after this!” We cut to a camera traveling rapidly along the Temple Games floor, stopping right in front of Olmec to focus on the foliage in the large planter beneath him. 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: Thoth and the Eye of Horus (Read 961 times)