When the camera fades in from black, the show's titlecard is placed over a shot of part of the audience. The pendant splits and the title shrinks into the distance; the camera zooming out to show part of the Moat adds to the effect, and a moment after the title is completely gone, the camera segues to Kirk standing in front of the Pit of Despair with the two remaining teams on either side.
"Welcome back to Legends," he says. "Now the glory goes to the fastest and the strongest, so let's talk to our team players." He turns to the left side of the screen to talk with the girl on the Blue Barracudas, who has brown eyes and wavy dark hair in a ponytail slung over her shoulder. "On the Blue Barracudas, we have Adriana. How old are you?"
"Twelve," she answers.
"Now it says here you play a little softball, but you also like to surf," Kirk reads from the index card in his hand. "How'd you get into that?"
"Well," explains Adriana, "my older brother did a lot of surfing before me, and one year I sort of picked it up from him." She giggles. "I've been doing it for about? four years?"
"What's the biggest wave you surfed?"
"Probably about? twenty feet."
"All right!" Kirk replies with a smile. He then goes to talk to Adriana's partner, a boy with short brown hair and hazel eyes. "And her partner here is Cody. How old are you?"
"Twelve."
"And I heard you play baseball and run track," reads Kirk, "but you also collect action figures??"
"Yeah," answers Cody, "I have a big collection? mostly of Marvel Comics figures."
"How many do you have?"
"About? thirty-five."
"And you play with all of these?"
"Well, most of them stay in the box."
"All right then," Kirk answers with a laugh. "This is an action-packed team. Let's hear it for the Blue Barracudas!" The audience applauds momentarily, and Cody and Adriana clap along with them as Kirk turns to the right side of the screen. He proceeds to talk to the Silver Snakes, starting with a brown-eyed girl with straight, chest-length blond hair and freckles. "And now on the Silver Snakes, we have Courtney. How old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"And it says here you like to swim, but you really like to write songs," comments Kirk. "Tell me about that."
"Well, I've been playing guitar since I was little," explains Courtney. "And I'm trying to write my own music to match the lyrics I write."
"Think you could start a band one day?"
"Maybe," she giggles.
"Well, let me know and I'll make sure I buy your CD's," Kirk grins. He then proceeds to interview Courtney's partner at the far right edge of the screen, a tan-skinned boy with short dark hair and brown eyes. "And Jordan, how old are you?"
"Thirteen," he answers with a light Southern accent.
"And I understand you play basketball and football, but you're also into computers?? Tell me about that."
"I? uh, I manage a few websites, but I really wanna learn how to animate cartoons with this thing called Flash," Jordan replies.
"All right," Kirk comments before turning to the audience. "This is a creative Silver Snakes team, so let's hear it for 'em!" The audience applauds again, and this time, Jordan and Courtney clap along.
"Okay, why don't you girls go get ready for the first Temple Game, guys go get ready for the second Temple Game," Kirk says, pointing in different directions, and as Kirk faces the camera again, Adriana and Jordan walk offscreen in one direction and Courtney and Cody in another. "In the Temple Games, each team is competing to win?" he opens a pouch and pulls out a small gold medallion to show to the camera? "these Pendants of Life. They're gonna need those Pendants to protect themselves from the dreaded Temple Guards as they make their way through the Temple. There are three Temple Games. Olmec: will you tell us about Temple Game #1?"
Olmec begins:
"Ali?i?lani Hale was a magnificent building that took a lot of construction, but in this game, you will only have 60 seconds to put four merlons on one tower. When Kirk gives the signal, grab a merlon, stick it to your helmet, climb the tower and place the object at the top. Then, come back down, grab another merlon and do it again.
"The first player to place all four merlon on top of the tower? or the player that's further along in 60 seconds? wins."
The camera transitions over to Kirk. "All right, time to build this tower," he remarks. "Let's put 60 seconds on the clock?" The countdown clock reappears in the bottom-right corner, and Kirk backs up and out of the camera frame. "On your mark, get set, GO!"
Adriana and Jordan start to climb up the towers, but at very different paces. It only takes a few seconds for Jordan to get to the top, and he places the first merlon on the top of the tower with a full 54 seconds to go. Adriana is a couple seconds behind, but Jordan is already back at the bottom of his tower with a full fifty seconds to go. "Silver Snakes are blazing right now! Can the Blue Barracudas keep up?" Adriana scrambles back down the tower, but is still a few seconds behind her opponent, as Jordan sticks his second merlon to the top of the tower at the :43 mark while she is just starting to climb back up for the second time. She sticks her second merlon to the Barracudas' tower with 38 seconds left, just as Jordan makes it back down to the base of his tower and grabs the third merlon for his team.
"Silver Snakes just slithering up and down now!" Kirk remarks just as Jordan places his third merlon at the top of his tower with thirty seconds to go. "They need just one more now! Blue Barracudas really need to catch up if they want to win!" At this point, the players appear to be running out of steam, as both slow down considerably? Jordan still makes it back down first, but with only 22 seconds left. "They're both scramblin'? they both want this!" Adriana struggles to catch up, but Jordan still places the last merlon on the Silver Snakes' tower with fourteen seconds remaining, ending the game.
"All right, that's it! " Kirk exclaims, running over as the players climb back down and the countdown clock vanishes from the screen. "They both went very fast, but the Silver Snakes made it first? Blue Barracudas had a little trouble, like a fish out of water? but the Silver Snakes got all four? uh, merlons before time ran out, so they get the half a Pendant of Life!" The audience cheers for a few seconds while Kirk and Jordan high-five. "Blue Barracudas can catch up in the next game; it's worth a half-Pendant. Olmec: tell us about Temple Game #2."
Olmec continues:
"According to legend, Kamehameha V didn't like the original hand of the statue he had built in front of Ali?i?lani Hale, and he wanted it replaced with a new one. However, the new hand has been lost, and in this game, you will have to retrieve it. When Kirk gives the signal, move along the path and pull on the rope below you as you maneuver it along the slot. When you get to a hole in the slot, pull the first knot in the rope through the hole and continue on to the next hole. At each hole, you can only pull enough of the rope to get past one knot, and you may not fall off the walkway or let go of the rope.
"The first player to reach the end of the walkway and pull the statue hand through the space at the end? or the one that's further along at the end of 60 seconds? wins!"
The camera transitions over to Kirk. "Let's put 60 seconds on the clock," he says simply, and the countdown clock reappears in the bottom-right corner of the screen? along with a silver half-Pendant in the upper-right corner of the screen? as he takes a few steps back and the camera pans up to show the players on the slotted tracks, several feet above the studio floor. "On your mark, get set, GO!"
Cody and Courtney start to run along the raised tracks towards the first holes, but very quickly, two different strategies emerge. "This game is two-part, and it looks like the Silver Snakes might've got it!" Kirk commentates. "The Blue Barracudas are fast, though? can they catch up?" In just a few seconds, Courtney's apparent "pull as you go" strategy enables her to pull the first knot up through the first hole as soon as she arrives at it with 53 seconds to go. On the other hand, Cody spends a bit more time pulling the rope up when he arrives at the hole, delaying him. He finally moves on with 49 seconds left, after almost losing the rope. "Blue Barracudas had a little trouble? he almost lost his rope!" Courtney's strategy continues to work wonders for her; she gets the second, slightly-larger knot through the appropriate hole with a full 46 seconds left, then moves in for the U-turn in the track. "Silver Snakes about halfway there? but here come the Blue Barracudas!" Sure enough, Cody pulls the second knot through its hole with 38 seconds to go; he trots on towards the U-bend while Courtney is already pulling the third knot up. "Silver Snakes way in the lead! They just need one more!" Sure enough, Courtney moves on from the third hole with 35 seconds to go, but Cody keeps going? until he tries to pull rapidly at the third hole, but ultimately loses his grip on the rope with 29 seconds still on the clock.
"That's it!" exclaims Kirk, stopping Courtney as he runs over. The indicators vanish from the screen, and the players sit down on the ledges and drop down; they are slowly lowered to the ground by their support cords. Spotters rush over to free the two from their harnesses as Kirk continues. "The Blue Barracudas didn't make it all the way without losing their rope? That gives the Silver Snakes another half-Pendant of Life!" The audience briefly cheers for Courtney, who claps along with a wide grin on her face. "So now the Silver Snakes have one full Pendant, the Blue Barracudas don't have any yet? but this next game is worth a full Pendant, and the Blue Barracudas can tie it up. Olmec: tell us about Temple Game #3."
Olmec narrates:
"Ali?i?lani Hale took a long time to construct, and the workers started with a lot of stone and rubble. In this game, you will have to clear some rubble of your own. When Kirk gives the signal, grab a boulder and throw it onto the chute above you. When it rolls off the other side, your partner must catch the boulder without it hitting the ground, and place it in your bin. Then, go on to the next one."
"The team with the most boulders in their bin at the end of 60 seconds? wins!"
"This is for the Temple!" Kirk reminds everyone as the camera transitions over to him. "Let's put 60 seconds on the clock." The clock reappears in the bottom-right corner, and a silver full Pendant appears in the upper-right corner as Kirk backs up and exits the camera frame. "On your marks, get set, GO!"
Cody and Jordan rush out towards the first boulders and throw them up onto the chutes above fairly quickly, then move backwards so that their partners, whose backs are connected to their own by bungee cords strung through a separating wall, can catch them. "They got their first boulders rolling, and now they gotta rush out and catch them!" Adriana narrowly catches the first boulder, and tosses it in the Blue Barracudas' bin with 52 seconds to go. On the other hand, Jordan and Courtney don't work fast enough to reach the first boulder, and both teams move towards the middle again. "It's tough! It takes a lot of communication, and they can't see each other?!" Early on, the teams both have trouble moving back and forth fairly quickly; the second boulders aren't tossed onto the chutes until the :46 mark. "It takes a lot of trust, but we'll see who gets it first!" On the second attempt, however, both teams fail to reach their boulders in time; they are forced to move back towards the middle again with a little over forty seconds to go.
"Both teams having some trouble!" Kirk remarks as the teams move back for their third attempts, but rush and fail miserably again (:35). "Blue Barracudas already got one, but the Silver Snakes have yet to score!" The teams move out again as the second half begins, but while the Silver Snakes once again fall short, Cody backs up fast enough that Adriana catches the next boulder with 25 seconds to go, adding another point to the Blue Barracudas' score. "The Blue Barracudas are goin' strong? they know they need this game!" On the next turn, however, Courtney finally reaches far enough out that she catches a boulder, and drops it in her team's bin with eighteen seconds to go. At the same time, the Blue Barracudas, now moving faster, are rushing back to catch another boulder. This attempt turns out to be a close miss, unfortunately, as Adriana reacts a little too late, but this leaves them with less ground to backtrack (:15).
"Might have time for one or two more?!" Cody and Jordan each send another boulder up onto their respective chutes with twelve seconds left, and the players move away from the middle. "They gotta move fast here!" Mistiming costs the teams again, but the boys do have enough time to toss one last boulder each, with five seconds to go. In a last-ditch effort, the teams rush out, but only the Blue Barracudas score. Courtney dives for the catch a little too late, but Adriana drops her team's third boulder in their bin just before time runs out. The Pendant of Life vanishes from the screen, the countdown clock splinters and a pattern of ceiling spotlights flashes to indicate that time is up.
"All right, stop right there!" shouts Kirk, running onscreen. The players freeze, and pairs of spotters move in to free the players from their harnesses? and in effect, each other? while Kirk moves over to the Silver Snakes' side. "Let's start with the Silver Snakes. They got?" he pulls the only boulder out of the bin? "one boulder. And the Blue Barracudas?" he runs over to the other side and then pulls out the boulders one at a time as he counts? "one, two? three boulders! The Blue Barracudas get the full Pendant, so now each team has a Pendant. It's a tie, so let's bring in the tiebreaker podium!"
The camera cuts to two spotters rolling in the tiebreaker pedestal, and when they approach the teams, all four players are suddenly out of their harnesses and in front of the equipment for the final Temple Game. "All right? Blue over there, Silver over there?" Kirk asks as the spotters then walk off and the players run over to the pedestal; the Blue Barracudas stand behind the camera-left gong, the Silver Snakes camera-right. "Okay, here are your tiebreaker rules. In a second, Olmec will ask you a question. If you think you know the answer, hit the gong in front of you. You'll have three seconds to answer and I must accept your first response. If you're right, you and your partner will be going inside the Temple in search of the Replaced Hand, but if you're wrong or you run out of time, I'll give the other team a chance. All clear?"
The players nod in response.
"Okay. Olmec!" Kirk shouts. "What's the final question?"
Olmec asks:
"Was the Kamehameha statue in front of Ali?i?lani Hale clothed in: A grass tunic, Golden robes or A muumuu?"
Adriana hits the gong first: "Golden robes??"
Olmec takes a second to reply.
"That? is? correct."
"Olmec's made his decision!" Kirk exclaims as Adriana and Cody hug and shout in celebration. "The Blue Barracudas are goin' to the Temple!" The Barracudas separate, then are congratulated by the Silver Snakes as the audience continues to cheer. "Both teams fought hard? Good sportsmanship! The Silver Snakes won't be going away empty-handed. Here's what we got for them." Jordan and Courtney will each be receiving a $100 U.S. Savings Bond provided by Nestle.
The screen wipes to reveal only Kirk and the Blue Barracudas standing by the tiebreaker pedestal. "We'll see if the Blue Barracudas can make it through Olmec's Temple and retrieve the Replaced Hand of Al-lonny Holly," he declares, "right after this!" The camera swings over to the Coconut Harvest and focuses in on one of the trees growing near the stage-left wall. The show's logo reforms over this shot and the camera fades to black for commercials.
Topic: Rediscovery EP: The Replaced Hand of Ali?i?lani Hale (Read 1015 times)