Rate Kirk Fogg's Hosting and Commentary - Season Three

[The Red Jaguars]

I am curious what everyone thinks of Kirk Fogg as a host and his commentary in all three season of the show. Kirk was an interesting case because he really had no prior experience as a host. For the next three days, I am holding a daily poll on how well you think Kirk Fogg hosted each season of Legends. We will follow the same rules as the other "Rate the Legends" topic where the poll will be open for 24 hours.

Results:

Season	Score	# of votes
Season One	4.67	6 votes
Season Two	7.17	6 votes
Season Three	8.71	7 votes

So let's start with Season One! I will put my opinion of him in the next post.

[The Red Jaguars]

When it comes to Kirk in Season One, I gave him a 5 as a host. I know that this season was a big learning experience for him, but I think the producers gave him way too many responsibilities. He pretty much announced the rules of every round and Olmec had little input during this season. Also, Kirk's commentary was very dull and flat during this season. He wasn't very witty at and when he tried, it came out awkward (like his Alhambra run commentary and the temple games for Mata Hari). It was like he wasn't getting into the show itself like he did in later seasons. And I hate his commentary in certain temple games like when he always shouts at the players to stay on their knees in the slide temple game. Overall, this season was pretty much a learning experience from him. But I am not of fan of Kirk that much during this season. 

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I gave him a 4 for Season 1. He didn't seem that enthusiastic or engaged; he seemed more like a referee (Moira Quirk?). It may be in part to his many responsibilities (giving both the rules and the commentary). All in all, it seemed like a bit too much for a first-time host to take on.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I gave Kirk's Season 1's performance a 5. His commentary sucked, but to be fair to him, this was not only the first season of the show, but the producers gave him no direction. If you remember some interviews from Kirk himself, he admits he sucked at hosting because nobody would help him out or give him pointers. And it was because of his poor performance, the producers lost faith in him and gave all the hosting duties to Olmec. Plus, look at how thrown together production of Season 1 was. And how many runs were postponed or retaped multiple times due to faulty production. Not that it excuses Kirk's lackluster hosting duties, but there you go.

[PurpleParrot319]

I originally gave him a 6 for the first season, but decided to downgrade to a 5 for reasons already mentioned. If this wasn't the first season, I'd probably give Kirk a lower score. However, since it was season 1, I can let it pass.

Now seasons 2 and 3 are a different story. I can't wait to give my score for those two seasons!

[The Red Jaguars]

I gave him a 4 for Season 1. He didn't seem that enthusiastic or engaged; he seemed more like a referee (Moira Quirk?). It may be in part to his many responsibilities (giving both the rules and the commentary). All in all, it seemed like a bit too much for a first-time host to take on.

Yeah, he did a lot of commentary in Season One:

- Introducing the teams at the moat.
- Explaining the rules for the moat. (Olmec did this in later seasons)
- Explaining the rules for the Steps.
- Introducing all of the contestants
- Explaining the temple game rules.
- Explaining every single temple game rules. (Olmec did this)
- Spotting the temple games.
- Temple run rules (Olmec did this).

Thankfully Olmec did more of this in later season. When Kirk explained the rules, it always seemed awkward too. But there was quite a few episodes where he does shine - Map to the Lost Gold Mine, Amelia Earhart temple run, and Lawrence of Arabia's Headdress are a few that com to mind. One thing that he never seemed to get right though even in the later seasons was pronouncing room names. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Also, Kirk read the tiebreaker question, and explained the rules to it.

[The Red Jaguars]

Also, Kirk read the tiebreaker question, and explained the rules to it.

If there was anything the producers got right in later seasons, it was giving Olmec a bigger role on the show. After all it was his temple and the show revolved around historical figures and their personal artifact. So Olmec explaining all of the other rounds was a better decision. Plus, Dee Bradley Baker had experience in the past with acting. So he was more competent when announcing the other parts of the show.

[The Red Jaguars]

I am going to end Kirk's season one commentary right now. The final results for this season ends with a score of 4.67. I will add the score to the post.

We will move onto Season Two next. I will just need to readjust the poll though. 

[The Red Jaguars]

Season Two poll is up now.

When it comes to Kirk in Season Two, I gave him a score of a 7. He improved MUCH better from Season One, but he was still lacking something this season. To me, he still seemed a little boring this season. He was a little more wittier and showed a little more enthusiasm, but it seemed off though to me. Maybe it was because in Season 3 he actually went all out and actually felt like a part of the show. Like when he introduced the moats in S3, he was more creative instead of just blandly saying their team names. But still, I like Kirk in S2 and giving Olmec more duties was the best for both the show and Kirk. I would've given him a higher score this season, but there is one thing that bothers me about his Season Two commentary:

The dubbed over commentary. God, I can't stand any of his commentary that was dubbed over. It sounded out of place and it was so obvious that some of the runs were dubbed over. I can understand dubbed over moments like in the War Fan run where the door got stuck. But then they dubbed over many of the better runs - Iron Nose Ring, Annie Taylor, Billy the Kid, Polynesian Girl, and Ahmed Baba. The Ahmed Baba one was laughable too with Shane's name brought up a dozen times. This is what brings Kirk's score down even if it was not his decision to do this.

Overall, he was better in S2, but still had room for improvement though.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I also voted a 7, for the same reasons as TRJ stated.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Well said, TRJ. I agree with both your comment and your rating.

[The Red Jaguars]

Almost forgot to update! Kirk's Season Two score will end with a 7.17.

And finally we will cover Season 3 next.

[The Red Jaguars]

I gave Kirk a 9 for his Season 3 commentary. Now this season was his best season of the show. He didn't sound like an amateur host at all and was filled with a lot of enthusiasm too. It was like he was finally having fun out there on the set. He was also very creative every round too and wasn't just blandly stating the rules or introducing a team. Some of his highlights include the Roland and Catherine the Great episode. Kirk really had grown a lot when he first started the show in S1 to S3. Too bad Season 4 was never made because Kirk would've been a lot of fun to watch. I don't have any problems with him this season at all and he is part of the reason this season is very memorable. He wasn't perfect and had his moments (like shouting at Mike in the "Judge Roy Bean" episode for no reason and calling the Quicksand Bog the "Murky Quagmire"). But he did a damn good job and this was his best season yet. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I also gave Kirk's hosting a 9, for the same reasons as TRJ. HUGE improvement over his Season 1 hosting. Seriously, it's like it's two completely different people hosting, and in a good way too!