Some Thoughts about Temple Runs

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I brought this up in the Galileo/Silver Horseshoe poll in the tourney section, and I want to bring it up again here.

Do you guys think that the only reason Paula and Matt get so much praise is because A. it was a win and B. because of their comeback kid story arc? To me, I think it's a little of both. To me, I feel like people only like Paula and Matt just for the sake of liking a win. Where a casual viewer might say "Oh look, a win. That means it's automatically a great temple run." Plus, they had that utterly lame "Comeback Kids" story arc going for them too. Which to me, is a sugarcoated way of saying "you barely scraped by." Would people still like Paula and Matt if they were say, first in the moat and swept the temple games? What do you guys think?

[The Red Jaguars]

I never understood why Kirk placed so much emphasis on the "comeback kids" in Butch Cassidy. There were a lot of temple teams before and after Butch Cassidy where they were fourth in the moat, but Kirk never calls them the same thing or something similar. Especially episodes like Silk Sash and Blackfeet Chief where both teams had close calls in the moat too. Aside from sweeping the Steps, Paula and Matt were not a dominant team at all. In fact, they pretty much got to the temple on a controversial call. While I don't think Paula fell off the horse before time was up, it was still a very close call. Plus, I am not always a fan of teams that make comebacks in their team games only at the last second. This applies to teams like Alhambra and Butch Cassidy mostly. And I never understood why these two get praised for their win either. There is nothing special about an actuator pressing journey through the temple. And the fast win is not that impressive at all, I will take a fast win like Enormous Iron Nose Ring or Benzibab any day where the players actually had objectives and still finshed with more time.

Overall, it makes little sense for people to love Butch Cassidy IMO just because they made a couple of comebacks. At least teams like Jeremy and Erika from Silk Ladder actually were dominant before the temple despite getting criticism all the time. They are easily the most over-talked about team on the show. Thank God Galileo did us a favor and put an end to this episode. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Seriously, it's not like Paula and Matt were the ONLY team to barely scrape by each round, even before their episode. If I remember correctly, didn't the Jean Lafitte team (who also lucked into their tiebreaker) and the Lucky Pig team barely scrape by each round? Plus, other teams like the War Fan and Enormous Feather team barely scraped by each round, yet Kirk says next to nothing about them. Paula and Matt are immensely overrated. Yet somehow they're a better team than Lucky Pillow, on the grounds that "they moved faster?" Something is not adding up here.

[The Red Jaguars]

My only guess that Kirk kept playing up on the whole "comeback kids" plot was because Butch Cassidy was the first episode of Season 2. So he tried to be creative in some way that was pretty lame. But yeah, a lot of teams could be labeled the same thing. Enormous Feather, War Fan, Lucky Pig, Silk Sash, and Cracked Crown all had teams that scraped by. So why not bring it up on those episodes, Kirk? I never understood the Annie Taylor comparisons either. I remember there was a big debate about these two episodes in one of the Hurt/Heal game. I believe that THK went as far as to say why he didn't think that Annie Taylor was not a good episode because of Missy supposedly going to the temple the same way as Paula. And we are hypocritical for liking Annie Taylor over Butch Cassidy. I hate Butch Cassidy, and this is one of the most over-talked episodes next to Shaka Zulu. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

God, don't get me started on the hypocritical stuff. We're the bad guys for liking Annie Taylor and Freydis, but not Tall Turban. Yet this is coming from the person who thinks Shaka Zulu is a better temple run than John Sutter, and Silver Horseshoe is a better run than Lucky Pillow? I mean, Lucky Pillow is a MUCH better episode in every aspect. Yes John and Missy came from behind in the final game, but that episode is much more exciting than Silver Horseshoe ever was. Who cares if Missy didn't move fast? Her emotion personality and down to the wire finish is what made this temple run so special. I just don't understand why some people think you're only a good player if you move fast. You can still move at an average pace, and still be a good player. This applies to both Missy and Tarrah, and I loved their temple runs for their memorable and downright solid performance.

[JCW555]

Me personally, I though Silval Sliver Horseshoe of Butch Cassidy was meh to me. It's a win, but even I forget it's a win sometimes. Hell, I remember that the Diary of Doctor Livingstone is a win 

[The Red Jaguars]

Actually, the "Silval Silver" mistake was made in 'The Silver Cannonball of Grandy Nanny". Although both episodes are from the same day. But yeah, there is nothing remarkable about Butch Cassidy in anyway. At least Dr. Livingstone was memorable for Brett entering every room of the temple and being the first to do so. Butch Cassidy literally has nothing going for it.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I have a question for you, TRJ: Which temple run do you like better: Silver Horseshoe or Snakeskin Boots? I really want you to tell me your honest opinion on this. Since some people prefer Silver Horseshoe over Snakeskin Boots. Very delicately tell me what you think.

And you can use as many smileys as you want.

[JCW555]

I know I'm not TRJ, but I like Snakeskin Boots of Billy the Kid, because the run came down to the wire, and while Tony's exit plan was flawed, it allowed for more excitement. Plus, Kelly and Tony swept the temple games, first in the Moat, and first in the Steps of Knowledge. I think everyone knows that Paula and Matt scraped by every round, and their layout wasn't even hard.

[GreenMonkeys#1]

I will also say the Snakeskin Boots because I never was a fan of the Silver Horseshoe run. Sure, it was good, but to rank it among the best is ridiculous. Paula's objectives were...

1. Head to Ledges
2. Push Button to Pit
3. Climb and Push Button to Heart Room
4. Push Button to Throne Room
5. Door mysteriously opens to Swamp, even though you never even touched the Throne
6. Push Button to Dark Forest
7. Hand Pendant to Temple Spirit
8. Bust Through Wall and head up the slow ass elevator
9. Grab the Silver Horseshoe
10. GTFO of the Temple!

So, it might as well be called       2. Also, the team scraped by most of the show. The only part where they didn't was the Steps and they swept it. 

Snakeskin Boots had a MUCH better team and run. The team was dominant all day long and had to put the cherry on top of a Purple Parrot Pwnage. Even if their only main objective was to pull blocks to reveal the light and align body to press three buttons simultaneously, it was more enjoyable than Silver Horseshoe. Not to mention, it was the Purple Parrots first win, and it took 72 episodes to get there. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, Snakeskin Boots is better in every aspect. I remember members here in the past preferred Silver Horseshoe, for some reason I'll never know. I mean, I know Silver Horseshoe was the first Orange Iguanas victory, but it just wasn't exciting. I know we've basically talked about Snakeskin Boots to death in this thread, but it's really no contest which run is better.

[The Red Jaguars]

Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy are on opposite spectrum for me. Billy the Kid is a classic episode while Butch Cassidy is an average and unremarkable episode. I think GM1 summed up Butch Cassidy quite well for me. Fast win or not, Paula literally did not complete any objectives at all in her run. Yet, people still call her a better contestant than Missy. She might've won in Missy's layout too, but it would not be with 50 seconds on the clock. And we don't even know if she would've pulled an Ahmed Baba in Annie Taylor either. Back to Billy the Kid though. The episode is a classic and is highly regarded around here for good reasons. You can't help but to root for the Purple Parrots in Billy the Kid. It took almost 2 seasons for them to finally get a win, and they got it done in dominating fashion. In fact, I think the PP Pwnage is what makes Billy the Kid a much-loved episode.      It is way more interesting and likable than scraping by like Paula and Matt did. Although the Purple Parrots really should've had a victory much earlier, most likely in Blackfeet Chief. Now if that episode was a win, I think Billy the Kid would get more flack since it wouldn't be as special.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, same with Silk Ladder. If THAT had been the first Purple Parrots win, then I doubt it would get so much praise. But what about Silver Horseshoe? If that had been the first Purple Parrot win, would people praise it or malign it? Just wondering what you guys think.

[JCW555]

I don't have a favorite team, but with the same layout that Silval Silver Horseshoe of Butch Cassidy had, I still would not have liked it much, even if it was a Purple Parrot win. Now if they were a dominant team (unlike Paula and Matt), I may think otherwise, but with that almost "cupcake" layout, the win wouldn't be very impressive TBH. Just my opinion though 

[The Red Jaguars]

I don't have a favorite team, but with the same layout that Silval Silver Horseshoe of Butch Cassidy had, I still would not have liked it much, even if it was a Purple Parrot win. Now if they were a dominant team (unlike Paula and Matt), I may think otherwise, but with that almost "cupcake" layout, the win wouldn't be very impressive TBH. Just my opinion though  

Yeah, this is pretty much how I feel about the Butch Cassidy run. No matter what team had this layout, it would probably still be an unimpressive win unless something really notable happened in that run. As much as I would like to see the Purple Parrots win more in the temple, I think it is a good thing that they didn't win in episodes like Butch Cassidy or             . Only because those wins were so easy and people would probably make fun of them like we do now for Paula and the Silver Snakes. I definitely would've liked to see an earlier Purple Parrot win though before Billy the Kid. Cobra Staff would've been the perfect first victory for the Purple Parrots. Now that run would've been respectable win if Eusinia and David pulled it off.