When the screen fades back in, we see a shot of the taller waterfall near the Rapids and the audience in the background, 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.”
He turns to an average-height brunette boy with curly hair, dark brown eyes, and freckles. “All right, on the Silver Snakes, we’ve got Dave. Dave, it says here that you enjoy math and history in school, but also you play the guitar. Tell me about that.”
“Um, I’ve been playing for about six years now,” replies Dave.
“Do you have a favorite song to play?” asks Kirk.
“Um… not really,” Dave says, shrugging. He laughs slightly before Kirk continues.
“All right, well… and also, we have Katie,” says Kirk as the camera pans to a short girl with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Katie, it says here that you enjoy pop music, but also, it says here that you windsurf. Tell me about that.”
“Um, my family’s from California,” Katie begins, “so I like to windsurf in the ocean during my vacations and stuff… and my cousins introduced me to it.”
“All right,” Kirk says in response, “and do you have any tricks that you can do?”
“Um… I like going out on the waves,” she replies, smiling.
“Th— Woah!” exclaims Kirk. “We’ve got some thrill-seekers on the Silver Snakes! Let’s hear it for ‘em!” The audience claps and cheers momentarily.
Kirk then turns to an average-sized African-American boy on the Blue Barracudas, with chocolate-colored eyes and frizzy brown hair. “And on the Blue Barracudas,” Kirk continues, “we have Hugh. Hugh, it says here that you play soccer and run track, but also, you told me that you were hit by lightning—tell me how that happened.”
“Uh… I was walking home from school,” Hugh explains, “and it was raining, so I was holding an umbrella, and suddenly, I just got struck by lightning.”
“Oh, my!” Kirk says in response. “Well, you’re all right now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” laughs Hugh.
“Okay,” says Kirk, also laughing slightly as he turns to a slightly shorter girl with shoulder-length auburn hair and light blue eyes. “Also, we have Allyson. Allyson, it says here that you’re a hockey player, but also you like competing in beauty pageants. Tell me about that.”
“Um, my mom tha—uh, thought that it was a good idea when I was eight,” Allyson explains, “and I competed… and I just liked doing it, and… I continued.”
“Have you ever won?” asks Kirk.
“Yeah… just once,” she replies sheepishly.
“All right, let’s hope you win some Temple Games as well,” says Kirk in response. “Let’s hear it for the Blue Barracudas!” The audience once again applauds, this time for the Blue Barracudas.
“You guys ready to play?” Kirk then asks. The players shout and cheer in response. “All right, why don’t you all go get ready for your Temple Games, and I’ll tell everyone what’s gonna happen here…” Kirk sends the players off-camera in different directions before turning to face the camera and continuing.
“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 king’s goldsmith gave him a crown that was mostly silver, just disguised as gold. In the mountain before you, we’ve hidden a ton of gold, but also a ton of silver disguised as gold. When Kirk gives the signal, climb your side of the mountain—avoiding the obstacles in the way—and collect as many gold pieces as you can, and then place them in your basket at the base of the mountain. Keep in mind that real gold will have more mass than silver. The team with the heaviest basket at the end of 60 seconds wins.”
“All right, let’s see if they can find the real gold here,” comments Kirk. “Let’s set the clock for 60 seconds!”
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!”
Dave and Hugh both race up the first slope of the mountain, immediately finding some gold pieces along the way up it. “All right, they’ve collected some pieces—but remember, the more they collect, the more chance of finding the gold they have,” Kirk narrates. Dave collects three pieces before heading back down, leaving Hugh collecting a couple more on his first slope. “Silver Snakes are moving fast,” commentates Kirk as Dave races back down and places his pieces into his team’s basket with 51 seconds on the clock. Hugh clears his firsts slope of all its gold pieces—six in total—before heading back down; the screen splits down the middle to show both boys’ progress. [0:47] Hugh dumps his six pieces into his basket right as Dave picks up two pieces just after the first switchback on his side of the mountain. “The Blue Barracudas seem to have a different strategy—he’s trying to collect the most pieces.” Hugh finds four gold pieces on his second slope before returning to the base of the mountain, but Dave is already back on the ground, bringing his total up to six with 40 seconds on the clock. “The goal is to get the heaviest basket,” reminds Kirk as Hugh dumps his second batch of gold pieces into his basket. [0:35] Dave moves slightly slower than Hugh, allowing Hugh to catch up and reach his second switchback barely seconds after Dave reaches halfway up his second slope to collect the remaining gold pieces on it.
With 27 seconds remaining, Dave picks up a fifth gold piece placed on a small rock ledge next to his second switchback and heads back down, but Hugh has already grabbed four pieces in his hands and bends down to pick up a fifth about ¾ of the way up his third slope. [0:23] Dave reaches ground level first, bringing his total up to 11 gold pieces, but Hugh reaches the base of the mountain just seconds after and brings his total up to 15. “All right, it’s getting harder to find those pieces of gold now,” narrates Kirk as both players begin another upward journey with 18 seconds on the clock. “They’re gonna have to climb farther up now to see if they’re any pieces of there…” Dave picks up a stray gold piece on his first slope but Hugh has already overtaken Dave’s progress up the mountain, sprinting his way up and maneuvering his way all the way to his third switchback with 12 seconds left. “They’re gonna have to make some quick grabs now!” shouts Kirk as the audience begins counting down the seconds from 10. Dave grabs three gold pieces near the top of his third slope before making a mad dash for the base of the mountain, but Hugh spends a couple more seconds to get a fourth piece before racing back down with seven seconds remaining. “Can they get there in time?” Kirk says as Dave races out to his basket, bringing his total to 14 pieces. “Blue Barracudas coming quickly…” With the final few seconds ticking down, Hugh tears down his second slope and around the first corner with five seconds remaining, racing his way down and placing his last batch of gold pieces in his basket with a mere second left. “And that’s it!” shouts Kirk as the ceiling lights flash and the clock graphic explodes.
“All right, let’s check out those scores,” says Kirk, running back into the frame as the spotters bring in the two baskets and roll in an oversized two-pan balance scale. “Let’s weigh them up here…” Kirk places the Blue Barracudas’ bucket on the left side of the scale and the Silver Snakes’ on the right side.
“And… let’s see it!” The spotters remove two bricks underneath the pans on the scale, which tips down on the Blue side. “All right, the Blue Barracudas got more gold—so that gives them the half Pendant of Life!” The audience cheers briefly and a small scoreboard appears in the corner, with a half-Pendant under Blue and an empty space below Silver.
“Silver Snakes can catch up in the next game,” reminds Kirk. “It’s also worth a half-a-Pendant. Olmec, tell us about Temple Game #2.”
The camera cuts back to Olmec as he explains:
“Archimedes was a great inventor and invented something known as the Screw Pump, pumping water by turning. Before you are two Screw Pumps, and today, it’s your job to operate them. When Kirk gives the signal, hold on tight, because the pumps will begin to spin. The player that holds on the longest—or the player that’s still on the pump at the end of 60 seconds—wins.”
“The Silver Snakes can’t screw this game up if they want to win,” remarks Kirk. “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!”
On this word, the spotters immediately begin to spin the Screw Pumps, both girls hanging on tightly as the bars make their first few revolutions. “Oh, I think it’s gonna be a long 60 seconds for these players!” laughs Kirk as the spotters begin to change direction. [0:54] Katie wraps both her legs tightly around the pole while Allyson simply locks into position ankle-over-ankle, but neither girl seems thrown off by the spinning or directional changes with 40 seconds left on the clock. “They’re hanging on there like glue!” comments Kirk as the players continue to stick close to their Screw Pumps as they flip round and round. With 36 seconds on the clock, the spotters once again change directions, throwing Allyson slightly off, but she locks her legs in place again and continues to hold on.
“The hardest part is not letting go when they start spinnin’ you the other way,” explains Kirk as the spotters once again change direction. [0:24] At this point, both Allyson and Katie appear to be tired, with Allyson letting go slightly and slamming her entire body down on her Screw Pump as she comes around the top of her pole. “Gotta hold on tight now…” The spotters gradually increase their speed, spinning the Pumps round more quickly as the clock hits 15 seconds. “Both of them don’t wanna give up,” commentates Kirk. “I love their determination!” [0:10] Katie’s legs slip from the pole, leaving her dangling precariously by her feet, but she repositions herself as she flips back over and stays in place—Allyson also not falling—until TIME IS UP!
“All right, it’s over… just let in on down…” shouts Kirk as he runs over to the Screw Pumps. The girls dismount the Pumps and trudge through the airbags under them to join Kirk before he continues.
“Okay, well, both teams stayed on for the full 60 seconds,” recounts Kirk, “so it’s a tie—they BOTH get the half Pendant of Life!” The audience cheers as the scoreboard appears in the corner, with one Pendant under Blue and a half-Pendant under Green.
“Nice work—nice sportsmanship,” comments Kirk as Allyson and Katie give each other a high-five. “So now the Blue Barracudas have one Pendant—the Silver Snakes have a half—and we’re going into our third and final game. This one’s worth a full Pendant. Olmec, tell us about Temple Game #3.”
We see a close-up of Olmec as he speaks:
“Archimedes only had to inspect one crown to see if it was not entirely gold, but unfortunately for you, you and your partner have a lot more to inspect. When Kirk gives the signal, place a crown between your feet, grab the trapeze, and swing out to meet your partner. Then, transfer the crown to your partner’s feet, who will then return to their platform and place the crown in their bucket. The team that transfers the most crowns at the end of 60 seconds wins.”
“Communication and teamwork’s gonna win this race,” says Kirk as he backs away from the Temple Games site. “Let’s put 60 seconds on the clock!”
The clock slams down into the corner of the screen. “On your marks,” begins Kirk, “get set… GO!”
With crowns between their feet, the boys on both teams swing out as a heavy cymbal solo kicks off the Temple Game track. “And there they go—they both make it!” narrates Kirk as both teams have their members meet in the middle and transfer their crowns. “This is for the Temple… whoever wins this wins it all…” [0:52] With the score 1-1, all four players return to their platforms, with Dave and Hugh putting each putting another crown between their feet. Hugh does so more quickly, swinging out and transferring the crown to Allyson swiftly and bringing the score to 2-1 Blue with 44 seconds remaining. “Oh, Silver Snakes missed!” shouts Kirk as the Silver Snakes fail to transfer a second crown. “That’s gonna give the Blue Barracudas an opening now…” The Blue Barracudas make another transfer and Allyson drops her team’s third crown into the basket on her platform. At the same time, the Silver Snakes make a transfer and drop their second crown in with 35 seconds on the clock. “All right, Silver Snakes are catchin’ up—it’s three-to-two now,” Kirk says.
[0:30] The Blue Barracudas’ next crown sticks to Allyson’s feet, but it falls off as she swings back. At the same time, the Silver Snakes transfer a third crown and tie the score with 26 seconds remaining. “Whoa, nice move by the Silver Snakes!” comments Kirk. “They’re catching up…” The Blue Barracudas make another transfer, and Allyson swings back, keeping her feet high up until she lands on her platform and brings the score to 4-3. [0:21] “It’s neck-and-neck—these teams really wanna go to Olmec’s Temple!” Kirk commentates as the Silver Snakes swing out, meeting in the middle perfectly, but as Dave and Katie touch feet, the crown falls onto the ground. “OH! So close…” exclaims Kirk with 16 seconds left on the clock. “Blue Barracudas—that’s another crown that they’ve got across…” Allyson peels her team’s fifth crown off her feet and places it in her basket to bring the score to 5-3. [0:12] “Oh, it’s gonna come down to the wire!” announces Kirk as the audience begins chanting out the last ten seconds of the game. “Who’s it gonna be?” The Silver Snakes quickly transfer another crown over, bringing the score to 5-4 Blue with seven seconds remaining. “Just a few more seconds…” says Kirk as the Blue Barracudas swing out and transfer a sixth crown with four seconds left on the clock, but Allyson is unable to score before TIME RUNS OUT!
“All right, stop!” shouts Kirk as the clock in the corner explodes. “Come on over… let’s check it out…” Kirk runs back into view of the camera to the area between the platforms, where the spotters place the two baskets for counting.
“Let’s count ‘em up…” Kirk says, heading over to the basket marked with a silver strip of tape first. “The Silver Snakes got one… two… three… four crowns.” Kirk tosses the crowns away before counting the Blue Barracudas’ crowns. “And the Blue Barracudas got one… two… three… four… five… that last one doesn’t count, so they have five crowns—that gives them the full Pendant of Life!” The audience applauds very briefly before Kirk continues again.
“That means that the Blue Barracudas have two Pendants,” Kirk then says. “The Silver Snakes had a half— The Blue Barracudas are going to the Temple!” Allyson and Hugh hug in celebration as the scoreboard comes up in the corner again—reading 2-0.5 Blue and the Blue side’s border flashing a bright yellow.
“The Silver Snakes gave it a great effort,” Kirk reminds. “They’re not going away empty-handed. We’ve got a great gift for ‘em and Olmec’s gonna tell us what it is.”
Olmec announces the prize as a picture of it appears onscreen:
“You will now be able to trek back here with some new shoes which you can buy with your Skechers Footwear savings bond! Skechers—it’s the ‘S’.”
The prize plug cuts away to reveal Kirk standing next to the Blue Barracudas amidst the equipment for the third Temple Game. “Now we’re gonna see if the Blue Barracudas can make it through Olmec’s Temple,” he shouts, “retrieve the Golden Crown of Archimedes… right after this!” The screen fades to a high-up camera above the Temple Games floor which zooms in toward the audience in the distance. 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: The Golden Crown of Archimedes (Read 714 times)