"Points of Interest" Discussion regarding Legends Episodes

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I think it would be fun to have a thread where we can post "points of interest" (any random thoughts, comments, questions, and the like) about different episodes from the show. I would love to discuss full episodes, so feel free to rewatch episodes and contribute your own points of interest!



The first episode I would like to discuss is the Lucky Pillow of Annie Taylor:

1. At the top of the episode, Olmec revealed the artifact to be the Lucky Pillow of Annie Taylor. However, it was always called the Heart-Shaped Pillow after that- at the end of the legend, upon learning of the artifact's location, when Kirk threw it to commercial after the tiebreaker, when Kirk introduced the temple rundown, and when Olmec said "... into Medusa's Lair, where you can grab the Heart-Shaped Pillow, or into the treacherous Swamp."

2. All of the temple games could have gone either way between the two teams. Jamea of the Purple Parrots was only slightly ahead of John in the first game, where the contestants had to find hand and footholds on a wall in order to reach a hanger at the top. The second game was pure luck, where Stuart and Missy had to plug the holes in order to stop the water from squirting them. And in the team boat game, John and Missy barely edged out Jamea and Stuart (who, by the way, grabbed a hold of their ring first). How do you think this episode would have ended if the Purple Parrots had entered the temple instead?

3. During the tiebreaker, Stuart went to ring in before John, but then hesitated, allowing John to ring in. He began to give an incorrect answer before changing his mind and answering correctly. If that had happened during Season One, would that have been allowed, or would the Blue Barracudas have been deemed wrong?

4. The temple run is very similar to that of Golden Earring of Henry Morgan. Both of these Season 2 teams were in search of artifacts in the Center of the Rooms and took a clockwise path to get there. The female contestants were the frontrunners from both teams and carried their teams' only pendants. They encountered guards in the bottom of the central shaft. Missy found the key in the Dark Forest and went straight up to the Shrine, while Ashley went into the Mineshaft, where she was removed. However, we know that the Dark Forest would have allowed entry to the Shrine because that door opened when Shem completed the statue. Upon completion of the King's Storeroom, it is clear that Missy opened both the Observatory and Medusa's Lair; it is also believed that Shem opened both the Observatory and Room of the Mandarin Hand from the King's Storeroom. Do you think that means that the temple guard placement, therefore, was also similar between the two runs (unentered entry room, bottom of the central shaft, and Mineshaft)?

[The Red Jaguars]

Interesting questions, PP4L. I will try to answer them on how I feel about them:

1.) Most of the episode titles that we use are the official title that Olmec uses at the intro to the show. I am not sure why they just didn't call it "The Heart-Shaped Pillow of Annie Taylor" for the official title. They did the same thing with "Ponce de Leon and the Lost Fountain of Youth" where they referred to the episode as "The Water Bottle of Ponce de Leon" for the rest of the episode. I think they did it with "Robin Hood and Marian's Ladder" too. Olmec doesn't refer to it as the "Silk Ladder" in the intro, but the rest of the episode was "Robin Hood and Marian's Silk Ladder". I like the "Heart-Shaped Pillow" title too. 

2.) Yes, the temple games were very competitive. There was a member here by the name of outer space who thought that Missy and John were not a deserving temple team because they only won their team game. But you are right, the temple games were down to the wire. John could've easily won his, Missy's was luck so it could've gone either way, and the Blue Barracuda comeback was amazing in the final game even after the Purple Parrots were leading it. I am sure the Purple Parrots could've had a chance at victory in the temple. The temple guard layout was not as brutal as most of the center of the temple runs were. It depends on how the players moved in the temple and whether they used shortcuts. Unless they were Kerry slow or Claude dumb, I am sure they would've grabbed the Lucky Pillow.

3.) Season One was very picky about the answers given. Even the "part at the bottom of your foot" quote from "The Silver Horseshoe" would've been accepted most likely in S2 or S3. I think if John did give an incorrect answer, the Purple Parrots would've gone to the temple games.

4.) I think the temple guard layout for "Henry Morgan" and "Annie Taylor" were very similar. I think one of the guards would've been in the Mine Shaft for Missy and the other in the Crypt because the team had One Pendant and one guard had to be avoidable. If Missy plowed through the Mine Shaft wall like Ashley did, she probably would've been taken out. Then the Boob Monster would've had to follow her path and the team might've had a very close victory depending on how John performed. As for both the Observatory and Medusa's Lair opening for Missy and Shem, I think they did this to trick the contestants and serve as a detour for them. Similar to what they did to Katie and Jared with the Dark Forest and Quicksand Bog in "Imperial Wizard'.

[The Red Jaguars]

Does anyone else notice that some production days have two or more episodes that carry a common theme? For example, both "The Applewood Amulet of Emiliano Zapata" and "The Lucky Medallion of Atocha" are very similar plot wise. Lucky Medallion revolves around Pancho Villa and Applewood Amulet revolves around Zapata. Considering both Villa and Zapata are closely related and have worked together in real life. There is even a photograph with both of them together on Wikipedia. Not to mention, both episodes feature both historical figures names in the Legend and Steps. I thought that this was interesting to point out.

What other episode production days share common themes?

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Well, the Metal Beard/Mummified Hand/Taj Mahal Turban filming day revolved around Middle Eastern artifacts/legends figures. And they shared almost all the same temple games and the winning teams at the temple scored less than 2 pendants. I don't know if that counts, but that's what I thought of at the top of my head.

[The Red Jaguars]

Well, the Metal Beard/Mummified Hand/Taj Mahal Turban filming day revolved around Middle Eastern artifacts/legends figures. And they shared almost all the same temple games and the winning teams at the temple scored less than 2 pendants. I don't know if that counts, but that's what I thought of at the top of my head.

Actually, that whole production day is pretty fitting. There are a lot of similarities:
- Both the first two episodes that day deal with an Egyptian King and Egyptian Queen
- 3/4 of those episodes have Middle Eastern settings
- The swinging boulder game was used in all 4 episodes too. I believe it was a team game in Madame Tussaud though.

And the Chandragupta day has a lot in common too.
- Both Chandragupta and Lion-Slashed Jacket were produced back-to-back. Both legends dealt with a Lion artifact.
- Both Bandit Queen and Thornwood Gavel were produced back-to-back and dealt with Wild West historical figures.
- Both Bandit Queen and Thornwood Gavel shared a temple game that was not used in any other S3 episode.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I'm going to switch gears a bit and mention some things I noticed upon rewatching "Electrified Key of Benjamin Franklin."

1. When Kirk is announcing the teams that will advance to the Steps of Knowledge, the Blue Barracudas' gong is not lit.

2. The Lucky Pillow of Annie Taylor is clearly in view when the camera pans to show the Electrified Key's location in the Throne Room. Is it possible that the camera crew did a panoramic of the whole temple with all of the artifacts from the same production day, then edited it to only show the appropriate artifact for each episode?

3. During the second individual temple game, Ronnie (the Green Monkey boy) tried to scale the wall by walking his feet straight up the facade of the wall without having a proper foothold. Would that be considered "cheating," even though he ended up losing that game?

4. Toward the end of the team game, one of the cannonballs launched by the Green Monkeys flew into the Dark Forest and took down a branch. I found it amusing. During that same game, every one of Michelle's shots backfired.

5. The tiebreaker was a bit unusual. After Ronnie gave the memorably incorrect "Ambassador!" response, Kirk almost forced the Blue Barracudas to answer without hearing the full question. Then once Olmec repeated and completed the question and answers, the Blue Barracudas rang in again and the gong sound effect went off again. Do you think that the tiebreaker was edited? Perhaps the Blue Barracudas really were the first to ring in and gave an incorrect answer, then the Green Monkeys rang in and gave an incorrect answer as well. As a result, they were both allowed to ring in again, but during editing, they cut out the Blue Barracudas ringing in the first time?

6. Michelle nearly began in the uncleared Crypt when she first entered the temple. Would we think of her the same way we do of Ryann if she had been removed from the temple by triple capture in that room? It would have been the quickest triple capture, beating Elizabeth I's Golden Ship by 3 or so seconds.

[The Red Jaguars]

2.) I think the producers did this intentionally since Benjamin Franklin and Annie Taylor were produced back-to-back. Since they filmed all the rounds together, it was easier for them to keep artifacts station in their respective round. You can see this a lot in S2 in fact like during the temple games and Steps of Knowledge. They did the same thing in "The Levitating Dog Leash of Nostradamus" when Olmec reveals the Dog Leash location. You can see the Broken Wing of Icarus in the Shrine, even though Nostradamus comes before Icarus.

3.) I am pretty sure Ronnie was cheating because the whole objective of the game was to create a path with the cubby holes to the top of the wall. I just watched the temple game, and Ronnie was climbing the wall without trying any of the cubby holes. Needless to say, he was dangling on the rope with this ineffective method and wouldn't have won anyways because his way was moronic.

5.) I don't think the tiebreaker was edited at all. When Olmec was reading the question, you can tell that Michelle was also attempting to ring her gong too. I am not sure why Michelle hit her gong though after the Blue Barracudas got the question wrong. I guess she assumed she needed to do this in order for her to get acknowledged? If you notice though, Michelle is pushing Peter's hand away from the gong before she gives her answer. I am guessing because she knew the answer and didn't want Peter to screw it up?

6.) I think Michelle would get more flack than Ryann if she made the same mistake. I mean she would've had more time left than Ryann when she was taken out. Luckily she corrected herself though because the last guard was definitely in the Crypt. It kind of seemed like she was entering any room that opened though. Like how she entered the Mine Shaft when she completed the Silver Monkey and then tried to jump in the Mine Shaft elevator.

Good observations, PP4L. I watched this one recently, so most of this stuff is fresh in my mind. Good episode to talk about too.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

after the Blue Barracudas got the question wrong.

Green Monkeys you mean?

Good observation on the tiebreaker thing though. I've never thought of that before. But like TRJ said, I don't think it was edited at all.

[Legend of Legends]

Michelle should've gone first. She most likely wouldn't commit the mistakes Peter made. It could've been a solo victory

[PurpleParrot4Life]

The next episode I'd like to turn our attention to is the Applewood Amulet of Emiliano Zapata.

1. This may have not been the only episode where it was visible, but there were markings on the floor near the gongs that notated where the teammates should stand after they rang their gongs. Although I am not entirely surprised, I had never taken note of that before. In the image below courtesy video posted by OlmecFan25 on youtube.com, you can clearly see the markings to either side of the Purple Parrot's gong, and there were others for each of the other gongs as well.



2. During the boys' temple game, they had to climb a wall using hand and footholds. This is the same game that was used in both "Annie Taylor" and "Benjamin Franklin." Both Jason (Purple Parrots) and Robert (Green Monkeys) decided to try scaling the wall using pure strength, not using footholds at all. They both ended up attempting to create footholds on the wall where there were not ones, and Jason even went around the side of the wall at one point. To my knowledge, neither contestant was penalized, disqualified, or told to change their strategy. This makes me think that Ronnie from "Benjamin Franklin" was not technically cheating during his version of this game, which was discussed a few posts ago.

[The Red Jaguars]

I love Emiliano Zapata. It is an episode I can always go back and watch and never gets old. 

1.) I guess the markings were there for the teams to stand once they hit their gongs? If you look closely, there is two markings for each team. Good find, as I have never seen this before.

2.) Maybe there was no correct way to climb the wall them? But it seemed like an ineffective way to not use the cubby holes as they provide support for the lower body while climbing to the top. Ronnie in "Benjamin Franklin" didn't use the cubby holes, and he only made it half-way up the wall.

Here are some more observations to make about "Emiliano Zapata".

- The Blue Barracudas were eliminated from the moat because the Silver Snakes were incorrectly sent back. This same Blue Barracuda team will appear later as Janet and Chris of the Purple Parrots in "The Priceless Portrait of the Polynesian Girl". Too bad they were eliminated though. I bet they felt like crap after that moat since they didn't do anything wrong, it was a spotter error. Oh well, at least they were given a second chance in an episode that was almost equally as exciting.

- One of the teams knock the top part of their gongs off during the moat.

- This episode mentions Pancho Villa in the Steps of Knowledge as an answer. Villa had a legend revolve around him in the previous episode in "Atocha".

- During the temple run, Kirk said that Olivia-Emma "wanted high adventures, and she is on one now.". I am assuming this is reference to a cut temple game interview that we do no see on camera.

- I am surprised how linear Olivia-Emma's and Robert's path was. There was no way they could stray from that path and no choices either for them at all.

[The Red Jaguars]

I just watched the "           " (Silk Ladder) episode last night and had several notes I wanted to point out:

1.) The episode title for this episode is very confusing. The Silk Ladder belonged to Maid Marian, so the episode should've been really called "The Silk Ladder of Maid Marian". But the episode also revolves around Robin Hood, which is why his name is in it too. But the producers never did this for any other episode title where they put two historical figures' names in it. Plus, there is no mention of "Silk" in the official episode title either even though it was referenced a lot in this episode.

2.) The Purple Parrots must've drank a lot of caffeine during the Steps of Knowledge, because they were moving their body around after every single answer was given. They would stomp like little kids when they didn't get an answer right.

3.) The Blue Barracuda's kids voice was very irritating too. Plus, he gave some really dumb answers that made no sense. In his defense though, the "Bow and Arrow skills" answer would've been accepted in later seasons.

4.) While we rag on the Silver Snakes for being undeserving of their win in this episode, Jeremy and Erika were actually a very good team before the temple run. They finished first in every round and answered all 3 questions at the Steps without any answers for being revealed. So they definitely deserved to go to the temple.

5.) The Silver Snake players had some really weird hobbies. Jeremy had over 10,000 spots cards and Erika collected 200+ pencils.

6.) The win does deserve all the hate it gets though. Erika actually did good though and made it through 5 rooms in under a minute. But Jeremy is the one that makes this win look bad and pathetic. He only had to push two actuators, but it takes him more than 1:30 to do so. This was actually the second fastest team win too after Benzibab.         

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I decided that this was a thread worth reviving, since a lot of interesting discussion came up and I would enjoy seeing it continue. I hope you all decide to join me in sharing your thoughts on some more "Points of Interest" and in coming up with some of your own as well.


At some point in the not-too-distant past, I recall us talking about Kirk's commentary during the temple runs and whether it enhanced or discouraged our feelings towards different episodes. I believe that most people found his commentary and enthusiasm to not influence each individual's opinions about the runs. If I recall correctly, episodes in which Kirk's commentary was taped separately and edited over the temple run were typically found to be more unwelcome/annoying. I happen to find that the more exciting runs tend to be those where Kirk, himself, was more lively, engaged, and emotive.

On that note, I rewatched the "Lucky Pillow of Annie Taylor" run. The first two minutes of this run have edited-over commentary where Kirk basically verbalizes exactly what Missy is doing and where she is going. It is not until she reaches the King's Storeroom with 1:02 left on the clock that the commentary switches back over to Kirk talking in "real-time." In my opinion, this is when Kirk's commentary becomes very animated and energetic. Does this realization impact your feelings about the power of Kirk's commentary? The cheering (regardless of whether it's real or from a laugh-track) is also livelier than normal once Missy reaches the artifact. Do you feel that any of these features helps promote "Lucky Pillow" as "one of the best temple runs ever"? Or is it strictly Missy's "high emotion" that has is usually mentioned during talks of this run?

I'm interested in your insights and opinions.

[The Red Jaguars]

I agree, PP4L, I always thought that Kirk's enthusiasm and encouragement made certain temple runs more enjoyable. Take "The Lucky Pig of Amelia Earhart" for example. I happen to find that run to be painful and cringe-worthy due to watch due to Kristen's stupidity. However, Kirk's support and words of encouragement towards Kristen made this run actually a little exciting to watch. Even though Kristen was so slow and clueless. I also loved the runs where there are Kirk Fogg-ups galore too. Runs like Map to the Lost Gold Mine, Lawrence of Arabia, Kamehameha, and Annie Oakley where Kirk screws up a lot are also memorable and enjoyable.

However, I did not enjoy the runs where Kirk had to shout at the players every five seconds. Runs like "Shiva" or "Thornwood Gavel" where Kirk is shouting at the contestants to run faster or to complete a certain objective are hard to watch. As for "Annie Taylor", I do think the episode is memorable for the amount of "enthusiasm" from Kirk and the audience. I always hated the voice over Kirk commentary in Season 2. It ruined many good runs like Enormous Iron Nose Ring, Annie Taylor, Ahmed Baba, and Billy the Kid. His "regular" commentary in the King's Storeroom in Annie Taylor was definitely the highlight of this run. Plus, John cheering and the audience going crazy after Missy grabs the Lucky Pillow makes the ending very exciting. And I think Missy's emotions also played a part on why Annie Taylor is very loved. For some reason, Missy stands out more than any other contestant for being emotional. I know Season 3 had contestants like Andrea, Kate, and Elisa who showed great excitement in every round, but Missy seemed like the only one in tears in her whole episode. It definitely adds value to her episode and win. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

However, I did not enjoy the runs where Kirk had to shout at the players every five seconds.

The Very Tall Turban of Ahmed Baba says hello.

And yeah, Season 2 had A LOT of voiced over runs. While it did add on the to excitement of the temple runs, Kirk sounded just plain awkward.