Some Thoughts about Temple Runs

[The Red Jaguars]

I am not too convinced by the pots theory myself, but I do think it is a more plausible explanation then some of the stuff said in the past like Christina being the one that puked in the Pit. It would be interesting though to see how different the Nathan Hale run would be if the artifact was in the Throne Room. I would assume that the temple guard layout would be different and it might not end in triple capture. However, Christina was still pretty slow in the temple and it would be like another "Benjamin Franklin" run where the team comes up short.

And I just rewatched the War Fan run today and I forgot how slow Elise was in this run. She took a long time to get to the Room of the Secret Password. I use to think that this team would've won if the production error did not occur. Now that I have watched it again, I think it would be a failed escape at best.

Out of all those teams, I think the Belshazzar team got screwed the most. They had their temple run postponed AND riddled with production errors. They probably would've won any other Shrine run in Season 1. I would give them and Dead Man's Hand a second chance in a heart beat.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, the Christina puking in the pit theory is a little far fetched, but I just don't think the producers would postpone a run due to faulty props. Maybe they would've postponed it for a minute, get the new pots set up, then resume. But I never ever believed that pots theory from Day 1. I always assumed Christina and James were too tired to do the run, or one of them got sick backstage before the temple run even started.

And yeah, Elise was pretty slow in the War Fan run. Maybe it would be a stretch to say the team would've won, but that production error never should've happened, period. It wasn't Jeremy or Elise's fault the Tomb door got stuck. I also agree with you about the Belshazzar kids. They really got robbed, and they were easily one of the, if not the, unluckiest teams on the show. Their temple layout was just like Blackbeard, only Katherine and Sean actually knew what they were doing. If they had say, Silver Saddle Horn's layout, they would've won that layout for sure.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I want to go back to discussing Billy the Kid for a second.

If it wasn't paired up with Cricket Cage in the tourneys, would you people still vote for it? Like, if it got paired up with Discarded Seal or Henry Morgan instead, would Billy the Kid still be your choice? And do you think it's gonna get far at all? Please answer me with your honest opinions. I just don't feel like Billy the Kid gets a lot of praise around here, it's more overlooked than Chandragupta.

[The Red Jaguars]

I would definitely go with Billy the Kid over Ivan the Terrible and Henry Morgan. All three episodes are classics, but Billy the Kid was a very special episode. I remember the whole episode all the way through and enjoyed every moment of it. Plus, Tony and Kelly's dominance really shines in this episode. Billy the Kid is one of those episodes where only a small handful of episodes could beat it. Ivan the Terrible was a great episode and Travis and Elisa rocked in it. But I don't remember much of the earlier rounds except the quick temple games. And the legend was kind of silly. Ivan the Terrible and Henry Morgan just don't stack up against Billy the Kid. I would probably vote even Billy the Kid over Chandragupta too.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I probably would've voted for Billy the Kid over Chandragupta, Henry Morgan, and maybe Discarded Seal too. Though Discarded Seal probably would've gotten my vote due to Travis and Elisa sweeping the temple games and their performance in the temple run. On the other hand, I've seen Discarded Seal over a million times and it was the first episode I ever saw on YouTube back in the day. Back when all we had for episodes on YouTube was Sir Gawain, Bandit Queen, and Lucky Pillow. I've seen Billy the Kid quite a bit too, but not nearly as much as the other four episodes I just mentioned.

Which leads me to another question. Are there any episodes you do get sick of watching? I mean, we always talk about episodes we never get sick of watching. But what about those episodes you've seen so many times you'd rather skip it? Just wondering.

[The Red Jaguars]

If I could choose one episode that I am sick of the most, then it would be Poseidon. This episode was played like every other day on Nick GaS and it had to be an episode with a big fail. Luckily, the earlier rounds were pretty interesting. But still, the temple run leaves a bad taste in my mouth for this episode. I know that Sir Gawain was played as much as Poseidon, but that episode never gets old to me. I actually like Sir Gawain because it was entertaining all the way through. Poseidon was slightly above average until the temple run.

Other episodes I get sick of watching or hearing about:
- Cracked Crown
- Grandy Nanny
- Jean Lafitte
- Silver Saddle Horn
- Robert the Bruce
- Hans Holbein
- Butch Cassidy
- Geronimo

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Silver Saddle Horn gets talked about a lot? I don't recall. There's nothing interesting about that episode. And I've grown tired of the Sir Gawain episode, since I used to watch it over a million times on YouTube. But I would never actually skip over it. It's memorable and an exciting episode in its own way.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, Sir Gawain was probably the most overplayed episode along with Poseidon. I am pretty sure Nick GaS at least showed it every other day for like 3 weeks straight. Luckily, it was a creative and exciting episode like you mentioned. I almost never have to watch it because I memorized every round of it any way. But the temple win is pretty exciting despite what people might say about it.

Another episode that I get tired of hearing about is Ahmed Baba. This episode seems to get talked about way too much. I am not sure why, because there is nothing that stands out about this episode except the solo win where Shane enters every room of the temple. This is not a recent trend either, but has always been like that. Especially a few years back where some people called Lea and Tarrah overrated contestants for their solo wins, but Shane was "actually a good contestant" for his solo win. I will take Enormous Iron Nose Ring and Lucky Medallion any day over this episode.

Another one I forgot to mention to is Stone Head. This episode gets talked about way too much. This is mostly because of the long ass moat and how bad Tony screwed up in the temple. Especially the Medusa's Lair part gets talked about too much. It feels like we are beating a dead horse everytime Tony is mentioned. Like PP4L mentioned earlier, no one talks about Lily-Crested Crown and Katie's time she spent in her room. And no one talks about how Jessica from Magellan spends almost a minute in the Shrine. I definitely am tired of hearing about Tony.

And then we have the episodes like Golden Cricket Cage, Snow Cone, Alhambra, Lost Hammer, and Blackbeard that are brought up a lot too. Although those don't really bother me because I don't mind bashing those episodes. Especially Cricket Cage, that episode deserves to be maligned every waking second. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I also find Shane overrated too. He was just an average player who just happened to dodge two temple guards. His layout was way too easy, that temple guard placement was basically asking for a win. Even the very first time I saw that run, I was just not impressed at all. Then we have Chandra from Leopard Skin Cloak, who had the exact same layout, with HARDER rooms, and made much better time than Shane ever did. They also both made the mistake of taking the elevator, and had artifacts in the central shaft. But Shane enters the King's Storeroom and still gets to keep going. But since the Purple Parrots always have terrible luck, Chandra gets taken out one room away.

So let me ask you this, which player do you prefer? Shane or Chandra? Forget about who won, and forget about who had what layout. Like I've said before, layouts are irrelevant to me. Which contestant did you like better and why.

[The Red Jaguars]

Shane was pretty good compared to most Season 2 contestants, but I don't see how he did anything special that puts him ahead of the rest of the boys from that season. Ty had a strong and fast performance, Joel was amazingly fast despite his bad temple exit, Jason from Nostradamus was fast and use the Dog Leash in the Pit, Tony from Billy the Kid move through the temple swiftly, Shem hauled ass through the temple, etc. Shane just completed most of his rooms at an average pace. Chandra gets my vote because she was stronger and more memorable to me than Shane. Plus, Chandra's layout was tougher than Shane's also. The Jester's Court and Room of the Secret Password were harder than the Swamp and Lightning Room. Plus, the one room away guard was very cheap. The Green Monkeys wouldn't have even reached the Turban if they had the one room away guard. I honestly like The Trojan Horseshoe better than Ahmed Baba.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

One thing that irks me is that Shane is somehow comparable to Tony from Billy the Kid. Shane enters almost every single room of the temple, and completely lucks into his temple layout, but he gets nothing but praise. But Tony makes one mistake of detouring into the Ledges, and he's suddenly a bad player. How are Shane and Tony on the same wavelength when they are two completely different temple runs? Yes Tony's layout was pretty easy too, but his temple run came down to the wire. Shane's temple run was just plain boring and dragged on. Shane is in no way, shape, or form an amazing player. Ty, Joel, and even Tony were stronger and faster players than him, like you said above.

And I also prefer Chandra to Shane. Her layout was MUCH harder, with the Crypt and the Jester's Court, instead of the Ledges and moseying across a Swamp. And Chandra made much better time than Shane did too. I believe Chandra was removed from the temple with 53 seconds on the clock. While Shane entered the King's Storeroom with about 35 seconds left. Only Shane gets to win, and Chandra is taken out one room away. Both Leopard Skin Cloak and Billy the Kid put together, were far more exciting than the completely average Very Tall Turban. Shane was a decent player sure, but he wasn't THAT great.

[The Red Jaguars]

One thing that people also overlook for Shane is that he almost went down the central shaft after grabbing the Turban. I have to give him credit for NOT pulling a Ron/Tara and blowing the win, but he did almost make the same mistake as them. But overall, Chandra was a consistently better contestant than Shane in her episode. She definitely made better time than Shane also, who took the same path as Chandra but had easier rooms. The only good thing I have to say about the Ahmed Baba run is that it is interesting to watch if you want to see a lot of the temple rooms being completed. Especially the rare completion of the Lightning Room. But it just does not stack up well against most wins in Season 2.

And I can't believe I forgot to mention that I am sicking of hearing about Shaka Zulu. This run must be brought up in every video on Youtube. Yes Youtubers, we know that Shaka Zulu was the fastest win. We know that a production error occurred in that episode too. It's like you are watching an episode like Benzibab and you scroll down the comments and see "The Silver Snakes had a very fast win, but Shaka Zulu holds the best time". It definitely is the most overtalked about run on the whole show, whether people are calling it the best win or not. THIS is the episode I am most sick of right now. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I hate Shaka Zulu. It is extremely overrated on YouTube. Even someone on Ed's site called the run "amazing" and "impressive" just for one reason. And that reason is "he was fast and won in quick time. So therefore it's the best win ever." I realize everyone is entitled to their opinions and everything, like I get that. But there's so much more to a win than a path someone takes and however quick the time is.

[The Red Jaguars]

I definitely don't think Bobby would've won if his team was forced to take the long way in the temple. Since he met a guard in the Cave of Sighs, there was definitely one on the upper floor. Probably in the Shrine. So he probably would've been taken out with 1:40 left and Brittany would've had a long path tot follow. And assuming she wasn't slow like most Season 1 girls, she would've grabbed the Mask with very little time. This is probably the most undeserving win next to            . At least people don't gush over Silk Ladder as much as Shaka Zulu. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Well, now you're just stating the obvious.

And here's a question: We always give Tony and Kelly so much credit for dominating every round. So do Jeremy and Erika deserve credit for doing nearly the same thing? I personally don't think they deserve it, but tell me what you think. And feel free to use as many smileys as you want. Since I know you just love to do that for this particular episode.