The 'Legends of the Hidden Temple' host explains why putting together the silver monkey was so hard
Any '80s or '90s kid who watched Nickelodeon will remember the epic kids' game show "Legends of the Hidden Temple." Now, Nickelodeon has rebooted the franchise with a full-length "Legends of the Hidden Temple" movie, and the network brought the nostalgia factor to a special New York Comic Con panel featuring both the original and new cast.
The host of the show, Kirk Fogg, plus the man behind Olmec, Dee Bradley Bakery, were on hand to answer questions about the series.
Both Fogg and Baker are in the upcoming feature film, reprising their roles as "host" and "Olmec" with a cast of three young kids. But during the NYCC panel, much of the conversation was focused on the original Nickelodeon series.
One of the first things asked during an audience Q&A was about the Shrine of the Silver Monkey - a section of the temple-themed obstacle course that seemed to trip up contestants again and again.
"I wanted to know why the heck nobody could put together the silver monkey in the temple?" a woman asked Fogg and Bradley.
"There's an answer for that," Fogg said quickly. "Yeah. Well, the answer to that question is IT WAS REALLY HARD!"
The fan wasn't buying it. "But it was three pieces!" she yelled back.
"I know but you gotta remember that the Temple was ginormous," Fogg replied. "It was all the way down at the other side so by the time you get down there, first of all you're really out of gas. Then it's all silver, okay? And then the base seems like the pretty easy one to do but sometimes you can get it turned around the wrong way. But then it was the second piece - that was the tough one."
We should take Fogg's word for it. Earlier in the panel he told the audience that he would run the temple obstacle course before each season began, so he knew what the kids were up against. Apparently the silver monkey just appears deceptively simple.
"It could be upside down and you couldn't tell that it was upside down," Bradley chimed in. "And then you just think you're crazy and you use the other piece when it's really that one."
The final piece - the monkey's head on a long stoical - always seemed trickiest. Kids would struggle to get the pole all the way through the other pieces.
"Sometimes I would just yell from my microphone 'JUST JAM IT DOWN! JAM IT!'" Fogg said as the audience laughed.
If you still don't believe in the Silver Monkey's tricky powers, Nickelodeon has set up an interactive booth at New York Comic Con. Anyone can try their hand at assembling the Silver Monkey as fast as possible. And don't worry, there are no temple guards on stand-by who can scare you.
The "Legends of the Hidden Temple" movie premieres November 26th on Nickelodeon.