Why Legends Of The Hidden Temple Was Such A Huge Hit, According To Its Host

legends of the hidden temple

Nickelodeon is in the middle of a nineties resurgence right now. The network has an entire block of programming called Splat devoted to former network favorites, and there's even a resurgence of old programs happening. One of the ways Nick is bringing the nineties back is by signing on for a Legends of the Hidden Temple movie. Now Kirk Fogg, who hosted the original series and will be back for the new movie, is explaining exactly why the game show worked so well in the first place. Namely, he says that people became excited about the series because it seemed like an attainable goal.

Well, it's funny because back in the day, people would be obsessed with Gilligan's Island or something like that... but this was a show where I felt like everybody really felt like they had a shot at doing it.

I don't know if I'm more impressed by this answer or the random Gilligan's Island shoutout, but Kirk Fogg made an interesting point while speaking to MTV. Most shows on television take us into a world of fantasy. We watch characters recite dialogue that would almost never be as witty in real life. They fly dragons and drink way too many cocktails and sometimes even fight zombies on our small screens. These are things the average person is most certainly never going to do, well maybe sans the booze overload part. However, Legends of the Hidden Temple was different than Nickelodeon's other shows. Like other game shows, it allowed regular, everyday kids to come in and compete. Unlike other game shows, Legends of the Hidden Temple let kids also go on a wild adventure and indulge a fantasy, and even meet a giant talking head.

It's that fantasy aspect that will play a part in the new Legends of the Hidden Temple movie that Nickelodeon has planned. Instead of being a game show, the film will follow three kids who are part of a jungle tour and then wander off away from the group. Life in the jungle isn't so easy, and the kids will encounter obstacles similar to the ones in the original nineties game show. Would I prefer to see some kids throw up while trying to navigate the Pit of Despair? Yes, yes I would. Will I not not watch this? Let's just say, Nickelodeon has me intrigued.

So far we don't know a ton about the Legends of the Hidden Temple movie, but we do know that Nickelodeon is planning to air the new TV movie on Saturday, November 26 at 8 p.m. ET. Be sure to set your DVRs accordingly. You can find out what else is headed to TV soon with our fall TV premiere schedule and check out what else we know about Legends of the Hidden Temple, here.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.