I am extremely curious about Nickelodeon's Legends of the Hidden Temple movie, because while it feels primed for nostalgia when it comes to the 90s kids who watched it (myself included), it also is geared towards Nickelodeon's current audience. So will it appeal to both? Can it? Nickelodeon is certainly hoping to double-down on the nostalgia factor by also premiering a Double Dare special that will bring back host Marc Summers and his right-hand woman Robin Russo to commemorate that series as well.
If you haven't been keeping up, the Legends movie stars Isabela Moner (Transformers 5), Colin Critchley and Jet Jurgensmeyer as siblings who find themselves competing in the jungle game where the stakes are life-or-death (I really hope they do play this up). Original host Kirk Fogg, as well as the original voice of Olmec, Dee Bradley Baker, are also part of the movie (huzzah!) to tie it in closely with the original game show. Nickelodeon is also creating an online game where you can play as one of the siblings and try and recover pieces of the Pendant of Life (but not try and put together the Shrine of the Silver Monkey -- it's too hard, you'll never do it!)
As for Double Dare, Nickelodeon is promising vintage footage, behind-the-scenes content and "messy new games" taped this year in the half-hour special. Summers commented in a press release that,
“Double Dare was the show for a particular generation. For the kids of the ‘80s and ‘90s, they laughed and learned, and got messy in the process. Thirty years later, I believe it’s still the gold standard.”
Double Dare ran from 1986 to 1993, which means it was the network's longest running game show. It also set a precedent for other Nick game shows that were also about physical feats, like GUTS and of course Legends of the Hidden Temple. (Side thought: Are there any shows like that for kids today, or did those kids just grow up to become American Ninja Warrior contestants?)
The Double Dare special will premiere Wednesday, November 23rd at 9 p.m. on Nick at Nite, because we are old and that programming bloc is for us now. The Legends of the Hidden Temple movie premieres Saturday, November 26th at 8 p.m., and you can read the full synopsis for it below:
The Legends of the Hidden Temple TV movie follows three siblings, Sadie (Moner), Noah (Critchley), and Dudley (Jurgensmeyer), who break away from a lackluster tour in a jungle, finding themselves immersed in a high-stakes adventure comprised of obstacles that they must complete in order to escape alive. The TV movie will feature elements from the original game show including: Olmec, a talking stone head who greets anyone who dares to enter the temple; The Steps of Knowledge, the entrance to the temple and launching pad for the mission; and cameos from a green monkey, red jaguar, and silver snakes, among others.
