Do you want to learn about autism? Just ask Olmec. “Legends of the Hidden Temple” is a classic kids game show that ran on Nickelodeon in the mid-90s, and it was recently revived as a prime-time show on the CW with adults contestants, many of whom were fans of the original show when they were kids and now their own fantasies of coming on the show and competing to go into the Temple and search for lost treasures are coming to life (again for some people too as one winning team consisted of two men who competed on the original show when they were kids). They even brought back the host of the original show, Kirk Fogg, as a cameo in some episodes, although it’s just to appear in the final round’s temple run for the grand prize if the winning team makes it out with the treasure, which most people would find creepy.
Unlike an all-quiz format or all-physical format most other game shows follow, both for adults and kids, Legends of the Hidden Temple took both approaches. Olmec is a giant Easter Island-style stone head (and this was over a decade before the first “Night at the Museum” movie). After some of the teams made it across the moat, he’d tell a story about a historical artifact tied to a famous-or even infamous-person from history. The contestants then had to answer comprehension questions revolving around the story, giving brainiacs a role in the game and fans were imagining they could be in the game as well, and I personally know a lot of other people with autism who only exercise from the neck up. The physical challenges that followed were also based on the story Olmec told as well as general knowledge revolving around the time the person the artifact revolved around lived in. Sometimes they would slingshot cannonballs at enemy soldiers or spin on a big circle to earn the Pendants of Life they needed to make it to the temple, allowing the participants who may not make it to the end a chance to use their skills, ultimately to win a trip to Smugglers’ Notch or Space Camp in the original show or 25 grand on Chime in the current show. The runner-up prizes were nothing to write home about as you would expect-Super Soakers, backpacks, watches, shoes, cases of Nesquik chocolate milk powder, savings bonds from Nestle and Chef Boyardee and VHSs (that’s how far this show goes back) of Disney movies for the original and Razor electric scooters for the new one. But it wasn’t the prizes that really mattered, it was mostly about the fantasy of crossing the moat and jumping into the Pit of Despair (watch the show if you want to get those references).
The real lesson Olmec taught on the show time and again isn’t about the silver horseshow of Butch Cassidy or the electrified key of Benjamin Franklin but about keeping multi-step directions in mind while jumping in water at the moat, building the statue in the iconic Shrine of the Silver Monkey, waiting for scary temple guards to attack you in various rooms of the temple and answer questions on the fly. If you’re on the spectrum especially, you know the term for this: processing.
Take this following test: watch the segment of any episode of either show where Olmec tells the story before the contestants have to answer questions revolving around said story at the steps of knowledge. Then watch the part where Olmec describes the first temple game and what the contestants have to do. After that, try repeating the steps of knowledge part on yourself. Then imitate wearing a mouth guard with either an actual mouth guard or holding a piece of bread in your mouth while repeating the story and game instructions and turn some loud music on your phone to mimic the crowd and make a call about your phone and cable TV plans to reduce costs. Once you’ve completed all that, you’ve replicated the mind of someone with autism who also has an auditory processing disorder. The adult contestants on the current show don’t have to deal with this since all the action takes place outdoors.
Why is Legends of the Hidden Temple so popular now as it was back when it first premiered if someone with autism couldn’t actually manage being on the show? I don’t know if any contestants who’ve competed to date have autism or not. I think there are two reasons why the show has developed the cult following it has. The first is the nostalgia factor of shows which spoke to us as kids which are still relevant and can be enjoyed by adults without having to hide it and enjoy it in secret like sitcoms aimed at middle schoolers which are still important to people like me and no one else so I can’t enjoy talking about those shows like I would with others. With the popularity of the reboot, I can enjoy the concept all over again and know I’m not the only one who does. The second reason is I like the fact that history is continuing to make a comeback as a popular topic-one of my sisters is a fan of Drunk History and several podcasts. My mom binges shows like Call the Midwife, Outlander and Poldark and the HBO Max series The Gilded Age has joined the fold and given me hope that there are people watching more than the beyond-overrated The Bachelor and Big Brother. I’m a fan of the horror-themed history podcast Lore, so I can consider myself part of this group too I suppose. These history-based shows, including Legends of the Hidden Temple, have made actual events the subject of entertainment for people who own books and other “Muggles”.
Legends of the Hidden Temple was always designed with the potential to be educational as well as entertaining, but it’s not just about the history for me. Olmec offers a window into the mind of someone with autism-and it has its own set of puzzles, more complex than the Shrine of the Silver Monkey or the Queen’s Armory). The challenges in the autism mind are associated with the challenges of sensory overload with the Pit of Despair but it also has the opportunity to overcome the unexpected, like getting attacked by Temple Guards and the now-creepy cameos of Kirk Fogg. It allows the “Muggle” mind a window into these people and the courage it often takes for them to work at and overcome barriers of mastering the go-with-the-flow, ten-details-at-100-miles-an-hour pace which can make a lot of people melt down and retreat. I know I’ve had times when I did that. Everyone has their own range of mountains in front of where they need to go and want to be, but with a show like Legends of the Hidden Temple, people on a different path from the path of autism can walk in their shoes. Who’d have thought a giant talking stone head could teach so much beyond history and geography?
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