As Requested: When I was 12, I was a contestant on Nikelodeon's "Legends of the Hidden Temple". AMA!

Was putting together the monkey statue really that fucking hard?

I didn't make it that far, but I can't imagine it was. I mean its 3 goddam pieces. How hard can that be?!?! But I suppose when you are exhausted (that sequence rarely shot before 10 pm) and full of adrenaline, even simple tasks seem difficult.

Did you get to keep the shirt?

Sure did! I used to cherish it, until it was destroyed in a house fire in college :(

"Kirk Fogg" always seemed the worst host ever. So bad he would go to give high fives and be rejected on air by the kids. Was he really that much of a tool?

He refused to interact with us at all unless it was on camera, and even then it was pretty minimal contact, so hard to say. But my gut says yeah, total tool.

Maybe I missed something but which team were you on?

I was the female half of the red jaguars

Was your teammate somebody you knew or was it a random match up the day of?

Totally random.

Do you still talk to your teammate?

havent' spoken to him since that day.

Did you see the guy who did the voice of Olmec thus having a "Man behind the curtain" moment?

Nope. That would have probably ended my childhood on the spot.

• What (if anything) did you win?
• Best game in your opinion?
• Would you do it again?

1) According to the broadcast I won a game called "Magical Maze". What actually arrived on my doorstep was Moon Shoes. I'm not sure if there was a mix up or if they just randomly plug certain products as "prizes" for marketing purposes. Either way, I was pretty pumped about the moon shoes.

2) I loved the show as a kid. I also really liked Guts and Double Dare too. It was definitely in my top 5.

3) I would totally do it again. It was fun! and I got to miss a day from school--every middle schooler's dream.

Awesome! I always wanted those stupid moon shoes when I was a kid too but I never even saw them anywhere! Did they work? lol

yep! they rocked! But they were super loud on tile floors so I always had to play with them outside.

Did you win a brand new Zenith Color Television?!?!

Sadly, no. That would have been awesome (but I am positive I wouldn't have been able to keep the tv in my room even if I had won it)! I won moon shoes, almost as cool.

How much time between "puzzles" did you have to sit and wait? Was the host cool or a dick off camera?

We never saw the host off camera. He never came to our holding room to introduce himself, and never spoke to us on set unless they were filming. As for the lag time-- there was A TON. They film 4 episodes at once. And I'm assuming because of the constraints of the set size/setup they filmed each sequence of the 4 shows together before moving onto the next. So 4 moat scenes, 4 temple scenes, etc. The shows contestants were separated by age, and I seem to recall my show being a particularly young group. One of the older groups had to shoot their moat scene twice.

Makes me wonder what happened during the first take...

they all kept falling in the water. No one was able to make it to the other side. I guess it was taking to long and the kids were soaked to the bone. the stopped filming, made them all change, and then start again.

Did you talk to the kids from the other episodes, and did you try to stratagise with your fellow Jaguars?

We were kept completely separated. The only people we saw were the rest of our cast and the PA assigned to us.

Has it ever got you laid?

I've never used as bait, so as of now, no. Perhaps I should start?

Were the monsters as scary as they seemed to like seven year old me? I remember I peed myself when someone got caught once...

I didn't actually get to see one in person, but I would imagine not. Most of the stuff on the set looked pretty hoakie in person. I remember being surprised at how different it all seemed on TV.

Holy shit I remember that show.

Was that atmosphere a lot different then portrayed on tv?

YES!! the sound stage was TINY!! And the crowd was shuffled between various TV shows, so for each segment we had a different audience, who for example may have just come from Guts. And our parents weren't allowed in the audience, so there was no one you loved to cheer you on.

Why in the world weren't your parents allowed in the audience?

I don't know. I guess because the audience was soooo small that our families would have literally taken up the whole thing. I assume they didn't want rowdy parents screaming at you by name and ruining the shot. I actually wasn't allowed to see my mom at all until we were done filming. The parents were carted off to a secluded area that had a monitor so they could watch.

Where was the show filmed? I recall going to Universal Studio's in the 90's and going through the Nickolodeon "soundstage" - like you said, we were shuffled from set to set but never saw any actual filming. I'm pretty sure it was just an attraction and not the actual sets used for filming, but I'd like to confirm that.

It was shot at Universal in Orlando. I don't remember specifically where on their lot, other than we were nowhere close to tourists. We were however, just a few feet from the Seaquest DSV stage.

Overall how much time did filming take?

Also, I was too young to even think about applying while this show was on the air. How were you chosen?

We had to arrive at 6:30am. I was released from filming in the early afternoon. They fed us breakfast and lunch. So yeah, for roughly 7 or so minutes of fame it took about 8 hours. I lived in Orlando at the time and one afternoon during the overhead anouncements, the principal said LotHT was looking for contestants. If we were interested we should call this number. So I called when I got home and was given a time to come in and audition. Pretty simple actually :) Most of the kids in the shows are local.

What did you get for breakfast and lunch?

muffins and pizza

Did you have to try out to be on the show? If so, what was that like?

I did have to try out. I showed up to a gymnasium at Universal Studios on a saturday morning. I was given a 2 page history test and asked to do a few obstacle challenges. Took about an hour. I got a call a few days later telling me I had been picked and when my taping was.

A...history test?

yes, but I remember thinking it was super easy. At least that is what my mom says I told her.

A great 90's show. What was your favorite challenge or game you did on the show. Likewise, wish you could have tried?

I thought the moat challange was fun, and we happend to make it across first. The episode of older kids that filmed right before us (and had the same moat challange) were so terrible that everyone was so soaked they had to change clothes and reshoot the entire sequence. I remember not liking the steps very much, but that's probably because we didn't win. I remember knowing all the answers but not being able to "stomp in" fast enough. Obvoiusly, I would have loved to have competed for the whole show. Instead I am left to live vicariously through my classmate who did make it to the temple...and then lost.

I probably met you because I worked on the show. I'm sorry about your shirt, I'm sure I have a few in a box somewhere in storage. If I ever come across one, I'll PM you! :)

SWEET!!! Thanks :) So in case my pictures don't serve as enough proof hopefully you can verify that what I am saying seems correct, no?

Why were the red jaguars and blue baracudas always winning, but the silver snakes and orange iguanas hardly ever made it past the moat? Were there teams that were purposely set up to make it farther than the others?

I don't know. That's funny that you mention that, because I remember being disappointed to be a red jaguar. For some reason I thought they always lost. I guess you just remember your favorite teams winning.

• Was any of the magic of the show lost after you'd been a competitor?
• Were you disappointed with any part of the experience?

I was disappointed I didn't make it to the final two, but all-in-all it was a total blast! Additionally, on my way out I ran into Jonathan Brandis (who was there to film Seaqust DSV) whom I was totally OBSESSED with at the time.

How old were you at the time?

Did you know your teammate prior to the day of filming?

Worst and best part of the experience?

I was 12. I had never met my partner before, and have never talked to him since. Best part was meeting Jonathan Brandis (I was convinced I was going to marry him). Worst part was not winning.

What was the screening process to get onto the show like?

had to take a history test and do a couple of obstacle challanges. The whole thing took and hour tops. I'm pretty sure they were just looking for bodies.

How fucking excited were you when you found out you were going to be on the show?

So freakin pumped!

haha i'd say you had the most energy on this episode. as an adult, do you still jump up and down as much?

Not without lots of coffee. Our PA told us that if we wanted more screen time we needed to be enthusiastic and happy. I hammed it up for the fame.

How did you land the spot on the show?

My school principal mentioned during the daily announcements that the show was looking for contestants. I called the number he gave out, auditioned, and the rest is history.

This is incredible. I post on a hockey message board, and one day it was brought up that one of the posters was also on the show. The incredible part is that he was also in this very episode!!! He is the boy on the Silver Snakes. I can try and get him to contribute on here as well if you would like.

that's awesome!!

Are/were you a Jeopardy fan? It sounds like you responded with "What is the Governor?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsqXBkuaYPo&t=7m28s

yes. I used to watch jeopardy every day with my mom. And I was really really nervous.

Were the mouth pieces as big as they look?

They were huge!! Good training though ;)

Did your being on the show make you the coolest fucking cat on the block?

No. A lot of my classmates had been on the show too, or guts, etc. Nikelodeon uses mostly locals. The reaction was "You are going to be on LotHT? Oh cool... can I see your homework from yesterday? I didn't finish mine."