By [ad_1]
Legends of the Hidden Temple is getting another shot at life on The CW. The iconic game show, which originally ran from 1993 to 1995 on Nickelodeon, will return with at least one familiar face: that of Olmec, a sentient stone statue voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. This time around, however, he’ll be joined by a new partner. Actor-writer Cristela Alonzo will act as host on the reboot — and, as someone who grew up with the series herself, she couldn’t be more excited about it.
Speaking to CBR, Alonzo shared her own experiences with the original series, as well as what makes the upcoming reboot so special to her. She revealed how she bonded with all of the contestants over their shared love of the game and what the reboot has in store for longtime fans of the show. She recalled her experiences working with Baker, from his hands-on approach to Olmec to his talent as a voice actor, and how the series updated the challenges for adults. She also teased some hidden Easter eggs, discussed what makes the Temple Guards so scary and more.
CBR: What was your familiarity with Legends of the Hidden Temple when you boarded the reboot?
Cristela Alonzo: I used to watch it growing up, so I freaked out when I got the chance to host it. For me, that was the golden time of Nickelodeon. It really was the first time that I felt like I had my own programming meant for me. So I remember watching it on the weekends; it was like the thing to do! So, for me to get asked to host this was a big deal for me. It’s one of those things where you’re like, “No, get out! Really?! The show? Like, Olmec?! We’re talking Olmec?” So I was very excited.
In the first episode, you point out that one of Olmec’s legends is tied to your culture. What was it like to explore that through a television show you grew up loving?
It’s kind of surreal. I mean, first of all, look, let’s get the most basic thing out of the way: Olmec says my name. The fact that Olmec says Cristela is kind of mind boggling, right? Because my name is different! My name is not the kind of name that when you go to a gift shop, you find it on a license plate for your bike. For me, when Olmec said Cristela, I was like, “Aaaahhh!” So it was already a big deal.
How can I put it into words? The whole experience seems — honestly, I gotta tell you, I don’t know if it has really hit me yet! I mean, it’s like that thing where you’re in it, and you’re like, “Wait a minute! I’m sorry, is this for real?”
Dee Bradley Baker came back as the voice of Olmec. Did you get to work with him at all? What was it like to co-star with him?
Oh, yes. You know, actually, he’s in the statue where we shoot! He actually controls the statue! Yeah, we did that, because that’s what he did in the first version of the show. He controls the statue; he moved it. So we had to do that again in this version. He was on set with me the entire time!
How did that change the way you approached Olmec as a character?
It’s kind of funny, because when you meet Dee — this is an appreciation that I think goes really unnoticed. You know, if you’re not a fan of animation or just voiceover, you don’t realize the importance of the voice actor. You meet Dee Bradley Baker, it’s Dee’s voice, and he’s just being Dee, right? You’re talking to him, you’re like, “Oh, yeah, this is Olmec!” Because you’re talking to him as Dee, as himself, you kind of forget that he is Olmec.
Then… when it’s time to become Olmec, he’s Olmec, and the voice is different, and the voice is powerful. It is that thing where you realize, “Oh, he’s a different person!” You kind of forget that he’s Dee! You really do see it as Olmec. Like I said, I was giddy when he calls my name out, and I knew it was him!
You’ve done a little voice acting yourself! Did he give you any advice, or did you pick up any pointers by watching him work?
100%! Like I said, the voice actor, I think that that’s one of those jobs that doesn’t get enough coverage. When you see someone like Dee, that can switch from voice to voice to voice at the turn of a dime when it comes to certain characters, you realize the work and the talent that goes into it. Me, playing Cruz Ramirez [in Cars 3], I was doing myself! I was playing a version of myself with Cruz.
When you see him do characters, he really creates the characters. That’s something that you realize that’s a different skill. When I see him work, I realized that, for me, I’m very lucky to have been able to be part of the Pixar family. I’m glad I’m so lucky that I got to be Cruz Ramirez, because what someone like him does, that’s a skill. That’s a talent, and that’s who he is and what he’s here for. It shows you — it showed me the work. So for me, it was just one of those things where I’m like, “Oh, yeah, no, he’s the pro!” [laughs] I just went in and laughed like myself!
Regarding the contestants, did you find yourself rooting for any specific teams?
You know, it’s one of those things where I actually, when we started working on it, there was a point where I had to ask if it was okay to cheer people on. I gotta tell you, that’s one thing about this really kind of weird world that I’m in where I’m hosting this show that I grew up watching. So I find that my habits as a kid come out as an adult. Now, as a kid, I cheered people on from my house. So I want to cheer people on as well… It’s weird for me!
I wasn’t cheering on the Silver Snakes specifically, or the Blue Barracudas. I was actually cheering on the people that were there, because everyone was so happy to be there. I gotta tell you, it was a different energy. It’s hard to explain, because, yeah, it’s the show; they’re competing for $25,000, and that’s great. But when you get to meet and know these contestants, you get to know that some of them are there for a reason. Some of them are there because it reminded them of a special part in their life, that was connected to a big moment of their life…
I loved getting to know them; I still keep in touch with them. It’s this really special connection. When you get to know them, I realized I wanted to cheer all of them on, but more importantly, as the host, my job, I want to make them look good. I want them to be the stars of the show, because we wouldn’t have a show with them. Those contestants, I was very lucky to meet and understand like, “Oh, we’re all part of the same fan club, and we are all geeking out that we’re here.” And that’s a good thing!
How did you cope with the fact that only one team would make it to the final round?
It’s really hard. It’s that thing where, because we’re all on this adventure together, you know that you want everybody to win, right? But at the same time, what you see is that people were just really happy to be there. I gotta tell you — it can be hard to describe this — the contestants loved wearing their shirts, because the shirts were iconic. They reminded them of childhood right? So even when they lost, there were contestants that were very happy that they were wearing the Blue Barracuda T-shirt, that they were wearing the Red Jaguar T-shirts.
That’s when you realize, again, it represented so much more than actually winning the challenge. That’s one thing I’ve learned. Like I said, I still keep in touch with contestants now! The contestants, they’ll tell you they were just so excited, looking back, to just even be on it! They love it. They’re throwing parties to show off that they were in it, which makes me happy.
Infamously, the Purple Parrots was always considered the worst team on the show. Is the reboot a little more balanced, in terms of winning teams?
Yes, it is. I will say that, you know, people think that they have their favorites. One thing about this show, just in general, is that sometimes the teams that you think are going to be the favorites or the best might be overshadowed by somebody else. That’s part of the fun of the show, is that it’s not necessarily this — you’re right! Back in the day, there were certain teams that you knew, “Oh, they’re probably going to go all the way.” This season, you really don’t know, and that’s what makes it cool.
What I love about the show, too, is that when you watch it, you feel like you have a chance of doing it too, because it’s a little variety of how to be good at the show. You don’t have to be super athletic. You have to be able to answer questions about the legend. It’s very diverse. I always say you have to be determined. That’s how you get ahead in this case. The determination beats everything else.
How will we see the challenges and the stories evolve as the season continues?
I’ll say this about the physical challenges. I think that one thing that we did a really great job on is we kept the elements in the spirit of the original show for kids; we just made it for adults… The round after the Steps of Knowledge, when the teams go head-to-head in the physical challenges, the challenges themselves, when you see what they have to do, there’s a lot of very kid-like skills, actions, movements that you’ll see and just really enjoy them, because they’re adults doing them.
I think that, for some reason, we think that — as adults — everything has to be so polished and very difficult or high tech or whatever it is, especially in the time that we live in now. Sometimes you realize that the classic challenges of having to maybe fill a bucket is really hard! [laughs] I think it’ll be a really cool surprise for people.
What was your “pinch me” moment on the series? The one that made you go, “I can’t believe I’m doing this!”?
There’s gonna be two things I’ll say. I say two, because one I really can’t say. I’ll say that, if you watch the original show, there are Easter eggs in the show that will really excite you. So if you know the original, you’ll love these Easter eggs. So that’s all I can say about that.
Second thing: the Temple Guards. Honestly, look, the Temple Guards scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid, right? Obviously, you know they’re there! You know the Temple Guards are the Temple Guards. You know what they’re there to do! Let me tell you, they’re terrifying! I was surprised at how scared I was and I knew they were the Temple Guards! It’s one of those things where you suspend disbelief and you’re in that moment, and you’re like, [gasp] “The Temple Guards! And I don’t have a Pendant of Life on me!”
What is one thing you cannot wait for fans of the old series to see?
One of the coolest things that I think people will love, if you watched the old one, is that there is almost like a throwback element that you will see in one of the episodes that is so cool that when you see it, you’re like, “No way this is real!” It’s one of those things that, again, if you see it, it all ties up nicely in a little bow that I think fans of the show will love. Absolutely love!
The CW’s Legends of the Hidden Temple reboot premiers Sunday, Oct. 10 at 8 pm ET/PT.
About The Author
[ad_2]
