Legends Of The Hidden Temple is a classic kids game show from my childhood, and I was shocked when I heard they brought it back on The CW. And while it's okay, it does some changes that make it a shadow its former self.
Hosted by Cristela Alonzo (although I have heard Kirk Fogg may be taking over later on), the teams are now made up of two adults (be it siblings or best friends), and the starting roster is trimmed down to four (meaning two of the six teams are unused in an episode), and the set is outdoors with no crowd (no doubt due to COVID restrictions), which makes the reboot feel like it has an element of long-running realty competition Survivor mixed in. You can tell this reboot is aimed more at adults as the legends do get dark (the first episode's treasure, the lucky losing ball of the hero twins, is a story of twin Mayan brothers seeking revenge on two underworld demons who murdered their father), but it keeps the core gameplay, only changed to accommodate the adult contestants and reduced teams (as only three go to the Steps of Knowledge, and the grand prize is $25,000 instead of a trip to Space Camp).
However, the way it's done is a major problem. During the competition, the show sometimes adds in interviews with the team in the middle of them, which gets in the way of the action and adds to the Survivor feel this reboot seems to be aiming for. Also, the Temple Games offers full pendants of life, with the first team getting two moving on to the Temple Run, which can make the run boring as it eliminates instant losses (that, and the Temple Run are interrupted by a commercial break). However, it has some pluses. Dee Bradley Baker returns as the voice of Olmec, Cristela does a good job hosting (as she does not rely on sass and being stereotypical to do her job), and the set is greater and grander given its outdoor setting. Basically, this show is meant to be nothing more than to appeal to nostalgia, and hopefully, when the pandemic ends, the show can fix and improve its problems.
