Nickelodeon is Reviving LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE and HEY ARNOLD as TV Movies
As the pendulum of youth culture's nostalgia continues to swing away from the 1980s and slide firmly into the area of the '90s, Nickelodeon is seeking to capitalize on that by bringing back two of its beloved television shows in the form of TV movies. Variety reports that the network is working on a live-action adaptation of Legends of The Hidden Temple, the classic game show that aired from 1993-1995.
In “Hidden Temple,” three siblings must conquer a series of obstacles to remain alive, mirroring the theme of the original game show. The TV movie, slated to appear in the fourth quarter of 2016, will nod to other elements from the original show, including Olmec, a talking head who knows the secrets behind 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. Isabela Moner, known from her role on Nick’s “100 Things to Do Before High School,” will star. The “Arnold” movies are slated to appear in 2017.
And if that isn't enough to scratch your nostalgic itch, Nickelodeon is also bringing back Hey Arnold! as a two-part TV movie, though it's unclear whether any members of the original voice cast will return to reprise their roles or whether the original creators will be involved in any way. I have fond memories of the show, even at one point proclaiming to my wife that it's one of the 50 best shows in TV history. After she rolled her eyes and calmly started listing dozens of other amazing shows, I had to sheepishly admit that I overvalued the series in the heat of the moment; while I acknowledge that being in the top 50 shows of all time is probably ridiculous, it's tough to deny Hey Arnold! was consistently producing terrific, high quality episodes throughout its entire run.
The biggest question I have about this news is this: will fans tune into Nickelodeon to actually watch these TV movies? Are they just going to be excited about them in theory, or will they really devote time to tracking down more information about when exactly they'll air (again, Hidden Temple is scheduled for sometime in late 2016, while Hey Arnold! will be in 2017) and make time to tune in? What do you think?