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The Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de' Medici
Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de' Medici
The pepperoni on the camera-right pedestal.

Production Number

2-33 (73)

Airdate

June 9, 1994

Team

Purple Parrots

Contestants

Chris & Aqila

Artifact Location

The Room of the Secret Password

Pendants of Life

1½ + ½

Temple Layout

XIV

Previous Episode

The Secret Battle Plan of Nathan Hale (Completion Order)
The Electrified Key of Benjamin Franklin (Broadcast Order)
The Snakeskin Boots of Billy the Kid (Production Order)

Next Episode

The Enormous Iron Nose Ring of Babe the Ox (Broadcast Order)
The Golden Earring of Henry Morgan (Production Order)

The Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de' Medici is the 73rd episode of Legends of the Hidden Temple. It was the 44th episode to be aired.

Moat Crossing

Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de' Medici Moat Crossing

The Moat design was interesting; the players each had a stack of floating rings they could stand on as they hung from a rod and climbed hand over hand across the Moat, but they did not actually need to use the floating rings, they could go on without them and not be sent back. The Green Monkeys, Purple Parrots, Orange Iguanas and Silver Snakes were the first four teams to make it across in that order.

Moat Results
Finish Team Time
1st Green Monkeys 0:41
2nd Purple Parrots 0:43
3rd Orange Iguanas 0:47
4th Silver Snakes 0:51

Steps of Knowledge

One of the most ruthless and powerful women of the 1500s was the queen of France, Catherine de' Medici. She was the wife of one king and the mother of three others. And through them, she ruled France most of her life. She loved building castles, and legend has it that she had just finished a new castle in the heart of Paris when she summoned her royal psychic, The Great Linguini.

She said: "I dreamed someone was chasing me through room after room of my brand-new castle. Is someone trying to kill me? What do you think?"

"I think you've been eating too much pepperoni late at night. Besides, I'm a psychic, not a psychiatrist. But I predict, if you live in the new castle, you'll be tormented by dreams."

The next day, Catherine de' Medici had her workmen tear down the new palace. As a gesture of thanks, she sent Linguini a golden pepperoni, which was stolen after Linguini died.

Steps of Knowledge Results
Question Answers Team
Did Catherine de' Medici rule…?
  • Italy
  • France
  • Spain
Purple Parrots (Correct - 2 steps left)
Was Catherine a…?
  • Princess
  • Countess
  • Queen
Purple Parrots (Wrong Answer - 2 steps left)
Green Monkeys (Correct - 2 steps left)
Catherine was the mother of how many French kings?
  • Three
Green Monkeys (Correct - 1 step left)
Catherine ruled the country for her sons while they were young. Was she called…?
  • Regent
  • Czarina
  • Crown Princess
Orange Iguanas (Wrong Answer - 3 steps left)
Green Monkeys (Correct - Advanced to Temple Games)
According to our legend, who was Catherine's psychic?
  • The Great Linguini
Orange Iguanas (No Answer - 3 steps left)
Purple Parrots (Correct - 1 step left)
Catherine's marriage was arranged by her uncle, who was the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Was he…?
  • A Bishop
  • A Cardinal
  • The Pope
Orange Iguanas (Correct - 2 steps left)
Which of these men was a famous Renaissance artist who worked for Catherine's father in Florence?
  • Picasso
  • Michelangelo
  • Gauguin
Orange Iguanas (Wrong Answer - 2 steps left)
Purple Parrots (Correct - Advanced to Temple Games)

Temple Games

The Purple Parrots are Aqila and Chris. The Green Monkeys are Tara and Michael.

Noble Family Crest (Swinging Sandbags)[]

In the first Temple Game, the girls had to collect four symbols to complete a noble family's crest while avoiding swinging obstacles. Tara and Aqila both did a great job— each one of them collected three symbols out of four in 60 seconds, so each team won a half Pendant of Life. On a stranger note, Kirk neglected to say "Let's set the clock for 60 seconds" before this game started, so the clock appeared on its own just after he said "On your mark."

Catherine de' Medici's Palace (Pole)[]

In the second Temple Game, the boys had to climb a tower representing part of Catherine de' Medici's palace and remove the four merlons. However, this was important— merlons that did not make it in the bucket did not count. Chris got all four merlons down first BUT a couple missed the bucket. Michael was not that far behind at all, and he got his fourth merlon in just before Chris could place the stray merlons in the bucket, so the Green Monkeys won the half Pendant here. At this point the score was 1-½ Pendants, with the Green Monkeys in the lead.

Family Crowns (Cubbyhole Web)[]

Family Crowns Temple Game

The third Temple Game mentioned that Catherine de' Medici had three sons and a husband through which she ruled France for pretty much all of her life. In this game, the team players had to take turns opening cubbyholes in the net and looking for crowns for Catherine's family. In the last seconds, the Purple Parrots crowned their third mannequin head, while the Green Monkeys only crowned two. That gave the Purple Parrots another full Pendant, which meant that they won the Temple Games and would be taking 1½ Pendants into Olmec's Temple.

Temple Games Results
Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Pendants Won
Green Monkeys Tied Won Lost 1 Pendant
Purple Parrots Tied Lost Won 1½ Pendants

Temple Run

Chris went into the temple first, moving at a moderately good pace. He decided to head up into The Crypt as his starting point but tripped in the process of running up. Upon entering The Crypt, Chris immediately encounters the first temple guard just before he could do anything in the room. After giving up his pendant, Chris was able to unlock the door to The Pit after pulling on only one book. In there, Chris decides to swing across The Pit and tries to unlock the door to The Room of the Mandarin Hand, or The Observatory. However, both doors remained lock, so Chris had to do the only option that was left on the platter: Jumping down and going into The Laser Light Room. Fortunately, this was the right way to go, and before Chris unlocks the door, he signals to Aqila that the other half of her pendant was hanging on the actuator next to The Laser Light Room door. Unfortunately, Chris met some bad luck in the room, as when he pulled the blocks from the wall, the lights did not turn on, meaning Chris wouldn't be able to tell if he unveil the white light or not. On top of that, the second temple guard was in that room, and he grabs Chris just as the lights had turned on, (which none of them were the correct one). Leading Chris to be taken out of the temple with 2:18 left on the clock.

Now it was Aqila's turn to head into the temple in search for the golden pepperoni. While she moved at a similar pace as Chris, Aqila made a silly mistake by deciding to swing across The Pit to open up the door to The Observatory, despite the fact that the door to The Laser Light Room was opened! Once she realized her mistake, Aqila jumped but stumbles to the bottom of The Pit and proceeds into The Laser Light Room, completely missing the other half of her pendant. But after Kirk told her that she passed it, Aqila immediately heads back to The Pit and grabs the other half and continues onward. However, Aqila made another silly mistake by attempting to try to climb up the ladder to The Room of the Mandarin Hand, without completing the objective! But even after quickly realizing her mistake, she stalled for a good chunk of time as she didn't know what to do in the room. Eventually, Aqila realized what she had to do and quickly unveiled the white light within the first block she pulled. Now entering The Jester's Court, Aqila had good luck within the room, as the first wall painting, she tried (the one on the left) was the correct one. Once that was finished, Aqila decides to climb the ladder and head up into The King's Storeroom. Upon entering the room and grabbing one of the pots to smash, Aqila ends up meeting the third and final temple guard, leading her to get startled and screamed in the process. Luckily, since she picked up the other half of her pendant, Aqila can continue onwards without the need to worry about anymore temple guard encounters. But even after the encounter with the guard, Aqila (still frazzled by the jumpscare), completely forgot on what to do in the room. And for another good chunk of time, she attempted to unlock both the door to The Shrine of the Silver Monkey and to The Observatory multiple times! Finally, with 45 seconds left on the clock, Aqila continues to smash the pots to find the key. In the end, she found the key within the third pot she smashed, and it was the second pedestal that she used the key on that allowed her access into The Shrine of the Silver Monkey. Now being one room away, Aqila still has a shot to grab the golden pepperoni on time! Luckily, Aqila made a smart move by grabbing both the middle piece and the base at the same time. Now grabbing the head, Aqila jams it on and completes the statue with 6 seconds left on the clock!
Aqila Misses the Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de' Medici

Aqila passes up the pepperoni.

Now with the door to The Room of the Secret Password opened, Aqila can finally run in there and grab the golden pepperoni and therefore win the second prize! But things did not go the way on how anyone could have expected it, and in possibly one of the most heartbreaking endings within Legends history. Just as Aquila entered The Room of the Secret Password, she completely forgot the fact that the artifact was in there, and presumed she had to go down to The Mine Shaft in order to grab the golden pepperoni!
Chris Kneels to the Ground in Disappointment

"Chris hit the ground;(and) we couldn't believe it!" -Kirk Fogg

Despite the artifact being clear as day, and Kirk shouting for her to grab it, Aqila ended up climbing into the elevator instead by the clock hit 0! With both Chris and Kirk both shocked and surprised from what could have been a close save to one of the biggest blunders in the show's history. Her partner Chris was so devastated by the loss, that he collapsed onto his knees much to his disappointment.

Despite the crazy ending, both members were good players as they ran at a good pace and on a few occasions completed the objectives at a good pace or had luck on their side. But hesitation and stalling in a few rooms ultimately led to the team's downfall. And even if that didn't happen or if the second runner didn't pass up the artifact, it probably might have been a close call to getting back to the temple gates on time due to the long route they had to go through. Either way, the ending of the temple run definitely makes this a very memorable temple run despite how heartbreaking it was. I guess the temple guards will be having a nice pepperoni pizza tonight!

Temple Run Results
Victory No
Grabbed the Artifact No (But Nearly)
Reached the Artifact's Room Yes
Method of Loss Failed Acquisition
Temple Guard Locations The Crypt
The Laser Light Room
The King's Storeroom
Half Pendant Location Pit Actuator to the Laser Light Room (acquired)

Prize Plugs

  • Original Run
    • Moat Crossing: Super Soaker XP 150
    • Steps of Knowledge: Keystone Le Cliq Pocket Camera
    • Temple Games: Tiger 2-XL
  • Alternate Version (Nick GaS)
    • Moat Crossing: Willy Wonka Nerds gift package
    • Steps of Knowledge: Duncan Yo-Yo
    • Temple Games: British Knights (Prepare to Mutate)

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Notes

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