If you were a kid in the 90’s, you probably found yourself at some point glued to your TV screen watching the over-the-top sketch comedy show, ALL THAT or the game show LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE which snuck edutainment into your brain. If you were one of those kids then the Saturday panel at San Diego Comic-Con for Back to the ‘90s: Nickelodeon’s All That Reunion and Legends of the Hidden Temple! was an absolute highlight of the entire con.
Surprisingly hilarious and entertaining, the panel was split in half to talk about both ALL THAT and LEGENDS.
ALL THAT
Moderator Marc Snetiker (Entertainment Weekley) was joined by the original All That cast: Josh Server, Danny Tamberelli, Lori Beth Denberg, and Kel Mitchell. Now 22 years later, the show’s legacy lives on and was brought to life in their hysterical Comic-Con 2016 panel.
So, What Makes This Show So Legendary?
Josh attributes the show’s success to “good timing and luck” but any fan will tell you it was the tremendous talent of the actors. Alongside the acting was an extremely talented writing team. “A good comedy show seems like it’s all improv” but it takes great writers to make the jokes funny. As the show progressed they started to write characters based on what the actors were bringing to the table.
When they all came out to take their seats for the panel, there was even a space for the Big Ear of Corn which they all treated like a long-lost friend. Funny enough, it was the actual same prop that was used on the show.
Cast Member Hazing
The cast connected instantly and found joy in hazing one another on set. According to their stories, it sounds like Danny got the worst of it! Cast members would intentionally never laugh at his jokes to chip away at his confidence. Teasing each other was always in good fun and the cast were friends off screen then, and remain close to this day. Even today, the cast continually teased Danny that he’s a creeper who goes to Chuck E. Cheeses for attention.
Welcome to Good Burger, Home of the Good Burger, Can I Take Your OORRDDEERRR?
Kel based his Good Burger character off of the stereotypical California surfer guy and watched a lot of Keanu Reeves in BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE to perfect his character. One day Kel found a Millie Vanilli wig in the prop room, developed the mannerisms in swinging the dreads and the character was created!
LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE
Of course, 90’s Nick wouldn’t haven’t been complete without our favorite game show, Legends of the Hidden Temple and so the second half was dedicated to that show as well as the upcoming television movie that inspired it. Host Kirk Fogg joined the panel with along with Voice of Olmec Dee Bradley Baker to look back at how the show affected audiences across the nation. The continued support of the show attests to the talent of Nickelodeon in the 90’s and leads the way for it to come back today. Coming to Nickelodeon this fall will be an original movie about the hit game show!
The film’s executive producer Michael Sammaciccia also joined the panel along with the movie’s star Isabela Moner to talk about the upcoming project. Although Isabela is only 14 years old, she is thrilled to be part of this film and explained she wished she was a kid in the 90’s so she could have enjoyed Nickelodeon’s golden era.
One awesome fun fact? Statistically, the team that won the most across the show’s history was the Orange Iguanas. Kel Mitchell instantly introduced the conspiracy theory that Nickelodeon was fixing the game since the brand’s colors are also predominately orange.
Moner got a little flushed after the audience laughed when she said that the film was like other Nick films except that it required actual acting. It got a good laugh as a read on the quality of other Nick entertainment but she only meant to say that the film was a little darker and required more serious approach to acting than the typical humorous fare that is typical for the channel.
For any of us who were lucky enough to be part of that generation, it was a tremendous treat to see this reunion in person and we look forward to the LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE: THE MOVIE coming out this Fall.
And you can bet we’ll be watching it with our ooorrrannnngggeeee soda and a Good Burger!
Panel Photos