gffa:
Jedi Temple Challenge is absolutely a show aimed at children and I think any viewer should go in with that knowledge ahead of time, because it’s not meant to be anything other than a spiritual successor to Hidden Temple Challenge and other shows like that from the ‘90s/early ‘00s.
But it succeeds so well at being exactly that and being charming as hell about it, I watched the first two episodes back to back and I don’t think I stopped making a :D face the entire time. It’s sweet, it’s cute, it’s adorable, it’s fun, I kind of wanted to do the challenges myself!
Ahmed Best is fantastic in the role of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, he’s charismatic and has a good upbeat energy without being manic, he keeps things moving, but is kind and sweet with the kids, and the kids are just having fun, and the sets are really lovely.
I love the set-up, the physical obstacle courses are a delight, the use of the dark side as a temptation during some of the challenges, the in-universe tales that are told as part of a memory game (written by Cavan Scott, so of course I loved the first two of them), all of it just works beautifully.
IT’S SUCH A CUTE SHOW AND I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT IF YOU JUST WANT A FUN LITTLE FLUFFY THING OR IF YOU HAVE KIDS TO WATCH IT WITH.
Knowing that this is a chance for Ahmed to have a good time with Star Wars after the absolute horror show the fandom put him through because of Jar Jar, reading his comments about how much thought went into how to make this a good experience for the kids, whether they won or lost, all of that is incredibly touching. I’d watch it just because I get emotional every time they zoom in on the Jedi Order logo or because it’s cute, but knowing Mr. Best is getting a show that really does him justice and he’s been a delight to watch? That really put it over the top for me.