Raven: The Secret Temple is a BBC Scotland children's adventure game show, and the second spin-off to the main series, Raven. It comprises one series, which aired first on the CBBC Channel, and then during CBBC on BBC One in the United Kingdom, in 2007. In this series, warriors compete as teams and attempt to collect as many jewels as possible by completing fourteen tasks, so that they may find and enter the Secret Temple.
Contents
Production
The series was commissioned by the BBC Scotland Children's Department and filmed in India.
Plot
For more information of the plot arc over the course of the series, see Challenges.
After his homeland is held frozen captive under the icy grip of his enemy Nevar, Raven travels to an Eastern land with 16 of his young warriors in the hopes of finding the Secret Temple. Within the temple lies the elixir that will restore his homeland to its former glory and release his land from Nevar's spell. In the East, he finds an ally in Satyarani, who will guide Raven and his warriors to the temple, but only if they prove their worthiness by completing fourteen perilous tasks; only the strongest warrior will be able to enter the temple and retrieve the elixir from within. Unfortunately, Nevar and his demons have followed Raven and his warriors, determined to stop them from completing their quest at any cost.
Format
Similar to Raven, the series features a set of challenges that warriors must undertake. The sixteen warriors being whittled down over time as warriors are lost during each challenge. However, in contrast, the warriors are split into teams of four, each under a different standard and different colour of clothing: the Panthers (purple), the Eagles (red), the Wolves (orange) and the Tigers (yellow). Each has a team leader, which was decided initially by two challenges for each team, the winner would become the leader. Each day, the teams complete (separately) one of the fourteen different challenges in an attempt to collect jewels, which may be used to bring a team member back should they be eliminated.
In further contrast to the main Raven series, there are no lives for each warrior. If a warrior is lost during a challenge, for instance, running out of time in a timed game, the warrior is eliminated. Satyarani, who governs the rules of the challenges, decrees that a warrior may be brought back in exchange for eight jewels should the team choose to do so. However, this may only occur once for each warrior. Should a warrior be eliminated twice, they may not be brought back, regardless of whether the team has enough jewels to do so.
Characters
Raven (James Mackenzie): Raven returns in this series, travelling to a distant Eastern land to guide the sixteen warriors through their quest to discover the Secret Temple and find the sacred elixir within that will restore his homeland. He must also ensure their safety by battling Nevar and the demons he has brought with him.
Nevar (in this series, Nageswara Rao): After freezing Raven's homeland, the mysterious cloaked, dark figure follows Raven to the Eastern land to attempt to stop his warriors from completing their quest, commanding an army of demons and using an all-seeing eye, a dish of water through which he can spy on Raven and his warriors as they complete their quest. He is referred to as the Dark One by Satyarani.
Satyarani (Tara Sharma): Satyarani is a friend and ally of Raven's. A princess, fashioned from the earth itself and with the ability to transport herself through the air in the form of a dust cloud, she inhabits the Eastern land and guides the warriors through challenges, helping Raven on the journey to the Secret Temple. Perhaps less compassionate, and more doubting than Raven about his warriors, she often visits them at the start and the end of the day to question them about the choices they have made.
Warriors
Sixteen warriors started the quest, with four to each team; the leader for each team was decided on the first day through two trials. As with the main Raven series, each warrior is given their own warrior name, comprising a mix of letters from the first name and surname. Each team has distinct colours reflected in their standards and their Eastern-inspired outfits.
The teams and warriors are listed below, with yellow cells indicating the warrior went through to the finals. The warrior in gold indicates the winner, silver for second place and bronze for third.
*Not enough jewels to be brought back.
**Team elected not to bring the warrior back.
***Stripped of leadership after being brought back.
+Elimination on final challenges with no option to bring back
Challenges
Seven virtues must be completed before the warriors may enter the Secret Temple. Each has two trials for the warriors to complete, making fourteen challenges in all. In each challenge, four jewels are available to be won.
Speed
Temple Spirit Run: Bags containing either sand or jewels are suspended from the ceiling, and are raised and lowered repeatedly. The warriors must run and jump to grab the bags and find one of four that contains a jewel and present it to the sole spirit guard keeping watch before the time runs out, lest he eliminate them from their quest.
Eliminations: Tibor of the Wolves and Yonra of the Panthers, only Yonra was brought back.
Waters of Time: Speed is of the essence in this challenge, where the warriors must run carrying water from one side, to the long containers at the other. Filling the containers raises the precious jewel so that the warrior may reach in and receive their reward. If the jewel is not held when the second drum beats, the warrior will be eliminated.
Eliminations: Jenro of the Tigers, who was not brought back as the team didn't have enough jewels to do so, also, Jenro had injured his hip during the challenge. Jenro was about to get his jewel but the drum sounded and the serpent took him as he was tipping the water in.
Strength
Obelisks of the Sun: The warriors must reconstruct a shattered statue by carrying the pieces to the top of the hill and assembling them within the time limit. Doing so will focus the sunlight to produce a jewel; failure to do so will result in the warrior's elimination.
Eliminations: Arton of the Panthers, who was brought back. He was about to put his final piece on when the drum sounded.
Chariots: Each warrior sits in a chariot that they must move forward by pulling on a guide rope, and tug themselves over the bumps that block an otherwise speedy path. They must collect the pieces of tube along the way that, when constructed, allows them to unhook a jewel bag strung high overhead. Failure to retrieve a jewel and make it back to the start within the time limit will end the warrior's quest.
The Gulley
At the conclusion of the fourteen tasks, Satyarani allowed a passage to the finals for the team with the most jewels gained from the tasks. Of the remaining three teams, only those that were able to complete The Gulley were allowed through. This challenge consisted of a crawl underneath a rope section where Aksu was about to get up but was eliminated, followed by shields on ropes where Desot had trouble which the warriors had to pull, and finally a climb over a wall of boulders and Yonra was about to get up when she was blasted by Nevar. Three warriors fell in the Gulley and hence did not go forward to the final: Aksu and Yonra of the Panthers, and Desot of the Wolves.
Temple Challenges
An additional set of challenges were then posed for the remaining warriors, who grouped together as one team initially under the leadership of Yeada. Elimination in any of these challenges ended the warrior's quest and eliminated warriors are marked in bold in the challenges listed, which are also listed in the order they were played. Yeada, the leader, was the first to be eliminated; Taylan was then elected leader. On Taylan's elimination, the warriors rolled their dice to decide the leader, and Sohar rolled the highest number, becoming the next leader.
Meanwhile, as the action moves from outside to the Citadel, Raven has doubts as to whether Satyarani is correct about the demons' supposed inability to cross the Citadel walls when he believes that he sees demons seemingly walking through them, and grows increasingly frustrated with the further tests and his inability to guard his warriors, at Satyarani's insistence. Although Raven finds the tests unusual and seemingly without aim, she explains that the tests are showing her who are the strongest warriors: Vajra Scales demonstrates who was thinking clearly and who was not; Snakes and Ladders shows who had the instinct to survive; and Catapult Drop showed who remained calm in the face of adversity. Whilst Raven initially expresses disbelief that a warrior may be eliminated due to chance in Snake Charmer, Satyarani explains that it is a test of nerve and bravery, as each warrior must volunteer to take their turn.
Citadel Gates: A riddle must be solved so that the letters corresponding to the answer can be matched against symbols that will, in turn, open the gates to the Citadel. The warriors use the letters to slide a set of symbols into the correct place so that the word reads vertically.
Alchemist's Potion: The warriors buy the correct ingredients from the marketplace using a riddle posed to them by Satyarani, and mix them pouring the results into six bottles, one for each warrior.
Golden Stone: Symbols are briefly displayed to the warrior in a fire on a stone by pouring their potions into a bowl one at a time. The warriors must commit these symbols to memory and write them down in a book.
Statues: Three statues are present, each clutching a scroll in their hand. The warriors must identify the correct statue using the symbols they wrote down, make the correct offering and obtain the scroll.
Final Challenge
Chamber of the Three-Headed Serpent: A riddle shows the path the warriors must take. They must step across a pathway using the correct symbols that spell out serpent, picking up a ring along the way. The ring is placed on the end of a long serpent, which the warriors must then stand and balance on and walk across to the end, avoiding the swinging maces along the way.
Sohar and Marca both fell from the snake, and were eliminated. The remaining warrior, Sonro, then climbed a rope to obtain a vessel.
Well of the Three-Headed Serpent: Having gained the vessel, Sonro must fill it with the elixir that will free Raven's homeland from Nevar's grip. The bowl containing the elixir is surrounded by snakes. Sonro must then retrace his steps, over the snake path and the symbols to the beginning of the Chamber.
When told about the loss of two of the three warriors by Satyarani, who watches through a viewing portal, Raven is determined to protect the sole survivor. Satyarani informs Raven that he may look into the chamber, but that placing a foot in the chamber will bring it down around him.
However, in Escape from the Underworld, Nevar appears and is close to eliminating Sonro with his Staff of Power. When Raven intervenes, a battle ensues allowing Sonro to escape with Satyarani's assistance.
Time of Reckoning: Sonro must decipher one final riddle. Should he enter the three-digit number correctly on the spindle in front of him, the correct portal of the two in the wall will open, and he will escape; an incorrect number will open the other portal, which will lead to his doom.
With Sonro entering the correct number and escaping, Raven and Nevar fight. Raven manages to temporarily overpower Nevar and offers him a chance for redemption by stepping into the temple and healing himself with the elixir. Nevar then tries to attack Raven again and wrest his staff from him. The attack forces Raven into the temple, causing its collapse. Satyarani congratulates Sonro outside the temple, but informs him of the loss of Raven. However, all is not as it seems, for Raven joins the successful warrior and Satyarani outside, having transformed into his bird form and escaped, flying faster than a man can flee.