My Quick Take On American Gladiators

 

Back in the late 80's-early 90's an athletic competition game show called American Gladiators, took the syndicated and world in general by storm. Featuring everyman contenders against physical specimens, it became a pop culture phenom. Having toys , video games , hell maybe even cereal. I remember faithfully watching the show during reruns on the USA network.

Well after a previous attempt at rebooting the series back in 2008 on NBC. Amazon decided to revisit the well and introduce it to a new generation. They probably should have kept it in the vault honestly.

The new version is over produced but lacks substance. Sure the action is in high definition and entertaining enough, and The Miz and Rocsi Diaz are serviceable hosts. However, nothing else really sticks. The editing of each episode is quite dizzying, and I often questioned if audience members were actually there.

The idea of a one man commentator in Chris Rose was asinine. He does the best he can but the editing just makes his commentary off. And again, despite the above photo showing him in the studio, I often questioned if he was truly there during taping.

My last gripe is the cast of Gladiators. Featuring five current or former pro wrestlers in Bull (Rick Boogz in WWE). Fang (Wardlow in AEW), Hurricane (Kamille in AEW), Supernova (J-Rod), and Steel (Jesse Godderz). Yet none of them display larger than life personalities here. 

In fact we know very little about the gladiators. They don't stand out like the original cast, and really show nothing that makes them stand out from one another. The competitiors are there for the audience to relate to, but the gladiators should be the true stars of the show.

If there is a season 2, I hope there is more focus on the gladiators. As well as more of an emphasis on a more "gritty" tone and not so stylized for a battle. That's just my two cents though.