American Gladiators

American Gladiators is back! I always say that old shows and themes have a way of cycling back to the next generation. When I watched this as a kid in the 90's, it looked fun and competitive, but was relatively low budget compared to the new version. It's hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali. The old events are back as well, but seriously upgraded. Assault now has fast weapons and looks very intense. The contestants must have Jedi reflexes. It also has more movie-like fx. If the contestant wins, the gladiator goes flying. Hang Tough is the same except failure means falling into water instead of a safety net. Joust and The Wall are also the same, except for the water below. Earthquake was an upgraded version of the wrestling event (I forgot the name of it) where the circle is suspended in the air. The contestant must fight the gladiator and gravity at the same time. The Eliminator looked great. It's longer and uses most of the same obstacles as the original. It's flashier and looks more tiring. New events include Gauntlet, Pyramid and Hit & Run.

As far as contestants and gladiators, they tried to add some more personality to the event. The interviews were done in the same fashion as a reality show. There's some staged taunting too.

What's very funny is that they interviewed the contestants immediately after each event... after they just used up all of their energy or got beat up. They didn't even have time to catch their breath!

American Gladiators can be seen on NBC, Mondays @ 8pm.