gridoon2024 Review of American Gladiators

American Gladiators (2008)

Acceptable revival of a classic game show

[7/10 · 26 March 2021]

The events / challenges are a lot of fun, the gladiators are well-selected (Wolf is probably the best in terms of skill / showmanship, but my personal favorite is the gorgeous Phoenix), there is a great success story across both seasons (the female winner of season 1 becomes one of the hottest, and most successful, female gladiators of season 2....in fact, all 4 winners of both seasons are very satisfying). The one problem, but rather a big problem, is too much talk between events, and too many insipid questions of the "do you think you're gonna win?" / "how do you feel now that you won (or lost)" variety. By the 2nd season, it becomes clear that the network didn't really have much faith in the show - they even started showing some events exclusively in recaps! Maybe it's about time for a third revival? (The Rock tried something along those lines with "Titan Games", however COVID put a stop to that after two seasons). 7/10.