TV Jots

If you’ve never seen Gladiators before, the premise is pretty straightforward. After enduring a series of physical challenges with such names as Hang Tough and Earthquake and with huge, daunting professional Gladiators of the same gender serving as foes, two pairs of same-sex competitors go head-to-head against one another in a final obstacle-course challenge called the Eliminator. The male and female winners of the last event then enter the final field of eight contestants who will battle at the end of the season for two prizes of $100,000 cash, a 2008 Toyota Sequoia, and the ability to become a Gladiator.

The two-hour premiere on Sunday night seemed like overkill at first given the simplicity of the game. After sitting through the banal chatter and mostly one-sided outcomes of the first hour, however, things got a bit more interesting, thanks to the night’s trash-talking oldest competitor, Jeff Keller, who just missed his chance to compete on the old Gladiators when he was held up in traffic, and the near complete domination of both female contestants over the Gladiators who were supposed to outdo them.

Will I remember anything I saw a week from now? Of course not. But the mild excitement was worth it while I watched, especially when it came to the male Gladiators with their ultra buff bods and supersized personalities. Wolf alone was a howling hoot. Wolf plus Justice, Mayhem, Militia, Titan, Toa (especially Toa), and the male adversaries’ bravado was pure entertainment.

The female Gladiators, on the other hand, were all big and muscular enough, but severely deficient in the personality department, as well, making the events with them a colossal bore, save for the participants’ determination to win. If only NBC would find a way to inject them with some charisma to go with their scowls, American Gladiators would become that much more fun to watch. For now, though, the show is a perfectly okay way to pass the time during primetime.

The Verdict: B

Tags: American Gladiators, NBC, television, tv