It may be unclear to most viewers exactly why NBC is trying to resurrect a show about spandex-wearing goliaths, as some ideas are better left forgotten.
Nevertheless, the network is attempting to recreate a glorious past that we were sure was all but lost - an era when men were men, women were women, and silver spandex was the last word in haute couture - with a new version of "American Gladiators" that began this month.
One of NBC's updates to the surprisingly popular '80s show has been the inclusion of two hosts, Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, who are famous for their athletic prowess and mountainous physiques, not to mention their prodigious contributions to American culture.
Hogan, a WWE champion, is the only wrestler to make the cover of Sports Illustrated, and started his own critically declaimed reality TV show. Ali is the worldwide undefeated middle-weight boxing champion and the daughter of boxing legend Mohammed Ali. The rest of the show's cast may not have as many awards as the hosts, but Hogan's fashion sense (spandex and leather) and Ali's muscles seem to be par for the course.
Most of the action in "American Gladiators" boils down to a fight between the average Joe and a group of muscle-bound freaks. Director J. Rupert Thompson and Executive Producer David Hurwitz have set up the show around the idea of a David and Goliath battle set in a number of futuristic-looking obstacle courses. The average-looking contestants must complete a series of courses in which the obstacles are the gladiators themselves.
The four courses - the Joust, the Wall, Hang Tough and the Eliminator - are designed to test the strength and patience of the contestant while Hellga, Siren and Titan, a few of the show's aptly-named gladiators, literally weigh the competitors down and prevent them from moving on to the next level. These gladiators may at first seem only to be brainless, steroid-inhaling jocks, but their relentless drive to prevent ordinary people from succeeding and their triumphant victory shouts set these super-humans apart as true warriors.
One of the more impressive combatants is Hellga, a 205-pound mistress of death who, according to the NBC Web page, celebrates her Viking heritage by hitting opponents with "the force of Thor's hammer," sending them "straight to Valhalla." Yet anyone who chooses to oppose such a valiant fighter is clearly undeserving of the warrior's paradise and should not be included in Ragnar?¶k, the final battle between the Gods and the Giants.
The "American Gladiators" of the 21st century employs the same obstacle courses and retains the same premise as the original show: the celebration of the true American Hero, the 'average Joe,' or Jane, as the case may be. However, because of available modern technology, the show has more special effects, more spandex and more fist-pumping, leather-coated, fake-smoke-spewing action than ever before. Everything seems bigger and better, including the gladiators themselves.
However, the aforementioned makeover does not guarantee high ratings for the show. A lot of the elements have stayed the same in the modern version of "American Gladiators," which gives the show a "been there, done that" quality. Moreover, cramming six different stunts along with egotistical remarks from contestants and warriors into one hour is simply overwhelming. The hoopla of it all makes the contestants' feat over the bestial gladiators insignificant because too much happens too quickly. In other words, the show tests its audiences' patience, not to mention their intellect.
"American Gladiators" seems to be part of a media frenzy to glorify the fight, the individual struggle and the battlefield. Viewers cannot help but feel that, if they were also equipped with shiny, skin-tight spandex and set in a futuristic land of gym mats and techno, they too could overcome any odds.
In the end, the show is not madness; it is simply, like it or not, "American Gladiators."
