Since two of the guys have a porn past, I’m totally there. In the previous incarnation, I only noticed one porn dude. I call that a 100% improvement.
I was a bit wary before, but now I’m convinced. I’ll be watching on Sunday.
Count me in. I was planning on watching even before I heard about Mr Castro. I wonder how NBC will spin that news…
Two? I know of Alex “Elian ‘Militia’ Cortez” Castro, who is the other?
The blond dude. I forget his porn name; I think it was in the 80s.
Mike O’Hearn. He did Playgirl or Colt or something like that; softcore stuff.
So, I was watching some ads today… and I don’t see how this is any more or less cheesy than the original show. The main difference I see is that they’ve added water as a landing spot for various games, with a little bit more stuntwork thrown in.
I already have this setup on my DVR.
Eh, I’m more partial to Crush. She could kick my ass in a more literal fashion (she’s a professional kickboxer). Also, hot damn.
Oh and for you comic-geeks, Titan played Superman in the fan-film World’s Finest .
I absolutely cannot wait. The biggest thing I know will be missing from the previous incarnation is Theismann. I don’t know how Laila Ali and Hulk Hogan will do.
What ethnicity is Stealth?
It’s starting!
Powerball! The female gladiators seem a bit enhanced in a non-steroidal manner. The play by play guy is over the top in a not good way.
And I hope the gal who hurt something is doing ok. Hulk Hogan seems like he should be a good host.
I’m rooting for the blue guy, pro skateboarder, mainly because his kid thinks his dad can beat up the gladiators dads!
He needed to not go straight at the bins for powerball though, got hammered hard, while red was shifty and scored high.
Joust was good, the water seems like it will be a nice different touch. The gal got replaced and then knocked off, while red held her own for the full time. ‘Crush’ has nice balance, isn’t over enhanced, and has a good accent.
The guys are doing hang tough. Red beat ‘Militia’ with essentially a straight shot after the gladiator hurt his arm. ‘Wolf’ took down blue, and has the type of hair that wouldn’t have been out of place from last time, and he amuses me too. Good combo.
Next up, new event, Earthquake. 30 seconds on a moving plexiglass wrestling ring in the sky. 10 to knock the gladiator off, 5 to stay off. The neck collars for the contestants are probably a good idea, but look pretty dumb.
Wolf is awesome.
IMO, the single greatest thing about this show was the level of competition. The Gladiators were all well-conditioned, highly-trained, focused athletes who knew the game inside and out…essentially top-tier minor league level, like AAA. The contestants who made it on the show were a tiny percentage of the very best of the best of the applicants. You had to be in top shape and have a well-honed killer instinct just to get on, much less score against your fearsome adversaries. Some events were just about freakin’ impossible, like Hang Tough (I never witnessed a single contestant win that thing, and only about 4 or 5 draws).
That, I believe, is what makes for a great reality program, the idea that not everyone can do it and it takes a very special person to do well, much less win it all.
Oh yeah, and some events were simply a riot. Especially Atlasphere, where you have an absolute blast even if you’re skunked.
Haven’t actually started watching the new program yet…just a bit cautious about the new developments, and after what happened to WCW, I’m no longer convinced that Terry Bollea’s involvement is in any way, shape or form a good thing. Next week, then. We’ll see.
Back after the break.
Red got tossed from the ring, which isn’t as high as it seemed to look. The gladiator made a nice move by grabbing one of the hanging ropes to stay on as she tossed the competitor.
Then a men’s event whose name I didn’t catch, but is new and cool looking. Run across what’s essentially a playground wobbly bridge with the gladiators swinging wrecking balls at em.
Red did well, ducking across 5 times for 10 points. Blue was going hard to make up the ton of ground he needed and got splatted off after 1 run.
Gals did pyramid, which is a good excuse for them to wrestle up and down as series of crash pads. Blue got 5 points for getting most of the way up, but neither got the 10 points for getting to the top.
Guys will do it after the break, and ‘Toa’ (the one related to The Rock) did something that looked like a haka before the ads. Too cool.
On the guys Pyramid, red made a good move to duck ‘Toa’'s diving tackle with 5 seconds, but just missed making the top. Blue got beat like a drum and will be giving red a 16 second head start or so.
Women are going first on the eliminator, blue gets a second of a head start. Wobbly bridge, climb an 8 foot wall, jumb into the water, swim 20 feet under FIRE, glimb 20 feet worth of cargo net. Then roll with a barrel before the hand bike. Walk a balance beam down, climb the pyramid, zip line down. Then they climb the “travelator” (the upward treadmill), then up some steep steps and through a foam brick wall (no gladiators opposing you).
Both gals were falling a lot near the end. Red had a commanding lead at the treadmill, but couldn’t make it up at all, letting blue struggle from behind to win it.
Blue made a fight, catching up nearly from a 16.5 second deficit, but couldn’t make it.
And they’re doing another hour! Assault! The wall! Whee!
I like how the ref was up in that one guy’s face like this is real sports.
Titan creeps me right out.
The blue guy seems energetic and numble and fun.
Red almost made it on the show 14 years ago, but didn’t due to traffic.
First up was fighting past gladiators in the gauntlet. Blue did pretty well, but was lacking in sheer power. Got 6 points. Red got 8 after having to start over for jumping the gun and attacking with hands. Not the best game, but interesting.
Red had attitude, and an amusing line about kicking ass that got a good rection out of ‘Wolf’. Gals are up after the break.