The new American Gladiators kicked off to a successful start on NBC. There was a lot I liked about it, and some stuff that I would change. The female Gladiators seem to need a lot more practice on the events than the men do. The men for the most part did well, but the females lost just about every time.
Hulk Hogan has never met a camera he didn't like, and I thought he did well. I don't know where some of this talk of him looking bored is coming from. I thought he did well interviewing the contestants. Laila doesn't have as much experience in front of the camera as Hulk, but I thought she held her own.
As for the Gladiators, Wolf is my early favorite, because he has shown the most personality. It helps that he wrestled professionally, and has prior experience in that department. Hopefully in time, the rest of the crew will come around. During the first season of the original version, that Gladiator crew didn't show much charisma, but in the later years they developed some.
I liked that they are varying up the events for the men and the women. Some of the episodes of the original would get boring, when you'd see the same thing four times. By seeing some events only twice, it to me, makes the show seem fresher.
As far as changes, there are two main ones that I would make. I don't like the nameless, faceless play-by-play announcer. I think the guy calling the action needs a more visible presence on the show. By doing the play-by-play in post production, whoever he is, does not seem to give it that personal touch like Mike Adamle did on the original. The guy I always pictured in the role if they ever did a Gladiators remake, was Joey Styles from ECW. I'd love to hear an "Oh My God!" after someone took a big hit, or had a big fall.
The other change is that the new Eliminator is way too long, and difficult. They are asking for trouble by requiring the contestants to swim underneath that wall of fire. I have a fear that one of these days someone is going to lose their breath and either drown or get barbecued. There is too much going up and down. I think they need to take a lesson from the original and make the transitions between the legs of the Eliminator smoother. This would hopefully lead to less contestants being completely out of gas before they are even half done.
Hulk Hogan has never met a camera he didn't like, and I thought he did well. I don't know where some of this talk of him looking bored is coming from. I thought he did well interviewing the contestants. Laila doesn't have as much experience in front of the camera as Hulk, but I thought she held her own.
As for the Gladiators, Wolf is my early favorite, because he has shown the most personality. It helps that he wrestled professionally, and has prior experience in that department. Hopefully in time, the rest of the crew will come around. During the first season of the original version, that Gladiator crew didn't show much charisma, but in the later years they developed some.
I liked that they are varying up the events for the men and the women. Some of the episodes of the original would get boring, when you'd see the same thing four times. By seeing some events only twice, it to me, makes the show seem fresher.
As far as changes, there are two main ones that I would make. I don't like the nameless, faceless play-by-play announcer. I think the guy calling the action needs a more visible presence on the show. By doing the play-by-play in post production, whoever he is, does not seem to give it that personal touch like Mike Adamle did on the original. The guy I always pictured in the role if they ever did a Gladiators remake, was Joey Styles from ECW. I'd love to hear an "Oh My God!" after someone took a big hit, or had a big fall.
The other change is that the new Eliminator is way too long, and difficult. They are asking for trouble by requiring the contestants to swim underneath that wall of fire. I have a fear that one of these days someone is going to lose their breath and either drown or get barbecued. There is too much going up and down. I think they need to take a lesson from the original and make the transitions between the legs of the Eliminator smoother. This would hopefully lead to less contestants being completely out of gas before they are even half done.