So. American Gladiators.
I watched the new version of the show last night, and to be honest, my feelings about it are kinda mixed.
First of all, the presentation. A bit much, don't you think? Is all the pyro really necessary for a show like this? I mean, I know it's 2008, but still... And the hosts? I was iffy about them before, and while Hogan turned out to be a bit better than I thought, they could still use some work. But it's early in the season, so like other hosts, it's possible that they could get better with time. We'll see, though. And I was worried that after seeing some clips on the official site, we'd be going without commentary during the gameplay. Thankfully, those worries were unwarranted.
As for the gameplay itself, while I am a bit disappointed that the contenders will be playing fewer events each round, I'm not really surprised, considering the whole deal with commercial time. They do seem to have tried to make up for it by making it a bit easier to score points in certain events, so... yeah. And yeah, the show's editing has to be mentioned. Look, just because shows like Deal or No Deal and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader have a tendency to cut to a commercial at certain "cliffhanger" moments, doesn't mean this show has to as well. That's all I'll say about that. And while a little trash-talking is okay, I think there's a bit too much of it in this version.
I also noticed that this version seems to have had some inspiration from the old British version. The countdown before the ref blows the whistle to start an event, playing "Another One Bites The Dust" if the Gladiator wins in certain events, calling the treadmill the "travelator"... Just thought I'd mention that.
Now, the events themselves...
Assault - While I am happy to see this event return, it feels to me like they messed with it a bit too much. For example, in the classic version, I think 60 seconds was just enough time to get through each of the 5 stations and, provided the contender misses with each weapon, still have a decent amount of time to get to the end of the course. And they just had to fire the weapons; no loading necessary. Here, they apparently have to load each weapon before firing. Now, I can understand that with the slingshot, but I really think that they should have had each of the others pre-loaded and ready to fire. This became apparent to me when I saw how much time each contender spent on the first 2 stations last night. Oh, and the 3rd station seems to be nothing but digging an arrow out of the sandpit to use at the 4th station. That just doesn't seem right to me. I do like the smokescreen idea, though.
Earthquake - Seems alright to me, though if it wasn't for the platform tilting itself, it seems like it would just be a longer version of the Conquer portion of Breakthrough & Conquer.
Gauntlet - The classic version had a 25 second limit to get past 5 Gladiators at first, then went to a 20 second limit for 4. Here, we have a 30 second limit for 4, and instead of having to get to the end in time to score any points, it's 2 points for each Gladiator they get past, with an extra 2 for getting to the end. So, they made it easier to score points, though like I said earlier, it's probably to make up for having fewer events per round. Because of that, I don't really have a problem with it.
Hang Tough - While the event itself is the same, the big change here? They shrunk it! There are fewer rings up there! And the platforms are smaller! Now, while I can understand that they probably did this because the pool wasn't big enough for the event's original size, it seems like there's less room for the contender to work with in evading the Gladiator. And considering this event is supposed to involve strategy, it seems to me like it would mean less strategy is involved here, which irks me a bit. But with less distance to cross to get from platform to platform, and judging by what I saw last night, this might also be another of those "easier to score points because of fewer events" things.
Hit and Run - Crossing a bridge while evading 100-pound demolition balls swung at them, with 2 points for each successful crossing. I like it.
Joust - Aside from using a pool instead of padding below, and all the pyro, it's basically the same event that it was before. And that's a good thing.
Power Ball - A few small changes to this one; bigger holes in the scoring pods making it easier to put the balls in them, and an extra 15 seconds to give the contenders more time to score points. (Yep, possibly making up for fewer events again.) It's still cool. And with all the physicality in this event, I'm not surprised that they surrounded the field with padding.
Pyramid - It's nice to see this one again, mostly unchanged. The only difference is that a contender can score 5 points for getting past a white line about halfway up, which I have no problem with, especially since I think I can guess why they added that. I am concerned that they don't seem to have any spotters on the floor, making sure no one rolls off the padding at the bottom after a big throw. It just seems like a bit of a safety oversight to me. (Well, now that I think about it, maybe they do have spotters, but they're trying to keep them off-camera or something. That would be weird, though.)
Wall - It's basically the same event that it was before, except with the pool below. Still a nice event.
Eliminator - Wow. They really outdid themselves with this one. Maybe this is another reason for fewer events each round; that looks like one really exhausting course! I am concerned about having the fire above the water there, and maybe it's just me, but I'd feel more comfortable if they had something surrounding it to make sure the contenders don't touch it, especially when jumping into the water. It's good to see the handbikes again, though I'd have tried to put it earlier in the course somehow, if I was designing it. I found it interesting that they incorporated the Pyramid into this course, but another concern I have has to do with the fact that they positioned a car (which I assume is one of the prizes for winning the whole tournament) rather close to it. I get the feeling that an exhausted contender, upon getting to that point, will end up running into the vehicle. And then, there's the treadmill. When I saw a pic of it at the show's official website, I couldn't help but think, "Why did they add a rope to it? The classic version's treadmill didn't need no stinkin' rope!" After seeing how tired the contenders were by the time they got to it, I can now see why.
Overall, the show could use plenty of improvements, but I still like it nonetheless. I'll still watch it, especially since the Canadian version of ESPN Classic has apparently stopped airing the classic version for whatever reason (something that I hope is only temporary).
First of all, the presentation. A bit much, don't you think? Is all the pyro really necessary for a show like this? I mean, I know it's 2008, but still... And the hosts? I was iffy about them before, and while Hogan turned out to be a bit better than I thought, they could still use some work. But it's early in the season, so like other hosts, it's possible that they could get better with time. We'll see, though. And I was worried that after seeing some clips on the official site, we'd be going without commentary during the gameplay. Thankfully, those worries were unwarranted.
As for the gameplay itself, while I am a bit disappointed that the contenders will be playing fewer events each round, I'm not really surprised, considering the whole deal with commercial time. They do seem to have tried to make up for it by making it a bit easier to score points in certain events, so... yeah. And yeah, the show's editing has to be mentioned. Look, just because shows like Deal or No Deal and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader have a tendency to cut to a commercial at certain "cliffhanger" moments, doesn't mean this show has to as well. That's all I'll say about that. And while a little trash-talking is okay, I think there's a bit too much of it in this version.
I also noticed that this version seems to have had some inspiration from the old British version. The countdown before the ref blows the whistle to start an event, playing "Another One Bites The Dust" if the Gladiator wins in certain events, calling the treadmill the "travelator"... Just thought I'd mention that.
Now, the events themselves...
Assault - While I am happy to see this event return, it feels to me like they messed with it a bit too much. For example, in the classic version, I think 60 seconds was just enough time to get through each of the 5 stations and, provided the contender misses with each weapon, still have a decent amount of time to get to the end of the course. And they just had to fire the weapons; no loading necessary. Here, they apparently have to load each weapon before firing. Now, I can understand that with the slingshot, but I really think that they should have had each of the others pre-loaded and ready to fire. This became apparent to me when I saw how much time each contender spent on the first 2 stations last night. Oh, and the 3rd station seems to be nothing but digging an arrow out of the sandpit to use at the 4th station. That just doesn't seem right to me. I do like the smokescreen idea, though.
Earthquake - Seems alright to me, though if it wasn't for the platform tilting itself, it seems like it would just be a longer version of the Conquer portion of Breakthrough & Conquer.
Gauntlet - The classic version had a 25 second limit to get past 5 Gladiators at first, then went to a 20 second limit for 4. Here, we have a 30 second limit for 4, and instead of having to get to the end in time to score any points, it's 2 points for each Gladiator they get past, with an extra 2 for getting to the end. So, they made it easier to score points, though like I said earlier, it's probably to make up for having fewer events per round. Because of that, I don't really have a problem with it.
Hang Tough - While the event itself is the same, the big change here? They shrunk it! There are fewer rings up there! And the platforms are smaller! Now, while I can understand that they probably did this because the pool wasn't big enough for the event's original size, it seems like there's less room for the contender to work with in evading the Gladiator. And considering this event is supposed to involve strategy, it seems to me like it would mean less strategy is involved here, which irks me a bit. But with less distance to cross to get from platform to platform, and judging by what I saw last night, this might also be another of those "easier to score points because of fewer events" things.
Hit and Run - Crossing a bridge while evading 100-pound demolition balls swung at them, with 2 points for each successful crossing. I like it.
Joust - Aside from using a pool instead of padding below, and all the pyro, it's basically the same event that it was before. And that's a good thing.
Power Ball - A few small changes to this one; bigger holes in the scoring pods making it easier to put the balls in them, and an extra 15 seconds to give the contenders more time to score points. (Yep, possibly making up for fewer events again.) It's still cool. And with all the physicality in this event, I'm not surprised that they surrounded the field with padding.
Pyramid - It's nice to see this one again, mostly unchanged. The only difference is that a contender can score 5 points for getting past a white line about halfway up, which I have no problem with, especially since I think I can guess why they added that. I am concerned that they don't seem to have any spotters on the floor, making sure no one rolls off the padding at the bottom after a big throw. It just seems like a bit of a safety oversight to me. (Well, now that I think about it, maybe they do have spotters, but they're trying to keep them off-camera or something. That would be weird, though.)
Wall - It's basically the same event that it was before, except with the pool below. Still a nice event.
Eliminator - Wow. They really outdid themselves with this one. Maybe this is another reason for fewer events each round; that looks like one really exhausting course! I am concerned about having the fire above the water there, and maybe it's just me, but I'd feel more comfortable if they had something surrounding it to make sure the contenders don't touch it, especially when jumping into the water. It's good to see the handbikes again, though I'd have tried to put it earlier in the course somehow, if I was designing it. I found it interesting that they incorporated the Pyramid into this course, but another concern I have has to do with the fact that they positioned a car (which I assume is one of the prizes for winning the whole tournament) rather close to it. I get the feeling that an exhausted contender, upon getting to that point, will end up running into the vehicle. And then, there's the treadmill. When I saw a pic of it at the show's official website, I couldn't help but think, "Why did they add a rope to it? The classic version's treadmill didn't need no stinkin' rope!" After seeing how tired the contenders were by the time they got to it, I can now see why.
Overall, the show could use plenty of improvements, but I still like it nonetheless. I'll still watch it, especially since the Canadian version of ESPN Classic has apparently stopped airing the classic version for whatever reason (something that I hope is only temporary).