American Gladiators is an American competition television series that aired on NBC and Citytv in Canada. Hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, the show matches amateur athletes against each other and the show's own "gladiators" in contests of strength, agility, and endurance. It is a remake of the original series of the same name which ran from 1989 to 1996, with elements of the British version of the 1990s. The show was refereed by Al Kaplon, a former American League umpire, who can also be seen as the referee in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Play-by-play narration was handled by Van Earl Wright.
Two seasons were produced by Reveille Productions and MGM Television, both of which were aired in 2008. The first season was taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. The show moved to the Los Angeles Sports Arena for season two.
Format Season 1 of the revival featured 24 contenders (12 male, 12 female), while Season 2 had 40 contenders (20 male, 20 female). Men and women compete in separate tournaments, with two men and two women competing in each episode. In each episode, contenders take part in several events against the Gladiators, trying to earn as many points as possible before the final event, the Eliminator. Each point separating the contenders translates into a half-second advantage for the leader (or a half-second handicap for the trailing contender). For Season 1, preliminary round matches consisted of four events plus the Eliminator; semifinals and finals matches were extended to five events plus the Eliminator (by comparison, the original series had either six or seven events plus the Eliminator). The first two preliminary matches of Season 2 had four events plus the Eliminator. All other rounds had six events plus the Eliminator. For 90-minute episodes, all the events were shown in their entirety, but for 60-minute episodes, two events for each gender were shown only in brief "recap" segments; those events could be viewed in their entirety on the NBC website.
In Season 1, the four male contenders and the four female contenders who won their respective preliminary matches with the fastest Eliminator times advanced to the semifinals; the winners of the two semifinals matches competed in the finals. In Season 2, the top six contenders of each gender advanced to the semifinals; after three semifinal matches, the two winning contenders of each gender with the fastest Eliminator times advanced to the finals.
The grand prize in Season 1 was $100,000, a 2008 Toyota Sequoia, and the right to become a Gladiator for Season 2. The cash prize and car remained the same in Season 2, but there was no explicit mention of the contenders becoming Gladiators.
History After discussions with MGM, NBC confirmed in August 2007 that a revival would be produced by Reveille Productions and MGM Television for a mid-season debut. Shortly thereafter, NBC announced a casting call on its website. The first ad for the revival aired during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 22, 2007. Although some analysts believe that the show was revived in response to talks of an upcoming WGA strike, which was ongoing at the time of American Gladiators' premier, evidence of this is inconclusive.
American Gladiators premiered on Sunday, January 6, 2008, an average of 12 million people watched the two-hour premiere. All other Season 1 episodes aired Mondays at 8:00 ET/PT, except for the finale, which aired Sunday, February 17, 2008, at 7:00 ET/PT. Season 2 premiered May 12, 2008, on NBC, with a two-hour episode. The two-hour Season 2 finale aired on August 4, 2008, at 8:00 ET/PT. While the final two-hour episode of Season 1 was devoted entirely to the finals, the Season 2 finale consisted of the third semifinal round followed by the finals.
New episodes and new cast members were planned for a 3rd season in the summer of 2009, however, NBC canceled those plans in March.
Rights holder MGM was developing an American Gladiators revival, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg on as executive producers, as of August 2018.
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Johnny Ferraro is to bring back a second revival following the BBC's successful revival of the British version.
Syndication In August 2008, season 1 of American Gladiators began airing on WKAQ-TV, Telemundo Puerto Rico every Sunday at 8 pm. In September 2008, the first season began airing on Sky1 in the United Kingdom on Tuesday afternoons. In April 2009, Season 2 was broadcast on Sky1 on Saturday evenings. In Australia, American Gladiators started airing on Seven's new free-to-air digital channel 7Two on Wednesdays at 7:30pm from November 4, 2009. The first season was also broadcast in Spain as Gladiadores s.XXI, with dubbed commentary, on Cuatro. Today, the show (plus the original one) can be seen on Hulu. In addition, the series airs on their dedicated channel on Pluto TV.
Gladiators
Female gladiators One of the female gladiators on this series, Jennifer Widerstrom, known by the stage name "Phoenix" on this show, later became a fitness trainer on The Biggest Loser, replacing Jillian Michaels.
Alias Seasons Birth name Height and Weight Information First Last Crush 1 2 Gina Carano 5'8", 150 lbs (1.70 m, 68 kg) Professional mixed martial artist and actress Fury 1 1 Jamie Reed 5'8", 150 lbs (1.70 m, 68 kg) Jamie Reed “Fury” Kovac is not related to Tanoia Reed (Toa) Hellga 1 2 Robin Coleman 6'1", 205 lbs (1.83 m, 93 kg) Actress and professional bodybuilder Jet 2 2 Monica Carlson 5'7", 130 lbs (1.68 m, 59 kg) Became Gladiator by virtue of Season 1 women's overall championship Panther 2 2 Corinne van Ryck de Groot 5'5", 125 lbs (1.63m, 57 kg) Phoenix 2 2 Jennifer Widerstrom 5'7", 153 lbs (1.67 m, 68 kg) Siren 1 2 Valerie Waugaman 5'9", 145 lbs (1.73 m, 66 kg) Professional bodybuilder Stealth 1 1 Tanji Johnson 5'2", 100 lbs (1.55 m, 56 kg) Steel 2 2 Erin Toughill 5'10", 156 lbs (1.75 m, 73 kg) Professional boxer and mixed martial artist Venom 1 2 Beth Horn 5'8", 137 lbs (1.70 m, 62 kg)
Male gladiators Alias Seasons Birth name Height & Weight Information First Last Beast 2 2 Matt Morgan 7'0", 310 lbs (2.13 m, 140 kg) Professional wrestler who has had long stints with WWE and TNA. Hurricane 2 2 Breaux Greer 6'2", 230 lbs (1.85 m, 104 kg) Represented the United States in the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics, American record holder for the javelin throw Justice 1 2 Jesse "Justice" Smith, Jr. 6'8", 290 lbs (2.03 m, 131 kg)Actor in Thor and Like Mike, professional kickboxer and competitor on WWE's Tough Enough Mayhem 1 1 William Romeo 6'6", 230 lbs (1.98 m, 104 kg) Reserve (Season 2) Militia 1 2 Alex Castro 6'3", 220 lbs (1.88 m, 99.7 kg) Rocket 2 2 Evan Dollard 5'10", 160 lbs (1.75 m, 72 kg) Season 1 Men's Champion Titan 1 2 Michael O'Hearn 6'3", 263 lbs (1.91 m, 119 kg) Gladiator captain Reserve (original version – as "Thor")EW GLADIATOR NAME Titan Mandi Bierly; Jan 25, 2008 Toa 1 2 Tanoai Reed 6'3", 240 lbs (1.91 m, 108 kg) Tanoai Reed is not related to costar Jamie Reed “Fury” Kovac. Wolf 1 2 Don "Hollywood" Yates 6'4", 225 lbs (1.94 m, 102 kg) Zen 2 2 Xin Wuku 5'9", 160 lbs (1.73m, 72 kg) Gained fame through the "Urban Ninja" YouTube video.
Events
The following is a list of events featured on American Gladiators. Descriptions of events that were played on the original version of American Gladiators contain only the changes made in the revival and the season the event was introduced in is shown in brackets. Season 1 featured a total of ten events, including the Eliminator, where Season 2 featured seven additional events.
Assault In Assault (Season 1), the contenders begin the course holding the ball for use in the first weapon, a slingshot. The second station is a rotating turret that contenders must rotate into position and load themselves. The third station is a sand pit where an arrow is hidden for the crossbow waiting at station four (they complete the station by finding the arrow). Contenders are given a smokescreen at station three to assist in moving to station four. The fifth station consists of throwing three balls at the target. If the contenders hit any part of the target, they earn 10 points. Hitting the target or pushing the button at the end of the course triggers pyrotechnics at the Gladiator's platform, and the Gladiator is rapidly pulled off the platform by a pulley and harness fly system across the arena and into the water tank. If time runs out, or contenders are hit by a ball fired by the Gladiator before hitting the target, they earn one point for each station completed. In Season 2, the turret no longer moves side to side, and a bazooka was added for the third station. Contenders no longer have to fish in the sand for an arrow or load any of the weapons with the exception of the slingshot. If a ball fired by the gladiator bounces off the floor before hitting the contender, the hit does not count.
Atlasphere The return of Atlasphere (Season 2), last seen in Season 5 of the original series (1993–94), includes elements from the original series. The competitors begin on ramps, as in Seasons 3 and 4 of the original series, and each contender must roll his/her sphere directly over the sensors in the middle of the pod to release a blast of steam and score 2 points.
Earthquake In Earthquake, the contender and Gladiator wrestle on a platform that is suspended above the floor in Season 1, or the pool in Season 2, and is moved during the event. If the Contender takes the Gladiator off the platform, he or she is declared the winner, even if he or she also comes down in the process. A Contender gets 10 points if he or she pulls the Gladiator down, and 5 points if he or she lasts the entire 30 seconds. Holding on to the wires supporting the Earthquake ring is legal, but kicking or otherwise using the foot to remove the Contender from the ring is not. The event is similar in concept to "Conquer", the second part of "Breakthrough and Conquer".
Gauntlet In Gauntlet (Season 1), the contenders earn two points for each of four Gladiators they pass within the 30-second time limit and an additional two points if they can break through a foam wall 10 feet beyond the final Gladiator, for a maximum of 10 points. The rule change is similar to the seventh and eighth seasons of the UK Series. In addition, the Gauntlet is enclosed, so contenders cannot be pushed "out of bounds."
In the Season 2 semifinals, the rules reverted to ones similar to those used in the original US version: contenders earn 10 points for completing the Gauntlet in under 20 seconds, or 5 for doing so within the 30-second limit.
Hang Tough In Hang Tough (Season 1) the course is shorter, situated over a pool of water, and has much smaller platforms. Further, the Gladiator is allowed to use the contender's equipment (such as the straps holding the backpack) to pull the contender in. As in the original version, contenders receive 5 points if they are still on the course when the 60-second time limit expires. In Season 2, the course has been lengthened, and contenders must have at least one hand on a blue ring (all rings from the center row to the Gladiator's platform) when time expires in order to earn points for a draw.
Hit & Run