2008 American Gladiators

Bigger and Better for 2008 on NBC PrimeTime -

It's back......YEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

American Gladiators returns!!!!

American Gladiators will premiere on NBC - SUNDAY Jan. 6th at 9pm

Join us in welcoming the American Gladiators back!!!

More Action, More Speed, More Muscles, and yes.....MORE SPANDEX!!!!

Remember, starting on Monday, Jan. 7, the show moves to its normal time slot, Mondays at 8:00 PM

Question Asked:
Are any of the original 1989 American Gladiators involved in The 2008 show?

None of the original Gladiators are competing, although I have heard that Nitro was a consultant on the show, and many of the production people came back from the original.

However, the new Titan was a backup gladiator during the last series of the original show. All but two of the events on the new AG were in the original series. The Joust, Assault, Powerball, Hang Tough, The Wall, Pyramid, The Gauntlet, and of course, The Eliminator are all back (and in my opinion, better than ever). They also have two new events, Hit and Run (which was an event on the UK series when the original was on the air) and Earthquake, which can best be described as Conquer in mid-air on a moving platform.

Hulk Hogan was chosen because of the built in fan base that he brings to the table, as well as his ability to play to a live crowd. To be honest, the hosts were the biggest question mark, but after attending several tapings, I will admit that they chose the new hosts very well.

New for 2008 NBC American Gladiators Fan Site. Starring your American Gladiators Venom, Stealth, Hellga, Crush, Fury, and Siren. American Gladiators the new NBC hit in 2008.

Newsweek can be pretty LAME, But this guy although not very exciting...Almost gets it!!!

Abraham Lincoln, in an 1861 letter to a widow who was trying to find jobs for her children, wrote, "Wanting to work is so rare a merit that it should be encouraged." It may sound a little, well, odd that this quote came to mind while I was watching the two-night premiere of NBC's revived blood-sweat-and-Spandex sports competition "American Gladiators." But in watching the show, in which contestants compete in gonzo athletic events for a shot at $100,000, I couldn't help but think I was watching the triumphant return of actual effort on television. And despite the fact that the show met with criticism and snobbery, I'd argue that "Gladiators" is among television's most noble shows.

Don't get me wrong, I get the resistance to the show on many levels. The aesthetics of it alone are enough to discount it: those second-skin uniforms that only forgive obsessively perfected physiques, the comical posturing of the Gladiators, the mere sight of Hulk Hogan. It's all very difficult to take seriously. (Not helping matters was the revelation that one Gladiator was once featured in--ahem--all-male pornography.) But beneath the cheesy surface is the closest thing to pure competition on television these days.

There is lots of competition on TV now--it's always been the easiest way to provoke drama--but most competition-based television shows are far from meritocratic. Each season on "American Idol," for example, the integrity of the game is called into question because it leaves too much margin for error. Some ardent fans bombard the phone lines with computer autodialers, while "Idol" haters like those behind the Web site Vote for the Worst encourage viewers to keep less talented competitors in the running. When Ruben Studdard trounced Clay Aiken in the season two finale, the FCC was flooded with complaints from viewers alleging the show was rigged. Those who posited that more phone lines were allotted for Studdard or that the results were tampered with so the black contestant could win sounded the most reasonable of the bunch.

It isn't just the "democratic" competitions that are impure. Shows whose winners are determined by expert judges, such as "Project Runway," are just as flawed. "Runway," as terrific a show as it is, has an elimination process that is a complete black box. There's absolutely no way of knowing what is actually going into the elimination process, and the elimination decisions are often befuddling. It certainly doesn't help that as standard practice, reality competitions feature in their credits boilerplate language that essentially says that judges don't have complete autonomy. They confer with producers before making a final decision, reinforcing the notion that contestants are eliminated for being boring to watch rather than for lacking in talent.

"Project Runway" isn't even the worst offender. NBC's stand-up competition, "Last Comic Standing," fomented coup in its second season, when its celebrity judges found out their input had nothing to do with who would actually advance. Drew Carey, along with Brett Butler, stormed off the show in a fury when it was revealed their choices bore little resemblance to the list of advancing contestants. Our sense of what constitutes a competition has become so muddied that the more arbitrary the results, the better. A main selling point of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" is just how random the vetting process is. Will Trump fire one contestant or two? Or three? Will it be for actually underperforming on a task, or for blurting something out at the wrong moment? Tune in to find out!

The reason for resistance to meritocracy came immediately after Monday's episode of "Gladiators"--an all-new "Deal or No Deal." You know, the show in which people who have invested absolutely nothing ponder how much of a windfall they'll deign to accept for having yelled out numbers. Television competition, it seems, is about wish fulfillment. Apparently, it's no fun to watch people who deserve to have things actually getting them; it's more fun to watch undeserving people being showered with cash and prizes. We cheer for the "Survivor" contestant who wins a cool million bucks for "flying under the radar," but mock the "Gladiator" contestant who pushes himself physically for a shot at a 10th of that amount.
This is why I'm a little peeved when people act as though "American Gladiators" signals the downfall of our culture. "Gladiators" is a show where people are rewarded for working hard and being the best in the competition. If you're better at climbing rock walls than your opponent, you win that round. If you swing a mean pugil stick, glory will be yours. If you can shoot a ball into a basket while being tackled by a former star of gay erotica, to you go the spoils. There's work. There's merit. There's deservedness. This is as it should be. What would Lincoln watch?

On the Sony lot in Culver City -- which just so happens to be right across the street from IGN's L.A. office -- the American Gladiators have returned. On a large soundstage, new, intimidating looking versions of old challenges from the original show can be seen, including the Joust, the Pyramid and the Wall. And the Gladiators themselves? They are an incredibly impressive group of physical specimens, all of whom could doubtlessly crush me, which makes the fact that one of them is in fact named Crush all the more appropriate.

Hosting the new American Gladiators is someone who's very familiar with combining a strong body with crowd-pleasing performances, WWE legend Hulk Hogan. Hogan doesn't mince words when it comes to discussing the return of the show, saying "It's probably going to be the most exciting piece of prime time television to come along in a long time, because it was like a piece of Americana that's always been there. It's kind of like a McDonalds, a Chevrolet, a Babe Ruth, a Hulk Hogan, a Mohammed Ali. American Gladiators has been kind of intertwined in American society for so long that to bring it back is something that makes sense and something that's a genius idea at this time." Hogan also notes with a smile that the show was in the works well before the current writers strike. "I think it's going to be something that people get addicted to," adds the wrestling icon. "It's faster and quicker than the old Gladiators show. The production is a lot slicker. They've added more intensity to the events and there's water involved in a lot of the events." Hogan also remarked "I think the one thing that is really going to make people get hooked on the show is the competition, the contenders; the normal people that came to the dance this time. They beat out thousands of people to get here. The normal people who made it here needed more than just the physicality, they needed motivation." Hogan revealed the contenders on the show include people with very noteworthy stories, including the child of a fireman who died in 911, a contestant with a parent serving in the military overseas, and more. "I think when the people at home see this, and they realize what they're up against with these American Gladiators, that are physical phenoms, I think it's going to be an interesting piece of programming on TV."

Hogan was very impressed by the Gladiators themselves, saying "I've been watching these guys for a couple weeks now. I've gotten to know them all pretty good; their personalities. I feel very good about these guys." Pointing to himself, he said "I don't want people to talk about the old people either, but nothing against young kids, but sometimes when you get a bunch of young kids out here that testosterone gets going and instead of just stopping someone from scoring a point or something, they may try and stop them from scoring a point and hurt them, which isn't the case here. These guys know that physicality is involved, they know that it's a competition, but they're not here to hurt anybody. I just like the mindset. It's competitive on a nice level, but they want to win. They're not giving anybody too much slack or no slack at all from what I've seen, but they're not out here to hurt someone if they get in a compromising position. Because there's been a couple of times here when some of the competitors have gotten in over their heads and a Gladiator could have really put an extra twist or a turn or dragged their leg an extra notch and really done some damage. I respect what I see here. I love these guys." Hogan couldn't resist adding "The girls I need to have a talk with. They get a little crazy sometimes."As for his advice to the contestants, Hogan said "It's a total 100% commitment. When you go to do something physical, even if you get the butterflies and even if you're nervous, like I always was before I went to the ring, once you step in there you've got to commit, because if you don't go 100%, that's when you get hurt. Every time I was in the ring I said 'I'm not going to hit the ropes quite as hard' or 'I'm not gonna run quite as fast. I'm not gonna jump up as high before I land on my butt with the dropped leg.'" Hogan said it was thinking like that which would lead to "'Oh, I hurt my back! I hurt my hip!' I learned if somebody's throwing you over the top rope and you're gonna hit the floor, just go for it. Stay tight. Keep your knees in. Just don't be flailing around, because that's when you get hurt. I've tried to give them a little bit of what I've learned and don't worry about the cosmetics. You want your hair to look good? Tighten that damn helmet up. Make sure that mouth piece is in and bite down on it. Don't worry about 100 years from now how your eye makeup looks."
When it comes to his duties on the show, Hogan remarked "The hosting part is great, but what I've done is tried to find out what my niche is and what my groove is. I'm not trying to talk down to these kids - These young men and women. I don't know how to say what they are, I'm so old! I'm not trying to talk down on them, but I'm trying to find my spot. What's my character? And it's kind of like wherever they're going, I've already been, so I'm trying to talk to them [with] wisdom." Hogan has been speaking to us in a normal, relaxed speaking voice, but suddenly switches to his more well known in-ring voice as he gives us examples, proclaiming "'These are my Gladiators! If you want to live forever, then see if you can beat them! They're the best of the best!' And when I talk with the Gladiators [I say things like] 'I've picked up Andre the Giant! What was it like when you had that competitor over your head? Were you going to throw him into the water or were you going to throw him into the bleachers?' I'm trying to come from an entertainment perspective when I talk, but my vision when I'm talking to these Gladiators is I'm kind of like their mentor; that I've been in these wars for 30 years, whether they've been real or fake, but I've been there and that's what I'm doing with the hosting."
Hands down the hottest American Gladiator is SIREN!!!
I say....GOD DAMN!!!
Siren is unbelievable!!!
We would suggest Voting SIREN for President in '08
America needs a strong woman President

All the new American Gladiators look like they can handle all the crazy events, but muscles alone weren't enough for these games. They went through weeks of training to make sure they could dominate the arena. The contestants get a little training too to even the odds.

Sound the Siren

"It was like boot camp," recalled Siren. "We have bruises and strains just from training, before we even got to the set. Some of the things we were really not able to simulate the exact way we were going to perform on set. I feel like just because it's the first season, we're learning so much about protecting our own house, but this was the first time we were on some of our own events on primetime TV, so I'm pretty proud of us."

The training taught her that the most intimidating event was actually her forte. "I was not looking forward to doing Powerball which is where you tackle the people and they try to get the ball in the basket. I just thought it looked like you could be injured really easily. I love it. It's my favorite event and I tackled every person and I was so full of adrenaline. At the end, I'm like oh, that's it? I was ready to go again. So it was really strange how that was opposite of what I saw."
Siren is branded the beauty that masks a deadly warrior. According to her, this isn't too much of a stretch. "Our characters are just an extension of us but to the 10th degree. We have to really amplify ourselves. I think we actually tried to act in the beginning. When they said, 'Okay, let's practice your character. We're going to put you on film and see what you can do.' It was just horrible. We would just laugh at ourselves because we were trying too hard to be something when we were already ourselves and we just needed to be ourselves at a higher state, more amplified."

Behind the scenes, the gladiators are all pals, helping out when they suffer the inevitable injuries. "When we need to, we step in for each other. If you're having a rough day with injuries or if you just got kind of knocked out on an event and you need a break, you need somebody to step up, we have such a great team. The Gladiator team is like a family and we really help each other out. So I think that we were lucky to have that, those type of people to step up for you."

American Gladiators begins January 6th on NBC.
The 100% unofficial Fan Site for American Gladiators
AMERICAN GLADIATORS FAN SITE!!!!!

The New 2008 AMERICAN GLADIATOR - More Speed, More Action, More Violence, MORE SPANDEX!!!!

How can anyone resist the energy of American Gladiator. After years of waiting American Gladiator is back!! The new American Gladiator will premiere on NBC, Sunday January 6th at 9pm...and its gonna ROCK!!! Visit the new American Gladiators FAN CLUB!!
We have the toughest links, hottest shwag, and killer information on the hottest TV show in years!!! THE NEW for 2008 American Gladiators. Hosted by the man himself - HULK HOGAN and Laila Ali. Say goodbye to the days of the lame reality competition shows...American Gladiators will CRUSH Dancing with the Stars!!! and put the PAIN on "The Singing Bee"
American Gladiators RULE!!!!!
American Gladiators is a real sport. The stars may be larger than life performers, but when the contestants cross their paths, there's no performance. If Militia says so, it must be true.

An American Gladiator: Militia

"You really never prepare because it's unpredictable, the people you're competing against, what they're going to do," he said. "Especially all these competitions, everybody's trying to get the $100,000 so they do anything they can to win so it was hard. It was tough and trying to get used to that and pass the first season was hard."

The injuries are real too. "I think that somewhere along the lines, everyone, I got injured too. My legs and in my arms, somewhere along the line, everybody got injured. This is like, everybody's giving everything they've got in the competition and you're going to get injured. That's what makes us different from everybody else. We are gladiators so we are injured and we are still competing. We're still up there giving the best that we've got and I think people are just going to look at how [Stealth] got injured and then she stands up and her feet keep going.
Does it get any better???
I'll be the first one to say when I heard the just the rumor of American Gladiator coming back... I was psyched.
But than finding out that HULK HOGAN is involved...HOLY CRAP!!!!!
And it keeps getting better...HOGAN is gonna take down pumpkin head Rosie O'Donnell

Former wrestling legend Hulk Hogan is ready to throw down on former "View" host Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell made a lot of wild statements during her short stint on the ABC morning program and apparently Hulk was unimpressed with the shock jock's antics and would lie to help her kep her opinions to herself.

Hogan has had his own problems of late with his son Nick in hot water over a horrific crash that left a close friend of his hospitalized and also the Hulkster is facing what looks like might be a public divorce from his wife Linda. So hiw do you throw folks off the trail, snap at Rosie.

***

Hulk was busy promoting his latest television effort and apparently still understands how to ramp up the rhetoric and did his finest Donald trump impersonation and went straight after Rosie. According to TMZ.Com at today's press day for his new show "American Gladiators," Hulk was asked which celebrity he'd like to see a Gladiator pummel. His answer "Without a doubt Rosie O'Donnell. Somebody needs to shut that big mouth up."

Will this be more controversy for the Hulkster? He is certainly hoping so, after all he learned promotion from Vince McMahon.