Mr. Gary Lee

As soon as the American Gladiator theme song started playing, I remembered getting together in the family room with my cousin, sister and the rest of the family to watch the Gladiators mix it up! Cheering for Nitro, Diamond, Zap, Turbo and my all time favorite - Lace - was one of my favorite childhood memories and dreams of competing are still a dream! haha . . . oh, I can’t forget Malibu . . hahah! man . . and people wonder why I’ve turned out this way!

So now, NBC has brought back American Gladiators and instead of the hokey hosts Larry Csonka, Mike Adamle, and Joe Theisman, we got hosting rookies Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali. I’m watching the premier episode as I type this blog, so don’t expect this post to be as eloquent as my other posts :). The format seems to be pretty much the same, but to be honest with you, I thought NBC would make it into a reality show with the competitors in one house and the gladiators in another house! Speaking of the Gladiators, I was curious to see who would be the new Gladiator Hottie, replacing my all-time favorite Gladiator - Lace! Here’s a list of the new female Gladiators . . . which one are you gonna pick as the Gladiator Hottie?

	Crush - Definitely a hottie. From what I’ve seen, not really big on personality, but I’m sure she’s just a little shy right now. Doesn’t she remind you of the start of Bionic Woman?
	Fury - At least she’s keeping it old skool with the 80’s scrunchee and hair!
	Helga - Is it me or shouldn’t she have a sweedish accent? She dresses the part, so she might as well play the part! I think she’s going to be a Pop Icon for 2008. Someone’s gotta replace Psycho Spears, right?
	Siren - Probably comes in second for the Gladiator Hottie. I didn’t really get to see her much, but based on this picture. Nice!
	Venom - OK, this might sound mean and if by some chance in hell she reads this blog and sees me on the streets in LA, I’m sorry. But she looks like a porn star.
	Stealth - She looks like what Jada Pinkett Smith would look like if she took steroids.

Final Thoughts - These are not in order, just overall impressions after watching the show.

• That Eliminator is whack. What happened to the arm bike thing? What’s this swimming under fire thing? And WHO THE HELL thought it was cool to put the rope on the Travelator to help them make it up?
• I think it would be so cool to have Celebrity Gladiators. Imagine Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears or Terrell Owens and his personality or Shaquille O’Neal aka The Big Gladiator!
• New York Fire Fighters should learn how to swim!
• These Gladiators aren’t as nice as the 80’s version! You can tell how much trash talking and public humiliation has permeated into society, replacing good sportsmanship and friendly competition.
• How is Assault not a every episode staple?
• Someone is going to make their own version of American Gladiators on YouTube and get a lot of hits! Remember those backyard wrestling videos of kids jumping off roofs to powerslam their friends. This IS the next Phenomenon.
• Again, the rope on the travelator is so pure cheating!

I can’t wait to go watch a episode in person. The studio is just down the street, so I hope my friend can get us tickets!

Anyone catch the first two episodes of American Gladiators? What are your thoughts?

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