My husband loved American Gladiators growing up & now that it’s on again, we, of course, TiVo’d it. I will admit my doubts, but they evaporated after the intro. It’s totally Takeshi’s Castle meets Ninja Warrior with a media frenzy that only the US can provide.

The jist of it is thus: 12 Gladiators (6 men & 6 women) compete against civilians (who, since this is the US will win money if they make it). It’s all in good fun and the Gladiators have personas: Wolf & Helga, Militia & Crush. It’s hosted by Hulk Hogan & a Gladiator from the 80s.

The costumes are pretty weird: combination of ancient Roman gladiator costumes (or what you expect them to look like from movies) and a porno. The women’s costumes are all the same except two: Crush reminds me of Sporty Spice, always my favorite Spice Girl, and Helga‘s obviously supposed to be the typical Germanic bitch. On the men’s side, Titan looks like Hercules and Toa seems a little racist, although he’s definitely into the whole chanting stuff, so maybe not.

Mostly, it seems to be pretty even on the gender front, although after the first round (the women’s), Hulk said, “Now it’ll really get started!” which I missed but my husband caught & brought to my attention.

Is it scripted? Probably. Is it over the top? Definitely. Is it fun? Boatloads. Although, I recommend watching it taped so you can fast forward through the “I love my kids” and “You’re totally beat, how do you feel?!” speeches.