The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: MSTieScott on December 03, 2007, 01:55:54 PM
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This Saturday, I went to see a taping of the new American Gladiators. I'm not sure whether the rules of the board allow me to reveal things such as what the set looks like and which events will be played, so I won't mention any specifics here. I will say that I saw or heard reference to six classic events and one new event, and there very well could be more events than that in the rotation.
Overall, it's definitely in the spirit of the original -- now that I think about it, if the show had run continuously, what I saw may very well have been the natural evolution of it. I can tell that there will be a lot of work done in post-production -- with the exception of the gameplay, everything was subject to stopdowns and reshooting. (At one point in the day, after a large audience had been loaded in, we all had to sit and wait for over two and a half hours while they finished setting up, practicing, and blocking an event.)
I'm happiest to report that the same spirit of sportsmanship is still present -- they didn't try to play up fake rivalries or make everybody act mad at one another. The gladiators still brag, of course, but if a contender defeats a gladiator, the gladiator will usually offer them their congratulations. And even though they're competing against one another, most of the contenders have respect for one another. (I saw one or two exceptions, but they wound up looking kind of bad, so maybe they'll be edited out.)
While the rules and presentation have been tweaked a little in some of the classic events, they're all instantly recognizable. Not everyone will like the changes (I suspect the biggest complaints will be about the hosting and the editing, unless they have a really good editor), but it's still American Gladiators.
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Scott "my gladiator name would be Twig" Robinson
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$1 Million for winning the Eliminator, right?
/Gawd I hope I'm making a funi.
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just give me 'own the bone' and ill be happy
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' post=\'171188\' date=\'Dec 3 2007, 01:55 PM\']Scott "my gladiator name would be Twig" Robinson[/quote]
I lol'd.
There will always be some complaints about "new stuff," but the core of the show doesn't seem to be altered (for once).
ESPNC's been recently showing the Christensen episodes. Not sure if these episodes will be cut as bad as those.
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[quote name=\'toetyper\' post=\'171194\' date=\'Dec 3 2007, 01:41 PM\']
just give me 'own the bone' and ill be happy
[/quote]
I'd be pleasantly surprised, since that was a Season Five event and no one remembers anything from after about Season Three.
/Then again, the promo I saw online used the Season 5-7 theme, so what do I know?
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The pic with the Buzzerblog article looks like it has the Gauntlet, so yeah....
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Oh, cool. Gauntlet was easily the second-best thing to come out of the last three seasons.
1. Wishbone
2. Gauntlet
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372. Everything else
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There's another AG report on LAist (http://\"http://laist.com/2007/12/09/american_gladia.php\") for your reading pleasure. There's also embedded the Access Hollywood story. It's good to know that the production staff are staying true to form and spending 20 minutes to get a take. On the plus side, putting Joust and Hang Tough over water is probably safer (and cheaper?) than crash pads.
Right now, I count 7 events and the Eliminator, which is a good sign. I doubt all 8 are going to be played each game (the old AG barely fit 8 in themselves), but we should get 6 or 7 to allow for a nice little rotation.
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NBC's official Gladiators message board has a list of the events. Not including the Eliminator there are nine events. The new event Earthquake and the UK event Hit and Run. Classic Events include: Joust, Powerball, Assault, The Wall, Gauntlet, Pyramid, Hang Tough.
Source: http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showforum=248 (http://\"http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showforum=248\")
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Good, that almost guarantees rotation. There's probably going to be an odd number of events because they're doing the 2 events/day thing.
It seems like this version is borrowing a lot more from the UK Glads (especially if they are doing the 3-2-1 whistle as was alluded to in the AH thing). Any particular reason why we'd be porting a port?
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[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'172095\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 11:22 AM\']
It seems like this version is borrowing a lot more from the UK Glads (especially if they are doing the 3-2-1 whistle as was alluded to in the AH thing). Any particular reason why we'd be porting a port?
[/quote]
Huh?
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'172096\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 02:26 PM\']
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'172095\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 11:22 AM\']
It seems like this version is borrowing a lot more from the UK Glads (especially if they are doing the 3-2-1 whistle as was alluded to in the AH thing). Any particular reason why we'd be porting a port?
[/quote]
Huh?
[/quote]
Not 'huh?'.
Jesus.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'172098\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 11:38 AM\']
Not 'huh?'.
Jesus.
[/quote]
I was being generous.
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From just the limited amount of stuff we've seen, I'm really excited. I personally didn't (and still don't) like Hang Tough...but the other games will balance that out. At least they still have Assault.
/also though the Gauntlet was just "Breakthrough"
//didn't realize they were two different games
///has anything been shown/said about the Eliminator format?
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You know, after seeing the pics of the new female Gladiators, how much you want to bet they do some sort of a "surprise" on DoND involving one of them in disguise as a model? (Crush and Venom could fit-Hellga not so much)...you know NBC loves to cross-promote..
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[quote name=\'weaklink75\' post=\'172133\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 08:06 PM\']
You know, after seeing the pics of the new female Gladiators, how much you want to bet they do some sort of a "surprise" on DoND involving one of them in disguise as a model? (Crush and Venom could fit-Hellga not so much)...you know NBC loves to cross-promote..
[/quote]
I'm waiting for the wrasslin' fan, who ironidentially, just happens to LOVE Hulk Hogan...
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'172104\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 03:28 PM\']
///has anything been shown/said about the Eliminator format?
[/quote]
There's this thread on the NBC forums that should help on that one... (http://\"http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showtopic=779196\")
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[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'172095\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 07:22 PM\']
It seems like this version is borrowing a lot more from the UK Glads (especially if they are doing the 3-2-1 whistle as was alluded to in the AH thing). Any particular reason why we'd be porting a port?
[/quote]
Because everyone preferred our version, basically - it certainly set the template worldwide. Even the American Glads suggested our version was better!
You should have got Nigel Lythgoe to produce this, really. Is he still a judge on So You Think You Can Dance these days?
I'm still quite looking forward to it though. And inevitably Knights and Warriors remade in 2010.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'172096\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 11:26 AM\'][quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'172095\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 11:22 AM\']It seems like this version is borrowing a lot more from the UK Glads (especially if they are doing the 3-2-1 whistle as was alluded to in the AH thing). Any particular reason why we'd be porting a port?[/quote]Huh?[/quote]My guess: We did the "countdown" a particular way on the domestic version before the UK one even existed, so why would we bother to nick that part from the foreign version.
But admittedly that's as hair-splitting as you could get when comparing the two.
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[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'172077\' date=\'Dec 14 2007, 04:45 PM\']
On the plus side, putting Joust and Hang Tough over water is probably safer (and cheaper?) than crash pads.
[/quote]
Provided you don't get concussed, obviously.
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Here's what the Admin at the NBC board posted about the Eliminator:
"This is the ultimate timed obstacle course with fire and water. Contenders ascend and dive off of a 10-foot platform, swim beneath a flaming surface and climb a cargo net to pedal cranks high above ground. The contenders then pedal to a beam they must traverse across, then leap off and sprint up the Pyramid to a giant zip line that drops them at the reverse escalator. At the top of the escalator they grab a rope-swing that sends them crashing through the finish line."
Swimming below a flaming surface? Is that legal? Better yet, did they get Exxon to spill oil in the pool and set it aflame? Regardless of that, the new course seems harder than the original, that's for sure.
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So, based purely on that description, the Eliminator course is essentially:
"Ascending" (wall climb/rope climb/versaclimber?), pool swim, cargo net, handbike, balance beam, pyramid climb, zip line, treadmill, rope swing through the finish.
Sounds like a perfectly normal Eliminator course to me. No ball pits in sight or anything like that.
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So, the reverse "treadmill" is no longer placed on the start line & now is an escolator? I much rather see the trednill because it's possible to quickly ascend the escolator. I'm not sure how someone came up with having the surface of the water on fire, but that sounds harsh. This could result in serious problems if a contender tries to come up for air through the flames. The rest of the course seems about the same except the Pyramid which wasn't there in the original series. Earthquake sounds to me like an event that'll make me nervous the whole time. Hit & Run should be interesting, but I'd rather see a tethered medicine ball being used instead of that 100 lb. pendulim. At least one of my favoritte events Powerball is back along with Joust. Should be quite a series if the Hulkster doesn't screw around with the backstories.
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[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'172153\' date=\'Dec 15 2007, 03:43 AM\']
The rest of the course seems about the same except the Pyramid which wasn't there in the original series.[/quote]
There was an event called Pyramid, which started about mid-way through the show's run.
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[quote name=\'chad1m\' post=\'172163\' date=\'Dec 15 2007, 11:33 AM\']
[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'172153\' date=\'Dec 15 2007, 03:43 AM\']
The rest of the course seems about the same except the Pyramid which wasn't there in the original series.[/quote]
There was an event called Pyramid, which started about mid-way through the show's run.
[/quote]
Yes, and to add to the prior comment, the beginning of Season Five is pretty much the dividing line where the original Gladiators jumped the shark, as the tone of the show changed drastically, Zsonka and many of the better-known Glads left, and generally the whole show was a lot less good. Pyramid was one of four(!) new events, and one of the changes to the Eliminator was to move the treadmill to the end of the course (where it tripped up a lot more contestants, because they were worn out at that point). I'd also be willing to bet it's not actually an escalator, but just a poor choice of words on the admin's part.