AMERICAN GLADIATORS: THE BATTLE BEGINS - DVD review

"Contenders…ready? Gladiators…ready?"

How can you not love a show where grown adults dress in spandex and smack each other in the head with giant Q-tips?

As a child of the 80's, I was a devoted view of "G.I. Joe," "Transformers," "He-Man," and just about any other animated series with a related toyline. However, the 80's came and went and those shows vanished as the 90's rolled in. Yet, all was not lost for this young couch potato as a real-life cartoon captured my imagination. I'm speaking of the one and only, "American Gladiators." Long before "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race," "American Gladiators" was the type of reality competition that those later shows only wished they could have been.

The series debuted in 1989 on syndication and was originally taped at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Producers searched across the nation for a collection of male and female contestants to compete in a series of daunting athletic events. The tournament winners would receive a substantial sum of prize money along with bragging rights. The catch? They not only have to compete against each other, but they also have to deal with the Gladiators, a colorful array of buff, bronzed behemoths clad in red, white, and blue outfits. The original group of Gladiators included two of the more renowned personalities Nitro and Gemini as well as the female Gladiators Zap, Lace, and Sunny. Zap (Raye Hollitt) was the first Gladiator cast and became one of the most famous. The original Lace, Marisa Pare, wasn't as built as the others, but she was portrayed as the strong, feminine type while Sunny only competed in a handful of shows before injuring her knee. Another member of the original Gladiators was Malibu, tanned surfer from the beaches of California with long, blond locks and bulging biceps. He looked like a million dollars, but was about as useful in the competitions as Stephen Hawking. Poor Malibu has become more known for constantly getting knocked on his rear.

Events in "American Gladiators" included Breakthrough and Conquer, a combination of football and wrestling. The contestant was required to run a football past a Gladiator on a mock field then wrestle another Gladiator and knock him (or her) out of the circle. The most popular and well-known event was Joust, the game I described earlier. Competitors did battle with pugil sticks in order to knock the other off their pedestal. Another of the original events was Human Cannonball which featured competitors swinging like Tarzan in an effort to knock a Gladiator off his stand. The event was very unpopular with the Gladiators due to the physical toll it took on them. Just ask the hapless Malibu, who was slammed so hard he was hit in the head with his own foot and required several stitches. At first, contestants were allowed to extend their legs fully, but later rules required them to tuck into a ball. Other events included Powerball, Assault, and the Eliminator, an obstacle course from Hell that was the grand finale.

Shout Factory has brought "American Gladiators" to DVD for the very first time. This initial 3-disc set is culled from the first season of the series. However, in case you're wondering why this set is subtitled The Battle Begins rather than The Complete First Season, it is because this is not the complete season one. The first season comprised of two tournaments spread over nearly two dozen episodes. Perhaps due to budgetary issues, the first tournament is not included on this set replaced with a mid-season recap featuring highlights. While completists won't be pleased, it really is no big loss. In its original incarnation, "Gladiators" was still a rough draft of what it would become in later years. The Gladiator arena is very dimly lit with the producers going for an ancient, primitive look. Unfortunately, it looks like they spent about fifty bucks putting the set together. The officials were dressed like medieval executioners and they were still fine-tuning the events and you can tell the Gladiators haven't made much practice. The audience as well doesn't seem to have a clue as to what's going on and simply sit on their hands. Not surprising considering, the crowd comprised of tourists shanghaied from the studio tour.

For the second tournament, the Gladiator Arena was redesigned to be brighter. Malibu and Sunny were gone due to injuries. New Gladiators this time around were Laser, who would become the only Gladiator to compete in all seven seasons, and Titan, who hated one officials call so much, he chased him into the stands. The ranks of the female Gladiators were bolstered as well with the addition of Blaze and blond bombshell Gold. A new event added to the second half of the season was the Wall in which contestants scaled a massive mountain-like structure with Gladiators hot on their tail.

Providing commentary for the first tournament were former NFL players Joe Theismann and future general manager of Monday Night Raw Mike Adamle. Theismann would be replaced for the second half of season one by another ex-football player Todd Christensen. Christensen didn't win many fans with his laconic play-by-play though he did win me over with his hair do that was somehow both a perm and a mullet. Christensen in turn would be replaced by Larry Czonka providing the show with its definitive two-man broadcast team.

No one involved with the show could have predicted the sudden rise in popularity of "American Gladiators." The series was a merchandising cash cow with toys and video games. The show was even spun-off into international markets with countries like England and Finland producing their own versions. "Gladiators" still remained popular while it aired in reruns on ESPN Classics. It was revived in 2008 by NBC with Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali as the hosts and new Gladiators that included MMA fighters Gina Carano as Crush and Erin Toughill as Steel. The new "American Gladiators" only lasted two seasons when it was cancelled in March.

VIDEO:
The video is presented in fullscreen. The transfer is rather bland. It's clean, but the colors are muted and the picture quality shows its age. Just above broadcast quality.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital stereo 2.0. The sound quality is decent without any detraction. It's also great to hear the iconic theme music by "Rocky" composer Bill Conti.

EXTRAS:
The main draw for this DVD set are the commentary tracks with former Gladiators, Nitro, Zap, and Laser. The tracks are available on four episodes including the recap and the finals. The Gladiators have plenty to say, especially Nitro who is just a fountain of information. They play a little catch up and give updates on what's happened to some of the Gladiators and competitors. They also discuss the litany of injuries they suffered, backstage gossip, and which contestants fought dirty. Nitro also served as a consultant on the 2008 "Gladiators" and has some interesting things to say about went worked and what didn't.

These tracks are a great listen and if there are future releases, I look forward to hearing from some of the other Gladiators.

Disc 3 contains a ten-minute interview with actor Billy Wirth who played one of the vampires in "The Lost Boys." Wirth was one of the first contestants to appear on "Gladiators" and he discusses how he became involved, the physicality, the exposure he received, and the reasons behind an altercation he had with Gemini.

The DVD set also includes a booklet with bios of the Gladiators and a brief interview with another season 1 contestant, Cheryl Ann Silich.

FILM VALUE:
I'm sure there are plenty high-fallutin' snobs who will snub their noses at "American Gladiators." For me, these brought back a lot of memories. The show is just as fun to watch as when it was originally broadcast. It was still rough around the edges during the first season, but you could tell it had the makings of something special. I don't know how much replay value the DVDs have once you know who wins each round, but fans will definitely want to check out this release.