American Gladiators (1989-1996)

[MrBig 5106]

I saw the Netflix documentary about the American Gladiators and decided to start a thread about the original show.

On YouTube they have all the full original episodes to stream as well as short clips. Watching really takes me back to a different time when I was younger and had a thing for Zap.

They also did a live arena tour across the U.S. Did any of y’all go see one of those arena shows in the early 90s?

[RPM 26084]

The 30 for 30 was damn good. 

[billfromlaketravis 11273]

2 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I saw the Netflix documentary about the American Gladiators and decided to start a thread about the original show.

On YouTube they have all the full original episodes to stream as well as short clips. Watching really takes me back to a different time when I was younger and had a thing for Zap.

They also did a live arena tour across the U.S. Did any of y’all go see one of those arena shows in the early 90s?

Am I crazy?  I remember the show came on like late Saturday morning before lunch. I remember as kid taking down some Lucky Charms and cartoons and then this came before lunch. 

Edited July 21, 2023 by billfromlaketravis

[RPM 26084]

5 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Am I crazy?  I remember the show came on like late Saturday morning before lunch. I remember as kid taking down some Lucky Charms and cartoons and then this came before lunch. 

It came on after SNL in DFW.

[Aqua Buddha 13993]

We just finished it and were talking about how well all of them aged.  They're all basically 60 and all of them look great, especially Ice.  

[Texzilla58 4683]

Ice looks better now than then. Fine wine. And I didn’t realize Zap was in that movie with John Ritter, which isn’t the best flick but has some of the funniest physical comedy scenes ever on film.

[MrBig 5106]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

It came on after SNL in DFW.

Came on late here too. I remember watching Star Trek: The Next Generation late at night on the weekdays and Gladiators on the weekend. 

[Deej 76113]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

The 30 for 30 was damn good. 

Netflix doc was much better. 

[MrBig 5106]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

The 30 for 30 was damn good. 

I thought the 30 for 30 sucked balls. Who the fuck cares about the creator? He was walking around town waving at people and nobody knew who the fuck he was. Once the Gladiators bailed on the 30 for 30 to do the Netflix doc it was obvious they had to shift the narrative.

[Parliament 13992]

How many collective tons of steroids did all those people take during its run.

[MonkeyDoughnut 9944]

Quote that stuck out was during Gladiators peak it was out drawing the NFL in some markets.

[66BUFF 2536]

7 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

Ice looks better now than then. Fine wine. And I didn’t realize Zap was in that movie with John Ritter, which isn’t the best flick but has some of the funniest physical comedy scenes ever on film.

Spoiler

 

[66BUFF 2536]

7 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

Ice looks better now than then. Fine wine. And I didn’t realize Zap was in that movie with John Ritter, which isn’t the best flick but has some of the funniest physical comedy scenes ever on film.

 

[MrBig 5106]

8 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

Ice looks better now than then. Fine wine. And I didn’t realize Zap was in that movie with John Ritter, which isn’t the best flick but has some of the funniest physical comedy scenes ever on film.

I used to think Ice was so hot when she came back to the show with that Pam Anderson Baywatch haircut. 
 

[Tomatillo 354]

Some of those chicks were hot. 

[DeepEastTexas 635]

Go check out the first season episode that showcased Billy Wirth and Gemini getting into a fight. It was awesome. 
 

I think Craig Johnson won it that first year. He was an ex-athlete that was better than any Gladiator. He was a physical specimen, and could have been a Gladiator himself. 
 

That first season was awesome, although the Gladiators called it the Dark Ages. I think it lost something when they went to the sets with grid lines on the floor. The older sets were fun, especially Assault. Jousting on a bridge was cool, but dangerous. I understand why they changed that one. 
 

I used to record it and watch on Sunday. Came on Saturdays at midnight or so.