Filed under: Don't Forget the Lyrics, Gladiators, Sky One, The Simpsons | Tags: Gladiators, Shane Richie, Simpsons, Sky One
Awooga! Gladiators is finally back! And with Shane Richie presenting some contrived gameshow nonsense immediately after it on Sky One’s new-look Sunday night schedule, it’s like mid-90s Saturday night TV all over again. Except that it’s a Sunday, of course.
Apparently, this new Gladiators malarkey is “bigger and better” than the old one, although it has to be said that it seems pretty much the same, only without John Fashanu’s amazing technicolour waistcoats and a gaggle of glamour-model-looking-types where Jet and Lightning used to be.
Those of us who tuned in to this first episode hoping for a new collection of memorable moments to rival Wesley ‘Two Scoops’ Berry inexplicably leaping over a car, or that time Wolf growled at someone, were perhaps left a little apathetic towards the whole revival. In fact, the brief appearance of retro-Glad Saracen during each of the ad breaks was arguably the most interesting point of the whole thing.
Still, we’re the ones who’ve seen it all before, so it’s fair to say the novelty of seeing screaming familes waving over-sized foam hands at men in leotards beating each other across the spine with giant cotton buds probably wore off quite some time ago. But for the kids, who have never seen this stuff before on account of them being born ridiculously recently, it may well turn out to be a winner. Let’s hope so, even if they are only watching the slot in the first place because they think that The Simpsons is meant to be on.
