Ok so that latest social post with Beau in Hammer’s outfit was a laugh and we got to see more of how the games are all laid out together at once.
For those interested, below are some images from instagram of the new UK series set including the new games. They definitely went for the more classic look.
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Surprisingly that loooks good !!!
Looks incredible! A consistency in design.
There’s also a new previously unannounced gladiator - Black Ops
As it happens I watched the original Aus, UK and American Gladiators series plus the 2008/09 revivals of all three in the first half of this year.
My main observation is that every one of those versions did some things better than any other version, and also some things worse than every other version. This includes the revivals which were nowhere near as bad as they are made out to be, just different.
Series 2 of the American Gladiators revival was fantastic as they moved to a larger arena which enabled more games to be played, and more space for those games. The worst overall was the UK 2008 revival as it went with the American Gladiators revival format and theming, but clearly did not have the budget or studio space to be presented as well as the American series.
I must be one of the few who loved the pool - the pool meant they could avoid all of the awkward mat falls and injuries on Hang Tough and Tilt in particular.
The Australian 2008 revival had a great selection of games (Pendulum) and some outstanding challengers and Gladiators.
The biggest issues with the Australian 2008 revival were
- too much screen time and interference (i.e. random disqualifications) by the referee - this was also an issue when Mike Whitney took over the original series.
- not enough events per episode - 4 plus the eliminator is not enough action, particularly when an event like Duel can be over in 2 seconds. This means there’s too much filler, particularly at the start of the show - again, an issue in the original series but not in the international series where 5-6 events are played.
- too many forced bad one liners and ‘angry’ acting by Gladiators who could not deliver them. The most egregious example was when Amazon - an otherwise fantastic Gladiator - didn’t attempt a single strike in one of her Suspension Bridge playings to feed in to the persona she was given. At a taping I went to, some of the Gladiators took 5 or 6 takes to spit out the one liner that had been fed to them after their game, by which time the reaction by the audience and everyone involved was limp at best.
The original series moved away from this in series 3 and was much better for allowing the Gladiators to behave more naturally. The puns should be left to those Gladiators who can ham it up naturally, like Vulcan, Flame or Thunder in the old series.
I can live without a live audience if it means lower production costs and reduced taping times so the show is sustainable for future series. I went to a taping of the 2008 version where of the 4 events, Pyramid was played last (the Eliminator was taped on a different day). It took an eternity for the home base set to be rotated so that Pyramid could be played, to the point where three quarters of the crowd left before it was played. The taping had already gone for a long time by that point so I could understand them leaving.
Having Pyramid permanently set up in the studio is the only real option if they want that game to be included in the rotation without blowing out taping times. It makes sense then to follow the UK/US 2008 series where the Pyramid was featured in the eliminator every episode like it will be here.
Looks like judging by the latest socials promo that Matt Russell (FOX caller) is an in-game commentator.
They were promoting a game called “Powerball”
The original AU refs would’ve been told to play a role there - I’m pretty sure it was the same as UK referee John Anderson in the equivalent series. (He also came back for the '08 revival but he’s in his nineties now, so no further expectation there!) Locally, John Alexander at least had the gravitas of voice that Mike W didn’t have, and the role of ref was a touch less involved that series I agree.
I’m not sure it was the best idea to cast Bill Harrigan (former NRL rugby league ref) as the 2008 Aus referee - he had a profile on the rugby league field so in one way was a natural choice - but it meant Seven also brought in gimmicks like the “video ref” because of it; an obvious fit for Harrigan as he was one of the pioneers of calling for it by refereeing in Super League. That always felt a bit strained to me.
I predict this will be an epic failure. There are far too many promos for this across all 10 channels. I’m close to deleting 10 until Jan 15. It’s getting really really annoying now.
Now you know how we all felt when they promoted the first year of I’m a Celeb, at the time very heavily promoted off the back of the BBL 
can’t be any worse than that surely
I think the way they run these blanket promos is ridiculous. You see Gladiators or Deal or No Deal in every single commercial break. I can’t think of one other show they have promoted besides these. I have no idea what else screens on Ten.
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I’m about to sit down to Daddy’s Home 2 on Nickelodeon. Should I count how many Gladiators promos I see in the 2 hour times slot?
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And they wonder why people stopped watching FTA
Nothing worthwhile until Masterchef returns, most probably, and they know it 
First break of the film and the promo is …. Gladiators. 
Maybe it will be easier to report which commercial break does not contain a Gladiators promo. 
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I just saw a promo for Gladiators on 10 and I hate it. It looks more like a video game trailer than a reality show because everything in it is CGI, including the “people”. I hope the producers are sued for false advertising soon.
You “just” saw it?
It’s been on every single ad break on every single one of 10’s 4 channels for weeks.
You are so lucky.
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