American Gladiators: A Review of the Premiere Show Jan. 6 on NBC

American Gladiators opened with a bang - complete with pyrotechnics, music, glitz, and special effects. The first show started 20 years ago and this one promised to be "bigger and badder". Thousands tried out to be a competitor on the show and only 24 were selected to compete. "The Biggest Event of 2008!" proclaimed the announcer.

The winner of each 1 hour show makes it to the final show, which will feature the top 8, presumably 8 women and 8 men. The winners will receive $100,000 plus a 2008 Toyota Sequoia among other prizes. Tonight's show was two hours, so there were two men and two women that made it into the top 8.

Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali (Mohammed Ali's daughter) were the co-hosts. When the show first began, I thought they showed too many clips of upcoming action and I didn't want to watch all the clips, because I wanted to be surprised at the events to come. When Hulk Hogan first started talking, I was thinking that this was going to be like a pro wrestling show with a lot of pre-determined action and obvious good guy/bad guy theatrics. I started to be turned off. But the competition got quickly started and I soon forgot about my initial feelings.

The women started the first event, with Jessie, a toilet tissue sales rep, and Koya, a life coach, being the first two competitors. The event was "Power Ball". This was one of the original events from the old American Gladiators, where the competitor scores points by putting a ball in a basket on the floor. There are a few baskets in the area but there are also Gladiators who try to prevent any scores. The event is hard hitting and rough. Jessie ended up getting slammed by a Gladiator and then she slipped up and hurt her knee. "I can't feel it - it's all numb!"

After a commercial break, Venus was named as Jessie's replacement. Koya looked stronger and I thought she would win, but she struggled in the last event, "The Eliminator" and Venus went on to win the entire first half of the show. As Hulk Hogan put it: "the sun, the moon and Venus were in alignment!" She earns a spot in the top 8.

The two men were Anthony, a NY Firefighter, and Chad, a skateboarder. Anthony excelled in the events and had a stroke of good luck in the "Hang Tough" swinging rings event when the Gladiator Militia hurt his arm and wasn't able to even touch Anthony. He made the "Hit and Run" demolition ball event look easy, garnering the maximum 10 points on that event. Chad had a difficult time on all the events.

In the second hour of the show, the two male competitors were Jeff, a guy that had made it to first American Gladiators 14 years ago, but was unable to compete because he was stuck in a traffic jam, and Molivan. "Moley" was a tough smaller competitor wearing glasses and didn't seem like he would be a good match against the Gladiators. Jeff did well, but in the last Eliminator event, the younger Moley had more endurance and won the overall match.

The women competitors were Bonnie "the Marine mom", and Shaney, a doctor. Both wild haired women were tough and I thought Bonnie would prevail, but Shaney's unique move on the "Hang Tough" Rings to avoid Fury's "suicide squeeze" helped her earn enough points to have a slight edge over Bonnie going into the Eliminator. The women's Eliminator was bloody, with Bonnie hitting her head while trying to swim under a glass wall in the pool. She was dazed and performed rather slowly after that and Shaney went on to win the women's competition and earn a spot in the top 8.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Gladiators look like they are enjoying themselves, and not just putting on a show.

There were a few times that I laughed out loud, especially during the "Pyramid of Power" event where the competitors just get tossed off, or they end up tumbling head over heels right back to the ground.

Hulk Hogan is a very good ad-libber and though I thought it was a bit campy and forced at first, I soon changed my mind and enjoyed his relevant one-liners.

"The Subway Replay" - slow-motion action, mostly of someone getting hurt.

I was impressed with Laila Ali and thought she did a wonderful job as co-host. She was professional, personable, and asked some good questions.

It's fun to pick your favorite competitor and then root for that person. The Eliminator event can really make or break your overall score.

Cliffhangers, "3 -2 -1- go!" and then fade to a commercial break, make you want to sit there and wait to see what happens.

As you watch the show a few times, you will start to have favorite Gladiators. Like in the original American Gladiators, they have names like "Wolf", who howls, "Toa" who prances around like an Aztec god on the Pyramid, Hellga, a strong woman, Venom, Crush, Siren, and more. You get to learn their styles, and which events they are experts at.

If you want to catch the action, the show regularly runs on Monday night, starting January 7.