American Gladiators fails to deliver... again!

I mentioned in another post a little while back that I thought it was sad that NBC was resorting to reviving American Gladiators now that we are still in the midst of the WGA writers' strike. In the weeks since, I was starting to warm up a little to the idea when it was announced that Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali would be hosts. I thought that perhaps this would being viewers in and maybe even make it more interesting. Well, now that I've actually sat through the season premiere, I am requesting those two hours of my life back. It was the same tired idea that failed to deliver a couple decades ago. It was a novelty back then, but even the star host couldn't make this any better than it what it is, a replacement show. And while many of the competitors talked about coming back "next season," I've got some news... unless that's next week, I really doubt this show will see a run of over a couple months and that's being generous. Sorry Hulkster!

Who thrives during the writers strike?

So I have been thinking about this whole Writers' Guild of America writers strike and how the networks are preparing to air re-runs and back-up shows. I guess what hit me the most was that NBC was actually lowering themselves enough to air American Gladiators. I still can't believe that, but whatever. Now I understand that most of the shows wouldn't work on NBC with the viewer demographic, but NBC, like ABC, owns many cable networks. The difference between NBC and ABC in this regard is that most of NBC's cable affiliates offer serial dramatic television and made-for-television movies. ABC on the other hand owns networks like ESPN. While it might not be a long term solution, NBC could gather shows from USA, A&E, Bravo, or even Sci-Fi. Until that time, it's 90-mile-per-hour tennis balls and men in tight shorts - Yikes!

The writers go on strike so the tennis balls will fly!

It's not secret that I'm a fan of the 80's. I loved the clothes and the music. Hell, I even loved much of the TV, but some shows were either cancelled or sent off to obscurity for a reason - a reason that NBC has apparently overlooked.
Although it's pretty hard for any network to try to line up original programing when they all of a sudden don't have new episodes of their current line up, but I would think that contingency plans would be key...
...So am I the only one that think NBC bringing back American Gladiator is pretty silly? Sure, I loved it when I was a kid. The heroes, who were almost portrayed as villains against the underdogs with tennis balls being shot at them - sort of like the mix of game show and reality show, but did we need to bring it back? I guess I'll be fair and wait to see what the other networks bring out for the beginning of 2008, but I'd be surprised if there are some quality shows that haven't gotten a chance, just waiting for the call.

Do you have some old favorite TV shows you'd like to see again?

I sure do, but despite the seemingly far reach of Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon.com., there are just some shows that will never make it to DVD. If you're lucky, you may find a pirated version on eBay, but you'll pay dearly for it. Take for example the show High Mountain Rangers from 1987. High Mountain Who? You ask! Okay, so Robert Conrad may not have made a ton of hits outside the western genre, but at least he got his whole family involved. I paid about $10 for 3 episodes, which is a lot, but you can't get it anywhere and it was a favorite from my younger days.
The point is that there are a ton of shows that for one reason or another, we loved. Some of them live happily in syndication. Others are easily found on eBay or by renting online. Sadly, others will lie dormant. In such spirit, I have decided to do a review of sorts (of course in my opinion) of cancelled or old shows. Some may have been cult favorites and others were shows that never made it past the initial few episodes. Remember, not every show draws multi-millions in ratings and ends to big parties and contests. By-in-large, a majority of shows fail by network standards. I should think that our standards are far-different. So if you have a show you would like have reviewed or featured, send me a note or leave a comment, and pass the word!