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!

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.