• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Gladiators Reboot (2023)

Pretty standard that filming takes a loooong time. Audience members have to remember the show is not for them, it is for the cameras and they are pretty much unpaid extras.

I used to regularly go and see comedy filming (TV Burp, 8 out of 10 cats, etc) and a half hour program would be a multi hour record.

That ticketing situation is a joke though, no need to oversubscribe it to that extent.

EDIT - Thats a bit of a lie, TV Burp was recorded as live with almost no cuts. But that is very much an exception.
 
I did - I thought it was pretty good. Bradley Walsh & son are sadly not a patch on Ulrika and John though. Nice to see Viper picking up Wolf’s grumpy bad boy persona. Who’s afraid of the big bad viper doesn’t quite have the same ring to it though…
 
CON-TEN-DERS: READY!
GLAD-I-A-TORS: READY!

I was really looking forward to this, albeit with some concerns that it wouldn't live up to the scale of the original. I'm pleased to say it lived up my expectations. The show retained the spirit and grand scale of the original and avoided most of the mistakes of the Sky version. A decent mix of old and new events tonight, none of which felt out of place and from the "next time" preview it seems clear they've got a reasonable pool to draw from so the episodes should feel varied enough (the very first series had the same 6 games + the eliminator every episode). Also the glads themselves came across as a good mix of heroes and villains, unlike the Sky version where pretty much all of them played bad guys.

I do have a couple of negatives - whilst the arena was much more impressive than the studio Sky used, the use of wide shots made some of the games look a little smaller than in the 90s - Hang Tough and The Eliminator seemed particularly affected by this. Hang Tough never filled the available space in the NIA but it looked spectacular on screen due to the angles they used, though I don't know if TVs (and me) being smaller back then helped. I also missed the dramatic music during the games. Given that they'd kept the main theme tune I had hoped the event music would also be retained but seemingly not.

On the whole though, a very impressive revival and I hope it does well. Also 10/10 to whoever made the "where's John Anderson?" banner
 
I also watched it and it was great. On a bit too early for my liking though lol. Also I was a bit salty as they've changed the airing order... I was in the audience for the very first taping but it looks like that one will air next week. 😂🤦‍♂️
 
A thoroughly enjoyable reboot, true to the classic but with some great new additions. Loved the tidbits in the locker room, especially after hang tough!

Love that we already have our new Wolf, and a “guy we love to hate because he loves himself”.

I was pleased to see the contenders and Gladiators have a clear respect for each other, and as the events progressed they all looked well bonded.

Bradley & Barney are a great choice for presenting, I love Bradley’s ability to lose his mind with laughter at the smallest thing “Legend’s Leg End” had me in fits 😂😂.

Shock horror, I then stayed on BBC1 all night!
 
It appears that the BBC is already in talks for a second series, after the viewing figures of the first episode.


Gladiators revival 'will return for another run in 2025'​


'Gladiators' will reportedly return for another series in 2025.

The BBC's revival of the beloved game show returned to the small screen over the weekend, but bosses are already in talks to recommission the series for a big money deal ahead of filming later this year.

A source told the Daily Star newspaper's Hot TV column: "There are already plans to make another series.

"The new episodes are due to be filmed this summer."

The classic show initially ran for eight series from 1992 to 2000 on ITV, before a short-lived revival on Sky One with two series across 2008 and 2009.

The launch show for the BBC's reboot on Saturday (13.01.24) was watched by six million viewers, beating the likes of 'Dancing On Ice' and 'The Masked Singer' with more expected to tune in via BBC iPlayer.

The source said: "The viewing figures are proof that there is still a big appetite for 'Gladiators' after all these years.

"It has made it an easy decision to commission another run."

Not everyone has been impressed, with former host Ulrika Jonsson recently blasting bosses for cutting cheerleaders - who were a big part of the original show - from the revamped series.

Speaking on ITV's 'Lorraine', she said: "It brought tears to my eyes because they have kept the music and the general feel of it so really, they have done a great job.

"But no cheerleaders! I just don’t understand it. I don’t know if it's some kind of wokery?"

Bradley Walsh and his son, actor Barney Walsh, are to co-host the BBC reboot, and 'The Chase' presenter recently revealed his wife and Barney's mum, Donna Derby, used to choreograph the cheerleaders on the original series.

He recently told the Daily Mail newspaper: "Barney’s mum, my wife, used to choreograph all the cheerleaders and then subsequently became an associate producer on the show for all the boys that ran the show originally."
Click to expand...


Source

I will definitely apply for tickets again if it happens and is back at Sheffield Arena, as I really enjoyed it. I'd recommend the experience to anyone who watches the show on the BBC, it's very different and even more enjoyable actually being there in person. Just a really fun day out in my opinion, and the atmosphere is great. The only issue of course is you have to arrive pretty early if you want the best chance of getting in.
 
I accidentally watched the 2nd episode of this on iPlayer yesterday (before watching the 1st). Overall I thought it was pretty decent as an attempt at bringing back the original vibe. I watched it quite happily really. However, I do have a gripe. It felt like the Gladiators were taking it a bit easy on the contestants in many parts. It started out pretty well with the men receiving some real heavy slam-downs in the first game (the one where you have to put the balls in the little containers). But then after this it felt a bit like the Gladiators were not being as hard on them as they could be. Almost like they'd been told to tone it down a bit as to not hurt them and to let them get a few more points on whatever game. This was especially apparent on that game when they're 30 feet in the air and have to get to the other side of that open grid thing. The first Gladiator up against the first contestant pretty much seemed to just let him run across almost every time. Then when he thought he had enough points just went and actually tried to take him out. Then there were other games where they seemed to not be going 100%.

Oh yeah, the travelator thing seemed a bit smaller or not as tough too (maybe it's just because I was a kid when I watched the original).

I'll probably give it another chance though :)
 
Gauntlet is definitely easier than in the 90s, I think the channel is wider and apparently there is one less gladiator (you had to get past one to just enter the run before).

Also went looking at videos as things seemed different in the eliminator, the rolling logs are missing and the monkey bars are shorter I think
 
Various parts of the eliminator changed during the original run - in some series they had rolling logs, others had two trapeze swings before the cargo net. Similarly the balance beam became a pair of see-saws after a few years. The new one has clearly been packed into a smaller space though, the only thing that seemed obviously "missing" to me was the hand bike, only used by the men throughout the original run.

Agreed with Gauntlet being too easy, for future series they could change the scoring to 1pt/section, 5pts for completing in <20s and 10pts for completing in <30s. Or just add another gladiator. A game where everyone gets 10 points is equally irrelevant as one where everyone gets zero - games should have a reasonable chance for contenders to get different scores

One thing it took me a while to spot is that whilst most 90s series had 5 events per episode (+ eliminator), this was in a "commercial hour" of TV. The beeb has no ads so this means more filler between events in the new series.
 
I think there's a few things that could use improving, but it's only small things.

The Edge seems like a cool concept but not sure it's been 100% explained to the contestants

I've seen worse re-boots and I guess when they were making this series they had to be a bit cautious as they weren't 100% sure it'd be a success.

Hopefully we see some improvements in series 2.
 
MattyH said:
The Edge seems like a cool concept but not sure it's been 100% explained to the contestants
Click to expand...
Agreed, one of the female contenders didn't realise she had to keep going after the gladiator fell. The ref had to tell her to carry on. Would have thought they would have been told that beforehand.
 
BarryZola said:
This was especially apparent on that game when they're 30 feet in the air and have to get to the other side of that open grid thing. The first Gladiator up against the first contestant pretty much seemed to just let him run across almost every time. Then when he thought he had enough points just went and actually tried to take him out.
Click to expand...
Agreed. The gladiator on that particular one (Legend?) just seemed to stand there, then had the audacity to rip into the contender when they were back on the ground by saying he was rubbish?? I get that they’re playing characters but it was a bit cringeworthy for me.
 
Going off @Skyscrapers post as well last weeks episode was the first filming, Hopefully they learnt lessons as things went along.
 
Tonight's mens' Gauntlet was the most brutal one yet. One contender was sent rolling back to the start, and a gladiator was disqualified for blocking the other within his paddles for too long. That's what we want. 😂
 
Yes that was actually great to watch, that poor guy got battered and flung back to the start. 😂 Need more of that. Overall though Gauntlet has been far too easy and a guaranteed 10 points for each contender. It needs some tweaking for series 2.

I’ve enjoyed all of the episodes so far. Some games are a bit easy, but hopefully they can learn from this for series 2. A strong first series so far though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top