Okay, I know. I shouldn't like Gladiators (Sunday 6pm, Sky One) as much as I do. There's the Lycra, the rubber, the stupid names, the hammy performances, the occasionally mismatched games, the shrieking crowd - it's a ridiculous spectacle. But whether I'm just keyed into my inner-child or something, I was really excited to see it back last night and to see how Sky One would fare in bringing it back. Overall I don't think I was too disappointed.
It wasn't without faults. Cramming the show into a single hour meant that everything felt very rushed. New presenters Kirsty Gallagher and Ian Wright would hand over to John Anderson only for new commentator Alan Parry to speak over him, depriving us of the traditional cry of "Gladiators: Ready!". Essentially everything moved so fast that there was absolutely no time to savour any of the pomp and glamour that has always been such an integral part of the show.
Also, I'm not sure whether I imagined this or not, but I found some of the commentary a bit more risqué than I'd expect in a family show like this. Maybe Gladiators always had this edge and I was too young to realise, but hearing Alan Parry purr things like, "these ladies are going to get wet" and "these are ladies with big balls...so to speak" sounded a bit full-on to me. Maybe it was just first night carelessness, maybe I am the one with my mind in the gutter or maybe Alan Parry is a big old pervert. I think I’ll blame Parry for now.
Elsewhere everything seemed fine. The outfits, which I'd thought looked dull in all the advance promotional materials, looked fine in the greater context of the show, and all the new Gladiators seem to understand the need to imbue themselves with unique personalities; Oblivion and Spartan making themselves stand out the most. Best of all, though, the competition is just plain fun. All the games but the Eliminator - which now seems almost too demanding - have retained their all their original charm and the competition seems just a fierce as always. There's good sport, good clean violence and a nice dichotomy of dour British reality and outrageous campness. It's just good, dumb fun.
It's yet to be seen how committed Sky One are to the idea, and whether they're willing to make adjustments rather than pulling the plug should the show not hold its relatively decent first night audience (1.5 million), but I'm hopeful; the hiatus seems to have done the trick. It's not completely fresh, but it doesn't feel tired either. Until it does, I'm glad to have it back.
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