American Gladiators "Episode 208" (2008)

Well after two gimmick episodes in a row, here is one that is about as normal as we're going to get this season. The female contenders were in a battle for the ages but the male contenders seemed like regular Joes. I will say one thing though, the hilarity factor with regards to Yoko's (Red) competition made up for the fact that this was a gimmick-lite episode. Yoko had the unfortunate luck to go up against Crush in Pyramid. Making up for last week's less than stellar performance in Joust, Crush went full throttle and Yoko ended up being thrown around like a rag doll. After multiple tumbles off the Pyramid, Yoko kept coming back for more and after that it was hard to dislike her. She's definitely persistent and even in the interviews she came off well. Laila called her out on her trash talking when Yoko tried to guilt trip Crush but she took it well and went on to perform so-so in the rest of the events. She was a lot more likable than Annie (Blue) whose New Yahk accent seemed to get worse as the episode wore on.

On to the men, I have to say that was the most thrilling gladiator race I think I've seen. I originally didn't like Tim as he came off just a little too excited and obnoxious in the interviews. However, after falling behind in most of the events Tim (Red) after multiple claims of coming from behind and overtaking Alejandro (Blue) in the Eliminator, he actually did it. I don't think anyone was more surprised than Blue when Red rushed past him on the net and just made a mad dash for the end. I think Blue thought he had it in the bag, and he certainly quickened his pace when he saw Tim pass him and gain an ever increasing lead. Tim ended up with the fastest Eliminator time so far of all the contenders this season. Even though I may not have liked Tim personally, I can certainly respect the enormous effort he put into the Eliminator and I wonder if he was just storing energy for the final battle. One more episode until the semi-finals where we have an impressive roster of contenders.

Favorite moment: While the men's Eliminator made for some exciting viewing, the women was nothing short of pure comedy. After some unusual swim moves by Yoko, she was able to pick up the pace after the cargo net to close the gap between her and Annie. However, it all comes down to one challenge. An insurmountable obstacle that very few will ever master. It can break hearts and dreams and unfortunately Yoko succumbed to it's gaping jaws. I'm talking of course about . . . the ball pit. The ball pit under the hand bike snatched Yoko out of the race and she was under so long I think the audience thought she may have drowned and Hulk would have to go in after her. The camera pan over to the pit with no one in it before Yoko's face pops out has to be the funniest image in American Gladiators history and will top any brutal tackle the Gladiators can inflict on unsuspecting contenders.