American Gladiators "Episode 212" (2008)

The grand finale of season two of American Gladiators was a two hour event that was composed of the third and final round of the semi-finals and the championship final round where one male and female contender each stood at the top of the dog pile to be named this season's best. I'm happy to say the male champion was Tim (Red) who over the three episodes he competed in impressed this viewer with his fierce determination and positive attitude. The female champion was Ally (also Red), who was a part of the married couple in one of this season's gimmick episodes. The final Eliminator races didn't really provide the edge that we had seen in the semi-final races as both Tim and Ally won with a comfortable lead. There was no edge of your seat excitement that was sorely missed being the grand finale. I also think the finale suffered from the contenders not becoming Gladiators the following season. They were fighting for something, other than cash and a car, that was special and you could look forward to the following season. Here they just competed and it took off that extra incentive.

Plans have already been announced for a third season that will air next summer (2009) which will give fans almost a year to gear up for another round of combat. Perhaps the second season aired too close to the first (less than three months apart) or maybe the scheduling affected the ratings. The first season came as viewers were already clamoring for new episodes during the height of the writers strike. It was a time of the year when people were expecting their shows to come back from holiday hiatus, not lounging in reruns out of necessity. People were looking for something to watch and American Gladiators provided that mindless fun people wanted. Season two on the other hand began just as the abbreviated 2007-2008 television season was coming to an end. People were watching the end of the shows they had missed for most of this season. Ratings were down and I don't believe they picked up any more than when this season started. CoughGIMMICKScough. I won't break my promise from the last review. It will remain a mystery as to other explanations for how viewership eroded.

The second season of American Gladiators comes to a lackluster end although there had been some shining moments worthy of merit. Brief recap of what good did come out of this season. Atlasphere and Sideswipe are great additions to the roster of events with Snapback offering some humorous moments and could be a recurring rather than regular event. New Gladiators this season really didn't stand out with the exception of Phoenix who was the obvious breakout hit. Beast is interesting and unlike some of the other new Gladiators you don't groan when you see him. Rocket, last season's male champion, is great on the Wall, although Tim was able to beat him, the first I believe to do so, but lacks skill in any of the other events. Maybe they should scale back the number of Gladiators (don't touch Crush and Wolf) and the events (Skytrack and Rocketball should be first to go) for a better third season.

Favorite moment: After going two seasons without being moved from her Joust perch, Crush gives the fans a show and does a back flip into the pool after the last two contenders this season are unable to take her down as so many others tried. Crush, while also being incredibly hot, has always shown a great sense of sportsmanship and is always ready to please the crowd with her patented victory dance. She's certainly the best of the Gladiators and the one reason to keep picking up the remote to switch to NBC for Gladiator action.