TVSquad

I am not ashamed to say that I was a fan of the original American Gladiators back in its heyday of the late 80's and early 90's. So, I'm pretty excited that NBC is airing a new version of the program shortly after the new year begins. Granted, that excitement may fade very quickly if the producers of the show decide to muck it up royally to fit into the genre that is 21st century reality television. I mean, if they make it more like WWE than an actual competition between professional athletes and regular people, then I'll be turning the show off very quickly.

Having said all of that, it will also be up to the contestants to determine if the show will be a success or just another filler show being aired until the Writers' Strike is over in 2012. Matt over at the site AmericanGladiatorsBlog lists all of the 24 contenders that will go up against Crush, Fury, Justice, Larry and Curly.

The contestants range in professions from lawyer and professional chef to New York firefighter and radiation control technician. They also vary in age, with the youngest contender a 23-year-old engineer at Boeing and the oldest being a 46-year-old high school teacher and mother of two. Seeing how high schools are today I'm guessing that she is in top physical condition.

The blog site features short bios on each of the contenders as well as information on which week the contenders will be competing against each other. For more information on the Gladiators and contestants, including photos, you can also go to the show's main website over at NBC.com.