That didn't take long. Apparently, the absence of new Two and a Half Men episodes lead to the American Gladiator premiere getting the highest ratings of any new show this season, and an average of 12 million viewers sampling the first two episodes. All of this is enough for "starving-for-a-hit" NBC to sign up the competition show for another season. If the solid ratings continue, I'd look for NBC to go all Who Wants to be a Millionaire? with it and put it on every night of the week, sandwiched around new episodes of Deal or No Deal.No word yet on when the new season will begin (this debut season is a short one wrapping next month) or how many episodes have been ordered, but this means it's not too late for me to try out to be on the show. Or better yet, if I start working out now, maybe I can be the thirteenth Gladiator. My Gladiator name will be Pudge, and luckily the giant cotton swab is already my weapon of choice in melee combat.
Six Mad Men characters who are in limbo after the finale
Fact or Fiction: Big Bang, Brothers & Sisters and CSI
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-14-2008 @ 12:10PM
Jeff N. said...
My TV viewing is looking Bleak as the writer's srike continues. When the scripted shows run out in March I may have to watch old seasons of TV shows on DVD. I am not watching Gladiators and Game shows.
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 4:28PM
Cody said...
I've already started. TV Squad had some post last week about 5 shows that people just didn't get, and I went ahead and picked up a couple DVD sets from that list and the comments that I hadn't seen and have been getting plenty of TV viewing in.
1-14-2008 @ 12:43PM
Scott said...
I forget, is this the 8th or the 9th sign of the Apocalypse?
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 12:46PM
Midnight13 said...
If shows like "American Gladiators" are made to replace scripted shows and then those shows become sucessful, it only encourages the stirke to go longer. The network exces, aren't going to worry about thier scripted fare if they can just have a bunch of cheap successful games shows and reality shows.
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 1:11PM
Akbar Fazil said...
I just had the same thought this morning. It is a sad day indeed.
1-14-2008 @ 6:54PM
Eddie said...
Maybe the writers shouldn't have voted to go on strike, using basic economics as their guide to navigating uh, economic matters like the forces of competition.
1-14-2008 @ 12:50PM
Lenny said...
Someone please kill me now.
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 1:15PM
Scott said...
Maybe one of the grunting steroid-freaks with the giant Q-tips can come over and do it for you! (After he kills all the writers.)
1-14-2008 @ 1:45PM
Jake said...
Hey man, just because you don't get gladiatormania doesn't mean you have to knock it. lol. I am one of those people that loathes any reality show not named Amazing Race. I also am one of those viewers that watches more NBC shows (Office, Scrubs, Chuck, Life, 30 Rock) and Cables shows (Burn Notice, Psych, The Shield, Mad Men, Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, etc). than I do other networks. In other words I am the viewer that watches the critically acclaimed, low on ratings type shows. That said, I like watching American Gladiators. Mostly because of nostalgia for the old one. The show is pure camp, but I still like it. I do tend to dvr it and fast forward through the speaking parts. Some of those people are a little weird.
I think Gladiators is the type of show that can exist with scripted fare and be quasi respectable.
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 6:58PM
Eddie said...
Same. I hate ALL reality TV, with the lone exception of the cheerleader reality show on NFL network. Love those girls! American Gladiator is fun, watching a girl blow out her knee is awesome, cheering against the hicktard from tennessee was the best fun I've had since becoming a hatriot and pricking voodoo dolls shaped like tom brady.
1-14-2008 @ 1:47PM
Jack said...
I don't see what the problem is with TV evolving into news, live events and reality shows. Before reality tv, it was already called the "Idiot box" by some. It's a matter of perspective, people who don't watch tv probably thought your scripted shows were also stupid and pointless.
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 1:48PM
h8rain said...
I have watched a couple of episodes (I think only 3 have aired), but I have to say based on the inconsistent "rules" I simply can not watch it. It just seems too fake.....like wrestling...errr wrasslin'.
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 2:50PM
Robert said...
Wrestling is Fake?!?!?!
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 4:45PM
Grover said...
Hopefully they refine it for next season, and by 'refine' i mean take it back to how it used to be (more action, less interviews, wide camera angles, the OLD assault!)
Keep that new eliminator though! those old ones never really challenged the contestants
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 6:33PM
Eirik said...
Is anyone really surprised, though? Most of the scripted fare is off TV, and the small number of new episodes left are being sprinkled into the schedual in a half-assed manner. People are going to watch TV, and if the only things on the major networks are re-runs or news shows or reality TV, that's what they're going to watch.
I caught part of the first episode, and it reminded me enough of the old show that I didn't watch. Instead, my wife and I are getting movies and TV shows off Blockbuster online, or we're going though a backlog of DVD's we bought before we started renting. When some of the scripted stuff comes back, we'll watch. Until then, I'll watch at least some reality TV.
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 7:40PM
Jennifer said...
Who the hell are the drooling idiots who get sent Nielsen boxes so that this is the highest show on television?!
Reply
1-14-2008 @ 11:24PM
OClvl3 said...
Wow, I haven't had an internet connection for a couple months and it's good to see that TVSquad is still full of snobs. How dare people have fun watching American Gladiators! It's not intellectual enough! Tell me what's intellectual about Heroes? I'm sure someone will come up with some pointless reason to justify it's "good writing."
Also, you were correct the first time h8rain it's wrestling, not wresslin'. Which also does better than a lot of scripted shows as well.
The majority of tv watchers like reality tv and the like. I've never been a huge fan of it, but a lot of people are. It's easy money for the networks. Which then equates to the networks being able to use said money to make more shows, some of those being scripted ones. There's a place for both types of shows on tv and neither are going away.
Reply