Did NBC's American Gladiators Premiere Live Up to the Hype?

While American Gladiators was a pretty big deal in its heyday, it was never as big as NBC made it out to be for its 2-hour premiere episode. The network even had a countdown going until 9 o'clock during "Deal or No Deal" to build up the anticipation.

Once the countdown clock hit zero, fans were treated to an entertaining show that should be a staple on the network for at least the next few months.

New gladiators and games highlighted the action, as well as some quality commentary by new hosts Laila Ali and Hulk Hogan.

The new cast of gladiators is large and diverse, with the standouts being the crazed, howling Wolf, the firey, intense Toa, and the burly female warrior Hellga.

Hulk Hogan seemed like a good choice for the lead host position at first but his overreliance on catch phrases and got a bit tiresome toward the end of the episode. But it was bound to happen over the course of two hours.

Ali is charismatic and charming but her words of encouragement to the contestants sound a little too stiff and contrived at times.

The bulk of the show is the same intense action we've seen on past Gladiator shows, but this new version features a stronger story-telling, reality TV-style aspect that works pretty well even though the emotion seems a bit fake at times. Groups of two male and female contestants switch off as they tackle different events leading up to the final challenge: The Eliminator.

Contestants that have leads in the points department heading into The Eliminator get head starts on the massive obstacle course, and whoever crosses the finish line first wins a spot in the upcoming Final 8. The new Eliminator features a pool with flames in the middle of it that contestants have to swim under and a "barrell roll" section where contestants grab onto a huge log and roll downward.

Overall, the show is just the way fans remembered it but with more in-your-face commentary, a little more trash talk, some harder hits, and more bells and whistles. In other words, it makes for an entertaining hour of action for any sports fan. The two-hour format ran out of steam a little bit towards the end but overall was still worth the time investment.