Gladiators…

It’s Sunday night, it’s 6:30pm, what are the options on television?

Option A: Watch fat people lose weight - Network 10
Option B: Watch sick animals and humans - Nine Network
Option C: Catch-up on the days news - SBS
Option D: A witty game show and some more news - ABC
Option E: Over stylised posing and tight fitting cloths - Seven Network

Yes a nice mix for everyone there but it’s time for Option E Gladiators, which premiered on the Seven Network tonight after having one decade of gathering dust in storage.

The show is hosted by Tom Williams and Zoe Naylor with the referee for this series being NRL referee Bill Harrigan as well as John Forsythe. And now it is time to meet the Gladiators…

Four games are played in every one hour long episode which will differ week by week as well as The Eliminator at the end of each show, an obstacle course that pits challenger against challenger to determine who is the winner.

The challenger has to run through a gauntlet while passing five gladiators armed with ramrods. The second and fourth having power pads to slow the challenger down. The challenger must run through the course within 30 seconds to earn 5 points but if the run through the course within 20 seconds, they earn 10 points.

The challenger and a gladiator are each placed atop of an elevated platform with a short distance apart. Armed with a pugil stick, they would attempt to cause the other to fall from their platform within 30 seconds. This could be achieved with either an offensive or a defensive strategy, although some challengers were disqualified if they made no attacking move towards the gladiator. A score of 10 points is awarded if the challenger knocks the gladiator off the platform. If the challenger manages to stay on the platform for the entire 30 seconds but doesn’t knock the gladiator off the platform, they score 5 points.

Two challengers and two gladiators face each other on a giant pyramid. The challengers aim to reach the summit, whilst the gladiators aim to stop them by throwing the challengers down to the bottom. The first challenger to reach the top of the pyramid and push the button within 60 seconds would score 10 points. If the other challenger could make it in the remaining time, they would score 5.

The challenger and gladiator engage in a game of hide and seek on a ball 5 metres in diameter, which hangs from the roof of the arena. On the whistle, the ball begins to swing from side to side. The aim of the challenger is to avoid the gladiator, who must track the challenger down and remove the Velcro flag from their back. Once this is done, the game is over. If the challenger or gladiator falls off, the remaining participant wins. Ten points are awarded to the challenger if the gladiator falls from the pendulum or if they do not fall off after a minute.

Gladiators airs on the Seven Network at 6:30pm Sunday’s.

Technorati tags: Channel Seven, Seven Network, Gladiators

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