Over the last couple of weeks watched both of the American Gladiators documentaries that recently came out (Muscles & Mayhem on Netflix and the 30 for 30 on ESPN).
I thought the Netflix one was better (focused more on the Gladiators) than the ESPN one (which focused more on the creators), but both were an interesting nostalgia trip, and combined give a more thorough overview of the story without too many redundancies.
In a way, found the Gladiators' story very similar to the And1 Mixtape players' story (which also had 2 documentaries released around the same time last year from both Netflix and ESPN). Both were a huge success, but with no money going to the performers, and the performers feeling short changed because of it.
In both cases though, I tend to side more with the company than the performers, as I think the success of both was more because of the marketing/image/packaging/presentation rather than the actual performers. As a kid, I didn't tune into American Gladiators to see Nitro or Laser, I tuned in to see regular people compete against good looking Goliaths in unique contests. Same with And1, I watched that to see the flashy highlights, rather than any particular player. The performers think they're the draw, like Hulk Hogan or Michael Jordan, the stars that drew people to their shows, but really it's more about the brand, like the Harlem Globetrotters or Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where people go to watch regardless of who's performing.
I didn't watch either documentary so I don't know all the details, but I think I disagree. As a kid I did actually like certain gladiators even though they were barely given opportunities to let their personalities shine. I think that they could have been a draw in the same way that wrestlers are, but the producers obviously wanted them to be cheap and interchangeable. When they started switching to new gladiators, I was like, "who the heck are these new guys?" I don't think you can just put a random beefy guy in tights with no charisma and expect the show to be of the same quality. Investing in talent is also smart because they can be promotional spokesmen for your product.
It's like they thought the gladiators were just like the models on Price is Right or Wheel of Fortune, but they were more than that. They were like the heels in wrestling: Arrogant about their abilities and physiques, but also cool and aspirational figures. Obviously I'm not saying all of them had the charisma to become stars like the best wrestlers do, but they also never really got the opportunity.
For And 1, isn't the entire product centered around the individual players' unique styles and creativity? Why would you ever want to suppress that? Think of internet culture and how everything is about individual branding now. I'm sure some casual fans didn't care who was actually performing in every show, but weren't there also a lot of diehards that gave these players their early internet followings?
Topic: What is the Last TV Series You Watched? (Read 95265 times)