Gladiators were ready, so is there more room for reboots?

Hands up if you were a little dubious about the return of Gladiators to our screens! You may still be, but this latest revival attempt showed that it is possible to recapture at least some of the old magic and make some semblance of a ratings winner. Many have tried in recent years, and it’s made for grim viewing now and again, but this time the initial signs seem positive.

Whether Gladiators will be successful enough to be recommissioned much beyond one series is impossible to tell, despite a promising start, such is the fickle world of TV Land. But let’s not dwell on that because promising it most definitely was.

The only aspect that seemed to divide the public before the first whistle had even been blown was the choice of Bradley and Barney Walsh as co-hosts. That, however, is more of a Marmite-type debate, so let’s look at the rest. You either need to be of a certain vintage or a Challenge aficionado to realise what Gladiators was like back in the day, when it attracted huge audience ratings at a time when members of the public usually only appeared on more sedate gameshows. The original format hasn’t been tampered with much, as even strains of Queen‘s Another One Bites the Dust blasted out as contenders tumbled to the ground after punishing rounds of ‘Duel’.

That particular game, with its trademark giant cartoon-like, cotton bud weaponry, was probably the hallmark of the original show, so kicking off the new series with it surely made some feel as if Gladiators had never been away. There’s some subtle differences, sure, and the Gladiators themselves seem to tick all the right boxes.

Curiously, another 90s classic rebooted in recent times, that was much the same as the original incarnation, yet didn’t quite spark into life, was The Crystal Maze. Where did it fail where Gladiators may well succeed? Is it simply a case of being for it’s time? If you look at the biggest shows around today, they’re all pretty much in your face, loud and lairy, with the humour being funny but in no way subtle – The Masked Singer being a prime example. The Crystal Maze was/is more witty than hilarious, perhaps on the point of being too highbrow. That’s what school nights are for, in the form of University Challenge and Only Connect. Friday, and particularly Saturday nights, call for brash, brazen mayhem.

It’s strongly rumoured that Bullseye will be back on our screens. Like Gladiators, it had a short-lived revival on satellite TV nearly two decades ago, so if it also sticks to the original blueprint, could it work? It’s doubtful because decent darts players and quiz brains were at its heart, despite sometimes being charismatically challenged. That wouldn’t do these days, as over-the-top personalities are the name of the game when it comes to light entertainment. There’s no reason why ability and personality can’t be married, but would there be a big enough pool of contestants to fill one series, let alone two or more, if that was the case?

It’s become rather clichéd now to say it, but there’s the need to tap into the zeitgeist, and in this digital age your core audience needs to be hit smack between the eyes immediately, with them, the viewers, having to invest as little of themselves as possible. This is especially true now that so many more people have access to Premier League football on a Saturday evening. Maybe that’s it; maybe Gladiators is reminiscent of the big match atmosphere, and one that all ages and genders can get involved with, not to mention having potential role models to aspire to.

Or maybe it’s just some kind of intangible thing that TV execs would give their right arm to bottle. To briefly resurrect another Saturday night show that’s had its day, perhaps it’s just down to having the X-factor. Sadly for some, you’ve either got it or you haven’t – Gladiators looks like it just might.