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Leave it to the people at Shout! Factory to bring old,
cult TV series to DVD. The latest series this company is
bringing to home video is the athletic competition classic,
American Gladiators. ***
For the unfamiliar, American Gladiators is a show that
features a physical competition with four athletes, two
male and two female. The competitors pit their skills against
the American Gladiators, who are professional athletes that
have trained themselves extensively. Joe Theismann and Mike
Adamle, two NFL stars, hosted the first season (although
the former would leave about halfway through the first.)
***
This set features all 26 episodes of the first season,
including the mid-season recap. It’s a 3-disc set and has
over 800 minutes worth of content. This set could just as
easily have been called “Season One” or “The Complete First
Season.” ***
This is a strange choice for a show to bring to DVD,
even for Shout! Factory. But I’m not complaining. It’s a
cult classic, and I’m glad to see the original series getting
a much-needed revival. Anyone who was a fan of the show
will want to invest in this package. ---
Image and Sound:
Obviously, you can’t expect a whole lot out of a twenty-year-old
TV show (a competition-based GAME show, no less.) But for
what it is, American Gladiators looks and sounds pretty
good on home video. The master tapes must have been in pretty
good shape, as there aren’t any serious flaws. The image
looks a bit soft throughout and there is some film grain,
but this is to be expected for a show of this age and nature.
Audio fares similarly – always audible, but not the kind
of thing that was ever meant to give your speaker system
a workout. All things considered though, for what it is,
this is a good transfer. I can’t imagine the show looking
much better than it does here.
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