Gladiators Ready!

Hello readers. I hope everybody's had a happy Easter. I know I said I was taking a hiatus - I'm still sorting things out for my new house. But I thought that now's the time to share my thoughts on a British TV game show that I have fond memories of watching as a kid on ITV - and because it's due to be broadcast again later this year - this time on BBC1.

The show I refer to is Gladiators.

Throughout my TV-watching history, I've seen various game shows, including Countdown, Robot Wars, Big Break, Blind Date, and Fun House,... many of those who grew up in the 90s will probably be saying the same thing. But I have great fond memories of watching Gladiators on ITV. Every Saturday, my family would enjoy the sight of the contestants participating in various events while overcoming some human obstacles, those being the Gladiators themselves. Three decades and I can still remember the lyrics to the rocking theme tune. I also found the events to be uniquely set out; Powerball, which reminds me of basketball and rugby; Hit & Run, where the contender has to run to both sides of a bridge to gain points while dodging some swinging demolition balls, each of which is being operated by a Gladiator; Atlaspheres, where the contenders and their opponents are enclosed in giant spheres and have to roll them forward; but my personal favourite game has always been Skytrak - reasons relating to the fact that the players are racing upside-down on the ceiling! Speaking of which, if any of the events are brought back for the reboot, I hope Skytrak is one of them. Even the Gladiators were a lot of fun to see/interact with - I think most of us can especially remember Wolf, who is known for his anarchic attitude - one could describe him as a regular John McEnroe.

Speaking of the cast, one particularly fond memory I have was when I was in Year 3 - Cobra came to give a speech at my school. I don't exactly remember the exact words he stated. Though I do remember seeing him in the school hall, in his uniform, and carrying his helmet by his side. Plus, I still have his autograph.

This wasn't the only time I saw Cobra in person. Just over a couple of decades later, I was at a convention in Reading with a friend of mine and he was giving a Q&A speech to the attendees along with some of his fellow Gladiators; Hawk (not to be confused with the late American Gladiator), Hunter, Panther, Zodiac, Rebel and Lightning, the latter who I shall talk about later. I remember one of the kids in the audience asking about their favourite events. Because of my nostalgic memories, even I demonstrated the occasional lengthiness of my tongue by asking a few myself. They included one based on the fact that some of the cast members appeared in some feature films and whether they approached the producers or the other way round (Rebel provided most of the answers considering that she had an acting part in Gladiator) and a question concerning their relationship with Wolf.

As you can see, here are Cobra, Hawk, Hunter, Panther, Zodiac, Rebel, and Lightning during the Q&A session at Reading. I apologise for the dodgy camera movements, how awkward my questions sounded, and of course, my voice.

After the Q&A session, I wanted to see all the cast members. However, I decided to self-discipline myself and speak to one of them. So I went to speak to Lightning, my personal favourite female Gladiator. She's one of those people who seemed very hard to dodge on most of the events - on Skytrak, Lightning would often zap the contender as soon as the race began. She'd easily yank the contender off The Wall. She'd beat her opponent on Tightrope. She'd even reach the top first on Pole-Axe.

Lightning, whose real name is Kim Williams/Betts and I had a pleasant conversation. We chatted about how her family was doing. At one time, we spoke about the Battle Of The Giants edition from Season 8 - for those of you wondering what I'm talking about, I refer to an edition where the then-remaining male Gladiators competed against each other, even taking on the roles that were traditionally for the contenders and where even the highest scoring two (Hunter & Ace) participated in the Eliminator. We both wondered why the same wasn't said for the females.

Here I am with Lightning (in the middle) and Aries (the friend I was with at the event on the left). Lightning also complimented the t-shirt I was wearing.

This is not the first time Gladiators has been revived. It was brought back onto TV screens in 2008 for two seasons. I would've watched it, but unfortunately, I don't have Sky 1. The next revival, as stated above, will be shown on BBC1, so I shall have no problem tuning in.

Of course, life goes on and many of the different nations of Gladiators have experienced deaths - Sahara of South Africa and Hawk of the USA included. Since the classic era of the UK version ended, the UK nation has been very lucky not to lose one Gladiator...

...Until recently last month when we heard the news about Bernadette Hunt, better known as Falcon, who has passed away due to cancer. And at quite a young age of 59. At the time, I was taking a short break at work and scrolling through some news feeds. Falcon's unfortunate demise came up and I remember my eyes widening with surprise, considering that this kind of news story is not always something one expects to see. To me, and probably Falcon's fellow Gladiators and even the hosts and referees, I would say that this would be big news, considering that she's the first Gladiator to depart to heaven.

Recently, I was talking to some of my associates about Falcon and I was surprised to hear one of them respond; "I can't really remember her." But for those who don't know, Falcon is the lady with the David Bowie-style haircut, only her hair was black, and who often gave a large grin on her face. Having joined the show in Season 2 and remaining there till the end of the classic era, Falcon is, in fact, the second longest-running female Gladiator, and also my personal second favourite one, behind Lightning. For some reason, Falcon always reminded me of some aerobics students who I knew through my mom at the classes she went to. In fact, to me, she was always an angel on the show. I think now, that really does sound appropriate.

When the reboot airs, I reckon it'd be cool not only to see some old favourite events, especially Skytrak. But one of the editions could have a post-credits message stating; "To the memory of Falcon." I think she could do with a good send-off. In fact, as I was speaking about unsung heroes previously, I'd say that Falcon would've qualified as an unsung hero.

I also reckon that Falcon would've been proud to see a new reboot of Gladiators. Additionally, I'm sure she'd want those participating in the new series to do well. So, may one of the loveliest Gladiators on the show, rest in peace.

And to those who participate in the new upcoming series, I wish you the best of luck!

Before I conclude this article, my condolences also go to Iain Bairnson, Bill Butler who was a long living cinematographer, Paul out of S Club 7 and of course Paul O'Grady. Please do forgive me if I've missed anybody out.

Thank you.