The best thing on TV!

First off, let me just say that anyone who doubts Al Gore is an idiot.

Last week, the first week of January, it was 17 degrees - the radio said with wind chill it was... 1. One freakin' degree.

Today (well, yesterday), the 7th of January, my car thermometer read... 64.

Yeah. The 7th of January, I'm driving to work with the sunroof open.

Anyway, I'm digressing from my main point, which is... thanks to the writers strike, there's an awful lot of random, short-term reality TV out there.

Which brings me to the greatest thing on television these days.

That's right.

They brought back "American Gladiators".

Not these guys, who were cheesy enough.

No, this time they've pulled out all the so-bad-it's-good stops, from trash-talking contestants to over-muscled freaks.

Let me put it this way: In 2007, I went to Wisconsin. I went to Vermont.

And nowhere did I see cheese like last night!

Best moments of the pilot, complete with spoilers:
• The first contestant blew out her knee on the first event!
• The one guy was like 5'5" and 150, he took on a Gladiator in "Joust" who was about 6'6" and 280". And won!
• The last contestant went head-first into a metal bar - oh, yes, there will be blood!
• And of course, the contestant with about a 40-second lead in a 3-minute event who couldn't get up the reverse-treadmill (not that I blame her) and wound up just sort of hanging there by her fingertips as the slower, exhausted opponent limped past her.

This stuff is sooooooooooooooo... great, there aren't enough "o"s to put in that "so."

And of course, they've brought back Assault!



By the way, did you know first-season champion Brian Hutson once went to training camp with the Raiders and actually got into a couple of games for the Patriots?

His opponent in the finals? Former "Lost Boy" Billy Wirth.

Yeah, and version 2.0 is even weirder.