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American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

post #1 of 31
3/18/09 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 
Chalk up another one for the Never Thought THIS Would Get Released Dept. Shout! Factory (who else?) is releasing a 3-disc set on 7/14, according to TVShowsOnDVD. I would probably buy it, depending on the price, of course, and what's on the set (see below).

In the article, Dave says it's all 26 first-season episodes but I'm not sure it is. The blurb he posted from Shout includes:
Quote:
This 3-DVD set covers Season One, including the mid-season wrap-up episode and the subsequent 13 episodes leading up to the finals.
That quote, plus the listed run time of 840 minutes (which translates to 14 60-min. episodes) makes me think it's just the last 14 episodes of the season. Note it says "covers season one" not something like "includes season one."

My thinking is Joe Theismann, who hosted the first half of the season, may not have signed off on his episodes being released and instead of not releasing the season because of that, Shout decided to just release the second half of the season. Of course, if he was in the midseason recap episode (I don't recall if he was or not), then that theory won't go far.

Hopefully Dave can get a clearer answer from Shout, but I think it has to be just the second half of the season. Would 26 hour-long episodes even fit on 3 discs and still be watchable? Not unless they're double-sided discs (does Shout even use those?).
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post #2 of 31
3/18/09 at 3:59pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Well, depends. Is the original run of first season episodes still in rotation on ESPN? If so, maybe they don't need Joe to sign off on a DVD.

I'd like to see a full press release myself as this show was a huge guilty pleasure of mine years ago and I can't wait for this one.
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post #3 of 31
3/18/09 at 4:14pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Quote:
Originally Posted by MattPeriolat
Well, depends. Is the original run of first season episodes still in rotation on ESPN? If so, maybe they don't need Joe to sign off on a DVD.

I don't think it is.

But really, why would the Joe Theismann episodes not be on the set? It's just not practical. Besides, not everything said in that press release is final.
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post #4 of 31
3/18/09 at 11:15pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

All seasons of the series are in rerun syndie, because I've seen them. If the DVD release is indeed just the last half of the first season then perhaps it's because the first half is really terrible. The show is badly done, badly "acted", clumsily directed, boringly hosted and if you look closely you can tell they have practically no audience in the studio. Dan "Nitro" Clark even confirmed that they had to use cardboard cut-outs to fill the seats during filming.

It's the second half of the first season where this show really started to take shape and become what it was supposed to be. But it would still be odd if only half the season were released. Why not just do all the eps ? We'll see.
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post #5 of 31
3/19/09 at 10:31am

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

For me the good news here is that MGM whether directly or through Fox has licenced this tv show and I hope there will be more shows licensed like Patty Duke Show, My Mother The Car, It's About Time, Thirtysomething or the rest of Fame, Green Acres, Flipper & Mister Ed.
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post #6 of 31
3/19/09 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Cover art here
Note no mention of "complete season" on the cover.
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post #7 of 31
3/19/09 at 3:46pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott_J
Cover art here
Note no mention of "complete season" on the cover.

Read the press release. It says "Entire First Season".

So of course it's gonna be all 26 episodes.
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post #8 of 31
3/19/09 at 11:58pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

I'm surprised to find Malibu (dude!) and Sunny on the cover since neither of them lasted past the first season. Otherwise it's great cover art. I'd actually love to see some of the other Gladiator shows from other countries get a release. There were a number of versions of the show at the time.
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post #9 of 31
3/20/09 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Quote:
Originally Posted by vnisanian2001
Read the press release. It says "Entire First Season".

So of course it's gonna be all 26 episodes.
What press release? I don't think Shout has issued one yet and since the release is still so far away, they probably won't issue one for a while.

If you're talking about the "entire first season" written in the paragraph above the cover art in the link I posted, that was written by Dave Lamber of TSoD, NOT Shout.

The only actual information I have seen ]b]from Shout[/b] (see below) has NOT called it the complete season.
Quote:
The '80s cult classic American Gladiators was actually a forerunner of the reality show: a physical competition series in which two male and two female contestants pitted their strength, speed and skill against highly trained pro athletes Gemini, Zap, Nitro, Lace, Malibu and Sunny, aka the American Gladiators. This 3-DVD set covers Season One, including the mid-season wrap-up episode and the subsequent 13 episodes leading up to the finals.
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post #10 of 31
3/20/09 at 4:21pm
Thread Starter 

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

While I'm still skeptical, I asked Shout on Twitter if it was the complete season and they responded
Quote:
It's the complete first season
But I still would like to see a press release state that. The fact that it's 3 discs and the running time posted at TSoD really doesn't support that. I'd love to be wrong though.
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post #11 of 31
3/20/09 at 8:45pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Also it seems dumb to have Malibu and Sunny on the cover if it wasn't the entire first season as they only appeared in the first half. Why include gladiators in the picture that aren't even featured in episodes on the DVDs?
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post #12 of 31
3/21/09 at 2:59am

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

I believe that Malibu left the show because of an injury. Perhaps otherwise he might have stayed around to bore us to death. In which case we might not have gotten other Glad's like Tower and that hosebag Turbo.
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post #13 of 31
4/7/09 at 4:13pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

First of all guys, too much shouldn't be made of the cover "art" since it's just a promo photo from the first season with Zap cropped out for space reasons, I guess.


Second, according to the following episode guide at TV.com,
American Gladiators (1989) on TV.com - Free Full Episodes & Clips, & Show Info
seasons 1 and 2 had 13 episodes each so maybe this is a combination of both seasons. But the 840 mins running time would mean that there are 19 episodes (around 44 mins each minus commercials) in this set. Since the cover art doesn't state Season 1 anywhere, I wonder if Shout is releasing these in volumes with a certain number of episodes as opposed to the varying episode counts found in seasons.
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post #14 of 31
4/7/09 at 11:55pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

The TV.com episode guide is wrong; what they have listed as the first and second season is really just the first season episodes. There third season is really the real second season etc. American Gladiators (the original) only had seven seasons not eight.
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post #15 of 31
4/8/09 at 6:19am

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

What is your source for that?
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post #16 of 31
4/8/09 at 9:45pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Each season of AG was a "full" season. The first season was revamped halfway through to improve the show. Perhaps this confused some fans who see the show in syndie and assume those eps aired in different seasons since they are so different.

I'm not sure what type of artwork they had to work with but I just found it odd that Glads that did not stick around are being used on the cover art.
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post #17 of 31
4/21/09 at 9:16pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Shout! Factory Store

The page for the shows' store listing is up, and it mentions only the last 14 episodes, just as Scott suspected earlier.

Scott, it's actually nothing to get all bent out of shape, though. If you're not aware by now, you can just watch the first 12 episodes for free right here.
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post #18 of 31
4/21/09 at 9:46pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Hmm . . . it doesn't make any sense that they would just skip the first half of the season. I mean, why not just release the whole season in a box set ? Was it so save the money ? Or an assumption that people would not care for those eps ? I'll be the first to admit that those eps really were not very good, especially compared to the rest of the souped-up series.
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post #19 of 31
4/21/09 at 9:54pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Well, the first half of the first season did have a somewhat different tournament format compared to the one we're used to seeing. Keep in mind that the Grand Championship was originally not a thought. The original idea was for a male and female contestant to win $10,000, and return next year as an American Gladiator. The latter was dropped in the second half.
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post #20 of 31
4/22/09 at 4:44am

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

There is going to be commentary on 4 episodes and an interview with Billy Wirth (which makes no sense since he isn't going to be featured except in the highlight show).
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post #21 of 31
4/23/09 at 4:00pm
Thread Starter 

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Quote:
Originally Posted by vnisanian2001
Shout! Factory Store

The page for the shows' store listing is up, and it mentions only the last 14 episodes, just as Scott suspected earlier.
Not surprising. All the evidence pointed to that. Looks like Shout's Twitterer didn't have the right info.

Quote:
Scott, it's actually nothing to get all bent out of shape, though. If you're not aware by now, you can just watch the first 12 episodes for free right here.
Not sure where you got the impression I got "all bent out of shape" about it. But I certainly did not. In fact, I'm kind of happy. It'll save me money, which I'll use on another, complete release. If I ever feel the need to watch it, I can always rent it. But I won't be buying it unless I eventually find it at a bargain-bin-type price.
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post #22 of 31
5/26/09 at 3:37pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

I wrote Dan "Nitro" Clark to verify that we were not getting the first 12 episodes from season 1 and this is what he wrote back:

"You are correct. They decided not to include the first 12. The set would have been too big -- meaning too expensive for consumers. They wanted to price it right and make it accessible to a wide base of Gladiator fans! That being said, there is a recap episode of the first 12 that shows all the highlights including the viral sensation - clip of Malibu taking it in the chops on the Human Canon Ball!"

Dan "Nitro" Clark

So, there you go guys, it was a cost-cutting measure by Shout Factory.
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post #23 of 31
5/26/09 at 4:22pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Oh well. At least he was being honest about the reason why.

BTW, ESPN Classic is currently showing episodes from Season 1A on the weekends, so if you wanna see those again, there you go.
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post #24 of 31
5/26/09 at 4:29pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

I emailed tvshowsondvd.com about updating their product info. I'm surprised they hadn't done it sooner. Shout Factory's had an episode listing for the discs for a while now.
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post #25 of 31
5/31/09 at 5:58pm
Thread Starter 

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Quote:
Originally Posted by supes78
I wrote Dan "Nitro" Clark to verify that we were not getting the first 12 episodes from season 1 and this is what he wrote back:

"You are correct. They decided not to include the first 12. The set would have been too big -- meaning too expensive for consumers. They wanted to price it right and make it accessible to a wide base of Gladiator fans! That being said, there is a recap episode of the first 12 that shows all the highlights including the viral sensation - clip of Malibu taking it in the chops on the Human Canon Ball!"

Dan "Nitro" Clark
That explanation doesn't make much sense. If their goal was to include fewer episodes to make it cheaper for consumers, why not split the season into volumes and make this release a "season one, volume one" with the first half of the season, then release the second half of the season in volume two? Studios do that all the time. Shout's doing it with G.I. Joe the week after this comes out.

There must be more to the story than just what Nitro said. I'm convinced it's something involving Joe Theismann - either he wouldn't sign off on it or he was asking for too much money for his episodes to be released.
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post #26 of 31
5/31/09 at 7:16pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

Okay, I'm confused. What does it mean to "Sign off on something"?

And also, he will be featured in the Highlights show. So it's not like he won't be seen on the DVD at all. Could the reason be because fans would be turned off by sitting through all of the first 12 episodes (which they viewed to be "painfully bad" compared to the rest of the series)?

Also, like I said before, the competition wasn't even the same as it was in the rest of the series; originally, all it was about was to make it to the finals for $10,000, and the possibility of returning next year as an American Gladiator. By the end of the first half of season one, that concept was dropped in favor of making it to the Grand Championship. I don't think the Grand Championship round was a thought originally.

So maybe they didn't want fans to be bothered by the inconsistency in the competition?
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post #27 of 31
6/1/09 at 12:23am

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

I think they're just trying to get people to buy this. By dropping the first half of the season they can sell it cheaper because there is less content and they get rid of the low-quality early episodes. I think fans would want everything but I understand why they're doing it this way.

The idea of a "Season One, Volume One" works well on paper but I don't think it would be practical. Why would anyone pay for just the first half of the season ? Those eps are really bad. Low sales for a volume one would likely kill any chance of a volume two. The show would be dead in the water. So they've just cut to the chase and are starting with the more familiar format.

I just hope future sets will be full seasons or at least split seasons. AG is a real guilty pleasure for a lot of people who remember it. I'd also love to see some of the other versions released such as the international versions from the 90's as well as the recent updated versions that aired in the US and England.
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post #28 of 31
6/1/09 at 3:07pm

Re: American Gladiators (original) release - 7/14

I agree with the others. They're trying to test the waters with this release to see how much interest there is for it. So, they need to price it cheaply and give people episodes they actually want to own. And the first 12 episodes are really painful to sit through, even for fans such as myself. I probably would have waited for the bargain bin to buy a collection of just those episodes if they split up the season and released it as a volume first. And who knows, if this set and future releases sell well, they could always backtrack and release the original 12 as "The Lost Episodes." I wouldn't bet on that kind of sales for these sets, though. I hope they keep releasing these until we get to the Diamond episodes. What kid didn't have a crush on her?
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post #29 of 31
7/14/09 at 3:18pm
Just got through listening to all of the commentaries.  Nitro, Laser, and Zap were definetly candid about their experiences on the show and their feelings about the new show that is no gone.  Nitro was very funny as usual and all of them kept plugging their individual sites and products.  I wish we could have seen a photo of them in studio doing the commentaries.  I kept wanting to see what Zap looked like.  The audio and picture quality on the episodes are not spectacular but the best the show is ever going to get, I'm sure.  I hope these sets sell well enough to warrant more releases, even if extras aren't included.  
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post #30 of 31
7/15/09 at 2:53am
I'm shocked that there would be any extras, especially commentaries. Pleasantly surprised, though. I've read a few brief interviews with former Glads over the years who have said some interesting things about the show. Mainly the use of painkillers, steroids (allegedly) and the true sexuality of some of the Glads. Quite a bit of gossip for a family show.

I just wonder if anyone will ever acknowledge what a d-bag Turbo was ?
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