The American Gladiators Documentary: Why ESPN's Take on this 90's Show Is a Must Watch

Streaming on ESPN+, The American Gladiator Documentary is a captivating journey you do not want to miss out on.

With larger-than-life men and women battling the everyday person in feats of strength, endurance, and agility, audiences seemed to be stuck to their television sets ever since American Gladiators first premiered on television sets in September 1989. Running for seven seasons and over two hundred episodes, names like Gemini, Malibu, and Thunder quickly became household idols and were trademarked on all sorts of products, including video games, lunchboxes, and action figures.

Unbeknownst to most people who were mesmerized by the David and Goliath premise of the show, there is a captivating and thrilling story that not only revolves around the actual gladiators but also the two original creators, John Ferraro and Dann Carr. With a brand-new documentary released under ESPN's 30 for 30 moniker, director Ben Berman opens the door for the entire audience to see what happened before, during, and after the legacy of one of America's most-watched shows in the late 80s and early 90s.

Premiering as a two-part explorative look into one of the biggest parts of competition show history, The American Gladiators Documentary was a double-night event with a total runtime of about three hours. In that time, viewers are taken on a fascinating adventure that begins at the Erie Tech High School back in 1983, where the original contest first began, and takes a pit stop just for a moment to detail the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of those that were involved with the production and then ends on a grand finale, finally solving that one last mystery that evaded the entire 30 for 30 episode.

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While John Ferraro is shown as a man who eventually acknowledges his wrongdoings and rights those mistakes, the documentary isn't afraid to show that the business side of Mr. Ferraro has made him out to be hated by a good number of co-workers. He longs to stick himself and all of his aspirations to what he believes to be his baby.

Even though there was a reboot made in 2008 that didn't stick around for more than one season, the former Elvis Presley impersonator wants the original American Gladiators movie to still be made. But even through the fog of all the glitz and glamor of Hollywood pipe dreams, the viewer easily sees that this man is very calculative with any and all of his legal matters, as seen by the fact that he is adjoined to his lawyer's numerous statements many times throughout the piece.

Digging into the intricacy of the show itself and showcasing the numerous divisive spin-offs, nostalgic fans will be taken on an emotional journey while taking a peek into the lives of former gladiators, which include the aforementioned names above but also with names such as Sabre and Dallas as well.

The numerous interviews with Gemini (whose real name is Michael Horton) gets visibly emotional when talking about the experiences he lost with his children in order to work on American Gladiators. Regarding Mr. Ferraro's cold behavior at times, he also remarks how the creator bluntly told him that the show's audience only cares about Gemini, not the real person, no matter the toll. Passing away a short time after filming, Thunder (William Smith) herniated several discs and was never in the same shape since being a featured gladiator.

Footage for the documentary shows him wearing back braces, using a cane to get around, and walking very carefully around his property. Playing Dallas, Shannon Hall seems to be one of the lucky ones who not only has come away suffering minimal physical damage but also brings the producers and showrunner ever so closer to the biggest missing link, Dan Carr.

Being the other mastermind behind the creation of American Gladiators, this enigma is the most captivating piece to the entire two-night feature. With his own physical shape towering over some of the on-screen personalities, the hulking man with an Apache background has his name on every episode of the culturally defining show.

However, it seems as though there was some hefty unexplained friction between him and Mr. Ferraro that is dramatically explained as the fascinating documentary goes on. By piecing together secondhand gossip and a transcript of a book Mr. Carr wrote years ago, the director and the audience better understand the elusive mystery man.

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Audiences will surely be shocked when the other side of the story is finally told. Whether you were a fan of the original broadcast over thirty years ago or discovered the hard-hitting televised challenges through syndication, there are plenty of behind-the-scenes stories and never before seen footage that hasn't been seen anywhere else.

Within a bedazzling frame of a bright and exciting game show, sports fans will become mesmerized while witnessing how one man's singular drive to become a worldwide entertainment figure affected many different people in many different ways. With both parts currently streaming on ESPN+, The American Gladiator Documentary is a captivating journey you do not want to miss out on.

Writing many one-page short stories when he was a child that have now been lost to time, Salvatore Cento then ultimately honed his craft as a student at the College of Staten Island where he created many articles for the school's official newspaper, The Banner. As much as he finds value in writing about the latest and greatest trends that are buzzing throughout the entertainment world, his true passion is leading the reader to new movies and shows that they have never seen before.