TWO ARTICLES ON AMERICAN GLADIATOR
- 02/03/2008 (1:37:25 pm)
- Jeff Sheridan
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Both articles don't have links to their sites, so here goes. This is from the NY Daily News' "New York Vue" TV Guide magazine. It's on page 6:"This Just In
From Health Guru to 'Gladiator'
Being a champion bodybuilder, body model & former college athlete wasn't enough to land Valerie Waugaman-that's Siren to fans of NBC's "American Gladiators"-her job. "I sent in a video interview, did a fitness test...took a psychological test & met with a doctor.
Really, they want to make sure you're able to handle being on prime-time TV." The psych exam "was 500 questions-Do you like to play
with fire? Do you like to kill animals?-just weird things. Do you consider yourself a smiley, happy person? How would you react to this or
that type of situation? I thought even if I didn't get on the show, I'd learned a lot about myself," Waugaman says. She tells This Just In she got into bodybuilding as a means to publicize Octane, the healthful foods restaurant she & her fiance own in Cleveland, & boost
her sideline career. "I speak at seminars & motivational camps, in schools. I love talking to kids about having goals & going after their
dreams. I wasn't looking to be on TV. I don't really even watch TV," she says. "'American Gladiators' is a great platform for me to promote a healthy message beyond the show."
This is from page 12 from the NY Post's "TV Week" section:
"Prime Time Phil Mushnick
'Gladiators' too buff to be believed
[NOTE FROM JEFF:The article shows a photo of Alex Castro & underneath it, it says:"Alex Castro is 1 of NBC's 'American Gladiators'".]
Seeing Is Disbelieving:Just because NBC claims that the excessively muscled regulars on the new "American Gladiators" are being drug-tested, doesn't mean it's so, &, if so, doesn't mean that the testing is worth a damn.
After all, several of the current, excessively ripped Gladiators don't appear to be flexing any more naturally obtained physiques than TV's previous American Gladiators did from 1989-1996.
NBC knows what it's doing. the revived "American Gladiators" is designed to attract a young male audience, & freakishly enlarged
physiques have long been used as young male bait. That's why ESPN Classic airs the old shows on Saturday mornings.
If NBC is so drug muscle-sensitive, why was anabolic kiddie hero Hulk Hogan chosen as a co-host? Why did NBC's 1st promos for the
show literally focus on the suspiciously extraordinary muscles of even female Gladiators?
NBC's claim that it's Gladiators are drug-tested doesn't mean a thing to those who, with just 1 look, know what exceeds the extreme
limits of natural physiology. NBC's defensive claim looks, walks & sounds like a duck. Some, not all, of the 2008 American Gladiators
appear far too unnaturally muscled to be believed.
And the next time NBC News presents a report about why teens are drawn to steroids & human growth hormone & why they measure
self-worth by their triceps & pecs, it might want to start with NBC Entertainment.
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