Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators

This is worth watching just from the 90's nostalgia as theres lots of clips of commercials back then and it really brings you back into that time. As a kid who watched this show I think on re-runs in the mid to late 90's on saturday mornings...I loved the nostalgia. But even better is getting to know who the characters were behind the camera which was probably the most interesting thing about it. It also shows you how the show was made and all the funny stories that go into that, as well as the drama that happened as well. Excellent doc, and the pacing is extremely good and keeps you watching.

I was never a fan of Gladiators in the UK let alone American Gladiators which was the original show that went on to spawn the international versions.

Therefore my decision to watch Netflix's mini-series Muscles & Mayhem was a highly speculative one.

Having now watched all five episodes I am glad that I did watch, I found this to be a genuinely interesting, entertaining if "unauthorised" take on the once hit series.

I will take most of what I heard as gospel as it came from the mouths of the major gladiators themselves, and as they were there, they sure ought to know what went on!

Perhaps rather surprisingly I warmed to the featured gladiators almost without exception and felt genuinely sorry that they did not share in the vast revenues that were generated.

Goes to show how important either having a good contract or a better agent is when it comes to this business called show.

Their sacking from the show no doubt precipitated the show's demise and can be seen in retrospect as the beginning of the end.

Nonetheless, it was a show that went on to "inspire" many other shows that followed in its wake.

I would recommend this series without hesitation.

For those of us who grew up during the era in which this show aired, the nostalgia comes rushing in whilst watching this new series documenting American Gladiators.

I'll admit I was smiling through and through whilst watching this series. Initially, I hadn't even noticed my facial expression till the moment I happened to glance over at the mirror near the television and that's when I had decided I should actually write a review.

This is only my 2nd review ever -despite being on IMDb for 10+ years. Now was the original American Gladiator my favorite show? Not even close. Is this series my new favorite? Nope. But all-in-all, the telltale sign was that I enjoyed it so much that I was actually smiling and wasn't dreadfully checking to see how much longer till it's over (we all know how disappointing that feeling is when you realize something you're watching has let you down).

This series was made with the viewer in mind, which isn't so common nowadays. It's fun and exciting. What you'll really enjoy is that the episodes are short and sweet.

Too many productions have been packing shows and documentaries with fillers and B-roll just to extend them which leaves the viewer annoyed. This series, however, did the right thing, which was to get to the point but to tell the story in a fun way.

Give it a go!

5 episodes, 30-45 minutes each with interviews of most of the actual Gladiators, producers, show runners, etc with zero filler. Each episode had a good theme to it and they flew by fast. I never lost interest.

Unlike the other Netflix doc, "Pepsi, Where's my Jet?" which is the WRONG method to do a documentary, the American Gladiators documentary is by far something worthwhile to watch.

Even if you've only watched a single episode of the show when it was on TV, give this little mini series a shot. It's informative and interesting but most importantly - it's entertaining to watch, just like the TV show.

Amerian Gladiators was a neat sports competition/game show I used to watch, but like every other competition, it is bound to have some dark secrets.

A five-part documentary mini-series looking into the original incarnation of the American Gladiators that aired for seven seasons from 1989 to 1996, the series feature some of the original Gladiators like Michael Horton/Gemini, Danny Lee Clark/Nitro,and Ray Hollit / Zap, to even some of the show's staff and crew, as they talk about the history of the show, from the troubles filming the pitch pilot, to the struggle with the first season,to even some other behind the scenes stuff and incidents on the show.

To me, this is a neat documentary, as a fan of American Gladiators, as the interviews with Gladiators and crew members shed some new insight on the show. The documentary stays on topic, showing scenes from other media in order to prove that American Gladiators was made in an era where bodybuilders were popular stars, and even went into details with the show's various controversies, from the steroid use that led to the show's downfall to some of the Gladiators from the first season being let go after suffering horiffic injuries as well as controveries and bad behavior.