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SEMI FINAL 1, SERIES 2 (15/03/09)
FRIDAY MARCH 20, 2009
Ha ha, one of the first words that springs to my mind when thinking of Sunday’s show is “Buttocks”! We were in fits of laughter in the Gladiators green room whilst watching Goliath’s interview. Ian was in with us too (he’d come in for a sneaky game on the Wii). Wrighty always highlights the humour of a situation and his Goliath impression is hilarious! It was kind of a shame though that buttocks had to be mentioned, because I think Goliath was initially in a good mood after his great performance on Duel and the audience may have got to see the sweet side of the giant, but it doesn’t take much to rattle his cage when he’s filled with adrenaline and I think the mention of his behind actually caused him to become a little embarrassed!
The balance beam really got the better of Kathryn and Emma in Pursuit. Now I understand why the Producers said to the Gladiators “Whatever you do, don’t fall off the bream, it just doesn’t make good TV”. I loved Wolf’s comments about the greyhounds and rabbits, though Tempest and Enigma did look sensational and I can see where he was coming from. A little inside information is that the beam had to be altered prior to filming. Initially the middle section of the beam had been an inverted v-shape. If you imagine removing the flat section in the very middle and the sloping sections continuing to slope until they meet at a sharp point, then that is how it had started. However, due to health and safety reasons, and a lot of lost skin, changes were made. In contrast to the girls Pursuit, Simeon and Chris flew over their beams and Predator’s launch and mid-air grab was sensational.
Kathryn was fantastic on Hit and Run and I really felt for her when John disqualified her for putting hands on the ball. Is did seem very harsh to take away all 16 of her points, but rules are rules. As a wise man once said, “Adversity causes some men (or women) to break, and others to break records”, although she was obviously upset initially, I think we can confidently say that Kathryn is so far proving herself to be the latter of these two.
Earthquake saw the Big-O back on his usual great form, and my view is that Atlas possibly out-analysed himself on this event. It seemed that he had a plan, to allow the contender to use their own bodyweight to send them off the platform, or at least near to the edge, by simply stepping out of their way. This would have been great had it worked, but Simeon was quick to react and an unfortunate tilt of the platform gave him the advantage to shove the man mountain off. I doubt that Atlas will be attempting this technique again! He gave a great interview to follow, refusing to focus on the negatives and relaying a heartfelt message of compliments to Simeon, feelings that many of the Gladiators shared. Simeon was a great contender who had such an excellent attitude displaying camaraderie, courage, confidence and composure.
Chris was amazing on Pyramid, I never thought I would see the day when somebody would score 10 points against Predator on this event, so full credit to him. However, I felt that the decision to disqualify Doom was unfair. In my opinion he didn’t actually tackle the contender below the second step, as he never actually restricted his movement, he just kept a hand in contact with him, so that he could tackle as soon as it was legal to do so. I think John has taken a real dislike to Doom. Yes his behaviour can be unpredictable and even evil at times, but I can’t help thinking that had Spartan or Predator made these infringements, the referee may have been more lenient!
Siren really made Emma suffer in the girl’s Pyramid, but she just kept going and going, showing us all how tough she is. Something that I always remind myself of in these situations is that “Pain is only temporary, but victory is forever”. I’m sure Emma’s pupils will have a new found respect for their teacher after Sunday’s events.
So only 2 shows to go until we have our winners . . . .
Next week is guaranteed to be unmissable and I just can’t wait to hear what treats Justin will come out with. . . . .
And I get to play . . . . . . . about time!!!
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