So did you see My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad last night? It's sort of like Nerf American Gladiators, where dads and their kids do a bunch of wocka-wocka goofy stunts trying to score points, and then at the end, one of the dads has to answer questions to indicate whether he knows his kid (kind of like The Newlywed Game). It's mostly ridiculous, but it does have this weird, skeevy tone where it's like they actually are trying to make the kids think that their dads are either awesome or not, depending on how they do. At this.

The best part, though? The best part is where the dads take turns guarding a big plate-glass target shaped like a house, where the other team tries to fire big Nerfy projectiles that break the "windows" of the house and get points. And what does the dad use to defend the home? A tennis racquet and a frying pan, of course.

That's right -- Dad is literally defending the home using a frying pan. I just...I don't know what else to say. Except that I missed the beginning, got to the end, and literally shouted out loud in my living room, "OH MY GOD, that IS Dan Cortese!"

Tags: american gladiators, bad parenting, baggage, complexes, my dad is better than your dad, therapy

Move over, Hulk Hogan, and make way for...Hulk Hogan? For the past 13 years, toymaker JAKKS Pacific has made action figures of the Superstars of World Wrestling Entertainment, and now the two companies are finally preparing to part ways, with Mattel (makers of the Dark Knight toys) taking over the license in 2010. But now JAKKS has two new tag-team partners, both of whom are big names in the world of combat entertainment, except these guys do it for reals.

Tags: action figures, American Gladiators, dolls, toys, UFC, WWE, WWF

It's a hell of a news day! The American Gladiators are coming back, but not in the way you think, and Joan Rivers is coming back, not that we wanted her to. And Kevin Costner is saddling up! On TV! That's right, the Costnerlution will be televised!

Tags: American Gladiators, Flash Forward, Joan Rivers, Kevin Costner

At one point, professional wrestlers Hulk Hogan and Jesse "The Body" Ventura were on top of the world. Hogan was arguably the face of America in the 1980s, and the star of numerous films that hilariously pointed out how muscular he was. While Ventura's film career was not quite as impressive, he did manage to parlay his frequent appearances in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies into a public seat, acting as governor of the great state of Minnesota from 1999-2003, much to the dismay of Garrison Keillor. But now, with their careers on the decline, they have fallen into the quicksand trap from which there is no escape: reality television.

Tags: American Gladiators, CMT, court TV, governor, Hogan Knows Best, Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, judge, Minnesota, wrestling

Just when you thought U.S./U.K. relations were at an all-time high, something like this happens. In a clear violation of the Gladiator Non-Proliferation Treaty, BBC America will be broadcasting the game show Gladiators, the U.K. version of the U.S. hit American Gladiators, to American audiences starting on November 1. Since the return of American Gladiators, the U.S. has been careful not to send them overseas or even point them at anybody, so the threat to send British Gladiators into American homes is being taken quite seriously in Washington. ...Washington D.C., not Washington State. Washington state doesn't really care.

Tags: American Gladiators, BBC, BBC America, Gladiators, Inferno

My fellow Americans (and loyal international readers) today is the one day a year we grab our flags and celebrate being from this great country by remembering the struggles that our forefathers went through. Well our forefathers would probably be rolling in their collective graves if they could see how the name "America" has been adopted by some of TV's most popular offerings. If this batch of programming is how our country is represented to the rest of the world, it isn't such a surprise that they hate us or think we are morons.

Tags: America's Funniest Home Videos, America's Got Talent, America's Next Top Model, American Dad, American Gladiators, American Gothic, American Idol, greatest American Hero, Secret Life of an American Teenager, TWoP 10