Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Muscles and Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators’ on Netflix, a New Entry in the Suddenly-Crowded Subgenre of ‘American Gladiators’ Documentaries

Despite many detractors at the time, American Gladiators became one of the most beloved cultural phenomena of the early ‘90s. So much so, in fact, that we’ve got a burgeoning cottage industry of documentaries recalling it. On the heels of ESPN’s American Gladiators documentary earlier this summer, Netflix is entering the fray with Muscles and Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators.

MUSCLES AND MAYHEM: AN UNAUTHORIZED STORY OF AMERICAN GLADIATORS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We open with text over a gym background. “The television program American Gladiators originally aired from 1989 to 1996. It was the first show where average people engaged in real competition against professionals known as gladiators.” We then quickly dive into a frenetic “hey, remember the ‘90s?” montage that references MC Hammer, Monica Lewinsky, and reminded me of nothing but Marge Simpson recalling the summer “a young Joe Piscopo taught us to laugh.”

The Gist: The series claims right in its title to be “unauthorized”, and that’s reflected in the point of view–Muscles and Mayhem isn’t from the point of view of the show’s creator, but rather the people who experienced it firsthand. Interviews feature former gladiators, but also the stunt coordinators, producers, directors and other staff who had to turn a crazy idea into a real program.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Well, there’s a decent chance that it reminds you of The American Gladiators Documentary, a two-part documentary film that dropped on ESPN earlier this month as part of their long-running 30 For 30 series. It’s a lot like what happened with those Fyre Fest documentaries a couple years ago–two complementary-but-different takes on the same subject.

Our Take: It’s impossible to review Muscles and Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators without comparing it to The American Gladiators Documentary, which was released just weeks ago on ESPN. While both programs tackle the same subject matter, I found them to be quite complementary, and both worth your time (assuming you’re interested in American Gladiators, at least.) While the ESPN program centered the show’s creator, Jerry Ferraro, Muscles and Mayhem takes a more outsider-y perspective, focusing on the people who brought Ferraro’s half-baked concept to light. While the ESPN doc did push back on Ferraro’s self-mythologizing, here he’s reduced to a punchline, shown in animated interludes and referred to derisively by multiple figures associated with the show as “an Elvis impersonator” for his personal style.

Much of the first episode of this five-episode limited series focuses on the filming of the show’s pilot, and it makes for a truly entertaining story as stunts are improvised–many of them not entirely working and appearing rather crappy compared to what we remember from the finished product. Executive producer Julie Resh recalls visiting the studio—a hastily repurposed equestrian event center that reeked of horse manure from its use the day before—and being taken by what she saw. “I sat there in shock. Nubian slaves. Really big muscle people throwing other people around. It was outrageous, and it was kinda hard to see it working as a show.”

Despite the slapdash nature of the production, the pilot was finished, and producers recall assuaging their financial backers’ doubts through creative editing—“lots of quick shots, graphics, sizzle”–to make the rough footage they gathered look like something that actually could be on TV. Even then, it felt overshadowed at a television convention roll-out by a competing program, the now-forgotten “Rock and Rollergames.” To draw attention back to their product, they assembled a boxing ring on a convention floor and put on enough of a spectacle to sell the show.

This is where we end the first episode, with the show not quite ready for prime-time, but gathering steam–obviously, we know well that it becomes a cultural juggernaut, but it’s fun to follow along and see just how improvised it truly was. While the ESPN documentary was a wholly-entertaining piece of work, there’s angles covered in Muscles and Mayhem that didn’t make it into that one, and vice versa. Watch both!

Sex and Skin: There’s some oiled-up babes and hunks–as you should expect given the subject matter–but everything’s comfortably under spandex.

Parting Shot: The show is picked up–and competing show Rock and Rollerderby canceled–but many of the problems from the pilot have yet to be ironed out, and injuries quickly mount during filming. “There is no way that this show was going to make it,” one producer recalls thinking. Will it make it? Tune in for episode 2! (Spoiler: it makes it.)

Sleeper Star: It’s great to see some of the original gladiators show up, but Branscombe Richmond–who served as stunt coordinator for the show’s pilot, and looks 100% the part of “former American Gladiators stunt coordinator” steals the show in the first episode.

Most Pilot-y Line: “They had no idea what the show was,” recalls Bill Garnet, who directed the show’s pilot, in reference to Ferraro and his team. “They had a title, and that was basically it.”

Our Call: STREAM IT. Even if you’ve already watched ESPN’s take on the subject, there’s plenty to love in the differing viewpoint offered in Muscles and Mayhem. It’s a fun subject!

Scott Hines, publisher of the widely-beloved Action Cookbook Newsletter, is an architect, blogger and proficient internet user based in Louisville, Kentucky.