The new year holds all sorts of treats in store for us: more reality shows as a result of the ongoing writers’ strike, a hotly contested presidential election that’s going to dominate American airwaves…. Okay, 2008 is going to absolutely suck. But the producers of the new American Gladiators can be grateful for that, because a backdrop of reruns, reality shows, and shrill political coverage will make their show look almost like a bright spot. American Gladiators returns to NBC January 6, co-hosted by Laila Ali and Hulk Hogan.

LAist has a hilarious account from the audience’s viewpoint of an early episode (which includes the title for this post). There will be water (and aqua-gladiators) this time around, but the gladiators project the familiar air of goofy menace, and the whole production seems to capture the over-the-top cheesiness of the original. The first Sunday in January I’m going to flick on the tube and pretend the Nineties never left.