American Gladiators Casting: Jamie Kovac and Jennifer Lynn Cowan at Las Vegas "American Gladiators" tryouts in 2007.

One of the things that's struck me as odd in the "American Gladiators" revival is the smaller proportion of physically strong women among both the gladiators and the competitors. With the exception of Robin Coleman, who is gloriously huge, most of the women are fairly slender compared to the original series - certainly none rival the startling muscularity of Lori "Ice" Fetrick or Raye "Zap" Hollitt.

Is NBC wary of casting noticeably muscular women for "American Gladiators", fearing reduced public acceptance? Regardless of motivation, the outcome is that some events are not as compelling or competitive as they might be. For example, not a single female contestant has been able to finish the hand bike on "Eliminator" without dropping to the mat. The event requires unusual physical strength to complete, and most of the female contestants have had zero chance of finishing it.

I certainly don't want to jump ugly on Kim Marciniak - she's obviously a talented athlete. In the end, though, she lacked the upper-body muscle to climb a rope. It was probably the most embarrassing failure of the rebooted series thus far, and it does call into question NBC's casting priorities.

I'm not arguing that TV networks shouldn't select attractive people to be shown on-air. It's a visual medium and everyone prefers to look at pretty people. However, lest readers conclude that there is a shortage of telegenic, attractive blond women with the strength to climb, please take note of Jennifer Lynn Cowan [above with Jamie 'Fury' Kovac at a casting call in September 2007], a natural bodybuilder who would have gone up that wall like a squirrel up a tree.

Watching the series thus far, I've wondered at why Cowan wasn't cast. Perhaps "American Gladiators" will ask Jen to come on board for the second season, and seek out other women who are strong enough to create compelling contests on "American Gladiators".

[Photo credit: Amaz0ns]