Atlaspheres

**Atlasphere** was an event played in several incarnations of the television series *Gladiators*. In this event, all participants are enclosed in Atlaspheres, heavy steel balls that are two metres in diameter. It is the contenders aim to use their Atlasphere to roll over scoring pods on the floor and the Gladiators job to prevent it.

## Rules

Two contenders face two Gladiators and begin on ramps in opposite corners of the playing field. On the whistle, all participants must roll their Atlasphere to the centre of the field for a clash, except in the United States, where contenders can begin scoring immediately. On the floor are four scoring pods placed in a diamond shape. The contenders must roll their Atlasphere over as many scoring pods as possible within 60 seconds. It is the Gladiators job to mark the contenders out of the scoring pods. A Gladiator may only mark their allocated contender and are not allowed to block them into a corner or hold them in a position for longer than 10 seconds. Contenders must successfully roll over the centre of the pod to trigger a sensor. Only a successful 'centring' will trigger a liquid nitrogen emission from the appropriate pod which signifies a contender score. Contenders are not allowed to score on the same pod on consecutive attempts unless they have attempted to score on another pod and have been thwarted.

## International differences

Scoring for a successful centring varied across the different countries. America awarded 1, 2 and 3 points per score over the course of its initial run. The UK awarded 3 points throughout its run, whereas Australia awarded 2 points during its initial run. Both American and Australian revivals currently operate on the basis of 2 points per score. Also, American Gladiators are not assigned an individual contender and may guard whomever they wish at any time, which allows for a player to break away if an opponent is being double-teamed. The original American name for this event is Atlasphere. The Australian revival also uses the singular version. Atlaspheres was played in South Africa. In a stark difference to the original concept, contenders had to knock down giant bowling pins, positioned in each corner of the arena with one in the centre, instead of rolling over pods. The event was run one on one. Each pin knocked over scored two points. The pin nearest the contender at the start of the event was coloured red and could only be knocked over when the other four had been. Four points would be awarded when it was successfully knocked down. Instead of smoke going off, sparks did, requiring participants to wear additional safety clothes which covered the Gladiators outfits. The event was also played in Finland under the name Ihmiskuula.

## Event history

### America

* Years active: 1990-1994, 2008-2009

Atlasphere was first introduced during the second season of American Gladiators. During its first season, Gladiators began the game on one of the scoring pods near the middle of the floor while the contenders started at opposite ends of the floor. The shape of the pods varied significantly during this season, with the pod openings becoming wider and the pod sides becoming shallower as the season went on, and in some episodes, a fifth pod was seen in the centre of the floor. As no contender ever managed to settle in this goal due to the large incline and small opening, it is unclear whether this centre pod was a legal scoring pod. Contenders had to bring their Atlasphere to a stop in the pod for at least a second in order to score. Because several Contenders, and even a couple of Gladiators got stuck on the pods, the rule was amended the next year in that the Atlapshere had to cleanly go over a sensor in the centre of the pod in order to score, with two clouds of smoky fog being emitted along with a glowing ring of lights to indicate a successful score. In addition, Gladiators were moved to the opposite corners as became the normal setup of the event. In the fifth series of American Gladiator's original run, the starting ramps where no longer used. The event was retired in America from Season 6. Atlasphere returned in the second series of the 2008 US revival in the semi-finals with several minor changes. The pods no longer had visible pressure sensors in the centre that determined scores and the starting ramps returned. Also, the Atlaspheres used in the revival were both larger and heavier, weighing 650 pounds as opposed to the 225 pound Atlaspheres used in the original series. Event Commentator Van Earl Wright noted the popularity of the game when announcing its return. There is no visible testing of the smoke sensors during Al Kaplon's countdown, something which took place when Larry Thompson checked smoke sensors before starting the matches in the original series before the mechanical sensors were introduced, although all four pods are activated immediately upon the beginning of the game.

### UK

* Years active: 1992-1999

Atlaspheres was the very first event to be played during the show's run and was played throughout all eight series. The event's signature tune was "We Will Rock You" by Queen, which was played before most matches. John Anderson then checked that the pods emitted smoke. The event received a slight makeover in the second series, with a single cloud of liquid nitrogen being released as opposed to two diagonal spurts. In addition, the pods had red stripes added to them. A variety of different coloured Atlaspheres were used during the shows run, with grey for Gladiators and a combination of red, orange, yellow and blue for contenders. In series 3, new 'turbo charged' Atlaspheres were introduced which moved quicker across the arena floor. The event was sometimes modified for special shows, with two Gladiators on ramps facing off against three contenders, placed in the centre, and later three Gladiators starting off on the arena floor directly in front of three contenders. Atlaspheres was modified for the junior Gladiators show Train 2 Win. In this modification, one Atlasphere was used as a giant bowling ball, attempting to knock down 10 giant bowling pins placed at the end of the arena, similar to the South African concept. Atlaspheres was due to appear in the 2008 revival, with the event's signature tune being played in television adverts, but had to be scrapped due to the lack of a floor space big enough for the event.

### Australia

* Years active: 1995-1996, 2008

Atlaspheres was introduced in the first series and ran for all three series. It also returned for the first series of the 2008 revival under the singular name, "Atlasphere".