Spike's The Deadliest Warrior

I've been enjoying the past couple of episodes of a series which premiered on Spike last week called The Deadliest Warrior, which pits two historically badass fighter-types against each other in a theoretical battle based many factors.

Some of the reviews for this show have been blistering however.

"Wow. Reality concepts don't come any goofier than "Deadliest Warrior," which sounds like an argument that guys would have after way too many beers -- as in, "Who would win in a fight, a Samurai or a Viking?"" - Variety

Spike's 'Warrior' is so stupid it's almost deadly - The Michigan Daily

Personally, I think there is some bias going on here, because if the same show was on Discovery, PBS, History or the Military Channel, critics would be falling over themselves to praise it. But because it is on Spike, well it has to be ripped apart, and that is the general tenor of the reviews I am reading. I have a feeling if Mythbusters had premiered on Spike, it would be receiving the same kind of barbs.

And don't get me wrong, I am certainly not someone who religiously watches Spike or anything. The only original programming that I really loved on the network before this was The Joe Schmo Show. And I ended up watching all the CSI reruns there, but other than that, it has not been destination television for me.

I am not saying it is the greatest thing on television... but it is entertaining. I mean, if it is fun seeing ballistic gel dummies getting maimed by various means on the aforementioned Mythbusters, why is it suddenly not when experts at handling various historical weapons do it? For what it is, it provides for some good television and some excellent food for thought, even if I don't always agree with some of the assumptions. I've caught myself calling bullshit on the show as I've watched it too (for instance, last night as I watched the Samurai vs. Viking episode, I just kept thinking that the Samurai beat back the Mongols that landed on the shores of Japan, and they had many similarities to the Vikings, but somehow, that never came up on the show), but that in no way diminishes how fun this show is to watch.

I only hope that other Spike series continue in this direction, as I think I like this slightly more intellectual spin on things.

Tags: spike, deadliest warrior, variety, the michigan daily, joe schmo, mythbusters, discovery, history, military channel, pbs, samurai, viking