"Gladiatrix" 1.10 - Original Airdate: 01/08/03
  
Written by David H. Goodman
Directed by David Carson
Guest Stars:
Donovan Leitch as Malcolm
Abby Bromwell as Claire
Co-Starring:
Dot-Marie Jones as Guard
Heather Dawn as Young Woman
When I first read the title "Gladiatrix" I wasn't sure what to make of it. When I first read the synopsis for "Gladiatrix" I wasn't sure what to make of it. I've seen "Gladiatrix" and I'm still not sure what to make of it.
First off I'll give the creators credit for answering something that fans've been wondering since the show began: Why NEW Gotham. The answer, of course, is obvious to readers of the comic, but the fact that they've included the Earthquake storyline from the Batbooks into the Birds of Prey mythology was a welcome and much lauded surprise. I was really, really glad to see that, and even though I've read in interviews that the quake was the cause of the name change, it's nice to see it there as part of the official cannon.
Having said that, I was ultimately very disappointed with "Gladiatrix". It just seemed...cheap to me. The outfits the captive metahuman women wore, the sets, the obvious lack of extras in the fight scenes...even some of the acting, by and far the worst the series has seen so far. What ever happened to interesting villains, like Slick, Morton and Hawke? Is a one-eyed man who appears to read his lines off cue cards the best they can offer? And aside from a passing mention at the end of the episode, I didn't even know what to call the villain. Guess what? His name is Malcolm. Big surprise.
"Gladiatrix" also seemed to drop the series own established mythology with this episode. What happened to the deal about no two metahumans having the same power? I seem to recall another character able to shoot fire from their hands, but hey, "Gladiatrix" was a pretty much shoddy product all around, so it's easy to skip over MINOR details like that.
By the way, how absolutely contrived is it that Reese happens to be the cop on the death meta case? Or that every OTHER cop is crooked? Sigh.
Well, aside from the poor production values this time around, there were a few nice moments in this episode. Dinah getting some field experience was nice, even if her anger towards Helena was a tad overblown. It was nice seeing Alfred contributing to the team as well. His interaction with Reese was a highlight, as was his exit, in true Batman fashion.
So, while "Gladiatrix" had its share of moments, they were few and far between. I don't imagine I'll be seeing this on any time soon, with the exception of the opening and the nice Bat-quake reference.
WB Summary for "Gladiatrix"
"When young metahuman women are abducted in New Gotham, Helena�s (Ashley Scott) investigation leads her to uncover a secret club where the captive women are drugged and forced to fight each other in an arena. When Helena is also abducted, it is up to Dinah (Rachel Skarsten) to rescue her."
TV Guide Summary for "Gladiatrix"
"Helena investigates when several female metas are abducted and forced to participate in an underground fighting club, but she risks becoming the perp's next victim. Also, Dinah struggles to prove her mettle as a superheroine sidekick. Reese: Shemar Moore. Dinah: Rachel Skarsten."
Comicology for "Gladiatrix"
The Earthwuake mentioned as being the reason behind "New" Gotham City is dervived from a storyline in the Batman comics from 1999-2001. Starting in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #75, the "Bat-Quake" storyline was followed by "No Man's Land", which also might be the namesake of Birds of Prey's meta-human bar of the same name. Like the show, Gotham City was built on the ruins of the ravaged city, and is often refered to as New Gotham by it's populace.
Ratings for "Gladiatrix"
01/08/03 - 2.9/4
106 out of 128 programs for that week, 5 in it's timeslot (out of 6)
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