"Deadliest Warrior" on Spike TV

[Tony Cooling]

Has anybody else seen this show? I just got done watching the Viking vs. Samurai episode and was so annoyed I was rolling my eyes at the TV. At least they disabused the notion of the mythical katana by a simple test cut against chain mail, and showed that the Viking longsword could decapitate with one hit.

The good thing about the show is that they show just how deadly both Viking and Samurai weapons were with the usual tests; cuts on ballistic gelatin and dead pigs, psi indicators, trauma docs on standby with professional opinions, etc, etc. The problem with the show (aside from the idiotic premise) is that they take some non-disclosed lethality indicator of four weapons from each warrior and run them through a computer model to see who “wins”. No friendly sparring whatsoever.

Here it is in its entirety if you want to watch it. I’ll save you the trouble though, they determined that the Samurai won.

[url]http://www.spike.com/show/31082?refsite=7190&cmpnid=865&pt=pr&lkdes=NET_spike[url]

Next week they are having Spartans vs. Ninjas. I’m debating if I want to watch it, especially since I’m wondering where they will get the expert ninjas and Spartans (HEMA practitioners?) to test the weapons and armor.

[Sal Bertucci]

Why not. That got Gladiator experts. The only cool thing about that show is the weapons.


Me like swords.

[CalebChow]

Cool show, but their data is based purely on the amount of force and raw effectiveness of the gear and not on the versatility of usage. For a TV show I guess that's the best one can do, though.

[Dennis Zlat]

Nice show. But. Why do they compare 15-16 century samuraj with European warrior of 8-10 centyry? Let us compare samuraj with 15 century knight in full set of gothic armor. Samuraj don’t have a chance.
Moreover, why they used term “longsword” for Viking sword?

[CalebChow]

Nice show. But. Why do they compare 15-16 century samuraj with European warrior of 8-10 centyry? Let us compare samuraj with 15 century knight in full set of gothic armor. Samuraj don’t have a chance.
Moreover, why they used term “longsword” for Viking sword?

Think they're just trying to grab icons from all over history. I mean, they're comparing a ninja to a Spartan next episode.

If they do a tournament-style thing where it'll all boil down to a final round, I'd say it should end up samurai vs knight in the final round with the 15th century knight winning in the end...provided they get a good expert on the knight.

They used "long sword" as two words, which I think was meant to distinguish from a "short sword" like the gladius, even though the vocabulary is different in Renaissance sources.
Their show is meant to cover a larger span of history than the RMA manuals, so that's probably why they used the phrase "long sword" as a more generic weapon.

[Sal Bertucci]

The the bad acting combined with the uber-egos makes the show harder to swallow.

[Dylan Asbury]

Yeah, I feel The same way you do. But did anyone else notice that the cutting technique revealed in the slo-mo replays was pretty rough? They were simply slapping the blades into the target there was no "slice" or actual cut to the cutting. They just swung it as hard as they could and thier blades were bouncing off at crazy angles.

I Agree that I'd like to see the trash-talking "experts" duke it out with some practice equipment. I watch the show solely for the dummy test-cutting. It shows the damage the weapons do against a target similar to an unarmored human body. I hate how the tests make no allowance for actual fighting technique and the uncooperative nature of a fight. From that point on, it's really all just number-crunching. (and I'm not a fan of number crunching to decide anything that pretends to be combat)

[Sal Bertucci]

Yeah I watch the viking/samurai episode last night and the only thing that kept me from screaming with disgust at their technique was the fact that I was rocking my little girl to sleep.

[StevenMann]

I've watched both episodes. I hate it. The guys hosting the show don't appear to know anything at all about realistic martial arts. I call them lab-tards, a bunch of theoretical and hypothetical evidence with no real idea what would happen in reality. (And who made the simulation, and what exactly are the parameters of that simulation, anyway.) I'll never forget the programmer guy in the first show saying "A clumsy gladiator against a nimble apache, the apache's gonna win every time." As if a clumsy gladiator would survive a minute in a real life or death combat situation. I think they give it to one that has the most mystique surrounding them, i.e. the samurai. I would almost bet a paycheck that, next week, the ninja beats the spartan.

[Joel Norman]

Yeah, I agree with you there that it's the one with the most mystique that seems to win every time. Maybe because of 300 the Spartans will have some 'mystique-power' though. It is a computer doing the determination, and so the formula probably is 'which one is cooler in the movies?' since the fight experts seem to fight like choreographers. It's a stupid show. I do wonder if they'll keep having the 'cool' one win when they get around to modern fighters, though, or if they will finally base the 'winner' on anything real. I doubt it.

[Sal Bertucci]

No way! (Be prepared for rampant sarcasm) They can make this show go for seasons!! All they have to do is not decide a winner this season. Then, next season, they take the EXACT SAME fighters represented by the EXACT SAME egotistical morons, but make them fight different groups!!! Then you just have to keep a running tab of how many each group won, and the group with the most tally marks wins! The permutations are ENDLESS!! Then we could get in show DRAMA in the future b/c one of the lab rats might (after spending endless days watching puffed up bimbos beat ballistic gel) GET A CLUE and realize that their "scientific" data is completely useless. Then the company would have to replace him with someone dumber, and the host of ignorant nonthinking couch potatoes will spend 30 seconds thinking "Where did that one guy go?" before being pleasurably mislead finding "hard facts" about a theoretical subject that is IMPOSSIBLE TO QUANTIFY!!!!


...aaaaaaaaaaand I'm done.

[Patrick Kelly]

I'd rather put a gun to my head than watch another episode of that show.

[Jay Vail]

My sources in the entertainment community tell me that the show "Pirates vs. SWAT Cops," featuring our own Aaron P is the best in the series.

[Sal Bertucci]

Well, I hope the SWAT cops win. Here's what I think they'd bring. Short Range: Collapsable Impact Baton. (Always fun) Mid Range: Glock. Long Range: 50 Cal. Sniper Rifle. Special Weapon: Any kind of GRENADE.


(Or they could just put a hole in the boat to speed up negotiations)

[Benjamin Smith]

I think we should write letters in letting them know that we think their methods and results were lousy, biased, poorly done, and deceptive to the public!