Day Four of Bloody Hell It’s Hot Week on Bother’s Bar and it’s both overwhelming and underwhelming. Overwhelming because we don’t think we’ve seen anything more of it on the internet, underwhelming because it’s only a few seconds. Still though.

Body Heat was a mildly popular (three series) physical ability entertainment show on ITV in the 90s hosted by Mike Smith alongside Jeremy Guscott (who went on to host Gladiators) and Sally Gunnell, rounds were basically being best at stuff you did at the gym, as well as an outside broadcast action round, a fitness related quiz, edited highlights of a bleep test (I’m still pitching Million Dollar Bleep Test – execs call me) which could be surprisingly engaging and finally the bleepy bloopy Batak Wall, except you had to do a load of stuff to knacker you out first against the clock (this was great actually, I’m surprised more shows haven’t done “you need to do X to score points, but you have to do Y before you can get to X” as a mechanic).

Anyway here’s six seconds of it.

I know the heatwave is sort of finished, but HEAT WEEK continues on Bother’s Bar, even if today’s entry is more “Summer special” than anything.

Anyway in trying to come up with Beach Clash, Superstar American Gladiators was suggested. Now, quite famously, the events the American Glads compete in are “confrontational, exciting and fast paced, action oriented, visually interesting, and capable of producing emotional moments.” In Superstar American Gladiators, there are highlights of a game of Twister and one event is so dull (and yet so unbalancing) it’s edited down to about fifteen seconds per team.

Basically it’s a Summer special with a curious Battle of the Network Stars element and the only real connection to American Glads is that each team of celebs you’ve not heard of (and Mario Lopez) is coached by a Gladiator and it’s got the referee. There is some genuine athleticism in the Eliminator to be fair, although there is also finding a ball amongst 3,000 balloons.

If you’d prefer to watch the real thing, I’ve been alerted that the official American Gladiators Youtube channel has very recently started posting full episodes again.

Day two of what the nation is calling Hot Week At Bother’s Bar that we’ve just decided is A Thing, and thanks to Holger for bringing this up on the Discord yesterday, one of many American Gladiators knock-offs that were popular in US syndication in the early to mid-90s (to make, it sounds like nobody actually watched half of them), this one’s set on a Californian beach (and nails that aesthetic to be fair) and has a pretty great theme tune featuring a bit of Eurodance and a warbling woman (“Beach Claaaaash!”) you just don’t get nowadays.

The Glads in this case are called the Hardbodies, and it’s different to Glads in that a) they team up with the regular contestants and b) get a much easier ride than the regular contestants. The games start off mildly Run-the-Gauntlety but aren’t all that great really (and in the case of the jetski races completely unfollowable), becoming a bit sub-It’s a Knockout but they are at least quite quick. Here’s the first part of an episode (it cold opens into a game, don’t worry you haven’t missed the theme), the rest should be simple to find.

I hope you’re all enjoying HEATAGEDDON, you might be interested to note that Challenge TV (it will always be Challenge TV, even though it’s just been called Challenge for the best part of 20 years) is repeating Britain’s Favourite Strategic Quiz Cash Trapped weekdaily from 6pm tonight.

As it’s hot it’s time for our almost annual visit to the Desert Forges, or the Quebecioise Les Forges du Desert today, probably the most successful version of the format in that it got not one but TWO series. At least it’s much easier to empathise with doing stuff in those temperatures, although the heat in the desert would at least be dry so in many ways they’re better off.

• Can’t be bothered to wait until 8:10-ish for your weekly dose of Fort Boyard and Toujours Plus Fort on a Saturday evening? The France 2 website uploads them from 6am on Saturday morning. You’ll still need a VPN though.
• Bother’s Bar’s favourite 7/10 Saturday evening quiz The Hit List is back tonight, with civilian contestants to boot, 7:10pm (it’s like they know) on BBC One.

Colin Murray hosts from tomorrow. Bafflingly he’s still not been revealed as full time host yet, so if not him, who?