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One of the best new shows from the Spring 2009 TV season was Deadliest Warrior on Spike.

Wikipedia has a fairly concise summary of the show:

Historical warriors are put against each other to see who can outlast the other. Each episode showcases two warriors in a hypothetical battle to the death. Each warrior is given weapons from the particular group they are associated with. Modern fighters and experts on said weapons present the strengths, and weaknesses of each arsenal, including real tests of the weapons. The data collected is then fed into a computer simulation based on an unreleased commercial game engine developed by Slitherine Strategies to determine the average winner of one thousand battles. After the winner is determined, a mock battle takes place to showcase how each weapon is used in a real battle situation, and to determine which combatant is the “deadliest warrior”.

The show is hosted by Geoff Desmoulin, a biomedical scientist and martial arts expert who collects the data created when testing the weapons, Max Geiger, a video game designer who runs the data through the simulation engine, and Dr. Armand Dorian, an ER doctor who serves as the show’s medical consultant.

There is no real formula to determine who fights against whom. The only rule is that the warriors cannot have met in actual combat. In Season 1, the matchups fell into 3 categories: one-on-one combat between warriors from specific cultures (ex. Spartan vs. Ninja), group-on-group combat (ex. Green Beret vs Spetsnaz), and one-on-one combat between specific historical figures (ex. William Wallace vs Shaka Zulu).

Deadliest Warrior is an exciting, action-packed, and extremely gruesome show. No announcements have been made for a second season, but my fingers are more than crossed!

In my hope for season 2, I decided to put together a list of warriors and warrior cultures that I would like to see if the show returns. I tried not to list any warrior cultures with similarities to those already featured on the show. In no particular order:

Huns under Attila:

In warfare they utilized the bow and javelin. The arrowheads and javelin tips were made from bone. They also fought using iron swords and lassos in close combat. The Hun sword was a long, straight, double-edged sword of early Sassanian style. These swords were hung from a belt using the scabbard-slide method, which kept the weapon vertical. The Huns also employed a smaller short sword or large dagger which was hung horizontally across the belly

Rajput:

The Rajput ethos is martial, in spirit, and fiercely proud and independent, and emphasizes lineage and tradition. Rajput patriotism is legendary, an ideal they embodied with a sometimes fanatical zeal, often choosing death before dishonour. Rajput warriors were often known to fight until the last man.

The Rajput warrior clans venetrated the khanda as a weapon of great prestige…The khanda is a double-edged straight sword. The blade is usually broad and quite heavy, and broadens from the hilt to the tip…The hilt has a small metal spike coming out in the opposite direction which is typical of khanda. Many other straight swords around the world were primarily used for thrusting and stabbing with the tip, whereas the khanda was mainly used to hack or cleave with the edge of the blade.

Mongols under Genghis Khan:

The warrior carried a protective shield of light yet effective leather armor, which was impregnated with a lacquer-like substance in order to make it more impervious to penetration by arrows, swords and knives, and also to protect it against humid weather…Each warrior carried a battle axe, a curved sword known as scimitar; a lance, and two versions of their most famous weapon: The Mongol recurved bow.

Assyrians

The Assyrians took their warfare seriously; in fact they studied war techniques like a science. The Assyrian army was feared for many reasons one including the use of iron in their weapons. Their bowmen were also among the worlds finest. Other weapons used by the infantry wear the spear, the javelin, slings, and swords.

Amazons

I know they are probably mythological, but it would still be cool!

A nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology. Hippocrates describes them as: “They have no right breasts…for while they are yet babies their mothers make red-hot a bronze instrument constructed for this very purpose and apply it to the right breast and cauterize it, so that its growth is arrested, and all its strength and bulk are diverted to the right shoulder and right arm.” Herodotus reported that the Sarmatians were descendants of Amazons and Scythians, and that their females observed their ancient maternal customs, “frequently hunting on horseback with their husbands; in war taking the field; and wearing the very same dress as the men”. Moreover, said Herodotus, “No girl shall wed till she has killed a man in battle.”

Now, Spike just needs to tell us they are bringing the show back! If you love Deadliest Warrior as much as I do, contact spike-feedback@spike.com

Anyone else have suggestions?

                  

Tags: deadliest warrior, spike, tv, warrior cultures