Empire TV broadcasts live gladiator tournament during Saturnalia amidst protests

Posted on 239601.11 by Triff Gryce in Arts & Culture

M892-IV – The colony of M892-IV celebrated the ancient festival of Saturnalia last month with a communal feast, altruism, an incessant party, bookmaking, and a heavily protested gladiator competition broadcasted across the sector.

Gladiators a thing of the past? Only seen on Qo’nos? The answer to both is no. They are alive and well, and on M892-IV, the recent Saturnalia gladiator tournament attracted Klingon warriors and Andorians amongst the legions to fight it out.

The ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, once celebrated on Earth and other similar “parallel development” planets, continues to be observed on M892-IV, where the Roman Empire remains strong in its rule. A high point of the calendar, the festival sees a weeklong party in the last month of the year. This past celebration saw many events taking place, from sampling exotic foods to drinking alcoholic drinks from the far reaches of the quadrant. Other activities were hosted by the Ceti eel fanciers and the tribble breeders club. Bars were set up to be open all the time, and plenty of drinks were shipped in to ensure partygoers had no time to sober up.

And of course, there was the gladiator tournament, where betting was high in anticipation of the Klingon warrior Okras, who had been highly favored to win. The tournament was transmitted live by M892-IV’s controversial broadcast channel Empire TV, already reviled in some areas for its screening of the Great Targ Hunt in 2390 and the heavily criticised Galactic Bake-Off, which saw the Klingon entrant serving Gagh and Targ milk and advising the judges if it wasn’t to their liking, they could suckle at a Targ instead.

Although heavily protested, the tournament remained popular with the locals, and a major upset occurred when Nausicaan fighter Harkenna emerged victorious. When asked to comment on his win by one of Empire TV’s local reporters, Harkenna attacked the journalist and was subsequently arrested. Empire TV later reported that the broadcast broke a new viewership record.

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About Triff Gryce

Triff Gryce is a prolific reader and critic of holonovels. Having started his career as a writer and finding mediocre success for his holonovel Around the Quadrant in 1,000 Meals, the 104-year-old human sticks now to reviewing new holonovels.