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THE SHOW ''Robot Wars'' has since become a successful British Television series, which has attracted a large cult following. The TV series is less anarchic than the original American version and has well-defined rules, classes and a tournament structure. In turn the UK series was remade in the US for television. Reruns are shown on PBS and G4 in America , and on The Sci Fi Channel , Jetix and UKTV People in the UK. Versions of the show have been shown in over 45 different countries, including Sweden , Italy , China and Ireland . In some countries that prefer not to use the English commentary, the show is Dubbed ; in others commentary is provided by native-speaking commentators who attend the recordings in the UK. There were nine series in the 7-year run of the UK program. Craig Charles (of '' Red Dwarf '' fame) hosted all except the first series, which was done by Jeremy Clarkson . The show was co-hosted by Philippa Forrester for six series and Julia Reed for two series, whilst Jayne Middlemiss co-hosted the final UK series. Running commentary of the battles was provided throughout the run by BBC football (soccer) commentator Jonathan Pearce . The judges were Noel Sharkey , Martin Smith and the third judge was Adam Harper in earlier series, Myra Wilson in later series and Mat Irvine in the last series. Mat built K9 for the Dr. Who TV series. Many of the robot battles did not result in one of the robots being immobilsed by the other. In these cases the winners were the robots that had the most points for Damage, Control, Aggression and Style as agreed by the judges. The TV show is filmed in front of a live audience, who view the action in the arena through tough Lexan safety screens. The audience are encouraged to behave in the manner of spectators at a Roman Gladiator ial contest, waving banners supporting particular teams, and calling "pit!, pit!, pit!..." when a house robot has totally disabled a competitor and appeals to the audience for the final verdict as to its fate. hosted the first and third seasons, while fellow wrestler Joanie Laurer hosted the second, under the name ''Robot Wars: Grand Champions''. Extreme Warriors featured all elements of the other series, but Grand Champions only featured the actual fighting and was not as successful. Plus, all the matches were taken from the British series, while Extreme Warriors featured new competitions and robots. In 2002 , Nickelodeon had a kids version of Robot Wars, hosted by Dave Aizer . Robot Wars featured in an episode of the Channel 4 series '' Spaced ''. Robot Wars spawned a spin-off series Techno Games which featured many of the same presenters, robot builders and production crew. THE ROBOTS The competition which forms most of the televised part of Robot Wars is the heavyweight class, with a maximum all-up weight of 100kg (this was increased from 80kg after the first three series). The rules allow electric or liquid-fuel power (though in the latter case fuel carried is strictly limited to five minutes running time), and permits any weapons that remain attached to the main vehicle (i.e. untethered projectiles, Flame Thrower s, and Water Cannon s are banned). Most of the machines are not true robots by the scientific definition, because they are not autonomous. They are remotely controlled by their teams, so could be more properly referred to as Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs). However, the TV show has influenced the general public in the UK to such a point that if you were to say "I'm building a robot" the likely response will be "Like on Robot Wars?" Remote control is not a requirement however - autonomous robots are allowed to compete. Types of robots In the first series, and to a lesser extent the second series, competitors' robots were very diverse, with all sorts of untried designs being put forward. After a while competitors designs tended to converge to a few established successful designs. In later series, it was often the same teams and robots that ended up reaching the final stages of the contest. Successful design types include:
All championship winning designs rolled on wheels rather than maneuvering on tank-style treads or walking on mechanical legs. Tracked and walking robots require more advanced building capabilities and are generally heavier, bulkier, and more fragile. Walking robots are given an additional weight allotment to help compensate for the design difficulties, but tracked robots are not. An all-terrain environment would offer a tracked or walking robot some advantages, but most robotic combat is held on a smooth, flat arena where wheeled robots are more appropriate. Also permitted were "Cluster Bots", which started out as one robot and could split into two or even three smaller robots during the fight itself. They did however have to be capable of splitting and joining back up without human intervention and had to start each fight as "one". There was no extra weight allowance for Cluster Bots however so the dilemma was out-numbering your opponent but with smaller robots that on their own can't really compete with the larger one. One robot was known as a good cluster bot was Gemini , which split into two, with each half possessing a CO2-based lifter not too dissimilar from Chaos 2 . It enjoyed some success but ultimately unless the two were both functioning well working in tandem would often come up short against any half decent single heavyweight. Rules governing when a Cluster Bot was "out" changed throughout the series of Robot Wars. Sometimes all sub-bots would have to be eliminated, sometimes just one. Eventually they decided it had to be the "majority" in terms of either number (2 out of 3 parts) or weight (e.g. the heavier robot from the later Cluster Bot Typhoon Thunder, made by the creators of Typhoon 2 ). THE COMPETITION There are a variety of games played, though the main knockout arena game is the most popular. Other games have included obstacle courses, robot Football , and Tug Of War . In some games, including the main arena game, there are additional " House Robots " who patrol certain areas of the arena. If a robot enters those zones, the House Robots are permitted to join in and add to the general chaos. There are other hazards in the arena, the most popular being "the pit", (known in earlier series as "The Pit of Oblivion") a hole in the floor into which a robot may fall and become trapped, unable to get out (in later series, the pit could be opened by any robot activating a 'switch' on the arena wall, which was really a tire painted yellow. In one series there was an actual switch, as the tire was constantly getting knocked off the wall). There is also a powerful flipper which can fling a robot across the arena, retracting spikes, flame torches and cutting wheels built into the arena sidewalls. In two series there was a spinning panel on the floor, also activated by a switch/tyre, known as "The Disc of Doom". However, this was soon removed from the arena again, as the competitors hardly ever used it, and wedge robots were getting their front ends stuck under the panel at the start of fights. Finally, in the final three series there was "The Drop Zone", a large "X" on the floor, where beaten robots were placed by a House Robot or opponent, and after a countdown from 10 to 1 by the audience, a very heavy object (for example, a TV, an ocean buoy, refridgerator or most commonly, a washing machine) was dropped on top of them in a rather cartoony fashion. The House Robots are not bound by the same rules as the competitors, and are generally much larger and heavier, as well as being professionally built. The number of house robots in the arena varied in each series - 4 in Series 1, 5/6 in Series 2, 5 in Series 3, 6 in Series 4 & 5, 8 in Series 6, 9 in Series 7, and in the spin-off show, ''Robot Wars Extreme'', where various other competitions and random battles were contested, there were 6 in the first series, and 8 in the second. The five 'main' house robots; that is, the most well-known ones, are ''Shunt'' , ''Matilda'' , ''Dead Metal'' , ''Sergeant Bash'' , and ''Sir Killalot'' . There was also ''The Sentinel'', a giant robotic arm which impeded contestants' progress in the ''Gauntlet'' game in Series 2. In Series 4, the ''Refbot'' was added, to ensure fair play in the arena, and to provide extra camera footage from the heat of battle. Although initially criticised for always 'getting in the way' of fights, he was more or less accepted by the time ''Robot Wars Extreme'' got under way the following year, when he was given the ability to give out yellow and red 'cards' to offending contestant, and more often than not, house robots, (red cards meaning the house robot was forbidden to take part for the remainder of the battle, even when a robot was being destroyed in the normal way by their fellow house robots) and 'count out' defeated robots as if in a boxing match. In Series 6, a new pair of house robots was built, named ''Mr. Psycho'' and ''Growler'' . They were very well received, and in Series 7, a further robot joined the group, a boxing robot named ''Cassius Chrome'' (nicknamed ''"Hammered Ali"''). In general the winner is the last robot still functioning. In the event of a tie or disputed outcome, there is a panel of 3 adjudicators who judge based on "style, control, damage, and aggression". The Dutch series- made by Mentorn, on the request of BNN - 1 and 2 took place alongside the UK series 5 and 6. For series 7 and 8 several Dutch and 1 Belgian entry entered the main UK competition, with mixed success. The UK TV series ''Robot Wars'' has now drawn to a close, however, robot builders in the UK have been taking part in competitions independent of Robot Wars for several years and the community is expanding. Combat events are organised across the UK on at least a monthly basis, usually bi-weekly. The Netherlands are also active, but with less frequency. There is an active group of roboteers in Brazil , but at the moment not much is known. The Fighting Robot Association (FRA) is the most prominent body in the UK at the moment. COMPETITION WINNERS 1994 (United States)
1995 (United States)
1996 (United States)
1997 (United States)
UK Series 1 (1997) See Also: Robot Wars UK Series 1
UK Series 2 (1998)
UK Series 3 (1999)
UK Series 4 (2000)
Robot Wars Extreme - Series 1 (2001)
UK Series 5 (2001)
UK Series 6 (2002)
Robot Wars Extreme - Series 2 (2002)
UK Series 7 (2003)
Other countries Robot Wars Extreme Warriors (United States):
The champions of Dutch Robot Wars were:
SEEDS The main tournament also featured 'seeded' robots, ranked in a table based on past performance. In Series 2, the 6 grand finalists from Series 1 were seeded, but some did not return for Series 2, so ''Mortis'' and ''Killertron'' got seedings instead. In Series 3, there were no seeds, due to the raft of rule changes that year. In Series 4, some robots were seeded based on past performance, such as Razer , and some by popularity, such as Mortis , ''Plunderbird 4'' and ''Díotóir'' . The series semi-finalists from Series 3 were all seeded, but when ''Trident'' and ''Blade's Big Bruva'' pulled out at the last minute, the list was reshuffled slightly, and ''Centurion 2'' and ''Suicidal Tendencies'' were both given seedings. The brief rumore that the cheep, square-shaped, home-made hobbyist robot R.O.C.S. (Roboticly operated control systems) had been seeded, despite being the loser in nearly every event in series 3, were also quickly dispelled. From Series 4 onwards, winning a heat final and going through to the series semi-finals won that robot a seeding, which meant that they gained automatic entry into the next year's competition. The four grand finalists got the first four places, with the eventual champion obviously being seeded first. Between Series 6 & 7, many 'veteran' teams had pulled out, such as Razer , Chaos 2 , and Hypno-Disc , so the list had to be compiled in a similar way to that of Series 4. Since Razer was no longer competing, ''Firestorm 5'' and ''Terrorhurtz'', who would have been third and fourth, moved up to second and third, with ''Bigger Brother'' taking fourth spot. Other seeds were given their place on the table on past performance, whilst ''Storm 2'', who won automatic entry into Series 7 by winning the New Blood championship in ''Robot Wars Extreme'' Series 2, was given the 16th and bottom spot. Series 2 # Roadblock # Mortis # Bodyhammer # Killertron # Cassius # Chaos Series 4 # Chaos 2 # Hypno-disc # Razer # Panic Attack # Firestorm 2 # Behemoth # Steg 2 # Gemini # 101 # Spawn of Scutter # Wild Thing # Evil Weevil # Gravedigger # Bigger Brother # Wheely Big Cheese # Killerhurtz # King B3 # Cerberus # Pussycat # Aggrobot 2 # Díotóir # X-Terminator 2 # Mortis # Berserk 2 # Shadow Of Napalm # Plunderbird 4 # Sir Chromalot # Wel-dor # Dreadnaut XP-1 # Stinger # Centurion 2 # Suicidal Tendencies Series 5 # Chaos 2 # Pussycat # Hypno-disc # Stinger # Razer # Panic Attack # Firestorm 3 # 3 Stegs To Heaven # Wild Thing # Wheely Big Cheese # Dominator 2 # Tornado # Spawn Again # X-Terminator # Behemoth # Thermidor 2 # Splinter # Gemini # Mini Morg # Mousetrap 2 # Suicidal Tendencies # Atomic 2 # 101 # S.M.I.D.S.Y. Series 6 # Razer # Bigger Brother # Firestorm 4 # Hypno-disc # Chaos 2 # Dominator 2 # S3 # Panic Attack # Wild Thing # Spawn Again # Stinger # Tornado Series 7 # Tornado # Firestorm 5 # Terrorhurtz # Bigger Brother # Dantomkia # Spawn Again # 13 Black # Panic Attack # Pussycat # Behemoth # X-Terminator # Bulldog Breed # S.M.I.D.S.Y. # Thermidor 2 # Ming Die-nasty # Storm 2 SEE ALSO
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