Information AboutRobot Wars |
''Robot Wars'' is a British Game Show broadcast on BBC Two from 1997 until 2002, with a final series broadcast on Five in 2003. The show ran for nine series, including two 'Extreme' series. There were additional series filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two seasons of '''''Robot Wars Extreme Warriors''''' with U.S. competitors for the TNN Network , and two seasons of Dutch Robot Wars for distribution in the Netherlands . In 2003, the roboteers themselves formed The Fighting Robot Association, and with their associated event organiser members carried on causing mayhem for a new and enthusiastic audience. 2007 saw the interest grow with many new robot builders starting to compete for the first time. On September 3 2007 Challenge TV began airing repeats of Robot Wars, starting from series 3. HISTORY Origins ''Robot Wars'' was the brainchild of Marc Thorpe, a designer working for the LucasToys division of , who provided additional funding. Between 1995 and 1997, three further ''Robot Wars'' events took place in America and, in 1995, Profile Records partnered with Production Company Mentorn to produce and televise a ''Robot Wars'' event in the UK. Mentorn acquired the worldwide television rights from Profile in 1995, and Tom Gutteridge and Steve Carsey created the television format from the original Robot Wars concept. Profile sought no input or consent from Thorpe before doing this, and this aggravated the already troubled relationship between Thorpe and Profile Records and indirectly spurred legal disagreements surrounding the ownership of the ''Robot Wars'' concept. The legal proceedings surrounding these would last until February 6 , 2002 . Mentorn used Thorpe as a Consultant on the series, however, and the initial series of ''Robot Wars'' in the UK was broadcast over six weeks in February and March 1998. It was an immediate hit, with more than 2 million viewers, and a further 27 episodes were commissioned by the BBC that year. 155 episodes were produced in total, and the show was seen in 26 countries. Two series were produced in the US for the TNN (now Spike) network, and a version was also shown on Nickelodeon. Series were also produced in many European countries. All were produced in London by Mentorn, and executive produced by Tom Gutteridge and Steve Carsey. Presenters The first series of ''Robot Wars'' was presented by persona established on Top Gear , Clarkson frequently made Tongue-in-cheek jokes about competitors and their robots, such as remarking that a contestant robot called "Scarab" looked like "cheese on toast".4 Clarkson left ''Robot Wars'' after the first series and was replaced with Craig Charles .5 Charles, well known as playing the character Dave Lister in the Science Fiction themed Situation Comedy '' Red Dwarf '',6 was seen as taking the programme and its contestants more seriously than Clarkson, and was visibly enthusiastic whilst presenting. Charles would close each episode with a four line poem ending with the words "on ''Robot Wars''". Charles presented ''Robot Wars'' until its demise in 2004. In comparison to Charles' background in science fiction, Philippa Forrester was best known as co-host of the Science and Technology programme '' Tomorrow's World ''.7 Her role on ''Robot Wars'' was as the pit reporter8 who would speak to contestants about their robots before and after battles. For ''Robot Wars''' cult audience, Forrester came to be seen as a sex symbol.9 Philippa was pit reporter for six of the show's nine series; Julia Reed took the role for Series 4 and Extreme since Forrester was unable to participate in the programme due to Pregnancy , and when the programme moved to Five for the seventh series Forrester was replaced with Jayne Middlemiss . Competitors and results Main tournament winners:
FORMAT Arena and hazards In early 2004 the Robot Wars arena was purchased from the television production firm who produce the show (Mentorn) by a company called Robot Arenas Ltd based in the UK. They are an organisation set up by a past competitor of Robot Wars to try to bring the series back to TV. The arena and mechanical hazards for the early non-televised Robot Wars in the U.S. (1994 through 1997) were rudimentary. The arena itself was a 30 by 54 foot rectangle with an asphalt surface. The 1994 arena was defined only by 2-foot high plywood walls -- there was no bulletproof plastic enclosure The following year saw the addition of braced 1/4" thick clear plastic panels extending four feet upward from the plywood panels to enhance audience protection. By 1997 the arena walls had grown to eight feet plus two feet of netting at the top. Early hazards included a wide ram that could push a robot away from the side railing, nets on hinged arms that could descend to entangle robots that ventured too close, large horizontal pivoting arms to swat passing robots, and a bowling ball pendulum swinging across the arena. The arena was completely re-done for the televised UK Robot Wars. The arena was approximately 32 feet by 48 feet and was enclosed in a huge clear plastic box 20 feet high. There were assorted hazards in the arena that changed from one series the next:
House robots The ''Robot Wars'' arena was also patrolled by the house robots, created as part of the television format. The house robots were a huge success, and particularly popular with younger viewers. Scale models of the house robots were sold as toys, and in 2002 these became the #1 boys toy in the UK. The original house robots were designed and constructed by BBC Visual Effects and did not have to conform to the same rules as contestant robots; for example, they were allowed to be considerably heavier, and were allowed weaponry prohibited in the competitor robots. In series one there were four house robots:
For series two, the original four house robots were accompanied by Sir Killalot , a semi- Humanoid robot with a Drill on a Lance and pincers formed from a set of Emergency Service s Jaws Of Life . From episode seven onwards, a sixth house robot appeared in the gauntlet. Called The Sentinel , it was a modified JCB Digger which pushed competitors into one of two pits either side of it. It was the only house robot ever to have a person operating it from inside the arena. In series 3, no new house robots were introduced, but the existing ones were improved. Matilda's tusks and chainsaw were strengthened, Shunt was given a larger axe, Sgt. Bash's ramming blade was replaced by a pair of hydraulically powered pincers and lighter fibreglass armour to replace his original steel hide. Dead Metal had the biggest makeover. He was given a larger saw and the arm was completely redesigned so that it essentially came out of the robot. Sir Killalot's weapons were enlarged. In series 4, another new robot joined the team. Named Refbot , this robot, like Sir Killalot , was designed as a semi-humanoid robot, but much taller and with ploughs at the front and rear, a pincer and a fire extinguisher. As his name suggests, his role was to be the referee of the matches, although his role never really advanced until the next season. Most of the original house robots were fine-tuned, most noticeably Sir Killalot and Sgt. Bash , who both had their pincers enlarged and made stronger than before. For series 5 and Extreme series 1, no new house robots were brought onto the scene, and most of the existing ones only had minor design changes. Matilda and Refbot , on the other hand, had quite major changes. Refbot had a new electronic counter installed into his chest, which counted from 00 to 10, to declare that another robot had been immobilized. If the robot was not moving by the time the counter hit ten, then it was technically out. The pincer also held a 'Light Indicator System' (as described by the Robot Wars Extreme official guide), which had a variety of purposes.
As for Matilda, her chainsaw was replaced with a 27 kilogram vertical flywheel, which proved to be much more destructive than her chainsaw. Although designed to be interchangeable with the flywheel, the chainsaw was never used again. In series 6, two new house robots were added. Mr. Psycho , and Growler :
In series 7, the last series to be filmed, a new, comedy house robot was added. This robot was called Cassius Chrome and was a fish headed robot equipped with two rather ineffective punching arms. Although it didn't have much in the way of weaponry, it was still rather effective in the capacity of pushing other robots. ''See also: House Robots Of Robot Wars .'' Competition: U.S. Robot Wars: 1994-1997 The 1994 Robot Wars in San Francisco, California featured three different 'games' for each of three robot weight classes:
Weight classes for this first event were:
The competition format remained much the same through 1997. Additional safety regulations were implemented each year, match length was trimmed to 5 minutes, a 'featherweight' weight class was added, and weight allowances crept upward; by 1997 the heavyweight maximum was 170 pounds. The 1997 judging criteria removed pinning an opponent for 30 seconds as an automatic win and required such immobilization techniques to be limited to one minute. The 1997 judging criteria also removed 'audience applause' for selection of a winner when a match ended with both robots still mobile. Robots were judged by a panel based on a scoring system of damage, aggression, and control. Competition: U.K Robot Wars: 1997-2003 The format for the first and second televised U.K. Robot Wars differed radically from the earlier U.S. events. In each heat, a group of six robots would compete through a series of three challenges:
In the First Wars, the six heat champions met in a single melee fight to determine the overall winner. The Second Wars had two semifinal shows, each with six heat finalists reprising the heats with a Gauntlet and a Trial, followed by arena combat. The two semifinal winners met for a final arena match to determine the champion. This basic format continued throughout the remainder of the Wars -- a main knockout tournament with special contests as side attractions. The side events included Tag Team, Annihilator, Rebellion, and regional championship events. A robot could lose a match in several ways:
Nickelodeon Robot Wars: 2002 In 2002, the Nickelodeon American television network created ''Nickelodeon Robot Wars'' where kids operated combat robots provided by American teams. MERCHANDISE Video Games
Pullbacks
Minibots
Remote Controlled
Books
Other Merchandise
SEE ALSO
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|