UK Robot Wars
From Combat Robot
Robot Wars was a British television show broadcast from 1997 until 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 Holland.
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History
Robot Wars was the brainchild of Marc Thorpe, a designer working for the LucasToys division of Lucasfilm. In 1994, Marc Thorpe created Robot Wars and held the first competition at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Approximately one month prior to the event, Thorpe formed a partnership with New York based record company 'Sm:)e Communications' (later Profile Records), who provided additional funding.
Between 1995 and 1997, three additional Robot Wars events took place in San Francisco. In mid 1997, Profile Records partnered with production company Mentorn to produce and televise a Robot Wars event in the UK. 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. The initial series of the UK Robot Wars was broadcast in February and March 1998.
Format
Competition: 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 thru a series of three challenges:
- The first challenge: ‘The Gauntlet’ -- an obstacle filled maze defended by house robots. Competitor robots pushed as far down the course as possible in the time allowed. The robot covering the least ground was eliminated, leaving five robots to continue.
- The second challenge: ‘The Trial’. This event varied from heat to heat with games like, 'Sumo', 'British Bulldog', 'Stock Car', 'Labyrinth', 'Snooker', and 'Football'. The Second Wars added 'Skittles', 'Tug of War', 'King of the Castle', 'Joust', and 'Pinball'. Again, the lowest scoring 'bot was eliminated.
- The third challenge: 'The Arena' - the familiar combat event that dominated the later wars. The four remaining robots paired off and fought head-to head in the enclosed arena patrolled by the house robots. The two victorious robots then fought for the heat championship.
In the First Wars, the six heat champions met in a single Rumble 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.
Big changes to the competition came in the Third Wars. The Gauntlet and The Trial were dropped, and the focus of the competition became an expanded Arena knock-out tournament for eight robots in each heat. Robot Pinball and Robot Football became stand-alone events set apart from the main tournament.
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:
- A robot immobile for a ten-second count was ‘out’ and was turned over to the house robots for further ‘punishment’;
- A robot flipped out over the arena railing into the space between the arena and the enclosure box was ‘out’;
- A robot that fell or was pushed into the open ‘Pit of Oblivion’ was instantly ‘out’;
- If none of the above conditions were satisfied, a panel of three judges scored the competitors on style, control, damage, and aggression.
The Arena
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:
- The Pit of Oblivion -- a 4-foot square hole in the arena floor into which a robot may fall or be pushed. Originally this hole was open constantly during any battles. In Series 3, it was open during the first two rounds of a heat and then blocked during the heat final and any rounds thereafter. In Series 4, the pit was mechanically raised and lowered heralded by a siren. From Extreme/Series 5, the Pit had a release button (a tyre and then later, a metal bumper) that competitors could touch to activate the pit.
- The Flipper -- a powerful pneumatic flipper that can toss a robot across the arena. This device made its debut in Series 3.
- The Disc of Doom -- a spinning panel set into the arena floor.
- The Drop Zone -- a spot on the arena floor where heavy objects (television sets, ocean buoys, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.) fell from the top of the arena. Appeared from Series Extreme/Series 5 onwards.
- The Perimeter Patrol Zone/PPZ (Series 1-2) – a narrow band around the perimeter of the arena where competitor robots were open to attack by two house robots.
- The Corner Patrol Zones/CPZ(s) (Series 3 onwards) - In series 3, the house robots were confined to the four corners of the arena and moved in a rota system through Shunt, Matilda, Sgt.Bash, and Dead Metal. Sir Killalot consistantly appeared every round. From Extreme/Series 5 onwards, only two house robots were allowed in the arena at a time, and this moved in a rota through all of the machines.
- Several propane powered flame spouts, capable of roasting electronics.
- Abrasive grinding wheels built into the arena railings.
- CO2 geysers, actually useful for putting out flames.
- Early hazards included spikes that came up from the ground (removed in Series 4 after many upsets were caused by these flipping and immobilising robots that were on top.), and hanging spike balls that were more atmospheric than damaging.
House robots
The Robot Wars arena was also patrolled by the house robots. These 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.
