Sir Killalot

"Our master of disaster! 200 kilos of gloom and doom, the lance to chew, the hyraulic claw to cut through- the nip and tuck, and you're out of luck!"

- Jonathan Pearce in Series 5.

Sir Killalot (known in the Nickelodeon series as Sir K. and often otherwise shortened to Killalot) was a house robot designed to look like a medieval knight, with his name being a pun on Sir Lancelot. Sir Killalot was armed with a rotating drill and a hydraulic cutting claw, adapted from the cutting jaws which rescue services normally use to save trapped victims from car crashes. It took 10 days to build Sir Killalot and he was still being finished as he was being pushed into the van to go down to the studio.

The hydraulics were adapted and refined to give a much faster cutting speed. Sir Killalot also sported caterpillar tracks instead of wheels. The claw was quite capable of lifting over 100 kg (220 lb) of weight, slicing through armour plating, and cutting the axles of opposing robots in two with a force of 15 tonnes. Sir Killalot was introduced to the show in 1998 at the beginning of Series 2. His description boasted that he had "no weaknesses", though contestant robots have been seen knocking his armour off and setting him on fire throughout his history. Sir Killalot was often seen as the 'leader' of the House Robots and would often pick up contestant robots on his lance or with his claw, spin around with it before dropping it into a pit or over the arena wall.

Following the announcement of the 2016 reboot of Robot Wars, BBC Two have been using Sir Killalot in new promotional media such as tweets and Facebook posts. Dara Ó Briain had confirmed that Sir Killalot should return "bigger and better". Sir Killalot later appeared in the fourth teaser.

When the new Sir Killalot was publicly revealed, a new "Space Marine" inspired design was seen, using LEDs and with a grungier face. Closer inspection reveals that his original chest plate is still present however, surrounded by new armour panels. Killalot is now even heavier, close to the weight of Mr. Psycho at 741kg. He features Armox armour, and is heavily upgraded internally, being capable of much higher speeds, boasting larger claws that open 700mm wide with 3.5 tonnes of crush, and greater lifting power of up to 300kg. He still retains a blue paint scheme, although it sometimes appears to be black due to arena lighting.

Appearance and Armament
Upon Sir Killalot’s introduction to Robot Wars, his right arm had no drill. Instead the arm consisted of a steel rod with spikes attached. This could however, like the later drilling lance, pick up contestant robots and move them about the arena. The back exoskeleton was also fitted differently. It appeared to have been fit closer to the internal workings and on more of a slant. Sir Killalot also had white eyes during the second series.

For Series 3 Sir Killalot was fitted with his famous drilling lance. Although it didn’t really have the capability to literally drill through robots, it was more effective when it came to picking them up. The back exoskeleton was also mounted differently and his shoulder pads were removed in the hope of giving his arms better movement. The colour of his eyes were also changed to red. This red look was achieved by what looked to be three small lights in both eyes. For Series 4 a pair of huge crushing pincers, nicknamed the "jaws of life", very similar to the ones used to rescue people from car wrecks, were mounted on his left arm. These replaced the smaller jaws, similar to the ones mounted on Sergeant Bash during Series 3. Throughout the rest of Robot Wars the jaws would be modified several times. The most noted modification allowed the jaws to open wider. His shoulder pads also returned for series 4. This was due to the basic fact that people thought he looked better with them. They would be used throughout the rest of Robot Wars.

During the later series, contestant robots became better armoured and the jaws didn’t seem to do much damage. They were however excellent at picking them up and it was in this that Sir Killalot devised his spin trick. Upon grabbing a robot he would lift them and move into the centre of the arena and begin to spin. Once up to speed the jaws would be released and the contestant robot would fly off, hitting whatever was in its way.

Technical Manual Profile and Origin
The following is the description of Sir Killalot's profile and origin from the Robot Wars Technical Manual-

According to information retrieved from the Internet, after the terrifying success of their first experiment in time travel - when they recovered Dead Metal - DARPA began to alter the design parameters of their electrodynamic time machine, in accordance with the Many Worlds Interpretation of the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. Their intention was to gain access to one or more of the infinite numbers of parallel universes that co-exist with our own within the same spatial co-ordinates.

Once again, the ludicrously irresponsible scientists at DARPA were successful, opening a gateway to one of the ghost universes. And once again, their success had exposed them (and the rest of our world) to extreme danger. Even their experience with the machine now known as Dead Metal failed to prepare them for what emerged from the temporal gateway.

At first, they assumed it was some kind of tank or other armoured vehicle, since it moved on caterpillar tracks, and its form was dominated by two horrendous weapons, a lance-like flamethrower and a vicious-looking cutting arm. As the monstrosity finally exited the spinning toroids of the time machine and came to a halt in the laboratory, the technicians realized that it also had a helmeted head, from which shone two baleful red eyes. According to one of the technicians - an informer who made this information available before disappearing under mysterious circumstances - everyone in the room had the distinct impression that this hideous mechanical creature, regarding them impassively from the center of the laboratory - was trying to decide what to destroy first.

However, like Dead Metal, this new arrival seemed to have suffered a serious loss of power by virtue of its unexpected and traumatic journey between universes. Realizing what had happened, the technicians took the opportunity of attempting to establish communications with the robot. This they succeeded in doing, and discovered to their astonishment that in its universe, the legendary continent of Atlantis was not destroyed in 10,000 BC, but continued its domination of the world. As a consequence, the First World War did not begin in 1914, but in 1150 AD, around the time of The Crusades in our universe. This robot, which called itself Sir Killalot, claimed to be an autonomous fighting unit for use on the battle fields of medieval Europe, which was the theater of war between Atlantis and its great adversary Lemuria (another legendary civilization, thought to have fallen thousands of years ago in our universe.) Recruited through unknown means to do battle in Robot Wars, Sir Killalot just about tolerates the other house robots, although he seems to have some affinity with Matilda, which would support the theory that she herself originated in Atlantis 10,000 years ago.

Series 2
"Catch your breath, there's one more! The biggest, baddest, butchest of them all! Ladies and gentlemen, bow down to the mechanical might of Sir Killalot"

- Craig Charles introduces Sir Killalot for the first time.

This was Sir Killalot's debut series, and for the only time in his career he had white eyes. To demonstrate his power, before the gauntlet Craig Charles held up a metal bar, and Killalot cut straight through it. During Groundhog's gauntlet run in the heats of Series 2, Sir Killalot picked Groundhog up and hoisted it into the air. In doing so, Killalot was left off-balance, and toppled over. "No! They've killed Killalot!"

- Jonathan Pearce after Sir Killalot overbalanced

Sir Killalot's petrol-driven engine proved to be a hindrance. This was mainly due to its ability to catch fire. During Robo Doc's gauntlet run, Sergeant Bash accidentally set Killalot on fire with his flamethrower. He did have trouble with other competitors though. In the first Semi-Final, during the Trial round of Mortis, Sir Killalot reversed into the pit. According to the producers, it took six men to lift him out afterwards. The controversy surrounding this incident was that he reversed into the pit on purpose, trying to win extra points for Mortis.

One of his better moments this series happened in the heats. During a Heat Semi-Final battle, Sir Killalot cut the shell off of Flirty Skirty with his lance, before parading the remains of it around the arena. "Up it goes...almost up...and off! Good gads, sir! You have disrobed Flirty Skirty!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Sir Killalot removes Flirty Skirty's shell

He also sliced through the forklift bar on Dreadnaut after the competitor failed to move in the arena due to the power switch falling out.

Series 3
Sir Killalot, like the other house robots at the time, received improvements this series. His eyes were now red, instead of white, and his steel rod gave way to his infamous lance. His shoulder pads were removed in the hope that they would give the arms more room to move. At the start of the series, Sir Killalot once again cut through a new metal bar that Craig Charles was holding. "Imagine finding him in your laundry basket!"

- Craig Charles after Killalot cut through the metal bar.

Sir Killalot was once again hot under his collar. During a battle between Robopig and Napalm, Killalot carried the defeated Robopig machine over to the flame pit, but caught fire himself. Bash also accidentally set Killalot on fire again during the Pinball Warrior Tournament, during the run by Oblivion, after the competitor was immobilised.

Series 4
Killalot returned with a larger crushing claw, nicknamed the "Jaws of Life", as they were the kind used by the emergency services to cut people out of crashed cars. As the leader, Sir Killalot was often the robot that roboteers took their grievances out on. One such instance was Roger Plant's Wheely Big Cheese. The Big Cheese had been "grilled" by Killalot over the flame pit in a previous series, and Plant and his team were out for revenge from the start. However, despite the incredible power of Wheely Big Cheese's flipper, they were unable to lift Killalot. Many a roboteer would boast that they could flip Sir Killalot, but in the show's history, no-one ever achieved this. As a result of this, Sir Killalot was the only house robot in the show's history that was never flipped.

Sir Killalot once accidentally attacked a house robot. During the melee between 20th seeds Aggrobot 2, Oblivion 2 and Saw Point, he went to attack Oblivion 2, but instead pulled Matilda's left wheel off, leaving her only able to go around in circles. During Panic Attack's fight with Spawn of Scutter, Sir Killalot's hydraulic pipe leaked all over the arena, rendering it immobile and the arena floor slippery.

Extreme 1
With competitors' armour generally getting stronger, Sir Killalot's jaws never did as much damage as he had in his debut series. He did develop his spin trick, whereby he would spin a competitor on his lance, before finally letting it go, hitting anything in its way. In the one-off Featherweight battle this series, he trampled on Beef Cake after RC Warrior was finished off. Beef Cake was left as flat as a pancake in the end, but it still won the battle.

Sir Killalot once again was involved with controversy. During a Wild Card Warriors battle between Stinger and Ajjay, the former strayed near Sir Killalot's CPZ. Sir Killalot plucked Stinger off the ground, paraded it around the arena and dropped it over the arena wall just after "cease" was called. The judges ignored this, as the house robot was bang out of order, and since Stinger's mace gave the axlebot numerous aggression points, the judges awarded it the win. The post-fight banter revealed that the Stinger team believed that "Killalot had something against them" as their robot was set upon by Sir Killalot in their vengeance match with Tornado. Sir Killalot also caught fire in the All-Stars Quarter Final between Tornado and Pussycat.

Series 5
Sir Killalot continued grabbing his opponents and then dropping them out of the arena. During Gemini's battle with Ruf Ruf Dougal, Gemini removed Dougal's power key, before proceeding to flip it over. Sir Killalot plucked Dougal off the ground before dropping it out of the arena.

Another notable Series 5 moment happened in the Heat I final between Bigger Brother and 3 Stegs to Heaven. At the end of the battle, with 3 Stegs immobilised and counted out, Bigger Brother started attacking Sir Killalot. This ultimately ended with 3 Stegs to Heaven, Bigger Brother and eventually Sir Killalot in the pit, however the latter managed to escape.

Series 6
Sir Killalot returned mostly unchanged for Series 6, but once again his claws had been redesigned, and would remain the same for the rest of his run. During a First Round Melee, Sir Killalot was able to cause major damage to W.A.S.P. with his lance, drilling through the robot's armour and causing major internal damage.

During the second First Round Melee of Heat H, after looking conspicuously loose earlier in the fight, Sir Killalot's breast plate fell off as he reversed into a CPZ.

In the UK vs Germany special, Sir Killalot lifted up the shufflebot Ansgar's Revenge and dragged it along the floor. When it was plucked again, time ran out, meaning it couldn't go in the pit. The resulting judges' decision clearly went in favour of Das Gepäck.

Extreme 2
By now, robot armour was very strong in most cases, so the Jaws of Life could merely pluck other robots. Killalot span around with the defeated Niterider in the New Blood Championship. Even though he toppled over he was able to fall back onto his tracks.

Later on in the New Blood Championship, he grabbed Cedric Slammer with his lance and barbecued it on the flame pit. His breast plate also came off in the battle between Cedric Slammer and Fatal Traction.

Series 7
Sir Killalot, like the other returning House Robots, didn't receive many noticeable improvements. He was involved in several notable moments during the series however. In the first Featherweight qualifier, which was Heat B's Special Event, he trampled on Mini Maul, annihilating it. This led certain fans to believe that the producers thought it was funny for one of the three House Robots in the arena to trample the tiny robots, which could only weigh up to 12 kg.

During the semi-final of Heat D, during the battle between Gravity and 13 Black, Sir Killalot was lifted up by Gravity's flipper while chasing 13 Black into his CPZ. This is the closest Killalot has come to being flipped. He was also nearly flipped by Iron-Awe 2.1 later in the series.

During the Heat I round 1 in a fight with Supernova, Storm 2, Rhino and Mayhem, Storm 2 pushed Supernova into one of Sir Killalot's tracks and it snapped. In Iron-Awe 2.1's first round battle, the red lenses for Sir Killalot's eyes fell out. In the playoff match between Tornado and X-Terminator, a mix-up between house robots Killalot and Matilda saw Matilda's flywheel accidentally damage Killalot's hydraulic arm, so hydraulic fluid spilled all over the arena.

2016 Series
Sir Killalot was first unofficially confirmed by Dara Ó Briain over Twitter, calling him 'bigger and better' and 'on steroids'. It wasn't until the 24th February when the teaser for Sir Killalot appeared. Like the other returning House Robots, Sir Killalot has been enlarged and upgraded to compete with modern competitors.

Other
During the House Robot Rebellion of the US series, Sir Killalot entered the arena to the song Ride of the Valkyries, looking for revenge after Matilda and Shunt had been beaten. He proceeded to pick up Silver Box, but just before putting it into the pit, he overbalanced and Tricerabot came behind him and knocked him over, causing him to drop Silver Box into the pit, but Sir Killalot was then left suspended on his front next to the pit until time ran out, with the remaining three competitors trying to push him. What wasn't shown was Tricerabot actually succeeding in pitting Sir Killalot.

During an Eliminator in Heat E of Dutch Robot Wars Series 2, Sir Killalot cut the immobilised Vortex Inducer in half with his pincers.

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Sir Killalot/Pullback
 * Sir Killalot/Minibot
 * Sir Killalot/RC
 * Sir Killalot/Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem
 * Sir Killalot/Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction
 * Sir Killalot/Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction
 * Sir Killalot/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)
 * Sir Killalot/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)

Trivia

 * Sir Killalot is notably known as Sir K. in Nickelodeon Robot Wars, but this is not in fact the only instance he has been known by that name. He was frequently called that in the Robot Wars Magazine, and once during Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction.
 * Despite being very large, and also being dubbed The King of the House Robots, Sir Killalot is just the second heaviest house robot, weighing only about two thirds as much as Mr. Psycho.
 * Sir Killalot is the only House Robot that has never been flipped, although he has toppled over on several occasions, due to being top-heavy. The most notable was when he fell over whilst carrying Groundhog, the only time Sir Killalot had been overturned. Many boasted they could flip Sir Killalot, possibly because he was always billed as weighing 280 kg, rather than 520 kg, with some roboteers specifically designing the flippers to be capable of lifting that exact amount. Robots like Wheely Big Cheese and Firestorm were probably capable, but during the entire run of the show, including all international versions, no one succeeded in actually flipping the King of the House Robots.
 * Notably, Roger Plant claimed that his Wheely Big Cheese machine could flip Sir Killalot, as it had tossed a Mini in testing, but didn't take the opportunity when it had the chance, in Wheely Big Cheese's debut battle.
 * Sir Killalot made an appearance in the book Riotous Robots by Dr Mike Goldsmith as part of the "The Knowledge" series. He was shown as an example of a "Puppet Robot" being used for entertainment purposes, and had an illustration and a factfile provided on him, even though the lance was claimed to be a flamethrower. In the same book, Sergeant Bash was also mentioned.
 * Sir Killalot, unofficially, is the robot that scored the most OotAs with 13 (four more than Dantomkia had with 9).
 * According to Andrew Marchant, oil was put on Sir Killalot's tracks to make him turn easier.