Robot Wars: The Second Wars

Robot Wars: The Second Wars was the second series of the British television game show Robot Wars. It was originally broadcast from 1998 to 1999 on BBC Two. The series was hosted by Craig Charles, the pit reporter was Philippa Forrester and commentary was provided by Jonathan Pearce.

Format
The series consisted of twelve heats, with six robots competing in each heat. The twelve winners from the heats moved onto the semi-finals. In each heat, the six robots would compete through a series of three challenges - the Gauntlet, the Trial and the Arena.
 * The Gauntlet was an obstacle filled maze defended by house robots. Competitor robots had to make their way 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 Trial varied from heat to heat with games like, 'Sumo', 'Football', 'Skittles', 'Tug of War', 'King of the Castle', 'Joust', and 'Pinball'. Each trial had a specific goal and the worst performing robot was eliminated, leaving four robots to continue.
 * The Arena was the point at which the robots finally entered the arena to do combat. 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. The winner of each heat then went through to the semi-finals.

The series had two semi-final shows, each with six heat finalists reprising the Gauntlet and the Trial, followed by arena combat. The two winners from each semi-final went through to the Grand Final, where the four remaining robots paired off in two eliminator rounds and the two winners met for a final battle to determine the series champion.

Seeded robots
1. Roadblock 2. Mortis 3. Bodyhammer 4. Killertron 5. Cassius 6. Chaos

Heat A
Robots competing in Heat A: Victor, Napalm, Panda Monium, Piece De Resistance, Demolition Demon, Caliban

Gauntlet: Caliban eliminated

Trial (Skittles): Piece de Resistance eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Napalm vs Panda Monium: Napalm won
 * Victor vs Demolition Demon: Demolition Demon won

Arena Final
 * Napalm vs Demolition Demon: Napalm won

Heat B
Robots competing in Heat B: Mace, Leighviathan, Wheelosaurus, Death Trak, Tantrum, Chaos

Gauntlet: Death Trak eliminated

Trial (Tug of War): Tantrum eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Mace vs Leighviathan: Mace won
 * Chaos vs Wheelosaurus: Chaos won

Arena Final
 * Mace vs Chaos: Mace won

Heat C
Robots competing in Heat C: Challenger, Dreadnaut, Mortis, Oblivion, Rameses II, Griffon

Gauntlet: Griffon eliminated

Trial (Joust): Challenger eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Dreadnaut vs Oblivion: Oblivion won
 * Rameses II vs Mortis: Mortis won

Arena Final
 * Mortis vs Oblivion: Mortis won

Heat D
Robots competing in Heat D: Razer, Inquisitor, Milly-Ann Bug, Bodyhammer, Behemoth, Elvis

Gauntlet: Bodyhammer eliminated

Trial (Football): Milly-Ann Bug eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Razer vs Inquisitor: Inquisitor won
 * Elvis vs Behemoth: Behemoth won

Arena Final
 * Inquisitor vs Behemoth: Behemoth won

Heat E
Robots competing in Heat E: Spin Doctor, Killertron, Pain, ORAC, Technophobic, Schumey

Gauntlet: Pain eliminated

Trial (King of the Castle): Schumey eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Killertron vs ORAC: Killertron won
 * Technophobic vs Spin Doctor: Technophobic won

Arena Final
 * Killertron vs Technophobic: Killertron won

Heat F
Robots competing in Heat F: Disruptor, Panic Attack, Corporal Punishment, Whirling Dervish, Ron, The Parthian Shot

Gauntlet: The Parthian Shot eliminated

Trial (Sumo): Ron eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Panic Attack vs Whirling Dervish: Panic Attack won
 * Corporal Punishment vs Disruptor: Disruptor won

Arena Final
 * Panic Attack vs Disruptor: Panic Attack won

Heat G
Robots competing in Heat G: Roadblock, Killerhurtz, Onslaught, Nemesis, R.O.C.S., Limpet

Gauntlet: R.O.C.S. eliminated

Trial (Skittles): Limpet eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Killerhurtz vs Roadblock: Roadblock won
 * Nemesis vs Onslaught: Onslaught won

Arena Final
 * Roadblock vs Onslaught: Roadblock won

Heat H
Robots competing in Heat H: Sting, Loco, Cassius, Groundhog, Rampage, Wizard

Gauntlet: Rampage eliminated

Trial (Football): Sting eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Loco vs Groundhog: Loco won
 * Cassius vs Wizard: Cassius won

Arena Final
 * Loco vs Cassius: Cassius won

Heat I
Robots competing in Heat I: King Buxton, Robo Doc, Prometheus, Rottweiler, All Torque, Cruella

Gauntlet: Cruella eliminated

Trial (Joust): Rottweiler eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Robo Doc vs King Buxton: King Buxton won
 * All Torque vs Prometheus: All Torque won

Arena Final
 * All Torque vs King Buxton: King Buxton won

Heat J
Robots competing in Heat J: Talos, Ivanhoe, Kill Dozer, Broot, Penetrator, G.B.H.

Gauntlet: Broot eliminated

Trial (Tug of War): Penetrator eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Ivanhoe vs Kill Dozer: Ivanhoe won
 * G.B.H. vs Talos: G.B.H. won

Arena Final
 * Ivanhoe vs G.B.H.: G.B.H. won

Heat K
Robots competing in Heat K: Enzyme, The Mule, Phoenix, Plunderbird 2, Mega Hurts, Demon

Gauntlet: Phoenix eliminated

Trial (King of the Castle): Mega Hurts eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * The Mule vs Demon: The Mule won
 * Enzyme vs Plunderbird 2: Plunderbird 2 won

Arena Final
 * Plunderbird 2 vs The Mule: Plunderbird 2 won

Heat L
Robots competing in Heat L: Tender Caress, Haardvark, Vercingetorix, Havoc, Angel of Death, Flirty Skirty

Gauntlet: Angel of Death eliminated

Trial (Sumo): Tender Caress eliminated

Arena Semi-Finals
 * Haardvark vs Vercingetorix: Haardvark won
 * Havoc vs Flirty Skirty: Havoc won

Arena Final
 * Haardvark vs Havoc: Haardvark won

Semi-Final 1
Robots competing in Semi-Final 1: Napalm, Behemoth, Panic Attack, Mortis, Mace, Killertron.

Gauntlet: Mace eliminated

Trial (Pinball): Napalm eliminated

Arena
 * Mortis vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won
 * Killerton vs Behemoth: Killertron won

Semi-Final 2
Robots competing in Semi-Final 2: Roadblock, Cassius, Haardvark, King Buxton, G.B.H., Plunderbird 2.

Gauntlet: Plunderbird 2 eliminated

Trial (Pinball): G.B.H. eliminated

Arena
 * Cassius vs Haardvark: Cassius won
 * Roadblock vs King Buxton: Roadblock won

Grand Final
Robots competing in Grand Final: Cassius, Roadblock, Killertron, Panic Attack.

Eliminators
 * Cassius vs Roadblock: Cassius won
 * Killertron vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won

Playoff
 * Killertron vs Roadblock: Roadblock won

Final
 * Cassius vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won

Awards
These are the winners of the various awards given out at the end of the series:


 * Best Design: Razer
 * Best Engineered: The Mule
 * Most Original Entry: Milly-Ann Bug
 * Sportsmanship Award: Plunderbird 2

Other Weight Classes
In addition to the main heavyweight championship, the Second Wars also included several tournaments for robots from other weight classes. These are the final results from those weight classes:

Super Heavyweight Championship
Heats
 * Minotaur vs Kick Robut vs Reckless Endangerment: Kick Robut won
 * Thud vs Roter Osche vs Siren: Siren won
 * Berserk vs Automatic Jack vs Death Jester: Berserk won
 * Demon Duck vs Soc'em vs Bottweiler: Demon Duck won

Final
 * Siren vs Kick Robut vs Berserk vs Demon Duck: Kick Robut won

Middleweight Championship
Final
 * Hard Cheese vs Wharthog vs Doodlebug: Hard Cheese won

Lightweight Championship
Final
 * Damacles vs Rosebud vs Shadow Fiend vs Slippery Strana vs Spartacus vs ???: Slippery Strana won

Featherweight Championship
Final
 * Anarchy vs Armadillo vs Demolisher vs Ripper: Demolisher won

Grudge Matches
After the main competition, a special episode was shown featuring a number of Grudge Matches. This gave robots the chance to settle old scores and also allowed robots that did not feature in the main series a chance to battle in the arena.

Judgement Day
This grudge dated back to a judges' decision in The First Wars when Recyclopse (the original robot of Team Cassius) controversially defeated Mortis for a place in the Grand Final.

Cassius vs Mortis

Winner: Mortis

Reserve Rumble
This match was for the reserve heavyweight robots that did not feature in the main series.

Lateral Thought vs Malice vs Bumblebot vs Forklift vs Jim Struts

Winner: Jim Struts

Inferno Insurrection
This match featured Sgt. Bash and two flammable robots which were sprayed with paraffin before the event.

Sergeant Bash vs Nemesis & Ramrombit

Internet Insurrection
This grudge match was to decide which team had the best website.

Griffon vs Killerhurtz vs Bodyhammer vs Corporal Punishment

Winner: Griffon

Judgement Day 2
This grudge dated back to the Trial in the series semi-final when Mortis sustained damage to one if its tracks but was given a second chance by the production team and gained enough points (with a bit of help from the House Robots) to eliminate Napalm from the championship.

Mortis vs Napalm

Winner: Mortis