User blog:CrashBash/Random Musings 5 - The Apollo vs Carbide caper

''Hello everyone. My name is Crash, and I'm here today to go over some random thingamajig that's stuck in my head and won't come out. And no, this isn't an excuse for me to not finish my latest list. Honest.''

After Robot Wars had an extremely successful reboot last year, there was a lot of expectation for the second season of the new series to live up to. I feel it did, for the most part, but I think we can all agree there was one oddity, something we never got in the original series - not even in Series 3. That, of course, being the inclusion of Apollo and Carbide, the defending champion and runner-up respectively, in the same qualifying heat. And then there's the obvious question you have to ask yourself...why?

Like I said, this never happened in the original series, because invariably, the champion and runner-up were seeded first and second, respectively. Even in the seedless Series 3, Panic Attack and Cassius could not have met until the Grand Final. But since the new series seemingly abolished seeds, we got Apollo and Carbide meeting in the heats. There has to be a reason why. Well, there's five, actually. Five potential reasons that could explain why Apollo and Carbide got drawn together in the same heat and it's only now that I'm really able to talk about it. So, lets crack on with the possibilities.

This seems a little "out-there", doesn't it? But this has actually happened before in Robot Wars. Lets look back at Series 4. We all remember complaints about the seeds, and that a few of the Heat Finalists did not get seeds, including Darke Destroyer...who was subsequently drawn into the same heat as Gravedigger, the very robot that had beaten it in Series 3. There was mention about Darke Destroyer wanting revenge on Gravedigger and thus the rumours started spreading that the team had specifically requested that.
 * 1. Team MAD and Team Carbide requested a rematch

Of course, we have no proof whatsoever of this particular scenario, but we DO have proof of another battle that teams requested specifically. Jump forward to Robot Wars Extreme, and Stinger and Tornado have a Vengeance battle, which was actually meant to be part of the All-Stars. The two teams had fans in the audience, and after several delays in filming, asked TPTB if they could deviate from their planned schedule and fight each other. We all know that that happened, so such a request is not impossible. So, did Team MAD and Team Carbide do the same? Well....no, they didn't. Whilst it's possible in practise, this particular theory was debunked directly by Team MAD. We need to look a little deeper.

So, clearly the teams had nothing to do with the draw and it was all down to the producers. But was it deliberate or not? It could simply be that all 40 competitors were just drawn together and both Apollo and Carbide just happened to be drawn into the same heat. We do have word-from-roboteers that, whilst the original line-up for that heat was very different, Apollo and Carbide were intended to be there from the get-go. With no seeds to separate them, there's nothing really stopping a match-up from...well, just happening.
 * 2. It was simply luck of the draw

But this isn't something I can personally buy. No matter whether you look at the original line-up or the actual line-up, it still feels like it's a "Champion's Sacrificial Heat". To explain what I mean, you ever notice that, from Series 4 onwards, the then-defending champion was always included with robots that just seemed like they'd be exceptionally easy to beat? Just look at Chaos 2's heats for Series 4 and 5...literally NONE of the robots posed even the slightest bit of a threat. Ignoring Carbide for a second, it still feels like a sacrificial heat through and through. Clearly, Apollo vs Carbide was meant to be the Heat Final. Clearly this was intentional.

Ah, this one. This one has also been proposed and entertained, only to be shot down by roboteers in attendance. It's highly likely that, despite what it seems at first, Apollo and Carbide were not drawn together simply to "create a rivalry". But where did this come from in the first place?
 * 3. TPTB wanted a rivalry

Lets face it, the fans love it when robots or teams have a "rivalry". Ever since the "Grudge Match" special of Series 2, we've seen robots have rematches and be described as rivals throughout the history of the show. It really make the media. Want proof? Well, it's in the pudding. From the original King Buxton vs 101 to the toxic cesspit that is Razer vs Tornado, these rematches and rivalries are all the talk of the forums and such. Even the news media is quick to lap it up, and the previous series is no exception. They're the talk of the pits too. Gareth Anstee (who competed with Trolley Rage) can attest to that. But he has also mentioned that often all this talk is not often the truth. It's often nothing more than the roboteers just deciding that "that's that". They don't actually know that this is an intentional rivalry set-up, it's just a case that they've decided to roll with it.

As an example, Ironside3 vs Pulsar. It'd be very easy to envision that as a deliberate rivalry, but in fact it was just a by-product. The two robots weren't even supposed to be in the same heat. I still feel like Apollo and Carbide WERE meant to be in the same heat, but I think the reason of so a rivalry could be made is probably too flimsy...especially since they weren't then drawn together again for the upcoming series. Clearly it was for another reason. But why?

"Wait, didn't you literally just debunk this?" A subtle difference in words - I said "rematch", not the same as a grudge match. It's simply possible that TPTB wanted Apollo and Carbide to fight each other again. I get the impression that the teams wanted to fight again too....but the question is, why?
 * 4. TPTB wanted a rematch

Well, this is the reason why I couldn't talk about this until now...I have known the line-up for New Series 3 for quite some time now, I've followed it slowly but surely. It hasn't always been "complete", though, so I didn't initially know the full details. One of the earliest details I did know, however, was that Eruption and Aftershock would be in the same qualifying heat. And that seems equally as puzzling as Apollo and Carbide from before. But is there a connection?

Well, think about it this way - what was the "best fight" of New Series 2? Well, that's debatable, but Eruption vs Aftershock must rank pretty high all things considering. It was a very close and tense battle where it wasn't always entirely clear who would come out on top. A lot like, oh, I dunno, Apollo vs Carbide, the grand final of New Series 1. And with battles that close, why not replicate them? At a glance, in both cases, it's as if TPTB knew exactly how well received both these fights were and wanted to replicate them as early as possible. That, to me, makes a lot of sense, especially from a TV show standpoint. And I was happy to accept this as an answer...until I learnt the full line-up not long after.

When I learnt that Eruption and Aftershock were in the same heat, I considered the possibility that either this was because TPTB wanted them to fight again, or this. But when I then learnt not long after that Carbide was also to be in the same heat, there was no question in my eyes - this was deliberate and the reason was to make sure that no two finals were the same. Why else would you put the reigning champion and runner-up in the same heat? Well, why would you put the reigning champion, runner-up AND fourth place in the same heat!?
 * 5. TPTB wanted different finalists

In a way, this really doesn't surprise me either. With the robots being as hi-tech as they are, and with such a short space of time between each series, it'd be pretty clear that some robots are far more advanced than others. Clearly, Apollo and Carbide were the best of the first new series, and were still looking fairly unbeatable by the time of the second new series. If they'd been in different heats, well, there was the risk of the final being more or less the same as before (was THIS why TR2 was excluded from New Series 2? Maybe that'll be a topic for another time). I could put it down to a simple fluke the first time, especially since clearly whoever lost was going to (and did) get the Wildcard anyway, but the fact remains, they did it again. And you have to ask yourself, what would have happened if Carbide, Eruption and Aftershock had been in different heats - if there had indeed been seeds? I'm pretty sure they would have won them easily. Of course, we don't know that, but why take the risk?

Clearly, to me, this is something that TPTB did deliberately. It was deliberate back then and it was deliberate now. And whilst it may be eye-roll-worthy, it does make sense at the end of the day, especially when Robot Wars is still as small as it is - so few robots and so few heats, the high likelihood is certain robots would dominate unless you do something. On the plus side, they're not in a "Champion's Sacrificial Heat" - they also have to contend with Big Nipper, Gabriel and Crackers 'n' Smash, all good robots in their own right. That being said, still pretty sure which ones will be in the top three....