Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars/Heat B

Heat B of Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars was the second of sixteen heats which determined the semi-finalists of Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars. The episode featuring Heat B was originally broadcast on September 29, 2000 on BBC Two.


 * Heat B was the third time that Razer failed at the heat stage. Pussycat's defeat of Razer in the heat final signified two events.
 * The rivalry between Pussycat and Razer was formed, and Ian Lewis coined the term "Gentleman's Agreement".
 * It was the first of only four times that a lower seed won the heat, the other occasions being Heat J of Series 4, Heat N of Series 4, and Heat G of Series 5.
 * Along with Heat N, Heat B was one of the few to feature the two seeds meeting in the heat final, with the lower seed prevailing.
 * Three of the teams from Heat D of Series 2 were in this heat - Team Cold Fusion, Milly-Ann Bug, and Team Razer.
 * This would also be Milly-Ann Bug's final appearance.

Razer (3) vs Velocirippa vs Robochicken
"Will this be Razer's championship at last?"

- Jonathan Pearce

Robochicken moved straight on to attack Razer, but its flipper did not have enough power to tip over the World Champion, who caught it in its claw. Velocirippa drove past and blocked Robochicken's escape, allowing Razer to easily pierce Robochicken's broad side. "Don't count your chickens before they're, um... shredded"

- Jonathan Pearce

Velocirippa drove around and rammed into Razer, shaking Robochicken free of the claw. Razer attempted to regain its purchase on Robochicken, but to no avail; its claw merely scraped down the smooth surface. Velocirippa made a few more daring attacks on Razer, managing to dart free after one charge, but its second reckless attack allowed Razer to capture it under its claw. Robochicken made an attempt to flip Velocirippa, but with Razer's beak piercing Velocirippa's snout, the combined weight of both robots was too much for the flipper. The attack did however allow Velocirippa to escape Razer, who then resumed its attack on Robochicken. Again unable to pierce, Razer simply pushed Robochicken across the arena floor until it gained enough leverage to launch an attack. Velocirippa rammed Razer from behind, but this did not help Robochicken escape. Razer lifted Robochicken into the air, carrying it towards the flame pits, but Velocirippa rammed into the airborne Robochicken and knocked it from Razer's claw. "Oh, I always fancy a bit of barbeque chicken - oh, its not on the menu yet!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Velocirippa knocks Robochicken free

Razer resumed its attack on Robochicken, the chicken's pecking weapon failing to damage Razer, whilst Razer merely cut deep into Robochicken's body. Its beak cut in so deep that Razer almost overbalanced, but retracting the weapon allowed Razer to recover. Robochicken briefly escaped, but ran into Dead Metal. Whilst Dead Metal attacked, Velocirippa darted in to attack Razer, who quickly turned its attention onto it. Razer pierced Velocirippa's side and held it over the flame pit. Once released, Velocirippa ran into the side wall, apparently unable to move in any other direction. Robochicken was still showing signs of movement, and attempted to flip Velocirippa, but was chased away by Razer. "Velocirippa's I think been immobilised, Robochicken's still bravely clucking on."

- Jonathan Pearce

Sir Killalot and Sergeant Bash closed in on Velocirippa whilst Robochicken was still harassed by Dead Metal. Killalot caught Velocirippa's front ramming weapon in its claw, and tipped it on its side. From there, Killalot carried Velocirippa into the open pit, leaving Razer and - against all odds - Robochicken to go through.

Qualified: Razer and Robochicken

Pussycat (19) vs Milly-Ann Bug vs Reptirron
Both Milly-Ann Bug and Pussycat darted off on the activate, but the slow-starting Reptirron was unable to move out of range of Pussycat before the seeded robot began slashing at it. It struck the front, then ran up the top of it and brought the blade scraping across. Still unable to move away quickly, Reptirron was vulnerable to an attack on its exposed weapon area. Pussycat attacked the area and sent scraps of metal flying across the arena. Pussycat's attacks had ripped a hole in Reptirron's armour and severed the fuel lines to the circular saw; fluid was rapidly leaking from Reptirron, who seemed immobile. Pussycat scarred Reptirron's side and shoved it within range of Sergeant Bash, who quickly engulfed the leaking fluid with a blast of his flamethrower. "I think they've severed the fuel lines - they have! Look at that fuel, spewing out all over the arena floor. There are torches in there - you can see the flames in the background. I think we're going to have fire later on....Its all over for Reptirron and there are the flames!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Pussycat now moved to attack Milly-Ann Bug, landing a blow on Milly's rear right wheel, hobbling the machine. Milly-Ann Bug limped away, whilst Refbot moved in to extinguish Reptirron best it could. Milly-Ann Bug foiled this by pushing it away from Refbot's weak flowing extinguisher and back towards Bash. "Milly-Ann Bug, trying to get a little piece of the action, which is ill-advised, really. If I was Geoff Warren, I'd get that team out of there - out of danger!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Refbot finally pinned Reptirron between Bash and itself and continued to battle the flames. Meanwhile, Milly-Ann Bug fled from Pussycat, dodging attacks from it and the nearby Shunt. Whilst trying to escape, its rear dome rolled onto its busted wheel, temporarily leaving it in a precarious position. Shunt pushed it free whilst Bash pushed the still flaming Reptirron into a side angle grinder. Slicing his pincers deep into Reptirron, Bash placed it on the floor flipper, where it was thrown. As cease was called, Refbot resumed its attempts to extinguish the flames. "Well Reptirron burned and unceremoniously flipped! Pussycat and Milly-Ann Bug go through!"

- Craig Charles

Qualified: Pussycat and Milly-Ann Bug

Razer (3) vs Milly-Ann Bug
Milly-Ann Bug swerved broadside as the battle begun, but Razer quickly seized its rear dome beneath its claw. However, the dome shape fit beneath the claw and Razer's beak could not pierce the shell. Moving in reverse and with the bottom of the dome on Razer's wedge, Razer was able to reposition itself so that the tip of the beak could slice into Milly-Ann Bug. Razer lifted the rear dome into the air, dragging the top dome with it, and reversed over the flames, setting Milly-Ann Bug's hair alight. "Oh! And what do you require, sir? A number one cut? A number two cut? Or just burnt straight off? Oh, I think I'll have the burnt, thank-you."

- Jonathan Pearce

Razer dropped its enemy onto the flame pit, before herding it towards a corner. Razer sank its beak in between the two domes in an attempt to break its opponent in half. The coupling proved to be too tough, and Razer repositioned and pierced the front dome of Milly-Ann Bug. Razer attempted once more to break Milly in half, succeeding in breaking off its previously crippled wheel, but failing to break it in two. With one wheel gone, the rear dome became dead weight and the front attempted to drag it, but to no avail; Razer captured Milly and sliced off its front right wheel, followed by the front left wheel. "What a horrible torture this is! Its like watching some maniacal, horrible schoolboy pull the legs off a spider."

- Jonathan Pearce

Once the final wheel had been cut free, Razer pulled back and did its famous salute. Shunt and Razer bumped Milly-Ann Bug around, with Shunt's axe slamming down and ripping its hair free. Razer harassed Matilda, whilst Dead Metal clasped Milly-Ann Bug and pushed it around as cease was called.

Winner: Razer

Pussycat (19) vs Robochicken
"Similarities between the two - you may not think many, but there are you know; when my mum cooks chicken, it tends to taste like cat..."

- Jonathan Pearce

The two robots spun to collide, and Robochicken caught Pussycat beneath its open flipper. Robochicken attempted to maneuver Pussycat, but the seeded machine slipped away and collided once more. Robochicken managed to flip Pussycat onto its side, but Pussycat's design allowed it to immediately recover. Pussycat's blade slashed the silver sides of Robochicken, before being flipped once more in return. The two robots met head on, and Pussycat's blade slashes into the armour. Robochicken's pecking weapon came down, and Pussycat's blade cut off one of the chicken's eyes. "Well, pirates might have been given the old crack of the lash, but the lashes have gone here - it's the eyelashes of the chicken that have gone here - and the eye!"

- Jonathan Pearce

By now, Pussycat's blade had cut through the thin side armour of Robochicken, exposing the wheels, and had also buckled the flipper. Robochicken continued to land small flips on Pussycat, but with no force behind it, the attacks did nothing to hinder Pussycat's attack. Swiftly, Pussycat ran up the back of Robochicken and gouged out another chunk of armour, before reversing out of range of the flipper. Robochicken flipped Pussycat upright, but David Gribble dropped the machine back onto its castor, before it spun and gouged more armour off. Subsequent attacks cut into the neck of the pecking weapon, and then completely buckled the flipper onto itself. After being flipped, Pussycat stuck its tip into the now gaping hole near Robochicken's wheel, and slammed it into the side wall. Robochicken was unable to drive away from the wall, and it continued to suffer from Pussycat's blade until Sir Killalot caught it. "The beak just nods, almost forlornly."

- Jonathan Pearce as Robochicken suffers brutal damage

Killalot's lance prodded the limp remaining eyeball off Robochicken, before he stuck it into one of the many holes in Robochicken's armour. Pussycat continued to ravage the flipper area, before Robochicken was placed on the floor flipper. It moved in a feeble circle before it was tossed over. Shunt and Pussycat attacked Robochicken until the cease was called. "Well, the cat gets the cream, but Robochicken has to cluck off!"

- Craig Charles

Winner: Pussycat

The Battle
"We've sharpened the two teeth properly, with the angle grinders...it should do its job properly."

- David Gribble to Julia Reed

The two robots shot forward, bouncing off each other upon collision. Pussycat was too fast and unusually shaped for Razer to gain easy purchase with its claw, but Pussycat managed to land a few minor blows with its blade on the rear and side of Razer. Pussycat became briefly wedged beneath the claw, and Razer shot towards the side wall. Once it slammed Pussycat against the wall, it spun in a circle and ran back into the wall. Pussycat pulled away but flipped onto its side. Whilst it floundered around, trying to land on its wheels, it became apparent that Razer was not able to move away from the wall. "Whats happened here? Razer, I think, is stuck on the Arena wall! Oh no, not again!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Razer was stuck in forward gear, and it attempted to shimmy its front to one side so that it could drive sideways and steer away. However, it had driven right next to a spike, and this obstructed its escape. Pussycat, having righted itself, landed a blow on Razer's back, carving a gouge in Razer's rear armour. This nudged Razer into a position where it would have been able to drive free, but the arena spike negated its ability to move. "Whose having kittens now? Its not the cat, its the Razer boys!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Pussycat dug its blade into the rear of Razer, pushing it free of the spike, but causing significant damage to the back. Razer ran into another side spike, whilst Pussycat sliced into it repeatedly, bending the tail of Razer's claw, at which point Ian Lewis abandoned his pride and joy. Pussycat carved into Razer again, buckling the rear armour, and Shunt came charging in, ramming Razer free from the wall. However, by now Razer was completely immobile, with the wheels destroyed by Pussycat's blade. Dead Metal fetched Razer's limp form and pushed it into the pit. "One of the biggest shocks of the series!"

- Craig Charles

Heat Winner: Pussycat

Ian Lewis' reaction
"Well, Ian's sort of thrown his tools out of the pram."

- Craig Charles, upon noting Lewis' absence from the debrief

Ian Lewis reaction to this fight has been criticised widely by viewers. Once the robot's claw tail had been bent, Lewis put down his claw control and turned his back on the fight. He refused to watch Razer's pitting, and left Simon and Vincent to debrief with Charles and Team Cold Fusion. Instead, he went straight down into the pits to check upon his machine. "Some of us are gentlemen, and some of us hold back. Now, if you're out of control, you don't just go for it, do you?"

- Ian Lewis

Later, Ian Lewis would launch a scathing attack on the Pussycat team, implying they were unsportsmanlike, and deliberately caused excessive damage after Razer had been immobilised. He stated that they had a Gentleman's Agreement that Pussycat had ignored, but his team had honoured during the battle with Milly-Ann Bug, as he claimed a majority of the damage was superficial and he had avoided damaging the domes and the expensive electronics within. This ignited a feud between the teams which lead to a rematch in Extreme 1. This incident would result in a severe blow to Ian Lewis' reputation amongst fans and roboteers.

"Well, you can ask for robot presents off Santa Claus, but you better ask for mercy, on Robot Wars!"

- Craig Charles' signoff

Trials
During the Fourth Wars, alongside the main competition, a Pinball Warrior and Sumo Basho Competition were also held. Unlike the similar competitions of the Third Wars, these trials featured successful qualifiers for Series 4. In between the first and second rounds of each heat, a Pinball run took place, and two sumo attempts took place in between Round 2 and the Heat Final in each of the first eight heats. For Heat B, the Pinball featured Hypno-Disc and the Sumo featured Diotoir and Onslaught.

Pinball Warrior - Hypno-Disc
Score: 135 points

Sumo Basho

 * Diotoir - 3.95 seconds
 * Onslaught - 17.31 seconds