Talk:Robot Wars: Series 9

Applied
Should we do a list of competitors that have already applied for this series, I know from Twitter that Apollo, PP3D and Eric have applied for this year. TKK3nta (talk) 08:16, October 12, 2016 (UTC)

Eric has applied!? That's great news. Responding to your question I think we should just keep it quiet about the competitors for now until we have a bigger list. 321Annihilate (talk) 08:28, October 12, 2016 (UTC)


 * I guess that would make sense, maybe I'll post a blog of those that have applied for now. https://twitter.com/TeamEricRobot Here's the twitter of Team Eric saying they have applied. TKK3nta (talk) 08:53, October 12, 2016 (UTC)
 * To answer your question, no. We caused more problems than information last series when we did this, so I advise not keeping the list. Plus I once again want to keep the spoilers and lists of robots secret, I don't want to know what happens until official sources confirm it. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 09:27, October 12, 2016 (UTC)
 * What Jim said. There was backlash last time we ran an applicant list, and we won't make the same mistake twice. Just use Reddit. Toast  Ultimatum  12:02, October 12, 2016 (UTC)
 * Basically the only robot that is "allowed" to be confirmed is Apollo, due to the nature of being a champion. If Apollo is not present in any heat or battle, then anyone else that competes must be kept quiet. If Apollo is present, then it gets the benefit. --WolfwingandSlaveLeia (talk) 14:31, October 12, 2016 (UTC)


 * Yes, right now, the only robot that has been officially confirmed is Apollo. Anything else, we cannot say until the higher-ups (I.E. the BBC) say anything. I'd rather not repeat last year's fiasco. CrashBash (talk) 15:12, October 12, 2016 (UTC)


 * I know of seven teams that have publicly stated that they've applied already, so it seems things are much more lenient on that front this time around, but still, in terms of adding the information to pages, it is safer for the Wiki to play things safe. Nweston8 (talk) 15:32, October 12, 2016 (UTC)


 * Given the wikia "problem", should we keep a blog on who we think is in and who is out, moderators? --WolfwingandSlaveLeia (talk) 16:13, October 12, 2016 (UTC)


 * At this stage, I'd personally rather we didn't try to take risks. Maybe seven teams have publicly stated they've applied, but it could just be they didn't check the fine print. CrashBash (talk) 17:11, October 12, 2016 (UTC)

Drones
Now I haven't seen the rules pdf from the website so I could be making a mistake but hey!. Do any of you think that drones could be a possibility this year? Plus would they class as clusterbots and be treated as clusterbots i.e. in terms of weight. Though from what I know from those who have applied it seems no one will be bringing in a drone for now but It would be interesting to see in the modern Robot Wars. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 17:15, October 13, 2016 (UTC)

Well we have certainly seen plenty in Battlebots and I pretty sure Drones were allowed in the first series of the robot wars reboot but nobody wanted to take it on. I think we will see drones. The robot which incorporates one will go down in robot wars history. 321Annihilate (talk) 17:21, October 13, 2016 (UTC)
 * Flying robots have always been allowed. They would have to be made by the roboteers, not commercially bought and slightly edited. Yeah it would be cool, but what can a drone do? Axes, flippers, claws, spinners? Very unlikely to be usable, and even if fitted on, the'll do more damage to the drone. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 18:15, October 13, 2016 (UTC)
 * BattleBots showed us that drones only work against plastic, and even then it has to be a big target. Also, any one with a functioning brain will know that only a flamethrower can be attached to a drone and have it still provide air support. That me is speaking the truth, not insulting. Also, there seems to be no way of turning off a drone using a link (which is strange, due to the fact that BattleBots actually likes using removable links instead of kill switches). --WolfwingandSlaveLeia (talk) 07:34, October 14, 2016 (UTC)
 * Personally, unless they crash as they did in BattleBots, I don't think that drones would add anything much to Robot Wars, especially since it would be difficult for them to attack wheeled/tracked/walking robots effectively and vice versa. By the way, has anyone else stumbled upon this before? It's a drone combat show made by Steve Carsey, the original producer of Robot Wars, featuring a mix of obstacle courses, aerial combat and its very own set of House Drones. Having watched the first series before joining the Wiki, I can't say it's as exciting or memorable as Robot Wars is, but it has its own YouTube channel if you want to investigate it for yourself. VulcansHowl (talk) 09:16, October 14, 2016 (UTC)

Tickets
Is anyone here going to apply for tickets again? I sure am, Saturday 3rd is about the only day I can do, so I will be applying for that day. J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 18:09, October 19, 2016 (UTC)
 * I actually need to go to one of the latest sessions, so I doubt I'll meet any wiki people there. Toast  Ultimatum  19:25, October 19, 2016 (UTC)

Saturday 3rd I could not do any more, so I applied to the only day I could fit it around my exams, the final day on the 7th. I got tickets! Premium tickets too, so as long as I'm on time, I am guaranteed a seat! YYYYEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 11:56, November 15, 2016 (UTC)

I got tickets too! I managed to get them for the Sunday show. 321Annihilate (talk) 15:18, November 18, 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm doubtful anyone will be joining me on the Monday afternoon. Toast  Ultimatum  15:20, November 18, 2016 (UTC)

Goliath
This is unrelated to pretty much everything here but Goliath made an appearance on CbbC on Dick and Dom it seems with a few minor alterations. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/destructive-robot Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 06:54, October 21, 2016 (UTC)

Failed to qualify
From what I've heard some roboteers who have applied that a few days ago they were meant to get a phone call to tell them if they've applied, as it turns out a few haven't received anything and may have failed to qualify. Should we add them to the list of F2Q? Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 12:10, October 29, 2016 (UTC)
 * Not yet, it may be that the BBC just have more calls then they expected to make and they're still going through them. Keep a note of these teams off-wiki, though. Toast  Ultimatum  12:48, October 29, 2016 (UTC)
 * As before, we don't add anything about robots which have qualified or not until we have the official list months after it has all been filmed. There isn't any movement from this stance with the anti-spoiler policy we have. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 13:25, October 29, 2016 (UTC)
 * I have got a list of F2Q robots ready for when the time is right. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 20:35, November 2, 2016 (UTC)

Without mentioning names from what I've read it seems that Metorn wants "new robots" meaning we could lose quite a few 2016 competitors. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 15:53, October 31, 2016 (UTC)


 * To be honest, I think this isn't anything to really worry about. They've always wanted "new robots" and each series has seen quite a lot of newcomers. CrashBash (talk) 16:06, October 31, 2016 (UTC)


 * There's no reason why old teams can't make new robots. I was thrilled with PP3D, Carbide, and some other new robots. If I have to pick one I definitely want back it's Behemoth.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  22:27, October 31, 2016 (UTC)

Here's an interesting quote from a team that F2Q "The RW guys, whilst obviously not being able to say anything concrete said they were waiting on the TV Commissioner re a potential RWS3 (no new news there but it shows Mentorn are keen). I was told if they get a green light they will post details for S3 applications directly to unsuccessful S2 teams first off as well as posting through normal channels"

Another thing that someone has said refers to the fact that most of the robots that F2Q for this series are round 1 dropouts. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 14:30, November 2, 2016 (UTC)


 * Makes me wonder if they're doing the same thing for this coming series, and that they contacted first and foremost a lot of the teams that didn't qualify for the 2016 series. One has to wonder...CrashBash (talk) 20:39, November 2, 2016 (UTC)


 * That's a surprisingly good way of doing it. The best and most entertaining get one year, the rest basically do odd and even years.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  20:42, November 2, 2016 (UTC)

Well so far on my list I have recorded at least 20 robots that have F2Q. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 16:31, November 4, 2016 (UTC)

Celebrity Specials?
So I read on the Roaming Robots Facebook group that there will be some Celebrity specials. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 13:10, November 12, 2016 (UTC)


 * I've seen the page itself. If those do go ahead, we may need to give "Celebrity Special" its own little sub-page, like we have for the Annihilators, Tag Team Terrors, etc. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. CrashBash (talk) 13:26, November 12, 2016 (UTC)
 * So this was released in terms of telling people about film dates, note it says "celebrity edition" in the afternoon of the 6th December.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154762836457094&set=gm.522315898048180&type=3 Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 17:14, November 12, 2016 (UTC)


 * I had hoped there would be some side events. Hopefully this time its celebrities I've heard of.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  20:36, November 12, 2016 (UTC)

Looks like it's been officially confirmed: http://lostintv.com/tv-show?id=818 Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 18:01, November 17, 2016 (UTC)
 * That's just the same thing that was posted on the Facebook link. I don't think it's proof that it's true. --MasterMarik (talk) 01:13, November 18, 2016 (UTC)


 * For what it's worth, one of the children in my class I teach is the nephew of Jason Marston, and he told me today that Jason has been chosen as one of the mentors for the celebrity special this series, but told me that the celebrity in question was top secret. So this is most definitely a thing! Helsed (talk) 21:09, November 17, 2016 (UTC)
 * The fact that the official Robot Wars twitter and Facebook is advertising the tickets that say about the Celebrity Specials, I would say that's a confirmation, though I don't know if these "Celebrity Events" will be filmed though (but it's likely). Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 15:25, November 18, 2016 (UTC)
 * I already took the initial post as confirmation (I had access to the link prior to yesterday's release), so there's not really anything else we can add to the article. Toast  Ultimatum  15:26, November 18, 2016 (UTC)

Confirmation from Radio Times of 2 Celebrity Specials this Christmas, 4 celebs in each episode, working with teams to design their dream robot. http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-11-22/robot-wars-to-return-for-two-celebrity-christmas-specials --Voyanuitoa (talk) 07:22, November 22, 2016 (UTC)
 * So these will be for Christmas? That means they'll film in December and have very short amount of time editing it, that and trailers for it. Unless I'm mistaken. Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 07:30, November 22, 2016 (UTC)

Just to make something clear, it would be great to get articles up and running for the Christmas specials, as well as the general Celebrity Special article which combines 2017 and Series 4, but we cannot do this yet, as we do not know what Mentorn will call these episodes. Toast Ultimatum  15:47, November 22, 2016 (UTC)

So, this is implying the possibility of them doing the heat format from Round 2 onwards, perhaps. CrashBash (talk) 15:51, November 22, 2016 (UTC)


 * I would imagine so, the head to heads would make sure that there is at least a decent amount of screen time for each celebrity, rather than just the single interview before the battle and quick chat afterwards. The time normally spent on Round 1 could be taken up by VT's of the roboteers and celebrities talking about designing and building the robots. At the end of the second episode they may do a Celebrity Final, like the All-Stars in Extreme 2. The full BBC press blurb for it is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/xmas16tv/bbctwo#heading-robot-wars-christmas-specials --Voyanuitoa (talk) 15:58, November 22, 2016 (UTC)
 * Could this be one of the Celebrity robots? This is recent and does have a competitor who may or may not be in the new series. Via Robot Wars Twitter account: https://twitter.com/UKRobotWars/status/799888599227465728 Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 20:04, November 22, 2016 (UTC)
 * Should we REALLY be playing this game again, with all due respect? CrashBash (talk) 20:37, November 22, 2016 (UTC)

The official UKRobotWars twitter account has retweeted the following tweet by a celebrity in regards to the celebrity specials: "I did. And they invited me. But I am in Japan so can't do the filming dates." Would the identification of said celebrity constitute a spoiler? (I've avoided linking to the tweet as the username would give it away) --Voyanuitoa (talk) 10:13, November 23, 2016 (UTC)
 * If you think about it, we have just over a month before these will be broadcast anyway, so there is no point speculating who the celebs will be. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 11:36, November 23, 2016 (UTC)
 * I'd say anything on Twitter that doesn't get immediately deleted is fair game (the exception being competitiors who cofirm they've been chosen, as we know they aren't supposed to do that). From that Mannequin Challenge video, are any of those people a celebrity, or is it just roboteers? R A 2 ; aka Resetti's Replicas.  ( My Talk ) 03:24, November 24, 2016 (UTC)

Battle of the Stars
BBC Two have confirmed two contestants: https://twitter.com/bbctwo/status/801828994500923392 It also looks as if the show will be called Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars with a full list of celebrities being announced soon! Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 17:59, November 24, 2016 (UTC)


 * I can't get to the proper talk page on my phone so can someone move this part to the Battle of the Stars page?


 * I think we should still bundle the pages together and consider them a type of event like Annihilator, Tag Team, etc. Sure the latters name is more flashy but the former is the base name for it. The format may be different but the Tag Team, All Star and most obviously the US and Uk Championships have differed significantly in format between iterations. The essential elements are there - a tournament featuring celebrities at the controls. I don't see any benefit for considering them two different kinds of tournament.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  20:42, November 24, 2016 (UTC)
 * Scott Mills and Chris Stark? Ha, they'll be great! J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 01:35, November 25, 2016 (UTC)
 * If the majority want to merge Celebrity Robot Wars and Battle of the Stars, it can be arranged. More opinions are necessary. Toast  Ultimatum  14:28, November 25, 2016 (UTC)
 * The format of both is the same in principle, so it makes sense to describe them both on the same page, but y'know, each episode will get a separate page. It's still best to wait for broadcast though, just to be sure. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 14:45, November 25, 2016 (UTC)

Arena
Here's an image by Angela Scalon. The arena's getting ready and there's not much change other that purple lighting and apparently more seats.https://www.instagram.com/p/BNZsdZyhxjF/ Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 19:52, November 29, 2016 (UTC)
 * I was hoping that the arena would actually be heated given the problems last time, but given that she's advising warm clothing I very much doubt that at this stage. Last series was bad enough with the cold, but since the new series will be filmed in a matter of days (and it hasn't been particularly warm lately), the performance of CO2 and pneumatic systems could be even worse than last year.  S2  56   22:05, November 29, 2016 (UTC)

Tomorrow's the day
Well, filming starts tomorrow. I'll be listening to Scott and Chris on the Radio today, to see if they mention it at all, because they should be in Glasgow tomorrow. Who's going to filming of any days? J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 09:28, December 1, 2016 (UTC)

Robot Wars
I have just got back and I have had a blast! And all I can say is £$^^&^ absolutely obliterated (&*(^%$. It was so fun and I was told the series will be airing in February. No official confirmation yet though. 321Annihilate (talk) 16:33, December 4, 2016 (UTC)
 * Heh, I just walked to Westway Park and back to my hotel. Excited for tomorrow, it sounds like I'll be watching the early stages of the second round then? Toast  Ultimatum  17:04, December 4, 2016 (UTC)
 * Have fun tomorrow Toast. I am so ready for Wednesday! J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 17:14, December 4, 2016 (UTC)

Just saw the morning session of today with two friends of mine, it was epic!!!! Looking forward to next week already :) Liam Bryant (talk) 17:44, December 4, 2016 (UTC)

Well no. It was strange because I think I saw 3 episodes worth of battles. I saw 2 group battles and 4 head to heads but they all had different robots in. So you will see 4 way melees and 1 on 1s but the downside is that's parts of 3 episodes spoiled for me. It was great though. 321Annihilate (talk) 18:22, December 4, 2016 (UTC)
 * So... is Sgt Bash going to be in the new series? 80.111.246.131 16:05, December 6, 2016 (UTC)

Sadly no. We never saw him. 321Annihilate (talk) 16:07, December 6, 2016 (UTC)

Just come back from the Grand Final. Oh hoh hoh hoh hoh, it was immense. Look forward to it because it was indescribably incredible! A lot of the team members from other teams came into my grandstand, and I actually had a nice chat with one of the team members from one of the successful teams from last year. Won't say who though! J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 21:47, December 7, 2016 (UTC)
 * I'd hate to go to a Grand Final recording myself, but I'm glad you enjoyed it! I really, really hope that the Grand Final battle itself was very good - anything less ala Chaos 2 vs Hypno-Disc will feel a bit of a nightmare. Nweston8 (talk) 22:50, December 7, 2016 (UTC)

Twitter
Just found this on the official Robot Wars Twitter feed. Could an announcement on the 2017 series air dates be imminent? VulcansHowl (talk) 21:21, January 25, 2017 (UTC)


 * Let's hope so! Although the Robot Wars version of announcing things means we may be waiting all of three days or up to three weeks. Nweston8 (talk) 22:17, January 25, 2017 (UTC)
 * I certainly hope it won't be a three day wait! I'm essentially doing a Smash Bros. roadtrip from Friday morning until Sunday night, so I'll be on a brief hiatus. I think by pure coincidence the Ragnabot 2 schedule means I'll just about sneak in all of my votes, but Robot Wars could do to hold off the big reveal ;) T  OAS  T  04:48, January 26, 2017 (UTC)
 * Well, I've just put up Round 2, and Round 3 will be up on Saturday morning. Able to do them? BTW, so excited about the announcement. I hope it's not too far away. I cannot wait for the new series (mainly because I want to talk to everyone about their experiences at filming, but y'know, spoilers) J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 08:17, January 26, 2017 (UTC)
 * Sadly there has been nothing so far since :( J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 00:38, February 6, 2017 (UTC)


 * It'll come. Eventually. CrashBash (talk) 09:37, February 6, 2017 (UTC)


 * Recently, an image has popped up on the unofficial Facebook group which appears to show the House Robots destroying a car as part of a filming session. If this is a hint that a trailer might be on its way soon, then we shouldn't have to wait too long for any more news, I should imagine. Vulcans Howl  10:56, February 6, 2017 (UTC)
 * Destroying a car? Fantastic! That should put the robots both size and power into perspective for everyone. Awesome! J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 11:26, February 6, 2017 (UTC)
 * Found another Twitter update earlier tonight. Hints towards a possible announcement coming this weekend. Vulcans Howl  22:08, February 9, 2017 (UTC)
 * I reckon it'll be the trailer. R  a z  3   r (talk) 22:11, February 9, 2017 (UTC)

Eighth and Ninth Wars
So the BBC have finally called 2016 the Eighth wars in a press release. However, that is still the only time they've done it, for consistencies sake, but it was never called that in the show, Apollo were announced as the 2016 champions, not the Series 8 champs. (Also, the champions of the soon to be announced series are called 2017 champions, not Series 9). We should move everything back to (2016 Series) and (2017 Series). J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 08:37, January 30, 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes. Even if BBC have finally referred to it as "Series 8", that still doesn't make the series "The Eighth Wars". The choice is between Robot Wars (2016 series) and Robot Wars (Series 8), and we don't have substantial reason to change the pages' names. Even though it literally happened across the board. We'll now change them all back. This discussion can be revisited if we get a tenth series. Aggravated that this had to happen on my one weekend hiatus. T  OAS  T  08:52, January 30, 2017 (UTC)


 * Here's where I'm at. "2016 series" isn't a canon description, its a placeholder name we used whilst waiting for something official. We now have something official. Now, I'm not suggesting that the Eighth Wars should remain the name of the page (because as I see it, it's yet to be called that), but we now have the green light from the BBC to consider this the eighth series of Robot Wars as opposed to the first series of a rebooted show. Apollo was not called the "2016 series champion" either. It was just the Robot Wars champion. We also know from teams like Storm 2 and Ironside 3 that the show did plan to fit into the previous show, but they strayed away from doing so. Now I'm against renaming the pages to fit with what we know, but we're pretty much leaving time travel the only way of ever calling the page anything other than "2016 series". Now we know what BBC considers it, and we have to adapt somewhat. We aren't going to leave the page as "2016 series" for a whole year when the BBC has expressed clear intention to the contrary.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  08:59, January 30, 2017 (UTC)


 * At the very least, all references to "series 1-7, 2016 series" can now be fixed.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  09:01, January 30, 2017 (UTC)
 * Don't take this one source as the be-all end-all. BBC and Mentorn can have differing views on how the series is treated. I like the idea of distinguishing the reboot from the original run, and I'd want to see consistency in the use of Series 8-9 before making such a radical change. For all we know, maybe the BBC considers Battle of the Stars to be Series 9 in its entirety. The possibility of a Series 10 could also throw another wrench into the mix, we don't know how they'll address the naming system. Time travel is an exaggeration, both the airdates of 2017 and the announcement of another series could well be sooner than you think, we can afford to be patient. The "Series 2-7, 2016, Extreme 1-2" examples can be changed to "Series 2-8, Extreme 1-2" if you can get a clear consensus for it, but I'll stay in favour of what we have now. T  OAS  T  09:23, January 30, 2017 (UTC)


 * I'm certainly happy to wait for more information, but I'm certainly not going to leave a placeholder name for a full year if they start using "series 8" consistently.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  09:25, January 30, 2017 (UTC)


 * I'm fairly certain the build rules or some other document called it Series 8. I'll need to check again though.  S2  56   10:05, January 30, 2017 (UTC)

Having a digital copy of the original 2016 series build rules on hand, I can confirm that it does refer to the 2016 series as 'Season 8'. Why 'Season', and not 'Series', I don't know, but the 2016 series talk page already has a discussion about that discrepancy. VulcansHowl (talk) 10:19, January 30, 2017 (UTC)


 * I'd like it to be Eighth and Ninth, but currently I don't think the evidence is enough to make the change. The Robot Wars twitter is teasing us with more information, lets just wait and leave everything with 2016 and 2017 alone for the moment. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 10:23, January 30, 2017 (UTC)
 * If Dara and/or Angela refer to the 2017 series as the ninth war, would that automatically mean that the BBC is referring to the series as a direct sequel or is something we need information from Mentorn? --WolfwingandSlaveLeia (talk) 17:05, January 30, 2017 (UTC)
 * On another note, there's an image on Instagram that appears to show an alternative logo for the 2016 series opening, with '2016' added to the left-hand side of the Robot Wars logo. Could this be more evidence to suggest that Mentorn is still referring to the 2016 series as the '2016 series', rather than 'Series 8'? VulcansHowl (talk) 20:25, January 30, 2017 (UTC)
 * Interesting, I'd love to know where that logo came from. T  OAS  T  05:29, January 31, 2017 (UTC)

The BBC Programmes page for Robot Wars has been updated with the first four series. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0873k9n/episodes/guide. It considers "The Best of" and "The Grudge Matches" to be part of series 2, but "The Making of" is separate. Series 3 and 4 are missing all special episodes. It refers to the 2016 series as "Series 8". Also does an official source(s) calling it "Series 8" mean we can automatically call it "The Eighth War" or not? --Voyanuitoa (talk) 16:53, January 31, 2017 (UTC)
 * Intriguing that the BBC list "The Making of Robot Wars" as a separate entity rather than as part of Series 2. Makes me wonder what they are planning to do with the original series - digital downloads perhaps? DVD/Blu-ray releases? Of course, there's no sign of Series 5-6 or Extreme, and it would be awkward to think how the BBC would handle Series 7 since they didn't have the rights to it when it was originally broadcast... VulcansHowl (talk) 17:17, January 31, 2017 (UTC)
 * To answer Voyan's question, no, official use of the term Series 8 does not mean we have the right to call something The Eighth Wars. It would just make it Series 8. The words "this is Robot Wars, the Eighth War!" never escaped from Dara Ó Briain's mouth, so we'll never have grounds for a title like that. In my eyes, that's a good thing, as if we do eventually rename the rebooted series articles to Series 8/9/10, at least not using The Xth War gives us a slight way to separate the original and rebooted runs. T  OAS  T  17:41, January 31, 2017 (UTC)

I think, in conclusion, that we have nowhere near enough information to make the switch, so Robot Wars (2016 Series) should stay. J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 17:17, January 31, 2017 (UTC)

Series 9 Teaser
The BBC have just uploaded the 2017 series teaser onto YouTube, and are officially referring to it as 'Series 9'. Not long to go now. Vulcans Howl 17:44, February 10, 2017 (UTC)
 * I would say that we're 95% sure we can change this from (2017 Series) to Series 9. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 17:51, February 10, 2017 (UTC)

Called it. R a z  3   r (talk) 19:14, February 10, 2017 (UTC)


 * The use of Series 9 is more exciting than anything in the trailer itself. But just to clarify, if we are changing to Series 9 we are changing to Series 8 as well because I am not having an eyesore of Series 1-7, 2016, series 9. That is just stubbornness on our part, the Robot Wars (series 8) will do for a title.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  21:48, February 10, 2017 (UTC)
 * Yeah we can use Series 8 and 9 now. But not "The Ninth Wars". Part of me wanted to say that we might as well wait until the series started airing just in case, but realistically we should be doing the legwork now before we have bigger priorities. T  OAS  T  22:59, February 10, 2017 (UTC)
 * The only thing I need to think about is whether we use Robot Wars (Series 9) as the title, or Robot Wars: Series 9. I was campaigning against the use of colons in the case of Extreme Warriors, but the trailer on YouTube did actually use a colon. What do we think guys? T  OAS  T  23:06, February 10, 2017 (UTC)


 * I could go either way but brackets looks better to me, but if they've done it with colon that should be how we do it.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  23:14, February 10, 2017 (UTC)


 * I think it may be worth seeing if the BBC releases any other material this weekend. Other wise I would go for the colon. --Voyanuitoa (talk) 23:18, February 10, 2017 (UTC)
 * Yeah, you're right. I would say on the whole that it's fine to start updating competitor pages and the like with Series 8 and 9, but as for the page names themselves, we should wait and see if this weekend's "big announcement" is still to come, or if it was just the teaser. T  OAS  T  23:27, February 10, 2017 (UTC)
 * Another version of the teaser has just surfaced on BBC Two's Twitter feed. Diotoir will be pleased to know that it is 100% Taylor Swift-free. Vulcans Howl  18:34, February 11, 2017 (UTC)

Robot Wars: Series 9
If there's no more news today, I'll rename this page to Robot Wars: Series 9 today, as well as renaming Series 8, unless there are any last objections. T OAS  T  12:32, February 12, 2017 (UTC)
 * I have no objections to the change. R  a z  3   r (talk) 12:43, February 12, 2017 (UTC)
 * I am in full support of the renaming. However, with regards to the Series 8/2016 series article, would it still be appropriate to mention that it was formerly referred to as the 2016 series in the introduction? Vulcans Howl  13:34, February 12, 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, 2016 is still fine as an interchangeable term, that's what the show was referred to by its presenters, and it was conclusively held in 2016. However, we shouldn't use 2017 anywhere. You know, just in case... T  OAS  T  15:47, February 12, 2017 (UTC)

February 26th?
DigiGuide subscribers are claiming that Series 9 could be airing on Sunday February 26th at 7pm - this is backed up by Radio Times keeping this timeslot empty. This is definitely still a rumour, but I'm posting about it in order to lay a plan in place, as I'd booked bus tickets to a Manchester Smash tournament on this date weeks ago, and I still intend to go; non-refundable as always. I'll probably be back for about midnight, and then I need to actually watch the episode. Competitor articles should already be live by this point as long as the website is cooperative, but I'll have to leave write-ups in your capable hands until I get back. I didn't do any of the battle summaries for Battle of the Stars Episode 2, so I know I can trust this team. T OAS  T  19:35, February 14, 2017 (UTC)


 * I know the rumoured March 5th at 8pm slot is not going to happen as it was announced today that Top Gear (now without Chris Evans) will be in that slot.--Voyanuitoa (talk) 19:40, February 14, 2017 (UTC)
 * Robot Wars, followed by the new Top Gear? What do I do, update the wiki and react or give Matt, Chris and Rory a go? Hmm, not too sure ATM, but less than two weeks HYPE!!! Hopefully the Beeb will give us the full competitor list soon. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 00:55, February 15, 2017 (UTC)
 * Watch Top Gear with your breakfast the next morning, that's what I do with Coronation Street. T  OAS  T  01:13, February 15, 2017 (UTC)
 * The only Coronation I care about is Chicken. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 01:16, February 15, 2017 (UTC)
 * If you like Toast, I can continue to do the images for the episodes as I did last year with you. Certainly, I can take care of the first episode and then you can replace the ones that need replacing with better images. R  a z  3   r (talk) 15:54, February 15, 2017 (UTC)


 * http://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/fkdh8z/robot-wars--26022017 Confirmed 26/02/2017 at 7pm. 11 days to go!--Voyanuitoa (talk) 08:19, February 15, 2017 (UTC)
 * The end of February is looking awesome, Robot Wars returns atthe same time that all the F1 teams start revealing their cars and testing starts! J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 09:43, February 15, 2017 (UTC)
 * Means I can start my little tournament tree. Unknown heat with *blank*, *blank*, the clusterbot *blank* and newcomer *blank*, as well as an old friend - *blank*, Team *blank*'s *blank* and old rivals *blank* and *blank*. --WolfwingandSlaveLeia (talk) 15:41, February 15, 2017 (UTC)

Competitor List
Keep you eyes peeled Mentorn have released this in terms of an updated competitor list. https://twitter.com/MentornMedia/status/831821138607108096 Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 05:43, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * Still nothing. Whoever runs BBC's hype machine has no idea.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  05:46, February 16, 2017 (UTC)

First episode competitors confirmed/different date?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/10/robotwars BBC Media Centre is saying March 5th now for episode 1, gives details about the new features of the pit release button and the names of the eight competitor robots.--Voyanuitoa (talk) 10:32, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * Interesting that they now refer to the qualifying episodes as 'group heats', and that the pit release button no longer just opens the pit. Should we go ahead and change the air dates for Episode 1 then? Vulcans Howl  10:44, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * This looks far more confirmed than anything else we've had so far. Let's lock in new heat dates. Some thoughts:


 * Nuts 2, Jellyfish, Rapid, TMHWK, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz, Aftershock, and Crank-E - I would say that Crank-E is Kill-E-Crank-E's new form, I didn't expect to get them back, nice to see Team Cold Fusion's legacy continue! Love seeing TMHWK back, enormously indifferent on Sabretooth, and I'm hoping for another shot for Terrorhurtz. Love the sound of Jellyfish even whilst knowing nothing about it.
 * No pit release - I hope this means an always open pit, instead of the highly arbitrary "auto release" of Series 4. The pit was barely used in the last series, so I'm all for this.
 * Rogue House Robot mode sounds very lame and brings back very bad "Killalot kills Killertron" vibes. Don't like the sound of that at all. Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  10:46, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * You misunderstand, TG. There is still a pit release. Pressing the tyre can result in either or - it's a gamble. Besides, the pit can't be "always open" because it wasn't during BOTS. CrashBash (talk) 10:50, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * So change the dates and should we start adding the episode 1 competitors or wait on that?--Voyanuitoa (talk) 10:49, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * Oh yep, I re-read about the Pit. Been a long day at work.


 * Voy, let Toast handle it, he's got most of them pre-written. But I'd say wait until we get the official site release and there's something to say. Nuts, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz and TMHWK can all have their current pages updated to say "series 9" competitors though.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  11:02, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * I've updated the competitor template. CrashBash (talk) 11:10, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * The Rogue House Robot thing is put int to potentially prevent robots just pressing the pit button and shoving their opponent in straight away. Until we see it in action, I'm 50/50 about it, but I understand the logic behind it. First episode looks good. Terrorhurtz and Nuts have a grudge match, and if Crank-E is Team Cold Fusion, then we have 3 from Episode 1 last series in Episode 1 again. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 11:10, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * It seems like an interesting idea, to say the least. I also imagine it's also partly to allow the House Robots more action because, for what it's worth, they did very little in Series 8. CrashBash (talk) 11:12, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * Also, I'm guessing Aftershock might be the "seed", as it sounds like Team Shock? J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 11:14, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * I remember #aftershockiscoming so I'm 95% certain that it is Team Shock. CaliforniaKingsnake (talk) 13:00, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * Well at least that answers the "Who is the first seed" question then. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 18:37, February 22, 2017 (UTC)

http://www.radiotimes.com/tv/tv-listings/?sd=26-02-2017 Radio Times now have a special episode of Dragons Den listed for BBC Two at 7pm 26th February. I think it is safe to say now that March 5th is the correct day now.--Voyanuitoa (talk) 11:17, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * There was also a TV advert saying Robot Wars would return in "March". My source? My parents as it turns out, but it seems they were right on this occasion. CrashBash (talk) 11:25, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * No excuses for Sabretooth this time. They need to deliver. The idea for the Rogue House Robot could be good or it could be bad; I fell like Dead Metal and Matilda passed the grade, but Sir Killalot and Shunt not-so-much. Looking at this list though, I predict Terrorhurtz or Aftershock will win the heat, although I know next to nothing about Nuts 2 (not expecting much), Crank-E or Rapid. Jellyfish though? Hmm... R  a z  3   r (talk) 13:43, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * Did you really say Shunt didn't do much last series? I would argue it did the most out of all the House Robots, I would rate it like this 1.Shunt 2.Matilda 3.Dead Metal 4.Sir Killalot Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 13:57, February 16, 2017 (UTC)


 * So excited to see Aftershock in action, because I've already seen its design, and it's beautiful. Although it did well in terms of endurance last series, I think Nuts will be found out in its melee this time around. Sabretooth should be able to rack up a couple of televised wins, and Terrorhurtz should make the heat final. Can see it coming down to Aftershock and Terrorhurtz, but it promises to be an explosive first heat either way. Oh yeah, and I'd love TMHWK to do something, but a decent melee performance - i.e. surviving most of the battle, would be enough for the robot on my honourable mentions list for favourite robots. Nweston8 (talk) 14:01, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * I can't wait to see Aftershock. Jellyfish and Rapid are the ones I look forward to seeing just so I can actually see what the hell they look like. Terrorhurtz will be destructive as ever, and Sabretooth will hopefully do well. CaliforniaKingsnake (talk) 14:06, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * I'm curious and excited about Aftershock, and glad that Terrorhurtz is having another chance at the title. Let's hope John Reid gets the axe working properly this time round. Vulcans Howl  14:17, February 16, 2017 (UTC)

Shouldn't someone add the Series 9 template onto the articles? Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 13:52, February 16, 2017 (UTC)

https://www.facebook.com/UKRobotWars/posts/796143087216709 Confirmed 5th of March, going to update relevant pages now.--Voyanuitoa (talk) 14:12, February 16, 2017 (UTC)

Series Record
I don't think we should change the confirmed robots to "Entered" on their pages, as it won't stay that way. Saves us making edits which will just get changed in the future. J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 14:48, February 16, 2017 (UTC)
 * It's not that much work. The hype train approach is to update everything and change it later. Pages like Killerhurtz need to say Entered with Terrorhurtz no matter what. Don't worry about it. T  OAS  T  14:54, February 16, 2017 (UTC)

Website
So the website is apparently going to be updated this week, it's also worth noting they'll probably be adding competitors on a weekly basis. This is possibly why we only know of week 1s robots as opposed to the whole list. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 20:10, February 19, 2017 (UTC)

Extended Trailer
A new Series 9 trailer has just surfaced on the BBC website, showing the House Robots getting to grips with a Vauxhall Corsa and an Elvis bobblehead... Vulcans Howl 19:01, February 20, 2017 (UTC)
 * Pretty fun trailer, definitely shows their size. Also I hate Vauxhalls, so that's an added bonus. CaliforniaKingsnake (talk) 19:17, February 20, 2017 (UTC)
 * Who knew Elvis was in Series 9 :P Diotoir  the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 19:31, February 20, 2017 (UTC)
 * The kicker? That was Dead Metal's car. He's gonna be so furious once he finds out. CrashBash (talk) 19:42, February 20, 2017 (UTC)
 * According to Google, the average engine weighs at least 150kg. Looks more impressive in the video. --Voyanuitoa (talk) 19:48, February 20, 2017 (UTC)
 * A shortened version of the trailer is also making the rounds on BBC One/Two. Just saw it immediately after An Island Parish, although word from the Facebook group says that they first started showing it a couple of days ago. I have to say, that trailer is an impressive showcase for the current House Robots, IMO. Vulcans Howl  21:07, February 20, 2017 (UTC)

Confirmed Competitors
It seems the teams are confirming their appearance in Robot Wars Series 9. Draven, Eruption and Aftershock (whom we already knew) have confirmed entry. I told Toast about Draven and Eruption (so far Draven was edited) so if anyone else likes to update articles go ahead (though Eruption may be edited by Toast). Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 15:59, February 22, 2017 (UTC)

Episode 2!!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/11/robot-wars Cherub (with team picture) PP3D,Behemoth,Eruption,Draven,Hobgoblin and Cobra. Diotoir the  son  of  nemesis  (talk) 11:42, February 23, 2017 (UTC)