Changes: Nickelodeon Robot Wars

Revision as of 09:05, 24 July 2013

Nickelodeon Robot Wars was a spin-off of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, the US version of Robot Wars. It was first broadcast on Nickelodeon in 2002, as part of their programming block known as "Nickelodeon SLAM!". It was filmed at the same time as Season 2 of Extreme Warriors, the competition consisting of whatever robots were still available to fight after the Extreme Warriors events. It was a one-off special series in which the robots were driven by children (similar to the Minor Meltdown in the UK Series), and only six episodes were ever made. Like Extreme Warriors, Nickelodeon Robot Wars was filmed in the main Robot Wars Arena in London, despite being for an American audience and featuring US competitors.

Presenters

The show was presented by Dave Aizer, with Vivianne Collins of You're on! serving as pit reporter. Commentary was provided by Extreme Warriors commentator Stefan Frank.

Format

Nickelodeon Robot Wars ran a lot like Robot Wars Extreme and the first series of Extreme Warriors, with seven various competitions held over the six shows. Three shows were each dedicated to one competition (US Championship, International Tag Team Terror and Annihilator), whilst the other three shows featured an assortment of the other competitions. A significant difference was that whilst the regular US (and indeed the UK) Robot Wars had anything from five to seven fights in a usual show, the time restraints for the programme's slot meant that the Nickelodeon version could only have four.

Episode Guide

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/Episode Guide

Changes and Censorship

To appeal to the younger generation, a few changes were made in production. Although the arena was the same as it was in the regular version, all of the fire hazards, such as the flame pit and side fire jets, were disabled and replaced with CO2 jets. The drop zone was changed as well, with the hazards used being the less-serious ones, such as bowling balls and old car parts.

Some of the House Robots were altered as well. Like the other fire hazards, the flamethrower of Sergeant Bash was disabled, making his pincers his only weapon. Sir Killalot was also renamed "Sir K.", a name he was commonly referred to in the original UK Robot Wars Magazine. Instead of a statboard, some video clips from both versions of the show were used when the House Robots were introduced.

Events

US Championship

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/US Championship

This tournament had a whole episode dedicated to it. Because of time restrictions, it was significantly smaller than most normal national championships, with only four robots competing. Much like the Grand Final of the UK series, there were two one-on-one eliminators, a playoff and a grand final.

Robots Competing: Ninjitsu, Phantasm, Probophobia, Tyranabot.

Eliminators

Tyranabot vs Ninjitsu: Tyranabot won
Phantasm vs Probophobia: Probophobia won

Playoff

Ninjitsu vs Phantasm: Ninjitsu won

Final

Tyranabot vs Probophobia: Tyranabot won

International Tag Team Terror

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/International Tag Team Terror

This tournament was, essentially, a combination of the Tag Team Terror and the War of Independence, where eight robots, four American and four British, were paired into teams to battle each other. Only one robot from each team was allowed in the arena at a time and the teams could switch robots by 'tagging' them.

Teams Competing:

USA: The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor, Zanzara & Run Away
UK: Ming 3 & Rick, Bigger Brother & Kat 3

Eliminators

The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor vs Zanzara & Run Away: The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor won
Ming 3 & Rick vs Bigger Brother & Kat 3: Ming 3 & Rick won

Playoff

Zanzara & Run Away vs Bigger Brother & Kat 3: Bigger Brother & Kat 3 won

Final

The Revolutionist & Spin Doctor vs Ming 3 & Rick: Ming 3 & Rick won

Mayhem

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/Mayhem

In the Mayhem, three robots fought against each other, with the winners qualifying for an "Ultimate Mayhem" later in the series.

Robots Competing: Diskotek, Joker, Propeller-Head, Rigby, Rosie the Riveter 2, Techno Trousers, The Revolutionist, Vert-I-Go, Xylon

Mayhems

Propeller-Head vs Rosie the Riveter 2 vs Xylon: Propeller-Head won
Joker vs Techno Trousers vs Vert-I-Go: Vert-I-Go won
Diskotek vs Rigby vs The Revolutionist: The Revolutionist won

Ultimate Mayhem

Propeller-Head vs Vert-I-Go vs The Revolutionist: Propeller-Head won

Vengeance

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/Vengeance

This series of battles featured two robots who had a score to settle fighting each other.

Robots Competing: Bunny Attack, Destructive Criticism, Hoot, Joker, Ninjitsu, Probophobia, Spin Doctor, Xylon

Battles

Bunny Attack vs Hoot: Bunny Attack won
Ninjitsu vs Destructive Criticism: Ninjitsu won
Probophobia vs Spin Doctor: Probophobia won
Xylon vs Joker: Xylon won

Challenge Belt

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/Challenge Belt

In this competition, Tyranabot was given a special "belt". Any robot could fight it for the belt, and whoever won would keep it. In order to win the belt outright, three challenges had to be won.

Holder: Tyranabot
Challengers (in order of challenge): Tut Tut, Rosie the Riveter 2, Probophobia

Challenges

Tyranabot vs Tut Tut: Tut Tut won
Tut Tut vs Rosie the Riveter 2: Tut Tut won
Tut Tut vs Probophobia: Tut Tut won

House Robot Rebellion

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/House Robot Rebellion

In this one-off battle, two robots were given the chance to take on Dead Metal, Shunt and Sir Killalot (Sir K.).

Squirmin Vermin & Humdrum vs Dead Metal, Shunt & Sir K.

Winners: Dead Metal, Shunt & Sir K.

Annihilator

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/Annihilator

The annihilator was held in a similar format to the regular annihilators, but with five robots rather than six, to allow for only four battles. The rules were still the same, with one robot eliminated from each round until only one was left.

Robots Competing: Basenji, Bunny Attack, Hannibal, Techno Trousers, The Piecemaker

Fifth: Techno Trousers
Fourth: Basenji
Third: The Piecemaker
Runner-up: Bunny Attack
Winner: Hannibal

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==Changes and Censorship==
-To appeal to the younger generation, a few changes were made in production. Although the arena was the same as it was in the regular version, all of the fire hazards, such as the flame pit and side fire jets, were disabled. The drop zone was changed as well, with the hazards used being the less-serious ones, such as bowling balls and old car parts.
+To appeal to the younger generation, a few changes were made in production. Although the arena was the same as it was in the regular version, all of the fire hazards, such as the flame pit and side fire jets, were disabled and replaced with CO2 jets. The drop zone was changed as well, with the hazards used being the less-serious ones, such as bowling balls and old car parts.
 Some of the House Robots were altered as well. Like the other fire hazards, the flamethrower of [[Sergeant Bash]] was disabled, making his pincers his only weapon. [[Sir Killalot]] was also renamed "Sir K.", a name he was commonly referred to in the original UK [[Robot Wars Magazine]]. Instead of a statboard, some video clips from both versions of the show were used when the House Robots were introduced.