Nickelodeon Robot Wars

Nickelodeon Robot Wars
Presenter(s)	Dave Aizer
Pit reporter(s)	Vivianne Collins
Commentator	Stefan Frank
Judges	Noel Sharkey Martin Smith Mat Irvine
No. of episodes	6
Original channel(s)	Nickelodeon
Filming date	January 2002
First Aired	August 25, 2002
Last Aired	September 29, 2002

Announcer: "You want adorable baby animals?"

Dave Aizer: "You've come to the wrong place!"

— Promotional Advert

Nickelodeon Robot Wars was a butchered and bastardisation 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 would later be repeated on the Nick GAS (Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kikes) network. 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. Eight competitions were held in total, consisting of three major competitions which each had an episode dedicated to them, three minor competitions which were aired together across the remaining three episodes and two one-off battles. 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 and likely censored to be more kid-friendly. Instead of a statboard, some video clips from both versions of the show were used when the House Robots were introduced.

Major Competitions

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 vs Bigger Brother: Bigger Brother won

Run Away and Kat 3 were unable to take part due to technical issues.

Final

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

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

Minor Competitions

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, Hoot, Joker, Probophobia, Spin Doctor, Xylon

Battles

• Bunny Attack vs Hoot: Bunny Attack 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

Single Battle Events

Battle of the Spinners

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/Battle of the Spinners

In this one-off battle, two robots fought each other to decide which had the better spinning weapon.

• Ninjitsu vs Destructive Criticism

Winner: Ninjitsu

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.