Nickelodeon Robot Wars

Announcer: "You want adorable baby animals?"

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

— Promotional Advert

Nickelodeon Robot Wars was a spin-off of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, the US version of Robot Wars. It was first broadcast on Nickelodeon between August and September 2002 as part of their "Nickelodeon SLAM!" programming block, and was later rerun on Nick GaS (Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids). Filmed at the same time as the second season of Extreme Warriors, the one-off series ran for six episodes, and featured competitor robots from both seasons of Extreme Warriors and Series 5 of the UK series, including loanerbots leant to some of the teams that had also competed in Extreme Warriors. As with the Minor Meltdown, the competitor robots were driven by children.

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 series competitors.

Presenters

The show was presented by Dave Aizer, with Vivianne Collins of You're On! serving as pit reporter. Commentary was provided by Stefan Frank, who provided commentary for both seasons of Extreme Warriors.

Format

Nickelodeon Robot Wars followed a similar concept to Robot Wars Extreme and the first season 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) series of Robot Wars had between five to seven fights in a usual episode, the time constraints brought by the programme's timeslot meant that the Nickelodeon version could only have four battles per episode.

Episode Guide

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/Episode Guide

Changes and Censorship

To appeal to younger viewers, a few changes specific to the Nickelodeon series were made during production. Although the arena remained the same as in the regular UK and US versions, all of the fire hazards, such as the Flame Pit and side fire jets, were disabled and replaced with CO₂ jets. However, clips showing the Flame Pit spouting fire in UK Series 4 and US Season 2 were still used in the House Robot introductions throughout this series, especially in Sir Killalot/Sir K.'s introduction. The Drop Zone was changed as well, with the objects used being less serious ones such as assortments of balls and old scrap metal.

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; however, the Nickelodeon series would occasionally use clips of him with his flamethrower still enabled. Sir Killalot was also renamed "Sir K." - a name by which he was commonly referred to in video games and the original UK Robot Wars Magazine - potentially as a result of his original name being considered unsuitable for younger audiences. Instead of statistics boards, some video clips from both UK and US versions of the show were used when the House Robots were introduced.

Major Competitions

US Championship

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/US Championship

The US Championship formed the first episode of the series, and was a straightforward knockout tournament between robots fighting to become the Nickelodeon US Champion. Due to time restrictions, this championship was significantly smaller than any other Robot Wars national championship, with only four robots competing. The format of the Nickelodeon US Championship was similar to the Grand Finals of the original UK series, consisting of two one-on-one 'Eliminators', a playoff (known as the Bonus Battle) and a Grand Final.

Robots Competing: Ninjitsu, Phantasm, Probophobia, Tyranabot.

Eliminators

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

Bonus Battle

Ninjitsu vs Phantasm: Ninjitsu won

Final

Tyranabot vs Probophobia: Tyranabot won

International Tag Team Terror

Main article: Nickelodeon Robot Wars/International Tag Team Terror

As its name suggests, this tournament combined elements of the Tag Team Terror and War of Independence competitions found in other versions of the show. Eight robots - four American and four British - were paired into teams to battle each other in two-on-two battles. Only one robot from each team was allowed in the arena at a time and the teams could switch robots by 'tagging' them. In common with the UK Series 4 Tag Team Terror, the International Tag Team Terror featured two first-round 'Eliminators', a playoff and a final between the 'Eliminator' winners.

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 Nickelodeon Annihilator was held to a similar format to those found in other versions of the show, but with five robots rather than six, allowing for only four rounds. The rules for the Annihilator remained the same as in other versions; five robots began the competition, with one being eliminated from each round until only one robot was left standing.

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.

Original 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.