Robot Wars: Series 9 (also referred to as Season 9 and retrospectively as The Ninth Wars[1]) aired in early 2017, returning to the Glasgow arena used in the previous series. The series was again hosted by Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon, with commentary from Jonathan Pearce, also featuring the same Judges and House Robots as Series 8.
Episode 1 aired on Sunday 5 March 2017 at 7pm[2]. It continued for the four following Sundays, missing one week due to a clash with coverage of the final day of the 2017 Augusta Masters golf tournament on BBC Two, before the Grand Final aired on 16 April.
Following its initial transmission, Series 9 has also enjoyed occasional reruns on BBC Two and periods of availability on BBC iPlayer, most recently until the early morning of 5 November 2021.
As of early 2024, the main Series 9 and Battle of the Stars specials (see below) are available to stream on Mech+.
History[]
The series was first confirmed through online articles released in the early hours of 11 October 2016[3].
Applications for competing teams closed on 21 October. The series was filmed in one block from 2 December to 7 December 2016[4]. The filming block included 2016's Christmas Specials, Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars, and the main series, airing at a later date.
As they were not announced in any press packs, as was the case with Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon, Judges Professor Noel Sharkey and Dr Lucy Rogers confirmed their involvement via Twitter[5][6], Noel Sharkey also confirming Sethu Vijayakumar's involvement[7]. The return of Jonathan Pearce was confirmed by the UK Robot Wars Facebook account[8].
The first teaser trailer for the series aired on 10 February 2017[9], officially referring to the series as Series 9 for the first time, and confirming that the series would air soon. Two alternate versions of the trailer exist with different background music- the first version uses "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift, whilst the second uses "The River (Dubstep Remix)" by Blues Saraceno.[10]
The airdate of the series was first revealed on 16 February by the BBC[11], also confirming the eight competitors in Episode 1. On 18 February an extended trailer aired after Match of the Day, where Sir Killalot, Shunt and Matilda destroyed a Vauxhall Corsa.
On 22 February competing teams were given permission to confirm their participation in the series, and release official imagery. Draven was the first robot to be revealed this way[12], followed by Eruption[13].
From 5 - 8 April, How to Build a Robot was released online, featuring robots from Series 9 while promoting applications for future series. The main series finished airing on 16 April.
Format[]
The format was the same as that of Series 8, the first time a series had followed the exact same format as a previous series, containing six episodes; five qualifying heats and a Grand Final, with a sixth finalist being chosen as a wildcard by the Judges. There were eight robots per heat, of the forty in total.
Four robots fought in each first-round qualifier, of which there are two per heat, allowing two robots to qualify through them. In the second round, a round robin format was used, where the four robots which qualified out of the first round in each episode would all face each other in a head-to-head battle, even if they had already met in the first round. A certain number of points was given to a robot, based on whether it lost (0 points), won via KO (3 points), or won via Judges' decision (2 points). The two robots with the most points fought again in the Heat Final.
Episodes[]
Heat A[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat A
Robots competing: Aftershock, Crank-E, Jellyfish, Nuts 2, Rapid, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz, TMHWK
Group Battles (Round 1)
- Jellyfish vs Nuts 2 vs Rapid vs Terrorhurtz: Rapid and Terrorhurtz qualified
- Aftershock vs Crank-E vs Sabretooth vs TMHWK: Aftershock and Sabretooth qualified
Head-to-Heads (Round 2)
- Sabretooth vs Terrorhurtz: Sabretooth won by KO
- Aftershock vs Rapid: Aftershock won by KO (Rapid withdrew following this battle and was replaced by Jellyfish)
- Aftershock vs Sabretooth: Aftershock won by KO
- Terrorhurtz vs Jellyfish: Terrorhurtz won by KO
- Aftershock vs Terrorhurtz: Aftershock won by KO
- Jellyfish vs Sabretooth: Jellyfish won by Judges' decision
Heat Final
- Aftershock vs Sabretooth: Aftershock won
Heat B[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat B
Robots competing: Behemoth, Cherub, Cobra, Draven, Eruption, Hobgoblin, PP3D, Push to Exit
Group Battles (Round 1)
- Behemoth vs Cobra vs Eruption vs Hobgoblin: Behemoth and Eruption qualified
- Cherub vs Draven vs PP3D vs Push to Exit: Cherub and PP3D qualified
Head-to-Heads (Round 2)
- Behemoth vs Eruption: Eruption won by KO
- Cherub vs PP3D: Cherub won by Judges' decision
- Cherub vs Eruption: Eruption won by KO
- Behemoth vs PP3D: Behemoth won by KO
- Eruption vs PP3D: Eruption won by KO
- Behemoth vs Cherub: Cherub won by Judges' decision
Heat Final
- Eruption vs Cherub: Eruption won
Heat C[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat C
Robots competing: Chimera 2, Concussion, Expulsion, Foxic, Heavy Metal, M.R. Speed Squared, Tauron, Thor
Group Battles (Round 1)
- Thor vs Chimera2 vs Concussion vs Tauron: Thor and Concussion qualified
- Expulsion vs M.R. Speed Squared vs Foxic vs Heavy Metal: M.R. Speed Squared and Heavy Metal qualified
Head-to-Heads (Round 2)
- Concussion vs Thor: Concussion won by KO
- Heavy Metal vs M.R. Speed Squared: Heavy Metal won by KO
- Concussion vs Heavy Metal: Concussion won by KO
- M.R. Speed Squared vs Thor: Thor won by KO
- Concussion vs M.R. Speed Squared: Concussion won by Judges' decision
- Heavy Metal vs Thor: Thor won by KO
Heat Final
- Concussion vs Thor: Concussion won
Heat D[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat D
Robots competing: Apex, Crushtacean, Frostbite, HIGH-5, Ironside3, Pulsar, Supernova, Wyrm
Group Battles (Round 1)
- Frostbite vs HIGH-5 vs Supernova vs Wyrm: Frostbite and Supernova qualified
- Apex vs Crushtacean vs Ironside3 vs Pulsar: Ironside3 and Pulsar qualified
Head-to-Heads (Round 2)
- Frostbite vs Supernova: Supernova won by KO (After this battle, Frostbite withdrew and was replaced by Wyrm)
- Ironside3 vs Pulsar: No winner declared (2 points were awarded to each robot following a countdown timer glitch)
- Pulsar vs Supernova: Pulsar won by KO
- Ironside3 vs Wyrm: Ironside3 won by KO
- Pulsar vs Wyrm: Pulsar won by KO
- Ironside3 vs Supernova: Ironside3 won by KO
Heat Final
- Ironside3 vs Pulsar: Ironside3 won
Heat E[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat E
Robots competing: Apollo, Carbide, Coyote, Crackers 'n' Smash, Meggamouse, Ms Nightshade, Rusty, Trolley Rage
Group Battles (Round 1)
- Apollo vs Coyote vs Ms Nightshade vs Rusty: Apollo and Coyote qualified
- Carbide vs Crackers 'n' Smash vs Meggamouse vs Trolley Rage: Carbide and Crackers 'n' Smash qualified
Head-to-Heads (Round 2)
- Apollo vs Carbide: Carbide won by KO
- Crackers 'n' Smash vs Coyote: Crackers 'n' Smash won by KO
- Apollo vs Coyote: Apollo won by KO
- Carbide vs Crackers 'n' Smash: Carbide won by mid-match forfeit
- Carbide vs Coyote: Carbide won by KO
- Apollo vs Crackers 'n' Smash: Apollo won by Judges' decision
Heat Final
- Apollo vs Carbide: Carbide won
Grand Final[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Grand Final
Robots competing: Aftershock, Eruption, Concussion, Ironside3, Carbide
Wildcard Choices
NOTE: The available choices for the Wildcard were the Heat Finalists, Sabretooth, Cherub, Thor, Pulsar and Apollo.
Wild Card: Apollo
Group Battles (Round 1)
- Aftershock vs Apollo vs Eruption: Aftershock and Eruption qualified
- Carbide vs Concussion vs Ironside3: Carbide and Ironside3 qualified
Head-to-Heads (Round 2)
- Eruption vs Ironside3: Eruption won by KO
- Aftershock vs Carbide: Carbide won by KO
- Carbide vs Eruption: Carbide won by KO
- Aftershock vs Ironside3: Ironside3 won by KO
- Carbide vs Ironside3: Carbide won by KO
- Aftershock vs Eruption: Eruption won by KO
Grand Final
- Carbide vs Eruption: Carbide won
Whiteboard Matches[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Whiteboard matches
During the filming of the main series, a number of non-championship battles took place to entertain the audience during filming. These "whiteboard matches" were largely untelevised, with clips sometimes being used in the opening sequence of the show.
Robots Competing: Behemoth, Gabriel, TR2
- Behemoth vs Gabriel: No winner declared
- Behemoth vs TR2 (Angela Scanlon vs Dara Ó Briain): No winner declared
- Behemoth vs TR2: TR2 won
Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars
Although not officially part of any series, Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars, a two-part celebrity special, was filmed alongside Series 9, and aired on 28 and 29 December.
Episode 1[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars/Episode 1
Episode 2[]
- Main article: Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars/Episode 2
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- No competing teams in Series 9 made their UK championship debut in Series 3.
- If Team Outlaw are considered Series 3 debutants due to Velocirippa competing in the Robotic Soccer, then none of Series 9's competing teams debuted in Series 4.
- The opening sequence includes the famous Wilhelm scream stock sound effect.
- Series 9 became the second series, after Series 4, to feature a Grand Final where the runner-up of the previous series qualified.
- The Grand Final battle in Series 9 was the first not to go to a judges' decision since Series 3.
- The series was released on DVD as part of Robot Wars - The Complete Compendium 2017.
References[]
- ↑ Facebook video of Carbide vs Eruption (Series 9, Grand Final, Final), 24 November 2023, uploaded by UK Robot Wars
- ↑ https://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/834418838108241920
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-11/the-new-robot-wars-will-return-for-a-second-series
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/UKRobotWars/?fref=nf
- ↑ https://twitter.com/NoelSharkey/status/804475189442514945
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DrLucyRogers/status/801826222758043648
- ↑ https://twitter.com/NoelSharkey/status/804648406463324161
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/505287449751025/?notif_t=group_activity¬if_id=1476052083606516
- ↑ Series 9 Teaser Trailer
- ↑ Alternate version of the Series 9 teaser
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/UKRobotWars/posts/796143087216709
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/Dravenrobot/videos/1781803485170585
- ↑ https://twitter.com/EruptionRobot/status/834426328518684674
External Links[]
- Robot Wars: Series 9 on Mech+
- Robot Wars Official website
- UK Robot Wars Facebook page
- UK Robot Wars Twitter
- Robot Wars YouTube channel
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