Changes: Robot Wars: Series 9

Revision as of 23:17, 12 October 2017

Series 9 of Robot Wars 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 as Series 8. The previous year's House Robots returned, as well as the reigning champion Apollo^[1].

Episode 1 aired on Sunday 5th March, 2017 at 7pm^[2]. It continued for the four following Sundays, missed one week due to a clash with coverage of the final day of the 2017 Augusta Masters, one of Golf's Major Tournaments, on BBC Two, before airing the Grand Final on April 16th.

History

The series was first confirmed through online articles released in the early hours of October 11, 2016^[3].

Applications for competing teams closed on October 21st. The series was filmed in one block in December 2016, from the 2nd to the 7th^[4]. The filming block included 2016's Christmas Special, 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 February 10th, 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 February 16th by the BBC^[11], also confirming the eight competitors in Episode 1. On February 18th, an extended trailer aired after Match of the Day, where Sir Killalot, Shunt & Matilda destroyed a Vauxhall Corsa.

On February 22nd, 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 April 5th-8th, 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 April 16th.

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 1

Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat 1

Robots competing: Aftershock, Crank-E, Jellyfish, Nuts 2, Rapid, Sabretooth, Terrorhurtz, TMHWK

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-Head battles

Sabretooth vs Terrorhurtz: Sabretooth won by KO
Aftershock vs Rapid: Aftershock won by KO (After this battle, Rapid withdrew 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 2

Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat 2

Robots competing: Behemoth, Cherub, Cobra, Draven, Eruption, Hobgoblin, PP3D, Push to Exit

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-Head battles

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 3

Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat 3

Robots competing: Chimera 2, Concussion, Expulsion, Foxic, Heavy Metal, M.R. Speed Squared, Tauron, Thor

Round 1

Expulsion vs M.R. Speed Squared vs Foxic vs Heavy Metal: M.R. Speed Squared and Heavy Metal qualified
Thor vs Chimera2 vs Concussion vs Tauron: Thor and Concussion qualified

Head-to-Head battles

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 4

Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat 4

Robots competing: Apex, Crushtacean, Frostbite, HIGH-5, Ironside3, Pulsar, Supernova, Wyrm

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-Head battles

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)

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 5

Main article: Robot Wars: Series 9/Heat 5

Robots competing: Apollo, Carbide, Coyote, Crackers 'n' Smash, Meggamouse, Ms Nightshade, Rusty, Trolley Rage

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-Head battles

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

Round 1

Aftershock vs Apollo vs Eruption: Aftershock and Eruption qualified
Carbide vs Concussion vs Ironside3: Carbide and Ironside3 qualified

Head-to-Head battles

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 December 28-29th.

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

Robot Wars - Battle of the Stars- Preview - BBC

Robot Wars Series 9 Teaser Trailer - BBC Two

Robot Wars Series 9 Extended Trailer - BBC Two

"I love the smell of the Robot Wars arena in the morning" - Robot Wars 2017 Episode 1 Preview - BBC

Trivia

No competing teams in Series 9 made their UK championship debut in Series 3.
- If Team Outlaw are considered Series 3 debutants, then none of Series 9's competing teams debuted in Series 4.
The Wilhelm Scream stock sound effect is heard during the introduction sequence.
Series 9 became the second series, after Series 4, to feature a Grand Final with the runner up.
The Grand Final battle in Series 9 was the first not to go to a judges' decision since Series 3.

References

External Links

[1] ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/robot-wars?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_press_office&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=corporate

[2] ttps://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/834418838108241920

[3] ttp://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-11/the-new-robot-wars-will-return-for-a-second-series

[4] ttps://www.facebook.com/UKRobotWars/?fref=nf

[5] ttps://twitter.com/NoelSharkey/status/804475189442514945

[6] ttps://twitter.com/DrLucyRogers/status/801826222758043648

[7] ttps://twitter.com/NoelSharkey/status/804648406463324161

[8] ttps://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/505287449751025/?notif_t=group_activity&notif_id=1476052083606516

[9] Series 9 Teaser Trailer

[10] Alternate version of the Series 9 teaser

[11] ttps://www.facebook.com/UKRobotWars/posts/796143087216709

[12] ttps://www.facebook.com/Dravenrobot/videos/1781803485170585

[13] ttps://twitter.com/EruptionRobot/status/834426328518684674

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 ==Format==
-The format is the same as that of Series 8, the first time a series has followed the same format as a previous series, containing six episodes; five qualifying episodes and a Grand Final, with a sixth finalist being chosen as a wildcard by the Judges. There are eight robots per heat, of the forty in total.
+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 fight 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 is used, where the four robots which qualified out of the first round in each episode will 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 is 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 fight again in the Heat Final.
+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==