Robot Wars: The Fifth Wars/Heat G

Heat G
The Robot Wars logo from the introduction titles
Series	The Fifth Wars
Winner(s)	Spawn Again
First Broadcast	May 14th 2002 (BBC Choice) August 23rd 2002 (BBC Two)
Original channel	BBC Choice BBC Two
Preceded by	Heat F
Succeeded by	Heat H

Heat G of Robot Wars: The Fifth Wars was the seventh of twelve heats which determined the Semi-Finalists of Robot Wars: The Fifth Wars. The episode was originally broadcast on May 14, 2002 on BBC Choice and repeated on August 23, 2002 on BBC Two.

Competing Robots

Newcomers

	Dome
	Weight	91kg
	Dimensions	0.68 x 1.07 x 1.07m
	Power	24V electric motors
	Weapons	Pneumatic trebuchet
	Strengths	Previous warzone experience
	Weaknesses	No self-righting mechanism
From: St John's
Team Members: David Sweeney, Bella Boyd & Jim Boyd

	Evolution
	Weight	95kg
	Dimensions	0.95 x 0.91 x 1.78m
	Power	24V electric motors
	Weapons	Rotating twin blades
	Strengths	Can pull a car
	Weaknesses	Lack of offensive weaponry
From: Ockwell Park
Team Members: Alistair Hare & Katie Hare

	Hydra
	Weight	100kg
	Dimensions	0.4 x 1.1 x 0.78m
	Power	2 x 750W electric motors
	Weapons	Front scoop & central flipper
	Strengths	Powerful & durable
	Weaknesses	First time competitors
From: East Hagbourne
Team Members: Dennis Leadbetter, Andrew Leadbetter & Frances Leadbetter

	Sabretooth
	Weight	99kg
	Dimensions	0.63 x 1.07 x 0.73m
	Power	2 x 24V servo motors
	Weapons	Giant shredding blade
	Strengths	Destructive weaponry
	Weaknesses	Overall durability
From: Haslemere
Team Members: Gabriel Stroud, Rob Pickford & Polly Parr

Veterans

	Diotoir
	Weight	93kg
	Dimensions	1.17 x 1.04 x 0.39m
	Power	36V Motor
	Weapons	Wedge & scoop
	Strengths	Low ground clearance
	Weaknesses	Flammable
From: Clondalkin, Ireland
Team Members: Peter Redmond, Joe Gavin & Dr Zulu

	Gravedigger
	Weight	89kg
	Dimensions	0.82m x 1.12 x 0.7m
	Power	24V electric motors
	Weapons	Double headed axe
	Strengths	Good driving control
	Weaknesses	Reliability
From: Thorpe St. Andrew
Team Members: Jonathan Chaplin, Dave Chaplin & Chris Peacher

	Spawn Again (seeded 13th)
	Weight	79kg
	Dimensions	1.25 x 0.85 x 0.5m
	Power	12V electric motors
	Weapons	High powered flipper & spike
	Strengths	4 Wheel drive
	Weaknesses	Comparatively light
From: East Tilbury
Team Members: Darren Ball, Graham Warner & Luke Jackman

	Tornado (seeded 12th)
	Weight	97kg
	Dimensions	0.85 x 0.7 x 0.25m
	Power	2 x 750W motors
	Weapons	2000RPM spinning disc
	Strengths	Invertible
	Weaknesses	Easily flipped
From: Huntingdon
Team Members: Andrew Marchant, David Gamble & Bryan Moss

Eliminators

"What a battle to start with. Tornado and Gravedigger, both previous semi-finalists. Diotoir, crowd favourite against a new machine Dome. Two newcomers, Evolution and Sabretooth and then back again, Spawn Again meeting up with the snake eyed Hydra."

— Jonathan Pearce reviewing the competitors in the heat and how they line up in the first round

Tornado (12) vs Gravedigger

The former semi-finalists lock horns

Gravedigger axes Tornado

Gravedigger missed its first blow with the axe but managed to get a few on Tornado. Tornado then got around the side of the wedge-shaped machine ramming it into the arena wall and then shoved it into another wall where its machinery stopped working.

"It's a little irritant in the arena, Tornado, whips up a little storm of its own."

— Jonathan Pearce as Tornado continues to shove Gravedigger

Gravedigger is "cremated" on the Flame Pit by Sir Killalot

Gravedigger is "buried" in the pit, this marking its last appearance on Robot Wars

Gravedigger was then counted out by Refbot, Sir Killalot then took the Series 3 semi-finalist to the flame pit to be "cremated" and then dumped it into the pit where it was "buried".

""RIP" in Robot Wars terms means "rust in pieces". Gravedigger, in a ball of smoke, no more."

— Jonathan Pearce as Tornado pits Gravedigger

Winner: Tornado

Diotoir vs Dome

The Dome rolls into submission

Immediately as the two machines approached each other rather sluggishly, Diotoir overturned Dome with its scoop, where the latter couldn't self-right. The Irish robot then proceeded to shove Dome down the pit, eliminating it from the competition and giving Diotoir an easy win.

"Dome... about as successful as the Millennium Dome."

— Craig Charles on Dome's poor performance

Winner: Diotoir

Evolution vs Sabretooth

Sabretooth damages Evolution, but loses its weaponry

Evolution started defending itself by revolving its spinning head, with Sabretooth cautiously approaching it before charging into it. Sabretooth struck Evolution's MDF body, causing shards to scatter, but in the process, Sabretooth snagged a loose string of material, and lost its weaponry.

"You could see them whirling away, caught on the body of Evolution, and then stopped turning."

— Jonathan Pearce on Sabretooth's weaponry

Both robots then ran rings around each other, having no real means offence between them, before both became locked together, and stood still.

Sergeant Bash attacks Evolution

Sir Killalot grapples with Evolution

Sgt. Bash then came out of his CPZ and crumpled into the wooden bodywork of Evolution with its pincer, to the disbelief of Jonathan Pearce, and then Sir Killalot also attacked Evolution, bending its turret which resulted in Refbot giving both house robots a yellow card.

"What have they got against Evolution!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Sir Killalot buckles Evolution's turret shaft

With neither robot truly active at the end, the battle was sent to a Judges' decision.

"Killalot and Sergeant Bash both get yellow cards! They were obviously not happy with that fight; it was a little bit like... handbags at dawn. We're going to the judges."

— Craig Charles on the House Robots' reactions to the fight.

On the benefit of the doubt, the Judges awarded the victory to Evolution.

Winner: Evolution

Spawn Again (13) vs Hydra

Hydra is hurled by Spawn Again

Spawn Again quickly overturned Hydra but Hydra immediately recovered before driving onto the front of the Essex machine where it was thrown again but then self-righted for the second time. Spawn Again then threw Hydra on its back twice more where afterwards it stopped moving. Spawn Again then pushed Hydra near the wall where it was attacked by Matilda.

"I wonder if all the rough and tumble in the end, was too much..."

— Jonathan Pearce as Hydra finally grinds to a halt

Spawn Again's attempt to flip Hydra out of the arena

The 13th seed rammed Hydra in an attempt to get underneath it, but could not breach Hydra's ground clearance. Eventually Spawn Again got underneath and tried to flip Hydra over the arena wall, but failed both times so left it to be dealt with by Sir Killalot and Matilda. Hydra was counted out and then thrown into the Pit of Oblivion by Matilda.

Winner: Spawn Again

Semi-Finals

Tornado (12) vs Diotoir

Tornado rams into Diotoir

Both dashed out, Diotoir missed its first flip on Tornado, Tornado then shoved the Irish machine near Sergeant Bash where it escaped being set on fire before dodging Sgt. Bash again. Tornado then rammed into Diotoir a few times ripping off bit of fur with its drum every time it hit Diotoir. The two robots then shoved against one another having a pushing contest before Tornado rammed Diotoir more times.

"Diotoir over the years has become much more durable, you know, and this is a... terrific, sustained fight between two... stouthearted machines!"

— Jonathan Pearce comments on Diotoir's resilience as it and Tornado ram each other

After Tornado shredded more bits of fur from Diotoir, the Irish robot then proceeded to hit the pit release button and then Tornado seemed to have lost power, and Diotoir pushed it in the pit, almost falling in on top.

Diotoir overpowers Tornado to cause a major upset

"Diotoir, did they sense that Tornado was on its last leg, as it were? What a shock this is! Diotoir nearly went in, but Tornado crash out! The twelfth seeds have gone! What a win for Diotoir!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Diotoir pits Tornado

Immediately after the battle, Team Tornado claimed that Tornado's drum kept snagging on Diotoir's fur, causing them to constantly reverse the drum. They also stated on their website that Tornado itself ended up losing drive on one side in the later stages, allowing Diotoir to pit it.

Winner: Diotoir

Spawn Again (13) vs Evolution

Evolution goes out in 21 seconds

Before the battle, a brick was placed in the blade mechanism of Evolution to make the weapon more powerful. As the battle started, Evolution spun its blade to defend itself from the Essex machine, but Spawn Again quickly came in and threw Evolution on its back where it couldn't self-right. Spawn Again then pushed the tank-like machine towards the arena wall and threw it clean out of the arena, even launching Spawn Again's flipper blade off in the process.

"Evolution, the tank has crashed out, I would imagine at this stage - it has now! You're not coming back from that!"

— Jonathan Pearce as Spawn Again throws over Evolution before catapulting it out of the arena

The brick had reduced the effectiveness of the Evolution weapon by making it too heavy to spin properly.

Winner: Spawn Again

Final

"What a performance by Spawn Again. Evolution out of the arena. This is how the Heat G Final lines up. Diotoir against Spawn Again. Should be fun."

— Jonathan Pearce

Spawn Again (13) vs Diotoir

Diotoir is overturned.

As soon as activate was called, Spawn Again flipped Diotoir up and over, where the Irish robot then, in a failed attempt to right itself, made both of its eyes fly off. After Spawn Again pressed the pit release, the Refbot counted Diotoir out.

"A worthy battle through this heat to the final, but no further from the lads from Clondalkin in Dublin."

— Jonathan Pearce as Diotoir is counted out

Diotoir suffers a familiar fiery finale to its run, courtesy of Sgt. Bash

Prior to the match, Team Scutterbots and Team Nemesis had made a Gentleman's Agreement that after Spawn Again immobilised Diotoir, Spawn Again would then push Diotoir into the pit, to save it from punishment from the house robots. As a result, Spawn Again attempted to push Diotoir towards the pit, but seemingly broke down in the process.

"Diotoir, crowd favourites, are being taunted by the crowd now!"

— Jonathan Pearce

With Spawn Again unable to save Diotoir any longer, Sgt. Bash came in and set the Irish machine on fire. Refbot extinguished the flames, before Sgt. Bash set it alight again, where Diotoir was also attacked by Matilda's flywheel. Spawn Again was the heat winner despite having its flipper jammed open throughout the majority of the fight after Diotoir had been overturned.

"Diotoir gets one in the eye! Spawn Again through to the series semi-finals!"

— Craig Charles

Heat Winner: Spawn Again

"If you're gonna burn a robot, then Diotoir's the one to burn, on Robot Wars!"

— Craig Charles' sign-off

Trivia

• Heat G was the fourth and last time that a lower seed won the heat, the other occasions being Heats B, J, and N of the Fourth Wars.
• This heat was the only time Tornado failed to get past the heats, and it was the only top 12 seeded robot not to reach the heat final that series.
• This marked Diotoir's last appearance in the main competition.
• Heat G was the marked occasion of several robots using weapons for one time, as Hydra wielded a flipping arm (without an axe), Sabretooth wielded a shredding weapon, and Gravedigger wielded a spiked axe.
• Spawn Again vs Evolution is ranked equal 16th, at twenty-one seconds, in the Shortest Battles in UK Robot Wars. This battle was also Spawn Again's first Out of the Arena flip.
• Evolution's battle with Sabretooth was a subject of controversy, because the House Robots attacked Evolution for no reason. As compensation, the judges put it through to Round 2.
• This was the only episode of Series 5 where Shunt did not appear.
• This heat was the first time that two previous semi-finalists fought each other in the first round of a heat (in this case, Tornado and Gravedigger).
• Footage from this heat would be used in both episodes of the World Series.