- "When television was invented, people were worried that it’d end up providing nothing more that puerile entertainment. Whoops! Seventy five years on, and the best thing on the box is Robot Wars. OK, so it’s hardly sophisticated or educational, but when does anyone get mashed up with a chainsaw on Question Time? Exactly! What people want to watch is wanton destruction, grown men and women using remote controlled fighting machines to bash it out for a place in our series semi-finals. John Logie Baird may be turning in his grave, but at least he’s not turning over the channel!"
- — Craig Charles' introduction
Heat P of Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars (also referred to in recaps as Heat 16) was the sixteenth and last heat which determined the semi-finalists of Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars. The episode featuring Heat P was originally broadcast on 26 January 2001 on BBC Two. The broadcast managed to attract 4.7 million viewers, a decrease of 200,000 viewers when compared with the previous episode. According to BARB, this meant it fell to sixth in the top thirty highest rated BBC 2 broadcasts during 22-28 January 2001.
Competing Robots[]
Newcomers[]
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|---|---|---|
| Terror-Bull | ||
| Weight | 80.3kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.35 x 0.90 x 0.60m | |
| Clearance | 0.03m | |
| Power | 2 x 750W industrial motors | |
| Weapons | 2 x Spikes | |
| Notes | 3mm aluminium shell | |
| From: Ilkley, West Yorkshire | ||
| Team Members: John Fearnley & Ben Fearnley | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| V-Max | ||
| Weight | 77.5kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.35 x 0.70 x 1.00m | |
| Clearance | 0.02m | |
| Power | 2 x 750W industrial motors | |
| Weapons | Pneumatic flipper | |
| Notes | Tubular steel frame | |
| From: Romsey, Hampshire | ||
| Team Members: Mick Pearce & Rich Dramson | ||
Note: V-Max was a reserve robot, instated after Onslaught was forced to withdraw due to technical difficulties.
Veterans[]
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hypno-Disc (seeded 2nd) | ||
| Weight | 80.1kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.25 x 0.70m x 0.55m | |
| Clearance | 0.04m | |
| Power | 3 x 750W electric motors | |
| Weapons | 750RPM spinning disc | |
| Notes | Aluminium shell | |
| From: Banbury | ||
| Team Members: Dave Rose, Derek Rose & Ken Rose | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cerberus (seeded 18th) | ||
| Weight | 80kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.45 x 0.70 x 0.76m | |
| Clearance | 0.02m | |
| Power | 750W electric motor | |
| Weapons | Steel claws & crushing jaw (this had to be removed to make the weight limit.) | |
| Notes | Titanium shell | |
| From: London | ||
| Team Members: Theo Kaccoufa, Vassilie Kaccoufa & Alex Wink | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Raizer Blade | ||
| Weight | 79.2kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.50 x 1.50 x 0.75m | |
| Clearance | 0.02-0.05m | |
| Power | 2 x 750W industrial motors | |
| Weapons | Spike & hydraulic lift | |
| Notes | Hydraulics from car | |
| From: Cambridge | ||
| Team Members: Paul Hart, Howard Andrews & Steve Scotcher | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Predator | ||
| Weight | 78.6kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.00 x 1.30 x 0.75m | |
| Clearance | 0.02m | |
| Power | 2 x Wheelchair motors | |
| Weapons | Lifting fork & spike pickaxe | |
| Notes | Aluminium covered Teflon | |
| From: Manchester | ||
| Team Members: Barry Willetts, Christopher Willetts & Steven Willetts | ||
Withdrew[]
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Onslaught | ||
| Weight | 80.2kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.60 x 1.00 x 0.60m | |
| Clearance | 0.05m | |
| Power | Forklift truck motor | |
| Weapons | Pneumatic scooper | |
| Notes | Chassis is made of steel | |
| From: Bedford | ||
| Team Members: Alan Wood, David Wood & Mark Holland | ||
Eliminators[]
- "Now, I'm not one to start a fight, but...let the wars begin!"
- — Craig Charles
Hypno-Disc (2) vs Raizer Blade vs The Predator[]
- "Raizer Blade immediately bisecting the two opponents, but its all about Hypno-Disc and the damage it can do."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Raizer Blade makes an attack
Hypno-Disc slashes into The Predator
Hypno-Disc gained speed for its weapon and then attacked The Predator twice in quick succession. The first blow dented the rear armour, and the second tore the sheet of aluminium loose. Raizer Blade then pushed Hypno-Disc into the side wall and blocked its attack on The Predator. Hypno-Disc retaliated by smashing into Raizer Blade, but both robots merely bounced off from the deflection, with no immediate damage observable on Raizer Blade. Hypno-Disc then struck The Predator with no major damage inflicted.
- "All eyes on the number two seeds, deflected there of the Raizer Blade, and not causing as much damage as we thought it might early on here."
- — Jonathan Pearce
The Predator pushes Raizer Blade as Hypno-Disc closes in
The Predator and Raizer Blade, both immobile. Note the scattered insides of The Predator
Driving over the flame pit, Hypno-Disc finally landed a significant blow by tearing into the exposed rear of The Predator.
- "And that's the first damage significantly we've seen! And The Predator's front is buckled...almost ripped off there."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Hypno-Disc decimates The Predator's battery
Hypno-Disc tore internals out of the sluggishly circling The Predator, before Raizer Blade charged in unexpectedly and nearly flipped Hypno-Disc onto its back. Hypno-Disc retaliated and tore a welt in Raizer Blade's side. Both of Hypno-Disc's opponents tried to dodge and escape, but Hypno-Disc easily caught and tore into Raizer Blade, sending it spinning in a circle. The Predator crashed into Raizer Blade, and Hypno-Disc bore swiftly down on them, tearing through both machines and knocking them both out. Hypno-Disc knocked The Predator aside, littering the floor with batteries and other internals. Hypno-Disc then smashed one of the batteries and cease was called. With the batteries destroyed and so much damage inflicted on The Predator, it was eliminated.
- "Hypno-Disc batters everything! The only saving grace for Raizer Blade is that it sustained less damage."
- — Craig Charles
Qualified: Hypno-Disc & Raizer Blade
Cerberus (18) vs Terror-Bull vs V-Max[]
Terror-Bull attempts to lift V-Max
The 18th Seed is flipped
The three robots each moved away from their starting positions, but it became clear that V-Max was the quickest of the three. The reserve robot was too hasty, however, and crashed into Matilda, and was forced to dodge Matilda's tusks. As V-Max retreated, Cerberus drove forward in an attempt to spike it, but it spun too far and brushed off V-Max. Terror-Bull then attempted to flip V-Max, but the delay and narrowness of the weapon meant that V-Max easily escaped. V-Max returned to the action, and as Cerberus pulled away from Matilda, it reversed onto V-Max's wedge and one use of the flipping arm was enough to topple the 18th seed over.
- "V-Max backing away to have a run, against Cerberus - and toppling Cerberus, the number 18 seeds! Now can they right themselves, Cerberus? They talk a good battle, can they get back into this one?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Sgt. Bash crumples the side of Cerberus
Sgt. Bash pits Cerberus
V-Max and Terror-Bull scissored Cerberus, but when it became clear that Cerberus was immobile, both machines backed off and the House Robots closed in. Sgt. Bash seized Cerberus and carried it over the flame pit. It was also sliced by Dead Metal, whilst V-Max and Terror-Bull continued to fight. Cease was finally called when Sgt. Bash pitted Cerberus.
- "The seeded robot in this heat, in this battle, out, Cerberus, and about to go down from whence it came, the very pit of hell."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Qualified: Terror-Bull & V-Max
Semi-Finals[]
Hypno-Disc (2) vs V-Max[]
- Julia Reed: "What did Hypno-Disc do to the other robots in the melee?"
- Rich Drayson: "Trashed them."
- Julia Reed: "Trashed 'em. I just had to hear you say that."
- Rich Drayson: "Its trash, bash, mash in this game, isn't it? We came for it anyway."
- Julia Reed: "Yeah? Well you're a braver team than I am."
- — Confidence from V-Max
Hypno-Disc shears a panel from V-Max
V-Max vents gas
Hypno-Disc began spinning, but V-Max bravely attacked the side, hoping to flip before the disc spun up to speed. It pushed Hypno-Disc briefly, but part of the disc struck V-Max and knocked it away. This ultimately secured V-Max's loss, as Hypno-Disc finished speeding up and charged V-Max, tearing a side panel off.
- "Oh goodness me, the first attack leaves a shard of metal on the arena floor."
- — Jonathan Pearce
V-Max rams Refbot as it attempts to get away
V-Max's armour peels off after a second attack by Hypno-Disc
The damage had also ruptured the flipper, and V-Max began venting gas from its side. The next attack was so violent that both machines were sent flying across the arena, V-Max crashing into Refbot and Hypno-Disc flying up onto Shunt's scoop, but driving away before it could take damage. V-Max then drove into the arena side spikes, and Hypno-Disc cleaved the other panel off V-Max. However, the valiant V-Max slid beneath Hypno-Disc and charged the length of the arena, slamming it into the wall. Hypno-Disc dealt several more blows to V-Max, clipping pieces off the shell.
Hypno-Disc trashes V-Max
The dislodged battery
- "And poor old Mick Pearce and Richard Drayson just want V-Max to come home in one piece. You've got no chance, boys."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Hypno-Disc then attacked the exposed internals, ripping out V-Max's battery and immobilising it. Shunt was the first robot to attack, but was quickly joined by Killalot and Bash, whilst Dead Metal stuck its pincer inside V-Max.
- "There is no life left in V-Minimum."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Dead Metal placed V-Max on the floor flipper and it was thrown. Cease was called.
- Craig Charles: "You knew from the melee that it wasn't going to be easy."
- Mick Pearce: "I wish we hadn't made that really confident speech earlier."
- — After the battle
Winner: Hypno-Disc
Terror-Bull vs Raizer Blade[]
- Julia Reed: "Well its been touch-and-go getting here, hasn't it? You took a lot of damage in the melee from Hypno-Disc...what's the situation now? How strong are you?"
- Paul Hart: "We tried to repair as much of the damage as we can, we hope we're good enough to get through this next round and hopefully fight them again."
- Julia Reed: "You want to fight them again?"
- Paul Hart: "Yeah, and win."
- — Before the fight
Terror-Bull drives over a flame jet
Raizer Blade nudges the smouldering Terror-Bull
The two robots rammed into each other, but as it had in the melee, Terror-Bull's weapon failed to flip Raizer Blade. Terror-Bull drove forward and back, whilst Raizer Blade could seemingly do not much more than drive in circles. However, Terror-Bull drove over the flame pit and set its tail alight. It escaped, but drove back over the flames and continued to burn itself. It finally moved off, but broke down. Raizer Blade moved in and twice attempted to flip Terror-Bull, but failed to do so. It kept pushing at Terror-Bull, with Terror-Bull trying to retaliate as its flipper was still working. When Raizer Blade backed away, however, it became clear that Terror-Bull could not move, and the House Robots closed in.
- "There is smoke from the rear end of the bull, I'm not too sure if that is from the tail only, or if Terror-Bull is not so full of terror any more, and is Terror-fied out there!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Raiser Blade lifts Terror-Bull
Terror-Bull lifts Dead Metal. Note the out of place plates near Dead Metal's saw
Bash pushed Raizer Blade out of the way, as it was suffering from mobility problems of its own, and Dead Metal sliced into Terror-Bull. However, the small black robot put up a fight, breaking Dead Metal's protective "face" and coming close to tipping it over. Meanwhile, Shunt shoved Raizer Blade into Terror-Bull and tried to attack it, but the tail got stuck on Dead Metal, who dragged it away from the CPZ. Terror-Bull was finally placed on the floor flipper and thrown, leaving Raizer Blade to go through.
- "Terror-Bull, turned into mincemeat. Raizer Blade through by the skin of their teeth!"
- — Craig Charles
Winner: Raizer Blade
Final[]
Hypno-Disc (2) vs Raizer Blade[]
Raizer Blade's struggle[]
Raizer Blade was very lucky to defeat Terror-Bull, as it was burnt out on one side. After the battle, it began repairs for the heat final that the team was prepared to lose.
- "Raizer Blade were brave and top sportsmen to continue in to final battle. Knowing his difficulties we agreed to be more stand-off-ish, in the time honoured robot wars 'Gentleman's Agreement'"
- — Hypno-Disc website
In the test pits, problems with speed controllers became evident. Two changes did not solve the problem, and the team ended up using Dead Metal's. Although the robot would work initially, one would always burn out. Eventually, Raizer Blade was placed in the arena with a leaking hydraulic system, no gaskets, and half a speed controller.
- "We're hoping to give them a good show, so we're here. If we get smashed to pieces, that's fine, but we'll give them a good show."
- — Paul Hart
Battle[]
- "This is a little bit like pitting the heavyweight boxing champion of the world up against my gran."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Hypno-Disc's first hit on Raizer Blade, tearing a gash across the side
Raizer Blade sits and spins to deflect Hypno-Disc's attacks but is knocked out in the process
Raizer Blade managed to move off the start, but made no offensive moves as it could still only drive in a circular motion, and Hypno-Disc buffeted it from the side. Hypno-Disc spun up to full speed and knocked the spinning Raizer Blade out in one blow. Hypno-Disc then knocked Raizer Blade into the flame jets.
Raizer Blade, cleaved apart
Hypno-Disc plays with the shard of Raizer Blade
- "It's now a question of how much damage Hypno-Disc wants to cause, because as you can see, quite clearly, its all over for Raizer Blade"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Hypno-Disc knocked a side panel off Raizer Blade, exposing the innards. Dead Metal and Killalot attacked, carrying it to the floor flipper. Raizer Blade was thrown and eliminated.
Sir Killalot drags Raizer Blade away
- Craig Charles: "You still haven't got that killer instinct!"
- Dave Rose: "Well, we could totally trash them, but they've got some expensive gear in there, and it wouldn't have been fair."
- Craig Charles: "You're saving it all up for the Series Semi-Finals, aren't you?"
- Dave Rose: "Well, we're going to get our disc spinning, and we'll see what we can do."
- Craig Charles: "But please, promise me this, you won't pull any punches in the Series Semi-Finals."
- Dave Rose: "Nah, we're going to go the full 110%."
- — The post-match interview, which would only prove to be true
Heat Winner: Hypno-Disc
- "You can hear the French screaming “zut alors”; it’s means they’re bloomin’ scary on Robot Wars!"
- — Craig Charles' sign-off
Trials[]
Killerhurtz is boxed in
During the Fourth Wars, alongside the main competition, a Pinball Warrior Tournament and Sumo Basho Competition were also held. Unlike the similar competitions of the Third Wars, these trials featured successful qualifiers for Series 4. In between the first and second rounds of each heat, a Pinball run took place, and two sumo attempts took place in between Round 2 and the Heat Final in each of the first eight heats. For Heat P, the Pinball featured Killerhurtz.
Pinball Warrior Tournament - Killerhurtz[]
Score: 235 points
Trivia[]
- Aside from heat winner Hypno-Disc, no robot competing in this heat entered or qualified for Series 5, and only Terror-Bull would return for later series. However, Cerberus would go on to compete in both series of Robot Wars Extreme.
- The first Eliminator did not include aired recaps of Raizer Blade or Crippler (the direct predecessor of The Predator), likely to allow more coverage of the seeded Hypno-Disc.
- Onslaught's withdrawal marked the second time in which a competitor robot was shown dropping out and being replaced by a reserve (V-Max), the first being Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat C. Prior to this, several robots were brought in as substitutes throughout Series 2 and 3, though most of these were never acknowledged as such onscreen.
[]
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