- "An introduction to the House Robots and the rules of the game."
- — An episode description from newspaper Leidsche Dagblad (translated from Dutch)
Robot Wars: The Kick-Off was a special programme previewing the first series of Dutch Robot Wars (also known as Robot Wars: The Dutch Battles). It was broadcast as a fifty-minute special episode by BNN on Nederland 2 on 24 December 2001, on a 21:20 timeslot.[1]
For several years, the special was considered to be lost media, as no footage or images from it had surfaced since its initial broadcast. This was until 12 August 2023, when YouTube user Rik van Linden uploaded 42 minutes and 50 seconds of footage from the special across three parts. On 24 August, the separate clips were replaced by a full-length upload, with higher quality, fully-preserved audio and a similar total runtime. The uploads therefore presented Robot Wars: The Kick-Off in its near-entirety.
Summary[]
Presented by Bridget Maasland, the special began with coverage of the Dutch Series 1 rehearsals at Eindhoven in June 2001. Teams who were selected to compete travelled with their machines to filming at Elstree Studios, England, with Maasland accompanying them the whole way through.
MaxiMill demolishes breeze blocks during rehearsals; a significantly different incarnation would appear in the televised Dutch Series 1
Robots/teams featured in the 'rehearsal' portion included:
- Scraptosaur
- The original version of Pika, later replaced by Pika II for the actual series.
- RCC
- Philipper, demonstrating its self-righting mechanism.
- X-Bot
- Arena Killer
- PullverizeR
- Hammerhead
- Slicer
- Sniper
- Rat
- Project One
- NEAT Machine
- MaxiMill, represented by a version similar to its incarnation from Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1.
- Team Shapeshifter
- Team Bamm Bamm
- Team Cydragon ("Team Enderbot")
Maasland would interview teams and Robot Wars personnel throughout the course of the programme, the latter as part of segments explaining the show's history, rules and arena hazards.
Behind-the-scenes footage of Robot Wars filming was featured extensively, combining new footage with existing English-language segments from The Making of Robot Wars. Associate producer Joe Shaw makes a rare onscreen appearance in this special, during clips highlighting the team briefing held before the start of series filming. The House Robots also made recurring appearances, notably destroying a robotic dog which accompanies Maasland during her presenting segments at Eindhoven.
The programme also looked back on the early years of the original UK series, incorporating footage from the main series, The First World Championship and The Making of Robot Wars, along with its then-current success. A few clips from the actual Dutch Series 1 were also presented, including Shapeshifter's destruction by Matilda in Heat E. Finally, the special displayed specifications of the Dutch robots.
Interviews[]
The special included a number of interviews with various Robot Wars personalities:
- Dutch competitors on the preparations they made (including any setbacks), details on their robots and the expectations they have of the series. Competitors highlighted include:
- Pathetica
- Bamm Bamm
- PullverizeR
- Alien Destructor
- Rat (Helen Ottenheim)
- Pyramid of Chaos
- Twisted Metal
- Pika II
- Hammerhead
- Enderbot
- A team with an unidentified walking robot, called 'Team Maybe Next Year' by the subtitles, explaining why their robot could not be made to work
- Steve Clark, set designer. In a segment reused from The Making of Robot Wars, he explains the workmanship and process of assembling the original Series 1 set.
- Chris Reynolds, House Robot designer and operator. He reveals their specifications and their specialties, and provides a behind-the-scenes insight into the House Robot control booth. The latter segment was filmed during the Series 5 Semi-Final battle between Razer and S3.
- Bill Hobbins, producer. He explains the popularity of the series in the UK, along with the show rules and arena hazards (Corner Patrol Zones, Pit of Oblivion, Flame Pit (referred to as the "barbeque") and Floor Flipper).
- Derek Foxwell, senior technical consultant. He explains his role in conducting technical and safety checks, along with key procedures for workbench safety and weapon locks. When asked by Maasland about the potential for accidents, Foxwell shows a scar received during an earlier UK series, when a robot reversed off its bench and hit his arm.
- Craig Charles, presenter of the UK Series. He briefly explains the show's evolution, primarily the development of "more immensely powerful" robots since the first series, and expresses his "admiration and awe" for the participating competitors. Live reactions to the Extreme 1 Mayhem between X-Terminator, Cataclysmic Variabot and Panzer Wraith are also shown. Charles concluded by sharing tips for and praising his Dutch counterpart Rob Kamphues, ahead of the latter's Robot Wars debut.
- Rob Kamphues, presenter of the Dutch series, appearing to be seen rehearsing for televised links.
The final known segment saw Maasland - in full Robot Wars attire - speaking to the camera from outside the entrance "tunnel", accompanied by the teams for The Lethal Swan and Arena Killer. Incidentally, both of these machines would appear in the first televised battle of the main Dutch Series 1. A scrolling caption - with credits and a web address for BNN - indicates that this segment was a potential outro sequence, though this is not fully confirmed in publicly-released footage.
Trivia[]
- In their respective onscreen appearances, Jonathan Pearce and Craig Charles are each misspelt as "Jonathan Pierce" and "Graig Charles" through the accompanying Dutch subtitles/captions.
References[]
External Links[]
- Robot Wars: The Kick-Off (Rik van Linden, YouTube)
- zQcentral.nl news article (Dutch)
- Beeld en Geluid page (Dutch)
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