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"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the garage: Robot Wars three. The truce is in tatters, the troops have been rallied, and household appliances across the nation have gone missing. But don't worry madam, it's all for a good cause, because this promises to be the biggest, the baddest and most destructive war yet. And why? Because these robots were built to fight each other, and who are we to stop them?"
Craig Charles' introduction to Heat A

Robot Wars: The Third Wars (also referred to as Series 3, Robot Wars 3 by roboteers and show personalities and Series III on official prizes and awards) was the third series of the British television game show Robot Wars. It was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2000 on BBC Two. The series was hosted by Craig Charles, the pit reporter was Philippa Forrester and commentary was provided by Jonathan Pearce.

Along with the rest of the Classic Series, The Third Wars is available to stream on Mech+ as of 2024.

Format[]

The Third Wars marked a significant change in the show's format, with the Gauntlet and Trial stages of the previous two series being scrapped. The main UK Championship took the form of a straightforward knockout tournament, with the series consisting of sixteen heats featuring eight robots each. Each heat featured two rounds of one-on-one battles, with the two remaining robots from the second round facing each other in the Heat Final. The winner of each Heat Final would progress to the Semi-Finals.

Each of the two Semi-Finals followed an identical format to the first two rounds of the heats, with two rounds of one-on-one battles determining which two robots would reach the Grand Final. The four Grand Finalists would be paired off for two one-on-one 'Eliminator' battles, the winners of which would face each other in a final battle to determine the series champion. A play-off to determine third and fourth places was also planned, but did not take place after one of the competing robots withdrew prior to the battle.

For unknown reasons, there were no seeded robots for the series.

Heats[]

Heat A[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat A

Robots competing in Heat A: Brimhur, Weeliwako, Mace 2, Stinger, Raizer Blade, Red Dragon, Forklift's Revenge, Suicidal Tendencies

Round 1

  • Stinger vs Mace 2: Mace 2 won
  • Forklift's Revenge vs Suicidal Tendencies: Suicidal Tendencies won
  • Brimhur vs Weeliwako: Weeliwako won
  • Raizer Blade vs Red Dragon: Raizer Blade won

Round 2

  • Mace 2 vs Weeliwako: Mace 2 won
  • Raizer Blade vs Suicidal Tendencies: Suicidal Tendencies won

Final

  • Mace 2 vs Suicidal Tendencies: Mace 2 won

Heat B[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat B

Robots competing in Heat B: Abaddon, Technophobic, Pitbull, Sumpthing, General Carnage, Robocow, Behemoth, Shark Attack

Round 1

  • Sumpthing vs Pitbull: Pitbull won
  • Abaddon vs Technophobic: Technophobic won
  • General Carnage vs Robocow: General Carnage won
  • Shark Attack vs Behemoth: Behemoth won

Round 2

  • Technophobic vs Pitbull: Pitbull won
  • General Carnage vs Behemoth: Behemoth won

Final

  • Pitbull vs Behemoth: Pitbull won

Heat C[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat C

Robots competing in Heat C: Agent Orange, Max Damage, Spike, Blade, Aggrobot, Binky, Backstabber, Razer

Note: Binky was a reserve robot, who was instated after Daisy suffered mechanical failures and were unable to compete.

Round 1

  • Razer vs Backstabber: Razer won
  • Binky vs Aggrobot: Aggrobot won
  • Blade vs Spike: Blade won
  • Agent Orange vs Max Damage: Agent Orange won

Round 2

  • Razer vs Aggrobot: Aggrobot won
  • Blade vs Agent Orange: Blade won

Final

  • Aggrobot vs Blade: Blade won

Heat D[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat D

Robots competing in Heat D: Sir Chromalot, Shell Shock, Big Brother, Grim Reaper, Milly-Ann Bug, Bumblebot, Flipper, Ultor

Round 1

  • Sir Chromalot vs Shell Shock: Sir Chromalot won
  • Big Brother vs Grim Reaper: Big Brother won
  • Bumblebot vs Milly-Ann Bug: Bumblebot won
  • Flipper vs Ultor: Ultor won

Round 2

  • Sir Chromalot vs Big Brother: Big Brother won
  • Bumblebot vs Ultor: Ultor won

Final

  • Big Brother vs Ultor: Ultor won
Note: The Ultor team later awarded the victory to Big Brother as they could not attend filming for the Semi-Finals, claiming on-screen that the Judges' decision was wrong.[1]

Heat E[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat E

Robots competing in Heat E: Anorakaphobia, Miss Ile, The Big Cheese, Shrapnel, Crocodilotron, Chaos 2, Hammertron, Sonic

Round 1

  • Anorakaphobia vs Miss Ile: Anorakaphobia won
  • The Big Cheese vs Shrapnel: The Big Cheese won
  • Chaos 2 vs Crocodilotron: Chaos 2 won
  • Sonic vs Hammertron: Sonic won

Round 2

  • Anorakaphobia vs The Big Cheese: The Big Cheese won
  • Chaos 2 vs Sonic: Chaos 2 won

Final

  • The Big Cheese vs Chaos 2: Chaos 2 won

Heat F[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat F

Robots competing in Heat F: Mortis, Ming, Gravedigger, Manic Mutant, Vector, T 2, Darke Destroyer, Sgt. Meikle

Round 1

  • Mortis vs Ming: Mortis won
  • Vector vs T 2: T 2 won
  • The Darke Destroyer vs Sgt. Meikle: The Darke Destroyer won
  • Gravedigger vs Manic Mutant: Gravedigger won

Round 2

  • Mortis vs Gravedigger: Gravedigger won
  • The Darke Destroyer vs T 2: The Darke Destroyer won

Final

  • Gravedigger vs The Darke Destroyer: Gravedigger won

Heat G[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat G

Robots competing in Heat G: Bulldog Breed, Robopig, Kater Killer, Napalm, Henry, Haardvark, Steg-O-Saw-Us, Orac's Revenge

Round 1

  • Bulldog Breed vs Robopig: Robopig won
  • Kater Killer vs Napalm: Napalm won
  • Henry vs Haardvark: Henry won
  • Orac's Revenge vs Steg-O-Saw-Us: Steg-O-Saw-Us won

Round 2

  • Henry vs Steg-O-Saw-Us: Steg-O-Saw-Us won
  • Robopig vs Napalm: Napalm won

Final

  • Steg-O-Saw-Us vs Napalm: Steg-O-Saw-Us won

Heat H[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat H

Robots competing in Heat H: Ally Gator, Corporal Punishment, Berserk 2, Tut's Revenge, Hypno-Disc, Robogeddon, Death Warmed Up, Stealth

Round 1

  • Ally Gator vs Corporal Punishment: Ally Gator won
  • Berserk 2 vs Tut's Revenge: Berserk 2 won
  • Hypno-Disc vs Robogeddon: Hypno-Disc won
  • Death Warmed Up vs Stealth: Stealth won

Round 2

  • Berserk 2 vs Ally Gator: Berserk 2 won
  • Hypno-Disc vs Stealth: Hypno-Disc won

Final

  • Berserk 2 vs Hypno-Disc: Hypno-Disc won

Heat I[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat I

Robots competing in Heat I: Armour-Geddon, Onslaught, Beast of Bodmin, Crusher, Vercingetorix, Terrorpin, Invertabrat, The Witch

Round 1

  • Onslaught vs Armour-Geddon: Onslaught won
  • Crusher vs Beast of Bodmin: Beast of Bodmin won
  • Vercingetorix vs Terrorpin: Terrorpin won
  • Invertabrat vs The Witch: Invertabrat won

Round 2

  • Invertabrat vs Terrorpin: Invertabrat won
  • Onslaught vs Beast of Bodmin: Beast of Bodmin won

Final

  • Invertabrat vs Beast of Bodmin: Beast of Bodmin won

Heat J[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat J

Robots competing in Heat J: 101, Overkill, Centurion, Excalibur, Eric, King Buxton, The Iron Mask, Weld-Dor

Round 1

  • Centurion vs Excalibur: Centurion won
  • 101 vs Overkill: 101 won
  • The Iron Mask vs Weld-Dor: Weld-Dor won
  • Eric vs King Buxton: King Buxton won

Round 2

  • 101 vs Centurion: 101 won
  • King Buxton vs Weld-Dor: King Buxton won

Final

  • 101 vs King Buxton: 101 won

Heat K[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat K

Robots competing in Heat K: Axios, Panic Attack, Purple Predator, Toecutter, Hefty, X-Terminator, Judge Shred, Mr Punch

Round 1

  • X-Terminator vs Hefty: X-Terminator won
  • Purple Predator vs Toecutter: Toecutter won
  • Judge Shred vs Mr Punch: Judge Shred won
  • Axios vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won

Round 2

  • Judge Shred vs X-Terminator: X-Terminator won
  • Toecutter vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won

Final

  • X-Terminator vs Panic Attack: Panic Attack won

Heat L[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat L

Robots competing in Heat L: Undertaker, Panzer, Challenger 2, Atlas, Evil Weevil, Triterobot, Flip Flop Fly, Wild Willy

Round 1

  • Flip Flop Fly vs Wild Willy: Flip Flop Fly won
  • Atlas vs Challenger 2: Challenger 2 won
  • Evil Weevil vs Triterobot: Evil Weevil won
  • Undertaker vs Panzer: Panzer won

Round 2

  • Evil Weevil vs Flip Flop Fly: Evil Weevil won
  • Panzer vs Challenger 2: Panzer won

Final

  • Evil Weevil vs Panzer: Evil Weevil won

Heat M[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat M

Robots competing in Heat M: Hammerhead, Pussycat, Cassius 2, Dundee, Scutter's Revenge, Plunderstorm, Thermador, Zeus

Round 1

  • Hammerhead vs Pussycat: Pussycat won
  • Cassius 2 vs Dundee: Cassius 2 won
  • Plunderstorm vs Thermador: Thermador won
  • Zeus vs Scutter's Revenge: Scutter's Revenge won

Round 2

  • Cassius 2 vs Pussycat: Pussycat won
  • Scutter's Revenge vs Thermador: Scutter's Revenge won

Final

  • Pussycat vs Scutter's Revenge: Pussycat won
Note: Pussycat won the final round, but it was disqualified for using a hardened steel blade which shattered during the battle. Scutter's Revenge was awarded victory by default.

Heat N[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat N

Robots competing in Heat N: Thing 2, Prizephita, Crippler, All Torque, Daisy Chopper, Griffon, Cerberus, Killerhurtz

Round 1

  • All Torque vs Crippler: All Torque won
  • Killerhurtz vs Cerberus: Cerberus won
  • Daisy Chopper vs Griffon: Griffon won
  • Thing 2 vs Prizephita: Thing 2 won

Round 2

  • All Torque vs Thing 2: Thing 2 won
  • Cerberus vs Griffon: Cerberus won

Final

  • Thing 2 vs Cerberus: Thing 2 won

Heat O[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat O

Robots competing in Heat O: Schumey Too, The Steel Avenger, Diotoir, Sting 2, Fire Storm, Crasha Gnasha, Terminal Ferocity, Facet

Round 1

  • Schumey Too vs The Steel Avenger: The Steel Avenger won
  • Terminal Ferocity vs Facet: Facet won
  • Crasha Gnasha vs Fire Storm: Fire Storm won
  • Diotoir vs Sting 2: Diotoir won

Round 2

  • Diotoir vs The Steel Avenger: Diotoir won
  • Fire Storm vs Facet: Fire Storm won

Final

  • Diotoir vs Fire Storm: Fire Storm won

Heat P[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Heat P

Robots competing in Heat P: Victor 2, Scarab, Trident, Twn Trwn, Rattus Rattus, S.M.I.D.S.Y., Dreadnaut, Psychokiller

Round 1

  • Rattus Rattus vs S.M.I.D.S.Y.: Rattus Rattus won
  • Twn Trwn vs Trident: Trident won
  • Scarab vs Victor 2: Victor 2 won
  • Psychokiller vs Dreadnaut: Dreadnaut won

Round 2

  • Rattus Rattus vs Dreadnaut: Dreadnaut won
  • Victor 2 vs Trident: Trident won

Final

  • Dreadnaut vs Trident: Trident won

Semi-Finals[]

Semi-Final 1[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Semi-Final 1

Round 1

Round 2

Semi-Final 2[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Semi-Final 2

Round 1

Round 2

Grand Final[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Grand Final

Eliminators

Playoff

Final

Awards[]

Main article: Robot Wars Awards

These are the winners of the various awards given out at the end of the series:

Battle of the Series[]

Voted for by the judges, the public were given the opportunity to guess which battle the judges chose, one of the correct entrants received VIP passes to the Robot Wars studio, get to meet the presenters and control the house robots. 20 runners-up won a copy of the First World Championship on video, a copy of the Robot Wars Magazine and a £25 voucher to spend in all Robot Wars stores.

The nominations were:

Winning Battle: Chaos 2 vs The Big Cheese

Trial Competitions[]

Although the trials had been removed from the main competition, two of these, Pinball and Soccer, were held as small competitions alongside the main championship. As was the case in previous years, the winner was the robot with the best performance (gaining the most points in Pinball, and either scoring the first goal or being the most active in Soccer). Other competitions were also planned, such as Sumo, but they were cancelled after a behind-the-scenes accident in The Pits.

Pinball[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Pinball Competition

Robots Competing: Dominator, Crusader, Eye of Newt, Six Pac, Killerhurtz, R.O.C.S 2, Oblivion 2, Inquisitor Mk 2, Razer, Mortis.

Rank Robot Score
1 Razer 210
2 Dominator 160
3 Six Pac 135
=4 Crusader 90
=4 Eye of Newt 90
6 Oblivion 2 75
7 Inquisitor Mk 2 70
=8 Killerhurtz 60
=8 Mortis 60
10 R.O.C.S 2 35

Soccer[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Robotic Soccer

Robots Competing: Velocirippa, Demolition Demon 2, Malfunktion, Gnasher, Evil Weevil, Alien, The General, Spectre.

Note: More matches were originally planned, including a match between Razer and Miss Struts.

Preliminaries

  • Velocirippa vs Demolition Demon 2: Velocirippa won
  • Malfunktion vs Gnasher: Gnasher won
  • Evil Weevil vs Alien: Evil Weevil won
  • The General vs Spectre: The General won

Final

  • Velocirippa vs Gnasher vs Evil Weevil vs The General: Evil Weevil won

Special Events[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Special Events

In addition to the trial competitions, there were also three special battles held alongside the main championship. These consisted of the Series 3 Middleweight Championship and two battles featuring walkerbots. Other battles were originally intended, such as Lightweight and Featherweight Championships, and a Tag-Team Terror, but they were cancelled at the last minute, due to an accident in the pits.

Middleweight Melee[]

Tentoumushi vs Hard Cheese vs Grinder vs A-Kill vs Ripper's Revenge

Joint Winners: Tentoumushi & A-Kill

Walker Battles[]

Battles

International Competitions[]

After the third series, two international Robot Wars competitions were held. These were the International League Championship and The First World Championship, which both pitted the familiar British robots against other robots from around the world.

The First World Championship[]

Main article: The First World Championship

The First World Championship was released initially on VHS in 2000 and later in 2005 on DVD, eventually being broadcast on TV in 2001. It featured all six robots from the International League Championship plus ten others, making sixteen robots overall representing eleven different countries. The robots were paired off to fight in a straight knockout competition, with the winner of the final battle becoming world champion.

International League Championship[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/International League Championship

The International League Championship was broadcast between the third and fourth series of Robot Wars and featured six robots from six different countries. These robots were split into two groups, with each robot fighting the other two robots in their group once in head to head battles. Robots would get three points if they won the battle, none if they lost, and one if both robots were still mobile at the end of time. The robot with the most points in each group at the end would go through to the final, a single head to head battle against the winner of the other group.

Television ratings[]

Episode Rating BARB ranking
Heat A 4.3 million 5th
Heat B 3.97 million 8th
Heat C 3.86 million 6th
Heat D 2.72 million 14th
Heat E 6.13 million 1st
Heat F 3.85 million 8th
Heat G 5.94 million 2nd
Heat H 6.63 million 1st
Heat I 5.22 million 1st
Heat J 4.89 million 3rd
Heat K 5.88 million 1st
Heat L 6.01 million 1st
Heat M 5.85 million 1st
Heat N 5.21 million 2nd
Heat O 4.84 million 2nd
Heat P 5.32 million 1st
Semi-Final 1 4.59 million 1st
Semi-Final 2 5.35 million 2nd
Grand Final 4.95 million 3rd
International League Championship 4.58 million 1st

When compared with the previous series, the first four Series 3 episodes received low ratings, with none reaching the top three highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows. Heat A attracted 4.3 million viewers, a decrease of 700,000 viewers when compared with Heat A of Series 2. Heat D received the lowest television rating and BARB ranking for the series, attracting only 2.72 million and becoming the only episode of the series to rank below the top ten. However, the broadcast of Heat E helped the series to ultimately become a ratings success for BBC 2, receiving 6.13 million viewers and topping the thirty highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows. With the exception of Heat F, no other episode ranked below the top three.

Series 3 was notable for achieving the highest number of episodes that finished first in the highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows, at nine. They included heats E, H, I, K, L, M, P, Semi-Final 1 and the International League Championship. The series also set a Robot Wars ratings record by having three consecutive episodes, heats K, L and M, reach the top of the thirty highest weekly rated BBC 2 shows.

Additionally, The Third Wars was critically acclaimed, and was even nominated for the Entertainment Programme or Series award at the 2000 British Academy Television Awards, alongside Have I Got News For You and So Graham Norton. Alas, it did not win the award, being pipped by BBC 1 program Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire.[2]

Controversy[]

Main article: Robot Wars: The Third Wars/Controversy

Trivia[]

Behemoth vs Cerberus

Behemoth lifts Cerberus in an unaired battle

  • The Third Wars featured the largest number of competing robots in any domestic championship, with 128 robots taking part. Series 7 also featured 128 robots, although two of them did not actually get to fight.
  • Series 3 contains at least one unaired battle, waged between Behemoth and Cerberus some time after The First World Championship was filmed. The winner of the battle is unknown, as the battle was only publicly confirmed through a CD-ROM given away with the Robot Wars Magazine. However Kane Aston of Team Make Robotics confirmed on an archived forum[3] that this was a friendly battle, and was filmed after the The First World Championship.
  • A friendly "pits sweepstake" was mentioned in a few episodes. It is known that Jonathan Pearce had Excalibur and Philippa Forrester initially had The Parthian Shot before switching to X-Terminator after the former withdrew.
  • This series marked the debut of the Floor Flipper as an arena hazard, and the last in which the floor spikes were used until the show's revival in 2016.
  • The Third Wars was initially planned to feature a similar format to the first two UK Series, with six robots per Heat and non-combat 'elimination rounds' (possibly the returning Gauntlet and Trial stages) leading up to 'Arena' battles. This was confirmed in the 'Game Design' rules for the series which were identical to those previously issued for The Second Wars.[4][5] However, this proposal was dropped shortly before filming in favour of the familiar combat-only format.[6]
  • The Italian dub often refers to Series 3 as the first series of the show, as it was the first to be aired on Italian television.[7]

References[]

External Links[]

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