- Julia Reed: "It's the annihilator, and what's it gonna be?"
- Various teams: "Extreme!"
- — Pre-intro teaser
Annihilator 2 of Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1 was the second of two Annihilators held during Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1, between the remaining six Mayhem winners. The episode featuring this Annihilator - the fourteenth to be aired - was originally broadcast on 25 October 2001 on BBC Choice and repeated on 8 February 2002 on BBC Two.
Competing Robots[]
- Craig Charles: "So, Jonathan, who's up for annihilation this very evening?"
- Jonathan Pearce: "Well in the main, Craig, the winners of our Mayhem qualifiers. Not so here."
- — The revealing of the competitors
The Annihilator was due to be between the six winners of the Mayhem qualifiers, as the previous Annihilator had been. However, two of the winners, Atomic 2 and Bulldog Breed 3, had taken severe damage from Hypno-Disc during their Series 5 heat, which had recently been filmed, and were unable to compete. Fighting Torque and Spirit of Knightmare took their respective places.
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|---|---|---|
| Disc-O-Inferno | ||
| Weight | 97kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.16m x 0.70m x 0.91m | |
| Power | 24v Electric Motor | |
| Weapons | Rotating Disc | |
| Strengths | Runs Both Ways Up | |
| Weaknesses | High Ground Clearance | |
| From: Cambridge | ||
| Team Members: Mark Marshall, Nick Bullock | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fighting Torque | ||
| Weight | 93kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.75m x 0.83m x 0.42m | |
| Power | 2 x 24v Electric Motor | |
| Weapons | Spinning Disc | |
| Strengths | Robot Wars Veterans | |
| Weaknesses | No Self-righting Mechanism | |
| From: Aberdour near Edinburgh in Scotland | ||
| Team Members: Richie McBride, Alex & Ellen McBride | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Napalm 2 | ||
| Weight | 84kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.94m x 0.95m x 0.7m | |
| Power | 24v Electric Motor | |
| Weapons | Spikes & Rotary Arm | |
| Strengths | Heavily Armoured | |
| Weaknesses | Poor Reliability | |
| From: New Ash Green | ||
| Team Members: David Crosby, Michelle Davey, Tegan Crosby | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Panic Attack | ||
| Weight | 98kg | |
| Dimensions | 1m x 0.7m x 0.16m | |
| Power | 24v Motor | |
| Weapons | Lifting Forks | |
| Strengths | Impenetrable Armour | |
| Weaknesses | Reliability of Weapon | |
| From: Thornhill | ||
| Team Members: Kim Davies, Michael Davies, Christian Bridge | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spirit of Knightmare | ||
| Weight | 100kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.25m x 0.70m x 0.45m | |
| Power | 2 x 24v Electric Motors | |
| Weapons | Pneumatic Lifter | |
| Strengths | Invertible | |
| Weaknesses | Slow & Sluggish | |
| From: Coalville | ||
| Team Members: Nigel Paget, Malcolm Summers, Lee Summers | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Steel Avenger | ||
| Weight | 100kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.3m x 0.7m x 0.8m | |
| Power | 2 x 750w Industrial Motors | |
| Weapons | Pneumatic Axe & Rear Flipper | |
| Strengths | Powerful Axe | |
| Weaknesses | Inaccuracy of Weapon | |
| From: Holton St Mary | ||
| Team Members: John Willoughby, Jacky Willoughby, Tony Bates | ||
Vengeance Battle[]
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bigger Brother | ||
| Weight | 96kg | |
| Dimensions | 0.8m x 0.8m x 0.4m | |
| Power | 24v Electric Motor | |
| Weapons | Pneumatic Powered Flipper | |
| Strengths | Powerful Weapon | |
| Weaknesses | Difficult to Control | |
| From: Brighton, Sussex | ||
| Team Members: Joe Watts, Ian Watts & Ellie Watts | ||
 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Comengetorix | ||
| Weight | 93kg | |
| Dimensions | 1.28m x 0.88m x 0.31m | |
| Power | 24 Volt Electric Motors | |
| Weapons | Axe and Flipper | |
| Strengths | Self-Righting Mechanism | |
| Weaknesses | Reliability | |
| From: The Isle of Wright | ||
| Team Members: Ian Gear, Alistair Curtis-Horsfall & Tom Curtis-Horsfall | ||
Round 1[]
Napalm 2 was having troubles before the battle even began. Its left-hand drive had broken, and as a result it had to be pushed into the arena by Refbot.
As the battle began, Spirit of Knightmare charged straight at the limping Napalm 2 and wedged underneath it, whilst Panic Attack tried to lift up Disc-O-Inferno. The Steel Avenger rammed Panic Attack, whilst Fighting Torque used its weapon on the former champion. The Steel Avenger changed targets and rammed Fighting Torque, but missed with its axe.
- "More activity and action than you see from a normal hippo."
- — Jonathan Pearce on Fighting Torque/Hippobotomus
Spirit of Knightmare and Panic Attack wedge under Napalm 2
The Steel Avenger changed targets once more, turning on Napalm, who was wedged on top of Panic Attack. To make matters worse for the former Semi-Finalist, Disc-O-Inferno launched an attack, tearing part of its side off. Panic Attack dropped Napalm 2, but with no forward mobility, it was squeezed between The Steel Avenger and Spirit of Knightmare, the latter of whom pushed it on the flame jet. Fighting Torque joined the action, and the three-edged Napalm 2 towards the CPZ of Sir Killalot. The House Robot picked up his old enemy, but dropped it a few moments later as Panic Attack attempted to separate The Steel Avenger and Spirit of Knightmare. Disc-O-Inferno then rammed Spirit of Knightmare, but its disc did not appear to be spinning.
Panic Attack, meanwhile, had gotten underneath The Steel Avenger, and was using its lifting forks to raise it up, whilst Fighting Torque was also ramming the Essex machine. Panic Attack then turned its attention to Fighting Torque, lifting it up, when Disc-O-Inferno grazed the Scottish machine's side, creating a nasty looking scratch. The Steel Avenger, Spirit of Knightmare and Fighting Torque rammed each other for a bit whilst Panic Attack locked with Disc-O-Inferno, only to get a small piece of its armour torn off. Disc-O-Inferno retreated, hitting Spirit of Knightmare's side "blender" before ramming Fighting Torque again. The Pit was then activated as Panic Attack, The Steel Avenger and Fighting Torque came together.
Disc-O-Inferno shears away Fighting Torque's side
- "But is it a danger to others? I don't know."
- — Jonathan Pearce with his doubts on Fighting Torque
Just after the Pit went down, The Steel Avenger pushed Fighting Torque, who seemed to have lost its head, towards the Flame Pit. The Steel Avenger, Panic Attack and Spirit of Knightmare converged towards the other end of the arena, whilst Disc-O-Inferno turned on Fighting Torque. Two successive slams tore its entire front off and immobilised it.
Disc-O-Inferno is immobilised by Matilda
- "Is Fighting Torque still mobile? Oh, I don't think so now! What's happened to the hippo!?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
With Fighting Torque immobilised and Napalm long since forgotten, the four mobile robots turned on each other, with Panic Attack lifting up Disc-O-Inferno. Spirit of Knightmare took over and rammed Disc-O-Inferno into Matilda's flywheel, which sent it flying. The impact seemed to completely immobilise Disc-O-Inferno. As the other three, all badly damaged, attacked Disc-O-Inferno's corpse, Refbot counted out what was left of Fighting Torque, eliminating it from the competition - despite Napalm 2 having been immobilised for the whole bout.
- Alex McBride: "A plastic hippopotamus is not really gonna hold off against a spinning disc."
- Craig Charles: "Yeah, a plastic hippopotamus has got no chance in the Robot Wars arena, so why did you build it?"
- Alex McBride: "....for fun."
- — After the battle
Eliminated: Fighting Torque
Build-Up 1[]
Following the first round fight, Disc-O-Inferno was found to have taken serious damage following Matilda's attacks. Although the team were able to repair minor damage, the robot's electronics were no longer functioning properly. Even with assistance from George Francis of Team Chaos, the team were unsure of what exactly was wrong or whether they could fix it or not.
- Julia Reed: "Does it look good, George? Is there hope?"
- George Francis: "Uh, I'm a bit puzzled at the moment, still working on it. Doing my best"
- Julia Reed: "OK. Do you think you'll get back together for the next bout?"
- Nick Bullock: "I dunno. What's going on is very strange. We don't understand how it's possible, even."
- — Disc-O-Inferno's damage is discussed
Shortly before the second round began, further issues also occurred with Napalm 2. As well as its damaged drive, the House Robots had also set upon it, with Matilda tearing off an entire side chunk. As the damage was irreparable in the time the team had, Napalm 2 withdrew from the Annihilator.
- Julia Reed: "So there's no point in you going back in because you'd be sitting ducks, and you don't think you can fix it in time?"
- David Crosby: "We've got five minutes, we need about five days"
- — Napalm 2's withdrawal
The remaining four robots were still able to compete, with Disc-O-Inferno's electronics fixed, although all had taken various degrees of damage. This included Panic Attack having taken significant damage from Matilda, Spirit of Knightmare losing use of its saws and The Steel Avenger having been left with a twisted chassis. Regardless, all four teams remained confident they could progress.
- "Now, hopefully, one of these robots will go out, but as we've seen before, it could be two, three or maybe all of them"
- — Julia Reed before the second round
Withdrawn: Napalm 2
Round 2[]
Panic Attack presses The Steel Avenger against the wall
As the battle began, Spirit of Knightmare made the first move, ramming underneath Steel Avenger and flipping it onto its side. Panic Attack quickly took advantage and rammed into the stranded Steel Avenger, pushing it towards the arena wall.
- "Now I'm surprised they're doing so well."
- — Jonathan Pearce on Spirit of Knightmare
Panic Attack wedges under Disc-O-Inferno
After nudging The Steel Avenger further, it eventually backed away, allowing The Steel Avenger to right itself. It quickly darted away from its much slower opponents, before charging at Panic Attack again, dodging its lifting forks. Disc-O-Inferno now joined the fray, hitting Spirit of Knightmare side on. The Steel Avenger had been flipped over by Panic Attack again, but it righted itself once more. Panic Attack tried to lift up Disc-O-Inferno again, but Spirit of Knightmare wedge itself underneath the former champion, before it too was rammed by The Steel Avenger. The four robots broke away and The Steel Avenger launched an attack on Disc-O-Inferno, but missed an axe blow. It then turned on Panic Attack, and its axe blow landed, but it was sandwiched between Disc-O-Inferno and Spirit of Knightmare. The latter pushed The Steel Avenger away, before all four robots drove around the arena for a while, not landing any meaningful attacks, The Steel Avenger missing a few axe blows. After a little while, Panic Attack activated the Pit release. The Steel Avenger hit it with its axe, before driving away. After a small delay, the Pit opened, and Panic Attack tried to reverse Spirit of Knightmare in, but the "refined-wedge" shaped robot dodged to one side and both nearly fell in.
- "This is very even so far. This is a good Annihilator battle."
- — Jonathan Pearce as the battle continues
The Steel Avenger chops into Panic Attack just before it is defeated
Spirit of Knightmare flips The Steel Avenger
The Steel Avenger launched another attack on Disc-O-Inferno, before Spirit of Knightmare was pushed into the arena wall by Panic Attack, who's forklift seemed to be slightly dislodged. The Steel Avenger pushed the sluggish Disc-O-Inferno, but missed, whilst Panic Attack pushed Spirit of Knightmare back. The Steel Avenger then used its axe and cut deep into Panic Attack's skirt, before Spirit of Knightmare got underneath and flipped The Steel Avenger onto its side. Disc-O-Inferno, in attacking Spirit of Knightmare, bounced off and got stuck on top of The Steel Avenger, but broke free. The Steel Avenger was left alone, but it had used up too much gas and was unable to right itself. Refbot counted it out, eliminating The Steel Avenger from the Annihilator. Only after it was counted out and cease was called did its side arms finally activate, but not enough to right it.
- "We thought you and Panic Attack would be the last two men standing."
- — Craig Charles, seeing The Steel Avenger as one of the favourites
Eliminated: The Steel Avenger
Build-Up 2[]
- "We were about to kick off with Round 3, but, there's some good news for the opposition. Julia, I hear Panic Attack's got some problems."
- — Craig Charles, prior to the next round
Following on from the previous battle, Panic Attack was revealed to have taken a lot of damage, primarily from Disc-O-Inferno and The Steel Avenger. This raised concerns that it would not be able to continue and, with little time to fix it, the Annihilator was temporarily postponed to give the team time to fix it.
- "So, the bad news is we're going to have to put the Annihilator on hold for a while, but the good news is it just gives us time for another battle. And this time, someone wants vengeance."
- — Craig Charles
Vengeance: Bigger Brother vs Comengetorix[]
To give Panic Attack time to repair, a Vengeance battle between Bigger Brother and Comengetorix was contested. This grudge was a follow-up from the Tag Team Terror battle the two robots had previously had alongside respective partners Major Tom and Spawn Again, with Team Vercingetorix dissing their opponents after winning, claiming they had no right to wear the Union Jack. A clip was shown of the fight and Team Vercingetorix's insults. Julia Reed was quick to side with Team Big Brother, claiming the statements were a "load of old rubbish" and believing that Bigger Brother could win the fight, a statement Joe and Ellie Watts agreed with. In Reed's subsequent interview with Team Vercingetorix, they dismissed their opponents' thoughts and reiterated that the battle was for the right to fly the Union flag.
- "We're tougher than they are. We've got a massive flipper that can lift half a tonne."
- — Joe Watts describes his robot's strengths
Bigger Brother and Comengetorix attack Sir Killalot instead of each other
In the battle, Bigger Brother quickly managed to flip Comengetorix over and pushed it towards the arena wall. Intervention by Sgt. Bash allowed Comengetorix to right itself, which prompted Bigger Brother to flip the House Robot against the arena wall. Sir Killalot then came out of his CPZ to attack Bigger Brother, who tried to flip him unsuccessfully. Comengetorix rushed to its opponent's aid, hitting Sir Killalot with its axe.
- "Spinning with Comengetorix to have a go at Killalot, they're combining, are they? Hang on, this is a Vengeance grudge match. No no no no no, you're not supposed to be having a go at OURS, you're supposed to be having a go at THEIRS!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as the "rivals" team up
The House Robot managed to force both competitors into his CPZ as the two continued to attack him, but Comengetorix began to suffer mobility issues and Bigger Brother's flipper was bent in trying to flip him. Eventually, the two robots engaged each other in the arena centre and Comengetorix struck Bigger Brother with its axe. No longer able to flip Comengetorix, Bigger Brother hit the Pit release button and, after chasing a sluggish Comengetorix around the arena, managed to push it from the front and force it into the Pit, with Comengetorix briefly getting itself beached on the edge trying to flip Bigger Brother away. Sir Killalot then grabbed hold of Bigger Brother and dropped it into the Pit too, in retaliation for its attacks.
Bigger Brother pitted alongside its beaten foe
Following the fight, Craig Charles urged Team Vercingetorix to admit defeat, but they refused, explaining that the two had never actually held a grudge against each other; the only reason the Vengeance battle had gone ahead was so they could fight Sir Killalot. Although praising the attacks, Charles reminded them of the Tag Team Terror battle and their insults, only for Joe Watts to reveal that he hadn't really been upset at all and confirming that the battle was simply to fight the House Robot. Ian Watts also added that they had attacked Sgt. Bash for interfering with an attempt to flip Comengetorix out of the arena.
- Craig Charles: "But y'know that Tag Team battle that you won. You were with Spawn Again, weren't you, and they were with Major Tom. Now Major Tom was draped in the Union Jack... and you said, to these kids, right, that their team didn't have the right to fly the flag. What are you doing saying that, man?"
- Ian Gear: "They lost!"
- Craig Charles: "Well, they lost, but to say to these kids that they haven't got the right to fly the flag... that really upset you, didn't it, Joe?"
- Joe Watts: "No."
- — The revelation, met with laughter from the roboteers and audience.
Despite this, Charles offered Joe and Ellie a Union Jack to fly over the balcony to symbolise that they had won the Vengeance Battle. Ellie returned to the pit wearing the flag and received a hug from Reed, congratulating her over their win.
Winner: Bigger Brother
Build-Up 3[]
Derek Foxwell and Kim Davies in the pits, with the badly damaged Panic Attack
Following the Vengeance battle, the Annihilator resumed with Julia Reed checking back on Panic Attack to see if it could still compete. It was here that the full extent of the damage was revealed, as Disc-O-Inferno had destroyed the rear and dislodged some vital magnets in its motor, whilst The Steel Avenger had broken its forklift mechanism. Due to the scale of the repairs needed to fix it, Panic Attack withdrew from the Annihilator, the second robot to do so.
- "It's so severely damaged, I don't think we're going back in again."
- — Technical supervisor Derek Foxwell on Panic Attack's condition
Withdrawn: Panic Attack
Final[]
- "We should have four fights to get here, and we've only had two."
- — Julia Reed
Disc-O-Inferno shreds Spirit of Knightmare
As the battle began, the two advanced slowly towards each other, with Disc-O-Inferno hitting Spirit of Knightmare but causing little damage. It then launched another attack, but drove straight up Spirit of Knightmare's wedge, but evaded its flipper. Spirit of Knightmare retaliated by getting under Disc-O-Inferno's side and trying to flip it, but Disc-O-Inferno fell off. It quickly turned, and tore the right-hand flipper bracket off, buckling some of the armour too. Spirit of Knightmare seemed undaunted and chased Disc-O-Inferno, who crashed into Refbot, before turning and landing a glancing blow on Spirit of Knightmare. After giving the wedge-shaped robot another hit, Disc-O-Inferno drove around the arena before trying to attack a far more sluggish Spirit of Knightmare. The former Heat-Finalist reversed into the Pit release and tried to attack Disc-O-Inferno, but it was not driving properly, and its flipper seemed to be firing on its own accord.
Disc-O-Inferno shreds Spirit of Knightmare's flipper
Eventually making their way to the far end of the arena, Disc-O-Inferno landed a few more hits and it was shown that the back end of Spirit of Knightmare was badly twisted. Spirit of Knightmare tried a frontal assault, attempting to use its broken flipper as a shield against Disc-O-Inferno's flywheel. Spirit of Knightmare finally backed away, before being hit once more, suffering more damage. Disc-O-Inferno darted away and attacked the rear of Spirit of Knightmare, damaging the chassis even more.
- "Described as a "refined wedge", Spirit of Knightmare. There is no refinement in Disc-O-Inferno's attacks"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Spirit of Knightmare is counted out
Eventually, Disc-O-Inferno managed to catch the valiant Spirit of Knightmare on the side, the impact knocking it away. With this attack, Spirit of Knightmare finally ground to a halt, leaving Refbot to count it out, but not without Disc-O-Inferno landing a few more blows, causing more damage.
- "It's almost crumpled! It's almost split apart! And they're out of the competition!"
- — Jonathan Pearce on the wreckage that was Spirit of Knightmare
The remains of Spirit of Knightmare
Eventually, Shunt and Sergeant Bash closed in on Spirit of Knightmare, with Shunt axing through the top armour (as he had in the Mayhem) and dragging it to the Floor Flipper. The resulting flip threw Spirit of Knightmare very close to the Pit, and Shunt eventually pitted the damaged, yet valiant runner-up.
Winner: Disc-O-Inferno
- "Spirit of Knightmare just had an awful dream! It dreamt it'd just been battered on Robot Wars Extreme."
- — Craig Charles' sign-off
Trivia[]
- This Annihilator can be considered a redux of the Southern Annihilator, due to only four battles taking place (if counting in this case Bigger Brother and Comengetorix's Vengeance battle).
- This Annihilator was plagued by multiple breakdowns and withdrawals; two competitors were forced to withdraw before the event began, while two more withdrew partway through due to damage sustained while participating. Consequently, it featured just three battles, the fewest of any Annihilator in Robot Wars history.
Filming schedule for Extreme 1, September 2001, referring to Annihilator 2 as "Annihilator 1"
- This was the first of three successive Annihilators to feature a robot from Team Knightmare.
- In contrast to the other Annihilator in Extreme 1, where only one of the robots was not a Semi-Finalist in Series 4, only one of the robots in this Annihilator, Panic Attack, was a Semi-Finalist in Series 4.
- Despite being referred to as the second Annihilator of Extreme 1, this Annihilator was actually referred to as 'Annihilator 1' in an official filming schedule document. Both Annihilators were filmed simultaneously, altering between the rounds.[1]
References[]
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