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Heat A of the New Blood Championship was the first of four heats which determined the finalists of the New Blood Championship, held during Robot Wars Extreme: Series 2. The episode featuring Heat A was originally broadcast on BBC Choice on 20 January 2003 and repeated on BBC Two on 11 July 2003.

Competing Robots[]

Extreme terror turtle
Terror Turtle
Weight 95kg
Dimensions 0.54 x 1.60 x 0.77m
Power Electric motor
Weapons Spinning arm
Strengths 360 Degrees of attack
Weaknesses It's a turtle!
From: Lewes, East Sussex
Team Members: John Frizell & Jacob Frizell
Mute EX2
Mute
Weight 96kg
Dimensions 0.28 x 1.00 x 0.70m
Power Electric motor
Weapons Front and rear flippers
Strengths Strong & reliable
Weaknesses Poor flipper design
From: Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire
Team Members: Adam Emmett, Daniel Emmett & Peter Emmett
Roobarb
Roobarb
Weight 99kg
Dimensions 0.64 x 1.00 x 0.85m
Power 24V electric motor
Weapons Flipper and ramming spikes
Strengths Powerful flipper
Weaknesses Susceptible to spinners
From: Bedfont, Middlesex
Team Members: Joshua Pinto, Lee Simpson & Mark McIntyre
Niterider
Niterider
Weight 98kg
Dimensions 0.20 x 1.30 x 0.95m
Power 2 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Active spike
Strengths Devastating weapon
Weaknesses Inexperienced team
From: Crowborough, East Sussex
Team Members: Paul Burridge, Steven Oakley & Liz Stevens
Max in class
Maximus
Weight 99kg
Dimensions 0.75 x 1.12 x 1.00m
Power 500W electric motors
Weapons Flipper and spinning disc
Strengths High speed disc
Weaknesses Weak drive motors
From: Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
Team Members: Andy Bannerman, Karl Warren & Andrew Newby
Mr Nasty
Mr Nasty
Weight 90kg
Dimensions 0.26 x 0.95 x 0.80m
Power 4 x 750W electric motors
Weapons Steel ramming spike
Strengths Heavily armoured
Weaknesses Easily flipped
From: Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Team Members: Perry Watkins, Jack Watkins & Dan Watkins

Round 1[]

Mute vs Roobarb vs Terror Turtle[]

NewBloodARound1.1

Terror Turtle is flipped over

Mute flips Roobarb

Mute launches Roobarb across the arena

The battle begun with Mute and Roobarb seeming to team up on Terror Turtle, who they saw as the weakest machine. Roobarb got a frontal flip, and Terror Turtle was overturned, from where it could not self-right, deeming the robot immobile. While idly spinning on its weapon, Terror Turtle activated the Disc of Doom, and as Roobarb was straying from the action, Mute caught up to it and flipped it.

Roobarb self-righted, and then pressed the pit release, before using its rear to shunt Mute. The pit then opened, and both robots drove away from it, with Roobarb returning to Terror Turtle, and flipping it back onto its wheels, possibly in an attempt to flip it out of the arena. However, in the process of being righted, Terror Turtle got its spinning bar weapon stuck on the arena side wall, and could not get away.

NewBloodARound1.1

Mute turns into the pit

Sir Killalot made an attempt to dislodge Terror Turtle from the arena side wall, but while this was happening, Mute and Roobarb were once again fighting an individual battle. Mute went for a charge at Roobarb, likely in an effort to get Roobarb down the pit, but Mute missed, and found itself dangerously near to the pit itself. Subsequently, Mute turned around, and fell straight in itself. Regardless of this self-immobilisation, the Judges deemed Terror Turtle immobile despite not being counted out, and Mute was allowed to progress to the second round with Roobarb.

Philippa Forrester: "Now Turtle Team, stop right there, there wasn't much terror involved!"
John Frizell: "There was a fair bit for us!"
— Post Battle interview

Qualified: Mute & Roobarb

Niterider vs Maximus vs Mr Nasty[]

Mr Nasty vs Maximus vs Niterider

Mr Nasty slams into Maximus

NewBloodARound1.2

Niterider is counted out

All three robots started slowly, before Mr Nasty shoved Maximus across the arena, into the pit release tyre, and then into the angle grinder. Maximus had stopped moving, but so had Niterider, who had spent the early portion of the battle duelling with Sir Killalot, and had lost a motor. The Refbot came in on Maximus, who could move its weaponry very slowly, before turning away and counting out Niterider instead. Sir Killalot shoved Niterider onto the floor flipper, and they were thrown into the air, landing off the back of Matilda's flywheel, which bent its unique 'disembowler'.

NewBloodARound1.2

Sir Killalot is nearly toppled

Niterider TV

Niterider skewers a television

"Haha! Sir Killalot, fancy Dan and showboating, nearly went over!"
— Jonathan Pearce

Matilda returned to attack with the disc, before leaving Niterider to Sir Killalot, who plucked Niterider into the air by its spike and spun it around, nearly falling over as he did. Sir Killalot moved away, whilst Mr Nasty pushed the immobile Maximus into the pit. Niterider was pushed onto the Drop Zone, where it had a retro TV dropped onto it. Luckily, the TV did not cause too much damage, as the buckled spike caught it mid-fall. Matilda then came in and destroyed the TV with her flywheel. Cease was called, and Niterider eliminated.

Qualified: Mr Nasty & Maximus

Round 2[]

Roobarb vs Maximus[]

B2pic08

Roobarb flips Maximus

The two robots charged at each other, colliding, before pausing, then continuing their attacks. Roobarb got underneath Maximus and flicked it into the air, using its raised flipper to push Maximus onto its back. Maximus was shoved by Roobarb as it tried to use its painfully slow lifting weapon to right itself. Eventually, Maximus did self-right, but it was unimportant, because Roobarb effortlessly flipped it over again.

MaximusStranded

Maximus is stranded

RoobarbMaximus

Roobarb aligns itself to try and flip Maximus out of the arena.

Roobarb pushed Maximus against the arena wall and tried to throw it out, but its flipper was not powerful enough. Eventually, Roobarb managed to pin Maximus hanging over the arena wall with its flipper open. It tried to flip Maximus out again, but its flipper again lacked the power necessary. Maximus had broken down by now, and was attacked by Shunt and Mr. Psycho.

NewBloodARound2.1

The buckled Maximus is counted out

Unusually for Shunt, the axe only glanced off Maximus' armour, a sign of the armour being very strong. Mr. Psycho found a gap in Maximus' flipping mechanism, and grabbed hold of it with his claw, buckling it terribly. Refbot came in and counted out Maximus, who was pushed onto the Drop Zone, and hit by a gas cooker, which did not affect Maximus, but destroyed the cooker itself. Cease was called after Mr Psycho hit Maximus with his hammer.

"You're new kids on the block, that was more like new kids on the chopping block!"
— Craig Charles, to the Maximus team

Winner: Roobarb

Mute vs Mr Nasty[]

NewBloodARound2.2

Mute wedges underneath Mr Nasty

Mute began by getting the flipper underneath Mr Nasty, but it opponent escaped before Mute could flip it. The second assault was more successful however, Mute flipped Mr Nasty. Mr Nasty drove into the CPZ, but charged back into the action, shoving Mute around. Mute wedged underneath Mr Nasty again, and this time took time to fire its flipper, but when it did so, Mr Nasty was flipped again, re-righting it. Another charge was launched at Mr Nasty, and Mute flipped it once again. After this, Mr Nasty began moving in only arcs. Interestingly, Sgt. Bash launched a jet of flame at the Refbot. Refbot ignored this, but the Sergeant continued to fire flame at the referee, so Refbot responded by issuing a yellow card.

Sergeant Bash vs Refbot

Refbot extinguishes Sgt. Bash's flamethrower

"Sgt. Bash- Oh, and the Refbot come head-to-head! And... Sergeant didn't like it! Get out the way, Ref! Referee will have taken note. Oh, son, you can't do that! Quite right, yellow card, warning! I'd have given a red; I'd have... A red, I'd have banned him!"
— Jonathan Pearce as the house robot battle begins.

Meanwhile, Mute had pressed the pit release, but this was now a side-event compared to the duel of the two house robots. Refbot pushed Sgt. Bash back with its rear wedge, but Sgt. Bash retaliated, chasing Refbot and almost pushing it into the pit.

"Ha ha ha, look at the ref! He's pushing Sgt. Bash out of it. Get away! You shouldn't be out there anyway, Sergeant, but it's a real old tussle between the two of them! The House Robots having an argument; I love it! Sgt. Bash- Look at this, this is great fun! Get away, Ref! Go on, put him down the pit! Ref, you've gotta come back and have a word. Sergeant, you are well out of line! Back to the ranks, tear off his stripes! Now, in the contest that mat... I can't concentrate on the contest that matters because the Sergeant's chasing the Ref! It's never happened before, in the history of Robot Wars!"
— Jonathan Pearce as the house robot battle escalates and overshadows the main fight.

Dead Metal attempted to attack Mr Nasty, whilst his fellows continued to attack one another, until Refbot, at the end of its rope, fired its fire extinguisher to put out Sgt. Bash's pilot light, rendering his flamethrower useless.

"Mute dominant, the Sergeant dominant, the ref's in trouble! He's trying to put out the fire! He's put out the Sergeant's fire, with the extinguisher! That's splendid stuff! The Sergeant will have to lick its wounds and go back to the barracks! Mr Nasty will go back to the drawing board, I think."
— Jonathan Pearce

After this, the battle returned to normal. Mute got underneath Mr Nasty and pushed it into Dead Metal, who grilled it over the flame pit. After cease was called, Dead Metal continued to push Mr Nasty towards the pit, but released it too early, and Mr Nasty spun away. The battle was decided by the Judges, but this was only a technicality, as Mute had dominated the fight.

Winner: Mute

Final[]

Roobarb vs Mute[]

NewBloodAFinal

Mute comes close to flipping Roobarb out

"A mute final on Robot Wars? With this crowd baying? No, I'm going to go for Roobarb"
— Jonathan Pearce's pre-battle prediction

Mute lifted Roobarb off its wheels for a brief moment at the start of the battle, but then the two took to spinning around one another, until Mute exploited the relatively large ground clearance on Roobarb, spun it around the arena, and flipped it into the CPZ. Before Shunt could dish out any punishment, Roobarb self-righted and escaped, only to be caught again.

Mute vs Roobarb

Roobarb flips Mute

This time Mute shoved Roobarb almost to the edge of the arena, and very nearly flipped Roobarb out of the arena entirely, but Roobarb responded quickly, using its arm to get it off the arena wall.

"Brilliant recovery! That is the finest recovery we've seen on Robot Wars! They're out, they're going out, they're going out! No, they're not, they're bouncing back! That was brilliant!"
— Jonathan Pearce on Roobarb's near-brush with defeat
Roobarb vs mute

Roobarb is wedged on top of Mute

Roobarb returned fire, flipping Mute over, then disrupting its self-righting to leave it propped up on its flipper. Mute sprung back down and was pushed across the arena by Roobarb, until eventually it was given enough leeway to self-right. Mute dodged Roobarb, as Roobarb pressed the Disc of Doom release button. Mute got underneath Roobarb again, and pushing it to the other side of the arena, and back again, before finally ramming it into the pit release tyre. Mute wedged itself under Roobarb yet again, this time shoving it into Sgt. Bash, before leaving it to the House Robots, Shunt attacking the shell of Roobarb. Mute again shoved Roobarb into the House Robots, then attempted to use the smaller, rear flipper to flick Roobarb over, but failed to do so. Mute was pushed onto the flame pit, and appeared to lose mobility, twinned with its already broken flipper. Despite its immobility at the end, Mute was declared the winner.

Heat Winner: Mute

"If you think these new robots are not as good as yours, put your money where your mouth is, on Robot Wars!"
— Craig Charles' sign-off

Trivia[]

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