- "Something that could be, in sort of 2,000 years time or something, patrolling a planet, and keeping the locals in order"
- — Chris Reynolds describes the inspiration for Sergeant Bash's design
Sergeant Bash (also abbreviated to Sgt. Bash from Series 3 onwards, and often shortened to just Bash) was one of the original four House Robots from the UK game show Robot Wars. He appeared in all seven of the original UK series, as well as both series of Robot Wars Extreme and all international versions of the show. His design is perpetuated to be that of a futuristic military vehicle, and his weapons by the time of his most recent series appearance were a top-mounted flamethrower and a set of front hydraulic pincers.
Almost every time Sergeant Bash came up against a robot from Team Nemesis, his flamethrower provided entertainment for the audience and roboteers as it regularly set their robots' fur alight. Indeed, his popularity came from his ability to do so, and Sergeant Bash even took part in an exhibition battle in Series 2 which was held specifically for him to set his opponents on fire for the audience's entertainment.
Sgt. Bash did not appear in the rebooted series of Robot Wars, with James Cooper of Robo Challenge stating that they did not have the time to complete a new version of him for Series 8[1]. He was the only House Robot from the original set of four not to return for the revived series. When asked about Sgt. Bash's absence in June 2016, the Official Robot Wars Facebook page responded by suggesting the possibility of additional House Robots for a second series, hinting of him possibly returning in the near future, although ultimately, he did not appear. During the airing of Series 9, BBC Two wrote on Twitter that he was "enjoying his retirement", to which Noel Sharkey replied "military robots retire early".
- "Sgt Bash isn't joining us for this series, as we only needed four for this series. However next time."
- — Official Robot Wars Facebook Page[2]
Later, Dutch competitor THE BASH would represent the retired House Robot during the Robot Wars: World Series, and footage of Sgt. Bash in the original run of Robot Wars was shown during its introduction. Executive Producer Andrew Robertson also hinted in an October 2017 Reddit AMA session that he was considering returning Sgt. Bash to the show, in the event that the reboot continued beyond Series 10.[3]
Sgt. Bash was originally driven by Chris Reynolds before the driving role was taken over by Mike Tilley in Series 2, whilst the weapons were controlled by Mickey Edwards, who also served as a special effects assistant for the show.[4] Mickey Edwards died in 2019[5].
Design[]
- "It was important to the Mentorn that the VED should devise a way of constructing a flamethrower that could add to the drama of the wars, and yet would be controllable and safe. The producers were absolutely right, and Sergeant Bash has become one of the most feared opponents in Robot Wars."
- — Robot Wars Technical Manual on Sergeant Bash
Sergeant Bash's design took on a predominantly military feel, with a roughly wedge-shaped design inspired by World War II fighter planes, a green paint scheme with chevron markings resembling a sergeant's stripes, treaded tyres and a propane-fuelled flamethrower mounted on a 360 degree rotating turret. He was one of only two robots in Robot Wars to feature a flamethrower - the other being fellow House Robot Growler - a weapon which was otherwise prohibited under the technical rules. In the Sir Killalot and the House Robots video/DVD, it was stated that the inspiration for Sergeant Bash's design came from the idea of a futuristic army patrol vehicle, which was further elaborated upon in his backstory from the Robot Wars Technical Manual.
- "There's more going on inside Sergeant Bash than in any of the others, in terms of we've got a gas bottle for the flamethrower, regulators for the flamethrower, and there's a petrol off-cut saw on the back."
- — Chris Reynolds, interviewed in Robot Wars: The First Great War
The robot's power source came from four batteries running in parallel, while he required numerous gas bottles, valves and CO2 reservoirs just to operate the flamethrower. These, combined with the flamethrower and pincers in later series, necessitated him having a long wheelbase to incorporate his complex internals. He had an aluminium chassis, and had fibreglass armour for most of his appearances, though in the first three series, he had steel armour. Because of his heavy weight, Sergeant Bash had agricultural Rotavator wheels for extra traction. He was the only one of the House Robots to have this kind of wheels[6]. Sergeant Bash would also have four small casters mounted underneath the ramming blade for added control.
- "The Sergeant's design and colour scheme reflect his military aspirations; he is also distinguished form the other house robots by his large Rotavator drive wheels (a Rotavator being a machine for digging up gardens). In fact, Sergeant Bash contains more complex equipment than any other robot: his sophisticated weapons systems require the inclusion of gas bottles to power the flame-thrower, in addition to valves and CO2 bottles. The components powering the flame-thrower and circular saw have increased the Sergeant's weight to a whopping 120 Kilograms."
- — Robot Wars Technical Manual on Sergeant Bash
Sergeant Bash took five and a half weeks to build. The design sketch included a chainsaw on the rear, but a circular saw was used as a rear weapon instead. According to Chris Reynolds, Sgt. Bash weighed roughly 330kg on Robot Wars, although his weight was listed as 120kg on the televised show to disguise the real weight[7].
- "The idea of a flamethrower as well, which wasn't very well appreciated in the early stages, but I always felt would work really well within the programme."
- — Chris Reynolds, interviewed about the use of a flamethrower in Robot Wars: The First Great War
Originally, Sergeant Bash had steel plate armour and and aluminium chassis, with a rear petrol cut-off saw to defend the back, which spun at 3,200 RPM[8]. However, the blade had a tendency to shatter or fall off in Series 1, so it was replaced with a smaller one for Series 2. He also had a steel ramming blade on the front. The gas bottles were positioned at the front, while the motors for Sergeant Bash's saw were located at the rear behind the flamethrower turret. He was powered by a 12 Volt motor, giving him a top speed of 8mph[9]. The rear of Sergeant Bash had no armour, the side armour consisting of armoured "frills" on each side, whilst the wheels were exposed apart from a steel plate in front of each wheel to protect the tyre[10]. The side armour plates had spike edges, but these would not be kept when Sergeant Bash's armour was redesigned for Series 3.
- "In the early when we first started working on Robot Wars, we put sharp corners on everything to make the robots look more vicious. Every robot had bits of metal sticking out of it and sharp bits all over it, but we ended up with so many scratches on our ankles and rips on our clothes that we sanded off all the sharp edges!"
- — Chris Reynolds, interviewed in Issue 7 of Robot Wars: The Official Magazine[11]
After Series 2, Sergeant Bash underwent a major redesign, and this new design would be kept for the remainder of the show’s original run. The ramming blade and the rear saw were removed, with the ramming blade being replaced with a set of hydraulic pincers, similar to Sir Killalot’s.
- "It was difficult to ram a robot at high speed."
- — Chris Reynolds explains why the ramming blade was removed in Robot Wars Magazine[12]
The rear saw was removed because the bottles were relocated to the rear for Series 3 onward, leaving no room for the saw, so it was removed and replaced with an ornamental saw protruding from his rear panel. Sergeant Bash was now fully enclosed in armour, and the motor was upgraded to 24 volts.[13]
- "...his tremendous bulk has cost him in terms of power, and his 12-volt motor is to be upgraded to 24-volts to rectify this weakness."
- — The Robot Wars Technical Manual on the upgrade to Sergeant Bash's motor
Chris Reynolds later expressed his disappointment with the rear cutting disc, when interviewed for RoboNerd 2020.
- "The idea was this saw would come down with a steel cutting disc on it. Well, you use one of these petrol saws and you use it as a steel cutting disc, it cuts through RSJs on building sites, and you would have thought "This would easily be able to rip through other robots!" but it didn't! It was useless, absolutely useless! Because sometimes the other robots would move, and the blade would get snapped, and a bit would fly off, and it just didn't have enough energy, the robot wouldn't still long enough to cut it, and it was just lots of little things like that we didn't realise. So it was a big learning curve for us really."
- — Chris Reynolds in 2020[14]
Sergeant Bash also underwent some improvements for Series 4, which would be kept for the remaining series. His steel armour was removed and replaced with fibreglass, giving him greater speed and mobility[15]. The hydraulic cutter was replaced with a larger, custom-made jaw made with surgical steel. The jaw had 2000lb per square inch hydraulic power, causing eight tonnes of pressure at the tip.[16]
- "The design of the jaw, the shape and the profile, was based on a WW2 fighter, the artwork painted on Typhoons by Americans"
- — Chris Reynolds in Ultimate Warrior Collection - Sir Killalot & the House Robots
Over the next few series, Sgt. Bash from Series 3 onward would be given small upgrades. Sgt. Bash's flamethrower was also modified to tilt downwards in later series, enabling him to reach low-bodied competitors, and after Series 5 the flamethrower was upgraded with a new gas valve, making it more powerful[17].
Robot History[]
Series 1[]
- "Keeping order, Sergeant Bash! Featuring a savage circular saw and a flamethrower, certain to leave all opponents...hot under the collar!"
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Sergeant Bash in Series 1
Sergeant Bash was the third House Robot to be introduced when the House Robots were first listed in Heat A, and for this series featured the flamethrower, ramming spike and rear-mounted circular saw. At the time, his flamethrower was the only fire hazard in the arena, as the flame pits and arena-mounted flamethrowers would not be introduced until later.
He made his first appearance in The Gauntlet in Heat A, where he was the first robot on the House Robot route. Road Block ran the Gauntlet first, and Sergeant Bash fired his flamethrower at it, but this did not slow down or deter Road Block. Barry was next to run, and after it accidentally nearly drove onto the grille on its first charge, Sergeant Bash rushed in and held it still as it tried to get away, and holding it on the grille when it drove on, though he would reverse and allow Barry to get out.
The other robots did not take the House Robot route, apart from Grunt, who proved much too fast for Sergeant Bash to stop, easily rushing past him. Sergeant Bash also fired his flamethrower at Killertron when it fell off the side of the ramp and got stuck.
Sergeant Bash made a big impact in the first battle in Robot Wars history, the Arena Semi-Final between Road Block and Nemesis. Whilst the two competitors were battling inside Matilda's CPZ, Sergeant Bash came over, and as Road Block got under Nemesis, he fired his flamethrower, causing the fur of Nemesis to catch fire.
- "The Nemesis boys all want to go to space and they're in the air! They're in the air! And they're on fire! Get the fire brigade!"
- — Jonathan Pearce's excitement as the fur of Nemesis ignites for the very first time
The battle had to be stopped in order to put Nemesis out, with the battle going to the Judges. This started the rivalry between Sergeant Bash and the robots of Team Nemesis, which would last for the next five series. However, other than this notable moment, Sergeant Bash's flamethrower made very little impact throughout the series, as there were few flammable robots.
He also had a notable moment in the second Arena Semi-Final, between Killertron and Shogun. After Shogun drove onto the grille, immobilising it, Sergeant Bash came out of his CPZ, but instead of attacking the immobile Shogun, he tried to use his saw on Killertron. However, as Sergeant Bash turned to use his saw on Killertron, the saw blade flew off as it hit Killertron's side.
Sergeant Bash was used in the Gauntlet again in Heat B, this time second in the House Robot route, behind Shunt. When Mortis ran the Gauntlet, it charged into Sergeant Bash, but couldn't push past, and Sergeant Bash blocked it, until Shunt came over to hold Mortis down with his axe and drag it back. Sergeant Bash pinned Mortis and gave it a lick of flame.
- "The House Robots doing a magnificent job there!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Shunt and Sergeant Bash hold Mortis still
He also left the House Robot route on a couple of occasions to impede the competitors progress elsewhere in the course. As Leighbot tried to cross the see-saw, Sergeant Bash fired his flamethrower at it, and wedged under the see-saw, holding it up, preventing Leighbot from getting off. He reversed to use his flamethrower some more, then tried to block Leighbot as it drove off the see-saw, before reversing, using his flamethrower on Leighbot some more as it passed.
- "In comes Bash, with the flamethrower. There's the camera on the flamethrow--Oh, blocking tactics by Bash! He's stopped the ramp from descending!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash holds up the see-saw
When Scrapper tried to go through the maze, Sergeant Bash blocked the exit and fired his flamethrower at Scrapper. Shunt came in from the other end, cutting off Scrapper's retreat and pinning it against the wall as Sergeant Bash fired his flamethrower.
- "He's into the sheep's pen. This could be lambs to the slaughter, because Bash and Shunt are closing in! And it could be roast lamb at that! If the torch comes out - and it does! Lamb kebab!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash and Shunt trapped Scrapper
Heat B also saw Sergeant Bash's first use in a Trial, as he and the other three House Robots were used in British Bulldog. After an unsuccessful attempt to block the charge of Mortis, where he drove too far forwards, so instead of blocking Mortis, Mortis just drove straight past, Sergeant Bash drove up the arena to attack Detonator, which had barely moved because of an uncharged battery. He pushed the Dartford Girls Grammar robot against the top fence, kept it pinned and pushed it about, before driving back down the arena to try and help Matilda, which was stuck on Recyclopse, but he was unable to prevent the competitor flipping over his fellow House Robot.
Heat C was relatively quiet for Sergeant Bash, as he was absent from the Gauntlet for the first time, the only time in this series, and he was not used in the Football Trial.
He did have a couple of notable moments during the Arena stage battles. First, during the battle between Wedgehog and Dreadnaut, Dreadnaut pushed Wedgehog into his CPZ. Sergeant Bash turned around to try and use his saw, but the saw merely folded as it turned against Wedgehog. Sergeant Bash turned back the other way to try attacking with the saw again, but on contact with Wedgehog, the blade slipped off onto the top of Wedgehog.
- "Oh, the saw's gone again! Poor old Sergeant Bash has lost his saw blade! That's like a halo!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash's saw slips off
He would attack Wedgehog with the saw again in the Heat Final, after Robot The Bruce pushed it onto a grille, immobilising it. Sergeant Bash reversed into the back of Wedgehog and used his saw to cut into Wedgehog's rear, and Matilda got alongside and cut into it with her chainsaw.
Sergeant Bash was used in the Gauntlet again in Heat D, being first on the House Robot route again. However, he was unable to stop either of the three featherweights that took the House Robot route (SAT'arn, The Demolisher and Bugs), as they proved too fast and small for him to catch.
Apart from using his saw on SAT'arn in the Heat Semi-Final, Sergeant Bash was mostly in the background for Heat D. He did appear in the Stock Car Trial, on one of the raised platforms, but did not use his flamethrower.
In contrast to Heat D, Heat E proved to be Sergeant Bash's most eventful episode of the series. As usual, he was first on the House Robot route in the Gauntlet. During Torque of the Devil's run, he tried to push it onto the grille, but as he pushed forwards, he accidentally pushed past Torque of the Devil and drove onto the grille himself. Despite this, he did managed to push Torque of the Devil so it was stuck on the edge of the grille, and he could on it. As "Stop, and deactivate robots" was called, he was able to reverse off.
- Jeremy Clarkson: "What's it feel like, going up against that thing [Sergeant Bash] then?"
- Adam Pengilly: "Oh, it's a wimp!"
- Jeremy Clarkson: "It's a wimp, but it took you out!"
- — Post-Gauntlet interview
He pushed Psychosprout off the pyramids after it got stuck, but when he tried to pin it against the side, he accidentally pushed it down the course due to Psychosprout's spherical shape.
- "A rolling stone gathers no moss. A rolling sprout gathers a Sergeant Bash! ...And I think Sergeant Bash is helping him along here, and I think he's helped him far enough!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Sergeant Bash was one of the obstacles in the Labyrinth trial, along with Matilda and Shunt.
- "What makes it particularly difficult, is that all the time you're being attacked! Not only by your fellow competitors, but by the super-heated halitosis of Sergeant Bash!"
- — Jeremy Clarkson, whilst introducing the Labyrinth Trial
The first House Robot on the course, he blocked Torque of the Devil and Full Metal Anorak, but Full Metal Anorak drove straight into him, as it was low enough to avoid his flamethrower, unlike Torque of the Devil. Sergeant Bash reversed, then blocked Full Metal Anorak as it tried to get past. However, Sergeant Bash then reversed to use his flamethrower, allowing Fully Metal Anorak to drive around him. Sergeant Bash went down the course to help Shunt prevent Bodyhammer finishing, with Sergeant Bash blocking the exit, and chasing Bodyhammer back up the course and blasting his flamethrower at it.
During the battles in the Arena Stage, Bash twice left his CPZ illegally. In the Heat Semi-Final between Full Metal Anorak and REALI-T, Full Metal Anorak drove by his CPZ, and Sergeant Bash reversed after it, leaving the CPZ as Full Metal Anorak got away. REALI-T drove into him, so Sergeant Bash tried to attack it with his saw, though REALI-T quickly got away.
- "And in comes the Sergeant! And that bodywork did resist the circular saw! Looks okay to me, and them."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash comes out of his CPZ and attacks REALI-T
REALI-T quickly got away, and Sergeant Bash drove into the centre of the arena. REALI-T pushed Full Metal Anorak into him, and Sergeant Bash returned to his CPZ.
Then, in the Heat Final, Sergeant Bash drove down the arena whilst Bodyhammer pushed REALI-T into Matilda's CPZ. Bodyhammer got out of the CPZ, but drove into Sergeant Bash as it tried to avoid Matilda. Bodyhammer tried to drive away, but in its haste to get away, it drove too close to a grille and got one wheel stuck. REALI-T charged at Sergeant Bash, then pushed Bodyhammer fully onto the grille. Sergeant Bash fired a flick of flame at REALI-T before returning to his CPZ. Later, when REALI-T drove onto the arena side railings and got stuck, Sergeant Bash came over to torch it.
The final Heat saw Sergeant Bash used as the first robot on the House Robot route of the Gauntlet for the fourth time in six Heats. When Elvis got stuck trying to get onto the see-saw, Sergeant Bash used his saw on the side armour, which created lots of sparks, but only left large scratches in the side. His saw also broke as he turned for another attack.
- "You need some Blue Suede Shoes to get out of there! Oh, you Hound Dog, Sergeant! Leave him alone!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash attacked Elvis
In The Blob's run, Dead Metal blocked it, and Sergeant Bash rammed it, puncturing the front with his front cutting spike, a rare piece of damage it inflicted, then rammed The Blob against a pyramid.
In the Heat Final, T.R.A.C.I.E. accidentally drove into Sergeant Bash's CPZ after charging away from Skarab, getting its front spears stuck in the side of the House Robot. Shunt came over from his CPZ to try and help separate the two robots.
- "Surely not mental enough to take on the Sergeant, I don't know though! Look at the damage caused! And certainly, Shunt seems to think twice before coming in!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as T.R.A.C.I.E. gets stuck in the side of Sergeant Bash, and Shunt comes out to help
According to the Bodmin Community College team, Road Block flipped Sergeant Bash over during Series 1, though this was not shown on television.
- "Our triumphant moment had to be when we flipped Sergeant Bash right over. We put the power to good use. He was not pleased, but that didn't matter."
- — The Bodmin Community College team, interviewed in a Robot Wars Club Newsletter[18]
Series 2[]
- "The Sergeant, belching out fiery damnation! The House Robots are back, and this time, it's personal!"
- — Jonathan Pearce in the House Robot introduction
Series 2 saw a number of changes for Sergeant Bash. Firstly, the Flame Pit was introduced, so Sergeant Bash’s flamethrower was no longer the only fire hazard in the arena. His disc was replaced with a smaller, stronger disc, to prevent it shattering or slipping off like in Series 1.
Most significantly, Sir Killalot was introduced. With 5 House Robots instead of 4, Sergeant Bash was not used in every battle like he was in Series 1, as one House Robot had to be left out in each fight. He was not used in any of the battles in Heat C or Heat I
Sergeant Bash’s flamethrower caused a lot of notable damage in Series 2. In Heat D, during the Arena Semi-Final between Razer and Inquisitor, Razer broke down and was flipped over by Matilda. Sergeant Bash torched the underbelly, causing the insides to catch fire.
During All Torque’s Gauntlet run in Heat I, Sir Killalot held up All Torque with his lance, and Sergeant Bash torched the underbelly, causing the wood inside to catch fire. Despite this, All Torque kept going until cease was called.
- Craig Charles: "Well lads, a bit of a problem there, you were on fire!"
- Robin Iddon: "We laugh at fire!"
- Craig Charles: ""We laugh at fire?!""
- Robin Iddon: "It's only wood!"
- — Post-Gauntlet interview
Sergeant Bash even had a special event dedicated to his flamethrower, the Inferno Insurrection, shown as part of the Grudge Match Special. Sergeant Bash fought Nemesis and Ramrombit, a "sacrificial robot" driven by George Francis. Nemesis was decorated with a chef's hat, had a kebab on top to be roasted and its spikes were covered in fabric. Both competitor robots were doused in flammable liquid and set alight for the entertainment of the audience.
- "Look at Nemesis! Oh, it's a Catherine wheel Ramrombit - ah, fireworks. That's brilliant, that was absolutely brilli-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, look at that - oh terrific stuff."
- — Jonathan Pearce bursts into hysterics during the Inferno Insurrection
However, Sergeant Bash accidentally caused damage to one of his fellow House Robots with his flamethrower. During Robo Doc’s Gauntlet run, Sergeant Bash blocked it with the help of Sir Killalot. Sergeant Bash was roasting Robo Doc with his flamethrower, but as Sir Killalot picked up Robo Doc, he got in the way of the flames, and he caught light.
- "Hoisting them in the air, oh but look, Killalot's on fire! Killalot's aflame! Robo Doc's in the air, I wonder if they've done enough, what punishment to Killalot?"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sir Killalot catches fire
Sergeant Bash continued his grudge against Team Nemesis, blasting Nemesis during its Gauntlet run in Heat G, causing a small fire, though Nemesis got past and finished regardless. Sergeant Bash also set fire to Nemesis during the Skittles Trial. Before their Arena Semi-Final battle with Onslaught, Team Nemesis attached a kebab to Nemesis, hoping Sergeant Bash would set the robot alight again and the kebab would be cooked. However, despite Sergeant Bash firing a flick of flame at Nemesis, Onslaught pitted it before the whole robot could go up in flames, with only a small fire on top of one of the wheel hubs, which was quickly put out.
- Craig Charles: "What was that kebab doing on the front?"
- Peter Redmond: "We were expecting a bit more from Bash, you know – a bit more flames."
- — Peter Redmond laments the team's missed opportunity to set Nemesis' kebab on fire
Across the series, Sergeant Bash was used in the Gauntlet, apart from Heats E, F and G, and the second Semi-Final. In the first few Heats, he was used in the left-hand route or middle route, but after The Sentinel was introduced in Heat G, he was no longer used in the left-hand route, instead being in the right-hand or middle routes.
Sergeant Bash had an unusual advantage in the Gauntlet that the other House Robots didn’t have, in that he could use his flamethrower to attack robots as they went down the route next to him. He fired his flamethrower at Victor and Rameses II, as they went down the middle route, from the left route, and during Semi-Final 1 he fired the flamethrower at Behemoth and Killertron as they went down the middle route, from the right route.
Sergeant Bash was often placed last in the course. In Heat A, when Demolition Demon ran the Gauntlet, Sergeant Bash blasted it with his flamethrower instead of ramming it, but Demolition Demon was unaffected and reached the finish line.
In Heat B, Sergeant Bash tried to block Mace after it crossed the see-saw, and attacked with his saw, but Mace was able to push Sergeant Bash down the course. Dead Metal came over to try and stop Mace, but Mace pushed past and reached the end.
- "Trying to ram Bash, which is always a mistake, with that grinding disc at the back, but they're trying to power their way through!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Mace pushes Sergeant Bash
In the same Heat, Sergeant Bash blocked Chaos after it crossed the see-saw, but Chaos reversed and charged into his front, and managed to push past him to reach the end.
- Craig Charles: "You gave Sergeant Bash a good beating, didn't ya?"
- Mike Cutter: "We were expecting a bit more from Bash, you know – a bit more flames."
- — Post-Gauntlet interview
Occasionally, Sergeant Bash would come over from one route to another to help his fellow House Robots. In Heat I, when Rottweiler got stuck, Sergeant Bash came from the right route to the middle, attacking Rottweiler with his saw and scratching the side. He did the same thing in the next Heat, coming from the right route to the middle route to try and prevent Ivanhoe from finishing, but Ivanhoe got past and finished. During Phoenix’s Gauntlet run in Heat K, Bash left the right route to go to the middle to block the end.
During the Semi-Finals, Sergeant Bash pushed the sphere into Panic Attack as it tried to get through the tank trap, causing it to get stuck. Then, during the Race-Off with Mace, he helped Shunt trap Panic Attack after it crossed the ramp, though it still won because Mace was pushed into the Pit by the Sentinel.
Sergeant Bash was used in various Trials across the series, the first being the Skittles Trial in Heat A, along with Matilda and Sir Killalot. Although the House Robots weren’t allowed to enter the triangle, Sergeant Bash could still use his flamethrower on competitors when they entered the triangle, which he did to Victor.
There were a couple of notable moments for Sergeant Bash during this Trial. First, during Panda Monium's run, Sergeant Bash broke the rules by driving into the triangle, prodding the barrels. However, he reversed without knocking any barrels over.
- "What on Earth's the Sergeant doing in there?"
- — Jonathan Pearce notices Bash breaking the rules
Later, at the end of Demolition Demon's run, Matilda lifted the competitor up with her tusks, despite cease being called, and Sergeant Bash helped Matilda flip Demolition Demon onto its side. Sir Killalot pushed Demolition Demon, but this caused it to fall onto Sergeant Bash, where it got stuck until Sir Killalot pulled it off.
- "Demolition Demon, certainly ruffling the feathers of the House Robots, and they seem to have gone berserk! They're angry! They want revenge! And Demolition Demon is bearing the brunt of their anger!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Matilda and Sergeant Bash topple Demolition Demon
Sergeant Bash appeared in the Skittles Trial again when it was used in Heat G. He tried to block Onslaught, but Onslaught got at his side and drove around him. During Nemesis’ run, he fired his flamethrower at it when it was inside the triangle, and actually reversed into the triangle, knocking over some barrels.
In Heat D, Sergeant Bash was used as the defender in the Football Trial, with Dead Metal being the goalkeeper. In the first round, he blocked Elvis, blasting it with his flamethrower and setting it on fire as Razer rushed in to score the first goal.
- "Oh, hot stuff for Elvis from the Sergeant, Razer will go through, Elvis is on fire!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Elvis burns
For the second round onward, the Milly-Ann Bug team added marshmallows to the robot’s hair, hoping for them to get toasted. Sergeant Bash obliged, blasting it with his flamethrower as it pinned the robot in the corner. However, this left Behemoth free to get the second goal. Fire extinguishers were called to put out Milly-Ann Bug's flaming hair between rounds.
In the final round, Sergeant Bash blocked Elvis, blasting it with his flamethrower, but Elvis got away, smoking but not burning.
- "Elvis, you will not get rid of the Sergeant with that flap. There's a whiff from the quiff! Elvis is smokin'!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash blasts Elvis with the flamethrower
Milly-Ann Bug was stuck on the side, and Sergeant Bash torched her hair again. However, this left Elvis free to get to the ball. Sergeant Bash went back to try and stop it, ramming into Elvis and firing his flamethrower, but after a struggle, Elvis scored.
Sergeant Bash was used in the Football again when it returned in Heat H. This time, he was used as the goalkeeper, with Matilda in defence.
- "And in goal, our very own hot shot, Sergeant Bash!"
- — Craig Charles
Loco scored first and Cassius scored the second goal, knocking the ball towards the goal, then driving under Sergeant Bash to stop him as he tried to prevent the ball going in. In the third round, he came off his line whilst Sting was immobile and GroundHog was spinning in circles, and set the ball on fire.
- "Oh magnificent! Great Balls of Fire! What on Earth's happened? Bash has torched the ball. This is chaos! This is wonderful stuff!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash sets the ball on fire
Wizard was barely moving, and Matilda and Sergeant Bash attacked it, Matilda cutting into the hat with her chainsaw, and Sergeant Bash blasting it with his flamethrower.
In Heat K, Sergeant Bash was used alongside Dead Metal in the King of the Castle Trial, but he went off the edge three times. First, during Demon's run, Dead Metal had Demon in his grip but was struggling to push him off, so Sergeant Bash got behind Dead Metal and pushed the two together. Sergeant Bash then drove to the side of Demon, and together, he and Dead Metal pushed Demon off, but as they did so, Sergeant Bash drove off the edge. As he fell, his front armour came loose.
After he and Dead Metal failed to push Enzyme or The Mule off the platform, they seemingly had an easy victory when Mega-Hurts accidentally drove to the edge and got stuck, but as they rushed in to knock it off, they both fell off the edge with Mega-Hurts.
Most notably, Plunderbird 2 was able to defeat both House Robots, the only time this happened. First, Plunderbird 2 pushed Dead Metal off the edge, and as Sergeant Bash got behind it and tried to push it, Plunderbird 2 drove forwards and steered away, causing Sergeant Bash to drive off the edge. This made Plunderbird 2 the only robot to defeat two House Robots in a Trial.
- "And Dead Metal goes! Well perhaps they're not all talk and no trousers, and the Sergeant goes! Well they've lived up to their proud boast!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Plunderbird 2 knocks both House Robots off the ring
Of the Trials he was not used in, the most notable was Pinball, where he was the only House Robot not to be used.
Sergeant Bash suffered a number of attacks from competitors across the series. The most notable came during the Gauntlet in Heat B. Sergeant Bash and Dead Metal were blocking Wheelosaurus as it ran the Gauntlet, and Dead Metal pushed Wheelosaurus against Sergeant Bash, but Wheelosaurus swung its spike arm over, puncturing the flamethrower and ripping it off.
- "And that looks like the gas canister's been ripped off Sergeant Bash! Sergeant Bash is in real trouble here! It's been immobilised by Wheelosaurus! Who'd have thought that Victorian pram wheels could disable Sergeant Bash?!"
- — Jonathan Pearce after Wheelosaurus rips off the flamethrower
This led to an evacuation of the building[19], and Peter Gibson celebrated by writing Sgt. Bash's name on the side of Wheelosaurus, crossed out.
The House Robots would later take revenge during the Arena Semi-Final. During Wheelosaurus’ battle with Chaos, a flick of flame from Sergeant Bash immobilised Wheelosaurus after Chaos pushed it into him, and Matilda tried to cut into the pram wheels with her chainsaw, before Shunt rammed it against the saws and axed the body repeatedly.
- "One blow - two blows. They're after Wheelosaurus, aren't they? There's the Shunt Cam. They're trying to get to the very brains of the beast. I think they're after revenge! Don't forget, Wheelosaurus caused major damage to Sergeant Bash! This is carnage! They're after blood and oil!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Shunt axes Wheelosaurus
Eventual champion Panic Attack staged two attacks on Sergeant Bash across the series. First, after defeating Whirling Dervish in its Arena Semi-Final in Heat F, Sergeant Bash drove against the arena fence whilst Dead Metal dragged the overturned Whirling Dervish onto the Flame Pit, so Panic Attack took advantage, repeatedly slamming him against the fence, dislodging his saw.
- "Oh look at that damage caused to Sergeant Bash! His fan club do not look amused!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Panic Attack rams Sergeant Bash, and the camera shows a group of young boys holding a Sergeant Bash banner in the audience
Matilda took "revenge on behalf of the House Robots", driving between Panic Attack and Sergeant Bash, chasing Panic Attack up the arena and pushing it against the wall. Having defeated Shunt in the Sumo, for the Heat Final, the Panic Attack team wrote a hit list of House Robots, saying “Who’s next?”.
Later, in the Grand Final eliminator against Killertron, Panic Attack took on the House Robots, ramming Shunt against the wall. Shunt chased after it, but Panic Attack pushed back. Sergeant Bash came in to help Shunt as Panic Attack tried pushing Shunt towards the Pit, but then drove close to the Pit, allowing Panic Attack to push him in.
- "And Panic Attack only needs to stay out of trouble, but it wants to rumble with Shunt and Bash there! Look at the strength from this little Welsh 'bot, so underrated, and it wants to push Bash into the Pit! Goes in itself!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Panic Attack pushes Sergeant Bash into the Pit
Rex Garrod, who always loved to take on the House Robots, charged at Sergeant Bash as it attacked Wizard in its Heat Semi-Final. Sergeant Bash had Wizard pinned against the fence, so Cassius rammed into the side of the House Robot, pushing Wizard away as it pinned him against the fence. Cassius reversed away, and Sir Killalot and Sergeant Bash cornered Wizard, but Cassius charged into the back of Sergeant Bash, trying to get underneath and flip him, but couldn't get underneath. Sergeant Bash used his saw on the top of Cassius, and Sir Killalot reversed into Cassius, so Cassius turned and drove away.
- "But Rex Garrod, with Cassius, showing more style, more aggression, and again, taking on the House Robots! Taking on Bash! Taking on the circular saw! The big, CO2 gas-powered ram can't flip Bash away. Killalot closing in, and Cassius loves it! This is what Rex said he'd do and he's doing it!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Cassius takes on Sergeant Bash and Sir Killalot
Sergeant Bash would get back at Cassius in the Heat Final, where Cassius took on the House Robots again having defeated Loco. Trying to prevent the House Robots attacking Loco, Cassius took on Dead Metal, Shunt and Matilda, flipping Matilda over, until Shunt pushed Cassius to the edge of the Pit. Sergeant Bash gave Cassius one last push in, but got stuck on the edge of the Pit himself in doing so.
During the Super Heavyweight qualifiers, Berserk used its forklift to lift Sergeant Bash up and push him, but could not lift him over. This was only briefly shown before the Super Heavyweight final as part of a recap of how the finalists reached the final.
Griffon turned Sergeant Bash over during the Internet Insurrection, part of the Grudge Match special.
- "Oh I thought I saw a chain flail away from Matilda and look at this! Bash is going and going...and all the teams love that! Griffon it was, who turned the Sergeant over!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Griffon turns Sergeant Bash onto his side
According to Chris Reynolds in Issue 2 of Robot Wars Magazine, this forced another evacuation of the studio.
- "In Series 2, he got flipped over and burst. We had to clear the studio. There weren't any flames but it was worrying!"
- — Chris Reynolds in Robot Wars Magazine[20]
The immobilised Sergeant Bash did, however, play a key role in the elimination of Corporal Punishment in the same battle. Corporal Punishment rammed Matilda as she tried to right her fellow House Robot. After a fight with Matilda, Corporal Punishment became stuck with the overturned Sergeant Bash on top of it, rendering the former unable to move.
Series 3[]
- "Sergeant Bash is back, with new weaponry; hydraulic pincers at the front, and that ferocious flamethrower mounted on a 360 degree turret. This war machine’s certain to leave all opponents hot under the collar!"
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Sgt. Bash in the House Robot introduction
Sergeant Bash was now spelled Sgt. Bash, and this spelling was used for the rest of the show’s original run. Sgt. Bash and the other House Robots were given upgrades for Series 3, with Sgt. Bash having more armour and new weaponry, with his rear saw being deactivated, and cutting pincers being added to the front. These pincers were first used in the battle between Raizer Blade and Red Dragon in Heat A, where he used them to grab Red Dragon after it broke down, pulling it back to his CPZ. This battle also saw the first uses of his of flamethrower in this series.
The pincers quickly made an impression, as they did notable damage to a number of competitors. One of the most notable was in Heat B, where he bit into Sump Thing, almost cutting it in half.
- "Tearing and rending machinery! Splitting Sump’s ravishing wheels!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash bites into Sump Thing
In Round 2 of Heat G, he used the jaws to slice through the front wedge of Henry after it broke down by the arena wall in its battle against Steg-O-Saw-Us.
Towards the end the Heat Final of Heat H, Hypno-Disc accidentally reversed into him when it missed a charge at Berserk 2, and Sgt. Bash bit into its rear armour with his pincer, lifting the whole robot off the ground.
He used the pincer to drag Crasha Gnasha around after it was flipped over by Fire Storm in Round 1 of Heat O, and also used it to push Beast of Bodmin to the Floor Flipper with the help of Shunt in Semi-Final 2.
Of course, his main feature was still his flamethrower. Sometimes, Sir Killalot would hold up a robot for him to roast, such as in the Heat Final of Heat E. The Big Cheese was unable to right itself after being flipped over by Chaos 2, and Sir Killalot pierced the bottom with his drill, holding it up for Sgt. Bash to blast with his flamethrower.
- "The loser Big Cheese was held in the air on Sir Killalot’s spike, and Bash moved in to flamethrower the bot – a bit like melting a hunk of cheese on a toasting fork."
- — Robot Wars Magazine [21]
Similarly, Sir Killalot speared Panzer on the end of his drill and held it for Sgt. Bash to roast in the Heat Final of Heat L.
Sgt. Bash continued his grudge with Team Nemesis, setting fire to their new robot Diotoir in Round 2 of Heat O, after it flipped over The Steel Avenger. He and Matilda went over to attack the overturned competitor, but then Sgt. Bash turned around and fired his flamethrower at Diotoir, setting its fur alight.
- "What a run here for Diotoir! They’re on fire – oh great! I’d pay my admission fee just to see this!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Diotoir is set alight
This did not stop Diotoir however, and Diotoir actually got its flipper under the front of Sgt. Bash and lifted him up a little as it burned.
Philippa Forrester had actually asked Team Nemesis to put a vegetarian sausage on the robot to cook before the battle, which they did and presented it to her in the post-battle interview.
There were also some humorous occasions when Sgt. Bash used his flamethrower to burn decorations on the competitors. During Miss Ile’s battle with Anorakaphobia, Sgt. Bash fired his flamethrower at Miss Ile whilst it was fighting Anorakaphobia, bursting one of its eyes, even though the competitor was nowhere near his CPZ. Miss Ile turned around, driving near Sgt. Bash’s CPZ, and Sgt. Bash fired the flamethrower again, bursting the other eye.
During Mammoth’s Walker Battle with Anarachnid, he set fire to Mammoth’s fur top. In The First World Championship, Sgt. Bash set fire to All Torque’s mascot Hamish.
- "How do you like your Hamish? Well done, medium perhaps? Oh dear, you better get it while you can! He’s not going to be around long, let’s be honest."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Hamish burns
Sgt. Bash sometimes helped keep competitors in line when they took on the House Robots. In Round 1 of Heat E, Chaos 2 tried to flip Matilda, so the other House Robots chased after it, including Sgt. Bash, who pushed it against Shunt. Chaos 2 got away, only for Sgt. Bash to follow it and pin it against the wall. Sgt. Bash let it go, but Chaos 2 continued to chase after the House Robots. It accidentally drove into the wall after missing a charge at Sgt. Bash, so he and Shunt pinned it against the wall, with Sgt. Bash biting into the front flipper plate.
In Heat O, Facet flipped Matilda over, so Sgt. Bash chased after it, blasting his flamethrower. Facet charged at him, getting the flipper under the side and trying to flip him, but could only lift him a little.
- "The weight of the House Robot, just keeping him on the arena floor!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Facet unsuccessfully tries to flip Sgt. Bash
Shunt managed to pin Facet against the arena wall, and Sgt. Bash bit into the flipper with his pincer.
He also occasionally helped competitors when they became stuck. In Heat A, he pushed Raizer Blade free when the tip of its flipper became stuck in one of the arena floor tiles during its battle with Red Dragon. In Heat I, when Terrorpin was stuck on Vercingetorix, he pushed Vercingetorix around until Terrorpin fell off. He also pushed Blade and Spike apart when the two robots were pushing against each other, unable to get an advantage on the other in Heat C.
Diotoir flipped The Steel Avenger up so its front was stuck on the arena wall in Round 2 of Heat O, so Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ and drove across the arena to push it free, despite the fact that Dead Metal and Shunt were closer.
There were times where he actually became stuck whilst attacking competitors. In Heat C, during the battle between Blade and Spike, Blade pushed Spike into Sgt. Bash’s CPZ, and Sgt. Bash cut into Spike’s side. However, as Sgt. Bash opened the pincer, Spike had become caught on top of the pincer. Blade had to push Spike to free it. As Sgt. Bash reversed, he knocked off some of Spike's decorations as his pincer brushed against the side.
- "But look at that cutting edge there of Sgt. Bash on Spike! Another bit of bodywork goes flying! Again, they squeeze in with the pincers! And young Mark Smith and William Foster will do well to get away!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash cuts into Spike
In the next heat, towards the end of the battle between Big Brother and The Grim Reaper, Big Brother broke down by Sgt. Bash’s CPZ. Sgt. Bash drove at it, but drove up the wedge, and his pincer became impaled on Big Brother’s top, leaving the two stuck together for the last few seconds.
Excalibur’s axe became stuck in the top of Sgt. Bash during its battle against Centurion in Heat J. Excalibur had broken down, and Centurion pushed him to Sgt. Bash, but as he went to attack, Excalibur fired the axe, which hit the top and punctured it. Sgt. Bash reversed, dragging Excalibur with him.
- "And Excalibur, having a go at Sgt. Bash! Is that wise, this late on?"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Sgt. Bash fired his flamethrower at Excalibur, but Excalibur kept the axe in, and Sgt. Bash pushed Excalibur out of the CPZ, still dragging it by the axe. After some pulling from Sgt. Bash, Excalibur was able to pull its axe free.
Sgt. Bash also became stuck on the edge of the pit during the battle between General Carnage and Behemoth in Round 2 of Heat B. The House Robots were attacking General Carnage after Behemoth flipped it over, with Sgt. Bash grabbing it with his pincer. Sgt. Bash let go and reversed for another attack, but as he drove back at General Carnage, he made a steering error, and turned too close to the Pit, with one wheel becoming stuck. Shunt pushed General Carnage, which righted it, and General Carnage tried to push Sgt. Bash fully into the pit. It couldn’t move the House Robot though, and Shunt axed into its top and lifted it up, before Sir Killalot drilled into its side and pulled it away. After dropping General Carnage into the Pit, Sir Killalot tried to push Sgt. Bash out, but Sgt. Bash fell in.
- "About to dump it, finally. But ooh, can he get it in there because Bash is slightly obstructing I would think!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sir Killalot pits General Carnage
Sgt. Bash broke down during the battle between All Torque and Thing 2 in Heat N. All Torque had become immobile in Shunt’s CPZ. Sgt. Bash also came over to attack, but then came to a stop. Shunt continued to attack, but Sgt. Bash was lying in the background, its flamethrower hanging to one side.
A few competitors were also brave enough to take Sgt. Bash on this series. Panic Attack, which had made two notable attacks on him in Series 2, took him on again in Heat K. After defeating Toecutter in Round 2, Panic Attack rammed into Sgt. Bash, who retaliated by chasing it across the arena and pushed it as it tried to get away. Panic Attack got its forks underneath and pushed Sgt. Bash back, but he used his pincers to help push Panic Attack against Dead Metal.
- "And Panic Attack promised to take on the House Robots, and they've done just that again! This time Sgt. Bash! So, "You take on my buddy Bash and I'll come in! says Dead Metal! ... And Panic Attack, is leaving a legacy here, with the House Robots, they will not forget!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Panic Attack takes on Sgt. Bash
After being chased, Panic Attack left the House Robots, but then drove onto the arena spikes, which lifted it. Sgt. Bash took advantage, grabbing Panic Attack by the lifting forks and forcing it against the wall. Panic Attack managed to lift Sgt. Bash, forcing him to let go.
Sgt. Bash would later bite into the lifting forks during its Semi-Final battle against Fire Storm when Fire Storm pushed it into his CPZ. As he did so, Fire Storm pushed against the two of them, forcing them both back as it got its flipper under Panic Attack. Later in the same battle, Panic Attack got under Fire Storm and tried pushing it, but Fire Storm slid aside, and Panic Attack charged forwards and drove into Sgt. Bash. Sgt. Bash turned to attack, but Fire Storm rammed into his side, allowing Panic Attack to reverse around him. Towards the end of the battle, Panic Attack managed to push Fire Storm into the CPZ, but in doing so, it drove between Sgt. Bash and Fire Storm, so Sgt. Bash chased it out of the CPZ. Fire Storm tried getting under the side, but could not get underneath with the flipper or push, so reversed out of the CPZ.
Griffon, another competitor that had attacked Sgt. Bash in Series 2, also attacked him again this series. In its Round 1 battle against Daisy Chopper, Griffon was having control issues by his CPZ, losing drive and being blasted with his flamethrower. Griffon regained some movement, but drove straight into his CPZ. Sgt. Bash pushed Griffon out, but Griffon drove at Sgt. Bash, got his lifter under his side and lifted him against the wall.
- "Ha! Now there’s the boast come to life! That’s great stuff, well done Oliver! Lifting up Bash, the House Robot! He’ll be annoyed!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Griffon lifts Sgt. Bash. Before the battle, Oliver Steeples had claimed the lifting arm had the power to lift “Even the biggest House Robots”
Dead Metal had to come over to push Griffon, knocking Sgt. Bash free.
The most notable attack on Sgt. Bash came in the Heat Final of Heat E. After being flipped over by Chaos 2, The Big Cheese was placed on the floor flipper by Sir Killalot, but The Big Cheese drove off it. Sir Killalot and Sgt. Bash tried to stop it, but The Big Cheese kept pushing, then got under him with his lifter. The Big Cheese lifted him up, causing his back armour to fall off and his gas canister to fall out as he toppled onto its side.
- "Great last effort though, to flip Bash up and over, and Bash has lost his helmet! Oh, that's splendid stuff! ...and Sgt. Bash is in bits and pieces!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as The Big Cheese lifts Sgt. Bash
Sgt. Bash was also used in the Pinball Competition, where he guarded one of the 50 point targets at the side of the arena. He managed to deflect away Dominator, Six Pac, R.O.C.S. 2 and Killerhurtz, but failed to prevent Crusader, Eye of Newt, Oblivion 2, Inquisitor Mk 2 and Razer hitting the button.
The tournament featured a number of notable incidents for Sgt. Bash. During Crusader’s run, its flipper became stuck under the target after it hit it, so Sgt. Bash had to push it free. Sgt. Bash actually pushed the see-saw when Eye of Newt was about to attempt it.
The most notable moment for him in the Pinball competition, possibly of the whole series, was when he accidentally set fire to Sir Killalot again. Oblivion 2 had broken down, and Dead Metal and Sir Killalot attacked it. Sgt. Bash came out to join them, and fired his flamethrower as he drove over, but as he did so, he drove too close to Sir Killalot. Sir Killalot was caught in the path of the flame, and caught fire under his helmet, just like in Heat I of Series 2.
- "Oh, in comes Bash, look what Bash has done to Killalot! The flamethrower has caught Killalot’s brain alight it seems!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash sets fire to his fellow House Robot
Sgt. Bash was also one of the House Robots used in the Robotic Soccer side tournament, albeit only in the final, where he joined Matilda in defence. He held back towards goal whilst Matilda was more active, getting the ball and taking on the competitors. He did push around Velocirippa after it broke down. Late on in the battle, he set fire to the ball, just like he had in Series 2, whilst Evil Weevil was trying to get to the ball.
- "Well, great balls of fire! At the moment, who's going to get... (laughs) the ball's on fire! This could only happen in Robot Wars, let's be honest!"
- — Jonathan Pearce after Sgt. Bash set fire to the ball
In the International League Championship, Techno-Lease and Prometheus were pushing against each other, both unable to gain an advantage. Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ to separate the pair, first pushing Prometheus, then Techno-Lease, but this failed to separate them, so Sgt. Bash got at the side of Prometheus and pushed it around, away from the front of Techno-Lease.
Curiously, during the battle between Diotoir and Terror Australis, a clip of Sgt. Bash setting fire to Diotoir was used to explain how Diotoir caught fire, despite the fact Sgt. Bash was not present in that battle. The clip used was actually from Diotoir’s battle with The Steel Avenger.
Sgt. Bash also appeared in a few battles in The First World Championship. He set fire to Diotoir twice across the tournament. In Round 1, despite it not being near the CPZ, as it was fighting Depoppesaurus Rex near the Pit. This burnt the fur off the back end.
He set fire to Diotoir again in Round 2. Diotoir had won the battle, after it flipped Cerberus over, but then deliberately drove at Sgt. Bash, who set the fur on fire.
- "And Diotoir’s on fire, they won’t mind that! They love to “Burn Baby Burn, Robot Inferno!” That’s the song on Diotoir lips!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash sets Diotoir on fire again
Sgt. Bash went over to attack the overturned Cerberus, but Diotoir chased after him as he went to attack Cerberus, trying to get the flipper under his side. Dead Metal had to grip Diotoir and push it away. Team Nemesis had no replacement fur, so Diotoir had to fight in the Semi-Final in its charred state with only patches of fur remaining.
According to Chris Reynolds in an interview in Issue 2 of Robot Wars Magazine, during the filming of the last battle of the series, Sgt. Bash's castor wheel broke, causing the robot to fall on its pincers, breaking them.
- "At the end of the Series 3, Bash was chasing after another robot and the front castor snapped off. The whole thing fell forward and broke the snippers, so they didn't work. It happened in the very last half hour of the series."
- — Chris Reynolds, interviewed in Robot Wars Magazine Issue 2[22]
Series 4[]
- "A flame-filled militaristic masher, who can warm the throttles of any robots heart! Weighing in at a mighty 120 kilos and complex in the barracks with masses of circuitry, but at the parade ground you’d better be at – “ATTENTION”!"
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Sgt. Bash in Heat A
Sgt. Bash had an improved front pincer for Series 4, this one being larger. It was first used in the first battle of the series, where he bit into Indefatigable after it was flipped over by Chaos 2. He torched Indefatigable, then grabbed it by the forklift and pushed it to a CPZ so Chaos 2 could flip it out of the arena.
In Round 2, the new pincer had one of its most notable moments of causing damage. During its battle with Chaos 2, Medusa 2000 reversed into his CPZ, straight onto his pincer, so Sgt. Bash crushed its back wheel.
- "Medusa 2000 going very near Sgt. Bash, and in trouble backing on to Sgt. Bash’s claws! Oh, and having its axles bent and buckled, the front mounted pincers of Sgt. Bash crumpling there! And Medusa 2000 can have no complaints! Don Weir drove it backwards onto the pincers of Sgt. Bash! And there’s nowhere to go now!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash crushes Medusa 2000’s back wheel
He pushed it over the Flame Pit, blasting it with his flamethrower, and pushed it into Shunt, who axed it. With Medusa 2000 immobile, he and Shunt pushed it onto the Floor Flipper. As Dead Metal attacked it, Sgt. Bash bit into one of the other wheels, ripping off the tyre.
His new pincer did a lot of notable damage across the series. In Heat N, Sgt. Bash and Sir Killalot crushed into Judge Shred 2 together, with Sgt. Bash biting into Judge Shred 2 on one side with his pincer, and Sir Killalot using his claw on the other. In Heat O, he crumpled the side of Aggrobot 2 after it broke down in its battle against S.M.I.D.S.Y.. In Semi-Final 2, after Spawn of Scutter was immobilised by Panic Attack, he crushed into the side as he pulled it away from the wall, then pinched into the front as he took it to the Pit.
There was no shortage of flammable targets for Sgt. Bash’s flamethrower this series. In Heat A, King B3 rammed Attila the Drum to his CPZ, so he set one of Attila the Drum’s side tassels alight, then set fire to the fur covering one of the wheels.
- "The tyre’s have caught fire! Will it be a tyre funeral pyre for Attila?"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash sets Attila the Drum’s wheel on fire
In Heat B, Pussycat cut the fuel line of Reptirron and pushed it close to Sgt. Bash's CPZ, and Sgt. Bash fired his flamethrower at Reptirron, causing it to burst into flames. Refbot put the fire out, only for Sgt. Bash to pin it in a corner and set fire to it again. He also pinched the back, creating a large hole as he pushed it up the arena and put it on the Floor Flipper.
- "It's all over for Reptirron and there are the flames!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash sets Reptirron on fire
Sgt. Bash set fire to Scorpion twice. In Round 1 of Heat M, he grabbed it by the tail after it was overturned by Reactor, and dragged it back to his CPZ. Dead Metal and Sir Killalot also came over to attack, with Sir Killalot pulling it away, resulting in the top of Scorpion’s tail being ripped off as it was still in Sgt. Bash’s pincer. As Sir Killalot held Scorpion up, Sgt. Bash fired its flamethrower at it, causing the fibreglass armour to catch fire.
- "Geoff Smith and John Bell, they’d also like to thank John’s wife Pip, she let them design and build Scorpion on the dining room table. She had to delay cooking cheese on toast, instead she has Scorpion rarebit!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Scorpion burns
Also, in the Tag Team Terror, after Bigger Brother flipped Scorpion over in Round 1, Sgt. Bash blasted it with his flamethrower, burning the fibreglass armour. Despite being badly burned, Scorpion was still able to continue to the final as Firestorm 2 won the Judges' decision, though the Scorpion team admitted before the final it was only "partially working".
- "Scorpion now, is in major trouble! Scorpion, which was built, designed on Pip Bell's dining room table, she's John Bell's wife. And at the moment, it looks as if Scorpion, designed on that dining room table to withstand any sort of charcoal grill is being flame torched in the top now!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash roasts Scorpion in the Tag Team
Diotoir returned, but went out early after being flipped over by Ming 2. As it was flipped over right next to his CPZ, Sgt. Bash came out and set the fur on fire as usual. He would also set fire to Diotoir when it appeared in the Pinball Warrior Tournament and the Celebrity Special.
As usual, Sgt. Bash and the other House Robots were used to commit “mercy killings” on immobilised competitors, though in this series, more use was made of the Floor Flipper and Pit than in Series 3. Whereas in Series 3, the Pit was only open for the first two rounds, the Pit was now lowered as the producers saw fit, often when a robot was immobile so the House Robots could dispose of it, and the Floor Flipper, which had previously only been used in the Heat Finals and the Semi-Finals, was now used in the early rounds as well. Sgt. Bash put robots such as Evil Weevil, Humphrey and Steg 2 onto the Floor Flipper.
Sgt. Bash also put beaten competitors in the pit, though this caused him some problems. In Heat O, he grabbed Oblivion 2 by the axe and pushed it to the pit, but as he got Oblivion 2 to the edge, he could not finish it off as its bottom jaw was dangling over the edge of the Pit, and he could not reverse. Dead Metal had to push Oblivion 2 free of Sgt. Bash, and Sir Killalot finished Oblivion 2 off. In the next Heat, he grabbed Cerberus by the tail after it was flipped over by V-Max, but as he dropped it into the Pit, he couldn’t reverse off the Pit because his pincer was hanging over the edge. The same thing happened in the War of Independence, where he pitted Detonator, and became stuck on the edge as he pushed it in.
Similarly, in Heat J, Sgt. Bash dragged Bigger Brother to the Pit, but as he tried to drop it in, Bigger Brother was caught on his pincer. Sir Killalot had to pull it off with his claw, dropping it beside the Pit and then Shunt pushed it in, as Bash seemingly couldn’t reverse.
- "But Joe, cheerio! Oh no! It's still in there, teetering on the brink of the abyss!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash fails to pit Bigger Brother
Very few competitors were brave enough to take on Sgt. Bash this series, one of the only exceptions being Killerhurtz, who actually fought with him twice. In Round 2 of the Northern Annihilator, Sgt. Bash went to attack Killerhurtz after Spikasaurus rammed it into his CPZ, but as he tried to crush into the side armour with his pincers, Killerhurtz rammed him, pushing him out of the CPZ and axing his flamethrower as it pushed him against the wall. Killerhurtz kept his axe in Sgt. Bash despite Dominator 2 axing it, and pushed Sergeant Bash away from the wall. It pulled the axe back, only to axe Sergeant Bash again, getting his axe into the side and pushed him to the flame pit.
- "Meanwhile, the Sergeant comes in and attacks poor old Killerhurtz, everyone's been after them...yes! Killerhurtz pins its axe onto the flamethrower of the Sergeant! Look at that, he's being dragged around the arena floor!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Killerhurtz axes and pushes Sgt. Bash
Sgt. Bash started to push back, and Matilda rushed over, lifting Killerhurtz, and they pushed it onto the Flame Pit, with Sgt. Bash also torching Killerhurtz. Killerhurtz fired the axe again, getting it stuck in Sgt. Bash's side. Matilda tried lifting and pushing Killerhurtz to separate the pair, but Killerhurtz was still stuck. Suicidal Tendencies pushed into the back of Sergeant Bash, but still couldn't free him from Killerhurtz. Matilda pushed them both away from the Dlame Pit, and flipped Killerhurtz over to separate it from Sgt. Bash. Sergeant Bash appeared to be immobile.
In Heat I, Killerhurtz became stuck in forward drive in its battle with Splinter, and after being picked up and spun around by Sir Killalot, it charged straight into Sgt. Bash, and fired the axe at his flamethrower, bending it down.
Sgt. Bash was very busy during the Christmas Specials. He was used in all four battles of the Tag Team Terror, every battle of both the Northern and Southern Annihilators, and all seven battles of the Celebrity Robot Wars. The Celebrity Special was a particularly notable episode for him, as he used his flamethrower on many of the decorations the celebrities had added to their robots.
During Diotoir’s battle with Wild Thing, Diotoir drove over the flame jet and caught fire, so Sgt. Bash came out of this CPZ and blasted it with his flamethrower to add to the blaze. Although the fire would eventually die down, toward the end of the battle, Sir Killalot came out of his CPZ and grabbed Diotoir with his claw, and Sgt. Bash blasted it with his flamethrower again, setting the fur on fire again. In the same battle, he also set fire to Wild Thing's rabbits, coming out of his CPZ, and driving between Diotoir and Wild Thing whilst they were fighting.
Sgt. Bash also came out of his CPZ during the battle between Killertron and Gemini to set fire to Killertron’s boxing glove. Sgt. Bash would set fire to Diotoir for a second time in the Celebrity Special right at the start of the first Semi-Final, where he came out of his CPZ, driving right to the centre of the arena to set fire to Diotoir. Diotoir caught fire, and Sergeant Bash returned to his CPZ, but when Diotoir drove down the arena, Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ again, making the fire even larger. Despite most of Diotoir's fur being burnt, Diotoir survived to the end of the battle and won.
In the Tag Team Terror, Sgt. Bash and the other House Robots would come out of their CPZs when competitors broke the rules. In the Final, 101 and King B3 defeated Firestorm 2 and Scorpion, so they turned on each other. As 101 pushed King B3 onto Firestorm 2's flipper, Sgt. Bash pushed 101 against the wall, but as he backed off, and King B3 reversed off Firestorm 2 and onto 101, 101 pushed it against the wall, so Sgt. Bash fired his flamethrower. The two got away, but continued to fight, so Dead Metal grabbed 101 and pulled it away from King B3, but 101 got away, and Sgt. Bash rammed into it as it drove after King B3. 101 got past and rammed into King B3, so Sgt. Bash drove between it and King B3.
- "Scorpion, pressurised by King B3, and 101 wants to destroy them all! What next? Dead Metal? Bash? Take them all on, why not, Mike Franklin and young Amy! Bash will want a piece of you though!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sergeant Bash drives between 101 and King B3
101 drove away, and Sgt. Bash drove after it, blasting it with his flamethrower. Despite this, 101 attacked King B3 again. Dead Metal and Sgt. Bash finally managed to separate them, with Dead Metal grabbing King B3 and Sgt. Bash biting into the back of 101.
- "You want to get a grudge match sorted out amongst yourselves, team members? No! We'll have a little piece of you as well! Says Dead Metal, on King B3. In the pincers, 101 under pressure from Bash. They've won this Tag Team Terror of course, but now we want retribution! You should have been friends and team-mates! You should have kept the peace! You haven't, and this is our own version of a peace summit!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as the House Robots grab the fighting team-mates
After defeating frenZy in the War or Independence final, Mortis took on Sgt. Bash. Sgt. Bash was attacking the overturned frenZy, and Mortis got behind him and hit him repeatedly with its axe. Sgt. Bash and Shunt chased it into a CPZ at the bottom of the arena, pinning it there whilst Shunt axed it.
Strangely, Sgt. Bash was absent from all five battles for four Heats in a row between Heat E and H. He did still appear in the Pinball for each episode.
The Pinball Warrior Tournament side event returned for Series 4, and just like Series 3, Sgt. Bash was used, guarding a 50 point target. However, 9 of the 16 competitors managed to hit his target, including Hypno-Disc, Stinger and King B3.
Spawn of Scutter, Bigger Brother, and Killerhurtz all managed to hit the target because Sgt. Bash tried firing his flamethrower at them first instead of blocking, giving them an opportunity to hit the target.
The slow-moving Banshee managed to hit the target, despite Sgt. Bash initially blocking the target because he reversed, then turned incorrectly, leaving the target open for Banshee to hit. Eventual winner Gemini also managed to hit the target because Sgt. Bash was preoccupied with one half, allowing the other to hit the target.
During Diotoir’s run, Sgt. Bash actually left his semi-circle to blast Diotoir with his flamethrower after it knocked over the barrels, setting the fur on the tip of the flipper on fire. However, this allowed Diotoir to get round him and hit the target. Sgt. Bash followed Diotoir as it drove down the arena to the multi-ball release, torching Diotoir, but despite its fur burning, Diotoir kept going until the end of the run, despite Sgt. Bash following it across the arena.
Extreme 1[]
- "Turret-mounted flamethrower upgraded to super-barbecue power. Front pincer redesigned to become surgical steel jaws for added bite. Rear mounted cutting disc means he can attack in any direction. Nobody messes around on Sgt Bash's parade ground!"
- — Robot Wars Extreme: The Official Guide on Sgt. Bash
Extreme 1 saw the number of House Robots allowed in the arena during a battle (not including Refbot) was reduced from four to two. Due to this, Extreme 1 was relatively quiet for Sgt. Bash, as he only appeared in one or two battles in most of the episodes, and did not appear at all in episodes 4 or 10, making Episode 4 the first episode that he was absent from. He did however appear in 5 out of the 7 battles in The Second World Championship.
Sgt. Bash’s most notable battle in this series was one of his worst ever battles, the Flipper Frenzy, where the four competitors, Wheely Big Cheese, Bigger Brother, Chaos 2 and Thermidor 2 turned on the House Robots instead of fighting each other. Whilst Wheely Big Cheese went for Matilda, Sgt. Bash rushed out of his CPZ to fight Chaos 2 and Thermidor 2 as they approached him. Chaos 2 got behind him whilst Thermidor 2 blocked him from getting away. The two competitors fired their flippers, with Thermidor 2 lifting Sgt. Bash's armour loose, and Chaos 2 flipping him up. Sgt. Bash landed back on his wheels and tried reversing away, but Bigger Brother chased after him, getting under his side and flipping him over.
- "Thermidor gets the first flip in - on Bash, who retreats away, to fight another day - and is toppled! Look at this, Thermidor, straight in, up goes the flipper, Bash flies! Chaos 2 wanted some of the action, and Bigger Brother too for that matter, and there goes Bash, toppled by Bigger Brother! Already we can see the power of these pneumatic flippers."
- — Jonathan Pearce
The competitors then tried to get Sgt. Bash to the wall, with Chaos 2 flipping him, then Bigger Brother and Chaos 2 combined to flip him together, tossing him into the air. Chaos 2 flipped Sgt. Bash against the wall, and Thermidor 2 tried to flip Sgt. Bash out, but the House Robot was too heavy to get over the fence, so Thermidor 2 accidentally righted him, his back armour falling open, and part of the electronics falling out as it did so.
- "There's something strange going on you know, out there! All the robots are attacking the House Robots! No one's having a go at each other! Is this some sort of...conspiracy against our machines? You, you, you...dastardly competitors, you! This is not in the rules of House Roboteering, I'm sure. Our poor robot - Bash, look, they're ganging up on him! Killalot, remember this - this is Chaos 2 flipping your friend!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Sgt. Bash had no chance to escape however, as Chaos 2 rammed into his rear (knocking the back armour back into place) and flipped him against the arena wall, with his flamethrower hanging on the edge.
- "They want to put Bash out of business for all time, I think!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash is attacked during the Flipper Frenzy
Chaos 2 got under Sgt. Bash, but could barely lift the House Robot. At this point, Matilda rushed over, having immobilised Wheely Big Cheese, and pushed Chaos 2 away from her fellow House Robot. Bigger Brother had broken down by this point, and Chaos 2 accidentally flipped itself over after missing a flip on Refbot, and Matilda knocked it onto its side with her flywheel.
- Craig Charles: "George, it was supposed to be a test of who had the mightiest flipper in Robot Wars, and you all just ganged up on the House Robots!"
- George Francis: "Well, you put that many flippers in the ring at once, what do you expect? we want to be the first to get a House Robot over the fence. Didn't quite make it."
- Craig Charles: "You were quite close though, weren't you?"
- Ian Watts: "Well, we were trying hard, we were trying hard."
- — Craig Charles discovers the plot
Bigger Brother would also flip Sgt. Bash over during its Vengeance battle with Comengetorix. Bigger Brother flipped Comengetorix over and pushed it into an empty CPZ, and Sgt. Bash came rushing over, trying to clamp down on Comengetorix, but Comengetorix managed to self-right right out from Sgt. Bash's jaws. As Comengetorix got away, Bigger Brother turned on Sgt. Bash, pushing him against the wall and flipping him over.
- "Bigger Brother's taking the sergeant on in the CPZ! And he's flipped the sergeant! Well Joe Watts is the weapons operator, at just 8, 8-and-a-half he is actually. No half-measures from him! Over goes Sgt. Bash!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Bigger Brother flips Sgt. Bash
Sir Killalot chased Bigger Brother in retaliation, and Bigger Brother and Comengetorix both attacked him for a while.
- Craig Charles: "What have you got against Sgt. Bash?"
- Ian Watts: "He was interfering!"
- Craig Charles: "He was interfering?"
- Ian Watts: "We were going to throw him [Comengetorix] out of the arena, and he came over and had a nip at him, so he had to go, didn't he?"
- — Ian Watts explains the attack on Sgt. Bash
Being flipped over was not the only problem Sgt. Bash suffered this series. During his first appearance of the series, the Mayhem between S.M.I.D.S.Y., Sumpthing and Pussycat, Sumpthing attacked Sgt. Bash when he came out of his CPZ, but got its front spike stuck in one of his tyres. Sgt. Bash reversed, lifting one of Sumpthing's wheels off the ground. Sumpthing tried to get away, but couldn't reverse due to one of its wheels being off the ground. Matilda had to come across the arena and lift Sumpthing free. Despite this, Sumpthing drove back into him as he was attacking S.M.I.D.S.Y in the CPZ.
- "Good to see the aggression, and certainly Bash unhappy, getting spiked again, and a little blast of the flame came out!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sumpthing drives into Sgt. Bash again
There weren’t many flammable robots in this series, so Sgt. Bash’s flamethrower didn’t see much use. One of the exceptions was Sgt. Bash's old rival Diotoir, which he set fire to twice. In Round 1 of the Tag Team Terror, he came out of his CPZ, driving up the arena to where Diotoir was fighting King B Powerworks, and blasted Diotoir with his flamethrower multiple times, with both Diotoir's sides catching fire. Despite the fur burning, being almost entirely burnt off the sides, Diotoir kept going until the end.
Sgt. Bash also used his flamethrower to set Diotoir alight during its Vengeance battle with Firestorm 3. After Diotoir drove over the flame pit to set its fur on fire, Firestorm 3 easily pushed Diotoir against and flipped it over, and as it burned, Sgt. Bash blasted it with his flamethrower, making the blaze even larger, resulting in almost all the fur being burnt off. After Refbot counted Diotoir out, Sgt. Bash pushed Diotoir back over, so it could fight Firestorm 3 a little more before "Cease" was called.
During the Vengeance battle between Mega Morg and Plunderbird 5, a long, dull pushing match, Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ and fired his flamethrower at Mega Morg’s ninja sheep, deflating it.
- "And I think Bash is bored, oh! Baa, baa, burnt sheep! Bash, did you see the lick of flame, and the ninja sheep is melting!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash torches Mega Morg's mascot
Sgt. Bash’s main role during this series was performing “mercy killings on competitors”. In the Middleweight Championship, he pushed Doom onto the floor flipper, reversed Rhino into the pit in the Forces Special, and pushed Tornado around after it was immobilised in the All Stars Final, reversing it towards the Floor Flipper, then towards the Pit after it was flipped. He also finished off Plunderbird 5 when it got stuck on the edge of the Pit in its Vengeance battle against Sir Chromalot.
In that same battle, Sir Chromalot accidentally drove straight into him whilst he was in the CPZ, and although Sir Chromalot quickly drove out, Sgt. Bash drove after it, driving between it and Plunderbird 5 as Sir Chromalot tried to attack its opponent. Sgt. Bash reversed, and blasted the two with his flamethrower, and rammed Sir Chromalot as Plunderbird 5 gripped it with its slicer dicer.
Sgt. Bash got hold of Hypno-Disc’s disc in two separate battle. First in its All-Stars battle against Behemoth, when Behemoth pushed Hypno-Disc into the wall by Sgt. Bash's CPZ, then forced it into the House Robot's jaws, stopping it from spinning. Sgt. Bash then pushed Hypno-Disc against Behemoth as it tried to escape, and Behemoth flipped it up against him.
He would also get hold of Hypno-Disc's spinning disc in the first Annihilator. During the second Round, Hypno-Disc rammed into the back of Splinter whilst it was fighting X-Terminator, but as it pushed past, Hypno-Disc kept going and accidentally charged into Sgt. Bash's CPZ. Sgt. Bash caught it, biting into the flywheel, and pinned it against the wall. Although Sgt. Bash let it go, the disc did not spin again for the rest of the battle, apart from one brief moment after being hit by X-Terminator's axe.
One notable moment for Sgt. Bash came during the Vengeance battle between 101 and King B Powerworks. King B Powerworks went out of control, spinning around the arena. Sgt. Bash managed to bring it under control by pinning it in the CPZ and grabbing it with his pincers.
- "And even the House Robots think "No, let's just leave them alone for a little bit, we don't want to get involved with someone as berserk as that", until Sgt. Bash calms things down, as sergeants tend to do. "You're in the corner son, and you're staying there!"."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash pins King B Powerworks in the corner.
Sgt. Bash pulled King B Powerworks back as the Pit opened, though King B Powerworks' wheels was still speeding around, making it difficult for him to move around, but Sgt. Bash managed to turn King B Powerworks around until it was over the Pit and drop it in. However, Sgt. Bash then drove forwards, falling into the pit as well.
- "They lost control, King B. So, 101 has won the Vengeance battle. There's the siren. That's the Pit release button going. Down go[es] the Pit. Oh, Sergeant. You were close. You're in control. They [King B Powerworks] weren't. They're in [the Pit]. They're out! And you're in as well, Sergeant! What a messy end to it all really."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash pits King B Powerworks and then himself
The Second World Championship saw Sgt. Bash make more appearances than any other episode in Extreme 1, as he featured in 5 of the 7 battles, but he didn’t make much of an impact in those battles. One notable moment came in the Semi-Final between Manta and Drillzilla. Drillzilla pushed Manta into an empty CPZ, and Sgt. Bash came over, but Manta managed to push him and Drillzilla together. In the Final between Razer and Drillzilla, Razer forced Drillzilla into his CPZ, but he couldn’t puncture Drillzilla’s incredibly strong armour.
Sgt. Bash was used in the Finals of the All-Stars, the first Annihilator, the second Annihilator, and The Second World Championship, meaning he was used in the Finals of 4 of the 6 tournaments of the series.
Series 5[]
- "Sgt. Bash is on parade, with its long-range flamethrower and a punishing pair of pincers! A machine of war, it obeys no law!"
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Sgt. Bash in the House Robot introduction
Like Extreme 1, Series 5 was a relatively quiet series for Sgt. Bash, doing less damage than in previous series. He only appeared in one battle in Heats C and K, and was completely absent from Heats B and L. His first appearance came in the first battle of the series, Chaos 2 vs. Storm Force in A, but he was not involved in the battle
Sgt. Bash’s most memorable moment of the series came in Heat H, when he set Granny's Revenge on fire during its battle with Axe-Awe. When Granny’s Revenge drove down the arena, Axe-Awe pushed it in reverse towards Sgt. Bash’s CPZ, and Sgt. Bash fired his flamethrower.
- "In comes the flamethrower. Granny's on-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Granny's on fire - oh dear, oh dear."
- — Jonathan Pearce goes into hysterics as Sgt. Bash sets Granny's Revenge on fire
Grannies’ Revenge’s blankets and coat instantly caught light, and the fire quickly spread, engulfing the whole dummy. The fire soon turned into a huge inferno, with burning pieces falling off.
- "It was bonfire night on Robot Wars!"
- — Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide
Series 5 saw Sgt. Bash’s last encounter with Diotoir. He set fire to it during its Heat Final against Spawn Again in Heat G, after Spawn Again flipped it over. Team Scutterbots had actually made a gentleman's agreement with Team Nemesis before the battle that once the beaten competitor had been counted out by Refbot, the winner would pit the beaten robot before the House Robots could attack, but as Spawn Again pushed Diotoir, it made a wrong turn, and Sgt. Bash rushed over and set Diotoir on fire. Spawn Again tried to push Diotoir into the pit before Sgt. Bash could make the fire bigger, but it broke down as it got close to the Pit, allowing Sgt. Bash to blast Diotoir with his flamethrower again. Refbot tried to put out the flames, but Sgt. Bash just torched Diotoir again.
- "Sgt. Bash comes in with a flick of flame, and Diotoir, crowd favourites, being taunted by the crowd now! ...In comes the Sergeant once again! Well there's going to be very little of the fur left"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash torches Diotoir
Sgt. Bash was actually involved in all three battles with Diotoir, but only set it on fire in Heat Final. He did briefly fire his flamethrower at Diotoir during its battle with Tornado, but despite Diotoir starting to smoke, it did not catch fire.
He also did some notable damage with his pincers in this series. The most notable use of his pincers this series came when he and Sir Killalot were involved in a very curious incident in a Heat G first round battle between Evolution and Sabretooth. Both robots appeared to stop, and Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ to attack Evolution whilst Sir Killalot pushed Sabretooth away from Evolution, at which point it started moving again. Sgt. Bash crushed into the front of Evolution with his pincers.
- "Not actually allowed to do that, Refbot, because Evolution was in no sort of trouble. Get in there and pull out a card for the Sergeant. There it is - fully deserved."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash illegally damages Evolution
Considerable damage was caused to the fibreboard robot, and Sgt. Bash was given a yellow card by Refbot. Despite this, Sir Killalot continued to attack Evolution, cutting its turret off with his claw and spinning it around. As a result of these unfair attacks, the Judges put Evolution through to the second round.
- "Well, Killalot and Sgt. Bash both get yellow cards! They were obviously not happy with that fifth though, it was a bit like handbags at dawn! We're going to the judges!"
- — Craig Charles after the battle ends
Also, in one of the first round battles of Heat J, he crumpled one of the guiding bars of Barber-ous during its battle against Panic Attack. After Barber-ous broke down, Panic Attack pushed it beside his CPZ, and Sgt. Bash pushed it against the wall, then grabbed one of the guiding bars in his jaw, and crushed into it as he dragged the robot back into his CPZ, buckling and breaking the top.
His main role this series was to dispose of defeated competitors. He finished off Thermidor 2 in Heat E and Tetanus in Heat I by pitting them, and often (like in those cases) accompanied the pyrotechnics of the Pit with a jet of flame.
In Heat D, he grabbed Sir Chromalot by the flipper as he dragged it up the arena to the floor flipper. After it was thrown by the Floor Flipper, Dead Metal tried to push it into the Pit, but he pushed incorrectly, pushing it along the top of the Pit, getting one of its wheels stuck on the edge. Sgt. Bash reversed into Sir Chromalot, pushing it into the Pit, also pushing Dead Metal free of the Pit. He also used his back-end to reverse Spawn Again into the Pit in the Losers' Melee of Semi-Final 1.
Only one competitor was brave enough to attack Sgt. Bash this series, as Obsidian used its axe on Sgt. Bash twice during its battle against S.M.I.D.S.Y. in Heat A. After being rammed by S.M.I.D.S.Y., Obsidian lost drive on one side and was spinning in circles. As the House Robots attacked, Obsidian fired its axe at Sgt. Bash, getting the axe caught in its side. S.M.I.D.S.Y. pushed Obsidian, and Sgt. Bash tried to get free of the axe, but Obsidian kept its axe in Sgt. Bash’s side until Matilda reversed into it. S.M.I.D.S.Y. rammed Obsidian into the arena wall, where it was counted out. Sgt. Bash rushed over to attack, and Obsidian hit the flamethrower with its axe. Sgt. Bash reversed, dragging Obsidian with it. For the rest of the battle, the flamethrower did not work, and Sgt. Bash and Matilda pushed Obsidian onto the Floor Flipper together.
During the battle between Firestorm and Pussycat in Semi-Final 2, Sgt. Bash drove to centre of the arena during the battle for seemingly no reason.
Series 6[]
- "Sgt. Bash, with the judging jaw, and fearsome flamethrower!"
- — Jonathan Pearce introduces Sgt. Bash during the House Robot introduction
For Series 6, Sgt. Bash’s flamethrower was upgraded with a new gas valve, making it more powerful.
- "Sergeant Bash has had his flamethrower upgraded. The flame is now longer and hotter – it’s amazing what a high-pressure gas valve can do for a robot."
- — The Series 6 programme on Sgt. Bash’s improved flamethrower
However, there were relatively few flammable robots in this series, meaning the flamethrower did little significant damage. Strangely, there were some occasions where Sgt. Bash was placed in the arena with competitors which had flammable armour or decorations, but Sgt. Bash did not take advantage. Examples included the wooden-armoured Brutus Maximus, Cedric Slammer’s toy monkey mascot, and Kronic 2 with its foam spikes, but Sgt. Bash did not set any of them on fire. He was also present for The Hassocks Hog’s only battle, but only a tiny flame was seen on the tip of one of the furry ears.
The notable exception was Granny's Revenge 2. Just like in Series 5, Granny's Revenge was put in the arena with Sgt. Bash, and after being rammed into a CPZ by Barber-ous 2, Sgt. Bash came over and blasted it with his flamethrower. At first, the dummy did not catch light, so Sgt. Bash blasted it again, and it began to smoulder. Sgt. Bash grabbed it with his pincers, and as he pulled it to the arena centre, he torched it, causing lots of smoke to rise.
- "Granny's Revenge 2 is about to be counted out, she's smoking already! Granny, don't smoke, it's bad for your health!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
The fire grew, until it covered the whole granny, and Sgt. Bash went back to use his flamethrower again as Granny's Revenge was put on The Drop Zone.
Series 6 was another relatively quiet year for Sgt. Bash. He was absent from four episodes, Heats D, F and L, as well as the Grand Final. He made his first appearance in the first battle of the series, which proved to be an eventful battle for him. Whilst Razer was attacking Raging Reality, Sgt. Bash drove across the arena, even though neither robot was in a CPZ, and drove behind Raging Reality. This allowed Razer to pin Raging Reality against Sgt. Bash, pushing the two back. Sgt. Bash tried reversing away, but reversed into Refbot, and Razer pinned Raging Reality against Sgt. Bash and crushed into the front. Later in the battle, Razer pushed the limping W.A.S.P. into him, and Sgt. Bash fired his flamethrower at it whilst Razer crushed it.
Sgt. Bash’s main role this series was disposing of beaten competitors. He pushed Hot Pants and Short Circuit into the Pit, reversing each of them into the Pit after they lost their Round 1 melees in Heat H. He also pushed Destructosaur onto the Floor Flipper in Heat C, and in the second Semi-Final, he dragged Bigger Brother up the arena to the Floor Flipper.
Also, he opened the Pit so that his fellow House Robots could dispose of beaten competitor robots. He opened the pit for Growler to pit Inshredable in Heat G, and also opened the Pit so Growler could pit Supernova in the Heat Final of Heat H, and in the first Semi-Final, he opened the Pit for Sir Killalot to pit Dantomkia.
This series saw a couple of notable moments for Sgt. Bash’s pincers. In the UK vs Germany Special, Das Gepäck pushed Dell Dog into his CPZ, and Sgt. Bash grabbed it, crumpling the side, but it became caught on the pincer.
- "Crumpling its way through, what is largely a defenceless machine, Delldog, without that weaponry. Look, slicing through, very light armour!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash crushes into Delldog
Sgt. Bash lifted it up and down, but could not get it to fall off. Mr. Psycho had to hit Dell Dog with his hammer, taking three blows to knock Dell Dog loose.
- "Teamwork from the House Robots! Now, you understand that they're totally neutral in all this. They don't mind if UK or Germany wins this."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Mr. Psycho knocks Delldog free of Sgt. Bash's pincer
He also bit into the base of Spin Doctor after Bulldog Breed flipped it over in Round 1 of Heat K. As he crushed into the base, sparks could be seen and smoke began to rise from the insides, and the internals caught fire. This was the only time Sgt. Bash set a competitor on fire without using his flamethrower.
- "Because Spin Doctor is about to be crushed by Sgt. Bash! Look at that crumpling power!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash bites into Spin Doctor
Sgt. Bash had some unfortunate moments this series. In Round 1 of Heat B, when Colossus was flipped over in a CPZ, Sgt. Bash and Sir Killalot went in to attack, and when Sgt. Bash reversed, he nearly reversed into the Pit.
In Heat I, during the battle between Terrorhurtz and Kronic 2, Kronic 2 was immobilised in the CPZ, but as Sgt. Bash went to attack, Kronic 2 managed to lift it up a little, getting its flipper under Sgt. Bash’s pincer. Terrorhurtz took advantage, ramming into Sgt. Bash, causing his back panel to fall loose.
- "No, no, no, John Reid and Dominic Parkinson, you’re not Mr. Psycho… or are you? You’re some sort of nutter to have a go at Sgt. Bash in there! The House Robot’s mean business next time!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Terrorhurtz rams into Sgt. Bash
After the battle, Dominic Parkinson explained that they had been intending to help Kronic 2, but instead decided to attack the House Robots.
- Craig Charles: "You won't go very far if you keep having a go at the House Robots though! You got Bash there, didn't you?"
- John Reid: "Yeah, it's a risky game, isn't it?"
- Craig Charles: "And they got long memories those robots, I tell ya!"
- — In the post-battle interview
Extreme 2[]
- "Sergeant Bash with a circular saw revving at over 3000rpm and a ferocious flame thrower certain to leave all opponents hot under the collar."
- — The official Robot Wars website on Sgt. Bash[23]
After spending much of Series 5 and 6 in the background, Extreme 2 was more eventful for Sgt. Bash.
He made his first appearance in the first battle of the series, which proved to be a notable battle for him. Dantomkia and Tornado had Terrorhurtz pinned against the arena wall, with Dantomkia flipping it against the wall and Tornado ramming it against an angle grinder. The House Robots came out to separate the competitors, with Shunt axing Dantomkia and pulling out from under Terrorhurtz, then Sgt. Bash drove across the arena to drive between Terrorhurtz and Dantomkia, also getting behind Tornado, but Tornado got away.
Later in the same battle, Sgt. Bash crossed the arena again, whilst Dantomkia and Tornado pushed Terrorhurtz into Shunt’s CPZ, getting hold of Tornado and holding it still whilst Shunt pushed Terrorhurtz out of the CPZ. Sgt. Bash then pulled Tornado down the arena onto the flame pit, whilst Dantomkia pitted Terrorhurtz.
- "Tornado has been gripped by Bash in the CPZ, the Corner Patrol Zone, bossed by Shunt. Terrorhurtz is in all sorts of problems, Tornado is as well! ...How much damage done to Tornado though, for later on, I wonder?"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash drags Tornado to the flame pit
He was used in all but one battle in this episode, and would go on to appear in seven of the eleven battles throughout the All-Stars Tournament.
Sgt. Bash was used frequently across the series, appearing in every episode. In the Grand Final of the New Blood Championship, he was used in three out of the four battles, only being absent from the playoff. He was used in the finals of 7 of the 13 tournaments across the series; the Annihilator, the Minor Meltdown, the New Blood, the Iron Maidens, the University Challenge, the Commonwealth Carnage and the European Championship. He was also used in both All-Stars Heat Finals and three of the four New Blood Heat Finals.
The most notable moment for Sgt. Bash this series came in Heat A of the New Blood Championship. During Mute’s fight with Mr Nasty, Sgt. Bash inexplicably starts a personal vendetta with the Refbot; Sgt. Bash rushed out of his CPZ and began antagonising the Refbot with his flamethrower. Refbot retreats but Sgt. Bash chased after him, blasting flames. Refbot gave Sgt. Bash a yellow card for his act but was ignored. Then he reversed at Sgt. Bash, pushing him up to the top of the arena.
- "Sgt. Bash and the Refbot come head-to-head, and Sgt. didn't like it! "Get out of the way Ref!" Referee will have taken note, oh Sgt., you can't that! Quite right, yellow card, warning! I'd have given him a red, I'd have banned him! ...It's a real old tussle between the two of them! The House Robots having an argument, I love it!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash fights Refbot
Despite the Refbot's attempt at stopping Sgt. Bash, he turned around, and began another frenzied chase after Refbot; with the two House Robots driving very near to the edge of the pit. Sgt. Bash reversed, but then drove around the other side to continue with his pursuit.
When Sgt. Bash eventually caught up, the Refbot used his CO2 Extinguisher to snuff out the flamethrower, rendering him unable to continue with his rampage.
- "Mute dominant, the Sergeant dominant, the ref's in trouble! (bursts into laughter) He's trying to put out the fire! He's put out the Sergeant's fire, with the extinguisher!"
- — Jonathan Pearce comments on the tussle between Sgt. Bash and Refbot
Sgt. Bash had a number of other notable moments across the series. In Heat B of the All-Stars Championship, during the Round 2 battle between Razer and Spawn Again. Whilst Spawn Again was escaping from Razer, Sgt. Bash left his CPZ, driving straight into Spawn Again. This allowed Razer to catch up with Spawn Again and get underneath it, whilst he returned to the CPZ. Razer pushed Spawn Again into Sgt. Bash’s CPZ, and Sgt. Bash crushed into Spawn Again’s side with his jaw.
In the Tag Team Terror, he came out of his CPZ when The Steel Avenger broke the rules. The Steel Avenger pushed Lightning off the wall when it was stuck there, having been flipped by Bulldog Breed, and as it did so, Sgt. Bash rushed over, pinning The Steel Avenger against the wall, although The Steel Avenger managed to turn a little and reverse into Sgt. Bash, pushing him back.
In the Final of the Iron Maidens, Chompalot got the bottom half of its jaw stuck in the floor on the edge of the Floor Flipper, and as it couldn't reverse out, Sgt. Bash left his CPZ to push it free. Chompalot went on to win the battle.
In the semi-final of the Commonwealth Carnage between Panic Attack and Firestorm 4, he inadvertently affected the result of the battle. Panic Attack was pushing Firestorm 4, and pushed it through a CPZ. Sgt. Bash charged across the arena at Panic Attack, and Panic Attack pushed him back. As Panic Attack reversed, Firestorm 4 took advantage, driving under Panic Attack and flipping it against the arena wall, from which it could not self-right.
This series saw a number of competitors make attacks on Sgt. Bash. In Heat B of the New Blood Championship, Edge Hog defeated Hell's Teeth, and as the House Robots attacked, Edge Hog took on the House Robots, first axing Dead Metal. Sgt. Bash tried to grab Edge Hog to defend his fellow House Robot, but Edge Hog turned and axed Sgt. Bash’s flamethrower a few times, bending it down, until Refbot reversed into it. During the scuffle, Sgt. Bash’s back panel had fallen loose. Sgt. Bash reversed into Refbot to knock the back panel back up.
- "Well, look what's happened to the rear end of Sgt. Bash! It's not a pretty sight, and the Refbot, erm, just saving his modesty there a wee bit I think! Putting his pyjamas back on!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash's back end falls loose
In the next Heat, ICU also went after Sgt. Bash after defeating Revolution 2 in Round 2. ICU hit Sgt. Bash's flamethrower multiple times, bending it down.
- "ICU, a flick of the axe onto Sgt. Bash, and they [the ICU team] love it out there! A smile from Graham Pritchard! Taking on Sgt. Bash, Sgt. Bash tickled more than anything else!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as ICU axes Sgt. Bash
In that same battle, Sgt. Bash reversed the immobile Revolution 2 onto the floor flipper, but when the competitor was thrown, it hit him.
In the University Challenge, Infernal Contraption managed to knock out his removable link, immobilising him. Infinity and Infernal Contraption were fighting in a CPZ, and Sgt. Bash charged over, driving between the two robots. Infernal Contraption turned around, slamming into Sgt. Bash and knocking out the link, leaving Sgt. Bash immobile on the edge of the CPZ. Later on in the battle, Infinity forced Infernal Contraption into the same CPZ, so Sir Killalot had to come over to attack the two competitors.
The most notable attack on Sgt. Bash this series came in the Commonwealth Carnage. After defeating Panic Attack (again), Firestorm chased after Sgt. Bash, getting under his rear as it pushed him up to the top of the arena, then flipping him over as it pushed him against the top arena wall. Firestorm would go on to flip over Mr. Psycho over as well, making it one of the only times two House Robots were flipped over in the same battle.
However, Sgt. Bash would go on to get revenge in the final. Having defeated Crushtacean, Firestorm 4 started chasing after Dead Metal, trying to get under and flip him. Firestorm 4 managed to get under Dead Metal and push him against an angle grinder, and as it unsuccessfully tried to flip the House Robot, Sgt. Bash took advantage, getting behind and biting into the back, although this actually resulted in Sgt. Bash lifting himself off the floor.
- "It's punctured Firestorm 4 now! The House Robots are gaining their revenge! Firestorm 4, Commonwealth champions then, putting the pressure on Dead Metal but taking punishment themselves from Sgt. Bash! What a crumpling climax to the Commonwealth Carnage this is!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash crushes into the back of Firestorm 4
Firestorm 4 had in fact tried to flip Sgt. Bash over unsuccessfully earlier in the series. During its battle with Dantomkia in Round 2 of the All-Stars, Firestorm 4 rammed Dantomkia into Sgt. Bash’s CPZ, flipping it over and flipping it against the wall as it tried to right itself. As Dantomkia tried to right itself, Sgt. Bash pinned Dantomkia against the wall in the corner, but then reversed. Firestorm 4 drove under his front and pushed, but as it fired the flipper, Sgt. Bash merely slid off, because the flipper was not fully underneath him.
- "Firestorm's taking on Sgt. Bash! No no no, Graham, Graham! No, you... that's it! Dantomkia you're supposed to be fighting!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Firestorm 4 gets under Sgt. Bash
Despite these notable moments, some episodes saw very little use of Sgt. Bash. He only appeared in one battle each in the Annihilator, Minor Meltdown, Tag Team Terror, New Blood Heat D, Challenge Belt and Iron Maidens, and in most of those cases was not involved in the battle. In the Robot Rampage, Sgt. Bash was only used in both featherweight heats, which were only partially shown.
Series 7[]
- "Break and burn, you'll never learn - it's Bash that's best, so don't try to test the might of this metal mauling monster! An upgraded flamethrower (with added high-pressure gas valve), circular saw and vicious steel cutting jaws make Bash one of the most impressive robots in the arena"
- — The Series 7 Programme on Sgt. Bash
Series 7 proved to be Sgt. Bash’s final series, as he was not brought back for the reboot, and it proved to be a year of highs and lows for him.
This series saw Sgt. Bash deal some of the most notable moments of damage. In Heat C, he crushed into the side of King B Powerworks after it was counted out, easily piercing the armour and bending the armour.
- "Listen to that - a crumpling and rending sound. A buckling and bending sound. A ripping and tearing sound. The only silence, is in the emptiness of the hopes of King B Powerworks."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash exacts his punishment on King B Powerworks
He then pulled King B Powerworks to the floor flipper.
In Heat G, after Mean Streak was counted out, Sgt. Bash bit into the side with his pincers, piercing through the armour and buckling the chassis.
- "Now the Sergeant's gone in! Oh this is too much! Uh no, this isn't - this isn't sportsmanship. This isn't nice. This is horrible...and lovely...and downright despicable. Below the belt...dirty...cynical...and we want more!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash crumples into the side of Mean Streak
The damage to Mean Streak’s chassis was so severe, the Mean Streak team were forced to scrap the robot, as the damage to the chassis was irreparable[24].
Sgt. Bash also ripped the side of U.R.O. in its Heat O Round 1 battle. Whilst Refbot counted it out, Sgt. Bash bit its side, bending and ripping loose some of the side armour. The Grim Reaper also faced the wrath of Sgt. Bash, during its battle against Storm 2 in the second Semi Final. Storm 2 rammed it into the top arena wall by his CPZ, then pushed it into Sgt. Bash, who bit into the back of the side panels.
- "I think The Grim Reaper is doing splendidly just to hold on here … Oh! Until Sgt. Bash starts to crumple! One of the side panels nearly ripped away."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Sgt. Bash bites into The Grim Reaper
Another notable battle for Sgt. Bash this series came in Round 2 of Heat H. After Revolution 3 was immobilised and pushed into the CPZ, Sgt. Bash went over to attack it, but Ceros got behind him and flipped him up. After Ceros flipped Shunt over, Bash charged at it, grabbing its front, and a tug-of-war ensued, over to the Pit. However, Bash got one wheel stuck over the side, and then broke down. Shunt pushed Ceros over the pit, but Sgt. Bash couldn’t drop it.
- "The Sergeant, I mean, brute strength, but to be honest ladies and gentleman, the Sergeant doesn't have a lot up top. The flamethrower is flickering, but there's no one at home. Take away one of his stripes, get him down to a corporal, a private."
- — Jonathan Pearce expresses his disappointment at Sgt. Bash's inability to finish off Ceros
This was not the only problem Sgt. Bash suffered this series. In Heat G, whilst pushing Mean Streak from the Pit, he appeared to stop. Refbot had to push him to get Mean Streak to the edge of the Pit, but Sgt. Bash seemed unable to let Mean Streak go or push it into the Pit, even though his wheels were spinning. S.M.I.D.S.Y. rammed into him, and after that, Sgt. Bash was able to push Mean Streak into the Pit.
In Heat F, Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ to bite into limping Fluffy, and Killer Carrot 2 got at the House Robot's side and tried to knock his front armour loose with its flipper, then rammed into his side to free Fluffy.
Little was seen of Sgt. Bash’s flamethrower this series, mostly due to a lack of flammable competitors. However, there were some missed opportunities for Sgt. Bash to set robots on fire. For example, in Heat A, he did not set fire to the wooden Brutus Maximus when it was placed in the arena with it for its Round 1 battle. He also missed the opportunity to set fire to Hodaf the Bad’s fur in Heat D, even though he drove out of the CPZ during the battle. The Hodaf the Bad team had mentioned how they wanted the fur to be set alight in the pre-battle interview.
In Heat C, Dantomkia flipped Scorpion against the wall, and Sgt. Bash pushed it off. In Semi Final 2, Sgt. Bash used his claw to prevent M2 righting itself during its battle with Atomic, although it did get away and right itself when it tried a second time.
There was a comical moment in Heat M. After Mega Morg had a washing machine dropped on it on The Drop Zone, Sgt. Bash pushed the washing machine into the Pit, then tried to push Mega Morg in with it, but struggled to fit the competitor in because of the washing machine.
Overall however, Sgt. Bash was in the background for most of the series. He was used in the first battle of the series, but was not involved. He was not used in Heat E, Heat N or the All-Stars, and only featured in one battle of 8 of the 22 episodes of the series.
US Season 1[]
- "Sgt. Bash, who’ll have the recruits trembling in their boots! 260 pounds, armed with a regulation flamethrower, Bash is one drill instructor you don’t want to fire up!"
- — Stefan Frank introduces Sgt. Bash at the beginning of the Robot Rebellion
Sgt. Bash was used on a fairly regular basis in the first season of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, but notable moments involving him were rather limited.
He was only absent from one episode, the series opener, the Robot Rebellion. The first battle of the series he was used in was Round 2 of the Annihilator. In this battle, after Unibite broke down, he used his jaws to drag it off the Flame Pit, then take it to the pit and drop it in.
- "Sgt. Bash comes in to add a little bit of insult, and a little bit of nip and tuck for the old Unibite boys, as it's getting dragged off to the inevitable hole!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash drags Unibite to the Pit
One of Sgt. Bash's notable moments in this series came when he was disposing of another beaten competitor, Spawn Again, in Round 1 of the War of Independence. Sgt. Bash pushed it to the Pit, but then broke down, so Refbot had to finish Spawn Again off.
- "Well, Sgt. Bash knows it's time to clean up. And clean up he does. As the Pit opens up, the audience is begging for it! And you know it's the House Robot's duty to go in and just bury him. But not Refbot! Wait a minute! Ha! Refbot jumps in there and drops him in! Must've been disgusted with his performance!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash pushes Spawn Again to the Pit, but then breaks down
This was not the only problem Sgt. Bash had this series. In the second Round 1 melee of the US Championship, his flamethrower became broken at the end of the battle, hanging loose on the top, and flammable gas was being leaked.
Sgt. Bash used his jaws often throughout the series, on robots such as Coffin-Bot, Rippa Raptor and The Brute, but his flamethrower saw little use. Curiously, he was not put in the arena with many of the flammable competitors in this series, including the wooden Rot Box, the fur-covered Green Mouse, and on some occasions where he was put in the arena with flammable competitors, he missed the opportunity to set it alight.
For example, in the Civil War battle between Tiger Cat and Manta, he did not use his flamethrower on Tiger Cat, which had flammable fur, which the team had soaked in Parrafin to make a greater fire. Instead, the team drove it onto a flame jet. Sgt. Bash also missed the opportunity to set light to the flammable decorations of Tricerabot when he was in the arena with it for its Round 1 melee in the US championship.
One notable exception came in the Tag Team Terror, where he set fire to the decorations of Tricerabot during the Playoff.
- "Sgt. Bash is trying to make Tricerabot the sacrificial barbecue lamb again! And the flaming Tricerabot tries to run off, and maybe blow off some of those flames!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash sets Tricerabot alight
Despite being on fire, Tricerabot kept going and went on to win the battle.
Sgt. Bash caused some controversy in the battle between The Revolutionist and Sobek in the Civil War. Sgt. Bash left his CPZ to attack Sobek when it drove on top of its sacrificial tyre, pushing it against the wall. Refbot drove into the side of Sgt. Bash to warn him to return to his CPZ.
- "The Revolutionist gets out of the way and Sgt. Bash comes from nowhere! What's he doing there? Sobek was nowhere near a Corner Patrol Zone! Oh, I betcha Refbot's gonna have something to say, and he does! He gets Sgt. Bash out of there!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash attacks Sobek, and Refbot forces him to return to the CPZ
Despite this, he left the CPZ again and chased after Sobek, grabbing it with his jaws. As he dragged it back, Refbot gave him a yellow card. Instead of returning to the CPZ, Sgt. Bash fired his flamethrower and pushed Refbot.
- "Oh, Sgt. Bash out of his zone again! I don't know what he's up to! He's been nowhere near a Corner Zone, Sobek! And Sgt. Bash has just been going in there! Well, he gets the warning from Refbot for insubordination!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash attacks Sobek again, and receives a yellow card
US Season 2[]
- "The flame-tempered Sgt. Bash is the militaristic master of machine mashing mayhem!"
- — Extreme Warriors 2 Programme on Sgt. Bash
Compared to the first series of Extreme Warriors, Sgt. Bash enjoyed more notable moments in the second series.
He appeared in the first two battles of the series, and was used frequently across the series. Only one episode did not feature him in any battles, that being Heat F. His most notable episodes were the International Championship, where he was used in every battle but the final, and Heat B, where he was used in all but one battle. He was used in the Grand Final between Tricerabot 3.0 and Panzer Mk4, and the final of the Annihilator.
His flamethrower was used frequently across the series, with Sgt. Bash sometimes not even waiting for a competitor to be pushed into his CPZ or be counted out. During Conquering Clown 2's battle with Black Widow in Heat C, he left his CPZ to chase Conquering Clown 2, getting behind it and blasting his flamethrower. Conquering Clown 2 did not catch alight, but shortly afterwards, Conquering Clown 2 chased Black Widow into the CPZ, and mistakenly drove into the corner, allowing Black Widow and Sgt. Bash to pin him there.
- "But the clown has got Black Widow pinned up against the rail! And into the Corner Patrol Zone! Where Bash is gonna heat up the clown! Oh, another melting Conquering Clown! They should have put asbestos hair on that thing! Because he is torched! The Conquering Clown has been conquered, but not by who you thought! Black Widow was just an innocent bystander, as Bash came in there and torched him."
- — Stefan Frank after Conquering Clown 2's head is torched
This time, Sgt. Bash was able to roast Conquering Clown 2's head, causing it to melt, although Conquering Clown 2 still went on to win the battle. He also left his CPZ later on in the battle, driving between Black Widow and Conquering Clown 2, even though neither competitor was near the CPZ.
He also came out of his CPZ to try and set fire to Psycho Chicken in its Round 1 battle in Heat D. After a hit from Propeller-Head, Psycho Chicken was spinning around, close to the arena centre, and Sgt. Bash came out, blasting Psycho Chicken with the flamethrower, but Psycho Chicken did not catch alight. Psycho Chicken turned away and drove up the arena to where Propeller-Head and Snookums were fighting, but Sgt. Bash drove after it and blasted it with the flamethrower again, and the tail caught fire.
- "As Bash is hovering in the background. He wants to light that chicken up again! But he knows he can't really get away with it unless the chicken strays into a, uhh, unfriendly corner!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash drives after Psycho Chicken, setting the tail of fire
The flames were small, and Psycho Chicken continued fighting Snookums, but Sgt. Bash got behind it and fired the flamethrower again, reducing the whole tail to a burnt post. Sir Killalot would also break the rules to try and set Psycho Chicken on fire, coming out of his CPZ and grabbing Psycho Chicken and taking it to the flame pit.
In the battle between Bunny Attack and Tyranabot in Heat H, Sgt. Bash used his flamethrower on both competitors. First, when Bunny Attack had Tyranabot pinned against the wall, and Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ and blasted Tyranabot with his flamethrower, causing the tail to catch fire.
- "Oh! Bash comes over and lights up Tyranabot! Comes out of his Corner Patrol Zone, like he really shouldn't have, and Tyranabot's lost its flaming paper shell!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash sets fire to the tail of Tyranabot
Later in the battle, he drove out of his CPZ and chased after Bunny Attack, despite the fact Bunny Attack was nowhere near his CPZ. Sgt. Bash blasted it with his flamethrower, Bunny Attack was a little singed but didn't catch alight
- "And Bash, again out of his Corner Patrol Zone, trying to light up Bunny Attack! Bunny Attack definitely the most vulnerable, or at least the most flammable out there!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash chases Bunny Attack
In Round 2 of the Robot Rebellion, Snookums was fighting Ninjitsu close to his CPZ, and Sgt. Bash blasted Snookums with his flamethrower, causing the end to catch alight. The fire was only small, but as Snookums kept attacking Ninjitsu, it turned close to Sgt. Bash, and Sgt. Bash blasted it with the flamethrower again, then chased it away from the CPZ, grabbing it by the tail. The House Robot pulled Snookums back and shook it about. Sgt. Bash let Snookums go, but the fire on the tail grew larger, almost burning the whole tail off. Despite this, Snookums went on to win the battle on a Judges' decision.
Curiously, none of these incidents resulted in Sgt. Bash receiving a warning from Refbot, despite it being against the House Robots to attack competitors whilst they were still mobile.
The Grand Final saw a number of occasions where he missed the opportunity to set robots on fire. First, in the battle between Conquering Clown 2 and Destructive Criticism, he left his CPZ to chase Conquering Clown 2, but did not set fire to the head, so instead Conquering Clown 2 drove to the Flame Pit later in the battle and set it on fire itself.
He also missed the opportunity to set fire to Tricerabot 3.0 when it pushed Rocky-Bot-Boa into his CPZ and drove in itself. Later in the battle, Tricerabot reversed into his CPZ whilst getting away from Rocky-Bot-Boa, but Sgt. Bash missed the opportunity to set it on fire. Tricerabot turned and got its rear lifted under Sgt. Bash, and Rocky Bot-Boa rammed into his other side, and as Rocky Bot-Boa rammed into Sgt. Bash, Shunt came over to the CPZ, axing the top of Tricerabot and dragging it out of the CPZ. As with Conquering Clown 2, Tricerabot ended up on fire after Rocky pushed it onto a flame jet. Later, Rocky and Tricerabot rammed him together, one on each side, after Tricerabot drove into his CPZ.
He was also used in the final battle, but couldn't set fire to Tricerabot as its decorative coverings had been burnt off in its first round battle.
Sgt. Bash didn't cause much damage with his pincers this series, but there were some exceptions. In Heat H, Tyranabot reversed into a CPZ, and Sgt. Bash came over and grabbed it by its biting jaw. Sgt. Bash crushed the jaw, bending the jaw and the mechanism, causing the hydraulic pumps to be ripped loose from the top of the robot.
- "As Bash lights up Tyranabot! And I know these guys weren't in their Corner Patrol Zone, so this is totally illegal! As Bash clamps down on Tyranabot, and busts that useless jaw right off the front of him!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash rips off Tyranabot's jaw
Despite losing its weapon, Tyranabot went on to win the battle by pushing Bunny Attack to the edge of the pit, and Bunny Attack reversed into the pit when trying to get away.
Sgt. Bash easily crumpled through the armour of Wowot during its battle with Tornado in the International Championship. Tornado rammed it into an empty CPZ, and Wowot failed to get away before Sir Killalot and Sgt. Bash came over. Sgt. Bash used his pincers on the body of Wowot, crumpling through the armour, then dragged it out of the CPZ.
- "And look at the claws going down into Wowot! Sgt. Bash is not letting go, he's like a pitbull!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash grabs Wowot
In the Robot Rebellion, Sgt. Bash grabbed Paul Bunyan by the spinner, but then struggled to let go. Sir Killalot lifted the two, nearly toppling Bash on his side. Sgt. Bash continued to struggle to let go, Sir Killalot had to push them to help. As he bit into Paul Bunyan's spinner, Sgt. Bash buckled it, and when Sir Killalot pulled Paul Bunyan away, the whole spinning weapon was ripped off.
- "Aw, look at that! Bash just goes right down on what little weapon poor Paul Bunyan had in the first place, and just mashed it off! Those used to be jaws of life, although I think we should rename 'em in Bash's case, not saving any lives with that!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash crushes Paul Bunyan's spinning blade, and it is ripped off
He also crumpled the back end of Techno Trousers when Mechadroid pushed it into the CPZ in the Round 1 melee in Heat E, before dragging it out of the CPZ.
Like in most series, Sgt. Bash was sometimes used to dispose of beaten competitors, but not as much as the other House Robots. In the Annihilator, he backed Revenge into the Pit, and in the Robot Rebellion, he backed Buzz onto the flipper, whilst in the International Championship, he opened the Pit so Razer could pit Kat 3.
One moment of controversy arose when Sgt. Bash pitted a competitor. During Round 1 of Heat B, The Bat was counted out, and Sgt. Bash reversed it into the Pit, but it ended up going through anyway as the Judges ruled that Medusa Oblongotta had been immobilized first.
The same battle also saw a moment where Sgt. Bash was used to separate two competitors, the only time this happened this series. Mad Cow Bot became stuck on the rear wedge of The Bat, so Sgt. Bash pushed them apart.
Sgt. Bash's most common pairing in this series was with Sir Killalot. Of the 37 battles he was used in this series, 18 of them saw him paired with Sir Killalot.
There were a couple of comical moments where Sir Killalot almost damaged his fellow House Robot. In Heat H, as Sir Killalot carried the immobile Buzz down the arena, he drove past Sgt. Bash, hitting his flamethrower with Buzz, as the flipper was hanging loose. This knocked Sgt. Bash's flamethrower aside.
In the Robot Rebellion, Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ and gripped the side of Paul Bunyan with his jaws, and seemingly couldn't let go. Sir Killalot tried lifting the two to separate them, grabbing Paul Bunyan by one of the wheels and lifting it, but in doing so, he lifted both robots together, nearly toppling Sgt. Bash onto his side. Sir Killalot then got his claw under Sgt. Bash, lifting him up to try and separate him and Paul Bunyan. Sir Killalot then pushed Paul Bunyan, and Sgt. Bash was able to open his jaws and let go.
- "But Bash has got another plan, as he's clamped down on the side of Paul Bunyan! Now for some reason, the House 'Bots are out of their corner, which is a no-no! Unless they've been immobilized, there's no reason for them to be picking on these 'bots while they're still trying to fight each other! But it looks like Bash and Killalot are having a little internal squabble to see who can get the rights to bury Paul Bunyan!"
- — Stefan Frank as Sgt. Bash bites into Paul Bunyan, then gets lifted by Sir Killalot.
Nickelodeon Robot Wars[]
- "And then there's Sgt. Bash! With hydraulic pincers that'll crush through just about anything! The Sergeant will keep the troops in line!"
- — Stefan Frank introduces Sgt. Bash during the House Robot introductions
With Nickelodeon Robot Wars being aimed at a younger audience, Sgt. Bash's flamethrower as well as all of the other arena fire hazards were disabled, leaving his pincers as his primary weapon. Perhaps because of this, Sgt. Bash was mostly absent from the only series of Nickelodeon Robot Wars, only appearing in 5 of the 24 battles. He was absent from two of the six episodes.
He made his first appearance in the Bonus Battle in the US Championship. He was not involved in the battle, but there was a humorous moment before the battle, when Phantasm accidentally drove into him whilst entering the arena.
In the International Tag Team, Sgt. Bash was used in the final. After The Revolutionist was flipped over by Rick, Sgt. Bash went over to the CPZ and crushed into the base. As he drove over to the CPZ, he accidentally drove onto Rick's flipper, but quickly reversed off before Rick could flip.
After being absent from the next two episodes, Sgt. Bash would be used in another final in episode 5, as he was used in the Ultimate Mayhem. He attacked an immobilized Revolutionist again, opening the Pit and backing it in.
The final episode, the Annihilator, was the only episode were he was used in more than one battle. In Round 1, he put Techno Trousers on the Floor Flipper after it was counted out, which threw it straight into Bunny Attack's hammer. He was also used in Round 2, but was not involved in the battle.
Dutch Series 1[]
Before the first Heat of Robot Wars: The Dutch Battles, Sgt. Bash and the other House Robots were introduced in Robot Wars: The Kick-Off, a special programme that acted as an introduction to the series and gave a behind the scenes look at the show. Among the people interviewed was Chris Reynolds, designer of the House Robots, who revealed each House Robot's specifications and their specialties.
Sgt. Bash made his first appearance in the Dutch Series in the first battle of Heat A. He made an instant impression, as he came out of his CPZ whilst Arena Killer flipped The Lethal Swan. He set fire to the toppled competitors fur, and pushed it onto the Floor Flipper. As it was thrown, pieces of burning fur were scattered across the arena. After it was thrown, he blasted it with his flamethrower again.
Sgt. Bash also set fire to The Lethal Swan in the Losers' Melee. As Sir Killalot put it on the Floor Flipper again, Sgt. Bash set it on fire, and as it was flipped, sending more flaming pieces of fur flying in various directions across the arena.
The Lethal Swan was not the only robot to be roasted by Sgt. Bash's flamethrower in this series. In Heat B, Sir Killalot held RCC up for him to blast with his flamethrower, and in Heat D, Sgt. Bash came out of his CPZ during Blue's battle with Project One, blasting Blue with his flamethrower, setting one half of the decorative armour alight as Project One lifted Blue, with the armour falling off. After Project One broke down, Sgt. Bash came out of the CPZ again, and blasted Blue with his flamethrower again, and Blue drove away with the remaining half of the armour on fire.
Unusually, this series saw a couple of occasions where Sgt. Bash tried pushing competitors onto the arena flame hazards, despite his flamethrower working. After The Lethal Swan was thrown by the Floor Flipper in the Loser's Melee, he pushed it onto the Flame Pit. During the Heat D Loser's Melee, he pushed Project One onto a flame jet, which it quickly turned off of.
Sgt. Bash didn't suffer any major attacks from competitors this series, though a few competitors were brave enough to try fighting with him. In Heat A, during Philipper's battle with Bamm Bamm, Philipper pushed Bamm Bamm into an empty CPZ, and when Sgt. Bash drove into the CPZ, he drove onto Philipper's rear lifter, and Philipper was able to push him in reverse to the Pit release button. Philipper turned around, but Sgt. Bash pushed it around, so Philipper drove away.
- "Sgt. Bash is now clinging onto the most fragile part, the barrel of the hammer which seemed to be having issues anyway"
- — Eric Corton during the Losers' melee of Heat D (translated from Dutch)
In the Loser's Melee of Heat D, as Project One drove around on the spot, Sgt. Bash grabbed its axe with his pincer, and Project One got its lifter under the front of Sgt. Bash, and actually managed to lift him a little. However, Project One couldn't take advantage, so let Sgt. Bash down, and Sgt. Bash used his pincer to drag Project One by the CPZ, taking it to the CPZ.
Another memorable battle in this series came in Heat B, during the Round 1 battle between Alien Destructor and Scraptosaur. Alien Destructor accidentally drove into Sir Killalot, and as Sir Killalot lifted it up, Sgt. Bash came over. Sir Killalot put Alien Destructor down, Sgt. Bash grabbed its tail with his pincer and pulled it down the arena, before pushing it. Alien Destructor struggled to get away, but Sgt. Bash turned it around. Alien Destructor tried driving free, but Sgt. Bash kept hold of the tail, and Alien Destructor kept pulling until Sgt. Bash let go. Alien Destructor pushed Sgt. Bash in reverse as retaliation, before going back to fight Scraptosaur.
Later in the same battle, Alien Destructor rammed Scraptosaur against the wall, pinning it there. Sgt. Bash grabbed Alien Destructor's tail and pulled it away from Scraptosaur.
Sgt. Bash was used to perform the arena duties on beaten competitors in this series, but only on a couple of occasions, both in Heat C. In Round 1, he and Matilda pushed Maximum Torque to the Floor Flipper after it had been immobilised by Matilda's flywheel. He also reversed Hammerhead onto the flipper after it was immobilised in its battle with Botwork.
The only episode in Dutch Series 1 where Sgt. Bash was not used in any of the battles was the Grand Final. His appearances actually became less frequent as the series progressed, appearing in 4 battles in the first two Heats, 3 battles in Heat C, 2 in Heats D and E, before being absent from the Grand Final.
Dutch Series 2[]
As in the first series of Robot Wars: The Dutch Battles, Sgt. Bash was used in the first battle of the series, and he would also be used in the last battle of the series. However, he was in the background for both of these battles, and enjoyed relatively few notable appearances across the series, despite being involved in every episode.
After only being used in one battle in Heat A, Sgt. Bash's first notable battle came Round 1 of Heat B. After Trazmaniac defeated Tartarus, Trazmaniac rammed into the immobile Tartarus, driving between it and Sgt. Bash. As Trazmaniac drove away, Sgt. Bash chased it up the arena, and blasted his flamethrower at it, but Trazmaniac was quick enough to drive around him when he got close. Sgt. Bash chased Trazmaniac as it sped across the arena, ducking around Refbot. Trazmaniac drove to the other side of the arena, with Sgt. Bash chasing after it, but the House Robot could not catch it. Eventually, Sgt. Bash gave up the chase, and after Shunt pitted Tartarus, Trazmaniac, Shunt and him spun around in celebration.
Heat B was the only Heat this series were Sgt. Bash appeared in more than 2 battles, appearing in 3 Round 1 battles in a row..
In Heat C, Krab-Bot dragged Alien Destructor 2 into his CPZ, but before he could attack, Dead Metal came over, pushing all three, with Bash being pushed against the wall. Dead Metal grabbed Alien Destructor 2 and cut into it, and Krab-Bot escaped the CPZ. Sgt. Bash grabbed Alien Destructor 2 with his pincers and pushed Alien Destructor 2 out of the CPZ, only to pull it back in so Dead Metal could attack it some more.
During the battle between Das Gepäck and Gravity in Heat D, Gravity pushed Das Gepäck into his CPZ, so Sgt. Bash pinned him against the wall. Das Gepäck pushed against Sgt. Bash, but Gravity rushed over and flipped Das Gepäck deeper into the CPZ. Sgt. Bash grabbed the front with his pincers, pushing it against the wall, and blasted it with his flamethrower. Towards the end of the battle, Gravity flipped Das Gepäck against the wall in his CPZ, but Sgt. Bash pushed it off, after blasting it with his flamethrower.
Strangely, Sgt. Bash did not use his flamethrower to set any competitors on fire this series. Unusually, he was not put in the arena with The Lethal Swan in Heat A. He was put in the arena with Impact, which had a fur-covered hammer, but didn't get close enough to set the fur on fire, so Impact drove onto the flame pit to set it on fire itself. Sgt. Bash was not used in Impact's Round 2 battle either.
German Robot Wars[]
Much like the second series of Robot Wars: The Dutch Battles, which was filmed at the same time, Sgt. Bash had relatively few notable moments in the sole series of German Robot Wars. He was absent from all the battles in Heat A, including the German Melee from Extreme 1 which was shown as part of the episode. He made his first appearance in the first Round 1 melee of Heat B, but was not involved in the battle apart from a brief moment when he fired his flamethrower at Absolut Krankhaft after it was thrown by the Floor Flipper and hit him as it landed. He did not appear in any of the other battles of the Heat, apart from the World Championship melee from The Second World Championship that was shown as part of the episode.
He had a slightly larger role in the German Robot Wars/Grand Final, where he appeared in the last three battles. In the 5th place melee, Mr. Psycho picked up Junkyard Queen when it was stuck in the a back of Not Perfect. He picked it up and spun it around, but turned too fast and fell over. Sgt. Bash he helped get Junkyard Queen free of Mr Psycho's claw after he fell over. With Junkyard Queen stuck in Mr. Psycho's claw, Sgt. Bash blasted it with his flamethrower, then pushed it free of the claw.
However, although he was also used in the 3rd place play off and the Final, he was not involved in either battle, apart from a brief clash with Son of Armageddon in the 3rd Place Playoff, when it reversed into his CPZ, so he pushed it out.
The UK vs Germany Special, which was also shown as part of Series 6, was easily Sgt. Bash's most notable episode of the series. He appeared in 4 of the battles, the most battles he appeared in in any episode of the series. He appeared in the final, and used his pincers to chew through the side of Dell Dog. The German broadcast of the episode also contained a notable moment for Sgt. Bash that was not included as part of the UK broadcast. During 259's battle with Judge Shred 2½, 259 immobilised Judge Shred 2½ with its flywheel, but broke down itself. Unseen on the UK broadcast, after Judge Shred 2½ was pitted, Refbot counted 259 out as well, and after Growler pushed 259 to the edge of the Pit, Sgt. Bash nudged it in, though 259 went through regardless as Judge Shred 2½ had been immobilised first.
In the European Championship, Sgt. Bash was used in two battles, but was only involved in a couple of brief moments. First, during the Round 2 battle between Tornado and Razer, whilst Razer was grabbing Tornado by the anti-crusher frame, Tornado pushed Razer in reverse, forcing it into Sgt. Bash in his CPZ. Sgt. Bash grabbed Razer by the tail, pushed it out of the CPZ and blasted his flamethrower, but Razer was unaffected, lifting Tornado up using its crusher with the added hook, until Sgt. Bash let it go.
Sgt. Bash was also used in the final, which meant that he appeared in the final of all three events filmed as part of German Robot Wars. Whilst Tornado was trying to push Philipper 2 into the pit, Philipper 2 reversed away from the pit, accidentally driving into the CPZ. It quickly got out, but Tornado pushed it, and Sgt. Bash drove after it. However, Philipper 2 reversed against the House Robot, turned around and pushed him against the wall before reversing away.
Series 10[]
- "No, he hasn't swapped sides, it's an homage to legendary House Robot Sergeant Bash! Sergeant Bash was equipped with a 360 degree flamethrower, and toasted competitor robots who were foolish enough to cross his path! For Jerome, the Netherlands number one superfan, it was time to bring him out of retirement!"
- — Angela Scanlon describes Sgt. Bash whilst introducing THE BASH
Although Sgt. Bash was not brought back for the reboot series, in the Robot Wars: World Series, Team Tie-Rip entered THE BASH, a robot designed like him as an homage to the retired House Robot. Whilst introducing THE BASH, Angela Scanlon read a description of Sgt. Bash, and clips from classic series episodes were shown; his House Robot introduction from Series 3, setting Diotoir alight in its Heat Final against Spawn Again in Heat G of Series 5, and using his jaw to crush into Evolution from the same episode.
- "Well we miss Sgt. Bash, really, and it deserves to be in the arena. And this is our tribute to it."
- — Jeroen van Lieverloo
Appearances in Merchandise[]
- Sergeant Bash/Pullback
- Sergeant Bash/Minibot
- Sergeant Bash/RC
- Sergeant Bash/Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem
- Sergeant Bash/Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction
- Sergeant Bash/Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction
- Sergeant Bash/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)
- Sergeant Bash/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)
- A Sgt. Bash cardboard cut-out model was included with the Robot Wars Toiletries Set
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
Sgt. Bash went on tour for the Series 4 and 5 qualifiers, which were held as live events,[25] but not for the Series 6 and 7 qualifiers, which were not held in front of a live audience and did not involve the House Robots. Sgt Bash and the other House Robots also did demonstrations, with Sgt. Bash demonstrating his flamethrower.[26]
Sgt. Bash, among other House Robots and a Robot from Robot Wars' sister show Mechanoids, made a cameo appearance in a BBC documentary about Leonardo Da Vinci in a section where the props team attempted to recreate some of Leonardo's designs with wood and other materials from around his time period. [27]
Some time after Robot Wars entered its hiatus, one of the Sgt. Bash builds/replicas ended up in the ownership of Anthony Pritchard, who rebuilt it to a functional state for demonstrations at Robots Live! events.[28] More recently, in December 2018, it attended Pritchard's wedding alongside Behemoth Evo IX, and would later be seen at the June 2022 wings&wheels show as a static display alongside Behemoth and Kevin Cleasby's King of Bots competitor Switch.[29][30]
In July 2021, Calum Jones built a to-scale replica of Sgt. Bash in its form from Series 3-7. For more information, see the Coyote page.
Trivia[]
- Sergeant Bash was originally silver, but was painted green at the filming of Series 1 to give him a more military-style appearance.
- "On the morning of the filming of the First Wars, I decided that he didn't look warlike enough. A couple of cans of spray-paint and some military stripes later, Sgt. Bash was transformed into the tough green House Robot loathed by robots far and wide..."
- — Chris Reynolds, interviewed in Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide
- According to Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide, Sgt. Bash was Chris Reynold's favourite House Robot, due to being the first one he designed.
- Sergeant Bash's fictional backstory, as included in Robot Wars Technical Manual, was that he was a top secret military vehicle developed by the US military in Area 51[31][32]. This backstory was also used for a comic in Issue 4 of Robot Wars Magazine.
- Although Sergeant Bash's saw was deactivated after Series 2, various books such as the Robot Wars Fun Fax, Robot Wars Extreme: The Official Guide and Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide still listed the rear saw as an active weapon, and it was included as a working weapon in Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction and the PC/Xbox version of Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction. The official Robot Wars website also listed the rear saw as an active weapon.
- Sgt. Bash is one of only two robots in the whole of Robot Wars to feature a flamethrower, the other being fellow house robot Growler.
- Sgt. Bash was the only house robot to have his name written on him.
- One of Sergeant Bash's original armour plates was given away in a competition in Issue 2 of Robot Wars Magazine, as the armour was being replaced with lighter fibreglass armour[33].
- Due to Matilda being deemed less of an easy target for competitors with flippers, after having her new flywheel weapon installed, Sgt. Bash was flipped by competitors in the first series of Extreme more than any other House Robot.
- Sergeant Bash was used in the first battle of 11 of the 15 series he was used in, including all but one of the seasons of the original UK series, the only exception Extreme 1.
- Sgt. Bash was the only main House Robot never to participate in a House Robot Rebellion.
- A clip of Sgt. Bash attacking The Big Cheese was included in the preview episode Meet the House Robots, despite Sgt. Bash not being brought back for the reboot. The other four House Robots that did not return for the reboot, Refbot, Mr. Psycho, Growler and Cassius Chrome, did not have clips included.
- Official Robot Wars tweets and TV listings alluded to the return of Sgt. Bash in the lead-up to the World Series, although these descriptions were actually teasing the Dutch competitor THE BASH. Regardless, Sgt. Bash was still referenced directly and shown in footage during THE BASH's introduction.
- On the 28th of March 2017, Gabriel Stroud began a campaign known as "#BringBackBash" and asked for likes and shares on social media to try and get the BBC and Mentorn to bring back Sgt. Bash as a house robot. Designs were drawn up on a whiteboard to show a Bash that more closely resembled a tank, with his pincer and flamethrower still present, though at the back instead featuring a spinning drum weapon — the design of which was to be based on a Mine Flail, a vertical spinner-like attachment for tanks designed to safely clear minefields — that would replace the circular saw.
- On December 24th 2018, Behemoth's Facebook page shared a picture of Sgt. Bash attending team member Ant Pritchard's wedding in a static display alongside Behemoth itself.
- In Heats E, F, G and H of Series 4, Sgt. Bash did not appear in any of the battles, but still appeared in the Pinball, meaning that he still appeared in those heats.
- Sgt. Bash was absent from only sixteen episodes of the classic UK series.
- One of Sergeant Bash's original side plates from Series 1-2 is now owned by the International Wreck Crew.
- On 16th October 2020, Sgt. Bash was mentioned on BBC panel show "Have I Got News For You" by comedian Stephen Mangan, as part of a joke about robots being used in medical procedures.
- Fallout 4: Far Harbor has a unique flamethrower weapon called Sergeant Ash, which is believed to reference the House Robot.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umNK7fLMRYM#t=26m05s
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/UKRobotWars/photos/a.567552436742443/590332291131124?comment_id=641203136044039
- ↑ https://old.reddit.com/r/robotwars/comments/77nd9x/im_andrew_robertson_executive_producer_of_robot/don8h8k/
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine - Issue 2, Page 8
- ↑ https://tobyhadoke.com/doctor-who-in-memoriam-2019]
- ↑ Robot Wars Technical Manual, Page 61
- ↑ Chris Reynolds RoboNerd 2020 Interview - Robot Wars and the House Robots on YouTube
- ↑ Robot Wars Technical Manual, Page 61
- ↑ Robot Wars Club newsletter #1
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine - Issue 2, Page 6
- ↑ Issue 7 of Robot Wars: The Official Magazine, Page 42
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine - Issue 2, Page 8
- ↑ Robot Wars Technical Manual, Page 61
- ↑ Chris Reynolds RoboNerd 2020 Interview - Robot Wars and the House Robots on YouTube
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine - Issue 2, Page 6
- ↑ Sir Killalot & the House Robots
- ↑ Robot Wars Series 6 Programme, page 17
- ↑ Robot Wars Club newsletter
- ↑ Oliver Steeples' website - Series 2, Show 2
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine Issue 2, Page 8
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine, Issue 2, Page 8
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine, Issue 2 - Page 8
- ↑ Robot Wars - The House Robots (Archived)
- ↑ Private correspondence between RobotManiac and Jonathan Lunn in 2020
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine, Issue 6 - Live and Flipping!
- ↑ The Robot Wars Live Event Programme
- ↑ https://twitter.com/thethomasandfr1/status/1687407834101858304?s=46&t=cwSCg5U5mzcS4xjG8EjJSA
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/behemothrobotwars/posts/pfbid021UBM3M5NqJXNX1XCoQg6XxHjpRj7sX83xm4A6VDNNNrysNJoTAGmfHSZsiQouswEl?comment_id=1716319442038282&reply_comment_id=701052677661318
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/behemothrobotwars/posts/pfbid02zRnTSpAkAtznTK52YX8R9cXG78UAN3jaDg46fHpZCCXTrkhJzouTTjZZS1GmgG7Ml
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/behemothrobotwars/posts/pfbid021eLMLVM7emrysm94BiLR4gSYMLFzPT7M8FWjpCxfecu4ZGcNRzGGrAsWNutitgszl
- ↑ Robot Wars Technical Manual, Page 57
- ↑ Robot Wars Technical Manual, Page 60
- ↑ Robot Wars Magazine, Issue 2 - Page 8
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