Space

Space
Space logo at the time of airing Robot Wars
Channel Information
Years Active	1997-present
Robot Wars Information
Market	Canada
UK Series	2-6, Extreme 1

Space (also referred to as Spacecast and now known as CTV Sci-Fi Channel) is a Canadian English-language speciality television channel that was responsible for airing Robot Wars in Canada, specifically Series 2 to Series 6 as well as the first series of Robot Wars Extreme.

History

Space opened on 17 October, 1997 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which had previously licenced the channel in 1996 before opening it. In July 2011, a high-definition version of the channel was launched to all areas of the country. In June 2018, Space was rebranded as CTV Sci-Fi Channel after CTV purchased the rights to the channel, it has been known by this name ever since.

Per its name, the channel focused on science-fiction, airing programmes of this genre. These programmes ranged from Canadian original shows such as Stormworld, It Came from the Basement! and Orphan Black to acquired shows from other countries such as Doctor Who, The Twilight Zone and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Robot Wars

"Extraordinary fighting machines designed, constructed and operated by ordinary people are unleashed in gladiatorial combat. They face lethal assault courses, the most destructive games and the show's own super robot."

— Description of Robot Wars on the Space website

Robot Wars is first known to have begun airing on Space in 2001, with the earliest documented mentions of the show on the channel's website dating from 31 August that year. The official Robot Wars website and the first issue of Robot Wars: The Official Magazine also highlighted the show being aired on the channel, but did not offer any other insights, instead directing readers to the official Space website for details such as dates and airing times.

Throughout its presence on the channel, Robot Wars received consistent early-evening and afternoon timeslots; Saturday evenings at 7:00pm, with repeats on the following Sunday at 12:00pm. However, the broadcasting run over this time period was not in chronological order with that of the original UK airings. Series 4 is known to have concluded its run on the channel on 9 June, 2002, however instead of Extreme, Series 2 instead began airing after it the following week on 15 June. Once Series 2 concluded on 13 October, Extreme then began its run the following week on 19 October.

The first series of Extreme concluded in early 2003 before Series 5 started airing the week beginning 15 February, 2003, ending later that May. Series 6 saw its broadcasting run begin in June, and end on 8 August, the timeslot at this time having changed to 12:00pm on just Sundays while reruns of Series 2 and Extreme aired on weekdays at 12:00pm. On 29 August, Series 3 began being shown. It is not known when Series 3 concluded or if Series 7 started its broadcasting run afterwards.

On some archived captures of the Space website, an image from Series 1 was used to promote the show, depicting Barry being attacked by Matilda during its Heat A Gauntlet run. However, while "1998" is listed as the show's original airing year, it cannot be determined whether the inaugural series was broadcast by the channel as well.

Being a channel shown to an English-speaking audience, the episodes are assumed to have been aired in their original UK format. Craig Charles, Philippa Forrester, Julia Reed and Jonathan Pearce are all credited in multiple archived versions of the Space website, ruling out the possibility of unique presenters and a potential translation into the French language.

External Links

• CTV Sci-Fi Channel on Wikipedia