Robotica (found TLC robot combat game show; 2001-2003)
Title card.
Status: Found
Date found: Various dates
Found by: Various people
Robotica (along with BattleBots and Robot Wars) were the three Robot Combat game shows that aired on TLC, from 2001-2002. Unlike its peers, it had a very different format, with each robot going through different obstacles, with the robot that gets the most points making the combat stage called "The Fight to the Finish". The series is available in its entirety as of March 25th, 2020, as the only remaining missing episode has been uploaded to Youtube.
Discovery Networks still owns the masters for Robotica, and Season 3 did have a brief re-run on The Science Channel in 2009. This was the lesser-known of the three Robot Combat shows, and wasn't as popular as its rival shows, only managing a total of 3 seasons, and 21 episodes before being cancelled in late 2002 due to poor ratings, and the sport returning to its live event roots with reruns airing on TLC until sometime in 2003 when the show was finally taken off air. Unlike Battlebots and Robot Wars, the show has not been rebooted as of 2017, and it is unknown if it ever will be.
Seasons
Season 1
Season 1 consisted of seven episodes; unlike other seasons, this season of Robotica had a third event called "The Speedway" and a completely different version of "The Gauntlet", and "The Maze". In the following seasons, The Speedway would be completely nixed, and both "The Gauntlet" and "The Maze" would go through a complete redesign.[1] This season was won by Run Amok, which unlike other seasons, fought three robots in the Fight to the Finish.
| # | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robotica Season 1, Episode 1 | Apr 4th, 2001 | Found |
| 2 | Robotica Season 1, Episode 2 | Apr 11th, 2001 | Found |
| 3 | Robotica Season 1, Episode 3 | Apr 18th, 2001 | Found |
| 4 | Robotica Season 1, Episode 4 | Apr 25th, 2001 | Found |
| 5 | Robotica Season 1 Episode 5 | May 2nd, 2001 | Found |
| 6 | Robotica Season 1 Episode 6 | May 9th, 2001 | Found |
| 7 | Robotica Season 1 Championships | May 16th, 2001 | Found |
Season 2
Season 2 started with a completely different format, The Speedway was gone, and The Gauntlet, and The Maze were completely redesigned to allow both robots to make contact with each other.[2] This season was won by Flexy Flyer, a robot whose debut episode was considered lost media until March 25th, 2020, and some episodes like Season 2, Episode 3 are in poor shape.
| # | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Robotica Season 2, Episode 1 | Nov 4th, 2001 | Found |
| 9 | Robotica Season 2, Episode 2 | Nov 11th, 2001 | Found |
| 10 | Robotica Season 2, Episode 3 | Nov 18th, 2001 | Found |
| 11 | Robotica Season 2, Episode 4 | Nov 25th, 2001 | Found |
| 12 | Robotica Season 2, Episode 5 | Dec 2nd, 2001 | Found |
| 13 | Robotica Season 2, Episode 6 | Dec 9th, 2001 | Found |
| 14 | Robotica Season 2 Championships | Dec 16th, 2001 | Found |
Season 3
Season 3 followed the same format as Season 2, like Seasons 2, and 3 this season also had 7 episodes. This was to be the final season, due to a combination of both suffering from sagging ratings since Season 1, and the sport of Robot Combat going back to its live event roots, the show was cancelled following the Season 3 Championships. The winner of the final season was Panzer Mk. 3.
| # | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Robotica Season 3, Episode 1 | Oct 5th, 2002 | Found |
| 16 | Robotica Season 3, Episode 2 | Oct 12th, 2002 | Found |
| 17 | Robotica Season 3, Episode 3 | Oct 19th, 2002 | Found |
| 18 | Robotica Season 3, Episode 4 | Oct 26th, 2002 | Found |
| 19 | Robotica Season 3, Episode 5 | Nov 2nd, 2002 | Found |
| 20 | Robotica Season 3, Episode 6 | Nov 9th, 2002 | Found |
| 21 | Robotica Season 3 Chamionships | Nov 16th, 2002 | Found |
See Also
- 1995 Robot Wars UK Open (partially found rejected robot combat TV show pilot; 1995)
- American Robot Wars 2000 (lost MTV pilot of British robot combat game show; 2000)
- BattleBots (found Comedy Central robot combat game show; 2000-2002)
- BattleBots (partially lost build of unreleased GameCube/PlayStation 2 game based on robot combat TV series; 2003)
- BattleBots Collegiate Championship (partially lost unaired spinoff of robot combat TV show; 2009)
- Mechanoids (partially found BBC robot combat game show; 2003)
- Plunderbirds: Talk Robots (partially found unfinished robot combat mockumentary film; 2019)
- Robot Wars (found cameos of robot combat-themed BBC 2 ident; 1999-2000)
- Robot Wars (lost footage and HSE documentation of behind-the-scenes accidents of BBC robot combat game show; 1998-1999)
- Robot Wars (lost near-death footage of Jeremy Clarkson from robot combat game show; 1998)
- Robot Wars (lost work on unfinished cartoon series based on robot combat game show; existence unconfirmed; 2002-2004)
- Robot Wars (partially found footage of robot combat show qualifying auditions and battles; 1998-2003)
- Robot Wars (partially found unaired or partially aired battles of BBC robot combat game show; 1998-2017)
- Robot Wars (partially found uncut battles from BBC robot combat game show; 1998-2017)
- Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1 (lost original BBC Choice version of robot combat battle; 2001)
- Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 1 (found TNN robot combat game show; 2001)
- Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 2 (partially found behind-the-scenes footage of TNN robot combat game show; 2002)
- Robot Wars Revealed (found BBC Choice spin-off of robot combat game show; 1998-2000)
- Robot Wars: Series 8 (lost unaired pilot of BBC robot combat game show; 2016)
- Robot Wars: Series 8 (partially found Science Channel reruns of robot combat game show; 2018)
- Robot Wars: The Kick-Off (lost BNN robot combat special; 2001)
- Robots Revenge (partially found Discovery robot combat documentary series; 2001)
- Why Hypno-Disc can't work in an office (found testing video of Robot Wars competitor; 2000, 2007)