Robot Wars: Series 8 (lost unaired pilot of BBC robot combat game show; 2016): Difference between revisions

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After a twelve-year hiatus, the popular BBC robot combat gameshow ''Robot Wars'' returned for a new series in 2016. A total of six episodes were commissioned for the series, which were filmed in March 2016.
'''''Robot Wars: Series 8''''' is as the name suggests the eighth season of the BBC robot combat gameshow ''Robot Wars''. It marked a return for the show after a twelve-year hiatus, with six episodes being filmed in March 2016. Prior to filming the six episodes, '''a pilot episode was filmed in a single day to allow the production team to practice handling the programme'''.


Before the filming of the six episodes began, however, a '''''pilot episode''''' was recorded in a single day, on March 1st, 2016. It was created so that the production team were able to practice handling the programme, such as testing camera equipment, prior to shooting the televised series.  
==Background==
The pilot episode was recorded on 1st March, 2016, a few days prior to filming for the main series. A total of eight robots competed in the pilot, including Basher, Ka-Pow!, Merlin, Monte, Reaper, Tanto, Turbulence and Wraith. The pilot helped test the format for Series 8, consisting of two opening four-way melees, where two machines would qualify from each. The remaining four robots competed in a new round robin format where robots score points based on whether they won a battle by knockout (three points), or Judges' decision (two points). The format ended with a Heat Final consisting of the two machines who scored the most points in the round robin.


A total of eight robots competed in the pilot, all of whom did not compete in televised battles in Series 8. This includes Basher, Ka-Pow!, Merlin, Monte, Reaper, Tanto, Turbulence and Wraith, the latter of whom would withdraw prior to the first battle due to internal fire damage. The remaining seven robots would compete in a battle format that would be used in the televised episodes. This would include four-way Group Battles, a second-round consisting of Head-to-Heads, and a Heat Final whereby the two highest-scoring robots in the Head-to-Heads would compete. However, only three Head-to-Head battles could be filmed in time, so Turbulence and Ka-Pow (who was actually outscored by Merlin), competed in the Heat Final, with Turbulence picking up the victory.
Details of the battles were documented by a ''Robot Wars Wiki'' user present during filming.<ref>[https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/Robot_Wars:_Series_8/Pilot ''Robot Wars Wiki'' article on the Series 8 Pilot, with the battle details having been written by a reliable user who was present at filming.] Retrieved 13 Nov '21</ref> The first melee consisted of Basher, Ka-Pow!, Tanto, and Turbulence. Tanto lost its removable link after driving over Ka-Pow's wedge, and landed hard onto the arena floor after somersaulting in the air. Basher pitted Tanto into the Pit, only to overbalance and fall in itself, allowing Ka-Pow! and Turbulence to qualify. In the second melee, Wraith was forced to withdraw after suffering an internal fire. Merlin and Reaper worked together, flipping Monte around before pitting its opponent after it lost drive to one of its wheels.
 
In the round robin, Turbulence defeated Reaper by knockout after flipping its opponent, who was suffering from a flipper valve issue that limited how many flips it could achieve. Merlin beat Ka-Pow! after the latter pit itself a few seconds after the battle began. Merlin attacked the House Robots, where Dead Metal grabbed and cut into it with its saw. Merlin would then narrowly lose to Turbulence by Judges' decision, where in a battle consisting of both machines landing flips on each other, Turbulence was deemed to have demonstrated better control and aggression. Due to time constraints, the round robin format ended prematurely, and Ka-Pow! was chosen to face Turbulence in the Heat Final most likely because it was the only machine not to face the unbeaten flipper. Turbulence would ultimately defeat Ka-Pow!, thus remaining undefeated.


==Availability==
==Availability==
[[File:Robotwarsmerlindeadmetal.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Image of Ka-Pow! vs Merlin, showing Dead Metal cutting into Merlin]]
According to a team member of Tanto, the Pilot was filmed, but the production team had no plans to air the footage.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/robotwars/comments/4ziutm/pilot_episode_for_the_current_series/ Reddit post where a team member of Tanto stated there were no plans to air the Pilot.] Retrieved 13 Nov '21</ref> There were also erroneous claims that the Pilot could not be legally shown because of the presence of ''BattleBots'' competitor Beta, when in reality sister machine Basher competed.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/robotwars/comments/7zks8w/is_there_really_no_footage_of_the_series_8_pilot/ Reddit post containing debunked claims that the Pilot could not be aired because of Beta.] Retrieved 13 Nov '21</ref> Team Tauron previously uploaded a behind-the-scenes video of the Pilot on YouTube, but this has since been taken down.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/robotwars/comments/4wptej/robot_wars_2016_pilot_footage/ Reddit post where Team Tauron shared a now-taken down video consisting of behind-the-scenes footage.] Retrieved 18 Jun '17</ref> Thus, the only available media of the Pilot as of the present day consists of a few photographs taken during filming.
Footage and images of the pilot are scarce; an image of the battle between Ka-Pow! and Merlin, which sees the latter being attacked by house robot Dead Metal, as well as a behind-the-scenes video recorded by Team Tauron, remains the only recordings of the pilot that are accessible to the public.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/robotwars/comments/4wptej/robot_wars_2016_pilot_footage/ Reddit discussion of the pilot.] Retrieved 18 Jun '17</ref> No footage from the production team has yet been publicly released.
 
==Images==
<gallery mode=packed heights=200px>
Robotwarsseries83.jpg|Basher vs  Ka-Pow! vs Tanto vs Turbulence.
Robotwarsseries84.jpg|Reaper and Monte in the Arena.
Robotwarsseries85.jpg|Turbulence vs Reaper.
Robotwarsmerlindeadmetal.jpg|Dead Metal cutting into Merlin.
Robotwarsseries86.jpg|Turbulence vs Ka-Pow!
Robotwarsseries87.jpg|Dara Ó Briain interviewing the Turbulence and Ka-Pow! teams post-battle.
Robotwarsseries88.jpg|Basher.
Robotwarsseries89.jpg|Ka-Pow!
Robotwarsseries90.jpg|Merlin.
Robotwarsseries91.jpg|Monte.
Robotwarsseries92.png|Reaper.
Robotwarsseries93.jpg|Tanto.
Robotwarsseries94.png|Turbulence.
Robotwarsseries95.jpg|Wraith being worked on in the Pits.
</gallery>


==Gallery==
{{Video|perrow  =1
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =Z0oP-197Yzo
  |description1 =Behind-the-scenes footage of the pilot.
}}
==See Also==
==See Also==
*[[1995 Robot Wars UK Open (partially found rejected robot combat TV show pilot; 1995)]]
*[[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 (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)]]
*[[BattleBots Collegiate Championship (partially lost unaired spinoff of robot combat TV show; 2009)]]
*[[Mechanoids (partially found BBC game show; 2003)]]
*[[Mechanoids (partially found BBC robot combat game show; 2003)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost MTV pilot of British robot combat gameshow; 2000)]]
*[[Plunderbirds: Talk Robots (partially found unfinished robot combat mockumentary film; 2019)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost near death footage of Jeremy Clarkson from robot combat gameshow; 1998)]]
*[[Robot Wars (found cameos of robot combat-themed BBC 2 ident; 1999-2000)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost work on unfinished cartoon series based on robot combat gameshow; existence unconfirmed; 2002-2004)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost footage and HSE documentation of behind-the-scenes accidents of BBC robot combat game show; 1998-1999)]]
*[[Robot Wars (partially found unaired or partially aired battles of BBC gameshow; 1998-2017)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost near-death footage of Jeremy Clarkson from robot combat game show; 1998)]]
*[[Robot Wars (partially found uncut battles from BBC robot combat gameshow; 1998-2017)]]
*[[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: Series 1 (lost original BBC Choice version of robot combat battle; 2001)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 1 (found TNN robot combat gameshow; 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 gameshow; 2002)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 2 (partially found behind-the-scenes footage of TNN robot combat game show; 2002)]]
*[[Robot Wars Revealed (partially found BBC Choice spin-off of robot combat gameshow; 1998)]]
*[[Robot Wars Revealed (found BBC Choice spin-off of robot combat game show; 1998-2000)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Series 3 (lost HSE documentation concerning behind-the-scenes accidents; 1999)]]
*[[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)]]
*[[Robot Wars: The Kick-Off (lost BNN robot combat special; 2001)]]
*[[Robotica (found TLC robot combat game show; 2001-2003)]]
*[[Robotica (found TLC robot combat game show; 2001-2003)]]
*[[Robots Revenge (lost Discovery robot combat documentary series; 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)]]
*[[Why Hypno-Disc can't work in an office (found testing video of Robot Wars competitor; 2000, 2007)]]


==Reference==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]

Latest revision as of 21:17, 25 July 2022

Robotwars2016logo.jpg

Series 8 logo.

Status: Lost

Robot Wars: Series 8 is as the name suggests the eighth season of the BBC robot combat gameshow Robot Wars. It marked a return for the show after a twelve-year hiatus, with six episodes being filmed in March 2016. Prior to filming the six episodes, a pilot episode was filmed in a single day to allow the production team to practice handling the programme.

Background

The pilot episode was recorded on 1st March, 2016, a few days prior to filming for the main series. A total of eight robots competed in the pilot, including Basher, Ka-Pow!, Merlin, Monte, Reaper, Tanto, Turbulence and Wraith. The pilot helped test the format for Series 8, consisting of two opening four-way melees, where two machines would qualify from each. The remaining four robots competed in a new round robin format where robots score points based on whether they won a battle by knockout (three points), or Judges' decision (two points). The format ended with a Heat Final consisting of the two machines who scored the most points in the round robin.

Details of the battles were documented by a Robot Wars Wiki user present during filming.[1] The first melee consisted of Basher, Ka-Pow!, Tanto, and Turbulence. Tanto lost its removable link after driving over Ka-Pow's wedge, and landed hard onto the arena floor after somersaulting in the air. Basher pitted Tanto into the Pit, only to overbalance and fall in itself, allowing Ka-Pow! and Turbulence to qualify. In the second melee, Wraith was forced to withdraw after suffering an internal fire. Merlin and Reaper worked together, flipping Monte around before pitting its opponent after it lost drive to one of its wheels.

In the round robin, Turbulence defeated Reaper by knockout after flipping its opponent, who was suffering from a flipper valve issue that limited how many flips it could achieve. Merlin beat Ka-Pow! after the latter pit itself a few seconds after the battle began. Merlin attacked the House Robots, where Dead Metal grabbed and cut into it with its saw. Merlin would then narrowly lose to Turbulence by Judges' decision, where in a battle consisting of both machines landing flips on each other, Turbulence was deemed to have demonstrated better control and aggression. Due to time constraints, the round robin format ended prematurely, and Ka-Pow! was chosen to face Turbulence in the Heat Final most likely because it was the only machine not to face the unbeaten flipper. Turbulence would ultimately defeat Ka-Pow!, thus remaining undefeated.

Availability

According to a team member of Tanto, the Pilot was filmed, but the production team had no plans to air the footage.[2] There were also erroneous claims that the Pilot could not be legally shown because of the presence of BattleBots competitor Beta, when in reality sister machine Basher competed.[3] Team Tauron previously uploaded a behind-the-scenes video of the Pilot on YouTube, but this has since been taken down.[4] Thus, the only available media of the Pilot as of the present day consists of a few photographs taken during filming.

Images

See Also

References