Robot Wars (found cameos of robot combat-themed BBC 2 ident; 1999-2000)

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Robotwarsbbc2ident1.jpg

BBC 2 Ident.

Status: Found

Date found: 22 Nov 2017 (Series 3 Heat B)
19 May 2019 (Series 4 Southern Annihilator)

Found by: SpaceManiac888
Stephen McCulla

Robot Wars is a British robot combat game show produced by Mentorn. Broadcast on BBC Two and Channel Five from 1998-2004, and from 2016 to 2017, the premise involved machines built by professional and amateur engineers battling other competitors in combat. For Series 3 and 4, Team Make Robotics, the team behind Behemoth, showcased their creation BBC 2 Ident in the introductions of Series 3 Heat B and Series 4 Southern Annihilator.

Background

During his team's debut in Series 2, Team Make Robotics' member Anthony Pritchard felt that a Robot Wars-themed BBC 2 ident would prove complementary for the show. He thus built the robot BBC 2 Ident, which was constructed as a side project.[1] The machine weighed 6.1kg, used a BBC 2 logo as a base, and combined elements from the show's five House Robots. As the Robot Wars Wiki notes, this included the disc from Dead Metal; the horns from Matilda; various components from Sergeant Bash, including his sides, wheels, and flamethrower; Shunt's scoop and exhaust; and finally, Sir Killalot's mesh and top spikes.[1]

The robot was completed after Series 2.[1] It appeared in a few promotional photos, including one where it was situated in the Pinball Arena.[2][1] Additionally, it starred in two cameos introducing Series 3 Heat B and the Series 4 Southern Annihilator. The first featured Pit Reporter Philippa Forrester introducing Heat B, with BBC 2 Ident driving into view and showcasing its lifter and disc. The other situated BBC 2 Ident driving on a workbench into the view of the camera, only for new Pit Reporter Julia Reed punching it back off-screen.[3]

Recovery

Because the introductions were intended only for the original BBC 2 airings of the episodes, the cameos were cut from re-runs showcased on other television channels. Thus, they were lost media for nearly two decades, until 19th May 2019, when Robot Wars Wiki and Lost Media Wiki user SpaceManiac888 discovered an embedded video on Pritchard's website, which turned out to be the Heat B cameo. This was then re-uploaded to YouTube. The Southern Annihilator cameo remained lost until 19th May 2019, when Stephen McCulla found a recording of the original airing of the episode and uploaded it to Unofficial Robot Wars.[3]

Gallery

Videos

BBC 2 Ident Series 3 Heat B introduction.

BBC 2 Ident Series 4 Southern Annihilator.

Images

See Also

External Link

References