A question about Robot Wars ...

[Darth Mandarb]

NOTE: - This is a light hearted question!!  So please read it as such!!

I watch TechTV a lot ('cause I'm a geek).  They play this show called Robot Wars.  Now, I find the concept slightly entertaining, I suppose, but after watching it today I began to wonder...

The show is from the UK.  Do the average people of the UK love this show as much as the audience seem to?  Or is this like a chess competition in America?  Are these people the 'geeks' of the UK or is the show really that popular.

Now America, in recent years, has been on a foreign kick.  Be it Latin Music (Ricky Martin, J-Lo, Shakira, etc.) or actors/films (Jason Statham, Russel Crowe, Roberto Benigni, Snatch, etc.) so I was just wondering if this is just another "Oooh it's from another country so we love it" bullshit kind of thing.

For me, I don't really care for the show.  I think the announcer guy ruins it.  Is he the "Let's get ready to rummmmmmmm bullllllllllllllllllll" guy of the UK??  

So, can those of you from the UK fill me in?  What seems to be the opinion of this show (or do you even know about it) accross the pond?

Thanks!

dm

[Pumaman]

It's quite a popular prime time Friday evening show in the UK. I don't much like it personally, but it does seem to have quite a following.

[Adamski]

We stole the conecpt for Robot Wars from an American show I think, and it's been around for ages now... Jeremy Clarkson used to present it instead of Craig Charles for the first few series. Possibly. Anyway, I think it still is quite popular, although I never can be arsed to watch it anymore.

I think the announcer guy ruins it. Is he the "Let's get ready to rummmmmmmm bullllllllllllllllllll" guy of the UK??

Er, do you mean the commentator (Jonothan Pryce or something, who seems to be constantly on a caffene buzz) or Craig? If you don't know who Craig is then i'll have to beat you up with a trout

[Shattered Sponge]

I don't think it's really that popular anymore; it used to be pretty succesful in a the-simpsons-has-just-finished-and-I-can't-be-arsed-changing-the-channel sorta way, but I think it's mostly burnt out by now.

The channel who made it have recently tried launching a couple of similar shows in pretty much the same timeslot, though; 'Time Commanders', which is basically a group of people playing Rome: Total War for 45 minutes (actually much more entertaining than it sounds, but that isn't really saying that much) and 'Fightbox', which I haven't seen, but looks kinda like a televised beat-'em-up with characters designed by the contestants.  I am assured that it is awful.

I don't quite know why I felt the need to share that with you, but anyway.

(PS, DS; Clarkson only presented the very first series, IIRC)

[Hypnodisc]

Mmmmm.... Phillippa Forrester in a corset, mmmm....

Of course, the reason it's not as good now  is that she has to wear RW mechandise jacket instead of her previous get-up.  :'(

[Al_Ninio]

I watch TechTV alot, too.
They don't air Robot Wars where I live anymore, and I find that a good thing, that show bored me to death.
Since I have nothing to contribute to this thread really, I'll just share something I saw on TechTV.
On the show Call For Help, not a long time ago, they showed The Adventures of Zak McKracken 2 (Lucasfan's game) as the free file of the day.
It was teh w00t.

EDIT- Oh yeah, and the american show that Robot Wars is based upon might be Battlebots.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

EDIT 2- OK, I stand corrected. Fun.

[Shattered Sponge]

Oh yeah, and the american show that Robot Wars is based upon might be Battlebots.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't quite know why I bothered to check this, but the imdb has Robot Wars starting in '98, and Battlebots in '00; consider yourself well and truly corrected.

I think that the competition itself started in the US, but the UK were the first to make a show out of it.

[cpage]

man sponge
I was about to post the same thing

[Darth Mandarb]

Dark Stalkey - Yeah the commentator guy.  He scares me a little 'cause his face never changes.

Highwaygal - Yeah, I think it was called Battlebots.  Which I enjoyed almost as much as Robot Wars!!  Also, that same show "Call For Help", was where I was first introduced to AGS last March.

I owe them soooo much!!

dm

EDIT - I also thought that Battlebots was based off the UK show.  Thanks Sponge!

[TheDude]

Craig Charles the guy from Red Dwarf? My friends and I used to be in the "Red Dwarf Posse" (a little gang that we created when we were about 13). We used to hang out in one of my friend's garages and throw stones at the locals. I think Red Dwarf invented the word "smeg", am i wrong?

[AGA]

You're wrong. Smeg is smegma baccillus (sp?), which is the white crap that collects under the foreskin... - http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?query=smegma&action=Search+OMD

[Adamski]

Red Dwarf gave it a purpose though. It's also the name of a spiffy range of Fridge/Freezers

[Trapezoid]

Speaking of TechTV, anybody watch Unscrewed with Martin Sargent? They've showed a couple of my animutations. It's cool.

[Gemmalah]

How can anyone not like robot wars! I love it I only have the standard 5 channels but i love it anyway even if they don't show it now. There was an american robot show broadcast here, it had a cage...

On red Dwarf, did you know that Rimmer did the voice of simon the sourcerer, ya know i can't tell unless he's making a real sarcastic comment.

[Evil]

Wait, the guy from Red Dwarf? The guy is teh roxor. No questions asked.

[oscar]

they aired the last season on swedish tv, and I watched it sometimes. but it's very boring when the same shit happens all the time =)

[Las Naranjas]

Dirty Rapist that he is....

* Las Naranjas enjoys extrapolating on charges.

Robot Wars had a brief run on Channel 10 here I think [pay TV mya be a different matter]. They has wossisface from Water Rats presenting, but it was the British show.
It must be a haven for washups. They should get Gary Coleman.

[Domino]

i have only caught a glimpse of Robot Wars, but i really like watching BattleBots on Comedy Central instead. I haven't seen BB on in awhile, i think it might have been cancelled.

shawn

[Alexis Vale]

I live in America, but I watch the BBC America channel and TechTV a lot (my mother is from the UK, so we tend to watch the BBC America channel *cough*KeepingUpAppearances*cough*). I used to watch Robot Wars for pure amusement until it got on my nerves. It's best to just mute and watch. I guess it's kind of like Junkyard Wars (I love that show). A competition to see who can build the best machine. Where I live, some universities/colleges have Bot Ball competitions. A lot of people are interested in it. There's more to the team effort than the personal effot, like in chess.

[DGMacphee]

I have only two words on Robot Wars and its future:


American... Gladiators...