Robot Wars Series VIII - Grand Final Discussion

Here be spoilers. Don't say I didn't warn you.


Well, I was hoping they'd step it up a notch for the Grand Final, and they certainly did. The House Robots were the most active I've seen them this series, whoever was on the floor flipper controls was very trigger-happy, and the robots showed no sign of letting up against each other at all. A fantastic, clean, electrifying final, possibly one of the best we've ever seen on Robot Wars. I'm gonna try and not summarise my thoughts on the entire series here though, because I have way too many.

First off: Thor was back! As I and many others had predicted, Thor went through by the judges' hand, and they made it count. This final certainly was a war of attrition. So many fights, again and again against each other, I was honestly amazed anyone was still in one piece by the end. The first two, three-team mêlées were interesting, and I really was sad to see Pulsar go out in the first round. Again, it seemed like the same drive problem we saw throughout their heat, and was a real shame to see they hadn't managed to fix it. Commiserations to Ellis (and Rory Mangles who also put major work in). I really hope to see you next time. As a matter of fact, that goes for all the bots in this Grand Final. Shockwave went out on a disappointing note - torn to shreds by Carbide before their obvious attempt to be the next Typhoon 2 and cause major health and safety hazards. :P Quite sad indeed to see so much damage on what seemed to be such a tough little robot before.

Onto the head-to-heads, fantastic performance by all teams. Carbide was looking really strong at this point, destroying robot after robot, including poor Thor, until their battle with TR2. It really seemed like TR2 was going to be disintegrated in the first few seconds, but in one of the most surprising turn of events I've ever seen in Robot Wars, TR2 dominated the fight as Carbide's weapon stopped working. A well-deserved win that showed Carbide weren't unbeatable, and that TR2 is one of the most solidly-built machines in the show. I can only express my deepest condolences for Thor. One of the most tenacious bots in this competition, but sadly chewed up and tossed around constantly by the other competitors. The poor machine simply fell apart in their fight with Apollo, which was such a shame. Commiserations for TR2 simultaneously, as their entry into the finals relied on Thor's victory, or at least survival.

The final, Carbide vs Apollo, was always going to be intriguing. Carbide was always going to be on top until their weapon stopped working, but after that it was anyone's guess. A true gruelling match in which both robots' weapons ceased to function, Shunt got some real damage in with his axe, and one that led to a judge's decision. I thought Carbide might scrape through on damage, but after the disc stopped working, Carbide seemed to have no real pushing capability or defence. Apollo won out in the end. Now I have to say, Apollo were honestly my least favourite competitor. I'm not going to pretend I liked them. Nothing personal to the team, but a generic wedge flipper with a 'boy band' team and little personality, was not who I wanted to win. What's more I felt they had a fairly easy ride in the earlier rounds, having their fight end early due to arena damage and Shockwave's defeat, and Thor dropping to bits in front of them. They took the win fair and square though, so congrats to them. Well played, and they certainly lasted the competition. Worthy winners by all means. Overall a fantastic Grand Final, one that I'll certainly watch again when my DVD arrives. Here's to Series 2! :D

A really exciting final to end a superb series of intense battles - congrats to Team Apollo for what was, in my opinion, a surprising win over Carbide!
But also congrats to all the competing teams and their incredible machines for making the show as entertaining as it was. For me the presentation style of this new series, particularly the audio and visual design, was very bland and uninspired - with the exception of the menacing house robots. The colourful enthusiasm and camaraderie of the roboteers, however, really shone through and represented the sport very well.

Whilst most seemed positive about the reboot, I personally don't know anyone who has actually watched more than one or two episodes, so I really do hope that ratings were high enough for a second season!

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Originally Posted by R9000

...but after the disc stopped working, Carbide seemed to have no real pushing capability or defence.

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Yeah. Carbide is basically a weapon-delivery system on wheels - every bit is either part of the weapon, or there to deliver the weapon. And while you can see how being a one-trick pony is attractive when the trick is SO destructive when it succeeds... it means that if the weapon is less than 100% reliable (and 100% effective), they really have no backup. And while they can work on that reliability for S2, there's a LOT of energy going through the bar's drivetrain every time it hits. If they can somehow manage it without compromising the main weapon, more power/torque to the wheels would probably be the best upgrade they could manage for S2.

Yep, would agree with that, if the weapon stops then it is a loss. Lack of full mobility should also count, but guess that was a concession to keeping the first series full. The only way with TV to avoid any discussion is a 100% KO every single round

I was well and truly entertained. Great fights and even greater competitors. Congratulations to Apollo and everyone else that competed through out this series.

Agree, most entertaining, I was impressed and inspired by the engineering and the camaraderie. I hope you get another season, and like many others I'm building something in the hope you do. Top work all round.

Well we got a winner, we got a wall ripped out and a robot hold together with duck tape.


Robot Wars 2016 has been a great revival, but 2016 has it fair share of flaws, the lack of music during the fight is one of them. But it comes back next year, they can always fix that with the few other flaws. It's odd that they give out awards for the best of, it didn't feel right.