The Appeals Of Battlebots

What is Battlebots?

Battlebots is an an American television show found on the Discovery channel. It is a show where people from across the world come together to form teams and enter into a remote-control robot combat competition. The ultimate prize to win for the championship is a trophy labeled as the Giant Nut. 

Battlebots is filmed in Lakewood, California. This competitive sport is a way for countries to showcase their best engineers and prove they can be the best in the world, as it is a professional league. 

How does Battlebots work?

Here are the design rules:

Mobility is what makes the battles actually happen, so the bot must have a controlled movement that doesn't damage the arena. The movement can take different forms such as walking, rolling and other various movements, but it needs to have a reliable remote control.

The bot must also have at least one active weapon, and the weight of it cannot exceed 80 pounds. The overall weight limit for the robot is 250 pounds, and that weight can be split into as many bots as you want, as long as they all have an active weapon. Weapons can include spinners, flippers, grapplers, flamethrowers, hammers, lifters, even saws.

Continuing from that, they allow mini bots, who's sole purpose is to be a nuisance to their opponent. Mini bots maximum weight is up to 20 pounds, but they do not need an active weapon. Flying robots, such as drones, are also allowed in the arena, but their weight limit is 10 pounds.

Other design rules are necessary for safety measures, such as the activation and deactivation of a robot that must be done easily by one person. There are certain materials that are prohibited due to toxicity, which could put the cleanup crew in a more dangerous environment. Flamethrowers are a very destructive weapon, so it it only natural that they also have their own set of requirements as well. 

Here are the battle rules:

The battles are timed for three minutes, in which the robots fight until time is up or if their opponent is disabled or destroyed. If the time goes the full three minutes, then the decision is left to a panel of three judges where they base their scores off of a point system consisted of damage, control, and aggression. 

If the fights do go the distance, a judges' decision will either be a unanimous or a split decision. Unanimous generally means that the winner was seen more clearly as the one dominating the fight. With a split, it shows that both teams were putting in an equal amount of command during the fight. When an opponent is unable to show controlled movement during the battle, a referee will begin a 10 second countdown and by the end of it, declare it a knockout. 

While the robots themselves are set out to destroy each other, the arena they are contained within have ways to make the battle more climatic. Along the edges of the box are these giant screws that can grind up any robots that get stuck on them. Hammers weighing 100 pounds and are controlled by each team to drop down are called pulverizers. Lastly, what are known as the killer saws, are saws that spring up from the floor randomly with less than a minute left of the fight.

Is Battlebots scripted?

I don't think that anyone of a public audience will know the true answer for this, only the people behind the scenes and that are filming will know. It's easily noticeable that the episodes are filmed and aired in a certain way to catch the attention of more viewers.

There are battles that have been recorded, but they don't show up any episode. You can also see that the people participating in the championship have nearly all their most intense expressions shown, while the most exciting people to watch are the ones that are in view of the camera. 

On the topic of how the show is set up, we come to the parts that are a little bit of a 'behind-the-scenes' look and gives us a better idea of what is it like for the builders in the pits, where they rebuild their robot. We see the damage that was inflicted, get to know who these people are, and have the possibility to learn something new.

The builders are portrayed to be a big family, and many know each other well from different competitions that are similar to Battlebots. From the interviews, they are also known to help each other out however and whenever they can. In many episodes, heart-warming scenes are shown, sometimes they can even get emotional. 

In addition, there are some tender, funny, and trash talk moments, but you can't help noticing all the different personalities that each builder exhibits during the interviews before and after a fight. There are a few that are not use to the being on TV, while others seem to be so at ease enough to be their goofy selves. Kids are also able to join in on this sport, and are also encourage in certain ways. 

Overall, with all this said, I do not think that Battlebots is scripted. However, I do believe that they set up the show in a way that displays the best side of people and the most exciting moments the battles have to offer in order to gain the most viewers. 

The announcers may have a little bit of some kind of script, but they also seem to make every moment light and funny even in the most intense of circumstances. During a fight, even when there isn't much happening, they are able to create the battle as exciting. With they're explanations and commentary, we also get a better understanding of what is happening. They also set up some scenes to teach the audience about why certain things happen in the battles.

Battlebots in 2020

This show is packed with so many epic battles that are bound to be exciting to everyone of all ages. With some educational scenes, it can be very beneficial to kids as well. Violent fights are guaranteed to be extremely entertaining, as would be expected from a robot fighting competition. 

These battles can be pretty dramatic, because amongst all the intensity there are some judges' decisions that prove to be full of anxiety and even a little bit of controversy making some dramatic moments memorable. In earlier seasons, there were funny parts made by the announcers and teams, making the show more enjoyable by its light-hearted humor. 

The announcers are whole other topic. They are the what helps the show come to life in a more eccentric way. From some pretty original introductions to the constant commentary that helps the audience gain a better understanding of what is happening, they make every episode stimulating to watch.

On the topic of older seasons, its worth mentioning that there usually is a live audience to witness the battles, but due to COVID during 2020, they had to make some changes.

Instead, they gave individual mini stands for each of the teams that are participating in the competition to be the live audience. I think its more enjoyable to see the reactions of the other teams when witnessing the battles, but it is nicer for the public to get a chance to go watch them in person as well. 

The robots themselves are some of the most unique creations that I've seen, in a way it has people coming together, creating and designing in what is a great sport to be a spectator for. Some of them are enormous or they can even represent a form of a kind of animal. The options seem limitless when each new design comes to light, and its a fascinating journey for each robot.

This sport is ever-evolving, and I hope that as it continues to grow, it will be a spotlight show that everyone will come together to enjoy.