Battlebots 2015: Episode 2 Review

This episode concluded the qualifying round. How did they manage this when they only show 4 fights a show and there were 8 fights to do? Simple, they only showed highlights from the other 4, which is disappointing. I'm not sure why they didn't want to do an extra show to, you know, show all the fights. But they didn't. So, let's review the fights they did show.


Overhaul vs. Lock-Jaw

In a close match, totally-not-Disector beat Overhaul, another clamping robot. Overhaul got off to a really good start, but I think the experience behind Lock-Jaw was just too much. Also, there was controversy of Lock-Jaw dishing out a late hit, but I guess it ultimately didn't matter.

Witch Doctor vs. Bronco

It was yet another multi-bot where the smaller robot had a flamethrower against Bronco, a bot from the same people who did Toro...and T-minus...and Matador. With Bronco, they took the bold step of...no they didn't. It was basically the same as its predecessors. This fight didn't last very long, as Witch Doctor got stuck after it got flipped into a gap on the edge of the stage. Bit of a design flaw of the stage if you ask me.

Tombstone vs. Counter Revolution

Two robots I'm completely unfamiliar this time around, both with big blades. Tombstone with a horizontal bar and Counter Revolution with two vertical saws. One of the robots got obliterated. It was the one that didn't look stupid. The weapon on Tombstone is something brutal, it's going to take some really fancy driving to beat that robot.

Complete Control vs. Ghost Raptor

I remember Complete Control back from the old days. It was a Middleweight back then, and my most vivid memory was it getting destroyed by Hazard. I mean, most robots in that division were, but I remember that fight was especially fun to watch. Well, Complete Control is a Heavyweight now, and to start off this fight, it got a net stuck in the blade of Ghost Rider. This was the most exciting point of the entire match. After a restart, Complete Control performed the equivalent of breaking its own leg on the floor, and Ghost Raptor's blade snapped in half after hitting its opponent once. Ghost Raptor won the fight, mostly because it was able to move.

Random Thoughts to close:

Seriously, what's up with flamethrowers? I guess the rules have been changed, and I know the House Robots in Robot Wars had them, but they don't feel right for Battlebots.

That net was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen. I mean, in what sort of reasonable universe would that be allowed.

I saw the guy who did Minion in the highlight reel for the 4 qualifying fights they didn't show.

It doesn't feel right to have a Heavyweight division Battlebots tournament without Biohazard or Vlad the Impaler. I guess those guys have moved on, because they weren't there in any capacity.

The wild card thing was weird. Why didn't they just bring in 32 bots instead of 24?

Next week we get to the real competition, I'm looking forward to it.

Battlebots 2015: Episode 1 Review

Finally got around to watching the opening episode of this new Battlebots, and you know what? It wasn't too much different from the old Battlebots. I recognized at least half of the 8 teams present, and two of the robots were old veterans. I mean, it wouldn't be Battlebots without Nightmare, would it? Anyway, the fights were good, I wish there had a couple more of them, 4 was not quite enough.

Icewave vs. Razorback

The robot with the big horizontal spinning bar beat a robot that really didn't have any way to counter a big horizontal spinning bar. Razorback got KO'd pretty fast, and that wasn't much of a surprise.

Wrecks vs. Plan X

Plan X controlled the fight for almost the entire match, until it apparently got stuck on something and Wrecks shuffled its way over (and I do mean shuffled) and destroyed half of the other robot. Went to a decision, with the victory ultimately going to Plan X. I agree with that decision, if only for the reason that I really don't want to spend any more time looking at Wrecks. I mean, I've seen some pretty stupid designs in all the years I've been watching Battlebots, and a robot that relies on momentum from its saw to shuffle awkwardly across the room is a pretty stupid design.

Warhead vs. Bite Force

This one went the whole 3 minutes, but it was no contest. Warhead, the old veteran robot from the old Battlebots, got shoved about the entire match, and did virtually nothing to its opponent. An easy victory for Bite Force

Warrior Clan vs. Nightmare

The robot might be different, but we all remember what happened the last time when the Whyachi team went against Nightmare. It didn't go much better for Nightmare this time around either. At least it didn't lose any wheels.

Some random thoughts to close out here:

Where are the stage hazards? Specifically, where were the Killsaws? I know they have them, but I never once saw them. Where's the more than a little crazy guy to control the hazards? I mean, there hardly seems like a point if they don't get used.

I guess this is just heavyweights for this tournament? Maybe? There's only 24 robots here, which is a much smaller scale than the old Battlebots, which had 4 divisions and more than a 100 robots in total. Of course, we never got to see every fight, and maybe ABC is just testing the waters to see if Battlebots still has an audience. Hopefully if we get another season we'll see a more diverse field.

I miss the old stage announcer. That guy was awesome.

All in all, I'd say that Battlebots still has the charm that I remember, and I'm looking forward to seeing more robot fights. Hopefully I can review the next episode in a slightly more timely fashion.

Philae is Back!

7 months ago, the Philae space probe landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko after being dropped by Rosetta, still orbiting the comet. The landing was less than textbook, as the harpoons intended to anchor the probe to the comet failed to fire. The probe bounced twice and ended up in the shadow of a cliff. This was not the ideal place for Philae, seeing as the probe is solar powered; after a couple of days Philae's batteries were drained and the probe fell silent.

However, as you might have guessed, this is not the end of the story. While the probe was in a shaded area, the people in charge of the mission believed that the lander may eventually come back to life as the comet slowly changed its orientation, bringing Philae out of the shadow. This was not a definite, there was no guarantee Philae would wake back up, 7 months in the cold vacuum of space is going to be tough on anything.

But since we're here, you can probably guess what happened next. On June 13th, Philae sent its first message back to Earth, along with some historical data, indicating that the probe had been reactivated well before sending a message out. This is great news, now Philae can send back some science, and we'll have gotten more out of it then "hey we landed on a comet."

A Bit of Godzilla News

I guess Japan has gotten sick and tired of throwing their entire military at trying to stop Godzilla, so today, they're going for a new strategy: making Godzilla a citizen of Japan. Not only, but they've given him a job and made him the ambassador of tourism for the city of Shinjuku. Not the most obvious choice of city, but apparently Godzilla has visited a few times. It's an interesting move for Godzilla, moving onto a whole new career in his 60's, only a few years from retirement, and considering he's got a movie career in the U.S now, and he's making a return to Japan cinema next year after more than a decade. I guess ambassador of tourism isn't a very time consuming job.