The Aerie
What I want to know is, why didn't Robot Wars succeed? The web site is dead, and the stuff on the air is five years old (or so). I can't believe a show like this wouldn't catch on in the U.S.
Mind you, I don't let my kids watch much TV. I certainly don't let
them watch World Wrestling Federation! But this British game show,
pitting radio-controlled "robots" against each other in duels to
destruction, well. I mean, here's a notion you can sink your teeth
into! Imagine parents and kids all across the nation putting together
robots and entering in competitions, lucky and skilled winners getting
on TV.
And unlike Pro-wrestling, nobody gets hurt. Robots might get broken,
robots might get burned, but they can always be put back together. No
punches need to be pulled, no holds barred.
Of course, there's the downside: there are no silicone-enhanced
females jiggling around the arena as a "Ho' Train," there's no blood,
and nobody swears. There's just innovation and competitiveness.
So I watch this quaint British show with my kids, and we talk about
how much fun it would be to build one of those robots. Mind you, it
would be a lot harder and more expensive than throwing together a 10G
RAID-1 Linux server, but it would be quite a thrill, too.
So the kids and I watch it together, hosted by Red Dwarf's Craig
Charles. And while the Robot Wars website doesn't say anything about
it, Craig Charles' on-line chat from last year mentions that
they're filming (or have filmed) another series -- so maybe it's NOT
dead. Who knows?
The amazing thing about Red Dwarf is that it's still on. Heck, I
think it's been running as long as, if not longer, than The Simpsons! And this with a live cast little changed from the first
season! Imagine such a thing in the U.S.!
Ah ha! Despite the show's insistence that one "visit
www.robotwars.com," it just occurred to me to try the British version
of the name -- http://www.robotwars.co.uk. THERE I found the real
scoop on Robot Wars -- maybe it's not dead after all.
Wow, who knows... me and the kids, in a backyard workshop late at
night, then hustling something into the car... the TV comes on, and
in the arena, low and sleek, painted white with black highlights, with
vicious spring-loaded wings that snap out to pummel its opponents...
its The Albatross...
It could happen!