But over the years, as I've started learning the builders' names and knowing their stories and where they come from, I've realized that I love the stories between fights just as much.
It gets the blood pumping on a visceral level and analyzing how the builders approach a fight is as thrilling as any other sport. Yes, I love watching the robots smash each other.
#BATTLEBOTS BOUNTY HUNTERS PROFESSIONAL#
This season, I'm obsessed with Mad Catter, a 'bot built by a community college professor who sees this show as a chance to live out his greatest professional wrestling fantasies. I dwell too often on Tombstone, whose builder loves playing a "bad guy" on television but who has developed a reputation for being a thoughtful competitor and cheerleader for the sport off-camera. I often think about Witch Doctor, a staggeringly impressive competitor whose low-key builders offset their shy intelligence by wearing outrageous costumes ringside. It's that joy that quietly hums beneath Battlebots, giving the entire experience a quiet heart beneath the robot carnage. But also imagine what it must feel like to actually be at a competition surrounded by hundreds of people who share your incredibly specific passion. So imagine what the actual builders, who often invest tens of thousands of dollars into their robots, must feel.
The people who make this show, and the people who make the robots, take this all very seriously.īut that seriousness is in support of something that is undeniably strange – if you tell someone you love watching robots fight in a gladiatorial contest, you may receive a peculiar look. There are ringside commentators, experts called in for analysis, a seasoned interviewer who speaks to the teams as they toil away to prepare for their next bout, and judges to determine a winner if both 'bots are still working when the timer runs out. It's just people who really love robots, using their robot to compete against people who also really love robots.ĭon't get me wrong: Battlebots still presents this fringe sport with all the theatrics you'd expect from a traditional competition series.
What this means is quietly profound: this is a televised competition with no ulterior movies and no cynicism. There's literally no other reason to build a combat robot. The people building and breaking these robots are on this show – and investing their blood, sweat, tears, and money – because they love doing this. This means Battlebots is somehow one of the purest shows on television.
#BATTLEBOTS BOUNTY HUNTERS SERIES#
Despite the existence of this slickly-produced series (which has run off and on for over two decades across several networks), this is essentially an underground sport fueled by passion. Why It's Essential Viewing: No one gets into "combat robotics" hoping to get rich or famous. But one thing unites everyone: they all love building robots.and using those robots to break other robots. Others are the work of people who have made this niche sport their very peculiar hobby. Some are made by people whose entire lives are based about robotics. Some look like they were cobbled together in a garage.
The Pitch: Ladies and 's robot fighting time! Folks from around the world gather for one purpose and one purpose only: to see if they can best opponents in the ring using 250-pound robots they built specifically to fight other robots. The Series: Battlebots and Battlebots: Bounty Hunters (Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they've been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)