When Robots Attack
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 8, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 PHOTO COURTESY OF COMEDY CENTRAL Comedy Central
BattleBots come in a variety of different shapes and sizes.
By Sarah Monson
Daily Bruin Contributor
Only Comedy Central would bring together tattooed,
mullet-sporting auto mechanics with Palo Alto computer nerds, face
them off against each other in a ring and produce a surprisingly
fair fight.
Say hello to “BattleBots,” Comedy Central’s
newest brainchild.
Three rounds, six robots and approximately ten laughs occupy the
half hour time slot for the quirky show, which airs every Wednesday
at 10:30 p.m. and again on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Each “BattleBots” episode consists of two designers
sending their homemade killer robots to duke it out, via remote
control, in a gladiator-style ring.
“It’s like WWF wrestling meets the Indy 500,”
said Donna D’Errico, one of the shows hosts, in a recent
phone interview. “The stars of the show are not human,
it’s really unique.”
She also said that the show is a rare and pleasant relief from
the monotony of bad acting and poor sportsmanship in regular
wrestling.
 PHOTO COURTESY OF COMEDY CENTRAL Comedy Central
BattleBot engineers must inspect their robots to make sure that
they are ready for combat.
On “BattleBots,” competitors come from all over the
country for a chance to strut their mechanical superiority in front
of a live audience, who enjoy the action from behind a giant glass
wall, appropriately named the “BattleBox.”
These remote controlled monsters have three minutes to strike
blow after hideous blow to its opponent inside this 48-foot-square
arena. More trouble awaits the dueling Bots,as the floor opens up
with pop-up hazards such as the “Ram Rod” and
“Hacksaw,” that can be deployed at any time to further
obstruct the players.
“BattleBots,” however, isn’t merely low-brow
entertainment. Bill Nye the Science Guy serves up some intellectual
stimulation as he describes the technicalities of the robots. And
D’Errico, a former “Baywatch” babe, interviews
the challengers ringside after the fight and offsets his goofball
flare.
Also, the play-by-play action is humorously covered by the
show’s commentators, Bill Dwyer and Sean Salisbury, who
rattle off classic one-liners that fit the battling Bots as they
make fools or heroes of themselves.
It is Comedy Central after all.
Although they only appear for a brief time, comedic twins Randy
and Jason Sklar, former stars of MTV’s “Apartment
2-F,” get in their share of funny remarks with their ringside
reporting, but otherwise appear to only be present to add to the
show’s eccentricity.
The masterminds behind these metallic mischief-makers also make
comedy of their own.
“You have to make the other robot your bitch,”
remarked Morgan Tilford, the owner of “Mauler,” a
UFO-shaped spinning robot with knives sticking out of its body.
A strong statement, but indeed he did exactly that in his
battle. “Nightmare,” described as a “wheel of
misfortune,” got knocked out in less than a minute by
“Mauler,” with it’s spinning wheels of death that
gave no mercy to the less fortunate BattleBot.
 Illustration by JARRETT QUON/Daily Bruin
The audience seems thoroughly excited as well, holding posters
and shouting obscenities at the challenger.
“BattleBots” plays out like any normal sporting
event.
Unfortunately, the real stars of the show cannot sign
autographs.
Built for bludgeoning, innovative design is the key to a
champion Bot. A typical robot may have pickaxes, chain saws or
gigantic knife blades making up the bulk of its frame. And even the
meanest looking robot can be tamed by a less imposing, but more
craftily designed robot.
In three separate rounds, the most effective annihilator proved
to be Tilford’s robot, “Mauler.”
Hailed as the “mother of all robot fighting
tournaments,” “BattleBots” is actually about the
only one out there. Still, this unique formula of comedic
demolition has yielded the highest ratings for a premiere show in
Comedy Central’s history.
With 13 new episodes green-lighted for next season and a
tournament later this year in Las Vegas, “BattleBots”
will continue trying to lure in audiences.
So dust off that rusty lawn mower, glue on a chainsaw and see
what wonders can create; perhaps you could be the next
“BattleBots” uberkind. At least you can say you cleaned
your garage.
TELEVISION: “BattleBots” airs Wednesdays at 10:30
p.m. and Saturdays at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Comedy Central.
