Robot Wars (lost near-death footage of Jeremy Clarkson from robot combat game show; 1998): Difference between revisions

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''Robot Wars'' is a British robot combat game show produced by Mentorn. Broadcast on BBC Two and Channel Five from 1998-2004, and from 2016 to 2017, the premise involved machines built by amateur engineers battling other competitors in combat. Series 1 (also known as The First Wars), featured British TV presenter and journalist Jeremy Clarkson as host. During filming for the inaugural series, a malfunctioning robot '''almost resulted in Clarkson's death'''.
''Robot Wars'' is a British robot combat game show produced by Mentorn. Broadcast on BBC Two and Channel Five from 1998-2004, and from 2016 to 2017, the premise involved machines built by amateur and professional engineers battling other competitors in combat within an arena. Series 1 (also known as The First Wars), featured British TV presenter and journalist Jeremy Clarkson as host. During filming for the inaugural series, a malfunctioning robot '''almost resulted in Clarkson's death'''.


==Background==
==Background==
Best known as a presenter of the BBC motoring show ''Top Gear's'' various runs from 1977-2015, Jeremy Clarkson also hosted the first series of ''Robot Wars''. His duties included opening the show with a written speech, announcing the events the robots would partake in, and interviewing the roboteers post-match. Despite finding the show "hilarious", Clarkson was replaced by Craig Charles for subsequent series due to the former's lack of interest and other commitments.<ref>[https://www.grandtournation.com/thegrandtour/watch-jeremy-clarkson-host-robot-wars-back-1998/ ''Grand Tour Nation'' discussing Clarkson's time as host of ''Robot Wars''.] Retrieved 1 Aug '21</ref>
Best known as a presenter of the BBC motoring show ''Top Gear's'' various runs from 1977-2015, Jeremy Clarkson also hosted the first series of ''Robot Wars''. His duties included opening the show with a written speech, announcing the events the robots would partake in, and interviewing the roboteers post-match. Despite finding the show "hilarious", Clarkson was replaced by Craig Charles for subsequent series due to the former's lack of interest and other commitments.<ref>[https://www.grandtournation.com/thegrandtour/watch-jeremy-clarkson-host-robot-wars-back-1998/ ''Grand Tour Nation'' discussing Clarkson's time as host of ''Robot Wars''.] Retrieved 1 Aug '21</ref> In a 2012 interview with the ''Robot Wars Wiki'', Mentorn founder Tom Gutteridge revealed that Clarkson had to endure many hours of false starts, mainly because the few robots competing in Series 1 were often unreliable and required constant repairs.<ref>[https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/Robot_Wars_Wiki:Tom_Gutteridge_Q_%26_A ''Robot Wars Wiki'' interview with Tom Gutteridge, where Gutteridge explains why Clarkson left after one series, and stating that the incident played no factor in his decision to leave.] Retrieved 1 Aug '21</ref>


In a 2012 interview with the ''Robot Wars Wiki'', Mentorn founder Tom Gutteridge revealed that Clarkson had to endure many hours of false starts, mainly because the few robots competing in Series 1 were often unreliable and required constant repairs.<ref>[https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/Robot_Wars_Wiki:Tom_Gutteridge_Q_%26_A ''Robot Wars Wiki'' interview with Tom Gutteridge, where Gutteridge explains why Clarkson left after one series, and stating that the incident played no factor in his decision to leave.] Retrieved 1 Aug '21</ref> According to a 2008 blog post made by Gutteridge, during day two of filming, one of the show's House Robots, Dead Metal, was cutting into a defeated competitor with his metal saw when the blade abruptly broke away and flew loose at over 200mph, ultimately embedding itself in a concrete wall ''just'' behind where Clarkson was standing.
==Accident==
According to a 2008 blog post made by Gutteridge, during day two of filming, one of the show's House Robots, Dead Metal, was cutting into a defeated competitor with his metal saw when the blade abruptly broke away and flew loose at over 200mph, ultimately embedding itself in a concrete wall ''just'' behind where Clarkson was standing.


The incident was recorded and later analysed in slow motion. The production crew determined that the saw blade had missed Clarkson's scalp by less than two inches; a minor change in its trajectory could thus have resulted in Clarkson being instantly decapitated. Filming went on hiatus for a week so that bulletproof Perspex could be added to the Robot Wars Arena's auditorium, shielding Clarkson from further debris.<ref>[http://www.blogfromthenorth.com/2008/01/blog-post.html ''Blog From The North'', where Gutteridge discussed the incident and confirmed a recording was made of it.] Retrieved 1 Aug '21</ref> As a result, filming resumed with no further incident. Gutteridge claimed in the ''Robot Wars Wiki'' interview that the accident had no influence on Clarkson's decision to leave the show.
The incident was recorded and later analysed in slow motion. The production crew determined that the saw blade had missed Clarkson's scalp by less than two inches; a minor change in its trajectory could thus have resulted in Clarkson being instantly decapitated. Filming went on hiatus for a week so that bulletproof Perspex could be added to the Robot Wars Arena's auditorium, shielding Clarkson from further debris.<ref>[http://www.blogfromthenorth.com/2008/01/blog-post.html ''Blog From The North'', where Gutteridge discussed the incident and confirmed a recording was made of it.] Retrieved 1 Aug '21</ref> As a result, filming resumed with no further incident. Gutteridge claimed in the ''Robot Wars Wiki'' interview that the accident had no influence on Clarkson's decision to leave the show.
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==See Also==
==See Also==
*[[1995 Robot Wars UK Open (partially found rejected robot combat TV show pilot; 1995)]]
*[[1995 Robot Wars UK Open (partially found rejected robot combat TV show pilot; 1995)]]
*[[American Robot Wars 2000 (lost MTV pilot of British robot combat game show; 2000)]]
*[[BattleBots (found Comedy Central robot combat game show; 2000-2002)]]
*[[BattleBots (found Comedy Central robot combat game show; 2000-2002)]]
*[[BattleBots (partially lost build of unreleased GameCube/PlayStation 2 game based on robot combat TV series; 2003)]]
*[[BattleBots Collegiate Championship (partially lost unaired spinoff of robot combat TV show; 2009)]]
*[[BattleBots Collegiate Championship (partially lost unaired spinoff of robot combat TV show; 2009)]]
*[[Clarkson (partially found BBC Two talk show; 1998-2000)]]
*[[Mechanoids (partially found BBC robot combat game show; 2003)]]
*[[Clarkson's Star Cars (partially found BBC One television series; 1993)]]
*[[Plunderbirds: Talk Robots (partially found unfinished robot combat mockumentary film; 2019)]]
*[[Jeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines (partially found BBC Two television series; 1998)]]
*[[Robot Wars (found cameos of robot combat-themed BBC 2 ident; 1999-2000)]]
*[[Mechanoids (partially found BBC game show; 2003)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost footage and HSE documentation of behind-the-scenes accidents of BBC robot combat game show; 1998-1999)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost MTV pilot of British robot combat gameshow; 2000)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost work on unfinished cartoon series based on robot combat game show; existence unconfirmed; 2002-2004)]]
*[[Robot Wars (lost work on unfinished cartoon series based on robot combat gameshow; existence unconfirmed; 2002-2004)]]
*[[Robot Wars (partially found footage of robot combat show qualifying auditions and battles; 1998-2003)]]
*[[Robot Wars (partially found unaired or partially aired battles of BBC gameshow; 1998-2017)]]
*[[Robot Wars (partially found unaired or partially aired battles of BBC robot combat game show; 1998-2017)]]
*[[Robot Wars (partially found uncut battles from BBC robot combat gameshow; 1998-2017)]]
*[[Robot Wars (partially found uncut battles from BBC robot combat game show; 1998-2017)]]
*[[Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1 (lost original BBC Choice version of robot combat battle; 2001)]]
*[[Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1 (lost original BBC Choice version of robot combat battle; 2001)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 1 (found TNN robot combat gameshow; 2001)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 1 (found TNN robot combat game show; 2001)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 2 (partially found behind-the-scenes footage of TNN robot combat gameshow; 2002)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors: Season 2 (partially found behind-the-scenes footage of TNN robot combat game show; 2002)]]
*[[Robot Wars Revealed (partially found BBC Choice spin-off of robot combat gameshow; 1998)]]
*[[Robot Wars Revealed (partially found BBC Choice spin-off of robot combat game show; 1998-2000)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Series 3 (lost HSE documentation concerning behind-the-scenes accidents; 1999)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Series 8 (lost unaired pilot of BBC robot combat game show; 2016)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Series 8 (lost unaired pilot of BBC gameshow; 2016)]]
*[[Robot Wars: Series 8 (partially found Science Channel reruns of robot combat game show; 2018)]]
*[[Robot Wars: The Kick-Off (lost BNN robot combat special; 2001)]]
*[[Robot Wars: The Kick-Off (lost BNN robot combat special; 2001)]]
*[[Robotica (found TLC robot combat game show; 2001-2003)]]
*[[Robotica (found TLC robot combat game show; 2001-2003)]]
*[[Robots Revenge (lost Discovery robot combat documentary series; 2001)]]
*[[Robots Revenge (partially found Discovery robot combat documentary series; 2001)]]
*[[Top Gear (partially found episodes of BBC Two television series; 1977-2002)]]
*[[Top Gear (partially found original British airings of BBC Two television series; 2002-2003)]]
*[[Top Gear (unaired segments of BBC TV series; 2002-2015)]]
*[[Top Gear - Series 1: Episode 1 (unaired pilot episodes of BBC Two television series; 2002)]]
*[[Top Gear - Series 22: Episode 10 (cancelled episode of TV show; 2015)]]
*[[Why Hypno-Disc can't work in an office (found testing video of Robot Wars competitor; 2000, 2007)]]
*[[Why Hypno-Disc can't work in an office (found testing video of Robot Wars competitor; 2000, 2007)]]



Latest revision as of 21:12, 25 July 2022

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This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its discussion of a near-death experience.



Robotwarsjeremyclarkson1.jpg

Jeremy Clarkson as host of Robot Wars

Status: Lost


Robot Wars is a British robot combat game show produced by Mentorn. Broadcast on BBC Two and Channel Five from 1998-2004, and from 2016 to 2017, the premise involved machines built by amateur and professional engineers battling other competitors in combat within an arena. Series 1 (also known as The First Wars), featured British TV presenter and journalist Jeremy Clarkson as host. During filming for the inaugural series, a malfunctioning robot almost resulted in Clarkson's death.

Background

Best known as a presenter of the BBC motoring show Top Gear's various runs from 1977-2015, Jeremy Clarkson also hosted the first series of Robot Wars. His duties included opening the show with a written speech, announcing the events the robots would partake in, and interviewing the roboteers post-match. Despite finding the show "hilarious", Clarkson was replaced by Craig Charles for subsequent series due to the former's lack of interest and other commitments.[1] In a 2012 interview with the Robot Wars Wiki, Mentorn founder Tom Gutteridge revealed that Clarkson had to endure many hours of false starts, mainly because the few robots competing in Series 1 were often unreliable and required constant repairs.[2]

Accident

According to a 2008 blog post made by Gutteridge, during day two of filming, one of the show's House Robots, Dead Metal, was cutting into a defeated competitor with his metal saw when the blade abruptly broke away and flew loose at over 200mph, ultimately embedding itself in a concrete wall just behind where Clarkson was standing.

The incident was recorded and later analysed in slow motion. The production crew determined that the saw blade had missed Clarkson's scalp by less than two inches; a minor change in its trajectory could thus have resulted in Clarkson being instantly decapitated. Filming went on hiatus for a week so that bulletproof Perspex could be added to the Robot Wars Arena's auditorium, shielding Clarkson from further debris.[3] As a result, filming resumed with no further incident. Gutteridge claimed in the Robot Wars Wiki interview that the accident had no influence on Clarkson's decision to leave the show.

Availability

No images or footage of the incident have ever been publicly released. While Mentorn or the BBC may still hold the footage, it is unlikely to ever be available for public viewing, mainly because of its context and for Robot Wars generally distancing itself from Clarkson following Series 1.[4]

Gallery

See Also

References