[aaron695]

Myth Busters wouldn't've existed as we know it without Robot Wars. Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage worked on Blendo and were interviewed on Robot Wars which lead to Myth Busters.

BattleBots was started among some Robot Wars competitors after a legal issue -

https://battlebots.fandom.com/wiki/Marc_Thorpe

"Following legal pressure, Marc Thorpe ultimately relinquished ownership of the Robot Wars name to Profile Records co-founder Steve Plotnicki in February 1999, who holds the name to this day. However, among the competitors in Thorpe's events were cousins Greg Munson and Trey Roski, who piloted La Machine with assistance from future championship-winning builder Gage Cauchois. In the face of adversity from legal action taken by Steve Plotnicki, Trey Roski convinced his cousin to close his company Impact Media and join him in developing their own competition in Las Vegas, BattleBots"

https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/Marc_Thorpe

Amazing legacy.

[Denote6737]

Blendo was just a beast of a fighting robot. It was more powerful than anyone expected. And was given an honourable medal and banned from competition.

[adfm]

I was there and can attest to it being more powerful than anything else in the ring. Honestly, I was hoping for more of an SRL death match, but Blendo was about as close as you could get that day and they didn't even compete. You know you're about to have fun when you have to crank it with a drill just to get going.

RIP, Marc.

[aaron695]

Blendo (1995) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKbE7ocZBHI How Lethal Was Blendo REALLY? - Adam Savage’s Tested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKbE7ocZBHI

My favorite Robot Wars bot would be SPS 2 who was lighter than air - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Y-ERX9kyI (1995)

The original videos had more of the Bloodsport feeling than the later more commercial products - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Robot+Wars+1995... (Includes footage with Marc Thorpe)

We hoped for Bladerunner, instead they decimated global poverty and disease. Maybe there are underground tournaments out there somewhere....

[martincmartin]

Your Adam Savage Tested link is wrong, it's the same as the Belndo (1995) link.

[CharlesW]

Correct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i4dkb5w2Lg

[JKCalhoun]

I didn't hear about Robot Wars until 1996 (when I hastily put together a robot for Robots Wars III). What a fun and cool time when it was still "punk".