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ROBOTICA

by Tom Cantrell

Start ı Fear and Loathing ı Blood, Sweat, and Duct Tape ı Trouble in Tinsel Town ıWhen the Musicıs Over ı Sources and PDF

FEAR AND LOATHING

By the time you read this, you may have already seen the show, which is scheduled to appear in April on TLC (The Learning Channel). As you read on, Iım going to go into some behind-the-scenes reporting.

Robotica represents the latest in the media craze started by rival Comedy Centralıs "BattleBots." All owe their heritage to grass-roots robot competitions of yore, typically run by clubs, colleges, organizations like the IEEE, and so forth.

The amateur stuff was OK, but this is Hollywood right? Letıs throw in a fancy set, flashing lights, and a pounding soundtrack, not to mention a rowdy barker ("Ahmet Zappa") and curvy, WWF-wannabe hostesses ("Tanya" and "Tanika"). Letıs talk about big ratings and big bucks. Letıs sue each other.

Check the entire sordid "Robot Combat History" going back to 1992 at the aptly linked www.robotcombat.com. Experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in the arena and in the courtroom. [1]

Did innocent hobbyists ever really have a chance of standing true against the threats and temptations of Hollywood? Should you tell your kid to be an engineer or a lawyer?

Helloooo. Nowadays itıs BattleBots and Robot Wars, dig?

All (or at least most) cynicism aside, it does make for a good show. Instead of the artificial, yet still stubborn politically incorrect mayhem of TV, movies, and video games, youıve got real violence with no guilt. I must say, it was both liberating and a bit scary to see the audience, myself included, cheering every destructive moment.

Yet, whereas BattleBots is pretty simpleminded mayhem, Robotica does up the ante with high brow preliminary events such as the maze and gauntlet, leading up to the smash ıem and bash ıem finale.

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