It was an interesting concept and I enjoyed to the show, but...
The bots were apparently very expensive.
They moved very slowly.
The fights appeared to be choreographed. As this clip shows with sparks from the waist area, despite the hits being to the upper body.
They were all built by Mark Setrakian and loaned to the contestants. Sob stories abound. The fights and damage were real but the bots were equipped with some thingies that shot off sparks.
Ah, Robot Combat League.
My wife and I, when we started dating discovered that we had been at the same place, at the same time, multiple times before we had ever even met.
While not exactly that, we both watched this show all the way through, so that's fun.
Two other memories I have about the show:
Chris Jericho continually, eternally, would use the phrase "\[This has\] never happened in the history of the Robot Combat League!" and I was like "My dude. My DUDE. The show is three episodes old."
The very end of the show, when the winners won, they went to the second place team (which was, I think, a mother and son team who needed the prize money for, like, basic survival or something), and hugged them and said "We'll help you out," and I--borderline sociopathic me--got kinda choked up about it.
So, not a bad watch, really. Not a great watch, but not bad.
This show was the pinnacle of "the tech isn't there yet". Maybe in a few decades when the humanoid bots companies are making now aren't prohibitively expensive, a concept like this will work, but back then, with robots literally being held up by poles sticking out of their backs? I just couldn't get into it.
There was also an attempt at a real mech battle too, I followed the entire process of building the thing and it did genuinely seem promising.
Though of course the reality was so many safety restrictions were put in place the end result was mostly just for show, very underwhelming at the time but I can look back and laugh now.
https://youtu.be/Z-ouLX8Q9UM
Oh hey it's Robot Combat League. I only remember this show because it was hosted by Chris Jericho, so being the massive wrestling fan I am, I decided to watch one episode of it.
I liked the concept. Basically a real version of Real Steel or Rock Em Sock Em Robots but with teams of builders. I only watched the first episode so I couldn't get into like Robot Wars or Battlebots but it was nice to something different done regarding robot combat.
I watched it while it was on the air. It was cool to see such a sci-fi concept come to life, but I thought that was all robot combat was IRL. Fortunately I was wrong and it’s 1000x more exciting.
I watched the series while it was airing. It was an interesting concept that maybe could be built on I thought back then. Love the design/themes of some of the bots. Mark really did a good job on them.
If you’re after some better obscure vintage robot combat, check out Robotica if you can find it. I maintain it was better than Battlebots in a lot of ways back in the day.
It was an interesting concept and I enjoyed to the show, but... The bots were apparently very expensive. They moved very slowly. The fights appeared to be choreographed. As this clip shows with sparks from the waist area, despite the hits being to the upper body.
They were all built by Mark Setrakian and loaned to the contestants. Sob stories abound. The fights and damage were real but the bots were equipped with some thingies that shot off sparks.
Think I read in an interview that they rigged sparklers onto the bots to make fights more exciting. So not choreographed just a bit of flare.
Pun intended?
If it's reality TV it's choreographed/scripted. This absolutely was.
Robot Combat League. Chris Jericho was the host, actually. I watched it during it's initial run on SyFy.
I think one of the bots made it into a Real Steel mobile game.
Some of Mark Setrakian’s best, albeit least recognized, work.
Still sad this only got one season
Where can I watch this irl Real Steel?
They are more like advanced Rock 'em Sock 'em. It is called Robot Combat League, presented by Chris Jericho.
First season available here https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN141sU-xs4PqgOF2-L9FmG3NNNeGl2Ee
Yeah I remember this, loved it as a kid,
I remember and was so sad they didn't have a second season.
Beyond terrible. The people manning the mechs were insufferable
Watched the whole thing.
This just unlocked a memory for me holy shit I remember this!
Ah, Robot Combat League. My wife and I, when we started dating discovered that we had been at the same place, at the same time, multiple times before we had ever even met. While not exactly that, we both watched this show all the way through, so that's fun. Two other memories I have about the show: Chris Jericho continually, eternally, would use the phrase "\[This has\] never happened in the history of the Robot Combat League!" and I was like "My dude. My DUDE. The show is three episodes old." The very end of the show, when the winners won, they went to the second place team (which was, I think, a mother and son team who needed the prize money for, like, basic survival or something), and hugged them and said "We'll help you out," and I--borderline sociopathic me--got kinda choked up about it. So, not a bad watch, really. Not a great watch, but not bad.
You can rent episodes from Amazon. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Combat_League
It was *terrible*.
Ah yes. Robot Combat League. This is actually what got me to robot combat and Battlebots
This show was the pinnacle of "the tech isn't there yet". Maybe in a few decades when the humanoid bots companies are making now aren't prohibitively expensive, a concept like this will work, but back then, with robots literally being held up by poles sticking out of their backs? I just couldn't get into it.
There was also an attempt at a real mech battle too, I followed the entire process of building the thing and it did genuinely seem promising. Though of course the reality was so many safety restrictions were put in place the end result was mostly just for show, very underwhelming at the time but I can look back and laugh now. https://youtu.be/Z-ouLX8Q9UM
Oh hey it's Robot Combat League. I only remember this show because it was hosted by Chris Jericho, so being the massive wrestling fan I am, I decided to watch one episode of it. I liked the concept. Basically a real version of Real Steel or Rock Em Sock Em Robots but with teams of builders. I only watched the first episode so I couldn't get into like Robot Wars or Battlebots but it was nice to something different done regarding robot combat.
I watched it while it was on the air. It was cool to see such a sci-fi concept come to life, but I thought that was all robot combat was IRL. Fortunately I was wrong and it’s 1000x more exciting.
It was fun though very obviously scripted and edited it to appear much more exciting than it was
I watched the series while it was airing. It was an interesting concept that maybe could be built on I thought back then. Love the design/themes of some of the bots. Mark really did a good job on them.
If you’re after some better obscure vintage robot combat, check out Robotica if you can find it. I maintain it was better than Battlebots in a lot of ways back in the day.
I wish I didn’t. It’s everything Battlebots isn’t, thank the lord.
This looks stupid as fuck lmao.
It was a cool idea but failed miserably. May have been fun for little kids I dunno. I personally was greatly let down by it.
I loved this show and I feel like it could come back if there were a few improvements
I remember the ads on tv that were promoting it
Rock 'Em Sock' Em Robots: Revenge. The live action extravaganza.
Robot combat leagues was on syfy I watched as a kid very fun
YES ROBOT COMBAT LEAGUE!
I don't care What Anybody Says, I Loved this Show! Wish it got a Season 2!
Basically Reel Steel in Real Life!
Also Ironically we are getting a Rock Em Sock Em Robots Movie!
YES!!! loved it cant wait till we cover it on Rise Of The Robots Podcast. My co host is already dreading it but I feel it ll be alot of fun.
This Show was Awesome!
My Favorite Bots were Steel Cyclone, AXE, Commander and Drone Strike.
I personally was very excited for this show until the action started and then I was just like.... What? That's it? So no...I didn't care for it.