BattleBots

What is there not to love. Discovery took an already great show and fleshed it out to what Battlebots always should have been. We now get 20 episodes, each one packed with spectacular robotic combat. We see returning faces and newcomers all fighting for their chance to take home the coveted giant nut. They're simply is nothing else like this on TV. As someone who grew up watching the comedy central show this is how I always dreamed it to be.

One issue some find with combat sports is the inherent violence. The great thing about robot combat is the 'violence apart from people.' It is awesome to watch a machine simply wreck another machine!

My only real issues with the show are the long periods of time in between each fight. Also, this latest season had far fewer teams (who competed in fewer fights) when compared to previous seasons. However, this was due to the pandemic and the show runners did the best they could.

The concept of "Battlebots" is two bots battling each other in an arena, controlled remotely by their handlers.

Those who survive the first round of battles are seeded into a bracket for single elimination contests.

Except in the case of a knockout (when the bot is unable to respond to a ten-second countdown), three judges decide the winner of each contest. Usually the outcome is obvious because of the damage delivered.

There are rules, but they are not discussed much unless they come into play. But the competitors are aware of them.

The different strategies employed in the building of these bots range from flame throwers to powerful flippers, and may include mini-bots that accompany the main bots for purposes of diversion or inflicting damage.

The show is a nice blend of practical engineering and gladiator-style contests.

I really enjoy watching the robots fight. I do not enjoy the abundance of fluff and fanfare. In a typical hour, there's 6-9 minutes of battling. If they have to have filler, show details of how these machines were built. Show some behind the scenes of how the people put them together. They might do that for a minute but that's it. They don't have to make such a todo of the contestants pushing those stupid ready buttons.

Battlebots is a show that can be enjoyed by everyone. However in its aim to please everyone, it forgets its major appeal - the robots fighting.

The show has to last for a short season which is essentially to root of the problem. The robot fights themselves are limited to 10 minutes, however many of the fights are won in a few seconds. That means there is an extraordinary amount of fluff and time-filler to stretch the show.

The builders' bios, while moderately interesting, last longer than the fights.

There is a "boxing pre-game" type segment where non-technical people talk about utterly meaningless and arbitrary stats about the robots. One of the hosts is a MMA fighter. What insight does a MMA fighter have in robot fights? The answer is simple: none. While I am not overtly complaining, the director really seems to like Molly McGrath's legs. Obviously, she is there for the male audience and brings nothing but exceptionally good looks to the show.

Another fault, which I believe is an unfortunate oversight, is the show could be an excellent vehicle for education in electronics, mechanical engineering, robotics, etc. The show offers no information on how anything works.

Again, while I think the show if fun to watch, there is a lot that could be improved.