Robot Combat League

First of all, some of these negative comments are a bit too critical. Understand that this show has more entertainment value rather than the technical expertise put into these bots. Unlike Battlebots which seemed like different varieties of shoe boxes always close to the ground with damaging weapons and little design creativity, this show takes it to the next level with different upright bot characters and strengths and weaknesses, giving it an entertaining value. Mind you this show has just premiered and the first of its kind which itself is impressive, regardless of it's choppy movement and limited mobilities. If the show survives several seasons then hopefully the creators of the show will seek out improvements and advancements to make this bots more fluid and agile. As far as the hydraulic fluids and the robotic sparks, understand that those may not be due to actual damage but is there for climax and entertainment value, making the show more enticing. Overall look at the show for it's entertainment value as well as it's infancy into a new arena of combat entertainment. Don't expect it to mimic the movie Real Steel or compare it to boxing and wrestling as the show isn't at the level yet but give it enough chance and support and who knows that the show may be just around the corner.

I was very skeptical when I first saw this advertised on Hulu Japan but decided to watch it with an open mind and since I'm a subscriber I was able to watch the entire season in a few sittings.

It's never been done before and though, yes, it could have been executed better I was glad to see a production house gutsy enough to present what could possibly become a new form of professional entertainment or sport. Of the negative reviews I read I noticed that many of of those people were expecting to see boxing Pacific Rim bots complete with professional Jaeger pilots and to them I say, "Please quit whining and go rent Transformers again while the rest of us watch real robots made with today's real technology beating each other into spare parts."

Despite it being peppered with the typical reality-series crap that passes for entertainment in the US I actually really enjoyed watching this. I hope that Smart Dog Media learned from the mistakes that were made and stay on the ball and keeping running with this series.

The lessons learned that RCL needs to address:

1) Final round should **always** go until one robot can no longer fight or is destroyed. The fight footage can be edited as necessary to meet TV airtime constraints.

2) Hire another robotics expert so Mr. Mark Setrakian isn't required to "time share" between the two teams during the 20 minute repair recesses.

3) Invest a bit more funding into the creation of the robots so they are more sturdy and have stronger skeletal infrastructure, particularly in the arms.

4) Take out the spark throwers and just show us the fight in all its bent steel ugliness AND streamline & clarify the rules so we the audience can understand how the judges are making decisions so no one can complain of a match being "rigged."

5) If they keep the same teams then the teams should be rotated between different robots. This will really highlight which teams are *skilled* and which are *lucky* enough to be assigned to the really well-designed robots.

Though these bots aren't of the caliber I'm used to seeing here in Japan RCL is highly entertaining and exciting and I'd pay to go to see these tournaments in person.

My final thoughts on this show are...

AWESOME!! Finally a new sport to Entertain the Masses! If I was back in California during season one I'd *definitely* have gone to see as many of these at the arena as I could.

*********** LET'S SEE RCL SEASON TWO!!! ***********

This show is likely much less scripted than any other reality crap on TV. As an engineer I enjoy seeing the robots operate and the carnage incurred during the fights. This is the FIRST SHOW OF ITS KIND so take it easy on "herky jerky" and "they move weird". These robots cost an insane amount of money to build, no amateurs are going to be able to start this kind of show without a network funding it. I eagerly wait each week to watch it and give it an 8/10. They could do without the staged fireworks, but they are probably just based on an accelerometer on the robot most likely to indicate to the viewers when a hit was delivered so they do have some meaningful use.

Many viewers have said what I wanted to say. Bad camera work. fake enthusiasm by audience. lame robots. nothing advanced about it. Leaves you feeling empty inside if your a robot geek like me. Bottom line is this is hardly robot combat. Much more like rock-em sock-em robots on a big scale and the production is lame and insulting. I got 3 shows in and could not stomach any more. I will not be watching this show any longer. Robot Wars was a million times better and was 'real'. The producers need to learn from that show and take that format to the next level. I would be excited to see robot teams that have a set amount of money to work with and a base frame to work from that are not tethered. Hell, just bring back robot wars!

The problem with robot shows is that you have two choices, either you let amateurs build their robots and end up with boring looking functional machines that win by immobilizing each other in generally unexciting fashion or you let the pro's build machines and get someone else to play with them. The latter option is what they've gone for here, so the interest of seeing amateur teams and their creations is right out of the window. Instead there are people who I just can't bring myself to describe as celebrities, they aren't even z-listers. Would you get into a club or get an invite to a function on the basis of being the ferocious daughter of George Lucas? No you wouldn't I suspect. People are either there on the basis that they are a genius, and therefore without exception not good in front of a camera, or something ridiculous like a "pro gamer" (sounds better than unemployed I suppose) or cocky athletes who take it a bit too seriously. Many of them will annoy you.

When George Lucas arrives on set they show the same footage no less than ten times. There's no excuse for that, that's just filler. Surprisingly also nobody there shouts "Hey George, you ruined my childhood with those crappy sequels. Or prequels or whatever." Another missed opportunity for the show.

The fights initially look good but after a very short while you'll begin to notice that the sparks are just effects fired off when a hit connects. It's fair enough, they are doing their best with the technology on offer but really, it's not hugely exciting to watch. There are some bits where the robots just fall to pieces which is quite funny but as far as combat goes it's a bit lacking.

A brave attempt, and it's always nice to see a show about robots trying to beat each to pieces but at the end of the day this is a lot less entertaining to me than something like Robot Wars where two buckets with axes stuck to them try to shove each other into a flame pit. Whether you're expecting to see something like Robot Wars or hoping the network has somehow funded 600 ton mech's with point defense lasers and the like (as some reviewers were clearly hoping) you are going to be let down by this show but I still think it's worth a watch if you like this kind of thing.