Not to be confused with World Championship I, which aired in 2015 on ABC and is often also marketed as Season 1.
Season 1.0 was the first televised season of BattleBots, following on from the Long Beach and Las Vegas events held in 1999. It was the only season to have taken place at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California, with the remainder of the original run being held on Treasure Island or in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1]
It was the first of five seasons to air on Comedy Central, hosted by Bil Dwyer and Sean Salisbury with legendary boxing ring announcer Mark Beiro introducing robots to the BattleBox. Donna D'Errico and twins Randy and Jason Sklar were present as reporters between fights, and Bill Nye filled the role of technical analyst to provide insight into the science of combat robots during battles.
As was the case with future BattleBots seasons in the classic era, robots fought in four different weight classes: Lightweight, Middleweight, Heavyweight and Superheavyweight.
Weight Class
Type of Robot
Wheeled Robots
Walkers
Lightweight
25lbs - 58lbs
25lbs - 87lbs
Middleweight
59lbs - 115lbs
88lbs - 173lbs
Heavyweight
116lbs - 210lbs
174lbs - 315lbs
Superheavyweight
211lbs - 325lbs
316lbs - 488lbs
Televised fights often made up the tail end of each competition, with many robots needing to win four or more preliminary fights just to advance to the TV battles.
The pits during Comedy Central Season 1.0.
The pits during Comedy Central Season 1.0.
The season was comprised of 15 episodes in total, each of which often jumped between weight classes. Episode 15 was dedicated towards end-of-season rumbles, where willing competitors who were still functional after their last main season fight all fought in one large free-for-all.
Episode 1 of the season was used as a pilot to pitch BattleBots to Comedy Central.
The only qualifying battle of the Lightweight division in Season 1.0 was Backlash vs. Disposable Hero, also the first televised fight on Comedy Central.
During filming for Season 1.0, an incident concerning a damaged water valve led to the pits being partially flooded and several robots being affected. According to Jim Smentowski, Team S.L.A.M.'s superheavyweight was "sitting in an inch of water". However, it was ready to fight again soon after.[2]