Big Brother

Big Brother
Big Brother
Participation Information
UK Series	3
Team Information
Team	Team Big Brother
Team Members	Joe Watts Ian Watts Wayland Twiston-Davies
Robot Statistics
Weight	78kg
Dimensions	0.42m x 1.00m x 0.82m
Power	2 x Electric Motors
Weapons	Steel whip & wrecking ball
Statistics correct as of its most recent show/competition appearance, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Lookout! Big Brother's about!"

— Big Brother website

Big Brother was a competitor robot that debuted in Series 3 of Robot Wars. The first robot from Team Big Brother, it initially lost its Heat Final to Ultor on a judges' decision, but progressed to the Semi-Finals after the Ultor team offered Big Brother their place in response to the decision. Big Brother was subsequently defeated in the first round of its Semi-Final after getting flipped onto its back by Mace 2.

The robot was named after the team captain, Joe Watts, who is a big brother to his little sisters. The name also makes reference to the antagonist of the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Design

Big Brother was a conventional wedge shape robot with a 'morning star' flailing mace weapon though it usually used its wedge shape to overturn its opponents and also had spikes at the back. It was armoured in mild steel and ran on tractor wheels.

Robot History

Series 3

Big Brother and Grim Reaper sit immobilised

The robot defeated Grim Reaper on a judges' decision in its first round. Grim Reaper had a faster start in Big Brother's first battle, but the more powerful Big Brother pushed it back into Sergeant Bash. After spinning around each other for a while, Big Brother got underneath Grim Reaper and tried to direct it towards the pit, nearly falling in itself. Both robots escaped, and Grim Reaper came in on another charge, crashing over the top of Big Brother. After lining up another charge, Grim Reaper attacked, but the force of the impact meant its wheel fell off; however, Big Brother was also in trouble, only able to move in circles before stopping altogether. Sir Killalot then ran over Big Brother, and overturned Grim Reaper. The fight had to be decided by the judges, and Big Brother was awarded the victory on damage and aggression. This was notably the only time Team Big Brother ever won a judges' decision in UK Robot Wars.

Big Brother overturns Sir Chromalot

In the second round, Big Brother faced Sir Chromalot. The two robots charged at each other from the start, and bounced off each other. The battle was tentative for a while after this, Sir Chromalot pushed Big Brother into Shunt, but Big Brother retaliated, turning over Sir Chromalot after a few seconds of sheepish pushing. Shunt and Dead Metal attacked the 'Class Act', whilst Big Brother spun around, however, Big Brother was pressurised by Shunt and Dead Metal.

Big Brother gets underneath Ultor

Big Brother's 'morning star' falls off

Ultor was Big Brother's opponent for a semi-final slot, and the battle began strongly for Big Brother, who pushed against Ultor, and dodged the axe blow. For the first time in the heat, Big Brother's 'morning star' weapon was seen in action, although it got wedged on the axe of Ultor, who used this to drag Big Brother very nearly up and over. Big Brother again pushed Ultor around the arena, however the flail fell off whilst it was doing so. Big Brother got underneath Ultor again, lifting it up onto its side, but failing to overturn it. Ultor meanwhile, was in trouble from the arena spikes, which caused trouble for other robots. The battle ended with Big Brother on another charge against Ultor, but the damage to Big Brother was a deciding factor in the judge's voting in favour of Ultor, much to Joe Watts' disappointment. However, the Ultor team disagreed with the judges, and handed the victory to Big Brother instead.

"Big Brother- actually voted a loser by the judges, but deserving a place in the semi-final according to the team that beat it!"

— Jonathan Pearce

Big Brother is overturned and immobilised

Big Brother fought Mace 2 in the semi-finals, and it was immediately under pressure from Mace 2, lifting Big Brother up, but it escaped. After pushing against Mace 2, Big Brother was lifted up again, but again it bounced down and survived. Big Brother's turns to attack came soon, however, and it pushed Mace 2 towards the top of the arena, and then back again. However, the third flip from Mace 2 was sufficient to flip Big Brother onto its back. The House Robots then came in, and Big Brother was scratched by the saw of Dead Metal.

"Big Brother may be gone, but you never know where he may be lurking...waiting for the chance to return."

— Cath Watts, wife of Ian and mother of Joe and Ellie

Results

Wins/Losses

Big Brother being worked on

• Wins: 2
• Losses: 2

Series Record

Main Series	Big Brother Series Record
The First Wars	Did not enter
The Second Wars	Did not enter
The Third Wars	Semi-Finals, Round 1
The Fourth Wars	Entered with Bigger Brother
The Fifth Wars	Entered with Bigger Brother
The Sixth Wars	Entered with Bigger Brother
The Seventh Wars	Entered with Bigger Brother
Series 8	Entered with Or Te
Series 9	Not selected with Or Te
Series 10	Entered with The Swarm
Robot Wars Extreme	Appearances
Series 1	Entered with Bigger Brother
Series 2	Entered with Bigger Brother

Outside Robot Wars

After Series 3, Big Brother made a brief appearance at the 2000 Brighton Model World event. There, it competed in a Tug of War competition, and defeated all of the other competitors taking part, including Mortis.

Trivia

• Big Brother had an adjustable ground clearance.
• Although everyone, including Joe Watts' team T-Shirt, referenced Joe as the team captain, dad Ian Watts was listed as the captain on the battleboard.
• Big Brother was the first robot to start the Sir Chromalot trend, defeating it in Round 2 of Heat D, and going on to win the heat.
• While Big Brother did not appear after Series 3, the team would continue to use the name and the mace insignia on their uniforms while competing with Bigger Brother.