With a recent forum about the wiki's favourite episodes with everyone having to partake, there's some disappointment we can't judge EVERY episode and eventually get to the final one but hey ho. Instead I'll talk about my personal picks for what I consider my favourite episode of Robot Wars and give why I like them. Truth be told lists like these will NEVER be objective (even the forum won't be objective, no matter how one tries to spin it) and thus I will simply list episodes I truly enjoy and the reasons why, many may seem it surprising but then again there are some weirdos that like the Series 7 Annihilator so some of my choices may seem as strange to them as theirs are to mine. Without further ado I will list my favourites over some time and may say some "honourable mentions" I won't lie not every series will be represented but there we are.

Honourable Mentions

These are episodes I enjoy or have a soft spot for and just didn't make the list, they don't automatically make up "11, 12, 13 etc." spot, or at least not all of them. I won't go into depth but will briefly touch upon them in no particular order.

Series 3 Heat C

Heat C of Series 3 is very dear to me for one major reason. You see Series 3 is the first series ever saw and this particular episode is the first ever episode. It was the episode that hooked me onto Robot Wars and of course I'd see it as if it was standing on a shiny gold platter but is the episode good? Well...yes and no. Most people remember Razer getting stuck but in terms of Razer battles we don't really have a good selection with Backstabber being...eh and the Aggrobot battle being okay, then we have everything else which is a mixture of great, alright, dull and bad. My personal favourite battle here has to be Agent Orange vs Blade, such a great battle! So yeah, personal appeal does not make an episode great even if one tries to look past the faults.

Series 8 Heat A

See for more information: https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:Diotoir_the_son_of_nemesis/My_own_Ranking_of_the_Reboot#2nd:_Series_8_Heat_A

What sacrifices this episode isn't that it's bad or anything but it's a type of episode that suffers from fatigue, in other words it starts of great, fantastic if you will then slowly drags and eventually ends quite poorly...speaking of ending poorly.

Series 10 Heat B

See for more information: https://robotwars.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:Diotoir_the_son_of_nemesis/My_own_Ranking_of_the_Reboot#3rd._Series_10_Heat_B

Okay, this is gonna cause some major upsets yet as much as I love this episode there's still some niggles that prevents it from being, what I consider, the ten best. One of those MAJOR flaws is the Heat Final. After a great episode with great battles (except Aftershock vs Carbide) this final just ruins it in a way. Once again reboot fatigue shows and the episode slows down a bit (not that it's bad I mean Eruption vs Big Nipper is a "slow" battle but one that's extremely well played!) That said, it would definitely be my eleventh pick!

Extreme 1 Annihilator 1

For a while I've been meaning to do an "Ranking the Annihilators" but I backed down after conflicting where some would go, I mean I know my bottom two, but after that it always changes. This use to be my favourite annihilator and is still an impressive episode as a whole but I no longer rank it as number 1, you see I ranking it lower back to maybe fourth/fifth place because as great of a selection it is, as great as the clashes are, it suffers from just being sort of slow, not dull, slow. I still love this annihilator/episode but it has gone down in my opinion over the years, through no fault of its own.

10. Extreme 2 Annihilator

Annihilators in general are really, really fun and Extreme 2's is no exception! Extreme 2 is an alright series, I don't really harp on about it because it is so...in the middle. It's got some great moments but a lot of bad ones that seem to get ignored, that said when an episode or competition is good it's really good! The annihilator for me is the best and yet I almost completely forgot about this one's existence for a long time, it was something that just happened and nothing more. But when I finally got round to completing my Annihilator battles only series I rewatched this episode and my God do I love it, I feel bad that I forgot about it because every battle here is pure destructive fun. The selection of robots feels very balance (unlike the next one!) and each battle is complete mayhem! My particular favourite moments include Major Tom who is just torn apart, yet survives throughout until the ultimate payoff in the second to last battle, just beautiful rip and tearing from Matilda and then there's the final battle which is tense clash that lingers on every second (literally!) and is (In My Opinion) the best fight from Extreme 2. The annihilator flows nicely as well from pure mayhem, to a more controlled match to a big send off to a real tug of war battle in the final with EVERY robot having it's chance to shine and NO ROBOT WITHDRAWS! That deserves it's own recognition!

If there are any negatives, or nitpicks it would be Round 3 is probably the weakest round. With every other round having some brilliant hits, flips and destruction, this round doesn't really offer that much, it's not bad but it certainly draws things to a halt half way through the episode. Luckily, Round 4 comes around afterwards :D So yeah, overall just a brilliant, well balanced episode where every robot has a chance to shine and battles that are just absolute carnage from beginning to end!

9. Series 7 Heat F

There's something about Heat F's that are extremely enjoyable (except Series 5, that not so much!) they really are the Heats with all the class and one of the better ones is...Series 7... Series 7 was a series I really hated but as time has passed I am slowly enjoying Series 7 a bit more. It's still way down on my ranking (ahead of Series 5 below Extreme 2) and is still a 6/10 series, with one of my reason being a lot of dull and boring episodes, which are REALLY bad (Annihilator, Heat D, Heat P Etc.) while another half is really good (Heat A, Heat I, Heat G etc.) so yeah real mixed bag. That said Heat F is amazing! The real show stealer in this episode is X-Terminator, of course. X-Terminater, ever since Series 3 has always had luck in providing entertaining and brilliant fights, from Series 3, 4, Extreme 1, eh...maybe not 5, 6, Extreme 2 and definitely 7! It's redesign, though somewhat clunky in areas, was one of the best made redesigns ever and this Heat campaign proves it! It's destructive power against robots and the way it flings robots out is just great! The final against Tsunami is a classic and fantastic in every sense of the word! Speaking of other robots, this Heat is filled with a great diverse range of robots and the battles are brilliant (even the Axe Attack is brilliant!) ...well almost all of them.

The only nitpicks I can really come up with is the Round 2 battles are certainly the weakest elements. After two great melees and a hilarious side event we have two 'alright' battles. Neither one is as thrilling as previous, though do have two great OOtAs respectfully, and feel too short for my tastes, making me want more than what we got. But luckily this is made up by the absolutely brilliant Heat Final which has two robots showing equal strengths of power, both showing off with great moments that really could have gone either way. Then in a brilliant show of absolute brutal take down, there's the final blow dealt against Tsunami as it's hurled out of the arena. Great episode from an other wise "meh" series! Are you happy now Toast?

8. Series 10 Grand Final

Anyone who doesn't include the Series 10 Grand Final in their top ten is blind, deaf and stupid (joking, these people died before Series 10 aired) That said it is only 8th place, the reason why? The other choices I have I personally find better, through no fault of this episode. I mean what else can I say that hasn't been said a billion times? This seriously is one of the best finals EVER and every moment of it holds great value from beginning to end. It starts off with the ten way rumble, I mean what else can I say it fantastic destructive fun where each robot (except maybe Thor and Concussion) had an individual moment where they did something (including fails!) with every aspect of a good battle present during this rumble. Then after the rumble we have possibly the most beautiful battle in Robot Wars history, a battle that made me cry in delight a battles so aspiringly brilliant, Nuts vs Carbide vs (more like featuring) Behemoth. When Nuts disables Carbide after pitting Behemoth and continues to bully and scare the reigning champion, you cannot deny how gorgeous it is. Following this we have another, though no way better than the previous, good battle followed by Rapid attempting to smoke for the first time and dying as a result. Skipping ahead we then have the GRAND FINAL itself, before the fight I remember saying/typing "Goodbye Eruption" for I already felt like it was obvious that Carbide had won already....and for the first half, yeah it was beating Eruption. But then, just then, Eruption flips Carbide...then again and again and Eruption, like Rocky or Creed after being beaten in the first half starts to fight back HARD! And we are treated to a robot that has literally lived to rise and shine through in a n explosive finish.

Is there any negatives? Well I still think battle music could have made, especially the rumble, much better. You may also have noticed I skipped a few battles, let's just say two battles in this final are not so great, not bad or terrible, but disappointing. These being Magnetar vs Behemoth, a slow nudging match with Magnetar should have won if Ellis wasn't trying to drive straight into a weapon (whether that's Matilda or Behemoth) in this final and the other is Nuts vs Carbide which sort of squelches the previous beauty of a match, that said it did create a better Grand Final over all (I mean would Nuts vs Eruption really have been a worthy GRAND FINAL match?) Also I feel as Series 10's format opened up the perfect opportunity for a third place playoff, its annoying this never happened (even if Nuts had to withdraw, but that it still wasn't considered!) Ah well, these nit picks mean nothing because the rumble, Nuts beating Carbide and Eruption vs Carbide all 10/10 battles make up for them as well as the other three great matches inbetween!

7. Series 6 Heat A

A long time ago, I went to see Robot Wars being filmed and this was one of the Heats. I remember sitting down to watch it on TV months later and feeling extremely exited for it, and ever since I have absolutely loved this episode! Opening Heats can sometimes be hit (Series 3/7) or miss (Series 2/5), although most are hits and this is perhaps the best opening to a Heat EVER. Series 6 in general was possibly the most hyped and advertised series of Robot Wars, with DVDs released, a book and plenty of build up to keep interest. So having already seen Heat A (and B) being filmed, I already knew what would happen but the TV magic makes it even better with commentary, battle music and highlighting the best parts. The first round melee, is probably the best of the series (well subjectively, objectively its the melee with S.M.I.D.S.Y.) as it contains EVERYTHING a battle needs, one OOtA, a wheel coming off, a robot being torn apart and House Robots attacking. That is then followed by SECOND great melee, the sight of a flaming Ruf Ruf Dougal is planted heavily in my mind, mainly because I sat where the flame pit was facing so saw it in full view and the TV monitor had poor Dougal's face burning. The second round fights, though not as good, are still great with Razer vs Cyrax being the better of the two but an OOtA in the next provides a decent Heat Final with Razer dominating Raging Reality and Matilda getting a bit of the action, ripping one side off. And that's NOT ALL! Mr Psycho and Growler, two new house robots appear and are kick ass!

I guess the only real downside (which isn't really a downside because they're still good) is the episode does sort of suffer from fatigue as the episode does slow down, quite a bit. And I guess because some people don't like it, yet I personally don't mind, is that Razer sort of had this Heat handed to it on a silver platter with no difficulty, but that said this is certainly a great performance with fantastic battles and honestly Chaos 2 had it easier in Series 4 :P (I also don't mind Champion Heats).

6. Extreme 1 Episode 13

I'm really annoyed I didn't submit this episode to the "Wiki's best episode" candidates when we had a choice of five, ARGH! (even if the "solid" choices were done in private by a select group of close friends with similar opinion of individuals...so y'know...) Anyways, this episode has been, since I were a youngun one of my personal favourites and remains so. It's an episode so perfect, there's literally little no wrong (although as you could guess there's a reason it's here as opposed to the top three) It's brilliant from beginning to end and is a really underrated episode! The battles here are just fantastic in their own rights; starting off with a vengeance/Challenge Belt which coincides with the previous Allstars bout in the last episode, thought not as good as that Allstar battle it's still a great battle with Chaos 2 flipping Shunt and Tornado dominating. Then we have a melee to remember, Disc-O Inferno slaughtering Comegetorix and Thanosing Velocirippa (I also got some fun facts from Trevor about this match! Which gives it a funnier spin) After that brilliant carnage we have a fantastically tactical and brilliantly controlled battle with Axe-Awe and Panic Attack, an instant classic right there. The episode also treats us to a hilarious Beef Cake vs RC Warrior, JP's dialogue here really makes a already funny battle even funnier with a brilliant end resulting in Sir Killalot crushing Beef Cake like a pancake! I love that match but then we are treated to the BEST BATTLE OF THE SERIES! The Tag Team Final. It's built up in the regular over the top way Extreme 1 does things and throughout there's this atmosphere that Diotoir and Pussycat are going to lose, after all their opponents look and are tougher on paper. The battle begins and Pussycat is being beaten by Suicidal Tendencies for the first half, then Diotoir and Steel Avenger both come out to help their partners with Diotoir winning that match. But something in the battle really highlights the pure brilliance of the battle over all and I mentioned this in my "Best Battles Per Series" video on YouTube, it's a shot of Suicidal Tendencies ramming Pussycat into the side wall, but then Pussycat pushes back, ripping off the end of Suicidal Tendencies' claw and fighting back HARD! The battle is a tense, brilliantly skilled one and to show the pure amazing skill these teams have to offer during this battle, the House Robots are NEVER involved. That shows how close of a match this is. The ending is a cheerful one (although as I remember back in the day it ended quite sombrely for obvious reasons...) and great way to end the episode.

As touched upon there are some low points. Firstly, the "drama" is quite bad, although this episode does play it down a bit I find the "bribing" bit in particular just awkward, but then again the battles are more important than anything else so no biggie. And then there's the Featherweight Championship, considering we could have had MORE and there's only two here it just feels disappointing that we couldn't have more (an issues both Extreme 2 and Series 7 fix perfectly) so I guess the hilarious match we receive is a deserving one. This episode over all summarises Extreme 1 and does so with great battle, it has the humour, the brilliance, the destruction, the allstar faces and the fantastic set of robots. A truly great episode that has everything you need. Now I wonder who else likes this episode?

5. Series 3 Heat F

Perhaps the one choice I'm sure hardly anyone could see coming (except Toast who I told before I love this episode :P) Ever since I was young, watching Robot Wars The Third Wars on the sofa, curled up in a ball in the corner this episode was one I remember a lot. One memorable for a many reasons, it actually got me interested in the show. And I know Heat C was my first experience, and I mentioned I didn't put it up here because I but because of this episode I watched Robot Wars religiously as opposed to catch bits. This episode still to this day stick in my mind and no matter what I still absolutely love this episode even after watching EVERY single UK (and US) episode. So to start off with, we have an actually decent line up of robots, all with great qualities, from Manic Mutant's fun design to Vector's sleek and stylish look, to Mortis being Mortis, T2's "evil Thomas the Tank Engine" look or/eve Gravedigger a Cassius inspired machine. All these machines had something to make the Heat quite diversive in my opinion, were they good or impressive? Well no. Not all of them...But does it matter in the end? No. Because this is the type of Heat where the best robots survive and do well. I will admit it is a shame that some of the robots in this Heat don't work but then again these battles are still entertaining with Ming's blade flying off or T2 just playing around. The Round 2 battles is where things really kick off. We are treated to a real shock, with Mortis being eliminated and then a fantastic battle between Darke Destroyer and T2 with is a real struggle between two very different and unique machines. The Final, though defeated by the dreaded Arena Spike, is still lots of fun with Dead Metal provide lots of brilliant attacks. The episode for some may not be very entertaining, but for me not only is it very special and dear to my heart, it provides lots of entertainment even during its admittingly slower moments. I love this episode and yet I can't put my finger on one particular reason, there's so many. T2 and Darke Destroyer are the show stealers and the impressive Gravedigger making its mark while Mortis falling is one major shock. It's a truly wonderful episode and one I still love no matter what.

4. Northern Annihilator

Mayhem is a word that is used a lot during Robot Wars and this annihilator is the epitome of the word MAYHEM. The episode starts off with a great line up of allstars...and Spikasurus with the first battle being all out carnage with every robot doing something and it's such carnage that, honestly, any of the competitors here could have been knocked out. But the absolutely brutal fight ends with Chaos 2 suffering the worst. The second battle is just as chaotic with more brutal clashes, funny moments and wild attacks, with poor Killerhurtz being bullied the most. In the end Stinger goes and this is where the episode loses a few points from me... Round 3 and 4 are NOT bad in anyway but they certainly suffer from fatigue where everything slows down and there's not as many funny moments or big hits rather all the robots are slightly nudging each other until one dies, or in the case of Suicidal Tendencies, is dead straight away, even Killerhurtz's end after a particularly brutal arena bullying is rather unsatisfactory and left me hoping for more. That said, the final is great. Dominator 2 was the clear favourites and it certainly dominates Spikasaurus who has pretty much been forgotten about battles to survive and uses those spikes to impale (more the arena wall than its opponent) then in a stunning turn of events, Dominator loses mobility and Spikasaurus, battered and brutally beaten, wins outright in a beautiful David vs Goliath moment. Dominators is then thrown about by the House Robots and the annihilator ends. A fantastically destructive and energetic annihilator in which there were many memorable moments that still stick in the minds of Robot Wars fans alike. It is truly made up of many great twists and turns and every battle, including the weaker Round 3 and 4, are all destructive fun with plenty to offer. The episode incorporates everything Robot Wars needs, it is destructive, it has twists, it has allstars, it is mayhem, it has funny moments, it is the true definition of "ROBOT WARS"!

3. First World Championship

Ever since last year, when I brought the First World Championship on DVD, I absolutely love it. From the classic and rather beautifully basic looking cover to the DVD menu to the actual DVD itself. A stunning event from beginning to end, something that no other Robotic Combat competition ever did at that point a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP from across the globe battling it out to see who is truly number one. Now, in the past I admit I use to base the World Championships as getting better over the years, now I see it the complete opposite, as much as I enjoyed battles in Series 7, it felt painfully short and the melees were not the best, the Second World Championship had this awkward echo from JP's commentary and though the melees were great the rest was not. This one on the other hand is perfection from beginning till end. In my opinion there's hardly any faults with this special, something that the other World Championships suffer from in general such as entertainment throughout. The World Championship has a great set of robots representatives from all around, sure they can be quite unbalanced in some people's eyes as the UK is always the favourites but consider the time this was done, they're pretty balanced. Designs can range from unique, fun and creative to sleek and deadly. Battles are also a great joy, no real battle suffers from dead robot syndrome (exception being Terror Australis), of course the show stealers for me has to be Razer, Diotoir, Weld Dor, 101 and Behemoth. The battles get better as the episode goes on, with Round 1 being decent, then Round 2 proving great shocks and moments then round three is a blast before finally the Grand Final being absolutely amazing!

Now truth be told there are some issues, albeit minor ones, firstly Terror Austrailis didn't move but at least it was decimated for our entertainment. Then there's Mauler...Considering the recent developments involving Health and Safety issues it's understandable why this happens but it rids us of a potentially good battle between Cerberus and Mauler, what makes no sense is why the Producers even decided to contact Mauler in the first place if they had concerns?! Ah well, this issues don't really matter because this is a truly brilliant episode and one that I absolutely love! It's brilliant from beginning till end with each round getting more better than the previous.

2. Fourth Wars Grand Final

I've not been very well the past few days, so much so I've tried to steer myself away from the computer (didn't really work!) but saying that I am determined to finish my ranking before the March Madness ends. I must admit I was balancing both this episode and the Number 1 spot for which is better, ultimately it came down to the negatives, unfortunately they both have one so that was out of the picture...then came the fights themselves and sadly the Grand Final drew the short straw...when I mean short I mean like comparing the size of the original World Trade Centres, they were both brilliant in quality and were the same but one had a spire which made it "slightly" taller :P Enough pointless babble and let's talk about why the Series 4 Grand Final is not only subjectively one of the best but also OBJECTIVELY one of the best. We have four of the best robots in the series, all four are unique and different and all have a great degree of pedigree. So begins the first two battles, and boy are they fantastic. We have a short but shocking battle between Hypno-Disc and Pussycat where, on paper, Hypno-Disc should have won but is KO'd instantly before being pushed into Shunt who delivers one of the most devastating hits in the classic era. Stinger vs Chaos 2 should have been an easy breeze but instead it turns into quite the clash and is one of the many reasons I love Axlebots! Chaos 2 actually struggles and is forced to fight to the bitter end to beat Stinger, and luckily survives. Sadly, there's no third place which is a bummer but let's be honest there was no way Hypno-Disc would have been able to come back in. That said, prepare for the greatest battle in Robot Wars history. Pussycat vs Chaos 2. I mean, it gorgeous! Both robots show major aggression, control and damage while performing stylish hits here and there. Both robots are tied in this truly gritty and nasty fight where it really could go either way. This is a Grand Final only contested by the Series 10 one, this is what a good fight is all about. Obviously we know that Chaos 2 wins a second year in a row but unlike the possibility of Carbide winning two years in a row (which luckily it didn't), this felt more justified, Chaos 2 didn't have an easy breeze it struggled and it fought valiantly in some of the most gruelling battles ever seen. The Grand Final also has the benefit of a "History of ---- Wars" in it, which started in Series 3 (I think?) and ended with this series, which sucks because I love these short "History of" before the final it highlights the best stuff, hypes you up for the carnage that about to come, it's just a really great way of tying everything together. This final really has it all but there's one episode that has always been at the top for me, one that I'm sure plenty have already figured out...

1. Southern Annihilator

In some ways it was obvious but let's be honest, there's never been an episode like it, a episode so perfect that it's only flaw (Behemoth's withdrawal) can easily be dismissed because this episode is perfection from start to finish with everything ANY Robot Wars fan needs, this, my favourite episode of all time, is the Southern Annihilator!

The DVDs I own, I've had since I was young and almost religiously I watched them (I also make the effort to watch them at least once every year!) and the one event I ALWAYS look forward to is the Southern Annihilator. It is truly a masterpiece that is capable of keeping the attention of the viewer every second. Let's start off with the first and possibly most important point, the robots. All the robots are a mixture of different types and all exhibit great potential (an issue with the Northern Annihilator was the fact that half of them were axe bots, better than 99% being flippers but yeah not very diverse), we also see Onslaught being given a chance to appear after its withdrawal from the main comp. So a great range of robots to start off with we then have the battles...this is glorious. The first round is a real clash with all the robots fighting in a close quarter area, with no real breathing room and everyone having a go at one another. Round 2, is even better, with fantastic flips from Behemoth and Spawn of Scutter as well as Razer crushing Behemoth WHILE UPSIDE DOWN! Round 2 is completely insane so much so Behemoth withdraws...which is the only negative this episode has. That said Round three is more slower but still brilliant in its own right and is sort of underrated battle in this annihilator. Here we see Attila the Drum really shine, thwacking Razer ad causing serious damage while Onslaught thinks more tactically, running around before darting in to slam Attila out of the way, slowly (and quite cleverly) towards Sir Killalot allowing for the House Robots to have a bit of glory. Speaking of House Robots let's talk about quite possibly one of the greatest battles (and originally my personal favourite of ALLTIME, beaten by Pussycat vs Chaos 2 now) with Onslaught vs Razer which shows a battered and bruised Razer fighting Onslaught who once again tried to dodge and tries to force Razer to attack the scoop and the self righting bar (preventing them from damaging any thing vital like the wheels, another overlooked clever tactic from Onslaught) Eventually, Razer gets the tire and crushes, this causes shredding which is shown in all its glory before Matilda ends Onslaught's run. Now had this been any ordinary fight, this would have sucked for all especially after a brilliant fight...but then Razer does something truly beautiful it attacks Matilda and provides one of the most fantastic, one of the most classic, the greatest thing (up there with Nuts disabling Carbide) with Matilda's brutal destruction. This is brilliant stuff and while Onslaught is chucked away, we see Matilda's "death" and it, provided with fantastic and funny commentary from JP makes for a moment that goes down in Robot Wars history and one of the best! Ever since I was young, this episode has always remained as one of my favourites and one thing that I forgot to mention is how EVERY robot has a moment of glory and shines, yes even Vercingetorix axes Razer and attempts to hit Behemoth as well. Every Robot gives its all and something quite fitting and kinda helps the narrative is that these "shining" moments happen usually in the rounds the robot gets eliminated (Vercingetorix in round 1, Behemoth + Spawn of Scutter in round 2, Attila in Round 3) which gives a rather unprepared/unexpected narrative throughout the episode. The episode incorporates EVERYTHING from comedy, destruction, House Robot clashes, the unexpected fighter, the allstars, the surprises, this episode is ROBOT WARS!