Heavy Gear

Part gladiator battle and part Japanese giant robot demolition derby, rock 'em, sock 'em Heavy Gear puts the "extreme" in extreme sports. Slickly produced in the CGI style of Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles, this TV series, about a mechanical whiz kid who wants nothing more than to be a Heavy Gear ace, is based on a hit video game and it shows. The premise of battles between warring "platoons" on a far-off planet, played out as a series of bread-and-circuses arena games, is a tad absurd. For sheer spectacle, however, these robot wars are like a wild fantasy of professional wrestling, right down to the colorful good guys, the villainous bad guys, and the screaming crowds hanging on every ground-shaking pile-driver punch. Though originally shown on TV, the series has been rated PG-13 for "pervasive action violence." The mecha-violence is bloodless but almost nonstop at times and does put characters in life-threatening situations, so parents of younger kids should be wary. --Sean Axmaker