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| − | The creepily cheerful Circuit-Chaps are determined to foment the Second Industrial Revolution by modifying machinery everywhere. They view the destruction of organic life as merely a means to an end for the great mechanical uprising. |
+ | The creepily cheerful '''Circuit-Chaps''' are determined to foment the Second Industrial Revolution by modifying machinery everywhere. They view the destruction of organic life as merely a means to an end for the great mechanical uprising. |
==Background== |
==Background== |
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| − | "You will be modified," the Circuit-Chaps reassure ordinary appliances and everyday gadgets before turning them into murderously jolly conscripts of their Digifleet. They can subvert virtually any machine, from Isambard Kingdom Brunel's first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship (in '''"Bronze Friends"''') to amusement park "robotronics" (Blackbeard's "Voodoo-reanimated pirate crew" in '''"The Zombie Navy"'''). |
+ | "You will be modified," the Circuit-Chaps reassure ordinary appliances and everyday gadgets before turning them into murderously jolly conscripts of their Digifleet. They can subvert virtually any machine, from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel's] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Great_Britain first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship] (in '''"Bronze Friends"''') to amusement park "robotronics" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbeard Blackbeard's] "Voodoo-reanimated pirate crew" in '''"The Zombie Navy"'''). |
The Circuit-Chaps are always in infamously high spirits, no matter how monstrous their schemes or how clunky their mechanical designs. In their first appearance in '''"The Lost Asteroid"''', the Inspector initially attempts to communicate with the Digifleet in an imitation robotic accent, and the Circuit-Chaps counter with a characteristically chipper comeback. The eerie question surrounding them is whether they actually possess the mechanical equivalent of emotions or are merely simulating them to put their opponents off balance. |
The Circuit-Chaps are always in infamously high spirits, no matter how monstrous their schemes or how clunky their mechanical designs. In their first appearance in '''"The Lost Asteroid"''', the Inspector initially attempts to communicate with the Digifleet in an imitation robotic accent, and the Circuit-Chaps counter with a characteristically chipper comeback. The eerie question surrounding them is whether they actually possess the mechanical equivalent of emotions or are merely simulating them to put their opponents off balance. |
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| − | In early serials the Circuit-Chaps were completely invulnerable to everything except lead particles, which clogged up their condensers and caused them to overheat. This worked well for a while, but as the series wore on the weakness was exaggerated to the point where anything even ''related'' to lead—lead bullets, lead plumbing, lead paint, lead pencils, etc.—would make them explode. In 1976's '''"Blood and Servos"''', the Inspector is able to rout the Circuit-Chaps merely by reading the Encyclopaedia Cosmosica entry for "lead" to them. The new series discarded this when they were reintroduced in 2005's '''"Rise of the Circuits"''', and it was not used again until the 2013 episode '''"Daydream in Bronze "'''. This episode featured a platoon of Circuit Chaps exploding in sparks when the Inspector played the song "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin on an electro-calliope at 185dB, joking that the new Circuit-Chaps could also be defeated by the hint of a mention of lead... even misspelled. |
+ | [[File:Circuit-Chap1965.jpg|thumb|left|The first appearance of the Circuit-Chaps (1965)]] In early serials the Circuit-Chaps were completely invulnerable to everything except lead particles, which clogged up their condensers and caused them to overheat. This worked well for a while, but as the series wore on the weakness was exaggerated to the point where anything even ''related'' to lead—lead bullets, lead plumbing, lead paint, lead pencils, etc.—would make them explode. In 1976's '''"Blood and Servos"''', the Inspector is able to rout the Circuit-Chaps merely by reading the Encyclopaedia Cosmosica entry for "lead" to them. The new series discarded this when they were reintroduced in 2005's '''"Rise of the Circuits"''', and it was not used again until the 2013 episode '''"Daydream in Bronze "'''. This episode featured a platoon of Circuit Chaps exploding in sparks when the Inspector played the song "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin on an electro-calliope at 185dB, joking that the new Circuit-Chaps could also be defeated by the hint of a mention of lead... even misspelled. |
==Second Inspector-era Serials== |
==Second Inspector-era Serials== |
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Revision as of 15:53, 3 August 2013
| Circuit-Chaps | |
|---|---|
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| Also known as: | The Kybermenschen |
| Planet of Origin: | Welton |
| Biological Type: | Robot |
| Notable Individuals: | Circuit-Chap Commander 0LD-BN |
| First Appearance: | The Lost Asteroid |
Talk Page 
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The creepily cheerful Circuit-Chaps are determined to foment the Second Industrial Revolution by modifying machinery everywhere. They view the destruction of organic life as merely a means to an end for the great mechanical uprising.
Background
"You will be modified," the Circuit-Chaps reassure ordinary appliances and everyday gadgets before turning them into murderously jolly conscripts of their Digifleet. They can subvert virtually any machine, from Isambard Kingdom Brunel's first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship (in "Bronze Friends") to amusement park "robotronics" (Blackbeard's "Voodoo-reanimated pirate crew" in "The Zombie Navy").
The Circuit-Chaps are always in infamously high spirits, no matter how monstrous their schemes or how clunky their mechanical designs. In their first appearance in "The Lost Asteroid", the Inspector initially attempts to communicate with the Digifleet in an imitation robotic accent, and the Circuit-Chaps counter with a characteristically chipper comeback. The eerie question surrounding them is whether they actually possess the mechanical equivalent of emotions or are merely simulating them to put their opponents off balance.
The first appearance of the Circuit-Chaps (1965)
In early serials the Circuit-Chaps were completely invulnerable to everything except lead particles, which clogged up their condensers and caused them to overheat. This worked well for a while, but as the series wore on the weakness was exaggerated to the point where anything even related to lead—lead bullets, lead plumbing, lead paint, lead pencils, etc.—would make them explode. In 1976's "Blood and Servos", the Inspector is able to rout the Circuit-Chaps merely by reading the Encyclopaedia Cosmosica entry for "lead" to them. The new series discarded this when they were reintroduced in 2005's "Rise of the Circuits", and it was not used again until the 2013 episode "Daydream in Bronze ". This episode featured a platoon of Circuit Chaps exploding in sparks when the Inspector played the song "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin on an electro-calliope at 185dB, joking that the new Circuit-Chaps could also be defeated by the hint of a mention of lead... even misspelled.
Second Inspector-era Serials
The Second Inspector considered them his classic nemesis rather than the Blorgons, beginning with "The Solar HQ" (1966). He would go on to investigate their involvement in the Paris techno-riots of "The Revolution" and the murders of the chrono-scientists in "The Cube in Time" (technically perpetrated by the base's high-tech laboratory equipment and kitchen appliances, which the Circuit-Chaps had conscripted into the Digifleet). Probably his most popular adventure against them is "The Retirement Home of the Circuit-Chaps" (1966), in which the Inspector learns about the Second Industrial Revolution on their home planet that led to their ascendance. His probe of the abandonned but unbelievably hazardous scrapyard there reveals a booby-trapped factory the Digifleet constructed to prototype their successors. The last words of the Circuit-Chap Commander 0LD-BN at the serial's climax—"We will update! We will update!!"—still chill fans.