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The Weakest Link (British game show)

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The Weakest Link
File:Weakest Link logo.jpg
Created byFintan Coyle & Cathy Dunning
StarringAnne Robinson
Country of origin United Kingdom
Production
Running time45 minutes (daytime), 50 minutes (primetime)
Original release
NetworkBBC
Release2000 –
present
Releasewebsite
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The Weakest Link (known as Weakest Link in many countries) is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000. It was devised by doctor and situation comedy writer Fintan Coyle and the comedian Cathy Dunning, and developed for television by the BBC Entertainment department. It has since been replicated around the world. It may also be called a "reality game show" because of competition similar to present-day reality shows and has been the basis of academic studies. The UK version, hosted by Anne Robinson, reached its 1,000th episode on 18 December 2006.

Format

The original format featured a team of nine contestants who take turns answering general knowledge questions. The object of each round is to answer a chain of consecutive correct answers to earn an increasing amount for a single communal pot within a certain time limit. However, just one incorrect answer wipes out any money earned in that chain. However, before their question is asked, a contestant can say "BANK" and the money earned thus far is safely stored and a new chain is initiated from scratch.

Banking money is the safe option, however, not banking, in anticipation that one will be able to correctly answer the upcoming question, allows the money to grow as each successive correct answer earns proportionally more money.

When the allotted time for each round ends, any money not banked is lost, and if the host is in the middle of asking a question, or has asked a question but the contestant has yet to answer, the question is abandoned. The round automatically ends if the team successfully reaches the maximum amount for the round before the allotted time expires.

Voting and elimination

At the end of each round, contestants must vote off one player whom they consider to be the "weakest link": the one they believe wasted the most time, failed to bank judiciously or gave too many wrong answers. Until the beginning of the next round, only the television audience knows (via an announcer's narration) exactly who the "strongest link" and "weakest link" are statistically. While the contestants work as a team, they are encouraged at this point to be ruthless to each other. Voting presents somewhat of a tactical challenge for canny players seeking to maximize their chances of winning, and maximizing the payoffs if they do. Voting off weaker players is likely to increase the payoff for the winner, but stronger players may be more difficult to beat in a playoff. After the revealing of the votes, the host will interrogate the players on their choice of voting, reasons behind their choice, and as well, insult the players on their lack of intelligence, their background, and their interests. After interrogation, the player with the most votes is given a stern "You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" and must walk off the stage in what is called the Walk of Shame. In the event of a tie, the Strongest Link has the final say on who goes. If they voted for a tied player, they may have the option of sticking with their vote, or changing their mind. If the Strongest Link is part of a two-way tie, for mocking purposes, the Strongest Link is still asked who they wish to rid.

Round 2—onwards

Whenever a contestant is eliminated, 10 (or sometimes 15, such as the American syndicated version) seconds are taken away from the clock in the following rounds. The round begins with the Strongest Link, however, if the Strongest Link was voted off in the previous round, the second Strongest Link starts play. Play continues as normal

End of the Game

Final Round

When two contestants remain, they work together in one final round, identical to previous rounds in all but two details: First, all money banked at the end of the round is tripled (or doubled in some versions) before added to the current money pool to make the final total of the game. Also, there is no elimination; the game moves to the Head to Head Round instead.

Head to Head

For the Head to Head round, the remaining two players will each be required to answer five questions each. The strongest link from the previous round chooses who goes first. Whoever has the most correct answers out of five at the end of the Head to Head wins the game.

The winner of the game takes home all of the money accumulated in the prize pool for the game, and the loser goes home with nothing like all previous eliminated players.

In the event of a tie, the game goes to Sudden Death. Each player is continued to be asked questions as usual, until one person gets a question right and the other wrong. This can go on for as long as it takes, though in some countries, the Sudden Death is edited to only one round for airtime reasons.

In most episodes the maximum possible winnings in the British shows is £10,000; in special celebrity and charity episodes the maximum is £50,000.

Strategies

Some players may consider incorrectly answering some questions so as not to appear so much of a threat — however, such a strategy is risky. One study[citation needed] suggested that the optimal percentage of questions to answer correctly is 60%. If you do worse, you risk being voted off for being too weak; if you do better, you are perceived as a threat in the final showdown. Mathematical analysis of the expected payoffs provided by various banking strategies suggest that the optimum strategies are to either attempt to go for the highest payoff, or bank after every question. Few teams adopt either — most choose to bank after three or four questions.

Success

Part of the show's success was due to the presenter, Anne Robinson. Already well-known in the UK for her sarcastic tone while presenting the BBC's consumer programme Watchdog, she found here a new outlet in her taunts to the contestants. Her sardonic summary to the "team", usually berating them for their lack of intelligence for not achieving the target, became a trademark of the show, and her call of "You are the weakest link — goodbye!" quickly became a catchphrase. (Originally, the devisors suggested the equally acerbic Jeremy Paxman, host of University Challenge.) The voice-over in the UK version is by Jon Briggs.

With elements inspired by Big Brother and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the show differed from virtually all games shows before it by inviting open conflict between players, and using a host who is openly hostile to the competitors rather than a positive figure (though this feature of the show tends to be played for laughs, especially in the prime time version, where there is a studio audience for Robinson — and the contestants — to play to). Heavily criticised by the television press in some countries for its Hobbesian overtones, the show has nevertheless been a ratings success in most countries.

Initially there was outcry by national newspapers and some viewers, that the licence fee be used for such a potentially high jackpot. However, when it became apparent that contestants seldom came close to winning anywhere near the maximum jackpot, these criticisms generally disappeared.

Variant versions

With the huge success of the show in its early evening BBC Two slot, there was soon a version made for prime-time BBC One, typically, but not always, shown on Wednesday evenings.

First off, a Tournament of Champions, featuring eight players who won games on the daytime edition, battled off once again for £20,000. This time, electronic podiums were installed, as well as a studio audience. The Champions format wasn't a success, and so regular players played for the money. After about a year later, the contestants were cut down to seven, as well as the time from 45 minutes to 30, however, the prize money stayed the same.

After the seven-player edition, the studio was revamped once again to add two more podiums, as well as a much larger prize money of £50,000. Regular civilians played on the show at first, but now the primetime version usually, if not always, has celebrities playing for charity. Though Robinson states that eight players will leave with "nothing," normally the losing celebrities receive a house amount to give to their charity, as well as their own fee for appearing. In this version, Robinson typically says to the losing celebrity in the final round "You just leave with nothing". In some of these celebrity editions, there have been two celebrities representing one position in the game, with the two conferring before giving their answer. There have also been several editions featuring entirely celebrity couples. The yearly Pantomime-based edition has also become somewhat of a staple in the Christmas BBC One schedules in recent years. Some contestants, such as Christopher Biggins and Basil Brush, have appeared several times.

The standard BBC One version has generally been dropped in the last couple of years, but celebrity editions still sometimes appear. Sometimes they are specially designed episodes, such as the March 2007 edition tying in with the new series of Doctor Who that began broadcasting the following day.

International versions

Countries with their own version

The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Prime and BBC America. The format has been licensed across the world, with many countries producing their own series of The Weakest Link. Unless otherwise noted, all foreign titles translate to (The) Weakest Link.

Country Name Host TV Station Top Prize in Local Currency
 Azerbaijan Zəif Bənd Kamila Babayeva Lider TV 100,000,000 mant
 Australia Weakest Link Cornelia Frances 7 $100,000
 Belgium De Zwakste Schakel Goedele Liekens VTM 2,000,000F
 Brazil Ponto Fraco Fausto Silva TV Globo R$1,000,000
Pedro Bial
 Estonia Nõrgim Lüli Tuuli Roosmaa Kanal 2
 Chile El Rival Más Débil Catalina Pulido Canal 13 $10,000,000
 China 汰弱留强·智者为王 Chen Lu Yu (Season 1) Nanjing TV ¥200,000
智者为王 Shen Bing (Season 2)
Xia Qing (Season 3)
 Croatia Najslabija karika Nina Violić (Season 1) HRT1 90,000 kuna
Daniela Trbović
Czech Republic Czech Republic Nejslabší! Máte padáka! Zuzana Slavíková Nova TV Kc.1,000,000
Denmark Denmark Det Svageste Led Trine Gregorius DR1 KR200,000
Finland Finland Heikoin Lenkki Kirsi Salo MTV3 €18,000
France France Le Maillon Faible Laurence Boccolini TF1 €50,000
Germany Germany Der Schwächste fliegt! Sonja Zietlow RTL Television €50,000
Greece Greece Ο Πιο Αδύναμος Κρίκος Elena Akrita MEGA €15,000
Hong Kong Hong Kong 一筆OUT消 Carol Cheng TVB Jade $3,000,000
 Hungary A Leggyengébb Láncszem (nine player version) Krisztina Máté TV2 3,000,000 forints
Nincs Kegyelem (five player version) 6,000,000 forints
 India Kamzor Kadii Kaun Neena Gupta Star Plus 25,00,000 rupees
 Ireland Weakest Link Eamon Dunphy TV3 €10,000
 Israel החוליה החלשה Pnina Dvorin (Season 1) Channel 10 ₪100,000
Hana Laszlo (Season 2)
Italy Italy Anello Debole Enrico Papi Italia 1 €15,000
Japan Japan ウィーケストリンク☆一人勝ちの法則 Shiro Ito Fuji TV ¥16,000,000
 Lebanon الحلقة الأضعف Rita Khoury Future Television $16,000
 Mexico El Rival Más Debil Montserrat Ontiveros TV Azteca $200,000
 Netherlands De Zwakste Schakel Chazia Mourali RTL 4 €10,000
 New Zealand Weakest Link Louise Wallace TV ONE $20,000
 Norway Det Svakeste Ledd Anne Groswold NRK
 Philippines Weakest Link Edu Manzano (Season 1) IBC ₱1,000,000
Allan K. (Season 2)
 Poland Najsłabsze Ogniwo Kazimiera Szczuka TVN 27,000 złoty
 Portugal O Elo Mais Fraco Julia Pinheiro (Season 1) RTP €10,000
Luisa Castel-Branco (Season 2)
 Romania Lanţul Slăbiciunilor Andrei Gheorghe ProTV
 Russia Слабое Звено Maria Kiselyova ORT руб400,000
Nikolay Fomenko Petesburg-5
 Singapore 智者生存 Cui Lixin MediaCorp TV S$100,000
Weakest Link Asha Gill S$1,000,000
 Slovenia Najšibkejši Člen Violeta Tomič RTV Slovenija
 Spain El Rival Más Débil Nuria González (Season 1) TVE1 €7,200
Karmele Aranburu (Season 2)
 South Africa Weakest Link Fiona Coyne SABC3 R100,000
 Taiwan 智者生存 Belle Yu (Season 1) STAR Chinese Channel NT$2,200,000
Tseng Yang Qing (Season 2)
 Thailand กำจัดจุดอ่อน Krittika Kongsompong ฿1,000,000
 Turkey En Zayif Halka Hülya Uğur Tanrıöver SHOW TV TL100,000,000,000
 United Kingdom The Weakest Link Anne Robinson BBC Two (Daytime Version) £10,000 (Daytime Version)
BBC One (Primetime Version) £50,000 (Primetime Version)
 United States Weakest Link Anne Robinson (Primetime Version) NBC (Primetime Version) $1,000,000 (Primetime Version)
George Gray (Daytime Version) Syndicated (Daytime Version) $100,000 (Daytime Version)

Asia

Philippines

File:Wl phil.jpg
Philippine version of Weakest Link

The Philippine version of the show is produced by VIVA Entertainment and ECM Productions. The show premiered on September 2001 on the television network Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation as a follow-up to the success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in the country. It was initially hosted by actor Edu Manzano. Known for his villainy roles and serious acting styles, Manzano made a good and fitting host of the show, contributing to its popularity. He was later replaced by comedian/singer Allan K. His humorous hosting stint (along with the fire that razed the original studio the show was taped) led its show to its demise on October 2002.

The show followed the eight-player primetime format. If the highest amount was banked successfully in all seven rounds, the highest amount possible would be 1,000,000 Philippine pesos, which is close to the maximum prize of £10,000 in BBC2's version of the game.

Iran

It went on air as a game called "Bank". The top prize was 1,000,000 million tomans. Contestants were either all women or all men.

Europe

Azerbaijan

File:Zaifband.JPG
Weakest Link host Kamila Babayeva, Azerbaijan edition

Azerbaijan has a version called Zəif Bənd that airs on Lider TV and is hosted by Kamila Babayeva. The premiere was in September 2004. The top prize was 100,000,000 Azerbaijani manat (=20,000 New Azerbaijani manat).

Belgium

In September 2001, VTM launched its national version of Weakest Link, called De Zwakste Schakel, just like the Dutch version of the show. Goedele Liekens who had been working in television since the 80s, was asked to perform as Anne's Belgian clone, but wasn't even convinced herself that she'd make a good one. After a small series of unsuccessful episodes, VTM cancelled the show in early 2002. Goedele continued her work on other shows and admitted afterwards that she wasn't the right person for the show. Belgian Weakest Link had 8 contestants who could win up to 2,000,000 Belgian Francs. The format was like the US prime time edition. The chain was even the same, only doubled, so that the team could make it to 250,000 Francs in each round.

Norway

Norwegian television network NRK started the Norwegian version of the Weakest Link called Det Svakeste Ledd in 2004. Unlike any other version, it simply took over the Danish set. It was hosted by talk show hostess Anne Grosvold. It aired in 2004, but was cancelled soon after.

Finland

MTV3 launched the Finnish version, called Heikoin Lenkki, on September 6th, 2002. Host Kirsi Salo sent home every week 8 contestants and rewarded one with prize money of up to 15,000 euros. Only a month after its premiere, the format was changed though. In the changed version, only 8 contestants started off (instead of 9) and top prize was raized to 18,000 euros, with 2,000 being up for grabs in each round. This changed format lasted for quite some time. The version was aired for three seasons and got canceled in February 2005, after the channel had broadcast a small set of unaired episodes, recorded already in early 2004.

France

The biggest channel in France, TF1, launched Le Maillon Faible on July 9th, 2001. It became an instant success. Presenter Laurence Boccolini, who had already hosted the quizshow "Que Le Meilleur Gagne!" and who was known for having a sarcastic sense of humour, was taken to be Anne's French clone and it worked out very well. French contestants could win up to 150,000F until the introduction of the euro in 2002, where it became €20,000. At the end of 2003, the show got a bigger set and prize money was raised to €50,000. The French version is the only not original version in the world that has been running for over 6 years (without seasonal breaks) and was never ever repeated: every single episode aired was always a new one.

In 2002, Laurence Boccolini wrote a book about her experiences on the show. The book is called "Méchante", meaning "Mean" in English. In 2005 "Méchante 2" was published, but this time, it just contained a large amount of unintelligent funny answers, given by contestants on LMF.

After a series of unsuccessful celebrity specials, TF1 decided to cancel the show in the spring of 2007: viewers had been dropping since 2006. In July, Laurence decided to leave TF1, as they didn't offer her a new program for the new television season. The final episode of Le Maillon Faible was aired on August 12th, 2007.

Greece

Greece also created its own version Ο ΠΙΟ ΑΔΥΝΑΜΟΣ ΚΡΙΚΟΣ, hosted by journalist Elena Akrita. According to its viewers, Akrita was a nicer host than those of foreign versions-- instead of a goodbye, she would finish off the famous catchphrase with the phrase "I'm very sorry." The show has been cancelled as of 2005. The top prize was €15,000. It was broadcasted by major Greek TV station Mega Channel.

Hungary

File:Matekriszta1.jpg
Krisztina Máté hosting the show

In Hungary the show debuted on August 12, 2001 at 7 p.m. on TV2 under the name of Nincs Kegyelem - A Leggyengébb Láncszem (which means No Mercy - The Weakest Link) and was aired three times a week, on Monday, Tuesday Thursday respectively, with a maximum prize of 3 million forints (approx. $12 000 at that time). It was hosted by Krisztina Máté, a News at Night presenter, who took a very extreme turn with accepting this new role. She was probably chosen because of the similarities between her and her American counterpart. The whole show instantly became the most controversial program on TV that time, but couldn't profited with the sudden attention, because of the rude style and manner that the whole game-play was built upon, it shocked people and the hostess' reputation quickly changed into irritating and arrogant. Another wrong decision of TV2 was modifying the airing time to compete with another other quiz show shown on rival channel RTL Klub (namely the Millionaire show and host István Vágó [who is often referred as the "Quiz Professor" by Hungarians]). The popularity of Weakest Link began to fade, and so the management decreased the number of players from 8 to 5, but it didn't help, and finally the show was cancelled on May, 2002. Though she returned to news, Krisztina Máté's reputation was "tarnished" because of her meanness displayed in the Weakest Link.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands it was called De Zwakste Schakel and hosted by Chazia Mourali on RTL 4. It had a maximum prize of €10,000, even in 2001, when the euro was not yet used, and it had nine contestants. Until the summer of 2004, it was the longest running version after the UK. RTL put it out of the schedule in 2004 though, making France the longest running international version. In 2006, RTL announced the comeback of the show, but apparently changed their schedule once more, as there still haven't been new episodes since. At the moment there are no new confirmed plans for the show. Rumours say that there is a new unaired set of episodes with a new host, recorded in 2006, as RTL was spreading that new episodes were being recorded in the summer of that year. Nothing has been confirmed since.

Portugal

O Elo Mais Fraco started off quite well in 2002 with Julia Pinheiro who was later replaced by Luisa Castel-Branco, in a new series. The version had nine contestants, of which any could win up to €10,000, just like on the Dutch & Irish version.

Spain

El Rival Más Débil debuted on TVE1 on 15 May 15, 2002. The title literally means "The Weakest Rival". Nine contestants competed for up to €7,200. The Spanish version, like many other versions including Israel, Taiwan, US and Portugal, had two different hosts. The first host was Spanish actress Nuria González, who cloned Anne Robinson very successfully during two seasons. Then in 2003, the role was taken over by Karmele Aranburu who physically looked more like Anne Robinson, because Nuria was too busy acting. The version lasted for a few more seasons and was then cancelled. Spanish "El Rival Más Débil" was the first of a lot more Spanish spoken Weakest Link versions, all with the same title, logo and graphics, including the Mexican and Chilean editions.

Russia

File:Slaboyezveno.jpg
Maria Kiselyova in Russian version of Weakest Link

Russia has a version called Slaboe Zveno hosted by Maria Kiselyova. It airs on ORT. The top prize is 400,000 rubles. The show ended in 2005. The show will move to the channel Petersburg-5 in 2007, where it will be hosted by Nikolay Fomenko.

Serbia

The show aired on BKTV as Najslabija karika from 2002 until April 2006 when the station's terrestrial licence got revoked by Serbian authorities. It was hosted by Sandra Lalatović. The top prize was RSD3 million, which according to the exchange rate fluctuations in that period came in the range between €37,500 and €50,000. The show may return to the airwaves this year on either B92 or RTV Pink.

Turkey

In Turkey, En Zayif Halka was shown during only one season on SHOW TV. Hulya Ugur Tanriover took the job and 9 contestants played for 100,000,000,000 old Turkish lira, which would equal 100,000 new Turkish lira.

Israel

The Israeli version started in 2002 on Channel 10. The version of the programme in Israel has been hosted by both Pnina Dvorin and Hanna Laszlo. Originally, there were nine players playing for ₪100,000. However, the format was changed to a 8-player, ₪90,000 version.

North/South America

USA

Main article: Weakest Link (US)

Brazil

Brazilian TV Globo bought Weakest Link from the BBC in October 2001. It was decided that Fausto Silva would host the two pilots, recordered with the title of Ponto Fraco. However, after the pilots were made, the show did not make it to the air, and was replaced by the more popular Big Brother. The host was supposed to be Pedro Bial.

Chile

Chile also had its own version (El Rival Más Débil) for a 6 month run in 2004 hosted by local actress Catalina Pulido on Canal 13. The top prize was 10,000,000 Chilean pesos.

Mexico

Mexico created its own version in 2003 airing it Saturday nights on TV Azteca channel 13. There have been some special episodes with celebrities, such as contestants from La Academia, soap actors, and other celebrities. Unlike the normal contestants, each celebrity represents a charity institution, and the prize is donated to that charity.

Countries that air other countries' versions

Trivia

  • Anne Robinson appears as the voice of the "Anne-Droid" in the Doctor Who episode "Bad Wolf", which hosts a version of the show in the year 200,100 that has deadly consequences for its contestants if they are eliminated...or try to quit the game. "Anne-Droid" also appeared in the Doctor Who special of the quiz, recorded on November 21, 2006 at Pinewood Studios, which was broadcast on the March 30, 2007. The real Anne pulled the plug out of the droid before hosting the show for real.
  • There has been a Christmas special in which Christmas actors were questioned, including Basil Brush. Basil Brush has since become the only puppet to win Weakest Link.
  • The 1000th UK daytime edition was recorded at Pinewood on 1 November 2006 in front of an invited audience of past contestants, and broadcast on 18 December the same year, followed by a half-hour documentary going behind the scenes of the show. The contestants for the 1000th edition included the winner of the very first episode and memorable celebrities who have appeared on previous editions. The show began with Anne bursting from a giant cake to deliver her opening spiel. Though there was an audience, contestants played for the daytime jackpot of £10,000, complete with the podiums used on the daytime studio. After a disappointing final with not a single correct answer whatsoever until Sudden Death, eventually the strongest link became Miss Evans, who won £2,710. At her request, the prize money was shared between her and co-finalist Basil Brush, who each donated their respective half of the money to charity - at which point Anne announced that since it was the 1000th edition, £1,000 was added to the total prize money.
  • Dead Ringers (a satire produced by the BBC) also made a spoof of Weakest Link, calling it The Weakest Disciple. The contestants were all disciples of Jesus (with Judas banking the most money - 30 pieces of silver). There has also been the Weakest Trappist Monk, they are all Trappist monks, they bank nothing and are silent when Anne Robinson insults them (due to their vow of silence), although that doesn't stop them from writing profanic insults to her (the weakest Trappist monk has written on his card "F*** you" as he was doing the walk of shame).
  • Music is played throughout the show, uninterrupted, from the opening theme to the closing credits.
  • All of the hosts wear black clothing (or sometimes dark colours with black). One notable exception, however, came on an April Fools Day episode in the UK version, when Anne Robinson appeared in pink clothing, and was nice to the contestants for most of the show. As the end of the show neared, she declared that she was bored with being nice, as the contestants were all "so stupid."
  • Most versions have disciplinarian female hosts.
  • The highest total ever achieved on the daytime version was in the £5,000 range. The lowest amount won was £750.
    • On the primetime version with a £50,000 jackpot, the highest amount won was in the £25,000 range. The lowest amount won was in the £4,000 range.
  • The United States version was once parodied on an episode of Saturday Night Live. Rachel Dratch played the host, Anne Robinson, and other cast members played random contestants. The game mainly consisted of Anne insulting the players in her questions throughout the round rather than giving legitimate questions, and going as far as giving one of her contestants the finger. After the round, the contestants interrogated her, wondering why she was so cold. Robinson then has a flashback of her family leaving her as a child, deeming her the Weakest Link of the family.
  • The show was also parodied on madTV and was played with two monkeys and recurring character Lorraine Swanson.

See also

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