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The Weakest Link (British game show)

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The Weakest Link
GenreQuiz Show
Created byFintan Coyle
Cathy Dunning
Presented byAnne Robinson
Narrated byJon Briggs
Theme music composerPaul Farrer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series13
No. of episodes1,693
Production
Production locationsBBC Television Centre (2000–1)
Pinewood Studios (2001–9)
BBC Pacific Quay (2009–12)
Running time45 minutes (daytime)
50 minutes (primetime 2003–12)
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
(Daytime: 14 August 2000 – 8 February 2008 and 5 September 2011 – 30 March 2012)
BBC One
(Primetime: 31 October 2000 – 31 March 2012)
(Daytime: 11 February 2008 – 16 June 2011)
Release14 August 2000 (2000-08-14) –
31 March 2012 (2012-03-31)

The Weakest Link is a British television quiz show, mainly broadcast on BBC 2, but also on BBC 1. It was devised by Fintan Coyle and Cathy Dunning, and developed for television by the BBC Entertainment Department. The first episode went on air on 14 Aug 2000. It has since been replicated around the world. The UK version was hosted by Anne Robinson and narrated by Jon Briggs. In April 2011, Anne Robinson announced that she would end her role as the quiz show's hostess by the time her contract would expire as she had served longer than she originally intended to. The original run ended on 31 March 2012 with a 1,693rd episode.[1] the quiz show itself continues to run internationally on the BBC Entertainment channel.

Format

The original format features 9 contestants, who (in no particular order) take turns answering general knowledge questions. The objective of every round is to create a chain of 9 correct answers in a row and earn an increasing amount of money within a time limit. A wrong answer breaks the chain and loses any money earned within that chain. However, before their question is asked, a contestant can choose to bank the current amount of money earned in any chain to make it safe, after which the chain starts afresh. A contestant's decision not to bank, in anticipation that they 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 every round ends, any money which is 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. Occasionally, the host gives the correct answer whether the contestant is able to answer the question correctly or not. The round automatically ends if the team successfully reaches the maximum amount for the round before the allotted time expires, and the next person says "Bank". Every round thereafter is reduced by 10 seconds as players are eliminated. For Round 8, the last or final round, the remaining 2 players only have 90 seconds (1 and a half minutes) on the clock to "treble" whatever they bank.

The first person to be asked a question in the first round is the player whose name is first alphabetically. Every subsequent round starts with the "strongest link"—the player with the most correct answers—from the previous round, unless that person has been voted off, in which case the second strongest answers first.

Money tree

The money tree was as follows:

Voting and elimination

At the end of every round, contestants must vote one player out of the game. Until the beginning of the next round, only the television audience knows exactly who the strongest and weakest links are statistically due to Briggs' narration. While the contestants work as a team when answering questions, they are at this point encouraged to be ruthless with one another. Players often decide to vote off weaker rivals, but occasionally decide to eliminate stronger players as well, in hope that it then improves their chances of winning the game. After the revealing of the votes, the host will interrogate the players on their choice of voting, the reasons behind their choice, as well as about 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 or draw, the strongest link has the final decision about who is eliminated. If they voted for a tied player, they have the option of sticking with their vote or changing it. The strongest link usually sticks with their original choice, unless another player in the tie has voted for them. Occasionally, the strongest link has voted for someone who is not in the tie, and so is forced to change their decision one way or the other.

Final

Last round

The last 2 contestants work together in the eighth and final round identical to the previous ones, however, all money banked at the end of this round is tripled and added to the current money total, forming the final total for the game. At the end of this round, there is no elimination, with the game instead moving to the head to head round.

"Head to head" round

For the head to head round, the remaining 2 players are each required to answer 5 questions each in a penalty shootout format. The strongest link from the previous round chooses who goes first. Whoever has 5 correct answers at the end of the round wins the game. In the event of a tie, the game goes to "Sudden Death". Every player continues to be asked questions as usual, until 1 person answers a question correctly and the other incorrectly.

The winner of the game is declared "the strongest link" takes home all of the money accumulated in the prize pool for the game, and the loser leaves with nothing, like all previous eliminated players. In daytime episodes, the maximum possible winnings are £10,000; in primetime and special celebrity charity episodes, the maximum is £50,000.

Records

The highest winnings in the daytime version £7,750, which was won by Steph Bruce, winner of The National Lottery: The People's Quiz, in the quiz show champions edition, first broadcast on 30 March 2012, the day before the final edition; the lowest daytime prize was £750.

The highest winnings in the primetime version was £24,100.

Variant versions

After the huge success of the show in its early evening slot on BBC Two, a prime-time edition was shown on BBC One, usually broadcast on Wednesday evenings.

Originally, The Weakest Link: Champions League, which featured 8 players who had won games on the daytime edition, battled off once again for £20,000 (with a money tree of £50-£100-£200-£500-£1,000-£1,500-£2,000-£2,500; with the 7th round being a double round for £5,000). The set was slightly altered, with electronic podiums being installed, as well as the adding of a studio audience. The Champions format was not successful, and instead new players competed for the money. A few months later, the contestants were cut down to seven, as well as the time from 45 min to 30, however, the prize money remained the same (with a money tree of £50-£100-£250-£1,000-£1,750-£2,500; the 6th round being a triple round for £7,500).

After the 7-player edition, the studio was revamped once again to add 2 more podiums, and the potential prize money was raised to £50,000. Non-celebrities played on the show at 1st, however, at present, the primetime version features celebrities playing for charity. Although Briggs and Robinson state that 8 players will leave with nothing, normally the losing celebrities receive a "house" amount to give to their chosen charity[citation needed], as well as their own fee for appearing on the show[citation needed]. In some celebrity editions, two celebrities have represented one position in the game, with the two conferring before giving their answer. There have also been several editions featuring entirely celebrity couples. A Christmas edition of the programme has also regularly featured in the schedules in recent yr. Some contestants, such as Christopher Biggins, Peter Duncan and Basil Brush, have appeared several times. A puppet edition also aired, which included a Robinson puppet introducing the show before twelve famous puppets played for charity.

The daytime version has also seen its share of variance, as was the case in 2 particular episodes. An April Fools' Day show which aired in 2003 featured Robinson being strangely nice to the contestants, and abandoning her traditional black wardrobe in favour of a metallic pink overcoat. However, she did not remain kind to the contestants for the entire episode, resuming her old behaviour after declaring the winner and contestants as "so stupid".

Another variant of the daytime show was the 1,000th episode, complete with an audience, a departure from the normally spectator-free background. Fan-favourites played again for £10,000, and some previous contestants also sat in the audience. The show's first winner, David Bloomfield was one of the returning contestants, and was asked the question: If there have been 1,000 episodes of The Weakest Link, each with 9 players, how many contestants in total have appeared on the show? He answered the question correctly (9,000) but banked prior to it being asked. He did not win any money on the 1,000th episode, and was voted off in only the 3rd round, despite having been the statistical strongest link in the first two rounds. In the end, Miss Evans (who had previously appeared on the Strong Women special but had lost out to curate Emma Langley) defeated Basil Brush, winning £2,710, which she split with her co-finalist to give to charity. Robinson then announced that a bonus of £1,000 would be added to the final total, as it was the 1,000th episode, resulting in a final total of £3,710, or both contestants receiving £1,855 each. It also marked the 1st time that Anne Robinson did not say the phrase "...you leave with nothing." to the losing contestant.

Two fictional television shows, Doctor Who and My Family, have depicted their own versions of Weakest Link in their episodes. The Doctor Who edition, broadcast in 2005, showed a futuristic version of the show in the year 200,100, with only six contestants, and presented by an 'Anne Droid' (voiced by Anne Robinson) who disintegrates the contestants being voted off (it is later revealed that she actually shoots a transmat beam that transports the contestants to a Dalek ship for extermination or to be converted into Daleks). The My Family version was broadcast in 2007, and was essentially portraying all of the main characters on an ordinary episode of the show, except for the fact that it was a 'family special'. Comedy series That Mitchell and Webb Look broadcast a sketch based on Weakest Link called Hole in the Ring, featuring Robert Webb as an overly harsh presenter who makes mistakes whilst reading questions.

A later special edition of Weakest Link featured nine cast members of Doctor Who playing the game, and the show was introduced by the Anne Droid. The real Anne walked on stage almost instantly as the droid began the show, unplugged it, and said, "I don't think so. I think we'll do that again." She then began the show herself and proceeded as normal.

The final edition

The final episode was titled "You are The Weakest Link - Goodbye" and was aired on BBC 1 on 31 March 2012. Filming for the final edition took place on 11 Dec 2011. It was the 1,693rd edition of The Weakest Link in the UK. The ending of the show was the only special part to the final edition.

A normal daytime edition of the show was made, with some of Anne's favourite contestants from over the years taking part, and with no audience present during filming or changes to the money tree (see above). The 1st round of questions was notably different and was mainly about The Weakest Link and the host, Anne Robinson. The last question asked was "If the Roman numeral 'X' is halved, the result can be represented by which other Roman numeral?", the answer being "V". The last ever UK winner was Archie Bland, the editor of The Independent newspaper's Sat edition, that won ₤2,090.[2]

A short montage of clips from the show was shown at the end of the game. After saying goodbye, all of the lights turned off with Anne being the only person left in the studio. The programme was eventually replaced by the Alexander Armstrong-fronted Pointless as the big BBC teatime quiz (it had aired on BBC 1 for some yr previously).

Success

Much of the show's success has been attributed to its host, Anne Robinson. She was already famous in the UK for her sarcasm while presenting the consumer programme Watchdog, and The Weakest Link saw her develop this further, particularly in her taunting of 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!" became a popular catchphrase.

The presence of elements inspired by Big Brother and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? differentiated the programme from most previous quiz shows, as it invites open conflict between players, and uses a host who is openly hostile to the competitors, rather than a positive figure.

In autumn 2001, for the first time, The Weakest Link was placed directly head-to-head with Millionaire in the television schedules. Between the two, Millionaire ultimately emerged on top, attracting 10.2m viewers compared to The Weakest Link's 3.8m.[3]

From 9 to 13 Aug 2010, five "10th Anniversary Specials" aired at the usual time on BBC 1.[4]

Transmissions

Daytime

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 14 August 2000[5] 24 December 2000[6] 78
2 3 January 2001[7] 11 July 2001[8] 88

Primetime

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 31 October 2000[9] 12 December 2000[10] 8
2 22 January 2001[11] 24 May 2001[12] 18

International versions

Countries which have produced their own version

The format has been licensed across the world, with many countries producing their own series of the programme. As with the original British version, all of the hosts wear black clothing (or sometimes dark colours with black). Most versions also have disciplinarian female hosts, again similar to the British original—with exceptions being Fausto Silva (Brazil), Julien Courbet (2014 France), Eamon Dunphy (Ireland), Edu Manzano, Allan K. (both Philippines), Shiro Ito (Japan), Pedro Granger (Portugal), Enrico Papi (Italy), Tseng Yang Qing (Taiwan),Baybars Altuntaş (Turkey) and George Gray (United States). Gray (2002-03) and Courbet (2014-15) are comedians, and those versions were designed to play off comedy.

Not all the international versions share the title. The format is distributed by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC. Australia was the 1st country to adapt the format, and versions have also been produced in Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Udmurtia and the United States.

In Croatia, in May 2010 the quiz reached its 1008th episode, and with the British original, is the only version to have reached as many episodes.

The format is the 2nd most popular international franchise, behind only the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? franchise, which also originated in the UK.[13]

Legend:   Currently airing     No longer airing     Unsold pilot     Future version  

Country Name Host TV station Top prize First episode Last episode
Arab League Arab World الحلقة الأضعف
Elhalka Eladaaf 		Rita Khoury Future Television US$16,000 2002 2003
 Australia Weakest Link Cornelia Frances Seven Network A$100,000 February 2001 April 2002
 Azerbaijan Zəif bənd Kamila Babayeva Lider TV AZN9,000 (Formerly AZN 45,000,000) 2004 2006
Solmaz Süleymanlı 2012 2014
 Belgium Template:Nl De zwakste schakel Goedele Liekens VTM 2,000,000BEF 2001 2002
 Brazil Ponto Fraco Fausto Silva TV Globo R$1,000,000 2001 (Pilots rejected by BBC)
 Chile El rival más débil Catalina Pulido Canal 13 CL$40,000,000 2004
 Mainland China 汰弱留强·智者为王
Tài ruò liú qiáng·zhìzhě wéi wáng 		Chen Luyu Nanjing TV CN¥200,000 2002 2004
智者为王
Zhìzhě wéi wáng 		Shen Bing
Xia Qing
 Croatia Najslabija karika Nina Violić HRT1 kn 90,000 2004 2010
Daniela Trbović
Mirko Fodor[14]
 Czech Republic Nejslabší! Máte padáka! Zuzana Slaviková TV Nova Kč1,000,000 2002 2004
 Denmark Det svageste led Trine Gregorius DR1 KR200,000 2001 2002
 Estonia Nõrgim lüli Tuuli Roosma Kanal 2 500,000 kr 2004
 Finland Heikoin lenkki Kirsi Salo MTV3 16,000 €
18,000 €
20,000 € 		September 6, 2002 February 18, 2005
Riku Nieminen Nelonen 20,000 € March 20, 2017 present
 France Le maillon faible Laurence Boccolini TF1 150,000F
€20,000
€50,000 		July 9, 2001 August 12, 2007
Julien Courbet D8 €45,000 September 8, 2014 July 22, 2015
 Georgia სუსტი რგოლი
Susti rgoli 		Nino Burduli Rustavi 2 ლ8,000 2005
 Germany Der Schwächste fliegt! Sonja Zietlow RTL Television DM50,000 March 19, 2001 March 2002
€50,000
 Greece Ο Πιο Αδύναμος Κρίκος
O Pio Adynamos Krikos 		Elena Akrita MEGA ₯5,000,000 2001 2003
€15,000
 Hong Kong 一筆OUT消
Jat1 bat1 OUT siu1 		Carol Cheng TVB Jade HK$3,000,000 August 20, 2001 January 18, 2002
 Hungary A leggyengébb láncszem Krisztina Máté TV2 3,000,000 Ft 2001 2004
Nincs kegyelem[15] 6,000,000 Ft
 India Kamzor Kadii Kaun Neena Gupta Star Plus Rs.2,500,000 2002 2003
 Ireland Weakest Link Eamon Dunphy TV3 €10,000 2001 2002
 Israel החוליה החלשה
HaChulia HaChalasha 		Pnina Dvorin Channel 10 ₪100,000 2002 2004
Hana Laszlo ₪90,000
 Italy Anello debole Enrico Papi Italia 1 €15,000 October 29, 2001 November 17, 2001
 Japan Weakest Link
ウィーケストリンク☆一人勝ちの法則
Uikesutorinku hitori-gachi no hosoku 		Shiro Ito Fuji Television JP¥16,000,000 2002
 Macedonia Најслаба алка
Najslaba alka 		Živkica Gjurčinovska Alfa TV MKD ден 420,000 2010 2011
 Malaysia Weakest Link Sekilara Kiramila RTM RM80,000 2003 2009
 Mexico El rival más debil Montserrat Ontiveros Azteca Trece MX$200,000 2003 2008
Lolita Cortés July 27, 2013 September 7, 2013
May 26, 2014 present
 Moldova Veriga slaba Andrei Gheorghe Kanal 1 1,000,000 MDL 2002 2009
 Netherlands De zwakste schakel Chazia Mourali RTL 4 €10,000 2001 2004
 New Zealand Weakest Link Louise Wallace TV One NZ$20,000 July 2001 March 2002
 Norway Det svakeste ledd Anne Grosvold NRK KR200,000 2004
 Philippines Weakest Link Edu Manzano IBC PHP1,000,000 2001 2002
Allan K.
 Poland Najsłabsze ogniwo Kazimiera Szczuka TVN 27,000 zł March 1, 2004 January 26, 2006
 Portugal O elo mais fraco Julia Pinheiro RTP1 €10,000 2002 2003
Luisa Castel-Branco
Pedro Granger 2011 2012
 Romania Lanţul slăbiciunilor Andrei Gheorghe Pro TV lei500.000.000 2001
 Russia Слабое звено
Slaboe zveno 		Mariya Kiselyova
Leonid Yakubovich (December 25, 2002) [16] 		ORT/Channel One Russia ₽300,000 (from September 25 until October 30, 2001)
₽400,000 (from November 1, 2001 until October 2004)
₽350,000 (from October 2004 until July 2, 2005)
₽1,000,000 (celebrity editions, 2001—2004) 		September 25, 2001 July 2, 2005
Nikolai Fomenko Channel 5 ₽350,000 December 2, 2007 December 28, 2008
 Serbia Najslabija karika Sandra Lalatović BKTV RSD5,000,000 2002 2006
 Singapore 智者生存
Zhizhe shengcun 		Yvette Cui (Cui Lixin) Mediacorp TV Channel 8 S$100,000 2002 2003
Weakest Link Asha Gill Mediacorp TV Channel 5 S$1,000,000
 Slovenia Najšibkejši člen Violeta Tomič SLO 1 2,400,000 SIT (€10,000) 2003 2005
 South Africa Weakest Link Fiona Coyne SABC3 R50,000 2003 2008
R100,000
 Spain El rival más débil Nuria González TVE1 €7,200 2002 2004
Karmele Aranburu TVE2
 Sweden Svagaste länken Kajsa Ingemarsson Sjuan 100,000 kr 2011 2013
 Taiwan Weakest Link 智者生存
Weakest Link zhizhe shengcun 		Belle Yu STAR Chinese Channel NT$400,000 2001 2003
Tseng Yang Qing
 Thailand Weakest Link กำจัดจุดอ่อน
Weakest Link Kamchat Chut On 		Krittika Kongsompong ThaiTV 3 ฿1,000,000 2002 2003
 Turkey En zayıf halka Hülya Uğur Tanrıöver Show TV TL100 billion 2001 2002
Baybars Altuntaş TV8[17] ₺ 54,000 September 21, 2015 November 15, 2015
 United States Weakest Link Anne Robinson NBC US$1,000,000 April 16, 2001 July 14, 2002
George Gray Syndicated US$75,000 January 7, 2002 May 20, 2003
US$100,000

Anne Robinson's catchphrase "You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" has made several appearances in pop culture, including references in Family Guy, Scary Movie 2, How I Met Your Mother, and The League of Gentlemen.

In the first season of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, character Rose Tyler appears on a futuristic version of The Weakest Link, hosted by an "Anne droid" voiced by Anne Robinson, where eliminated contestants were supposedly disintegrated (though really teleported away to a Dalek fleet). The "Anne droid" began a special Doctor Who-themed version of the real show, with actors from the series playing for charity; the real Anne Robinson, however, unplugged her droid counterpart and continued the show herself.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Although Anne Robinson originally no longer hosts the 'Weakest Link'". Digital Spy. 22 April 2011.
  2. ^ Peck, Tom (2 April 2012). "As Robinson says 'Goodbye', our man Archie wins the last Weakest Link". The Independent. London.
  3. ^ Gibson, Owen (15 November 2001). "Robinson is weakest link". The Guardian. London.
  4. ^ [1][dead link]
  5. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC Two England - 14 August 2000". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  6. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC Two England - 24 December 2000". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  7. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC Two England - 3 January 2001". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  8. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC Two England - 11 July 2001". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  9. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC One London - 31 October 2000". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  10. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC One London - 12 December 2000". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  11. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC One London - 22 January 2001". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  12. ^ "The Weakest Link - BBC One London - 24 May 2001". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Millionaire dominates global TV". BBC News. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  14. ^ Due to Daniela having a surgery at 2010, HRT Ask Mirko to temporary host the show until Daniela recover.
  15. ^ Nincs kegyelem was the alternative name of this show, but recently used original name (A leggyengébb láncszem).
  16. ^ A special Christmas and New Year celebrity edition.
  17. ^ Original production was Kanal D, but later they decide to reject and TV8 was takeover.
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