Weakest Link



April 14, 2001



GARETH MITCHELL: The two biggest shows in the United States over the last few years have been ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and CBS's Survivor. NBC is a latecomer to the reality TV party, but now it thinks it has the magic formula to bring together the best of its rivals. [WEAKEST LINK THEME MUSIC]

ANNE ROBINSON: Welcome to The Weakest Link. Any of the 9 people in the studio here today could win up to 10...

GARETH MITCHELL: It's obvious that The Weakest Link is a quiz show, but according to host Anne Robinson, the Survivor aspect plays a prominent role.

ANNE ROBINSON: There was a book written by an American anthropologist about twenty years ago called The Mountain People which showed that if you sent people into the wilderness they went back into sort of warrior-like frames of mind, and they were like savages, and there's a certain amount of the savage character about those who come on The Weakest Link as far as I'm concerned.

GARETH MITCHELL: The Mountain People, written by Colin Turnbill; remember that piece of trivia if you find yourself a contestant on the show which Stuart Krasnow, executive producer of the U.S. version, says has a pace all of its own.

STUART KRASNOW: We have more questions answered in a single round than Millionaire has in an entire hour, and we have 6 voteoffs in an hour as opposed to Survivor, so I kind of like to say what Weakest Link offers to you is a much quicker pace, a much faster energy.

GARETH MITCHELL: In the show team members answer a steady stream of questions to bank as much money as they can.

ANNE ROBINSON: Richard: Eric Vice was the real name of which famous escapologist.

MAN: Harry Houdini.

ANNE ROBINSON: Correct! Joyce: in the animal kingdom what are the long-legged birds famed for their pink-tinged plumage that live entirely by filter-feeding?

LADY: Flamingoes.

ANNE ROBINSON: Correct. Andy: in literature does the Cheshire Cat or the Cornish Cat appear in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?

MAN: Cheshire Cat.

ANNE ROBINSON: Correct.

GARETH MITCHELL: If someone gets a question wrong, the bank balance goes back to zero, and the team has to start the chain all over again. At the end of each round, the contestants vote off one player.

ANNE ROBINSON: It's time to vote off the weakest link.

GARETH MITCHELL: Eventually when only two contestants are left, they play head to head to decide who's going to go home with the money. Until The Weakest Link, Anne Robinson was best known on UK television as a consumer watchdog. Now she's brought her notorious up front attitude to the quiz show format.

ANNE ROBINSON: I've campaigned for years about patronizing viewers and having cheesy television where hosts pretend they're somebody's new best friend; they've known then for 30 seconds.

GARETH MITCHELL: And what's actually going on there when you are so up front and rude to the contestants. Is that, is that really you? [BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]

ANNE ROBINSON: Oh, I don't think I'm rude! I think I'm direct! I think we get to the point quickly.

ANNE ROBINSON: Sam! What do you do?

MAN: I'm studying at Brist University.

ANNE ROBINSON: Are you? What year are you in?

MAN: My last year.

ANNE ROBINSON: You're in last year [LAUGHS] and you can't answer any general knowledge!

GARETH MITCHELL: In the UK's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, host Chris Tarrant [sp?] is similarly unkind to contestants. He just loves making them sweat. ABC preferred to leave Chris in London and opted for home-grown, much gentler host Regis Philbin. By contrast, for The Weakest Link, NBC is sticking with Scary Anne. The U.S. version's executive producer Phil Gurran thinks American viewers will warm to her coldhearted approach. PHIL GURRAN: She's real, but she's also a unique character. She's actually going to say things that you're thinking about when you're watching TV. She's our audience surrogate.

GARETH MITCHELL: The contestants are left to fend for themselves. I caught up with some recently during taping of the show at the BBC students in London.

LADY: It was really good that we answered all our questions right in the first round, but then on the other hand you're also competing against people, so the further the rounds go on, the more that-- obvious that becomes.

MAN: The whole thing is, is a fairly pleasant experience as a contestant, but I was just wishing I hadn't told all of my friends that I was going to be on it.

LADY: I think it's Anne that really makes the show, and that's why people want to go on it, and Anne's there, and you're worried about what she's going to say and that makes everybody nervous.

MAN: Here in the UK The Weakest Link has provided the nation with a national catch phrase. It makes Anne Robinson rather proud.

ANNE ROBINSON: It's now gone into the language here, because the prime minister referred to the leader of the opposition by saying you're the weakest link. Someone calls the transport minister the weakest link. You'll hear children talking about the weakest link, and I'm told that I'm the most favorite character to impersonate at fancy dress parties.

GARETH MITCHELL: Before a single edition of the show has aired in the United States, it's too early to say if The Weakest Link is going to be a major ratings hit. But maybe that catch phrase is set to join -- is that your final answer and the tribe has spoken as everyday phrases. It was used to great effect as a punch line on last week's Saturday Night Live. Saturday Night Live of course airs on NBC which'll be airing the first episode of The Weakest Link on Monday. For On the Media, this is Gareth Mitchell in London.

ANNE ROBINSON: Kevin doesn't think you're up to scratch. Nor do the rest of us. You are The Weakest Link. Goodbye. That couple of seconds has cost you your place; you are The Weakest Link. Goodbye. You are The Weakest Link. Goodbye. You are The Weakest Link. You are The Weakest Link. You ARE The Weakest Link. Goodbye. Why did you come here today?

MAN: To see you, Anne, really.

ANNE ROBINSON: Well, I hope you've had a good look, because with two bits, you are The Weakest Link. Goodbye. [MUSIC]