# Fear Factor and Weakest Link **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 14, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123 "2001-08-14T01:02:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/21 "2001-08-14T10:57:35Z")
I have free tickets to see the UK version in September. I know you want to be me. ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/22 "2001-08-14T11:32:53Z")
It’s always intriguing to see a looooong-time celebrity over here get analysed over there. Here’s another tidbit for you guys - she used to\* front a consumer affairs program. And a “TV feedback” program too. **Fran** - now I’m confused. Mrs **jr8** told me on Saturday that they don’t film it in front of a live audience in the UK. Maybe you’re being set up… pan \*does she still? I can’t stand Watchdog, so wouldn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/23 "2001-08-14T11:43:34Z")
This is the info I have: > [@](#): > > ‘Weakest Link’ with Anne Robinson. > Anne returns to our screens fresh from 'The Weakest Link’s stellar success > over in America. Now is your chance to find out exactly how ‘nasty’ Anne is! > A new series, in a new location (the legendary Pinewood studios) - be part > of the show which is already a worldwide massive hit. > Friday 7th at 2.30pm & 14th September, at 2.30pm… Pinewood Studios, > Pinewood Road, Iver Heath, Bucks, SL0. (There is ample car parking at > the studios, or you can get 10-min cab ride from Slough or Uxbridge > Stations). Over 18’s only. Over 18’s only? Does she strip at the end? I think she does still do Watchdog. I can’t stand it either. Have you noticed that Anne has the smallest mouth in the world? It’s tiny. If she pursed any more it would disappear completely. Forgive my crudeness, but you’d be forgiven for thinking she really is talking out of a badly-lipsticked arsehole. Fran ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/24 "2001-08-14T13:09:14Z")
> [@](#): > > The woman actually (…) smiles! Yes. But having seen that trademark closing shot of smile-cum-wink, wouldn’t you rather she’d not? **:::shudder** ---
**Author:** ![ninja\_rydr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8491ac/32.png) [@ninja\_rydr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninja_rydr)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/25 "2001-08-14T15:12:21Z")
If nothing else the show was good for a laugh. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/26 "2001-08-14T18:35:17Z")
I caught about the last 5 minutes last night. Question - The US tricentenial is **projected** to occur in which year? Answer - 1897 That and the Mark Twain as a diet guru bit. Man, that was good. I gotta watch that more often. Its not everyday I see someone more dumb than me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AuGratin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e95f7d/32.png) [@AuGratin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuGratin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/27 "2001-08-14T19:28:00Z")
Hands down, my favorite question-and-wrong-answer was (I’m paraphrasing here) “Which M is a grain crop introduced by the [insert Native American group here] to Christopher Columbus?” (or something like that) and the dimwit thought for a few seconds and answered “Meat!” ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/28 "2001-08-14T21:42:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Broomstick \* > \*\*Um… do you _really_ think the _smart_ people are going to be on a show where they get dropped off high object, eat critters normally considered disease-carrying vermin, share a box with critters normally considered disease-carrying vermin, crawl through sewers, and otherwise abase themselves and/or do fucking stupid and potentially dangerous stunts > \*\* You neglected to mention the loudmouthed contestant who continually berated her competitors, at least on the one episode that I watched. She eventually won, unfortunately. I kind of liked Weakest Link though. The MC is snippy but I get the impression it’s all meant in fun. ---
**Author:** ![Syzygy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Syzygy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syzygy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/29 "2001-08-15T20:54:20Z")
Okay, first of all, all you have to do to understand Ann, the show’s host, is to _listen_. She speaks very well, and I consistently understand and answer the questions. For another thing, I would rather watch Weakest Link, where even the dumbest person in the world has to answer _something_ quickly, rather than watch a PhD pore over _multiple-choice_ questions in WWTBAM. I once watched a guy, who was supposed to be very intelligent indeed, sit for 10 minutes, trying to choose out of _two_ answers left after the 50/50 lifeline - for $8,000! I can see if it was the half million or million dollar question, but really! And we had to listen to his thought process, “Well I know that one, but I’m not sure about the other, but it doesn’t _look_ right, but maybe it is…” Aargh! And yes, the host’s comments are all in fun. Watch some Monty Python, if you’re not used to humor that doesn’t include references to bodily functions or sex. Okay, that’s enough. I have to post these comments earlier, when I haven’t yet been subjected to the _idiots_ taking up space where I work. \ ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/30 "2001-08-15T20:59:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Watch some Monty Python, if you’re not used to humor that doesn’t include references to bodily functions or sex. Every sperm is sacred… every sperm is good… ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/31 "2001-08-15T21:04:03Z")
“'Ello Mr. Creosote, and 'ow are you this evening?” “Better” “Better?” “Better get a bucket, I’m gonna frow up.” ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/32 "2001-08-15T23:18:29Z")
[Quick hijack] Did anyone see WWTBM last night when the question was : **What group won a grammy for their 2000 album “Kid A” ?** The woman asked the audience. 70% said “Limp Bizkit”. _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAh!_ O.K. so not too many “mainstream” people know about **Radio Head**. . . but isn’t there some instruction given to these audiences to not answer if they don’t know ? Freakin Limp Bizkit. Its a bloody shame I tell ya. [/quick hijack] ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/33 "2001-08-15T23:27:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Leaper \* > \*\*Considering what a huge hit this show is in Great Britain (giving Who Wants to Be a Millionaire a run for its money), does that mean the Brits are just _smarter_ than us 'Mericans? 🙂 \*\* I certainly wouldn’t want to claim that we British are smarter that you Americans, and even if we were it doesn’t show up on The Weakest Link. The contestants are just as stupid here. In any case, the show is not that big a hit here anyway. The way I see it, people got bored with WWTBAM and “this other quiz show” was quite heavily promoted - hence the ratings success. The other reason is that, as **SPOOFE** suggests, some of us do enjoy seeing idiots being humiliated. Even so there were lots of complaints about Anne Robinson’s attitude before people realised it was _supposed_ to be treated as comedy. I expect the ratings have already begun to fall. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > **This thread piqued my curiosity. Being on the west coast of USA, I was able to watch the show after reading this thread. I can only hope there is some technology in place to prevent foreign agents from getting their hands on this tape. We’d be the laughing stock of the globe.** We _do_ get the American version over here (must’ve been a contractual thing), and any British people who thought “Yanks” were dumb get all the evidence they need from it. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kabbes \* > \*\*Fran - now I’m confused. Mrs jr8 told me on Saturday that they don’t film it in front of a live audience in the UK. Maybe you’re being set up… \*\* They record two versions - one is shown in the daytime; it has no audience and a smaller budget than the main show (e.g. they don’t have video screens to show the names of their nominees, they just have oval metal plates that they write on and flip over). The _winners_ of this version qualify to appear on the evening show, which has all bells and whistles. Jeez, this is making me sound like a _fan_! Anne has plenty of fun on account of these morons being one-time winners. Note too that, being a BBC show, the prize money isn’t a million max - it’s only a few thousand. Like all BBC shows, tickets to be in the audience are free, on a first-come-first-served basis. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > **Forgive my crudeness, but you’d be forgiven for thinking she really is talking out of a badly-lipsticked arsehole.** I’m not a doctor, but I always assumed she’d had an unusual surgical procedure of just the kind you mention 🙂 ? They’ve started to make some special versions of TWL here too. Forthcoming attractions include one where the contestants are all people who have appeared on reality TV shows like Big Brother, and a version where all the contestants are Welsh (Anne appeared on another show where she was very insulting about the entire country of Wales, so the fur should fly on that one). ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/34 "2001-08-16T03:43:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Leaper \* > > \*\*Seeing what opinions of The Weakest Link and its contestants have been shared here and elsewhere, that leaves me one question: > > > > Considering what a huge hit this show is in Great Britain (giving Who Wants to Be a Millionaire a run for its money), does that mean the Brits are just _smarter_ than us 'Mericans? 🙂 \*\* > > I don’t understand how you would come to that conclusion. The contestants on both shows are idiots, so why would prefering one show over the other be a mark of greater intelligence? \*\* Not all the contestants on ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ are idiots. Some of them are very smart indeed. These are the people who play the numbers game at the first stage of entry (phone in). It is possible to reduce the chances of reaching the second stage (WWTBAM phoning to say you’ve reached the last 100 for a particular show, from whom the final 10 will be chosen). This is done by phoning in a lot of entries. By a lot, some people make 100 calls, some 200, some as many as 600. I’d say that 250 calls gives you a reasonable chance. These figures are based on analysis of statistics for the UK show, available on its website during the run of each series. I can’t speak for the US or Australia or anywhere else. Naturally this approach requires no little financial resource. However, if you can get WWTBAM to call you back, you have a 1 in 10 chance of making the show. If you succeed here you may have a 3 in 10 chance of making the chair. And all that that may entail. It is a gamble. Or, some would argue, it’s an investment, the value of which may rise (up to a million) or fall (to minus whatever you spend on phone calls). It’s only the winners who release their methods of success but I have anecdotal evidence of several people who have spent £thousands trying to get on the show and have yet to succeed. Whatever edge you can gain here, you still need luck with the questions at all phases of the competition. ---
**Author:** ![Syzygy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Syzygy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syzygy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/35 "2001-08-16T13:56:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Watch some Monty Python, if you’re not used to humor that doesn’t include references to bodily functions or sex. > > Every sperm is sacred… every sperm is good… \*\* Alright - doesn’t **always** include them. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/36 "2001-08-16T15:33:02Z")
Don’t worry **Scott** , we’re not holding anything against you. Maybe we were a little brusk. I’m sure you weren’t expecting the Spanish Inquisition. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123/37 "2001-08-17T02:04:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > The way it was explained one time on, like, Extra or Access Hollywood or something, it’s just that the Brits enjoy watching someone be humuliated. It’s just a cultural difference, I suppose. \*\* If so, there’s a point to ponder here: while Englishmen expect their torments will be imposed upon them from an external authority figure, we Americans, rugged individualist at heart, prefer to take the matter into our own hands and (literally) make flaming jackasses of ourselves. Conversely, however, I predict that when televised suicides appear it will be yet another British import, and televised executions will be American - originating from “K” rather than “W” stations at that. And that the only alternative programming will be blazing-blond Swedes who’ve mastered Spanish acting in Mexican soap operas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fear-factor-and-weakest-link/76123.md?page=1)