# The Weakest Link
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 17, 2001, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218 "2001-04-17T00:12:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/1 "2001-04-17T00:12:40Z")
Anybody else watching this show right now? I think I like it! Kind of a cross between “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and “Survivor.”
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### Author:  [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/2 "2001-04-17T00:21:41Z")
You stole that saying from the commercial! You unimaginative bastard! Not on yet here on the west coast.
Smooth move on NBC’s part, though. They pick out a critic’s review that describes the show as a cross between the two big shows on OTHER networks.
And **Euty** , you should feel BLESSED! I wasted my 500th post on YOUR thread. Bow down, mod, bow down. 😃
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/3 "2001-04-17T00:22:53Z")
That woman has ice in her veins. No wonder they couldn’t find a Yank as bitchy.
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### Author:  [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/4 "2001-04-17T00:34:04Z")
The only problem I have with the show so far is that apparently the contestants were selected for their total lack of humility. Are any of them just going to walk off the stage and say “Boy, did I fuck up!”
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### Author:  [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/5 "2001-04-17T00:37:05Z")
What an awesome game show! This woman is _harsh_! And I love how these people are so bitchy when they get voted off. If only Jeffy Probst would be so mean when snuffing out the torches (“Jerri, you’re a bitch. Goodbye!”)
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### Author:  [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/6 "2001-04-17T00:41:14Z")
The show’s cropped up in a few Brit teevee threads before and an Aussie asked about it a while ago in GQ. Have to say I’ve been looking forward to seeing how it goes down in the US, especially Ann Robinson’s style. Is she still wearing black Nazi Armani for the US version ?
You’ll probably find she’ll get increasingly critical as the series develops – by mid season she should be giving contestants a very thorough tongue lashing and, by the end, dishing out humiliation and abuse in huge dollops.
I can see the show really kicking off in the US, might be something of a phenomena for a while ?
I’ve always thought she needs a whip, but then I often think that.
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/7 "2001-04-17T01:21:43Z")
I don’t know; closing with a conspiratorial smile and a wink RUINS the effect. If you are going to build up the personality of a cross between Livia and an evil school marm you should stick to it.
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### Author:  [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/8 "2001-04-17T01:44:56Z")
For those wondering what the fuss is all about, there’s a couple of Brit Web sites where you can download samples of her acerbic comments. One even remixed her words into a house music track.
One of the sites carried copies of a charity version of the show for Comic Relief, starring Sir Bob Geldolf and Emma Freud.
Don’t have the sites at hand, but I found the sites through google.
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/9 "2001-04-17T01:53:54Z")
The promo that got me was Anne’s: “Is there no beginning to your intelligence?”
Still, I was cringing. Good thing we Americans are so arrogant and have such thick hides.
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### Author:  [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/10 "2001-04-17T04:13:23Z")
My kids were glued to the tv! Okay, so was I.
I think I am going to like this show even though my daughter guessed who the winner would be, and I was wrong. Up until the very end I did so well with knowing who was going.
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### Author:  [@Wastrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wastrel)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/11 "2001-04-17T04:29:34Z")
I, I, missed it! I was so mad…
But, how does the voting off part work? Do they all just vote off the person that gives the wrong answer? Or does personality have to do with it? I’m a wee bit confused on that part.
Personally, when I saw the ad, I thought of another show where the host is rather abusive. Can anyone guess it? It may or may not be well-known, though.
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### Author:  [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/12 "2001-04-17T04:38:20Z")
**Wastrel**
In the time the show has been screening here, a pattern seems to have developed where early on contestants giving wrong answers are voted off, and about halfway through the programme the votes become more strategy based and aim more to eliminate potential competitors in the final round.
I’m surprised at how quickly I’m finding the concept “old”. The first few episodes were a breath of fresh air, but now every episode seems the same, and the only tension in the show is waiting to see what insult the hostess will come up with next.
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### Author:  [@Equality\_7-2521](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equality_7-2521)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/13 "2001-04-17T04:52:46Z")
Didn’t watch. Saw the promos, and I found the idea of investing my time watching a fugly inbred looking brit insult my fellow countrymen with that pompous accent totally unappealing. But if you guys think it was good, maybe I’ll check it out next week-if it’s still on.
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### Author:  [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/14 "2001-04-17T05:11:24Z")
Hey smarty-pants 😛 it’s on tomorrow night, so why wait?
Sorry, just a little wound up yet with my sugar high. Think I ate more of the heathens candy than they did!
Yes sir, it is on tomorrow night, so you can catch it then.
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### Author:  [@Wastrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wastrel)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/15 "2001-04-17T05:20:00Z")
**Kricket** , can it be? Is it really? Oh, joy of joys, wonder of wonders!
_ahem_ Err, I mean, “Yay.” I got a bit too excited there.
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### Author:  [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/16 "2001-04-17T10:11:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by dropzone \*
> \*\*I don’t know; closing with a conspiratorial smile and a wink RUINS the effect. If you are going to build up the personality of a cross between Livia and an evil school marm you should stick to it. \*\*
See now, the reason she winks is because it’s her trademark. Dear old Anne has presented many tv programmes over here and she always signs off with a little smile and a wink.
I’ve been watching TWL for quite a while now and as much as i love it, what drives me _mental_ is the commentary while the contestants are writing down their votes. Can the commentator not think of any other than “but will the votes reflect the facts?”. Every single time, he says that. Every single damn time.
One thing to watch out for - Anne herself very obviously doesn’t know the answer to many of the questions (well, she can’t be expected to know everything, but she misses some humdingers sometimes) and occasionally isn’t as quick as she could be. Example - a question something like “What country is famed for tulips and windmills?”, to which the contestant answered “The Netherlands” and Anne replied “No, Holl-, yes Holland, the Netherlands”. Bless her cotton socks. She does it quite often if you listen out for it.
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### Author:  [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/17 "2001-04-17T10:17:52Z")
I think another thing that takes a while to come into play is the tactical voting. Once the show has been on air for a while and people get the hang of it, you should see more injustice in the voting as contestants conspire to off-load the more able. That ‘upsets’ Ann, especially if the victim is a woman.
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### Author:  [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/18 "2001-04-17T11:41:21Z")
I’m in love with Anne Robinson!
What a crass, techno-bitch. In addition to insulting the nimwads, I say they allow her to kick departing contestants in the crotch, too.
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/19 "2001-04-17T12:16:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by ChiefScott \*
> **I’m in love with Anne Robinson!**
Yeah, but are you tough enough to be MARRIED to her? Or be on her show? Hell, I might do okay on the show, but there’s no way in HELL I’d risk being on the receiving end.
My love will have to continue from afar.
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### Author:  [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2001, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-weakest-link/62218/20 "2001-04-17T12:35:24Z")
I’m guessing that her “bitchy, edgy” style will be popular about as long as Morton Downy’s “assholish, edgy” style was. Not too long, IMHO.
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