Weakest Link (US game show)

Infobox Television
show_name = Weakest Link


caption =
format = Game Show
picture_format = 16:9
runtime = 60mins (inc. adverts) (NBC) 30mins (inc. adverts) (Syndication)
creator = Fintan Coyle & Cathy Dunning
starring = Anne Robinson (NBC) George Gray (Syndication)
channel = NBC (2001-2002) Syndication (2002 - 2003)
first_aired = April 16, 2001
last_aired = May 20, 2003
num_seasons = 3 (NBC) 2 (Syndication)
num_episodes = 83 (10 Unaired) (NBC) 58 (Syndicated)
country = USA
producer =
related =
imdb_id =

The American version of the game show The Weakest Link aired on NBC from April 16, 2001 to July 14, 2002 (with 10 episodes left unaired until some appeared on PAX in 2002, with the remainder eventually airing on GSN). The show also aired daily in syndication from January 7, 2002 through May 20, 2003.

Reruns of both versions aired on PAX for a short period of time, but can currently be found on GSN. The syndicated episodes air on GSN weekday afternoons at 4 PM, with the second season currently airing, and the NBC episodes are air on GSN Saturdays nights at 9PM which started on September 27, 2008, with the first season currently airing.

Hosts and announcers

Like the British version, Anne Robinson served as host for the NBC "Weakest Link". George Gray, whose most notable hosting experience to that point had been on "Extreme Gong", hosted the syndicated version.

The show's voiceover announcers were John Cramer (NBC) and Lisa Friedman (syndicated).

Front game format

The format was essentially the same as the European format. A team of contestants started the game and answered questions in rapid-fire fashion to try to reach a set cash target within an established time limit. Correct answers added money to the chain, while any incorrect answer and/or pass broke the chain and forced the team to start over. Any team member could bank the money the team had earned to that point before their question was asked, but once that was done the chain had to start over.

On the NBC version, the team size was eight, with the potential top prize being $1,000,000. In syndication, the top prize was $75,000, but in its second season that was raised to $100,000. Both syndicated seasons saw six players playing for the prize.

After every round, when time ran out, the team would be forced to eliminate one of the members by vote. The team member who got the most votes was declared the Weakest Link for that round (regardless of whether they were statistically the Weakest Link or not), and would be eliminated from the game. In case of a tie, the Strongest Link from the prior round would choose which of the tied players to eliminate.

Each round on the NBC "Link" was played for $125,000, with ten seconds being deducted from the clock at the beginning of each round (first round lasted 2:30).

During the syndicated show's first season each round was played for $12,500 (doubled to $25,000 in the second season). The first round lasted for 1:45, with fifteen seconds deducted from the clock for each successive round.

The target amount of $125,000 was never banked on the NBC "Link", but the $12,500 and $25,000 targets were reached and banked several times on the syndicated series, including two times where multiple targets were reached. (If a team could have reached the target (based on the amount of consecutive correct answers they gave) but banked before the target was reached they would be chided by both Robinson and Gray for not reaching the target. Gray also chided the teams on his version that reached and banked the target, usually reminding them that one of them was going to be voted off anyway.)

When the show reached two remaining players, they played one more round for double stakes ($250,000 on NBC; $25,000 in syndication). Anything banked would be doubled and added to whatever else the team had banked over the previous rounds and both players then moved on to the final round.

During the syndicated version's second season, the double stakes round was eliminated. All four prior rounds were played for $25,000 and the two players who survived faced each other in the final round.

Final round

The final round was a head-to-head showdown between the two remaining contestants for the entire prize money pot. The Strongest Link from the final round (or, in the final syndicated season, the second strongest if the Strongest Link was voted off in the previous round) was given the option of playing first or passing control to his/her teammate. The contestants were then asked a series of alternating questions, with a best of five (NBC) or three (syndication) format. Whoever answered the most questions correctly won the money earned up to that point, while the other, like the rest of the contestants voted off, would leave with nothing.

If both players were tied after all the questions were asked, a series of sudden death questions would be asked, with the first player to top their opponent winning the game.

Boards

NBC

* $125,000
* $75,000
* $50,000
* $25,000
* $10,000
* $5,000
* $2,500
* $1,000

yndication

eason 1

* $12,500
* $5,000
* $2,500
* $1,000
* $500
* $250

eason 2

* $25,000
* $5,000
* $2,500
* $1,000
* $500
* $250

Ratings

The NBC version of "Weakest Link" started off well in the ratings, but they quickly began to slip. The producers decided to air many more episodes where celebrities were contestants as well as certain theme episodes which the contestants are playing for charity, but it did not help and accelerated the show's cancellation.

The syndicated "Weakest Link" did well enough in the ratings in its half-season to be renewed for a full season. However, many of its stations also picked up the syndicated version of another big money quizzer, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", for that fall as well, and the result saw the syndicated "Link" either disappear from the stations or moved to undesirable hours (e.g., in New York, where "Millionaire" took over "Link"'s 4 PM afternoon timeslot on WCBS, bumping "Link" to early morning hours). The ratings plummeted, and the show was not renewed for the 2003-2004 season. (By contrast, "Millionaire" is still in production and still airs daily in syndication.)

Trivia

*A pilot for a game show called "Cheaters" was taped on the set of the syndicated Weakest Link in 2002, though the game show never made it to the airwaves (This show eventually became Dirty Rotten Cheater). [ www.gsthemes.tekcities.com/partc.html ]
*The highest amount won on the network version was $189,500, on a Tournament of Losers Special. The lowest amount won was $22,500, on a Fear Factor Champions Special. For celebrity specials, the Star Trek special gained the highest jackpot, with $167,500 going to charity, won by Reading Rainbow host and ' cast member LeVar Burton after defeating Robert Picardo (from ') in the final round.
*The highest amount won on the daytime version was $53,000, and the lowest amount won was $500.
*As an opposite to "60 Minutes", "The Weakest Link" is the only television show in US history to have music playing all the time.

References

See also

*"The Weakest Link"