User Reviews

Come on, giving a show a 1/10 shows you are giving an extremely biased review. Let's rate shows on their merit.

I am giving this show a 7 because it is extremely entertaining to watch. Anne may be the cock of the walk in this show, but she gets her fair share of insults from the contestants who have the gumption to dish it back out. It is interesting to see people's real personalities come out among strangers--sometimes people are sneaky, other times they are very noble and allow others to stay on and compete against them even though they pose a greater threat.

The voting off can be very unfair, which is something I hate about this show. In plenty of episodes people gang up to eliminate specific individuals based on their gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. These are the moments when Anne's personality makes the show, however. We have all seen an episode where Anne calls a contestant out on ganging up on one individual, when it is clear that one person is not being voted off for being the "weakest link," but for being the only woman left, etc.

The truth of the matter is that Anne has a very unique personality and one that is captivating for others to watch. She is a quick-witted person and makes a great moderator for a game show that pits contestants against each other. I'm in the US, and everyone I know who has seen this show thinks Anne is far more entertaining to watch than her American male replacement.

I've never heard Anne make a comment that could not be taken all in good fun, but she maintains her hard exterior because the show is supposed to have a no-nonsense approach. The cut-throat nature of it all makes the jabs and the personal interaction among contestants that much more interesting, and keeps the suspense high when time is counting down.

I love this show and cannot get enough. I always consider it a treat when I happen across it flipping through channels.

Anne Robinson was a good choice of presenter. She previously presented Points of View in a cynical way. Calling her the "queen of mean" is generous hyperbole. It's clearly an act and she can be seen breaking character by smiling or even laughing in a few instances.

The game is a basic quiz show with a banking mechanic and a voting system. Contestants would often vote off who they saw as the most competition. These two mechanics I've not seen implemented before on a quiz show. I know shows like Catchphrase had a banking mechanic, but it was automatic and didn't rely on the contestants saying bank. In the Weakest Link they would often forget or say pass by mistake, losing the team money. The cash prizes were often pretty small, I think £10, 000 was the maximum and most players took home around £4,000 or less. The game was cheap as the questions got harder and more obscure as the game went on, not to mention more long-winded to run the clock down.

Overall, this was a cold and cynical gameshow with a metallic set to match; see also Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Shafted and Golden Balls for more of the same. Anne Robinson was a hit with viewers and the show ran for a massive 12 years as a regular series and had a US spin-off with Anne also presenting. There was also a spin-off game for PS1, PS2 and Windows which I wouldn't recommend as it's dull and for trivia fans Anne Robinson was sampled in a cheesy hard house record by the usually excellent Pants & Corset (Paul King).

The series was rebooted in 2021 for the Christmas season with Romesh Ranganathan on presenting duty. To be fair he does a good job, but it is the quiz show nobody asked to be resurrected. The cynic in me says the BBC are stuck for new ideas and programmes to fill the primetime slots.

There are two reasons that Weakest Link is the greatest game show on television. One is Anne Robinson and the other is the fact that most of the questions are answerable by most most people. What makes it hard to do is the fact that you have very little time to think about your answer and if you screw up you can be voted off by your team members. Where as The Millionaire show is good, after about the $64,000 question, they get quite tough. In Weakest Link you can answer most of the questions most of the time. That gives the audience a sense that they could also be there and win the 60 or 80 thousand dollars. In the Millionaire show, unless you have a true knowledge of architecture, you would not know that I.M. Pei designed the rock and roll hall of fame. But you would know that "V" was the 80's mini series that had lizards trying to take over the world.

Anne is also the catalyst of the television show. I'm sure that most of her "Who's a couple cans short of a six pack" jibes are scripted for her before she goes on the air. But her ability to rip into the contestants is priceless. In one of the funnier episodes, she asks one contestant if he belongs to any organizations. He responds that he belongs to MENSA. What is that? she asks. He carefully responds that it is an organization for people that scored well on an I.Q. test. She asks him if he has to pay to be a part of that organization. He says yes. How much? $400.00 he responds. And that is a pity, she says, you could have used that money to buy yourself a new jacket.

Anne's caustic venom towards the contestants is priceless and she keeps me coming back time and time again. I really hope that the show permanently expands to two nights a week. Monday's are not enough. And finally, we all love her famous line, "You are the weakest link. Goodbye!"

Great show!!

How has Anne Robinson got away with being so blatantly ignorant for so long, and what are the producers thinking of to allow it? In this age of yob culture, it is (albeit in a small way) showing the decent kids just how not to behave, and she is undermining all the efforts to curtail bad manners and behaviour. If she said similar things without studio protection, she'd have probably had her face slapped or her backside kicked long ago. I wonder if those viewers who think this is all great fun would tolerate similar remarks aimed at them, not in a studio, but in the street. I would hazard a guess at the negative. In short, they'd probably blow their top.

This could be quite a decent quiz show, if given the chance to stand on it's own feet without all the unnecessary snide remarks. I see she didn't last too long in the States, and I'm led to believe that the show overall wasn't very well received. I'm not surprised.

My wife actually watches this show on a regular basis but she puts the TV to mute when Miss Robinson starts her nonsensical vocabulary. Would it not be better to cut it from the show altogether, and get back to something resembling respectful conduct? And if that sounds stuffy so be it. There is nothing wrong with good manners.

This has all the entertainment value of having teeth pulled without anaesthetic. When I first saw it, I thought I'd tuned into an old war film by mistake, with Anne Robinson playing a Nazi interrogator.

The lady was once a 'Daily Mirror' columnist and when Robert Maxwell fell off the 'Lady Ghislaine' in 1991 she penned a grovelling eulogy that ended with; "He enriched many lives. Mine was one of them.". Oh dear! Why do the contestants on the receiving end of her sharp tongue not remind her of this? Not to mention her obvious face lifts. If she has one more she'll float away. I fail to see why people waste their time watching this tripe. When you've seen one episode you've seen them all. The American people are with me on this. Where do they get the contestants from? A home for the terminally charmless? Many look and sound as though they've been doped. The main prize isn't worth the effort.

With this, we're one step closer to the kind of 'torture game show' as depicted in the Schwartzenegger movie 'The Running Man'. As you may have gathered from the above, I'm Welsh and proud of it and have a big chip on my shoulder when it comes to Anne!

You would think people would get wise on how stupid this Weakest Link game show is with it's Ginger grim-faced presenter that looks worse for wear after many years doing her show. When she appeared on Points of view she looked useless as a TV critic and now she looks even useless has a Game show presenter and was right, she's only good at putting people down when she feels threatened by them. I laugh when people call her the ginger scoucer with a face to drop dead with - it seems she gets up-set by these comments made about her, eh? from someone who likes dishing it out she obviously can't take peoples comments about her - is this telling you something?

I loved every moment of the US version of this BBC great show. The host Anne Robinson is hilarious and love how well she sticks to the mean British woman character. The celebrity editions made for funnier episodes but overall the show was a 10 and should have been brought back!

I have seen the show several times (not by choice), and I wonder each time, how a show like this continues to exist.

1. the whole atmosphere and appearance is cold, dark and depressing. Blue and black is not a good match.

2. I hate how the prize money is ridiculously low. Most contestant's finish the show winning between $2000 - $3000 pounds. I think considering how much the show would be earning and how much Anne gets paid, they should at least up the prize money. I don't see how people with jobs can waste time going on the show for a 1 in 12 chance of winning such pathetic prize money.

3. The host says the questions so fast, it would be better if the time was paused when she was asking the questions.

4. I don't like how the host spins around to each contestant. It's bad design.

5. When the host does engage with contestants it just feels so contrived. I don't the coldness of the show's design as mentioned in point 1 helps the matter.

Who would've thought that Anne Robinson would become a sight to be reckoned with on both sides of the atlantic?

It's not surprising to know why the " The Weakest Link" became such a show that had more than just a few average heads turning in it's direction.

This is more than just a typical game show to begin with. . .Gone are the days when pathetic game shows featuring annoying fake charmed contestants would congratulate one another for beating the best one out. This one really bites the dust!

Anne Robinson has become one HELL of a lean mean killing machine with her brute-force cutthroat comments towards her contestants, narrowing it down to more of a black and white outlook.

It's even amazing to learn that this is not of those "go lucky game shows" where everyone leaves satisfied, but more realistic with the way everyone responds to winning and losing.

This truly is a GAME for the new Millenium. ROCK ON Anne Robinson, you are the strongest link.

For a time 'The Weakest Link' reigned supreme as the biggest game show on British TV. With Anne Robinson at the helm, in full frosty manner, it was addictive viewing.

But the BBC milked it, and over time, as with all shows, the format got tired, resulting in the familiar decline into celeb specials, and themed editions.

I was surprised to read that it ran until 2012 - I think I stopped watching it many years before. If anything it shows how reluctant the BBC are to let a format bow out with dignity.

It had its day. It was good for most of it.

At least once in a while, a contestant who answered the most questions correctly in a round would get voted out as the weakest link all because the opponents were jealous! Also, a game show or quiz show that means leaving empty-handed no matter what if you lose really isn't for me.

This show has to be one of the greatest British quiz shows of all time. It is a shame that it is no longer repeated regularly because it is miles ahead of it's rather dowdy replacement Pointless, and despite the first episode being sixteen years old this year, the format would still work very successfully today.

Anne Robinson is a brilliant presenter, and really comes into her own with the stern and rather cold persona she adapts, making the show very different to other shows of the time. Robinson may sometimes make bitchy and cruel remarks to the contestants, though this is all part of the game, and what makes the show work so well.

The Weakest Link oddly manages to be successful despite the fact that it is a decidedly low-budget, daytime TV quiz show. There is in-built cut-throat competition between the contestants that often results in amusing bust-ups or vain egotism, and, like "Millionaire," there is a good feel of at-home playability. The only downside is the jackpot, which, at a measly £10,000, makes you wonder what all the fuss is about. In reality, the only reason why this is not just another run-of-the-mill boring game show is Anne Robinson, the presenter. She is so cruel towards the contestants that she was recently named the Meanest Person on British TV; her cutting, demoralising comments once brought a contestant to tears. Her catchphrase, which she utters whenever the weakest link (ie: the worst contestant) is voted off the show, should go down in the annals of gameshow history: "You are the weakest link. Goodbye."

This is quite a good quiz show . I know everyone mentions the camp nastiness of quiz mistress Anne Robinson and she does a good job of the quiz mistress from hell but the most enjoyable part of the show is laughing at the muppet contestants who show themselves to be intellectually challenged :

Robinson: Brian Cox played what notorious serial killer in Michael Mann`s 1986 film Manhunter ?

Muppet : Robert De Niro

Robinson : What is the national anthem of New Zealand ?

Another Muppet : Australia forever

I didn`t make up these two answers by the way , they`re both genuine . Makes me wonder if anyone has been turned down by the show for being too stupid , and believe it or not a complete half wit occasionally goes home with the money

The Weakest Link is great telly! So nice to see a gameshow where all the contestants, and the host, aren't doing that same old smiley, friendly stuff. You go on a show like this to win....so it's great that you can actually say what the hell you like about the others. It's gripping because at home it's dead easy and they all look like rabbits trapped in headlights. Plus, real jealousy rears it's ugly head!! I love it!!

I also won it in March 2001, so perhaps I'm slightly biased...but what the hell!

This show is so funny that sometimes it can be a horrible show. I hate it when Ann makes fun of somebody when they do something wrong. She thinks that she is better than everyone else. I also hate the attitude that the contestant give after they have been voted off.

Anne Robinson is well known in the UK as a champion for consumers on Watchdog and as the presenter for Points of View. So, this show should have been a breeze for her. Above all, she's a friendly, familiar face on British Television.

So what happened when she started presenting the Weakest Link? Why did she suddenly attempt to change her personality? What's with the poor jokes and bad attitude? It certainly doesn't suit her, nor the show!

Bring back the real Anne Robinson!

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

An immensely successful TV gameshow that has become successful because of how nasty it is.With the sly,condescending host Anne Robinson ,contestants are randomly voted off for losing the team money and for not being bright enough.What gets me more than anything is who is Robinson to speak down to the statistical/actual 'weakest link',she is a mere host herself and certainly no nuclear psyician,in what position is she to make other people feel stupid and insignificant?Why doesn't SHE take the hotspot for once?If not having to face the possible (there can only be one winner) humiliation of being voted off isn't enough to deter you,imagine the frustration of another contestant being asked a question to which you know the answer but they don't,and vice versa.There are many other game shows you can go on with the possibility of winning large sums of money other than this,such as Millionaire and My Kind of Music ,where you are consoled for being the loser,apply to go on them instead.**

The Weakest Link really is like a bad children's pantomime. It is noisy, filled with boring cliches and repetition. Anne Robinson is like an actress delivering the same hammy performance as the wicked witch on the stage every night. Even her early beginnings in the world of tabloid journalism couldn't have indicated that she would drop this low. Gimmicky, loud and stupid. Even her catchphrase has had its day.

Man, what a road accident of a game show this is... even by daytime television standards. And yet it is a big hit in the UK, a nation that I always thought had much better standards than the USA. Go figure. I fail to see what is so riveting about a bunch of contestants stabbing each other in the back for a measly ten thousand quid, or whatever the prize may well be. What does ten thousand pounds buy you in England these days, anyhow? Other than a ticket out of there, that is.

And what's up with the host? I know Brits sound strange on television after being carpet-bombed with Americans talking crap for hours on end, but that's just the point. Usually, they speak in a well-enunciated manner where every syllable is clear and easy to understand. Just check out Rowan Atkinson in any one of the Black Adder mini-series and you'll see what I mean. Whatshername (she doesn't really deserve a mention by name) really sounds like she is glucose-deprived to the point of losing control of her muscles with half a dozen speech impediments on top. "You are the weakest link... goodbye," she says. Only when she says it, it sounds more like "youer the wickyslink... goodbah," or something like that. She is truly a disgrace to the English language.

And let's not forget... the game show's rules are fundamentally stupid, anyway. If you're going to have a contestant taken out for being "the wickyslink", then it makes more sense to actually have strictly defined rules as to who gets out, rather than leaving it to a vote with the contestants. Honestly, I have never seen so many people stab each other in the back so many times just to get a relatively paltry prize.

It all adds up to a game show that is funny for all the wrong reasons, and I seriously doubt it will stand the test of time. Like Survivor or whatever garbage they're spewing at us these days, this show really proves that the game show format is stale and starting to turn into penecillin.