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Here in Australia, The Weakest Link is consistently in the top 5 highest rated shows each week.
But the most common complaint with the show involves the way the contestants are voted off. All too often the people who deserve the money the least are the ones who eventually becomes the longest lasting
contestants.
Yes, the current system makes the game less predictive and allows a Survivor-esque strategy of eliminating your greatest threats. However it is always disheartening to see a surviving contestant get wrong questions that everyone else can answer, or give the most pathetic "reason you should piss off" answer possible ("your too young/old" is not a good answer!). I once saw a someone who didn't know what tower a "Mr Eiffel" built, and another who claimed that people who she voted for "just didn't care anymore" four times in a row! Bloody hell!
I propose an audience vote. Unlike the often stressed contestants, the audience would know who is crap, and who is not by observing their performance. In weeding out lacklustre players, this method could also result in higher prize money totals, where the average Australian booty is a paltry $21, 000 out of a hundred.
But to make it interesting, the contestant vote remains in the game. This is only to indicate who the contestants want out and their reasons. This also serves to highlight the schemers and create conflict. This will have no effect on audience voting: they vote while the contestents are scribbling down their choices. After the contestant vote, the audience results are then announced and the host tells them to piss off.
Then at the conclusion the winner basically becomes "the people's champion" and most people would be saisfied at the result.
(?) A story from a Mastermind contestant
http://www.shells.demon.co.uk/Tonymm.html
Another tough UK quiz show, now finished. [Aristotle, Apr 30 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]
Darth Vader and the Green Cross Code Man
http://www.daveprowse.com/
This is the actor who both played Darth Vader and encouraged kids to cross the road safely! [Aristotle, Apr 30 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]
[link]
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By the way, is it true that reason the U.S. version uses the British host is that they couldn't find anyone suitable (i.e. bitchy) enough? |
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Personally, I reckon James Earl Jones would make a great host. Yes, not a woman, but he would sound pretty awesome. |
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I think the appeal of JEJ would be lost by the speed you need to fire the questions off at. What's needed is a combination - a wiry question firer-offer and a Bond-villain figure behind a frosted-glass partition. |
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"My organization has no need of you, number 3. Goddbye!" |
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Oh, and of course trapdoors. And no exit interviews, play the "do you think you'll do well?" pre-show interview instead. |
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Also, to continue the James Bond theme, letting the audience vote would probably lead to victory-through-sexiness, which doesn't sound like what you want at all. |
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I think that James Earl Jones would only work if he were
disguised as Darth Vader. (Which is itself a problem,
because he was never the actual person in the costume.)
But otherwise, he seems like a very nice fellow. Not
scary at all. |
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I feel that the aim of the Weakest Link host is not to bitchy but to be tough on the players, who know what they are in for when they apply. The voting side heightens the interaction, allowing people to show their true colours. A famous quiz show in the UK called Mastermind was based on military interrogation techniques from WWII, offering a challenge for the contests - the Weakest Link does this for a team. |
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Popular voting could vote though. |
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Dave Prowse also played Hotblack Desiato's bodyguard in HHGG. |
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I don't agree with this one at all. If all you want is the person who answers the most questions correctly to win, then why have voting at all. The point of The Weakest Link is that it shows you just how little knowledge you require if your a scheming bastard. No, the format is fine as it is. I'd get rid of Anne Robinson though. She's crap. If you want someone intimidating as question master then the prisons are full of mad, starey-eyed, axe murderers who'd do the job much better and would be only too grateful for a day release from the psychiatric wing. |
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Actually, I think that Anne Robinson makes 'TWL.' As if people actually tune in to see how many questions that they can answer themselves. The reason as the why 'TWL' is so popular is because the audience loves to see Ms. Robinson make the contestants squirm. What do we talk about at work or school the next day? How that bloke couldn't answer the questions about contemporary literature or how Anne Robinson got at the other two contestants for voting out a policewoman? Just think. |
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And the point of the voting system is so that you can take the game into your own control. Give the vote to the audience, and that's it. |
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what about an internet vote? It would only work during live tapings but would be fun. |
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internet votes might take too long.... |
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