History Series / TheWeakestLink

* GameShowWinningsCap: The maximum value that could be won on the UK version show was £10,000 (£50,000 in the primetime/celebrity version) if in all rounds the target value is met. On both NBC primetime versions in the U.S., the max value was $1,000,000, and the syndicated version cut this down to $75,000 and then $100,000. As with a large number of game shows, this is never done, as the rules encourage the contestants to bank and the full jackpot requires a completed chain in every round; it's a noteworthy accomplishment if a team ever does it ''once''.

It made Anne Robinson very famous and gave her a [[TheMeanBrit reputation for nastiness]] as she took her tough, no-nonsense style (previously seen on consumer-affairs show ''Watchdog'') to new levels. Her popularity made it so that she ended up hosting the American version on Creator/{{NBC}}; this version lasted a year. George Gray later helmed a syndicated version in the U.S. with its run time cut in half and the contestant pool reduced; it too lasted a year.

* TheMeanBrit: Anne is a Liverpool native who earned a reputation for nastiness as the acerbic hostess. Naturally, this trait was most prominent in the American version.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: This is to be expected with a MeanBrit on board. Unless the team got every question right, Anne would find some reason to berate the players. If they did all give right answers, she'd point out they could have taken the top prize if they'd only had the guts to let it ride.

* RunningGag: People seem to like trying to [[{{Corpsing}} make Anne Robinson laugh]] by cracking jokes or doing something weird.

# If anyone gets a question wrong, all the team's unbanked money is lost and they are reset back to the start of the chain.

* HumiliationConga: Every contestant voted off is subjected to a dramatic departure where they are scathingly told, "You are the Weakest Link. Goodbye.", their podium is turned off and the lights shine down on them as they are made to walk off the stage.

->''"You ''are'' the weakest link... goodbye."''

** GameShowHost: Anne Robinson. She carried this role over to America, where she hosted the NBC version, with George Gray later helming a syndicated version, and Creator/JaneLynch hosting the 2020 NBC revival. Australian and New Zealand had local versions hosted by Cornelia Frances and Louise Wallace respectively.

*** Most versions of the show typically has one, encouraged to laugh at the host's jabs at contestants. For the UK, the regular editions lack an audience (with the exception of the 1000th episode) although the prime-time versions do.

* JokeCharacter: K9 was a contestant in the Doctor Who special. [[LethalJokeCharacter He answered all his questions correctly.]]

The show ended in 2012 as Anne Robinson decided to step down and was not replaced; the final new episodes were quietly demoted to an early afternoon slot on Creator/{{BBC}}2, with ''Series/{{Pointless}}'' taking over the prime teatime [=BBC1=] slot. In 2017, it was announced that the show would be resurrected, first with a charity special in November with the intention of a full run in 2018, with Anne Robinson returning as host, although these plans were stalled for some time, with Anne taking over as host for ''Series/{{Countdown}}'' instead. The show finally made its return in 2021 with planned celebrity editions and comedian Creator/RomeshRanganathan taking over as host.

The show ended in 2012 as Anne Robinson decided to step down and was not replaced; the final new episodes were quietly demoted to an early afternoon slot on Creator/{{BBC}}2, with ''Series/{{Pointless}}'' taking over the prime teatime [=BBC1=] slot. In 2017, it was announced that the show would be resurrected, first with a charity special in November with the intention of a full run in 2018, with Anne Robinson returning as host, although these plans appear to have stalled as nothing has been heard about them since.

* CelebrityEdition: Several, including a ''Series/DoctorWho''-themed episode in 2007 (two years after a futuristic and [[DeadlyGame deadly]] version of the show was featured on the episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]]) and a puppet-edition later that year, as well as two Wrestling/{{WWE}} episodes and a hip-hop musicians episodes in the U.S. They're playing for Charity.

British GameShow (2000-12) with multiple international versions, often with red haired female hosts who insult the contestants, blending a traditional trivia game with a RealityTV aspect of contestants voting each other off as they become a DwindlingParty until one remains and claims the game's earnings.

* CelebrityEdition: Several, including a ''Series/DoctorWho''-themed episode in 2007 (two years after a futuristic and deadly version of the show was featured on [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf an episode]]) and a puppet-edition later that year, as well as two Wrestling/{{WWE}} episodes and a hip-hop musicians episodes in the U.S. They're playing for Charity.

* CelebrityEdition: Several, including a ''Series/DoctorWho''-themed episode in 2007 and a puppet-edition later that year, as well as two Wrestling/{{WWE}} episodes and a hip-hop musicians episodes in the U.S. They're playing for Charity.

The "Hole in the Ring" sketches on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' are a parody of ''Link'', with a Robinson expy who stumbles over her words and dishes out open and unwarranted abuse to contestants.

** StudioAudience: Typically has one, encouraged to laugh at the host's jabs at contestants. Due to the COVID-19 guidelines restricting close-quarters gatherings, the 2020 NBC revival uses a LaughTrack sans audience members.

** There have also been rounds where ''[[FailureIsTheOnlyOption no money at all was banked]]''. These were the instances when Anne and Jane really shined with their pithy commentary. George would become a LargeHam in these scenarios. Generally, on the UK version, if the team banked less than £100 in a round, Anne would mock them (this is less than $10,000 on the U.S. nighttime version and less than $1,000 on the U.S. daytime version).

# On their turn, a contestant may "bank" the money currently chained by the team before the next question is given, which is added to a safe earnings "pot", but the money ladder is reset to the beginning. In most iterations, notably the UK and US, unbanked money when the round is over is discarded, but several international versions will auto-bank the ladder into the pot at the end.

** After informing the group of their current pot: "That money will go through to the next round, but one of you...will not."

!! "Who's just another entry on a list?"

!! "Who's just [[GameShowTrope yet another cliche thing to happen on a game show?]]"

Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weakestlink/

!!GameShowTropes in use:

!!This show provides examples of:

# If anyone gets a question wrong, all the team's unbanked money on that chain is lost and they are reset back to the start of the chain.

# If anyone gets a question wrong, all the team's unbanked money on that chain is lost and they are reset at the start of the chain.

# On their turn, a contestant may "bank" the money currently chained by the team before the next question is given, which is added to a safe earnings "pot", but the money ladder is reset to the beginning. In most iterations, notably the UK and US, unbanked money when the round is over is discarded, but several international versions will auto-bank the pot at the end.

# For each question answered correctly, the amount of money they stand to collect is increased exponentially via a money ladder, with the aim to chain together a target amount of consecutive right answers to claim the maximum earnings in the round.[[note]]Typically equal to the amount of players that begin the game, hence a first-round jackpot can be claimed simply by everyone answering correctly in one wave of turns.[[/note]]

# For each question answered correctly, the amount of money they stand to collect is increased exponentially, with the aim to chain together a target amount of consecutive right answers to claim the maximum earnings in the round.[[note]]Typically equal to the amount of players that begin the game, hence a first-round jackpot can be claimed simply by everyone answering correctly in one wave of turns.[[/note]]
# A contestant may "bank" the money they've earned so far on their turn before the next question is given to add it to the team's collective pot (the pot then returns to zero). In most iterations, notably the UK and US, unbanked money when the round is over is discarded, but several international versions will auto-bank the pot at the end.

* WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire: As with other game shows of its era, it features a darkened stage, dramatic lighting and music, an all-or-nothing money ladder with a safety net, and even more contestant dramatics. In the midst of the ''Millionaire'' craze in America, it made perfect sense to NBC to import another show of this trope from Britain, complete with bumping the maximum winnings to a nice, round million dollars.