Weakest Link Reboot

[123123123]

Did anyone else get a chance to watch the NBC reboot on before the debate?

I didn't get to see all of it, but from what I saw it seemed pretty good. The set looked great and some of the interactions with the contestant, Jane were pretty good.

I feel that the difficulty of questions dropped significantly since back in 2001, but that might just be a thing for game show trivia like Jeopardy as a whole. Either that, or I might actually know stuff.

Anyways, I look forward to seeing a full episode next week.

[JayC]

I liked it and thought Jane did a great job hosting. The contestants were a big issue though, and some weird camera work and editing.

[tpirguyMN]

I enjoyed watching the show!  The music cues brought back fond memories of Anne (and George Gray!) in the past.  One thing I think is a positive addition to this version is having the question displayed on the screen.  In the past it was easy to miss something in a question, especially with Anne's accent.

Only negative I have is the camera work, like JayC said.  When moving between contestants when showing votes, it really isn't all that smooth like it was before.

And Jane was a great choice for host!

[TPIRfan#9821]

I enjoyed it enough that I'll tune in next week. I know that Jane Lynch wasn't as harsh as Anne or George, but it came off as pretty good. The set looks gorgeous, and the continuous shots looked amazing. However, the rapid panning-shots looked like something out of Saw instead of a game show. I'm also not a fan of the timer disappearing mid-round, and then popping up again at the 30 second mark.

I played along with the premiere episode of the original US run, and I felt like I got about the same amount right, bar the then-pop culture questions like the number of Lethal Weapon sequels or the robotic dog made by Tiger Electronics.

Although I'm a fan of distributing the rounds so that every round isn't worth $125,000, I don't like how they technically cut out a few more questions by not having a seventh round, and I know that's going to cause some rounds where the strongest link gets voted off right before the Head-to-Head, but I'm indifferent to that. I also think the chains for the later rounds is a little too harsh; the final round's chain, percentagewise with the top amount, was

(100%, 60%, 40%, 20%, 8%, 4%, 2%, 0.8%)

while the final chain in this game is

(100%, 50%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%)

That's too harsh of a change, in my opinion. I guess it's theoretically offset by the percentages being nicer in the first few rounds, and this final round being worth double what the last final round was in 2001, but practically the amount of the winnings value gained is half of what it was in the past until you chain seven questions together.

EDIT: I'm not taking into account the gameplay of the contestants just yet, but at least due to the touchscreens, there wasn't time wasted asking to repeat the question.

8/10 from me.

[bigblue999]

Contestants need to learn the word PASS instead of stammering 10 seconds on one question.

Other than that, it's enjoyable.

[geniusinmath]

I love the set, the gameplay, and increasing the target each round. The only downside is they don't show the clock all the time during the rounds. I give it 9/10. I can't wait to see next week's episode.

[pannoni1]

I love the set, the gameplay, and increasing the target each round. The only downside is they don't show the clock all the time during the rounds. I give it 9/10. I can't wait to see next week's episode.

The clock is shown during the first 10 and last 30 seconds of each round. The key of the background music can also be an indicator of the time remaining as well. Other than that, a nice premiere, even if the contestants weren't the brightest. I sort of miss the full cutscenes of the contestants reactions after being voted off, but the inset view can provide more interesting reactions among the remaining players. My biggest gripe is that you can't respond until Jane has completed the question, which means that if there's less than ten seconds remaining when it's your turn, BANK!

8/10 for me.

[Reloaden]

I watched it last night the show was pretty good. Jane did a good job hosting the show.


The Canned Audience was out of place and kinda annoying.

I prefer the bantering after voting. I would rather hear why they voted person xx.

It wasn't a bad reboot i hope they get a 2nd season and they can work out the kinks.

[PriceFanArmadillo]

I don't like how they technically cut out a few more questions by not having a seventh round, and I know that's going to cause some rounds where the strongest link gets voted off right before the Head-to-Head, but I'm indifferent to that.

I am very much not indifferent to creating a quiz show that, by the rules of the game, will never be won by the smartest player if the contestants all act rationally.

[Spmahn]

I enjoyed this, one thing that stuck out to me at the beginning was when the contestants were announcing where they were from, they named locations all over the country, even though casting was limited to Southern California. I’m assuming that either they the contestants to either list where they are originally from, or just flat out lie and make something up

[urbanpreppie0004]

More than likely they had them state where they're from originally- not lie.

[imhomerjay]

Oh good lord, no one is making things up for the introductions.

[Flerbert419]

I am very much not indifferent to creating a quiz show that, by the rules of the game, will never be won by the smartest player if the contestants all act rationally.

Me neither, but the lesson is that in this version of the game being the second strongest link is the place to be.

You're also taking a chance that the other player is thinking the same thing, because if the strongest link gets to break a tie it very well could be you walking out the door.

Spoiler below:
We also saw them vote out the weakest link out of the 3 last contestants on the premiere, so...

[TPIRFan1995]

Jane's doing great as host!!!! I heard on Drew Barrymore's talk show today that she prefers this to Hollywood Game Night(which from everything I've read is canceled after 6 season), because Link is focused on trivia rather than pop culture. There is an all new episode tonight at 8 and another all new one tomorrow at 8 before the VP debate.

[TPIRfan#9821]

Speaking about tonight's episode, it was a step down from the last episode.

I should clarify that when I mean "indifferent" on voting off the strongest link, I meant that I understand from a pure quiz show perspective, yes, it is broken. However, I feel that the current U.S. Weakest Link lacks a bit in trivia, and frankly loses a bit of the cutthroatedness Anne brought to the table, so the "broken" game leads to a more emotional approach (the contestants are much more talkative during walk-offs than before, if I need to provide evidence) and trying to indirectly sway the vote away from oneself. As much as that might appear to target the single-most knowledgeable player, I want to see mind games played where they try to hide their knowledge and try to persuade someone else that player three is the bigger threat, and then a pretty decent battle between one of the better players and one of the alright players.

What I don't want to see is one of the consistent weakest links haughtily bragging they got to the finals with "charm and charisma", and then proceed to wipeout in the Head-to-Head, and try to say in their closing interview that the questions were much harder than expected. What I also don't want to see is people banking early, because even though the team's batting average seemed to decline as the game went on, practically no money was won in the final round. That shows TPTB lean a bit too much the emotional side instead of having an exciting game, which is really awkward when a $1,000,000 prize is on the line.

As much as I like that we got the show back, I'm really tempted just to go on Peacock when the season's over and binge watch all the episodes then, since the show seems to be fine with *good*, but not *great*.