I’m a big fan of backstabbing, “on-the-attack” shows. I’m one of the few who enjoyed Friend or Foe?, big fan of Dirty Rotten Cheater, but my all-time favorite is The Weakest Link. When NBC’s version came along, I fell in love with it instantly, and honestly it was mainly for host Anne Robinson. Several things lead to its demise, but no reason to go into it now. When the syndication version came out, honestly, I enjoyed it more. NBC really played up the comedy value of the show and Anne just didn’t fit for what we wanted. Syndicated host George Gray was perfect for the US version.

And all of that went out the door when BBC America began showing the British version. The first very noticeable thing is a lack of an audience. It makes the show a bit better. Anne’s comments seem more critical than humorous. The second very noticeable aspect is the drastically cut back money which definitely works in the show’s favor. It always jarred me when Anne said, on the NBC version, “You banked a pathetic $10,000.” There’s not a single person who thinks $10,000 is pathetic. When Anne says, on the BBC version, “You banked a pathetic £20,” it means something.

Anne’s hosting works far better in England than it does America. She goes for the kill, not backing off like she constantly did for us. Her style has changed in recent years for obvious reasons. The show’s been on for nearly a decade. 10 years of being a jerk is going to get old very quickly. She now comes off as more of a smartass, and it’s been making The Weakest Link more enjoyable to watch. This isn’t to say the US version was a total disaster. We did a lot of good things, like the set, and it was still fun. However, the British version just blows ours out of the water without a shadow of a doubt.

We’ll have some more videos of the show later tonight, after I’m back from roller derby, about the show’s funny side.