The weakest flies
| Television broadcast | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The weakest flies! |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Year (s) | 2001-2002 |
| genre | Game show |
| Theme music | Paul Farrer |
| Moderation | Sonja Zietlow |
| First broadcast | March 19, 2001 on RTL |
The weakest flies! was a game show that was broadcast on RTL from 2001 to 2002 and moderated by Sonja Zietlow . It was based on the British show The Weakest Link with Anne Robinson .
Gameplay
Nine candidates are each asked a question one after the other, which they have to answer. Candidates receive points for each correctly answered question. Before being asked the question, they can "block" to secure points. In the autumn 2001 season, the word "blocken" was replaced by the word "bank", which is also used in the British original. After each round all candidates have to write the name of their worst opponent on a sign. Whoever is named most often has to leave the game. If several candidates are named the same number of times, the strongest player in the round decides which candidate must leave the game. In the end, there are two candidates left who fight against each other for the points in the final.
Profit points
| 2001 | 2001 (autumn season) | 2002 |
|---|---|---|
| DM 5,000 | DM 5,000 | € 5,000 |
| DM 3,000 | DM 4,000 | € 3,000 |
| DM 2,000 | DM 3,000 | € 1,500 |
| DM 1,000 | DM 2,000 | € 800 |
| DM 500 | DM 1,250 | € 500 |
| DM 400 | DM 750 | € 250 |
| DM 300 | DM 350 | € 150 |
| DM 200 | DM 150 | € 75 |
| DM 100 | DM 50 | € 25 |
British original and international offshoots
The name of the original program, which until February 2008 on BBC Two was seen and since then on BBC One run is, The Weakest Link and would have with the weakest link (the chain) to be translated. With this title it is made clear that the individual participants function like the links in a chain that is only as strong as its weakest link, which is why the teams have to separate from this weakest link . This team concept is in contrast to modern conceptions of team spirit - where the weak are helped - and is intended to ensure the necessary human tensions among the fellow campaigners.
The great success of the British original led to the program being adapted into television programming in more than 40 countries. Very often, as in the British version, a presenter was used who was dressed in black and treated the candidates rudely. Despite the great international success, the ratings were only in a few countries, such as B. Croatia, France, Mexico and Russia, good. No international offshoot could match the success of the British original. In many countries, the program was canceled after a year.
Tone of voice
Every correctly answered question was commented on by the moderator with a harsh "Corrrrrrrekt". Before the weakest was chosen, pithy slogans such as “Let's see who has breathed our precious studio air away long enough” or “Whose head is less brain than in a can of Chappi” followed by the moderator. After the chosen one was determined, the obligatory saying "(name of the candidate), you are the weakest, you fly and bye" followed .
The verbal humiliation of the candidates by Sonja Zietlow was often criticized. After the ratings had dropped significantly by autumn 2001, she began to treat the candidates kindly, although that was not in accordance with the game principle. Since this did not increase the audience, another attempt was made to improve it by converting the studio for an audience. When this had no effect either, the program was canceled in March 2002.
Special occurrences
The recorded edition of September 11, 2001 was interrupted by a black screen to show the live reporting by RTL Television about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center .