Imagine there are dozens of bright lights shining straight into your face. Cameras, glaring contestants, and a smirking, sarcastic man firing trivia questions left and right surround you. No, this is no nightmare: It's the taping of "The Weakest Link," which will feature an ASU student tonight.
Ben Belkin, a member of the ASU chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon and a housing and urban development major, will appear on tonight's edition airing at 6:30 p.m. on ABC Channel 15.
According to Belkin, he got on the show because he knew someone who worked there and was looking for fraternity members for "Greek Week."
Belkin said the atmosphere was "pretty exciting.
"[It was] an intimidating experience, but I didn't get intimidated," he added. "I could see how someone could get intimidated, though."
There were other fraternity members from such colleges as San Diego State University and Chico State University.
As viewers expect, host George Gray is meant to be sarcastic and somewhat cruel. "The host's main goal is to make you look stupid," Belkin said.
Belkin did acknowledge that Gray is a very funny guy and very personable. He added that tension arises from the set itself, which is just feet away from where Johnny Carson filmed "The Tonight Show" for 30 years.
"It's actually real cold, but the lights are hot," Belkin said.
He added that the whole process of filming a half-hour show took about eight hours.
The reason for the eight-hour filming included an explanation of the contract for the program as well as preliminary shooting with the eight contestants.
"The producers...bring you in for a 30-second to one-minute interview," Belkin said. "It's about a first impression.
"It's really exciting," he added. "You get to meet a lot of people, who make their living on television, which is something I had never been really exposed to before...It's not for the nervous."
Something that he didn't get to do was converse with his fellow contestants.
This is such a strict rule so that no alliances are formed among the five contestants to vote others off, according to Belkin. He was also prohibited from talking to anyone when he wasn't being filmed, in case of being fed the answers.
Belkin is not new to games. He "always played Trivial Pursuit," and he had a knack for remembering facts. However, he did admit that due to the overall tension of the show, some of the players missed some rather easy questions.
Belkin said Gray can be a little too harsh with contestants.
"It's his mission...to make you feel [dumb]."
Belkin said Gray made one female contestant so angry that she began to cry
"She just couldn't take his poking and prodding," he said.
One of the better-known experiences of "The Weakest Link" is the final interview after the host says to a contestant, "Goodbye!" Belkin said it takes place in a small booth where he spoke to a woman for about 10 minutes.
"They're really feeding you what to say," he said. "They want you to talk a little trash about the other contestants."
Belkin said he plans to have all his friends and family to watch the program.
"I tried to keep my wits up with [George]."
So, will Belkin be triumphant on Thursday's edition of "The Weakest Link?" You'll have to tune it to find out. Goodbye!
Josh Spiegel is an entertainment reporter at the Web Devil. Reach him at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu.
