Inquizition

Inquizition was a short-lived television program in the game show genre. It debuted on the Game Show Network (GSN) on October 5, 1998 and continued until 2001.

The game was played by eight players, four who were in the studio, and four who played via phone. The last remaining player in each division would win the cash prize at the end of the show.

Each round was a series of questions, posed with three choices. The third choice was always "C. None of the above." The contestants would lock in a choice on their desk, and only the host (and viewing audience) would see the answer choices. Contestants had three seconds to make a choice, or they lost out. A correct answer scored a point, a wrong answer incurred no gain and no loss.

Sometimes midway during the round, the host would break away from the questioning and announce who was in last place, prodding that player to perform better, lest they be left behind. This was the only clue the players ever got during play as to the scores, they were only seen on screen. When the bell rang to end the round, the player in last place was eliminated, and told to "Please...leave now!" by the host. That player would turn around, and the camera would fade to white.

The scores would reset for the next round, and play would continue through two more rounds. In season one, the winner claimed $250. In season two, the winner got to take home $500.

The show was probably most famous for its host who would never show his face, named "the Inquizitor." The forerunner for the anti-host persona made famous by Anne Robinson, he would always let the players know what he thought of their play, for good or for bad.