Inquizition on Game Show Network

Inquizition

Game Show Network (Daily): 10/5/1998 – 10/19/2001
Sande Stewart Television/GSN Originals
INQUIZITOR: “You are about to be witness to an examination. Several of you have decided to try your skills against the participants. But be you, player or spectator, be prepared… for you have been just invited… to an Inquizition.”

Inquizition was a dark-themed game show created by Game Show Network and Sande Stewart Television. Set in a deserted airplane hangar with an X-Files-esque style, four players (along with four at-home players) competed against each other in a play-along battle of wits with an unrelenting barrage of rapid-fire questions that were being asked by the Inquizitor. It debuted on October 5, 1998 and continued until October 19, 2001.

Four players played in the studio (in the opening credits, the exterior appeared to be an airplane hangar), and four more played along at home over the telephone, making this one of several shows on GSN to do this. Each round consisted of approximately 20-25 questions, depending on the time available. Each question had three possible answers (A, B & C), "C" of which was almost always "None of the above". The contestants had three seconds to lock in an answer by pressing one of the buttons on their podiums, and only the "Inquizitor" (and viewing audience) would see their choices. A correct answer scored a point; a wrong answer incurred no loss except by a brutal insult by the Inquizitor himself.

Sometimes midway during the round, the Inquizitor 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, though beginning around the middle of the first season the Inquizitor would sometimes indicate that a certain player had missed a question or was the only one to answer it correctly. When the bell rang to end the round, the player in last place was eliminated, and told either "Please leave now.", "Goodbye.", "Ta-ta." or "You're finished!…Get out!" by the Inquizitor. That player would turn around, and the camera would fade to white. The scores would reset for the next round, and play would continue until one player remained. That player then claimed a cash prize ($250 in the first season, $500 in the second and third seasons) and his "papers". Contestants playing over the phone were eliminated the same way. In the case of a tie in the telephone game, an additional question was asked during the commercial break to the players who had the same score to break the tie. Telephone contestants played for the same cash prize, sometimes including online gift certificates. (Possibilities of what the "papers" were for the winning in-studio contestant include similar gift certificates and symbolic "papers" commemorating the contestant's victory, analogous to certificates of achievement.)

The show was probably most famous for its mysterious host. The "Inquizitor" never showed his face during the entire run of the show, due to one of the terms of his contract being that his identity shall never be revealed. Some claim he was the forerunner for the anti-host persona made famous by Anne Robinson of The Weakest Link, as he would always let the players know what he thought of their play, for good or for bad (typically the latter). At the end of each show, he would be seen giving a menacing laugh as he was leaving the airplane hangar.

"Now, shall we begin?" – The Inquizitor (said at the start of the game)

"Shall we continue?" – The Inquizitor (said at the start of the second and third rounds)

"(insert question)? A. (insert answer), B. (insert answer), C. None of the above." – The Inquizitor (during gameplay)

"This round's time has expired. Mr/Ms. (insert contestant's name), and so has yours. Please leave now!" – The Inquizitor

"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; Mr/Ms. (insert contestant's name), it tolls for thee. Goodbye." – The Inquizitor (paraphrasing John Donne)

"Please leave now!" – The Inquizitor (said when a contestant is eliminated from the round)

"Mr/Ms. (insert contestant's name), you have failed!" – The Inquizitor (after the third round)

"Mr/Ms. (insert contestant's name), you have proven yourself superior to your fellow men. You may take your papers and leave. This completes tonight's Inquizition!" – The Inquizitor

"(insert contestant's name), you have vanquished your opponents and survived. You'll find your papers in the envelope before you. Take them, you're free to go." – The Inquizitor (one of his end of the game lines)

"Thank you, Inquizitor!" – Contestant