Inquizition

''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 game show created by Game Show Network and Sande Stewart Television. It debuted on October 5, 1998 and continued until 2001.

Gameplay
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, 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 gain and no loss.

The Inquizitor
The show was probably most famous for its mysterious host. The "Inquizitor" never showed his face during the entire run of the show, and to this day his identity is unknown, due to one of the terms of his contract being that his identity shall never be revealed, though the most prominent of rumors states that he was Bob Stewart, the father of Inquizition's executive producer Sande Stewart. On the GSN message boards, however, his name is sometimes given as Brent Williams. Crew members of the production identify the "Inquizitor" as actor William Bassett who was fed his lines and insults by Sande Stewart. In any case, he was also known for being 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).

Links
Official website for it's online interactive game courtesy of Spiderdance

Official website from the president of Spiderdance who's responsible for the interactive version of Inquizition

YouTube Videos
Some gameplay of the show

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHAH1Nm_vDA An angry contestant arguing with the Inquizitor! The Inquizitor gives her the boot!]