Time Shock (game show)
Encyclopedia
For more information, see the page on Japanese Wikipedia.
Time Shock (クイズタイムショック, Kuizutaimushokku) was a game show
airing in Japan. Its original run was from 1969 to 1986; a revival aired from 1989 to 1990. A second revival, Time Shock 21, ran from 2000 to 2002.
Original run
1989-1990
At the end of the round, the contestant was lowered back to floor level; if the contestant failed to answer at least four questions correctly, the chair would be rapidly spun as the contestant was lowered. In the 1989-1990 run, jets of dry ice would also be activated, and the prize money would be lost; in this instance, the contestant would win a plush doll.
. Typical puzzles might be identifying a picture as a Rubik's Cube
solves itself (with the picture replacing one of the colors), identifying a famous person based on paintings and clues by grade school kids, or identifying an object as a karate expert kicks a block of stone into the shape of the object. Each puzzle had a time limit of either 20 or 60 seconds; when a player buzzed in, the timer stopped. If the player was right, their team scored a point; if not, that player was eliminated for the rest of the puzzle, and the time resumed. In addition, an incorrect answer in the last 10 seconds of a 20-second puzzle, or the last 20 seconds of a 60-second puzzle eliminated a second player from the puzzle. 60-second puzzles sometimes had three parts, such as spotting three differences between two otherwise-identical pictures or video clips, or spotting three things that are wrong with the scene; in these instances, each part counted for one point. The first two teams to score three points advanced to "Data Time Shock."
If the contestant failed to accumulate at least 6 correct answers, they were subjected to a "Tornado Spin," in which the chair would flip the contestant upside down in addition to rotating as the player descended.
Under two-team rules, the team's representative had to answer 6 questions correctly in "Final Time Shock" to win any money. The payouts were as follows:
As before, a player failing to answer 6 questions correctly would be subjected to a "Tornado Spin." In addition, the team would have two or three players attempt "Final Time Shock," with the team winning the prize for the best score achieved (for example, if the first player got 8 questions right and the second player got 10, the team would win ¥4,000,000 for the 10 correct answers).
Time Shock (クイズタイムショック, Kuizutaimushokku) was a game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
airing in Japan. Its original run was from 1969 to 1986; a revival aired from 1989 to 1990. A second revival, Time Shock 21, ran from 2000 to 2002.
Game play (Time Shock)
First, the contestant was raised to the top of the on-set clock set piece in an elevator chair. After a brief interview, the contestant selected one of 10 packets of questions; each packet contained 12 questions. The contestant had 60 seconds to answer all 12 questions. The questions were read by the announcer at five-second intervals; players could interrupt the reading of the question to give an answer. Each correct answer earned an increasing amount of money, as follows:Original run
- 1 correct answer: ¥1,000
- 2 correct answers: ¥2,000
- 3 correct answers: ¥3,000
- 4 correct answers: ¥4,000
- 5 correct answers: ¥5,000
- 6 correct answers: ¥10,000
- 7 correct answers: ¥20,000
- 8 correct answers: ¥30,000 (¥40,000 from Sept. 1985)
- 9 correct answers: ¥40,000 (¥60,000 from Sept. 1985)
- 10 correct answers: ¥50,000 (¥100,000 from Sept. 1985)
- 11 correct answers: ¥100,000 (¥150,000 from Sept. 1985)
- 12 correct answers: ¥1,000,000
1989-1990
- 1 correct answer: ¥1,000
- 2 correct answers: ¥2,000
- 3 correct answers: ¥3,000
- 4 correct answers: ¥10,000
- 5 correct answers: ¥20,000
- 6 correct answers: ¥30,000
- 7 correct answers: ¥40,000
- 8 correct answers: ¥50,000
- 9 correct answers: ¥60,000
- 10 correct answers: ¥100,000
- 11 correct answers: ¥200,000
- 12 correct answers: ¥1,000,000
At the end of the round, the contestant was lowered back to floor level; if the contestant failed to answer at least four questions correctly, the chair would be rapidly spun as the contestant was lowered. In the 1989-1990 run, jets of dry ice would also be activated, and the prize money would be lost; in this instance, the contestant would win a plush doll.
Game play (Time Shock 21)
In Time Shock 21, teams of five contestants played for the right to face "Final Time Shock" (played the same way as the original Time Shock). In earlier episodes, five teams competed over three rounds, or "stages," with low-scoring teams being eliminated along the way.Stage 1 (Opening Time Shock)
Each team faced a round of 10 questions, to be answered in 60 seconds. Each player was directed a question in turn, and had 6 seconds to answer (including the time used to read the question). No conferring or passing was allowed. The three teams with the highest scores advanced (tiebreaker questions were asked, if necessary). In addition, a team had to answer at least five questions correctly to qualify.Stage 2 (Visual Time Shock)
A series of visual puzzles were played. These puzzles often made extensive use of CGIComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. Typical puzzles might be identifying a picture as a Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
solves itself (with the picture replacing one of the colors), identifying a famous person based on paintings and clues by grade school kids, or identifying an object as a karate expert kicks a block of stone into the shape of the object. Each puzzle had a time limit of either 20 or 60 seconds; when a player buzzed in, the timer stopped. If the player was right, their team scored a point; if not, that player was eliminated for the rest of the puzzle, and the time resumed. In addition, an incorrect answer in the last 10 seconds of a 20-second puzzle, or the last 20 seconds of a 60-second puzzle eliminated a second player from the puzzle. 60-second puzzles sometimes had three parts, such as spotting three differences between two otherwise-identical pictures or video clips, or spotting three things that are wrong with the scene; in these instances, each part counted for one point. The first two teams to score three points advanced to "Data Time Shock."
Stage 3 (Data Time Shock)
Each team was given a question in which the top 10 answers were ranked in some way. Each player, in turn, tried to identify one of the top 10 answers. No passing was allowed; a player had to give an answer (whether one of the top 10 or not) to allow the next player to offer an answer. Each team had 60 seconds to give as many answers as possible, and the team that scored higher won the game and played Final Time Shock. In addition, a score of 5 correct answers or better was required to qualify.Final Time Shock
The team elected one of its players to face Final Time Shock, which was played in the same way as the original series (60 seconds to answer 12 questions; 5 seconds, including time used to read it, to answer each question). The prize money earned was divided among the team, and was as follows:- 1 correct answer: ¥10,000
- 2 correct answers: ¥30,000
- 3 correct answers: ¥50,000
- 4 correct answers: ¥100,000
- 5 correct answers: ¥200,000
- 6 correct answers: ¥300,000
- 7 correct answers: ¥500,000
- 8 correct answers: ¥1,000,000
- 9 correct answers: ¥2,000,000
- 10 correct answers: ¥3,000,000
- 11 correct answers: ¥5,000,000
- 12 correct answers: ¥10,000,000
If the contestant failed to accumulate at least 6 correct answers, they were subjected to a "Tornado Spin," in which the chair would flip the contestant upside down in addition to rotating as the player descended.
Two-team rules
In later episodes, only two teams would compete against each other in "Visual Time Shock," played the same way as in episodes with five teams. The first team to correctly solve three puzzles would play "Final Time Shock."Under two-team rules, the team's representative had to answer 6 questions correctly in "Final Time Shock" to win any money. The payouts were as follows:
- 6 correct answers: ¥500,000
- 7 correct answers: ¥1,000,000
- 8 correct answers: ¥2,000,000
- 9 correct answers: ¥3,000,000
- 10 correct answers: ¥4,000,000
- 11 correct answers: ¥5,000,000
- 12 correct answers: ¥10,000,000
As before, a player failing to answer 6 questions correctly would be subjected to a "Tornado Spin." In addition, the team would have two or three players attempt "Final Time Shock," with the team winning the prize for the best score achieved (for example, if the first player got 8 questions right and the second player got 10, the team would win ¥4,000,000 for the 10 correct answers).