The Chamber
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 Torture: the Game Show
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The Chamber is an American game show that aired on Fox in January 2002. The show featured contestants answering questions while strapped into a torture chamber, in which they were exposed to either very hot or very cold temperatures alongside other environmental extremes, such as high winds or simulated earthquakes. Sportscaster Rick Schwartz hosted the show. After only three of its six taped episodes were aired, the series was cancelled due to low ratings and controversy over the show's content.
Premise
The show had contestants answer questions while hooked to a torture chamber. Before entering, the contestant would sign a release form. The goal was to answer as many questions and to last as long in the chamber as long as possible. Each correct answer was worth $1,000. The two chambers that were shown on the show were the "Hot Chamber" and the "Cold Chamber". The game would end if two consecutive questions were answered incorrectly, or the staff or contestant decide that they can't last in the chamber much longer. If the game ended that way the money would be cut in half.
Why It's Torture
- The premise alone was stupid and dangerous. Who would ever want to be strapped to a torture chamber?
- It was a rip-off of ABC's The Chair, which was already a bad show in of itself.
- Rick Schwartz was a terrible and mean-spirited host.
- The qualifying round wasn't much better, as it was a rip-off of the Seesaw category from Tic Tac Dough.
- The two chambers shown on the show were the exact same, just in different temperatures.
- One of the contestants, Scott Brown, managed to survive all seven levels of the Cold Chamber, but was hospitalized for hypothermia. Luckily, he sued the show and won the lawsuit.
The Only Redeeming Quality
- As mentioned above, Scott Brown sued the show and got it cancelled after he was hospitalized for hypothermia because of how dangerous the torture chamber was.
Reception
The Chamber received negative reviews and was reported as the cause of "a critical outcry over subjecting people to what appeared to be torture for the entertainment of television viewers". Kevin Cowherd from The Baltimore Sun called the show "a sordid, putrid mess" whilst Phil Gallo from Variety described it as "a prototype for the joy-free gameshow".
It currently has an IMDb rating of 4/10.
