Host: Simon Reeve

Aired: 2002

Produced by: Seven Productions

Broadcasted by: Seven Network Australia

QuizMaster follows in the tradition of classic quiz shows. Four contestants - already renowned for their mastery of the question/answer format, challenge each other for the title of QuizMaster and a potential prize pool of one million dollars.

There are essentially two components to the show. The first part involves five rounds of questions and answers, where contestants buzzer in to give their response. The rules for each round differ slightly.

Round 1 - All contestants compete with each other to score the most points within the time limit. A correct answer results in the addition of 10 points to the score, an incorrect answer locks that player out for the next question.

Round 2 (Round of Team Play) - Each contestant, starting with the highest scorer, is allowed to choose a partner of their choice to work together in building a sizable score. Each player takes turns at answering questions - each time a player answers correctly, both team mates pick up 10 points. However, if a player answers incorrectly, they must answer a futher question correctly before passing onto their colleague.

Round 3 (Round of Point Steal) - Plays exactly as Round 1, except that a contestant who answers correctly nominates an opposing player to take 10 points from to add to their own score.

Round 4 (Round of Isolation) - Each contestant in turn chooses one other player to "isolate". That player must play alone for 60 seconds against the other 3 players who work in a team. If one of the team members answers incorrectly, all team members are locked out.

At the end of Round 4 - the player with the lowest score is excluded from becoming QuizMaster, but can still influence the final result in Round 5.

Round 5 - Played exactly as Round 3 - however the eliminated player from Round 4 is still permitted to answer questions - and may distribute any points he/she earns to the player of their choice. Th player with the highest score at the end of this round plays for the title of QuizMaster.

The second component of the show sees the highest scorer attempting to answer 5 out of 10 questions to achieve the title of "QuizMaster". They nominate one of the others players to help them in their quest. In each show - $250000 is added to the prize pool. The questions in this section of the show are extremely difficult but do not have time limits. The highest scorer attempts to answer each question in turn. If they don't know the answer - they can ask their partner to answer the question in their place. However, if the partner is called upon - that player can claim $50000 from the prize pool for each question correctly answered. The prize pool is only handed out and the highest scorer named "QuizMaster" if 5 or more of the questions are answered correctly, otherwise the pool jackpots into the next show. A successful QuizMaster is allowed to contest the next show - and potentially pick up the entire prize pool of one million dollars.

It proved to be edge-of-your-seat television, and a great show for the quiz-game junkie. It ran in 2002 as a four-show series - I hope that it returns again during the 2003 season.