| Genre: | Game show |
| Runtime: | 44 minutes |
| Creator: | Julie Christie Darryl McEwen Brian Bigg |
| Director: | Michael A. Simon |
| Presenter: | John McEnroe |
| Country: | United States New Zealand |
| Executive Producer: | Julie Christie Darryl McEwen Andrew J. Golder Gregory V. Sherman Ann Miller-George |
| Producer: | Paul Wernick Craig W. Hoffman |
| Composer: | Allan Ett SongZu Scott Liggett Timothy Winn |
| Company: | Touchdown Television (Touchdown Productions) Trailpolis Entertainment Group Target Distribution, Ltd. (William Morris Agency) |
| Network: | ABC |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 13 (4 unaired) |
The Chair is an American game show that was created by Julie Christie, Darryl McEwen and Brian Bigg for Touchdown Television (now Eyeworks Touchdown).[1] [2] Although The Chair was originally developed in New Zealand, the first country where the program aired in was the United States. The American version, which was hosted by former tennis champion John McEnroe, aired on ABC for nine episodes from January 15 to March 18, 2002; the American version would be canceled with four episodes remaining unaired of its original 13-episode order. McEnroe would later host the British version, which aired between August 31 and November 9, 2002, on BBC One.[3] [4] Among the show's writers was writer/actress Teresa Strasser, who had served on ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and later hosted TLC's While You Were Out.
Prospective contestants underwent extensive medical examination before appearing. They were given intelligence tests and had their heart monitored for several hours, among other diagnostic procedures to see how they would react to sudden surprises. If they were declared fit, they moved on to the game.
| Question | Value | Redline threshold | Redline penalty (per second) | Maximum possible total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | 160%-170% | align=center rowspan="2" | ($100) | $10,000 |
| 2 | $10,000 | 155%-165% | $20,000 | ||
| 3 | $15,000 | 150%-160% | ($200) | $35,000 | |
| 4 | $25,000 | 145%-155% | ($300) | $60,000 | |
| 5 | $40,000 | 140%-150% | ($400) | $100,000 | |
| 6 | $50,000 | 135%-145% | ($500) | $150,000 | |
| 7 | $100,000 | 130%-140% | ($1,000) | $250,000 |
For each question except the fifth, a list of four possible answers was presented, and then the question itself was read. The host would then tell the contestant whether or not an answer could be accepted, depending on their heart rate at the moment.
Money was subtracted from the contestant's total for every second that their heart rate exceeded the redline value ("redlining"). In addition, they were ineligible to give an answer during this time; only while the heart rate was no higher than the threshold number could an answer be given. Redlining between questions, or while a question was being asked, mostly carried no penalty; for at least the first episode, the penalty went into effect when the host began reading the question, but later it would be after the whole question had been read. The third question involved recalling information from a series of images that appeared on the screen above them and required the player to remember something specific or particular details about one image, the fifth required the player to list items pertaining to a given category, and the seventh involved choosing which event occurred first or last (this question type would be eliminated later in the show's run). After the fourth question, the host made a one-time offer: keep the redline rate constant for the next question, at a cost of $25,000; this offer was rarely accepted.
As long as the contestant had money in the account and continued to answer questions correctly, the game continued until all seven questions were answered correctly. The game prematurely ended when a contestant answered a single question incorrectly, lost all of their money due to redlining, or committed a third violation of the countermeasure rule.
If the contestant answered a question incorrectly, they left with whatever amount they had "stabilized" (see below). Correctly answering every question awarded the contestant all of the money in their account, for a potential top prize of $250,000 if they had no redlining penalties.
In some international versions of the show (usually for the first Heartstopper only), a contestant must answer rapid-fire free-response questions in a 45-second bonus round which is designed to add 1 heartbeat back to the redline threshold for each correct answer. In the original New Zealand version, for the second Heartstopper, the contestant must answer 7 rapid-fire questions in a 60-second bonus round on one of the three categories shown on the screen above them. Each correct answer it was given, they will earn money but with each wrong answer to each question, they will be monetarily penalized from only their stabilized winnings.
In the British version of the show, a contestant would be required to stabilize after correctly answering the fifth question if they had not yet done so by that point.
The Chair aired for nine episodes on ABC between January 15 and March 18, 2002, but not before two people managed to answer the final question correctly; Kris Derrico (née Mackerer) won $224,600 on the fourth episode that aired on February 5[5] and Steven Benjamin won the maximum $250,000 in the ninth and final episode that aired on March 18. A week before Mackerer's $224,600 win, another player, Dean Sheffron,[6] reached the last question with a total of $132,200 but lost it all due to redlining.
Thirteen episodes were taped, but only nine were broadcast. Many episodes were taped during post-midnight hours to hurry production in order to compete with Fox's show The Chamber (which was canceled after three episodes of its six-episode order were aired). Both programs would air during NBC's coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics, which resulted in low ratings and became a factor in the cancellation of both programs (along with high production costs).
The Chair premiered around the same time as Fox's torture show The Chamber. The production companies fought over this, each claiming the other show was a rip-off of theirs.[7] A lawsuit was filed against Fox and the production company of The Chamber by the New Zealand production company of The Chair, Touchdown Television,[8] but nothing became of it.
Apart from the US version being aired first, it has led to recreation of becoming a worldwide franchise as the show was adapted and recreated in several other countries.Most international versions' intros often have the shape of the heart on "The Chair", including the original New Zealand version (Except the German version). All these international versions were distributed by Target Distribution.
| Country | Local Name | Host | Network | Top Prize | Premiere/Air dates/First year broadcast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arab World | الكرسي El Kursi [9] | Ibrahim Abu Joudeh | Abu Dhabi TV | US$100,000 | February 17, 2003 | |
| The Chair: Nimm Platz in der Hölle[10] | Oliver Stamm | ATV | €25,000 | June 2003 | ||
| Столът Stolat[11] | Asparuh Minchev | NOVA | 25,000 лева | 2002–2003 | ||
| [12] [13] | Zone Rouge[14] [15] | Jean-Pierre Foucault | TF1 | €15,000 €30,000 | January 2003 – April 2005 | |
| Puls Limit: Jeder Herzschlag zählt[16] | Peer Kusmagk | VOX | €20,000 | April 22, 2003 – June 10, 2003 | ||
| Στα Όρια Sta Oria[17] | Kostas Apostolidis | ANT1 | €50,000 | October 2002 – December 2002 | ||
| ザ・チェアー The Chair | Masanori Hamada | TBS | ¥10,000,000 | May 25, 2005 – September 28, 2005 | ||
| La Silla[18] | Juan Manuel Bernal | TV Azteca | MX$250,000 | 2005 | ||
| The Chair | Yang Wei Han Dylan Liong | NTV7 | RM13,250 | 2002–2005 | ||
(original version) | The Chair | Matthew Ridge | TV2 | NZ$50,000 | April 2, 2002 – June 4, 2002 | |
| Кресло Kreslo | Fedor Bondarchuk | STS | ₽ 410,000 | September 7, 2002 – August 28, 2004 | ||
| 더 체어 코리아 The Chair Korea | Seo Gyeong-seok | KBS | ₩20,000,000 | December 14, 2011 | ||
| Shin Dong-yup | ₩50,000,000 | March 14, 2012 | ||||
| La Silla[19] [20] | Constantino Romero | Telemadrid Canal Sur ETB | €100,000 | June 2002 – August 2002 | ||
| The Chair เก้าอี้ระทึก The Chair Kao-Ie-Ra-Teuk | Noppon Komarachun | BBTV CH7 | ฿3,000,000 | July 9, 2003 – November 26, 2003 | ||
| John Rattanaveroj | ||||||
| Koltuk[21] | Osmantan Erkır | Kanal D | ₺ 250,000,000,000 | April 10, 2002 | ||
| ₺ 100,000,000,000 | ||||||
| The Chair[22] | John McEnroe | BBC One | £50,000 | August 31, 2002 – November 9, 2002 |