'Timeshock" was one of the original Japanese quiz shows, an uncomplicated but tense trivia contest that kept viewers glued to their screens in the '60s and made its voluble host, the late Jiro Tamiya, a superstar. The heart of the show was the intense one-minute barrage of questions that the contestants had to undergo in order to win prize money. Speed was the thing, and keeping one's cool the secret to success.
Since returning to the air several years ago, the program has been jazzed up with variety-show formulas to satisfy a more jaded, contemporary TV audience. Two teams of contestants come to the studio in hopes of winning the ultimate 10 million yen prize, and for the purposes of the show it helps if they have a specific use for the money, such as sending students to Salt Lake City to watch a classmate compete in the Olympics, or helping a community boxing club pay for renovations.
The teams are asked to identify people or objects shown in complex computer-graphic puzzles, and the team that makes the most correct identifications gets to perform in the Timeshock portion.