Zeit-bites: Chasing down the best TV quiz

Some time around 5pm weeknights a silence descends in certain households around the country. There’s no talking allowed when The Vixen, The Beast or The Governess are in action, except for when you’re testing your own skills against them.

But while The Chase has its loyal followers (despite a seemingly endless string of scandals), there are plenty of other TV quiz shows out there.

I still don’t really understand the appeal of fellow TVNZ1 show Tipping Point, with its trays of cash, and I’m really missing Eggheads and Pointless, which used to be staples on Sky TV’s UKTV (and the less said about TVNZ’s mismanaged, short-lived resurrection of Mastermind the better).

Those two have essentially been replaced on the British-oriented channel by comedy panel shows Eight Out of 10 Cats and QI , the former focused on ‘‘current events’’ ( British and often hopelessly out-of-date once it finally airs here) and the latter on questions impossible for most mere mortals (let alone Alan Davies) to even contemplate. Offering a more achievable challenge is the Sue Perkins-hosted Insert Name Here (also on UKTV) where comedians and others tackle questions relating to derivations of a particular Christian name each week.

For the kids, there’s the ‘‘reimagined’’ delights of 1990s favourite Double Dare on Nickelodeon.

Weirdly, this genre (despite its consistent popularity) seems to be the one corner of the market where traditional linear television appears to still have the edge over streaming. The likes of Amazon Prime Video and Lightbox seem to be quiz-free zones, though at least Netflix has the good sense to screen America’s finest.

Now in its 35th year, Jeopardy! (which also screens here on weekdays on Prime and Sky 5) is the quintessential quiz show.

There’s no fuss, no pregnant pauses, no lengthy monologues – just around 60 posers per 20-minute show. The only twist being contestants are given the answer, rather than the question.