I had a horrible dream last night. I came in for my Pop Culture 240 final. I was fastened down and pushed into a small room, forced to answer the questions in below-freezing temperatures while jets of ice blasted in my face.

Oh, wait, never mind. I guess I just dozed off while watching “The Chamber” on Fox.

That’s the newest thing on TV – torture as quiz show. People compete for the chance to be strapped down and placed in “The Chamber,” which can either be extremely hot (up to 150 degrees) or extremely cold (down to 20 below zero). The oxygen level will be depleted to further addle the mind, and did I mention the unending earthquake-intensity shaking?

Welcome to the world of extreme quiz shows.

ABC has also introduced a torture – er, quiz – show of its own, “The Chair.” It’s hosted by John McEnroe, whose previous career as a pro tennis player apparently makes him qualified to host. Contestants are strapped to a chair and elevated into a ring of fire.

If they keep their heart rates below a certain level, they can answer questions and make money. If not, they lose a certain amount per second. After a couple of rounds, a “heart stopper” comes in to try and increase the contestant’s heart rate. One “heart stopper” is a live crocodile lowered down almost on top of you.

Was Regis not terrifying enough? Did Anne Robinson not strike fear in your heart? Apparently not. Question-and-answer shows are pass‚ now. There must be an element of danger involved.

What is even more incredulous is that people actually volunteer for this in the first place. When I think of fire, intense cold, rotating chairs and crocodiles, I do not think about answering questions or entertainment. This is the stuff nightmares are made of.

Why do they do it? It’s certainly not for the money. Each question in “The Chamber” is only worth $1,000, and unless you survive all seven levels, you will lose half of your earnings. Even if you are ordered out by the doctors, you still lose half. If – and only if – you have answered more than 25 questions, your winnings will triple.

One could earn about as much by only answering 11 questions on “Millionaire,” and that would only require facing Regis.

When will the networks decide to forego the intelligence element and focus entirely on the pain and torture part? Whoops, they already have; I almost forgot about “Fear Factor.”

On “Fear Factor,” which has been on since last summer, $50,000 can be yours. That is, as long as you will jump from a moving semi, be surrounded by dead squid, or the classic, lay down as you are covered with live rats. If that’s not quality entertainment, I don’t know what is. You don’t even have to answer any questions.

It won’t be long now. We already have seen fiction about violence masquerading as public sport; why don’t we try and bring Rollerball or Unreal Tournament to life? In a doctor-approved, safe manner, of course.

I will admit that the leap from “The Chamber” to either of those is a little steep. But then again, no one had ever thought that the idea of answering questions while under extreme physical duress would even make it to the drawing board.

Jeff Morrison is a sophomore in journalism and political science from Traer. He is a copy editor for the Daily.