Does the tjw QVM support !setlevel? It sounds like he is just broadcasting through the server console, which would mean it's not recognizing the command.
Maybe you should try using a different game.qvm. Try replacing your current game.qvm with
Lakitu7's QVM and see if !help works (if you don't know where to put it, it goes in the C:\Documents and Settings\
[user]\Local Settings\Application Data\Tremulous\base\vm folder for Windows users. The folder is hidden, so make sure you're seeing hidden folders).
And by the way, one exclamation point typically does the job, unless used in a whimsical situation.
Edit: Plague- I don't know, that's why I'm asking hehe. I don't remember my server having !commands when I ran his QVM a while ago, but maybe I'm mistaken.