Talk About (game show)
Encyclopedia
Talk About is a game show produced in Canada
for CBC
, which bears some similarities to the board game Outburst
. Originally produced for CBC for the 1988-89 season, it was later picked up for American television syndication, airing from September 18, 1989 to March 16, 1990, with repeats later airing on the USA Network
from June 28 to December 31, 1993 and on GameTV starting January 3, 2011. Taped at stage 40 of CBC's Vancouver studios
, the show was hosted by Wayne Cox, with local radio personality Dean Hill as announcer.
The team in control was given the choice of two topics to "talk about", with the team's captain making the choice and deciding who would talk first. Both players received twenty seconds to talk, trying to come up with key words from a preselected list of ten. Each word the team got was worth one point. Forms of a word are acceptable as well. If the talking team said all 10 words between them, they won $
500 and all ten points available. Otherwise, the opposing team was shown the keywords that the first team did not say and was given an opportunity to guess the topic to try and steal the points. Answering correctly gave the team the points, otherwise they went to the first team. Play continued until one team reached 15 points, at which point that team won the game, $100, and a chance for up to $2,000 in the bonus round. The losing team receives parting gifts. All contestants receive the Talkabout home game, champions included. For special celebrity weeks, play continued until time was called and whoever was ahead won the game and prizes for charity.
If a team managed to win five consecutive games they won the "Grand Game" jackpot, which was a prize package that had a starting value of $1,000 and a new prize is added each week until a team claimed it. 5 Five time champions retired as well.
A choice of prizes was given to the winning team to begin the round, followed by another choice of "talk about" topics. The team captain decided what prize to play for, what topic to discuss, and whether or not they would play or go into an isolation booth. Once that was decided, the talking player was again given 20 seconds to come up with as many of the ten keywords for the selected topic. Getting them all before time ran out won both the prize and $2,000 cash.
If the first player wasn't able to get all ten words, $100 was given for each word that was said. That player was then shown the keywords that were not said and was given the choice whether to stop and take the money or bring their partner out to try and come up with one of the remaining words for double the money and the prize. If the first player decided to risk the money, their partner was given one second for each word that the first player gave to try to come up with one of the remaining words. Doing so doubled the money and won the prize, but failure to do so lost everything. On occasion, if they were let off the hook, they would come out anyway to see what might have happened.
from 1990-1993. The only difference was in the bonus round, where each word was worth £20, and at the end, the player had two options: "doubling" (up to £400), by having their partner say any unsaid word in 10 seconds, or "double-doubling" (4 times the pounds, up to £800) by having them say a specific word within a time limit of 1 second per word already said.
A Swedish
version called Prata på! ran briefly on TV4 in the mid-1990s. In the bonus round, each word was worth kr
500, and the "doubling" option required the partner to say any one of the unsaid words within a time limit of one second per word already said.
An Irish version of the show was broadcast by RTÉ
in the early 1990s on Saturday nights, it was presented by Ian Dempsey
. The show was brought back to RTÉ in the mid-1990s and was this time presented by Alan Hughes
.
in 1989. All contestants got a copy and Wayne would originally plug it after every match. Later, Dean Hill would plug it after coming back from the first commercial break.
A computer game of the show was produced by GameTek
, but is fairly rare.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
, which bears some similarities to the board game Outburst
Outburst (game)
Outburst is a game originally devised in 1986 by Hersch and Company of Los Angeles and later licensed by Parker Brothers, now a division of Hasbro...
. Originally produced for CBC for the 1988-89 season, it was later picked up for American television syndication, airing from September 18, 1989 to March 16, 1990, with repeats later airing on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
from June 28 to December 31, 1993 and on GameTV starting January 3, 2011. Taped at stage 40 of CBC's Vancouver studios
CBC Regional Broadcast Centre Vancouver
The CBC Regional Broadcast Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, houses the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio and television facilities in that city. It is the second largest CBC production facility in English Canada, and the third-largest overall, after Toronto's Canadian Broadcasting...
, the show was hosted by Wayne Cox, with local radio personality Dean Hill as announcer.
Gameplay
Two teams of two people, one team usually returning champions, played. For each round, the team that was not playing was placed in isolation so they could not hear anything. The champion team always played first.The team in control was given the choice of two topics to "talk about", with the team's captain making the choice and deciding who would talk first. Both players received twenty seconds to talk, trying to come up with key words from a preselected list of ten. Each word the team got was worth one point. Forms of a word are acceptable as well. If the talking team said all 10 words between them, they won $
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
500 and all ten points available. Otherwise, the opposing team was shown the keywords that the first team did not say and was given an opportunity to guess the topic to try and steal the points. Answering correctly gave the team the points, otherwise they went to the first team. Play continued until one team reached 15 points, at which point that team won the game, $100, and a chance for up to $2,000 in the bonus round. The losing team receives parting gifts. All contestants receive the Talkabout home game, champions included. For special celebrity weeks, play continued until time was called and whoever was ahead won the game and prizes for charity.
If a team managed to win five consecutive games they won the "Grand Game" jackpot, which was a prize package that had a starting value of $1,000 and a new prize is added each week until a team claimed it. 5 Five time champions retired as well.
Bonus Round
The winning team played the bonus round for a bonus prize and up to $2,000 in cash.A choice of prizes was given to the winning team to begin the round, followed by another choice of "talk about" topics. The team captain decided what prize to play for, what topic to discuss, and whether or not they would play or go into an isolation booth. Once that was decided, the talking player was again given 20 seconds to come up with as many of the ten keywords for the selected topic. Getting them all before time ran out won both the prize and $2,000 cash.
If the first player wasn't able to get all ten words, $100 was given for each word that was said. That player was then shown the keywords that were not said and was given the choice whether to stop and take the money or bring their partner out to try and come up with one of the remaining words for double the money and the prize. If the first player decided to risk the money, their partner was given one second for each word that the first player gave to try to come up with one of the remaining words. Doing so doubled the money and won the prize, but failure to do so lost everything. On occasion, if they were let off the hook, they would come out anyway to see what might have happened.
Foreign versions
A UK version of the show hosted by Andrew O'Connor ran for three years on ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
from 1990-1993. The only difference was in the bonus round, where each word was worth £20, and at the end, the player had two options: "doubling" (up to £400), by having their partner say any unsaid word in 10 seconds, or "double-doubling" (4 times the pounds, up to £800) by having them say a specific word within a time limit of 1 second per word already said.
A Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
version called Prata på! ran briefly on TV4 in the mid-1990s. In the bonus round, each word was worth kr
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
500, and the "doubling" option required the partner to say any one of the unsaid words within a time limit of one second per word already said.
An Irish version of the show was broadcast by RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
in the early 1990s on Saturday nights, it was presented by Ian Dempsey
Ian Dempsey
Ian Michael Dempsey is an Irish presenter of television and breakfast radio. He is the long-running presenter of the breakfast show on Today FM, self-titled The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, which runs from 07:00 - 09:00 each weekday morning...
. The show was brought back to RTÉ in the mid-1990s and was this time presented by Alan Hughes
Alan Hughes
Alan John Hughes is an Irish former cricketer. A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, he played five times for the Ireland cricket team between 1979 and 1982 including one List A match. He made his debut for Ireland against Worcestershire in August 1979...
.
Home version
A home version of the game was produced by Pressman Toy CorporationPressman Toy Corporation
Pressman Toy Corporation is a toy manufacturer based in New York City which was founded in 1922 by Jack Pressman. It currently focuses on family games and licensed products. Its slogan is "Games people play...
in 1989. All contestants got a copy and Wayne would originally plug it after every match. Later, Dean Hill would plug it after coming back from the first commercial break.
A computer game of the show was produced by GameTek
GameTek
GameTek was a video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida well known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune...
, but is fairly rare.
Notable Contestants
- Denis SimpsonDenis SimpsonDenis Simpson was a Canadian actor and singer, best known as a host of the TV series Polka Dot Door...
: Already known for his work on TVOTVOTVO is an abbreviation with several different significations:*Televisora de Oriente, a Venezuelan TV station*Teollisuuden Voima, a Finnish nuclear power company*Total Value of Ownership, an evaluation method*TVOntario, a Canadian TV station...
's Polka Dot DoorPolka Dot DoorPolka Dot Door was a long-running children's television series produced and broadcast by TVOntario from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse...
, Simpson and his partner, singer Marcus Mosely went on the show and lost their game. After, it was discovered that in one of the rounds, they guessed "rugs" on the subject of "carpets". The producers invited them back to play the next game which they won. Simpson would later become a regular on Acting CrazyActing CrazyActing Crazy is a Canadian television game show. Hosted by Wayne Cox , announced by Terry Reid and produced by Blair Murdoch, the show was shot at the CKVU-TV studios in Vancouver and originally aired on the Global Television Network in 1991...
, another Wayne Cox-hosted show. - Denelda Williams: Williams became a contestant on Talkabout before she was chosen as a panelist on The Next LineThe Next LineThe Next Line was a 1990s television game show. Produced by Blair Murdoch, it was filmed at the studios of CKVU-TV in Vancouver, British Columbia...
.