Talk About

Host

Wayne Cox

Announcer

Dean Hill

Broadcast

CBC: 10/21/1988 – 3/16/1990 (with repeats until 9/14/1990)

Packager

Comedia Productions

Talk About was a shot-lived Canadian game show that was loosely based on the board game Outburst.

Gameplay

Two teams of two contestants "talk about" a series of subjects which can be either people, places, and things; all while trying to reveal ten hidden clue words on a game board.

Main Game

One team was isolated (by standing behind a podium and facing a wall while wearing headsets) while the other team was given a choice of two subjects to "talk about". Once they chose a subject and decided who will play first, they had 40 seconds (20 for each player) to talk about that subject as much as possible. While talking, they faced a game board of ten hidden clue words; each time the team said a clue word, it was revealed on the board and one point would go into the pot. The talking team also scored for forms of the word. If they said all ten clue words, they not only scored 10 points, but they also won a $500 bonus. If they didn't get all ten after both players took their turns, the opposing team was released from isolation, and got to see the words the talking team didn't say. If the isolated team could guess the subject using the words they saw, they stole the points; but if they couldn't, the talking team would get to keep the points. The first team to reach 15 points or more won the game, $100 and went on to the bonus game.

Bonus Game

In the bonus game to start, the winning team had a choice two bonus prizes to play for. Then just like in the main game, they had a choice of two subjects. First they chose one of those subjects, then they decided amongst themselves as to who would talk, and who would go into an isolation booth. While one player was in the booth, the other had 20 seconds to talk about the chosen subject to reveal as many of the 10 words as possible with each word uncovered worth $100. If the talking player could reveal all ten, the winning team won $2,000; but if he/she didn't, the talking player could decide to either take the money won or allow his/her partner to talk about the same subject in an attempt to say one of the remaining words on the list in as many seconds as revealed words in a double or nothing format. When taking the gamble, the partner was removed from isolation and had as many seconds as revealed words to try and say one of the words unsaid by the first player. Doing so doubled the money, but not doing so won nothing. In addition to the cash, winning the bonus round in any way also won the selected bonus prize.

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Any team that won five consecutive games retired undefeated and collected the Grand Game Jackpot. This was a prize package worth $1,000 in the first season; during the second season, it began at this value and a prize was added every time new champions were crowned until a team claimed it. The biggest Grand Game Jackpot won on the show was worth $10,000.

Merchandise

A home version of the game was produced by Pressman in 1989. All contestants got a copy and Wayne would plug it after every match. Dean Hill would plug it after coming back from the first commercial break.

A computer game of the show was produced by GameTek in 1990, but is fairly rare.

International Versions

The following are a list of countries that have previously aired their versions of Talkabout including:

• Ireland - TVE/90's/Ian Dempsey followed by Alan Hughes
• Sweden - Prata pa (Speaking of!)/TV4/90's/Lars Gustafsson
• United Kingdom - ITV/1990-1993/Andrew O'Connor

Music

Bob Buckley

Inventor

Mark Maxwell-Smith

Links

Rules for Talkabout @ Loogslair.net
Chuck Donegan's Talkabout Rules Page