Body Language (game show)

Infobox_television
show_name = Body Language


caption = Body Language title logo.
format = Game Show
runtime = 30 Minutes
creator = Mark Goodson, Bill Todman
starring = Tom Kennedy - host
Johnny Olson, Gene Wood, Bob Hilton - announcers
country = USA
rating=TV-G
num_episodes = 398
network = CBS
first_aired = June 4, 1984
last_aired = January 3, 1986|

"Body Language" was a television game show, created by Mark Goodson Television Productions. Based on the party game charades, it aired from June 4, 1984, until January 3, 1986, on CBS. Tom Kennedy hosted the Mark Goodson production. Johnny Olson announced until his death in October 1985; Gene Wood and Bob Hilton shared the announcing duties afterward, and have substituted on occasion before that.

Premise

The show pitted two teams against each other, each consisting of a contestant and a celebrity guest. The gameplay centered around the party game charades, but contestants also had to solve word puzzles to win money. Each episode contained one full game.

Main game

Teams played separately, with one player standing behind a podium, and the other in the acting area in front of it. In each turn, the teammate serving as "actor" had 60 seconds to get their partner to say as many of five words or phrases as possible. The clue-giver was not allowed to talk or use props, including their own clothing. They instead had to "pantomime" (as host Kennedy referred to it) the words. The actor/actress could pass on any words he/she wished and come back if time remained. If an illegal clue was given (e.g., saying a word), the acting portion immediately ended and the actor/actress was disqualified for that round. The guesser then attempted to solve the puzzle portion of the round. (If, in post-acting conversation, the actor revealed or discussed a word that had not been guessed, the opposing team received the first chance at the puzzle.)

The puzzle was a sentence or question with seven numbered blanks. Five of the blanks corresponded to the words or phrases that were acted out, and any that had been guessed correctly were revealed. The contestant then had one guess at what person, place or thing puzzle described. If the player was correct, they won money for that puzzle. If not, the player's opponent was called over to choose a blank to reveal and then make a guess. The two players alternated revealing blanks and making guesses until one got the correct answer and won the puzzle; if neither player had solved the puzzle after all seven blanks were filled in, the teams' "actors" would each receive one guess. In the sixth week of the show's run, parentheses were added to the two "unacted" words.

After the show had been on the air for a year, a $500 bonus (not counted toward the score) was awarded if a team guessed all five words before time ran out (this bonus only applied in round two). [http://www.gameshowutopia.net/bodylanguage/bodylanguage.htm You can (-) or (-) this if you have (-) each (-) on your (-). It's BodyLanguage!] Retrieved 6 January 2008.]

The game had two rounds with each team acting once per round. In the first round, celebrities acted and contestants guessed, and puzzles were worth $100. In the second round, the celebrities guessed while the contestants acted, and puzzles were worth $250. If a puzzle went completely unsolved, the value of that puzzle carried over to the next puzzle (for example, if the second $100 puzzle was not solved, the next one would then be worth $350 instead of the normal $250). The team that reached $500 won the game. Because the puzzles from the first round were only worth $100, a team had to win both their own $250 second round puzzle "and" their opponent's to reach a score of at least $500. It was common for neither team to reach that mark after two rounds. If this occurred, a playoff puzzle was played with no acting. Contestants again took turns revealing a chosen blank and guessing the puzzle until one guessed correctly, won the extra $250 and the game. The champion player was given the choice to start or have their opponent start.

weepstakes

The winning team played a bonus round, dubbed by Kennedy as the "Sweepstakes" round. Originally the celebrity player acted out the words; beginning June 10, 1985, the civilian player chose which team member would act and which would guess. The team had 60 seconds to guess as many of ten words or phrases as possible. Like the previous rounds, only the clue-giver could pass on a word, but could come back to it if time permitted. Each correct word was worth $100. At the end of the first half, unlike the previous rounds, a contestant was informed of what words he/she had missed. Illegal clues forfeited the chance to solve that word.

After the first half of the bonus game, a 20-second round was played with three words or phrases. If the team guessed all three before time expired, the money won in the first half of the bonus round was increased tenfold, for a maximum possible bonus of $10,000; otherwise, the player kept the money won in the first half.

Champions/Returning Players Rule

Originally, winning contestants returned for up to five games, or until winnings reached $25,000, before being retired, and losing contestants did not return. Beginning in September 24, 1984, a new system was implemented under which players would remain until incurring two losses. It was initially explained that each pair of contestants would play best-of-three matches; however, in practice, two losses in different matches still resulted in a player leaving. Under that new system, champions could stay on the show for up to six wins. The winnings limit was increased to $50,000 the following November.

Tournaments

In the summer of 1985, "Body Language" had a month-long "Teen Week." The teens played the standard game; any winnings up to $2,500 were awarded in cash, while anything over that amount went into a savings bond that matured on the player's 18th birthday. If the player didn't win $2,500 through the game, the total was increased to that amount. During Teen Week, getting all five words in the second round netted a special bonus prize that was different every time it was won, such as a Commodore 64 computer.

Broadcast History

"Body Language," in effect a revival of the 1975 ABC program "Showoffs," replaced the second version of Mark Goodson's "Tattletales" at 4 p.m./3 Central. Although its sole network competition on ABC, "Edge of Night," was nearing the end of a long run, the game nonetheless struggled, because many local affiliates had for years preempted the network feed at that time in favor of syndicated programming, which likely brought in larger advertising revenues. Although some stations tape-delayed the show for broadcast the next morning, "Body Language" still managed only a fraction of the audience that morning games like "The Price Is Right" and "The $25,000 Pyramid" did. As such, CBS cancelled the game in early 1986 in favor of a revival of Goodson's "Card Sharks." The program succeeding "Body Language" in the 4/3 slot, "Press Your Luck," would become the last-ever major network show to air in that timeslot to date.

Episode status

All episodes are intact. GSN is currently airing this show at 2:00 a.m on Sunday and Monday mornings.

Pilots

Three pilots for the series were made on October 9, 1983. The only change in the front game was the scoring, with puzzles worth $100-$200-$300-$400, and $500 was needed to win the main game.

The endgame was called "7 Chances." Two puzzles were shown with the requisite 7 blanks. The celebrity chose the blank to be revealed, and the contestant tried to guess the puzzle. If the contestant got both puzzles, he or she won $7,000 + $1,000 per leftover chance. If they got one puzzle, he or she won $500.

References

External links

* [http://www.gameshowutopia.net/bodylanguage/bodylanguage.htm The Body Language Page @ Gameshowutopia.net]
*imdb title|id=0135081|title=Body Language