Double Talk
Encyclopedia
Double Talk is an American
game show
that aired on the ABC
network in 1986. Henry Polic II
hosted this word game created by Bob Stewart, which contained elements of the previous Stewart-produced game show Shoot For the Stars
. Bob Hilton
was the announcer for the show's first two weeks and was replaced starting on the third week by Johnny Gilbert
.
Near the end of its run, the show was retitled Celebrity Double Talk. However, unlike most other games that added Celebrity or All-Star to their title like Whew!
, Bullseye and Hot Potato
, the format did not change when Double Talk changed its name. But like the afformentioned game shows, Double Talk did not recover.
The game board had four hidden puzzles on it, each worth ten points if correctly solved by the team in control. The controlling team could continue to solve puzzles until they solved all four puzzles on the board or made a mistake. If either partner could not solve their half, control passed to the other team, who could score five points and end the round by providing the correct response to the puzzle missed by their opponents. If the second team provided an incorrect response in their attempt to steal, play continued with the original team and any remaining unrevealed puzzles.
Round One ended after both teams played one board. In Round Two, each team again attempted four puzzles on their own board, with correct responses worth twenty points, but still only five points for a steal.
The team with the higher score at the end of Round Two won the game and played the bonus round for $10,000. If both teams were tied at the end of Round Two, the scores were reset to zero and teams attempted to solve additional puzzles by buzzing-in and responding in the same manner as before. Each puzzle was worth ten points, but if the team was unable to solve the puzzle after buzzing-in, ten points were awarded to the other team. The team that reached twenty points first won and played the bonus round.
The receiver was shown the initial letters of each word in the common phrase (e.g., "G________ C_________"). The giver viewed the entire common phrase on a monitor out of the receiver's line of sight, then provided an open-ended phrase with the desired response as a result (e.g., for "George Carlin
", the giver might say "He's a comedian who listed the seven words you can't say on television, and his name is...").
Givers could pass a phrase if they were stuck. If the giver used their hands or said a key word in the common phrase (as an illegal clue), that phrase was disqualified and the chance at $10,000 was forfeited.
Each correct answer revealed a letter on the game board in the show's title. At the start of the round, the D in "Double" was revealed and the team attempted to reveal the remaining nine letters in the logo. If they were successful, the contestant won $10,000. Otherwise, the contestant won $100 for each letter revealed, including the D given at the onset of the bonus round.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
that aired on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network in 1986. Henry Polic II
Henry Polic II
Henry Polic II is a stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his role as Jerry Silver in the American 1980s television series Webster, as well as his frequent game show appearances on such series as Super Password and The $100,000 Pyramid...
hosted this word game created by Bob Stewart, which contained elements of the previous Stewart-produced game show Shoot For the Stars
Shoot For The Stars
Shoot for the Stars is a game show created and produced by Bob Stewart, and aired on the NBC television network. The show aired from January 3 to September 30, 1977, and was produced in New York City...
. Bob Hilton
Bob Hilton
Robert "Bob" Wesley Hilton is an American television game show personality. He hosted The Guinness Game, a revival of Truth or Consequences and the 1990 revival of Let's Make a Deal, and announced on several other shows....
was the announcer for the show's first two weeks and was replaced starting on the third week by Johnny Gilbert
Johnny Gilbert
John L. "Johnny" Gilbert III is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s...
.
Near the end of its run, the show was retitled Celebrity Double Talk. However, unlike most other games that added Celebrity or All-Star to their title like Whew!
Whew!
Whew! is an American game show that aired on CBS from April 23, 1979, until May 30, 1980. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy and announced by Rod Roddy.The game was created by Jay Wolpert...
, Bullseye and Hot Potato
Hot Potato (game show)
Hot Potato was a television game show broadcast on NBC in the United States from January 23 to June 29, 1984. Bill Cullen was the show's host and Charlie O'Donnell was the announcer....
, the format did not change when Double Talk changed its name. But like the afformentioned game shows, Double Talk did not recover.
Main game
Two teams, each consisting of a contestant and celebrity competed. The object was for the team to work together and decipher puzzles that are written "in other words" style. For example, "Twice / Speak" translated to "Double Talk", the show's title. The slash represented a break in the puzzle, and each partner had to solve half of the puzzle to score.The game board had four hidden puzzles on it, each worth ten points if correctly solved by the team in control. The controlling team could continue to solve puzzles until they solved all four puzzles on the board or made a mistake. If either partner could not solve their half, control passed to the other team, who could score five points and end the round by providing the correct response to the puzzle missed by their opponents. If the second team provided an incorrect response in their attempt to steal, play continued with the original team and any remaining unrevealed puzzles.
Round One ended after both teams played one board. In Round Two, each team again attempted four puzzles on their own board, with correct responses worth twenty points, but still only five points for a steal.
The team with the higher score at the end of Round Two won the game and played the bonus round for $10,000. If both teams were tied at the end of Round Two, the scores were reset to zero and teams attempted to solve additional puzzles by buzzing-in and responding in the same manner as before. Each puzzle was worth ten points, but if the team was unable to solve the puzzle after buzzing-in, ten points were awarded to the other team. The team that reached twenty points first won and played the bonus round.
Jackpot Puzzle
If a team was able to solve all four puzzles on the board, they were shown a fifth, harder puzzle. If the team solved the puzzle, the contestant won a jackpot that started at $1,000 and increased by that amount each day until won.Game format changes
Later, teams were only required to solve three of the four puzzles in order to obtain a chance at the Jackpot Puzzle. Additionally, after stealing a puzzle and winning five points, play continued with the original team until they had played three of the four puzzles on that board. However, missing a puzzle forfeited the chance at the Jackpot Puzzle.Bonus round
The contestant chose whether to give or receive clues prior to the start of the round. The giver attempted to get the receiver to say nine common phrases within 60 seconds by asking questions whose response was the common phrase.The receiver was shown the initial letters of each word in the common phrase (e.g., "G________ C_________"). The giver viewed the entire common phrase on a monitor out of the receiver's line of sight, then provided an open-ended phrase with the desired response as a result (e.g., for "George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
", the giver might say "He's a comedian who listed the seven words you can't say on television, and his name is...").
Givers could pass a phrase if they were stuck. If the giver used their hands or said a key word in the common phrase (as an illegal clue), that phrase was disqualified and the chance at $10,000 was forfeited.
Each correct answer revealed a letter on the game board in the show's title. At the start of the round, the D in "Double" was revealed and the team attempted to reveal the remaining nine letters in the logo. If they were successful, the contestant won $10,000. Otherwise, the contestant won $100 for each letter revealed, including the D given at the onset of the bonus round.