BODY LANGUAGE
Airdate(s):
June 1984-Jan 1986
Network(s):
CBS Daytime
Announcer(s):
Johnny Olsen
Produced By:
Mark Goodson Productions

“It’s a game for the uninhibited, and our stars this week are (celebrities’ names). Watch their bodies do the talking on Body Language!”

“Showoffs” met “Password Plus” in this unique game.

Two celebrity/civilian teams compete. To begin, a member of one team stands behind the podium while his/her partner acts out various words being shown on a hidden screen. The podium player has 60 seconds to guess up to five words being acted by the partner, who may pass on any word and come back to it. About halfway through the run, teams who got through all five words before time ran out won a $500 bonus.

Afterward, the podium player is shown a brief paragraph, with seven words missing, describing a particular subject. Whatever words the team guessed are added to their respective blanks, and the player gives a guess. If correct s/he wins the money for the team, otherwise a player from the opposing team gets to pick one of the blanks not yet filled in and gives a guess. This continues until the puzzle is guessed.
In Round One, each team plays a puzzle worth $100, and Round Two puzzles are worth $250 each, and the first team to $500 wins. If neither team has reached $500 after Round Two, a $250 puzzle is played with no charades portion, just two opponents revealing blanks and guessing.


In the Sweepstakes round, a player acts out more charades with the partner guessing. This time, they have 60 seconds for up to 10 words, worth $100 each. After the 60 seconds has elapsed, another 20 seconds is put on the clock, and three more words are played. If all three are guessed correctly, the amount won in the 60-second portion is multiplied by ten. Contestants continued playing until they won six games or they lost two games, whichever happened first.
Aside from the MAJOR flaw in the front game (it’s not that bad I suppose, but the fact that Round One is completely worthless just gets to me), this is a great game, combining two very different skills, and finding a unique way to merge them into a single format.

Tom made the unusual decision to dye his hair brown halfway through the run (unusual since the image of him with white hair was totally familiar to viewers at this point). No matter---he’s a good emcee who is clearly enjoying himself here; He breaks up fairly often when he sees a clue he likes, and that’s the charm. He’s not ashamed to show how much fun he’s really having.


Up One Level to: The Shows of Tom Kennedy

Up Two Levels to: Tom Kennedy's World

Up Three Levels to: Game Show Utopia