Talkabout

Canadian Game Show produced by CBC Vancouver (syndicated into the United States as well) where a pair of contestants chose one of two subjects to "talk about" and had 20 seconds each to rapidly explain the subject while trying to hit as many of the 10 keywords related to the subject as possible. Each word was worth a point, and getting all 10 awarded 10 points to the team and a bonus prize. But, if they did not hit all 10 words, the opposing team could steal the points by guessing the topic from the words that weren't revealed. The first team to 15 points became the champion.

The show ran briefly in America (1989-90 plus repeats a few years later on USA Network and currently on Canadian GSN equivalent Game TV), but the format managed to go to a few other countries. Most notable is the United Kingdom, where Andrew O'Connor helmed a version of the show (re-titled TalkAbout) as a daytime fixture on ITV from 1990-93.

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The following Game Show tropes appear in Talkabout:

• Bonus Round: Pick one more subject, and throw your partner in an isolation booth. Talk about the subject for 20 seconds as usual, each word is worth $100 (or you automatically win $2,000 if you get all 10). Then, if elected, the partner can try to guess one of the unrevealed words in a certain time period (one second for each word revealed) to double the winnings.
  • The UK version mixed it up a bit; the words were worth £20 each, and the player could either Double (partner tries to guess one of the unsaid words in 10 seconds to double the winnings) or Double-Double (with one second per word unrevealed, guess the specific word the partner will guess for quadruple the winnings)
• Game Show Winnings Cap: Winning five games in a row also won the progressive "Grand Game Jackpot".
• Home Game: It was also the Consolation Prize.
• Personnel:
  • The Announcer: Dean Hill.
  • Game Show Host: Wayne Cox.

Tropes used in Talkabout include:

• Catch Phrase: Would you like to talk about x, or y?
  • " - and I'll put this in quotations - " for when the subject was a proper name of a character or series.
  • "Twenty seconds on the clock... talk about ... (insert subject here)"
• Name's the Same: One episode featured a pairing of Shannon ... and Shannon.
• Spiritual Successor: Round 1 of Cram was very similar to the main format of Talkabout, except that the players had already been awake for 24 hours.
• Title Drop: Unavoidable, as having to talk about stuff is part of the game.