Body Language

***Body Language*** is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson Productions. The previous version aired on CBS from June 4, 1984 until January 3, 1986, and was hosted by Tom Kennedy. Johnny Olson announced until his death in October 1985; Gene Wood and Bob Hilton shared the announcing duties afterward, and had substituted on occasion before that. The current version is hosted by Randy Stuckey, with Kel Harris as the announcer.

The show pitted two teams against each other, each consisting of a contestant and a celebrity guest. The gameplay centered on the party game charades, in the same vein as the earlier Goodson program *Showoffs*, but contestants also had to solve word puzzles to win money, making *Body Language* a cross between *Showoffs* and *Password Plus*. The current version which was launched in 2014, is a Lady Luck Production in association with FremantleMedia (the owners of the Mark Goodson Library).

## Main Game

Both 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" the words. The pantomiming player could pass on any words they wished and come back if time remained. If an illegal clue was given (e.g., saying a word, using a prop), 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.

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), effective in the fall of 1985.

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 first 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. The playoff puzzle most commonly occurs if both teams won their own $250 puzzles.

## Sweepstakes

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. The civilian player chose which team member would act and which would guess. Each correct word was worth $100. At the end of the first half, unlike the previous rounds, a contestant was informed of what words they 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 new words or phrases. If the team guessed all three before time expired, the money won in the first half of the bonus round was multiplied by 10, for a maximum possible bonus of $10,000; otherwise, the player kept the money won in the first half. Any illegal clue in the second half ended the game immediately.