| Host | |
| Bobby Van | |
| Hostess | |
| Judy Rich | |
| Announcer | |
| Bill Armstrong | |
| Broadcast | |
 | |
| Packager | |
| Lin Bolen Productions | |
“Today, one of our couples can be the proud owners elegant classic Rolls-Royce, just by saying the right words, in the right place, at the right time. And now, from Hollywood, the fun capital of the world, welcome to…Back Talk! Ladies and gentlemen, the star of our show, Bobby Van!”
Back Talk was a 1979 unsold comedy game show pilot.
Gameplay[]
This game was played with three celebrities and two couples and it was all about how much you remember what was said and what words were used.
Main Game[]
One half of the couple in control faced a board with seven hidden words. Bobby started a story, and then the contestant continued that story in improvisation fashion. As (s)he told the story, the words appeared on the board one by one. The partner and the celebrities listened in throughout the process. Once the first player was finished by using the seven words, each of the stars told a story of their own, each for an unmentioned amount of time. When they were finished, the partner then tried to guess what the seven words were. Each time a star and the partner said any of the words, they put money into the couple's bank. Should the partner successfully guess all seven words correctly, the couple received a bonus added to their bank.
The game was played in two rounds, with the men doing the storytelling in round one, and the women doing the storytelling in round two.
Here how they scored in each round:
| Round 1 | Round 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Words | $10 | $20 |
| Bonus | $70 | $140 |
| Max Total | $350 | $700 |
The couple with the most money at the end of the game were the winners and went on to the bonus round for some big prizes.
Bonus Round: Winner's Prize Payoff[]
To start, the winning couple was shown seven prizes up for grabs via a story by hostess Judy Rich and prize descriptions by announcer Bill Armstrong. Next, the winning couple selected a celebrity to partner up with for this round. Now, the team was given a situation and for 60 seconds, they told an endless story associated with it. Behind them was a new game board with seven words pre-selected in advanced, these are words the staff thought are more likely to be used, but unlike the main game, none of them but the audience will be seeing them. Each player got two turns, 10 seconds per turn (60 seconds altogether) and when a player's 10 seconds were up, the next player in line began. When the time was up, the winning couple won prizes behind each word that was used. But if the team used all seven words before time ran out, they not only won all seven prizes, they also won a new car, in this case a Rolls Royce.
Trivia[]
- Had this pilot went to series, it would have more than likely have been Van's last series, as he passed away from brain cancer in July 1980.
- Van had also already begun hosting the nightly syndicated game show Make Me Laugh at the time this pilot was taped.
Inventors[]
Bill Barr & Lin Bolen