Sale of the Century (Australian game show)

Last updated

Sale of the Century
Also known asSale of the New Century (2000)
Genre Game show
Created byAl Howard
Directed byGarry Dunstan
Terry Higgins
Dennis Rawady
Tony Skinner
Peter Ots
Craig Coster
Gayle Trippett
Adrian Dellevergin
Graeme Sutcliffe
Presented byHosts:
Tony Barber (1980–1991)
Glenn Ridge (1991–2001)
Co-hosts:
Victoria Nicolls (1980–1982)
Delvene Delaney (1982–1985)
Alyce Platt (1986–1991)
Jo Bailey (1991–1993)
Nicky Buckley (1994–1999)
Karina Brown (2000–2001)
Narrated byRon Neate (1980)
Pete Smith (1980–2001)
Theme music composer Jack Grimsley
Country of origin Australia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons22
No. of episodes4,610
Production
Executive producersBill Mason
Andrew Brooke
Martin Rhodes
Michael Whyte
Karen Greene
ProducersJim Burnett
Lisa Chatfield
Pam Barnes
Michelle Seers
Steve Marshall
Suzanne Stark
Karen Bentley
Production locations GTV-9 studios, Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria
Running time30 minutes
Production company Grundy Productions
Original release
Network Nine Network
Release14 July 1980 (1980-07-14) 
29 November 2001 (2001-11-29)
Related

Sale of the Century (stylized as $ale of the Century) is an Australian prime time game show that aired on the Nine Network from 14 July 1980 to 29 November 2001. It is based on both Great Temptation that aired from 1970 to 1974 and on the original Sale that first aired in the United States from 1969 to 1973. The Australian format of Sale has since been used internationally, including in a revived US version that aired from 1983 to 1989.

Contents

Tony Barber, the host of Great Temptation, was also the initial host of Sale for over a decade before being replaced by Glenn Ridge in 1991. Hostesses over the years have included Barbie Rogers, Victoria Nicolls, Delvene Delaney, Alyce Platt, Jo Bailey, Nicky Buckley and Karina Brown. Pete Smith was Sale's announcer for the majority of its run. Ron Neate was announcer for only the first ten episodes in 1980 before Smith took over.

From 30 May 2005 to 23 January 2009, the series was revived under its original Australian title, Temptation .

Gameplay

The game usually involves three contestants competing to amass the highest score by answering questions correctly and playing several games. The champion from the previous episode will usually be invited to return as a carry-over champion.

Each contestant is given $20 to start. The host reads a trivia question to the contestants. The first to press a buzzer gets an opportunity to answer the question, interrupting the host if in the middle of reading the question. Players' scores increase by $5 for each correct answer and decrease by $5 for each incorrect answer. [1] If a player answers incorrectly, the correct answer is revealed and the game goes on to the next question, as only one player can try to answer each question.

Gift Shop

At the end of each of the first two rounds (and in early years, also at the end of the third round), the highest-scoring player gets to go to a "Gift Shop" and is offered the chance to sacrifice part of their score to "purchase" a prize at a "low price". [2] The prizes, and the cost, increased in each round, usually around $5–7 in round 1, then $7–10 in round 2, and $10–16 in round 3. Contestants were allowed to haggle with the host, who, depending on the game situation, might reduce the price and offer inducements including actual cash in order to entice the contestant to purchase. If two or more players had the same score at this point, a Dutch auction was conducted for the prize whereby the host would incrementally reduce the selling price until either contestant buzzed in or the host decided not to lower the prize any further and announced "no sale".

Some gift shops also included a bonus prize called a "Sale Surprise", revealed only after the conclusion of the gift shop (whether the contestant bought the prize or not).

Cashbox/Cash Card

In 1986, along with the debut of the new theme and set as well as co-host Platt, the third Gift Shop prize was replaced by these two mini-games, giving players an opportunity to win some cash, an extra prize, or earn extra score money:

Cashbox

The player in the lead (or by auction if there was a tie) would be given the opportunity to play for a cash jackpot, which started at $2,000 and increased by $1,000 every day until it was won. To play, they would have to give up his/her lead over the second-place competitor. If the contestant opted to play, they selected one of three boxes. One box contained the jackpot while the other boxes contained cash prizes of $100 and $200.

This was later adopted in America as "Instant Cash"

Cash Card

In 1989, as part of a format revamp—which also included the introduction of audio-visual questions, a 30-second "Fast Money" speed round, an extra "Fame Game" in the third round (later removed in 1992), and the shopping round replaced by the "Winner's Board"—the Cashbox was replaced with the "Cash Card," an opportunity for the leading contestant to either win a cash prize equivalent to perhaps a month's average wages for a middle-class Australian at the time, earn the opportunity to win a car later in the game (see section on major prizes), receive the score they sacrificed back, or reduce the score of a competitor slightly. This cost a player $15 to play.

Four playing cards (the Aces of each suit) were presented; the player selected one, [2] and it was turned over to reveal one of four elements:

  • "$15": Gave the player the money back.
  • "Joker": worth a "booby prize"; essentially a worthless card.
  • "Prize": A bonus prize, usually worth between $2,000 and $3,000.
  • "Cash Card": A growing jackpot that began at $5,000 and increased by $1,000 each night it was not won.

For the first three years of this format, if the leading player opted not to go for the Cash Card, the second-place player was then offered that chance, but the jackpot card was removed from the lineup. In the event of a tie-breaker between the second- and third-place contestants, a general knowledge question was asked, and the first person with the correct answer played. This option was discontinued in 1992.

In 1992, two significant changes were made to the Cash Card: The Cash Card jackpot itself was fixed at $5,000, but occasionally was worth $10,000; and the "Joker" was replaced with the "Take $5" card, which allowed the player to remove $5 from one of their opponents' scores.

Two years later, in keeping with the "casino" theme, the playing cards were replaced with four single-reeled poker machines also displaying each card suit. Each one was rigged to land on one element, and when the player selected a suit, the co-host pulled the handle to reveal the outcome. In addition, the "Take $5" was relegated to celebrity specials, and replaced on the regular shows with a machine displaying the manufacturer's logo of the car on offer that week. If the player selects this machine, then goes on to win the game, the car is placed on the Winner's Board (see below).

Fame Game

A longer-format question usually starting with "Who am I?" or "What is my name?" depending on the subject of the question was asked once in each of the three rounds. [2] Here, a succession of increasingly larger clues were given to the identity of a famous person, place, or event. In this round, players could buzz in and answer at any time, without penalty for an incorrect answer. However, each player only had one chance to answer.

If one of the players buzzed in and answered correctly, they had an opportunity to play the "famous faces" sub-game, where they would choose from a game board with nine photos of celebrities, occasionally locations, and from 1987, a featured home viewer. (On The $25,000 Great Temptation, the board featured six celebrity photos.) Once chosen, the face selected would be spun around to reveal either a relatively small prize (typically appliances or furniture valued at around a weekly wage) or a $25 money card, which awarded $25 to the player's score.

By 1984, additional $10 and $15 money cards were added to the game board, with the $10 available at the outset, the $15 added at the second Fame Game, and the $25 at the third. By 1986, the final Fame Game featured a "wild card," which offered the choice of $1,000 in cash or a chance to pick again. From 1989 to 1992, a fourth game was added with two $5 questions separating the first two Fame Games and $20 card added in the third Fame Game and the $25 card added in the fourth. The $20 card was removed in 1992.

Speed Round (Fast Money)

Originally, after the third Fame Game, three more general knowledge questions were asked, and the contestant with the highest score is the winner. (In the first episode, however, only one general knowledge question was asked.) Around 1983, it was replaced with a speed round, where the host would ask questions in a particularly rapid-fire manner, attempting to fit in as many questions as possible in a 60-second time limit. It is also sometimes referred to as the "Mad Minute" due to the speed round's fast pace.

Starting in 1989, as part of the aforementioned format revamp, the second Fame Game was followed by a few more questions and a shorter 30-second speed round before the second Gift Shop offer; the final speed round was initially reduced to 30 seconds, but restored to 60 seconds by 1990. Most of the more successful players proved themselves particularly adept at this section.

On 12 November 1986, part-time taxi driver David Poltorak achieved the highest front game score on the Australian version – $200 – and consequently won the total endgame prize pool on offer (totalling a then-record $376,200). [3]

As far as a front game score, a close second may belong to a man named Ian, who in 1985 won a game with a score of $170. [4] Virginia Noel, who won a game in 1983 with a score of $155 while not letting her opponents answer any questions during Fast Money may hold third. [5] [ failed verification ] (Ultimately, David Poltorak's record would be beaten in 1994 by Dean Sole on the New Zealand version of "Sale of the Century", his single-game score on 14 November 1994 being $201.)[ citation needed ]

The winner of the game was the person with the most money at the end. If there was a final tie, the tied players answered a tiebreaker "Who am I?" question, where a correct answer from either contestant won the game, while an incorrect answer defeated the contestant in favor of his or her opponent.[ citation needed ]

Sale of the New Century

In a bid to combat declining ratings, the show was renamed Sale of the New Century in 2000. The format was also altered slightly to include four contestants per night in an elimination format; after each of the last two Fame Games, the lowest scorer would be eliminated. Any players tied for last place would be asked a Fame-Game-style question.

In addition, the second set of questions prior to the first Fame Game included a "Brain Drain" question. The initial value of $20 reduced by $5 every 10 seconds. In 2000, Brain Drain questions had the question stop after time for the $5 score ran out; later questions had the timer freeze after 30 seconds at $5 for the remainder of the entire question.

The individual Cash Card poker machines were replaced by single touch-screen video poker machine; the co-host touched a suit, then hit a button to spin the "reels". In addition, the "Prize" was replaced with "Take $5". Also, contestants who win "all the way" then compete in a "best of three" play-off entitled "Super Sale." The first two contestants to win since the format change played against each other to win the same amount of cash as the latter contestant's cash jackpot. After this, the "reigning champ" plays against the next Grand Champion to win "all the way" for a cash amount equal to their jackpot prize. [6]

The "New" was dropped from the title in 2001, and the show returned to a three contestant format, but continued to eliminate the low scorer before the final fast money. [6]

Bonus Games

The show went through two bonus games during its 21-year run:

Shopping format

A series of six (seven at first) prizes was offered, culminating in one or sometimes two luxury cars. The sale prices for the prizes on the first episode started at $55 and increased to $530 for the car. A contestant could take his or her cumulative winnings, buy a prize, and retire, or elect to return the next day and try to win enough to buy the next most expensive prize. Any champion who earned enough cash to buy the car could leave with the car or return to play for all six prizes.

Starting in mid-to-late 1982, any champion who earned enough cash for the car had the opportunity to play for a large cash jackpot for $620. Later, they could purchase all of the prizes for $605 and all of the prizes plus the cash jackpot (the "lot") for $700. The jackpot started at $50,000 and increased by $2,000 per night until somebody won it. The largest jackpot ever won was $508,000.

Winner's Board

In 1989, also as part of the aforementioned format revamp, the shopping round was replaced with a game called the "Winner's Board" (based on the Winner's Board used on the American version from 1984 to 1987). The contestant would face a 12-space board. The Winner's Board contained six prizes on 12 cards—five pairs of matching cards, one "WIN" card (if picked, the next number selected resulted in an automatic match), and one "CAR" card. The contestant called off numbers and the first prize matched is the first prize won, but in order to win the car, the player must select the "WIN" card first before selecting a number that has the "CAR" card.

In 1992, coinciding with the aforementioned removal of the extra Fame Game and subsequent $20 money card in round three, the "WIN" and "CAR" cards were replaced by another prize; as mentioned above, if a player had a winning score of $100 or more or starting in 1994, then picked the "car space" in the Cash Card, the "WIN" and "CAR" cards were placed on the board. If a champion clears the board, but did not complete either of the aforementioned tasks, their next game is for the car.

After a player made a match, they faced a decision: either leave with all the prizes earned off the board, or risk them and play another show. A loss cost the player all of their prizes from the board, while clearing the board and winning one more game (which took seven, later eight, episodes to achieve) earned them the cash jackpot.

Tournaments

In 1985, the Australian/American challenge aired featuring the biggest winners from the Australian version competing against the biggest winners from the American version for $100,000. The first week consisted of 12 Australian champions playing against each other, three at a time, where the four winners of each heat compete on the Friday show to determine the two representatives for that country. The same was done during the second week with 12 American champions. The third week was a "best of 5" playoff where the first team that won three games won $100,000. The Australian team (consisting of Virginia Noel and Fran Powell) beat the American team (consisting of Frances Wolfe and Alice Conkright) winning three straight games.

In 1986, the Ashes series aired which followed the same format as the previous year's Australian/American challenge but featuring the biggest winners from the Australian version competing against the biggest winners from the British version again for $100,000. Again, the Australian team (consisting of David Bock and Cary Young) beat the British team (consisting of Daphne Fowler and Susan Kaye) also winning three straight games.

Later that year, the Commonwealth Games aired featuring contestants from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand competing against each other which was won by Cary Young.

In 1987, 1988, and 1989, three World Championship series aired featuring champions from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom competing against each other. Cary Young won the 1987 series (representing Australia), David Bock won the 1988 series (also representing Australia), and Brian MacDonnell won the 1989 series (representing New Zealand).

In 1987, 1988 and 1989, three Student Championship series aired featuring Year 12 students from across Australia competing against each other.

In 1990, Young, Bock, and MacDonnell competed against each other in the Masters series, which was won by Young.

Additionally, the US version held their own "International Tournament" in 1987, which was played between the top winners from said country, Canada and Australia; the grand champion was none other than aforementioned three-time defending Australian champ Cary Young.

Celebrity Weeks

Starting in 1990, occasional weeks were set aside for celebrities to play the game. Each week consists of sixteen celebrities playing over four days. The four winners from those shows meet in a two-day final, in which the celebrity with the highest score over those two days wins the competition.

Featured stars included the cast members of The Sullivans , The Young Doctors , Prisoner , and A Country Practice . Each celebrity plays for a home viewer, who wins all cash and prizes earned during the show. The ultimate winner's home viewer also wins an extra prize, usually a car.

Top 10 Grand Champions

RankNameAmount WonYear or Date
1Robert Kusmierski$676,79001-06-1992
2Kate Buckingham$471,64015-10-1990
3Simon Fallon$434,06521-02-2001
4Sandra Oxley$421,0801997
5Tom Beck$420,57331-05-2000
6Richard Hitesman$382,3411993
7David Poltorak$376,10411-12-1986
8Peter McMillan$372,538
9Cameron Burge$360,84401-08-1995
10Andrew Yeend$357,88908-07-1999

Other notable wins include:

Statistics

Theme music

The theme music was written by Jack Grimsley and was later remixed three times, once in 1986, again in 1989, and finally in 2000.

Merchandise

Board Games

Five editions of the Sale of the Century home game featuring the Quizzard system (like the 1986 American version by American Publishing Corp.) were released by Crown & Andrews.

PC CD-Rom Game

A PC CD-ROM game of Sale of the Century was released by Roadshow Interactive, featuring Glenn Ridge and Nicky Buckley on the cover (although they do not provide their own voices in the game). It featured a set of four colorful multiplayer buzzers called "The Slammer", as they were allowed to be connected to a joystick port into a computer.

Giveaway

During episodes of Sale from 1997 to 1998, losing contestants had an opportunity to choose from either the board game or the CD-ROM game as a consolation prize, in addition to the stick pin.

Possible revamp

In July 2018, it was rumoured that Network Ten [9] [10] [11] had plans to bring back a brand "new-look" version of Sale of the Century for their network. According to an article from TV Tonight , it says that "Ten has been readying to provide studio space at Pyrmont for Fremantle to pilot the game show". As of 2020, this has not been confirmed.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Hollywood Squares</i> American television game show

Hollywood Squares is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the same network. The board for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions by the host and the contestants judge the truth of their answers to gain squares in the right pattern to win the game.

<i>Eye Guess</i> American television game show

Eye Guess is an American game show created by Bob Stewart and hosted by Bill Cullen that aired on NBC from January 3, 1966, to September 26, 1969. The game combined a general knowledge quiz with a Concentration-style memory element, in which the answers were shown to the players and their recall of their positions was tested.

<i>Sale of the Century</i> American game show

Sale of the Century is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being the short-lived game shows Letters to Laugh-In and Name Droppers. The series aired until July 13, 1973, and a weekly syndicated series began that fall and ran for one season.

The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. Contestants answer trivia questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's title refers to the game's slot-machine mechanism also having jokers, which may be used to represent any category.

<i>Now You See It</i> (American game show) American TV series or program

Now You See It is an American television game show created by Frank Wayne for Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. The object of Now You See It is to answer general knowledge trivia questions by finding the answers hidden in a grid, similar to a word search puzzle.

<i>The Challengers</i> (game show) 1990–1991 US television program

The Challengers is an American game show that aired in syndication during the 1990-91 television season The series was created by Ron Greenberg and was based largely on his 1969 production, The Who, What, or Where Game. Dick Clark presided over the show with Don Morrow announcing. The Challengers was a joint production of Ron Greenberg Productions and Dick Clark Productions, with Buena Vista Television as distributor.

Time Machine is an American game show where contestants compete to answer trivia questions about popular culture and recent history to win prizes. The show aired on NBC from January 7 through April 26, 1985, and was hosted by John Davidson. Charlie Tuna was the announcer, with Rich Jeffries as his substitute. Reg Grundy Productions produced the series, and upon its premiere Time Machine was one of three Grundy series airing on NBC.

Hollywood Showdown is an American game show that aired on both PAX TV and Game Show Network from January to June 2000, then returned solely to GSN on January 1, 2001 and ran until March 30 of that year. Reruns aired on GSN again from September 2004 to April 2005 plus June 2006 and June 2007 on TV Guide Network. Todd Newton served as host, with Randy West announcing.

<i>Play the Percentages</i> American TV series or program

Play the Percentages is an American game show hosted by Geoff Edwards which aired in syndication from January 7 to September 12, 1980. Jay Stewart announced for the first six weeks, after which Bob Hilton became the permanent announcer.

<i>Game Ka Na Ba?</i> Philippine television game show

Game Ka Na Ba?, formerly Pilipinas Game Ka Na Ba is a Philippine game show created by ABS-CBN Studios. The main goal of the game is to win 2 million pesos by answering trivia questions.

<i>Miljoenenjacht</i> Dutch television game show

Miljoenenjacht, officially Postcode Loterij Miljoenenjacht, is a Dutch game show, sponsored by the country's postcode lottery, where a contestant and at-home viewer could win up to €5,000,000 or as little as €0.01. The show is broadcast at various times, spanning across six episodes for each set. The program was originally shown by TROS on NPO 2, but moved to creator John de Mol's channel Tien in 2005. After the channel was discontinued after its sale to the RTL Group, the program moved to RTL 4. In 2019, the program moved to SBS6 due to the transfer of Linda de Mol from RTL to SBS.

<i>Gameshow Marathon</i> (American game show) American TV series or program

Gameshow Marathon is an American television program which aired on CBS from May 31 to June 29, 2006. It is based on the United Kingdom series Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon which aired on ITV in 2005. It also aired in Canada on CTV.

<i>Temptation</i> (Australian game show) Australian TV series or program

Temptation is an Australian game show which premiered on the Nine Network on 30 May 2005 and aired at 7.00pm. Hosted by Ed Phillips and Livinia Nixon, the show was a remake of Sale of the Century, which aired on Nine in the same timeslot for more than twenty years between 1980 and 2001. Temptation had the same general format of its predecessor, but with several new features and a de-emphasis on the "shopping" aspects of the endgame. The show ran until 30 November 2007, when it was placed on hiatus by the network following strong competition from game show Deal or No Deal on the rival Seven Network; during the hiatus, Nine filled the timeslot with episodes of the American sitcom Two and a Half Men. When Ed Phillips made an appearance on The NRL Footy Show he announced "maybe summer" would be the return of the show. This statement was accurate, as Temptation returned for a shortened fourth series from 1 December 2008 with unaired episodes which were recorded during 2008. During that time, Ed Phillips was dumped by the Nine Network after his contract expired in November, and Temptation never returned to the schedule. After 23 January 2009, when the show's final episode aired, all Temptation websites were removed, and Two and a Half Men returned to Channel Nine's 7:00pm schedule.

Sale of the Century was a British game show based on a US game show of the same name. It was first shown on ITV from 9 October 1971 to 6 November 1983, hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Special Celebrity Sale of the Century editions aired occasionally, starting on 2 January 1981 with Steve Jones as host.

<i>Wheel of Fortune</i> (British game show) British television game show

Wheel of Fortune is a British television game show based on the American show of the same name created by Merv Griffin. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that contestants spin throughout the course of the game to determine their cash and/or prizes.

Temptation: The New Sale of the Century is an American syndicated television game show loosely based on both the original Australian and American Sale of the Century versions, plus the 2005 Australian version, also titled Temptation. The show began airing in syndication on September 10, 2007, with the last first-run episode airing on May 23, 2008. Reruns continued until September 5, 2008.

<i>Break the Bank</i> (1976 game show) American TV series or program

Break the Bank is an American game show created by Jack Barry and Dan Enright and produced by their production company, Barry & Enright Productions. It was the first game show packaged by Barry and Enright as a tandem since their fall from grace following the 1950s quiz show scandals.

<i>Bingo America</i> American game show broadcast by Game Show Network

Bingo America is an American game show broadcast by Game Show Network. The series follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000. Additionally, the series lets at-home viewers print bingo cards online that allow them to play along with the show to win small amounts of money for themselves.

<i>The Bank Job</i> (game show) British TV series or programme

The Bank Job is a British television game show broadcast live on Channel 4, hosted by George Lamb. It was first broadcast on 2 January 2012 and ended on 17 March 2012.

<i>Tipping Point</i> (game show) British television quiz show

Tipping Point is a British quiz show that aired on ITV since 2 July 2012. The show also airs repeats on U&W which was owned by the UKTV network, and Really which was owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The programme is presented by Ben Shephard and features three players answering questions on the subject of general knowledge in order to win counters, which they use on a large coin pusher arcade-style machine, that represent (mainly) cash prizes.

References

  1. Burnstock, Tammy. "Sale of the Century – Series 1 Episode 1 (1980) - Curator's notes". Australian Screen. National Film and Sound Archive . Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Powney, Chris (2002). "Sale of the Century (1980-2001)". Australian Game Show Homepage. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Dates". Television City - Sale of the Century fansite. Geocities. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009.
  4. TCN9 Nine ID 1985 Sale Of The Century (Television promo). YouTube. Event occurs at 7 seconds. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  5. "Game Show Theatre". Game Show Central. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  6. 1 2 "FAQ". Television City - Sale of the Century fansite. Geocities. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. Sale of the Century 1982 advert (Television promo). Youtube. Event occurs at 12 seconds.[ dead YouTube link ]
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Sale of the Century Trivia". Temptation. NineMSN. Archived from the original on 18 March 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  9. Knox, David (8 July 2018). "TEN to pilot Sale of the Century?". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  10. Mars, Georgia (9 July 2018). "Channel Ten may be bringing back Sale of the Century". New Idea. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  11. Anotado, Cory (8 July 2018). "Sale of the Century Rumored To Be Revived in Australia". BuzzerBlog. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.