Sale of the Century (Australian game show)


$ale of the Century is an Australian game show that aired on the Nine Network from 14 July 1980 to 29 November 2001. Tony Barber hosted a game show with essentially the same format under the title The $25,000 Great Temptation from 1970–76, and 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 Victoria Nicolls, Delvene Delaney, Alyce Platt, Jo Bailey, Nicky Buckley and Karina Brown. Pete Smith was Sales 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. The Sale of the Century format has been used internationally.

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. 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, the highest-scoring player gets to go to a "Gift Shop" and is offered the chance to sacrifice part of his/her score to "purchase" a prize at a "low price". 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.

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 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, he/she would have to give up his/her lead over the second-place competitor. If the contestant opted to play, he/she 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, 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, receive the score he/she sacrificed back, or reduce the score of a competitor slightly. This cost a player $15 to play.
Four playing cards were presented; the player selected one, and it was turned over to reveal one of four elements:
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.

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. 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, he/she had an opportunity to play the "famous faces" sub-game, where he/she got to choose randomly from a game board with nine photos of celebrities, occasionally locations, and from 1987, a featured home viewer. Once chosen, the face selected would be spun around to reveal either a relatively small prize 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 1989-92, 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. 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.
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. 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.
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.

''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.
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.

Bonus Games

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

Shopping format

A series of six 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 1981, 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 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". 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, 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, 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 the player makes a match, he/she 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 his or her prizes from the board, while clearing the board and winning one more game earns 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 beat the American team 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 beat the British team 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, David Bock won the 1988 series, and Brian MacDonnell won the 1989 series.
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

Other notable wins include:
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 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. 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 1997–98, 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 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 FremantleMedia to pilot the game show". As of 2020, this has not been confirmed.