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Sale of the Century (or $ale of the Century) is a television game show format that has screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969. The show found its biggest success in Australia, where it aired weeknights from 1980 to 2001.
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Quotations
$20 to start you all off.
Jim Perry, starting the game
(insert contestant's name) meets two new challengers tomorrow. I'm Jim Perry, Thanks for being with us on Sale of the Century.
Jim's Early Goodbye
A great day for our champion here on Sale of the Century. Bye for now.
Jim Perry, one of his typical goodbyes
All prices are manufacturers' suggested retail value, and are corrected at the time of recording. This is Jay Stewart speaking.
Jay Stewart
And behind number (insert number) we have $400/Mystery Money or Pick Again.
Jay Stewart
And behind number (insert number) we have (insert prize, cash amount or money card).
Jay Stewart
Encyclopedia
Sale of the Century (or $ale of the Century) is a television game show format that has screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969. The show found its biggest success in Australia, where it aired weeknights from 1980 to 2001. A new version has aired in Australia since May 2005 and in the United States during the 2007-2008 television season in syndication under the title of Temptation.
The format is a general knowledge quiz, where contestants (usually three) earn money for correct answers, and occasionally have the chance to "buy" heavily-discounted prizes with their score money via "Instant Bargains" (also known as "The Gift Shop"). Long-running champions would compete to win enough money to buy larger prizes, such as trips or cars, at show's end; more successful ones could end up buying all the prizes on offer and/or a large cash jackpot.
After its original run (1969-74) in the USA and during its successful run (1971-83) in the UK, the format was purchased by Australian TV mogul Reg Grundy, whose Grundy Television had produced a similarly formatted program called Temptation (as well as a primetime version called The Great Temptation) between 1971 and 1976. The Grundy version of Sale premiered on Nine Network on July 14, 1980 and became a massive success, spawning versions all across the world (including new versions in the United States and the United Kingdom). At its close in 2001 it was Australia's longest-running game show (a record since surpassed by Wheel of Fortune).
The game format varied in its details over the years and in various nations, however the core format which debuted in the 1980 Australian version, remained unchanged.
Versions throughout the world
- Sale of the Century made its debut in the United States on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. The series aired until July 13, 1973, then aired in a weekly syndicated version for one additional year. A new version of the show ran weekday mornings (again on NBC) from January 3, 1983 to March 24, 1989, with a concurrent version airing weeknights in syndication from January 1985 to September 1986. The original version was hosted by Jack Kelly and later by Joe Garagiola. Both of the 1980s versions were hosted by Jim Perry. A syndicated edition of Temptation premiered on September 10, 2007, and was televised through September 5, 2008. Rossi Morreale was the host. The announcers included Bill Wendell on the 1970s version, Jay Stewart and Don Morrow on the 1980s version, and former talk-show hostess Rolonda Watts.
- The United Kingdom version of Sale of the Century, produced by Anglia Television, was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. A 1988 remake presented by Peter Marshall aired on Sky TV, and Keith Chegwin hosted a Challenge version in 1997 and 1998. John Benson was UK's most famous of the show's announcers, thanks to his "From Norwich, it's the quiz of the week!" introduction.
- In Australia, Tony Barber hosted the original Temptation series and later hosted Sale of the Century from its 1980 debut until 1991, when Glenn Ridge took over for the rest of its run. The current Temptation is co-hosted by Ed Phillips and Livinia Nixon. The original 1980s version of "Temptation" had aired on the Seven Network, while the other versions have aired on the Nine Network. Pete Smith was the long-time announcer for every single episode from 1980-2001.
- In Turkey, the host of the show was actor Mehmet Aslantug. The show ran on Kanal D from 1995 to 1997 and later Star TV in 1998.
- A Hong Kong version debuted in 1982 ("Dat Sou But". "???" in Chinese letter). It aired on ATV and the host was Wong Dic-Thung.
- The hosts for the German version (Hopp Oder Top) included Andreas Similia, Thomy Aigner and Hermann Toelcke, and has run on Tele 5 from 1990 to 1992 and a few months in 1993 on DSF.
- In Greece, the show's title translated as "The Boss Has Gone Crazy". It aired on the Star Channel.
- Paraguay had its own version ("La Venta del Siglo") from the mid-1990s until at least 1998. It aired on Canal 9 and the host was Nestor Porvilla.
- As of 2004, India has had a version called Super Sale, hosted by Sajid Khan, for the STAR One channel.
- As of 2006, South Africa has its own version of the show (called Temptation, just like the current Australian revival). It airs on M-Net, and the host is James Lennox while Bridget Masina is the hostess. M-Net also has a version airing out of Nigeria, where it follows a similar format, with contestants competing to win prizes of more than US$100,000 (about ?13,000,000). It is hosted by Ikponmwosa "Ik" Osakioduwa and Oluwakemi "Kemi" Modupeola.
- In 1995, TF1 in France shot a pilot for a French version on the Aussie version's set (at the time). The host was Alexandre Dubin. Unfortunately, the pilot could not be sold.
- Just recently, SBT in Brazil relaunched its own version of Temptation, titled, Tentação, and hosted by Silvio Santos, making it only the second version of $otC to air in Latin America. The Program are showed on mid 90's (1993-2000).
Clips from the 80s US, Australian, Hong Kong, New Zealand, 1989 UK, German, Greek, and Paraguayan versions, as well as the French pilot, can be seen on the Australian version's 15th anniversary show from 1995. They have been uploaded onto YouTube for viewing.
Trivia
- David Sparks, who eventually hosted a remake of the show Crosswits, was once a male model on Sale of the Century in the 1980s.
- UK contestants in the initial round played for £1 per correct question.
- In 1996 on the Australian version, Steve Todorovic, won the hidden prize of a gold cutlery set. He has the record for losing after holding the biggest lead in the shows history ($40).
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