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Hosts
Tony Barber (1980–1991)
Glenn Ridge (1991–2001)
Co-Hosts
Victoria Nicholls (1980–1982)
Delevene Delaney (1982–1985)
Alyce Platt (1986–1991)
Jo Bailey (1991–1993)
Nicky Buckley (1994–1999)
Karina Brown (2000–2001)
Announcers
Ron Neate (1980)
Pete Smith (1980–2001)
Broadcast
1980-81
1982
1983-84
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989-90
1991-93
1994-98
1999
2000
2001
Nine Network: 14 July 1980 – 29 November 2001
Packager
Grundy Organization

Sale of the Century (also briefly known as Sale of the New Century) was the classic and long-running revival of (Great) Temptation based on a U.S. format of the same name where it mixed a general knowledge quiz with shopping and bargaining, while contestants answered questions and bought prizes at a low cost.

Gameplay[]

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

Main Game[]

Each contestant was given $20 to start. The host would read a trivia question to the contestants. The first to press a buzzer would have an opportunity to answer the question, interrupting the host if in the middle of reading the question. Players' scores increased by $5 for each correct answer and decreased by $5 for each incorrect answer. If a player answered incorrectly, the correct answer was revealed and the game would continue to the next question, as only one player could 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 would earn the right to go to a "Gift Shop" and was 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 $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, could 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 a new 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, 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.

Cash Card[]

In 1989, as part of a format revamp—which also included the introduction of audio-visual questions, a 30-second "Fast Money" 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 he/she 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, 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 for each night it wasn't 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 was removed but remained 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 physical playing cards were replaced with four single-reeled poker machines each displaying an Ace of each 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 selected this machine, and then won the game, the car would be placed on the Winner's Board (see below).

For the 1997 "Family Challenge" tournament, the Cash Card segment was replaced by a revamped "Cash Box" segment. Four numbered boxes were presented, offering the same results as per tournament Cashcard rounds (either $5,000, the prize on offer, $15 back on to the score, or "Take $5").

In 2000, as part of the show's revamp, the four Cash Card slot machines were replaced with a single video slot machine again showing fixed outcomes for each suit. The only prize on offer was the $5,000, along with "Take $5", "$15", or the "Car". Unlike previous Cash Card incarnations, all results were shown on the screen at the same time, including the outcome that the contestant received.

During the 21st Birthday special and other celebrity specials, the "Car" was replaced by the "Bonus Spin", entitling the contestant to an additional chance at winning money.

Fame Game[]

A longer-format question (usually starting with "Who am I?" or “What is my name?”) 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 (including personalities from the network's shows) and a featured home viewer. 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 gameboard, 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 or a chance to pick again. From 1989 to 1991, a fourth game was added with two $5 questions separating the first two Fame Games, a $20 money card added in the third Fame Game, and the $25 money card added in the fourth. The $20 money card was removed in 1992.

Fast Money/Mad Minute[]

Originally, after the third Fame Game, three more general knowledge questions were asked, and the contestant with the highest score was the winner. (In the first episode, however, only one general knowledge question was asked.) Around 1983, it was replaced with a speed round called "Fast Money", 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.

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 "Fast Money" round before the second Gift Shop offer; the final speed round was initially reduced to 30 seconds, but restored to 60 seconds by 1990, and renamed the "Mad Minute". 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).

As far as a front game score, a close second may belong to a contestant 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. (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.)

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.

The runners-up received a home game as well as a commorative pin.

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 Cash Card changed to a large touch-screen monitor, and contestants who win "all the way" then competed 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" played 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 seven prizes (six by 1984) was offered, culminating in up to 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 front game score, 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 the prizes.

Starting in 1982, shortly before the debut of co-host Delaney, the car could be bought for $475, and any champion who earned $620 could accept a cash jackpot or return for one more night to play for the "lot" (all the prizes and said jackpot). 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. In 1983, the car sold for $405, and the Lot for for $550. Finally, in 1984, all prices were fixed as follows:

  1. $75: $2,000-$6,000 prize
  2. $155: $4,000-$10,000 prize
  3. $240: $8,500-$15,000 prize
  4. $330: $12,000-$20,000 prize
  5. $420: $15,000-$25,000 prize
  6. $515: Car(s) (valued between $30,000 and ~$60,000)
  7. $605: All prizes
  8. $700: The Lot

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 (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 was the first prize won, but in order to win the car, the player had to select the "WIN" card first before selecting the number that had 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 cleared the board, but did not complete either of the aforementioned tasks, their next game was for the car.

After the player made 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 (which took seven [later eight] shows to do it) 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. This tournament 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.

Celebrity Weeks[]

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

For the 1996 Battle of the TV Classics series, featured stars included the cast members of The Sullivans, The Young Doctors, Prisoner, and A Country Practice. Each celebrity played for a home viewer, who won all cash and prizes earned during the show. The ultimate winner's home viewer also won an extra prize, usually a car.

Top 10 Grand Champions[]

Rank Name Amount Won Year or Date
1 Robert Kusmierski $676,790 01-06-1992
2 Kate Buckingham $471,640 15-10-1990
3 Simon Fallon $434,065 21-02-2001
4 Sandra Oxley $421,080 1997
5 Tom Beck $420,573 31-05-2000
6 Richard Hitesman $382,341 1993
7 David Poltorak $376,104 11-12-1986
8 Peter McMillan $372,538
9 Cameron Burge $360,844 01-08-1995
10 Andrew Yeend $357,889 08-07-1999

Other notable wins included:

  • Vincent Smith of Sale, Victoria, the first champion to win the lot with $73,099. In 1985, he would author The Great Australian Trivia Quiz Book.
  • Cary Young, who won $78,606 in 1982 and went on to win the 1987 World Championship.
  • Hayward Mayberley, who won $343,536 (including a $206,000 cash jackpot) in 1983. (This was acknowledged in the 1984 Guinness Book of Records Australian Edition as the biggest Australian game show prize total won on a game show to that point.)
  • Chris Walker, Maldon VIC, was the youngest ever winner at the age of 16.

Statistics[]

  • Highest number of questions answered correctly in one episode: David Poltorak, in episode #1443—35 out of 55.
  • Highest number of questions answered correctly and consecutively: Virginia Noel in episode #0851—14 out of 14.
  • In episode #0376, a contestant answered only one question correctly all night, and still won.
  • The youngest person to win the lot was 16-year-old Andrew Werbik in episode #1493.
  • Lowest winning score: $20 in episode #0030.
  • Highest winning score (under normal episode circumstances): $200 by David Poltorak in episode #1443. (This does not include tournament episodes where scores over consecutive episodes exceeded $200.)
  • Number of times a contestant has won a car on their first night: 13.
  • Largest cash jackpot: $508,000 to Robert Kusmierski.
  • Youngest contestants: 15-year-old Justin Ford (Victoria), who appeared over four nights on episodes #0129 to #0132; also 15-year-old Sue Yap (NSW) who appeared in early 1991 episodes
  • Most number of questions answered correctly in 60 second fast money: David Poltorak, episode #1443
  • The only contestant to have answered all the Round 1 questions correctly is Leesa Selke.
  • The only International team ever to beat Australia on home soil: Paul Moran and Adrian Davies of England, The Ashes 1993 series, episode #2821
  • Total cash and prizes given away at end 2001: $60,692,993, consisting of $16,343,619 in cash and $44,349,374 in prizes—including over 350 cars.

Possible Revamp[]

In July 2018, it has been rumored that Network Ten has plans to bring back Sale in a "new-look" for their network. According to an article from TV Tonight[1]it reads that "Ten has been readying to provide studio space at Pyrmont for FremantleMedia to pilot the game show". However, nothing has been confirmed since then.

Videos[]

Merchandise[]

Board Games[]

Various board games based on the show have been made and released by Crown & Andrews.

PC CD-ROM Game[]

A PC CD-ROM Game featuring former host Glenn Ridge and Nicky Buckley on the cover was released somewhere in the 90s at the time.

Music[]

  • Main theme composed by Jack Grimsley
  • 1986-1988 version arranged by Alan Deak
  • Incidental music (1989 onwards) composed by Tweed Harris

Additional Pages[]

Sale of the Century/Gallery

Spin-Off/Revival[]

Temptation

Links[]

The Aussie Sale Page
Memories of Sale of the Century Australia & New Zealand Facebook Page
Sale of the Century @ Pearson Television's official website (via Internet Archive)
Sale of the Century programme description @ Fremantle's Old Website (via Internet Archive)

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