Sale of the Century: Difference between revisions

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[[Game Show]] that originally ran on [[NBC]] from 1969 to 1973 and in syndication from 1973 to 1974. Jack Kelly was the first quizmaster, succeeded by Joe Garagiola in 1971. Three solo contestants (or, from April 1973 to September 1974, two husband-wife teams) accumulated small amounts of money by answering general-knowledge questions. At certain points in the game, the player/couple in the lead could spend part of their score on ridiculously-discounted prizes.

The Australian version of the show was later revived as ''Temptation'', which was fairly faithful to the original and ran from 2005 to 2009. This Australian version in turn spun off an American version, ''[[Temptation 2007|Temptation: The New Sale of the Century]]''; the American version was a low-budget knockoff that was canceled after its low-rated disaster of a first season.

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* [[Big Win Sirens]]: The stock "NBC sirens" were heard if a major prize or the lot was won at the end of the show. A "win music" cue was also played for significant wins, and would be reprised during the closing fees and credits of that show.

* [[Bonus Round]]: The 1980s version had ''three'', all allowing for potential winnings of over $100,000:

** The first was almost identical to the original. The champion could use his or her money to possibly buy one of the progressively fancier prizes available, try for a larger prize by coming back the next day, or reach a specific score target to win the entire set of prizes plus a cash jackpot.

** In late 1987, this was changed to the Winner's Big Money Game, a speed round with a series of word puzzles played for a jackpot increasing every time it was played by a champion.

* [[Bonus Space]]: Instant Bargain and Instant Cash could count for this, but mainly the Fame Game (some spaces added to a contestant's score, while the others contained prizes or a sizable cash award).

** During the "Winner's Board" era of the NBC/syndicated version, any contestant playing for $50,000 and lost forfeited the car and other Winners Board prizes won; however, they were able to keep anything won in the front game (accumlated cash score, Fame Game and Instant Bargains, Instant Cash winnings and any other cash bonuses). No contestant who ever went for the top prize lost, although one contestant (future game show host [[Mark De Carlo]]) won his $50,000 and preserved his endgame winnings only after an opponent answered her last question incorrectly.

** The Australian version famously gave all contestants the show's pin and board game:

* [[Game Show Winnings Cap]]: Averted by the 1980s version, as it had the possibility to give out jackpots in excess of $100,000.

* [[Golden Snitch]]: Early in the '80s run, the last Fame Game of the day was followed by only three more questions. This gave the last Fame Game the potential to put the game out of reach if the someone who trailed by less than $10 got the Fame Game right and found the $25 money card.

*** The Australian ''Temptation'' was also true to its predecessor, with Livinia Nixon as the Vanna, but about half the Gift Shop prizes were modeled by Scott McGregor.

* [[Progressive Jackpot]]: Seen on the NBC/syndicated series:

** From 1982 until the end of its run, the Aussie version's jackpot started at $50,000 and increased by $2,000 per show until claimed. The jackpot (which was a part of the Lot) often topped the six-figure mark, with the highest being $508,000.

** During the 1980s NBC/syndicated run, several prominent contestants were known to refuse even the most desirable Instant Bargains, particularly when a large end-game prize was at stake. One of the most well-known examples was Alice Conkwright, who during her seven-day championship run, refused every instant bargain; during the third Instant Bargain on her final show (where she was playing for a cash and prize package worth more than $120,000), host Jim Perry unsuccessfully swayed her to buy by offering her a $2,000 bonus.

*** Later in the NBC/syndicated run, the show offered Instant Cash, whereby a contestant could purchase a 1-in-3 shot at an escalating mini-cash jackpot by giving up his entire lead over the second-place contestant. Unless the lead was very small (or in some cases, when two contestants were tied for the lead, in which case Perry would conduct a Dutch auction), the contestants invariably would decline to take the gamble.

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* [[Cut Short]]: The last NBC episode in 1973 had the day's winning couple electing to come back the following Monday; during the credits, announcer Bill Wendell stated that this was in fact the last episode and the producers gave the couple the prize they were working for (a trip to Acapulco, according to one recollection) anyway.

* [[Lucky Charms Title]]: Everywhere except the United Kingdom, the title was spelled with a dollar sign.

* [[No Budget]]: Some critics of the latter 1980s formats also claimed the conversion to the Winner's Board and later Big Money Winner's Game formats have claimed that the switch was done as a cost-cutting move. Indeed, many of the cars went from full-size Cadillacs, Mercedes-Benz sedans and top-end sports cars to less-expensive cars. Although never reaching subcompact or econocar range, mainstream cars such as the Ford Taurus, entry-level luxury cars such as the Mercedes-Benz 190 or BMW 528i, or compact convertibles including the Chevrolet Cavalier were more common. The big-ticket items, such as [http://www.veoh.com/watch/v1059457FEX3JAX9 $13,000 European tours and $21,000 cabin cruisers], were gone, however, replaced with more common game-show fare in the $1,500-$5,000 range.

* [[Recursive Import]]: United States to Australia, and back to United States.

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: ''Temptation'' in Australia.

* [[Trope 2000]]: Subverted by the Australian version. In 2000, it briefly renamed itself "Sale of the ''New'' Century"

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[[Category:Game Show]]