Sale of the Century

A big screen TV for $10? A new Cadillac for $550? A brass bed for $8? Have we taken our modern-day items and gone back to the 1700s? No! This was just part of a little game show called "Sale of the Century:" contestants would try to accumulate money through questions and then use that money to buy really expensive items for dirt-cheap prices! Pretty nifty, huh? Well, audiences thought so, too, since this game was on for six years!

Three contestants competed. Each player began with $20 and then a series of toss-up questions were asked by the host. Whoever buzzed-in and got the answer right got $5 more; giving a wrong answer cost the player $5.

At three different intervals throughout the game, a bell sounded to signal an "Instant Bargain." The player who had the most money at that point earned the chance to spend part of his/her score on a prize for a really cheap price (eg. a gold watch for $9). The player could obviously refuse to buy the prize, but, sometimes, to sweeten the deal, host Jim Perry would throw in some extra bonus cash or even knock down the price, sometimes to just $1! If the contestant bought the "Instant Bargain," his/her score was adjusted and he/she received the prize plus the cash if any was offered. The extra cash did not affect the game, by the way, it just was a nice little bonus. Three such "Instant Bargains" were offered per game.

Sometimes, the "Instant Bargains" would have a little "surprise" attached to it, which was an envelope full of even more bonus cash; however, the contestant had no idea it was there until after the sale was complete.

Starting in 1987, the third "Instant Bargain" was replaced with "Instant Cash," where the leader could give up all of his/her lead over the second-place player (only if there was a tie was there an auction) for the chance to pick one of three boxes. Two boxes had $100 in them; the third had a cash jackpot which started at $1,000 and grew by $1,000 each time not won.

Also, a special type of question called the "Fame Game" came up three times during the game. This type of question were read as an "autobiography" of a person, place, or thing. Getting this right won a trip to the "Fame Game Board;" getting it wrong didn't cost the players any money, just their turn.

At the "Fame Game Board," the contestant picked one of nine celebrity faces (later changed to just the numbers 1-9 in 1984) and won whatever was behind that face/number. Usually, it was a prize or some bonus cash; however, behind one of the faces/numbers was a $25 money card, which added that amount to a player's score (later on in the run, a $10, $15, and even a $5 money card were added as the game progressed). More rarely, a face/number read "Mystery Money or Pick Again," which would allow the player to either pick another face/number or take an undisclosed amount of money.

After the third "Fame Game," the game concluded with a sixty-second speed round (only one answer allowed per question), and whoever had the most money at the end of this round won the game (and a prize starting in 1987). The two losing players each received their score in cash. If a tie existed, a sudden-death toss-up was asked. (Note: for the first year, only three more questions were asked in standard format instead of the speed round).

The first one, called the "Sale of the Century," took the winner to a stage full of huge prizes such as trips, furs, and even a new car. After being shown all the prizes that he/she could buy with his/her winnings, the contestant then could either buy a prize(s) and retire as undefeated champion or come back and try to add more money to his/her bank. The main incentive to this was that getting up to around $550 was worth the car, getting to around $650 was worth all the prizes on stage, and more importantly, getting to around $700-$750 was worth all the prizes on stage plus a cash jackpot that started at $50,000 and grew by $1,000 each day not won. Therefore, a contestant that could go all the way to the top easily walked away with over $100,000 in cash and prizes. This bonus game lasted from the premiere until 1986.

The second one, called the "Winner's Board," took the contestant to a board with 20 numbers on it. All the contestant had to do was make a match of two prizes on the board, which ranged from trips all the way up to $10,000 in cash and a new car. Whatever the contestant matched first is what he/she won that day. If the contestant won again the next day, then the matched numbers were removed, and he/she could clear more numbers off the board. If he/she was lucky enough to clear the board, then the contestant had to decide whether to retire with all of his/her prizes or come back for one more game; if he/she won this game, then he/she kept all of his/her prizes plus won $50,000 in cash; if he/she lost this game, then all of the prizes won at the "Winner's Board" were forfeited, but the front game prizes stayed. This bonus game lasted from 1986 to 1987.

The third bonus game, called the "Winner's Big Money Game," had the champion attempting to solve six-word puzzles that described either a person, place, or thing. Before beginning the game, the contestant picked one of three envelopes to be read puzzles from, and then he/she was given 20 seconds to solve four puzzles (originally five in 25 seconds). Jim Perry read each word at a pace of about one per three-fourths seconds. One incorrect answer was allowed; two meant an automatic loss. If the contestant was successful in solving the four puzzles, then he/she won $5,000 plus $1,000 for each additional day that he/she was on the show up to $10,000 (winning or losing any one along the way didn't affect the final jackpot). The seventh game was played for a car; only if he/she won the bonus game for the car was he/she allowed to come back and try to get to the bonus game one last time for a shot at $50,000. This bonus game lasted from 1987 until the end of the run.

As far as returning champions went, contestants could stay on until making enough for the top level or retiring on the first bonus game run, up to 11 games on the second run, and up to 8 games on the third run. Retiring as undefeated champion almost guaranteed a trip home with at least $100,000 in cash and prizes.

The original version had a format similar to this with the first bonus game; however, it wasn't played for such high stakes. Jack Kelly hosted it at first, but was replaced by Joe Garagiola after two years. This run lasted for four years (1969-1973).

The idea to bring this show back came from an Australian producer, Reg Grundy, who had turned the show into a huge hit in Australia in 1980. It may have done well here, but it did EXTREMELY well down under: it was the number 1 primetime show for many years, and, after a hiatus, is coming back on the air pretty soon (I believe this is true; can anybody tell me otherwise?).

Anyway, what an excellent show! Although the initial reaction might be, "Well, it's a shopping game show! Why would I want to watch that?" trust me, there's a lot more to it than that. This was the quintessential game of the '80s for NBC because, on one hand, it was a hard and fast quizzer, but, on the other, it was a fun game where contestants could win some pretty great prizes (and, come on, where else will you find a new stereo for $10?). Not only that, but Jim Perry made an excellent host who not only kept the game moving but was also very witty. The set was also pretty cool, full of flashing lights and a lot of glitz surrounding the prizes. Also, come on, who can argue with a long-running champion easily walking away with over $100,000 in cash and prizes? Now THAT'S a good way to start treating returning champs right!

Execution: B (If they could've just stuck with one bonus round, that would've been great! Also, why the change to a random "Fame Game" board? These were some very unnecessary changes to an almost-perfect game!)

One of my favorite game shows from NBC's '80s lineup, "Sale of the Century" proved why it was such a venerable format with great questions, great "Instant Bargains," and just great fun. If you haven't seen this show yet, I urge you to get a couple of episodes now! You'll fall in love with it just like I did and be begging for more (that's why I said to get a couple!).