Hurried off to work when the show ended...and this time, I wondered why. We were dead for almost the entire afternoon. We did just come off the biggest food holiday of the year. Despite it being the beginning of the month, most people's minds are likely on shopping for everything but food. It didn't pick up until rush hour at 4 PM, when I was an hour from being done. At least the weather was decent, sunny and breezy but very cold, in the upper 30's.
Changed and did chores when I got home and brought up my Christmas present from Mom. She protested me buying a new Eagles jersey online from the team website. Why not go to the Eagles stadium and buy one? I'm not hiking all the way up to the Linc on a Sunday just to go shopping. They sell the same jerseys online that they do in the stadium, and on really big Black Friday discounts, too. I got a $150 dollar Jason Hurts jersey for $76 with shipping. It's in perfectly fine shape, too. Fits well and has no problems that I can see.
When I sat down at the laptop, I added Wonderland, the rather peculiar Alice In Wonderland stage musical from a decade ago, to the inventory while watching Match Game Syndicated. Brett and Fannie showed up in blonde wigs on Gene's arm in this hilarious episode, and kept them on for the rest of the show. Charles and Fred Travelena spend the episode tossing out "gorgeous blonde" jokes. There's an actual beautiful blonde on the next show, Charlene Tilton. Goes without saying that Bill Daily is VERY happy to be sitting next to her. Charles is just happy Patty Duke can see his (over) acting.
Switched to The Monkees while eating dinner. Protesting yet another rehashed script, the Monkees flee for a vacation to Paris in "The Monkees In Paris." Girls chase them all over the City of Light...and they only sometimes run away. I know the guys really were getting bored with the scripts at this point, but ironically, watching them get chased all over Paris by random girls is even duller than the rehashed scripts. I do give them credit for attempting an all-pantomime show, and they use one of my favorite Mike Nesmith songs, "Don't Call On Me," which never appeared on any other episode.
Peter directed "Monkees Mind Their Manor," but alas, it's another rehashed script. Davy is called to an English estate where he once worked when the owner leaves it to him. He's not willing to stay the five years necessary to own it, but the residents are worried that perpetually drunk relative Lance the Sot (Jack Good) will sell it to a developer. The guys hold a fair to earn money, with Davy bested at every turn by Lance's lawyer Sir Twiggy Topham-Middle-Bottom (Bernard Fox), until the manor's oldest resident (Billy Benedict) suggests a singing contest.
Finished the night on YouTube with episodes of Sale of the Century in honor of Cyber Monday. Sale began back in 1969, with actor Jack Kelly hosting. Joe Gargiola took over late in 1971. Three contestants play a trivia show for accumulated points. At three intervals, the game stops for them to buy "bargains," big prizes for small amounts. They keep the prizes no matter what, but it deducts from their overall score. The winner would either take the prize they can afford, or continue on and earn money for bigger prizes. The show was a hit from '69 through 1974 on NBC, spawning a syndicated version that lasted a year. Sadly, nothing exists of the syndicated version at all, and only audio can be found of the original online.
Australian producer Reg Grundy bought the format for Australian TV in 1980. After that version was a big hit, he brought it back to the US in 1983. It started out with a format similar to the original and what was on Aussie TV at the time. Jim Perry's asking the questions here. He went through a rotating assortment of hostesses until they settled on elegant Summer Bartholmew in 1984. The Bargain Prizes are often introduced as cute skits, with models dressed in costumes to push what they're selling.
Like its fellow shopping show Supermarket Sweep, Sale of the Century evolved a lot over the years. The Fame Game that allowed people to answer a question about a celebrity and chose a spot on the board to increase their points started with everyone choosing the photo of a celebrity. This was replaced by people choosing numbers to get points or prizes before 1983 even ended. By 1986, they now pushed a plunger to get a random number on the board.
The Speed Round that decided the winner replaced the last three questions in March 1984. The Bonus Round went from people choosing whether to stay or go ala the Aussie version, to winners matching prizes on a board in October 1984, to them guessing three puzzles at the end in December 1987. In 1986, the third prize was replaced by Instant Cash. The contestant in the lead could buy a chance to check three boxes for whatever amount was listed that day, but they'd have to spend the amount of their lead.
Both versions of Sale saw excellent ratings, with the 1983 Sale often winning its time slots. It also spawned a syndicated version in 1985, this one lasting two seasons. Alas, it was finally done in when NBC moved it to 10 AM, where local stations often pre-empted it in favor of their own programming. Not to mention, by 1989, NBC had fallen out of love with game shows. It ended Super Password that year as well.
(And since Reg Grundy was really big on tape recycling, most of the 80s Sale is hard to find as well. Apparently, only the full syndicated show and the daytime show from 1988 onward exists, though earlier episodes do turn up online.)
Sale of the Century would return to American TV again in 2007 as Temptation: The New Sale of the Century. Three contestants answer questions as before, but they also play mini-games that have them eliminating choices from a large board. The Fame Game involves guessing letters to get the answer to the question, and the take the prize or put the money in savings or tomorrow bonus round is back, but they added another Knock-Off mini-game. Overly enthusiastic Rossi Mondale was the host. This one just looked chintzy, with cheap prize packages and Mondale annoying as heck, No wonder it barely lasted a year.
Learn trivia, find out more about pop culture, and pick up a few instant bargains of your own this Cyber Monday with these classic shopping shows. (Warning that the 1969 episode has only audio existing.)
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