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101
Sale of The Century

NBC (ended 1989)

Sale of the Century was a long-running quiz show that was modestly successful in its native United States. But when producer Reg Grundy produced a version for Australia's Nine(9) Network, it became a phenomenal success down under. This report, however, covers the U.S. versions of Sale of the Century. 1969-1974 version The original 1969 version was produced by William Jones-Al Howard Productions and hosted by Jack Kelly (1969-1971) and former baseball star/contemporary baseball broadcaster Joe Garagiola (1971-1974). Three contestants, including a returning champion, competed to answer a series of questions, read rapid-fire style. Each contestant was spotted $25; correct answers were worth $5, wrong answers deducted $5 from the score. The game was interrupted at several points for Instant Bargains, which allowed the player in the lead to buy a take-it-or-leave-it prize at a heavily-discounted price (e.g., an $1175 color TV-stereo console for $14); if there was a tie for the lead, both or perhaps all 3 players could vie for the prize first-come, first-serve style. The contestant could buy the prize, knowing s/he might later lose the game; at times, the host offered cash, an additional prize or reduced the asking price as an additional incentive to buy the prize. During the second round, question values were increased to $10, added or subtracted appropriately; and again to $25 toward the end of the game. The contestant with the highest cash score when time expired was the day's champion and earned the right to shop in the "Sale of the Century." The losers received their cash score and any Instant Bargain prizes. In the "Sale of the Century," the contestant could use his/her cash score winnings to buy specially-discounted luxury items (e.g., a $2800 dining room suite for $85), or bank the cash and return on the next show and accumulate more by winning future games and having access to more expensive prizes (including a luxury car and a cash jackpot that started at $25,000 and grew by $1000 per show until claimed). That's where the strategy and excitement came in – does the player want that new room of furniture, or does s/he want to bank more cash for that $8500 Cadillac? A player who earned enough cash was awarded all the prizes in the "Sale of the Century" (which often had a combined value of more than $50,000). Late in the NBC run, the format was altered so that three married couples competed, with late-game questions worth $20 and the winning couple going shopping. The format reverted to the original a 1-season syndicated version that appeared in the fall of 1973. 1983-1989 U.S. run $ale of the Century (which had since become a monster hit in Australia under the watch of Reg Grundy) returned to the U.S. in January 1983, with new host Jim Perry (best known in the U.S. on Card Sharks). Perry's easy-going hosting style plus his ability to talk the contestants into the Instant Bargains, made this show – now a Reg Grundy Production – a respectable hit. Originally, the rules were the same as the 1969 version, with the exception of a new "Fame Game" feature. Played in alternating order with the "Instant Bargain," Perry read a series of 6 to 10 first-person clues that led to a famous person, place, thing, event, etc. There was no scoring penalty, but a wrong guess put that player out of the rest of the question. The player who was correct chose one of nine numbers on the 3-by-3 "Fame Game" board (initially, the board held the faces of celebrities); behind the numbers were prizes, cash prizes of $300-$1000 and score money ($10 on the first playing, and $15 and $25 added in subsequent rounds). Later in the run, the player used his lock-in buzzer to stop a randomized light; also, a "Mystery Money" space was added (with cash amounts of $2 to $1,500 offered in lieu of trying for another number). In 1986, the third "Instant Bargain" was replaced by "Instant Cash," wherein the first-place player could spend the full amount of his/her lead on a 1-in-3 shot (the other two had $100) at a box that concealed a growing jackpot, which started at $1000 and grew by that amount each day until claimed. If there was a tie for the lead, Perry held an auction, reducing the prize to as low as $1 for a chance at thousands. Only if the lead was a few dollars or two or more contestants were tied did someone usually go for the "Instant Cash"; many players with a sizable lead passed, even when the jackpot approached $20,000 or more (as it did on more than one occasion). On special weeks (e.g., College Week, Brides Week, etc.), Instant Cash was a flat $2000. After the third "Fame Game" came the 60-second Speed Round in 1984; implemented about a year into the run, this replaced an often anti-climatic series of three final questions in 1983-1984. The bonus round went through 3 distinct formats, as thus: • Format 1 (1983-1986): The old but very lavish "Sale of the Century" from before. The cash jackpot now started at $50,000 (and grew by $1000 per show until claimed); a contestant who won everything in this round could walk away with well over $100,000 in cash and prizes. • Format 2 (1986-1988): The "Winner's Board" game. The player faced a board of 20 squares, which concealed a car, $3000, $10,000, the names of six other prizes (worth between $2000 and $15,000) and two "WIN" cards that served as wild cards for the next prize chosen. After clearing the board, the player was offered a chance to quit and take everything home or return for one more show. If they returned and lost, they lost everything collected off the "Winner's Board," but a win added a $50,000 cash bonus to their already impressive array of cash and prizes. • Format 3 (1988-1989): The "Winner's Big Money Game." The champion was given a prize (worth about $2000-$3000 on the first day and increasing in value for each win to about $10,000) and played this new "guess-the-answer" game, which was about as far from $ale of the Century's original premise as possible. The player was shown a series of six-word clues to famous people, places, things, etc., with the words revealed one at a time every 3/4-second (or so). Solving four won a cash bonus of $5000 for the 1st day, $6000 for the 2nd day and so on up to $10,000 for day 6. On day 7, the contestant played for a luxury car and on day 8, he/she went for the $50,000 cash jackpot. A 5-day-a-week syndicated edition of $ale of the Century ran from January 1985 to September 1986, with the rules changes made concurrent to the NBC daily version.moreless
102
What Really Happened To the Class Of '65?

NBC (ended 1978)

What Really Happened To The Class Of '65 was an anthology series based on Michael Medved and David Wallechinsky's non-fiction best seller that updated the lives of members of a fictious high school's 1965 graduating class.moreless
103
Around the World in 80 Days

NBC (ended 1973)

This is the animated version of the Jules Verne classsic . Englishman Phileas Fogg wished to marry his fiance' Belinda Maze, neice of aristocrat Lord Maze. Maze will not consent to the marriage unless Fogg proves himself worthy of Belinda's hand. The challenge: Go around the world in 80 days(which was impossible to do in 1872). Lord Maze also wagers 25,000 pounds Fogg will not succeed. Fogg accepts the challenge and the bet. To make sure he wins the bet; Maze hired the detective Mr. Fix to sabotage Fogg's task. With his friend Jean Passepartout; the duo set out on their journey with Fix following right along. Each episode Fogg and Passepartout attempts to reach their goal(and teaches the audience about the destination they are at this week), including stopping Mr. Fix's devious plans before the allotted time.moreless
104
Kate Loves a Mystery

NBC (ended 1979)

Welcome to the Kate Loves a Mystery guide at tv.com.

The TV series 'Columbo', starring Peter Falk, ran from 1968 to 1978 and was one of the most popular TV shows in the 1970s. Columbo's wife had often been referred to in the series but was never actually shown. However, after 'Columbo' was cancelled in 1978, NBC decided to create a spin-off series featuring Mrs. Columbo and so 'Kate Loves a Mystery' was born.

'Kate Loves a Mystery' premiered in February 1979 under the title 'Mrs. Columbo' and starred Kate Mulgrew as Kate Columbo, wife of the famous detective. Kate is a housewife who raises the couple's daughter Jenny (played by Lili Haydn) but also works as a reporter for a newspaper called The Valley Advocate edited by Josh Alden (played by Henry Jones). Working for the paper gets Kate involved in all sorts of mysteries which she has to solve. Unfortunately, audiences did not warm up to the series and 'Mrs. Columbo' was taken off the air after five episodes.

However, NBC had not yet given up on the show, which they re-vamped and brought back in October 1979. The makers felt that linking Kate to Columbo had been a mistake and so Kate is now divorced and has taken back her maiden name of Callahan. All refernces to her famous husband were dropped. In this new season, Kate was still working as a journalist at The Valley Advocate and Don Stroud was added to the cast as the cop Sgt. Mike Varrick. The title of the show had also changed. 'Mrs. Columbo' became 'Kate the Detective' and then finally 'Kate Loves a Mystery'.moreless
105
The Family Holvak

NBC (ended 1975)

Set in the state of Tennesse during the Great Depression, this family drama centered around the Holvak family: Rev. Tom Holvak, his wife Elizabeth, and their two children, Ramey and Julie Mae.moreless
106
The Bugaloos

NBC (ended 1972)

From the psychedelic minds of Sid and Marty Kroft comes this children's show starring four musical teens with wings. The Bugaloos (Joy, Courage, IQ and Harmony) live peacefully in Tranquility Forest with their adopted pal Sparky the Firefly. The constant thorn in their side is the vain and untalented Benita Bizarre who will do anything to become a hit singer and get her songs played on DJ Peter Platter's radio show. Her convoluted plans at music domination always seem to involve kidnapping one or all of The Bugaloos.moreless
107
Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo

NBC (ended 1980)

Fred & Barney Meet The Shmoo was complied after the cancellation of two shows: Fred & Barney Meet The Thing and The New Shmoo.

The series consisted of...

The New Fred & Barney Show; debuted in January 1979 on NBC, it's new adventures of the modern stone age family on their 3rd network.

The Thing; based on the Fantastic 4 character. Except this one has a secret identity, teenaged Ben Grimm. When Ben wanted to transform into the orange hero, he would put the two halves of his ring & shout, "Thing ring, do your thing!"

The Shmoo; based on Al Capp's character from L'il Abner. The Shmoo is a friend to a trio who worked for Mighty Mysteries Comics. The Shmoo could turn into anything to help his friends out.

QUICKIE; Sing Along With The Shmoo. It's where the Shmoo acted like a bouncing ball as songs were sung.

Fred & Barney would actually meet the Shmoo next season, during the Bedrock Cops segment of the Flintstone Comedy Show.moreless
108
Real People

NBC (ended 1984)

A weekly primetime newsmagazine that profiled funny, human interest stories. Instead of featuring celebrities, "Real People" searched out humorous individuals, situations and events that highlighted the common man. This landmark show inspired many copycats from the same era ("That's Incredible" & "Not Necessarily the News") to today ("America's Funniest Home Videos" & "The Daily Show").moreless
109
Name That Tune (1974)

NBC (ended 1975)

The definitive "guess the tune before your opponent" game, Name That Tune returned for its most successful run ... in once-a-week syndication. It was a series of changes that were made during the run that made it among the most exciting game shows of the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s. Two contestants competed in a series of rounds, each with different rules. Generally, the premise was to guess the song correctly, but it wasn't always "do it before your opponent does." Some of the games included (but not limited to): • A straightforward best-of-five tune-guessing game. The first contestant to ring in could guess the tune. A correct guess was worth one point, but if incorrect, his/her opponent could guess. • Melody Roulette – Host Tom Kennedy spun a large roulette wheel containing dollar amounts ($100 on up to $500), along with DOUBLE and TRIPLE spaces and sometimes, even a CAR. Wherever it stopped, that's the value of the tune; a correct guess won that contestant the cash, but if not, his/her opponent could guess. The first to name 3 (or 2) tunes got to keep the cash (and possibly, the car). The car could be won only once. • The Money Tree – As the song played, the contestant's opponent pulled out dollar bills from his/her money tree. The first one to guess three tunes kept whatever cash remained; also, a player won if the opponent ran out of money. • Sing-A-Tune - A competition where each player, in secret, wrote down the names to the tune being performed by the show's singer (la-laaing out any incriminating words). • Bid-A-Note – The show's signature game. Kennedy red the contestants a clue to the song, and the players bid downward against each other to determine how few notes they needed ("I can name that tune in four notes!"). There were many other games as well, and each round was worth points. The high scorer after three rounds (or a tie-breaker, if necessary) was the day's champion and moved on to the Golden Medley. In the Golden Medley, the champion had to identify seven tunes within 30 seconds. Prizes were awarded for each correct answer; naming all seven tunes won the player $15,000 in prizes in the early seasons, while an incorrect guess at any time stopped the game. The show's biggest change – an ultimately successful one – came in 1976. Now, weekly (or NBC daily) winners returned to identify a more difficult montage of tunes, with a correct guess worth ($25,000 NBC) $100,000 (done twice during the 1976-1977 season). The show's title was changed to reflect the grand prize (The $100,000 Name That Tune). With fewer than five grand-prize winners each year, the $100,000 format was later retooled into a season-ending playoff and the rules modified to allow for a guaranteed $100,000 payoff. The $100,000 Name That Tune ended its run in 1981, but returned as a five-a-week syndicated entry in 1984, with Jim Lange hosting. The format was nearly identical, with Melody Roulette and Bid-A-Note returning along with a new round called Tune Topics (wherein all the songs had to do with a given topic; e.g., if that day's topic is "Honey I'm Home," one of the songs could be "Up On the Roof."). Also, the $100,000 tournament was played every eight weeks or so, with the winner getting $10,000 and $90,000 in prizes. Some of those prizes were offered as part of a home-viewer sweepstakes. The updated The $100,000 Name That Tune was not successful and ended its run after one season. An attempted comeback of sorts, Name That Video, appeared in 2000 on VH1, with the rules modified to accommodate videos instead of music. It didn't last.moreless
110
Somerset

NBC (ended 1976)

Originally titled “Another World: Somerset,” as a spin-off from NBC’s more popular soap, the original cast included several characters who transferred from “Another World’s” Bay City: newlyweds Sam and LaHoma Lucas, architect Robert Delaney, and bad-girl Pammy Davis. Most of these cross-over characters were eventually overshadowed as the soap attempted to create a world of its own. “Somerset” in its early years dealt largely with the middle-class Grant family and the wealthy Delaney clan. Never a ratings giant, the soap was nevertheless home to a stable of reliable and well-respected actors who spent their careers in daytime drama, including Joel Crothers (Julian Cannell), Marie Wallace (India Delaney), Nicholas Coster (Robert Delaney), Tina Sloan (Kate Thornton), and Lois Kibbee (Emily Moore). Stage actress Lois Smith made a splash as the unbalanced Zoe Cannell and returned from time to time to murder various characters whose portrayers were being stubborn during contract negotiations. Considering its relatively short life, the show helped launch a surprising number of acting careers: Sigourney Weaver, Jameson Parker, Gary Sandy, Audrey Landers, JoBeth Williams, and Ted Danson all spent time in Somerset. Bibi Besch went on to play Jim Carey’s mother, Katharine Hepburn’s daughter-in-law, and the mother of Kirk’s son in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” Actor Ernest Thompson, playing the role which Ted Danson would inherit, later changed career paths by writing a little thing called “On Golden Pond,” and winning an Oscar for his efforts. In its later years, the soap was scripted by noted mystery writer Henry Slesar, who accomplished the considerable feat of writing both “Somerset” and “The Edge of Night” simultaneously. The show never found its niche, however, and did not have the longevity which its cast and writing deserved.moreless
111
Monster Squad

NBC (ended 1977)

While working as a night watchman, Walt (played by Fred Grandy), activates a crime computer he invented. It brings to life three of the wax figures - Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, and Wolfman. Wanting to make up for their past lives, the three monsters assist Walt in fighting Crime.moreless
112
Snoop Sisters

NBC (ended 1974)

Welcome to the Snoop Sisters guide at TV.com. The Snoop Sisters were Ernesta and Gwendolyn Snoop, mystery writers who ended up putting their imaginations to work solving mysteries of their own. They often were called in by their nephew, police lieutenant Steve Ostrowski, and made their way to the crime scenes with the aid of their chauffeur and ex-con Barney. After the initial pilot movie, the series was launched as part of the Wednesday Mystery Movie, NBC's attempt to create a second "wheel" night after the success of Columbo, McCloud, and McMillan and Wife on Sundays. Of the four Wednesday shows, Snoop Sisters wasn't the least popular, but it never caught on to the degree that even Banacek did. After four 90-minue episodes (and a move to Tuesday), the series was cancelled.moreless
113
Casper & the Angels

NBC (ended 1980)

After 16 years since his last network show, Casper returns to NBC. The series is set in 2179 where Casper helps out policewomen Mini & Maxi on baffling cases (2 episodes per show). Hairy Scary was there to convince Casper to scare people! Casper & Hairy Scary had two NBC specials as well. A Halloween special where Hairy Scary & his friends ruin Halloween for Casper & his new orphan friends. And a Christmas special that featured Yogi & the gang taking shelter @ their haunted house.moreless
114
Greatest Heroes of the Bible

NBC (ended 1981)

This was an eight-hour miniseries re-creating Biblical stories from the Old Testament. It ran for four consecutive nights on NBC, then returned as a series of specials afterwards.
115
Curse of Dracula

NBC (ended 1979)

In 1979, Count Dracula is alive and well and teaching at a college; part of NBC's "Cliffhangers".
116
Legends of the Super-Heroes

NBC (ended 1977)

A show about some of the greatest super heroes in the universe like Batman, Hawkman, Flash, Green Lantern, and many more.
117
Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii

NBC

On January 14, 1973, Elvis Presley performed at the Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Aired on NBC, this special television event was the first program to ever be beamed around the world via satellite.

On this television special, Elvis performed his FORBIDDENc recordings like "Hound Dog," "Blue Suede Shoes," and "Can't Help Falling in Love," along with covers of The Beatles' "Something," Frank Sinatra's "My Way," and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," and the show is probably most famous for the introduction to Elvis' hit song, "An American Trilogy."

Backed up by James Burton on guitar, Glen Hardin on piano, Ronnie Tutt on drums, John Wilkinson on the rhythm guitar, Jerry Scheff on bass, and many others, Elvis made this performance a huge success.moreless
118
City of Angels (1976)

NBC (ended 1976)

Wayne Rogers plays Jake Axminster, a barely ethical private investigator working in Los Angeles, California during the 1930s. Jake has little trust for anyone and is more often than not broke. His bimbo secretary Marsha helps keep money coming into the office with an escort side business. After Mash, Rogers complained that he was forever typecast and couldn't get a job. This series lasted 13 episodes before it was canceled.moreless
119
The Quest

NBC (ended 1976)

The Quest, starring Tim Matheson and Kurt Russell, sets two brothers on a search of the wild west for their younger sister, who was kidnapped years before by Indians.
Morgan Beaudine and his sister Patricia are captured by a Cheyenne raiding party who kill all in the wagon train except them. Taken back to the tribe, they are raised as Cheyenne. Years later, Morgan is captured by the Army and held until by chance his brother, Doctor Quentin Beaudine, is called in to examine a "White" Indian. After discovering they are brothers and that Patricia is still alive, the Beaudines set off on a quest to find her.moreless
120
Chase (1973)

NBC (ended 1974)

Police Captain Chase Reddick forms an undercover team of specialists in chasing down elusive criminals. The team includes dog-handler Sam MacCray, motorcycle cop Fred Sing, expert wheelman Steve Baker, and helicopter pilot Norm Hamilton. However, with episode 15 the team was revamped, with the 3 vehicle specialists being replaced by more conventional operatives, Inspector Frank Dawson and Officers Ed Rice and Tom Wilson.moreless
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