User:Daniel Benfield/Sale of the Century 1980s Syndicated Episode Guide

Since I've been compiling info and names about the 1980s syndicated Sale of the Century, both for my own edification and UltimaGanon's Video Archive, I figured I might as well throw this out here. :)

As with the daytime shopping era, the nighttime Cash Jackpot starts at $50,000 and increases $1,000 per day until won.

My thanks to Ryan Rinkerman for some of this info and various people who have uploaded stuff to YouTube and the like. Dates in bold are when GSN first aired them; episodes I know to circulate from their USA Network broadcasts are noted where possible.

NOTE: There are some relatively-minor spoilers, such as the returning champ and what day they're on (if applicable) as well as any wins of at least $100.

Season 1 (1985)
January 7 - May 24, 1985 (100 episodes)

$830 buys the Lot and Cash Jackpot
 * January 7, 1985 (#S-001/Premiere): Jack vs. Andra vs. Buck. [November 29, 2013 (also circulates from a USA broadcast); the first eight episodes aired as a Black Friday marathon]
 * January 8, 1985 (#S-002): Paul vs. Colleen vs. Buck (Day 2). [November 29, 2013]
 * January 9, 1985 (#S-003): Glenn vs. Audrey vs. Paul (Day 2). [November 29, 2013; Jay Stewart demonstrates exercise equipment in a pink jogging suit!]
 * January 10, 1985 (#S-004): Ric vs. Ellen vs. Paul (Day 3). [November 29, 2013 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]
 * January 11, 1985 (#S-005): Jeff vs. Judy vs. Paul (Day 4). [November 29, 2013]

"All the prizes and a Cash Jackpot of [amount]..." changed to "Cash and prizes worth over $100,000..." (began 1/14/85)
 * January 14, 1985 (#S-006): Phyllis vs. Vince vs. Judy (Day 2). [November 29, 2013; a model tries to show off a new computer...and fails to understand how a mouse is used.]
 * January 15, 1985 (#S-007): Randi vs. Nick vs. Phyllis (Day 2). [November 29, 2013]
 * January 16, 1985 (#S-008): Gerry vs. Wanda vs. Nick (Day 2). [November 29, 2013]
 * January 17, 1985 (#S-009): Greg vs. Joy vs. Gerry (Day 2). [December 2, 2013 (first episode on the regular daily schedule)]
 * January 18, 1985 (#S-010): Robert vs. Maggie vs. Greg (Day 2). [December 3, 2013]


 * January 21, 1985 (#S-011): Hal vs. Mariann vs. Greg (Day 3). [December 4, 2013]
 * January 22, 1985 (#S-012): Jean vs. Bill vs. Mariann (Day 2). [December 5, 2013 (also circulates from a USA broadcast); one Instant Bargain is a trip to New York, and the person playing the apple (no, seriously) gets into some difficulty!]
 * January 23, 1985 (#S-013): Beth vs. Ron vs. Mariann (Day 3). [December 8, 2013]
 * January 24, 1985 (#S-014): Dennis vs. Judith vs. Ron (Day 2). [December 9, 2013]
 * January 25, 1985 (#S-015): John vs. Susie vs. Ron (Day 3). [December 10, 2013; fun game with a really weird answer!]

$750 buys the Lot and Cash Jackpot (began 1/28/85)
 * January 28, 1985 (#S-016): JOHN GOSS vs. ? vs. Ron (Day 4). [John buys all three Instant Bargains...and still wins! SKIPPED BY GSN!]
 * January 29, 1985 (#S-017): Clay vs. Donna vs. JOHN GOSS (Day 2). [December 11, 2013]
 * January 30, 1985 (#S-018): Tom vs. Diana vs. JOHN GOSS (Day 3). [December 12, 2013 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]
 * January 31, 1985 (#S-019): Pat vs. Yooh vs. JOHN GOSS (Day 4). [December 13, 2013]
 * February 1, 1985 (#S-020): David vs. Catherine vs. JOHN GOSS (Day 5). [December 16, 2013 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]

"$100,000" graphic changes to sparkly non-flashing numbers (began 2/4/85)
 * February 4, 1985 (#S-021): Van vs. Sandra vs. JOHN GOSS (Day 6). [December 17, 2013]
 * February 5, 1985 (#S-022): ? vs. ? vs. JOHN GOSS (Day 7). [SKIPPED BY GSN!]
 * February 6, 1985 (#S-023): Chip vs. Naomi vs. JOHN GOSS (Day 8). [December 18, 2013 (also circulates from a USA broadcast, as well as what seems to be a slateless master copy)]
 * February 7, 1985 (#S-024): Bill vs. Pam vs. Ed. [December 19, 2013]
 * February 8, 1985 (#S-025): Nick vs. Rose vs. Ed (Day 2). [December 20, 2013 (also circulates from original broadcast, with commercials); has a really odd moment with a "prospector" in an Instant Bargain.]


 * February 11, 1985 (#S-026): Bob vs. ? vs. Ed (Day 3). [SKIPPED BY GSN!]
 * February 12, 1985 (#S-027): Ron vs. Nancy vs. Bob (Day 2). [December 23, 2013]
 * February 13, 1985 (#S-028): Steve vs. Wanda vs. Ron (Day 2). [December 25, 2013]
 * February 14, 1985 (#S-029): Stan vs. Hilary vs. Ron (Day 3). [December 26, 2013]
 * February 15, 1985 (#S-030): Don vs. Diana vs. Preston. [December 27, 2013; Jim seems to know quite a bit about Preston's wife...]


 * February 18, 1985 (#S-031): George vs. HELAINE LOWEY vs. Preston (Day 2). [December 30, 2013]
 * February 19, 1985 (#S-032): Rhonda vs. Anthony vs. HELAINE LOWEY (Day 2). [January 2, 2014]
 * February 20, 1985 (#S-033): Laurie vs. Dave vs. HELAINE LOWEY (Day 3). [January 3, 2014]
 * February 21, 1985 (#S-034): Susan vs. Eric vs. HELAINE LOWEY (Day 4). [January 6, 2014]
 * February 22, 1985 (#S-035): Kit vs. Rick vs. HELAINE LOWEY (Day 5). [January 7, 2014]


 * February 25, 1985 (#S-036): Jack vs. Dick vs. HELAINE LOWEY (Day 6). [January 8, 2014]
 * February 26, 1985 (#S-037): Renee vs. David vs. HELAINE LOWEY (Day 7). [January 9, 2014]
 * February 27, 1985 (#S-038): Karin vs. Vince vs. HELAINE LOWEY (Day 8). [January 10, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast); Helaine goes for the Lot, and there's a tense Instant Bargain!]
 * February 28, 1985 (#S-039): Emory vs. Linda vs. SKIP JORDAN. [January 13, 2014 (also circulates as what seems to be a slateless master copy)]
 * March 1, 1985 (#S-040): Danny vs. Judy vs. SKIP JORDAN (Day 2). [January 14, 2014]

Intro changes "Tonight" to "Today" (began 3/4/85)
 * March 4, 1985 (#S-041): Joe vs. Ali vs. SKIP JORDAN (Day 3). [January 15, 2014]
 * March 5, 1985 (#S-042): Barry vs. Ede vs. SKIP JORDAN (Day 4). [January 16, 2014]
 * March 6, 1985 (#S-043): Kevin vs. Bobbin vs. SKIP JORDAN (Day 5). [January 17, 2014; ends in a tie!]
 * March 7, 1985 (#S-044): Blaine vs. Pat vs. SKIP JORDAN (Day 6). [January 20, 2014; ends in a tie!]
 * March 8, 1985 (#S-045): Mick vs. Debra vs. SKIP JORDAN (Day 7). [January 21, 2014; Skip goes for the car!]


 * March 11, 1985 (#S-046): Arnie vs. Melinda vs. Mick (Day 2). [January 22, 2014]
 * March 12, 1985 (#S-047): Gordon vs. Shelli vs. Mick (Day 3). [January 23, 2014]
 * March 13, 1985 (#S-048): John vs. Sheila vs. Mick (Day 4). [January 24, 2014]
 * March 14, 1985 (#S-049): Steve vs. Devera vs. John (Day 2). [January 27, 2014; amazing Speed Round!]
 * March 15, 1985 (#S-050): Jay vs. Suzy vs. Steve (Day 2). [January 28, 2014]


 * March 18, 1985 (#S-051): Ernie vs. Sandy vs. Steve (Day 3). [January 29, 2014]
 * March 19, 1985 (#S-052): Joe vs. Janet vs. Steve (Day 4). [January 30, 2014]
 * March 20, 1985 (#S-053): MICHAEL FRIEDMAN vs. Laurie vs. Joe (Day 2). [January 31, 2014]
 * March 21, 1985 (#S-054): Ron vs. Lynne vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 2). [February 3, 2014]
 * March 22, 1985 (#S-055): Mitch vs. Lori vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 3). [February 4, 2014]


 * March 25, 1985 (#S-056): Chuck vs. Bev vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 4). [February 5, 2014; a player's ESP goes horribly wrong, in an amusing way.]
 * March 26, 1985 (#S-057): Charles vs. Adrianne vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 5). [February 6, 2014; Charles flips out on the last question!]
 * March 27, 1985 (#S-058): Brian vs. Cindi vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 6). [February 7, 2014]
 * March 28, 1985 (#S-059): Ken vs. Nancy vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 7). [February 10, 2014]
 * March 29, 1985 (#S-060): Matt vs. Judi vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 8). [February 11, 2014]


 * April 1, 1985 (#S-061): Wil vs. ALICE CONKWRIGHT vs. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN (Day 9). [February 12, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast); Michael goes for the Lot!]
 * April 2, 1985 (#S-062): Myrna vs. John vs. ALICE CONKWRIGHT (Day 2). [February 13, 2014]
 * April 3, 1985 (#S-063): Peter vs. Don vs. ALICE CONKWRIGHT (Day 3). [February 14, 2014]
 * April 4, 1985 (#S-064): Linda vs. Curt vs. ALICE CONKWRIGHT (Day 4). [February 17, 2014]
 * April 5, 1985 (#S-065): Jeff vs. Richard vs. ALICE CONKWRIGHT (Day 5). [February 18, 2014]


 * April 8, 1985 (#S-066): Irwin vs. Chuck vs. ALICE CONKWRIGHT (Day 6). [February 19, 2014 (also circulates from original broadcast, specifically WOR); Alice goes for the Lot!]
 * April 9, 1985 (#S-067): Steve vs. Elizabeth vs. Mitch. [February 20, 2014]
 * April 10, 1985 (#S-068): Carol vs. Bill vs. Elizabeth (Day 2). [February 21, 2014 (last episode of the original lease)]
 * April 11, 1985 (#S-069): Laura vs. Larry vs. Elizabeth (Day 3). [September 29, 2014 (first episode of the second lease)]
 * April 12, 1985 (#S-070): Dave vs. Gabriel vs. Elizabeth (Day 4). [September 30, 2014]

1-9 Fame Game numbers change to a yellow/red motif, Money Cards change from yellow/red to orange/black (debuted 4/15/85)
 * April 15, 1985 (#S-071): Sandy vs. Kathleen vs. Dave (Day 2). [October 1, 2014]
 * April 16, 1985 (#S-072): Alan vs. Liz vs. Wally. [October 2, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]
 * April 17, 1985 (#S-073): Brian vs. Suzanne vs. Alan (Day 2). [October 3, 2014; one prize is a video jukebox!]
 * April 18, 1985 (#S-074): Jim vs. Judy vs Brian (Day 2). [October 6, 2014]
 * April 19, 1985 (#S-075): M.J. vs. Adrienne vs. Dave. [October 7, 2014 (also circulates from an old broadcast; not sure if 1980s or USA, though); very exciting game!]

Money Card numbers change from black to blue (began 4/22/85)
 * April 22, 1985 (#S-076): Ron vs. Patricia (who's British!) vs. Mike. [October 8, 2014 (also circulates from an old broadcast; not sure if 1980s or USA, though); Jim does a bit of singing!]
 * April 23. 1985 (#S-077): Frank vs. Jack vs. Patricia (Day 2). [October 9, 2014 (also circulates from an old broadcast with no credits; not sure if 1980s or USA, though)]
 * April 24, 1985 (#S-078): Walt vs. Victoria vs. Frank (Day 2). [October 10, 2014 (also circulates from an old broadcast with no credits; not sure if 1980s or USA, though); Jim makes a You Bet Your Life reference, and Frank refuses a table because it doesn't come with chairs!]
 * April 25, 1985 (#S-079): Duane vs. Valerie vs. Frank (Day 3). [October 13, 2014 (also circulates from an old broadcast with no credits; not sure if 1980s or USA, though); Jay Stewart models an Instant Bargain!]
 * April 26, 1985 (#S-080): Phil vs. Lynne vs. Tom. [October 14, 2014; Jay Stewart appears for the first Instant Bargain!]


 * April 29, 1985 (#S-081): Hope vs. Marty vs. Lynne (Day 2). [October 15, 2014; nobody gets the first Fame Game, the second is guessed after one sentence, and Trip or Pick Again is found! (Jim makes a rare mention that $640 gets all the onstage prizes, as he normally only notes the "$530 for car" and "$750 for the Lot" steps.)]
 * April 30, 1985 (#S-082): Shelby vs. Rich vs. Lynne (Day 3). [October 16, 2014; second Instant Bargain is so weird that not only does Jim not want to walk over there (he does) but drops the price from $10 to $2!]
 * May 1, 1985 (#S-083): Pam vs. Paul vs. Lynne (Day 4). [October 17, 2014]
 * May 2, 1985 (#S-084): Giovan vs. John vs. Lynne (Day 5). [October 20, 2014; GSN doesn't crunch the credits!]
 * May 3, 1985 (#S-085): Suze vs. Michael vs. Lynne (Day 6). [October 21, 2014]


 * May 6, 1985 (#S-086): Joel vs. Niki vs. Michael (Day 2). [October 22, 2014; a moth invades the first Instant Bargain, Jim shares some Monopoly facts before the second Fame Game, and Michael wins with $115!]
 * May 7, 1985 (#S-087): Jim vs. Eileen vs. Michael (Day 3). [October 23, 2014; Perry can't think of any positives to say about the first Instant Bargain, and Michael wins with $120!]
 * May 8, 1985 (#S-088): Greg vs. Melissa vs. Michael (Day 4). [October 24, 2014; has a rare camera angle before one Fame Game pick.]
 * May 9, 1985 (#S-089): Dennis vs. Lynn vs. Michael (Day 5). [October 27, 2014]
 * May 10, 1985 (#S-090): Gary vs. Terri vs. Ken. [October 28, 2014]


 * May 13, 1985 (#S-091): Lyle vs. Dina vs. Gary (Day 2). [October 29, 2014]
 * May 14, 1985 (#S-092): Jack vs. Lucienne vs. Lyle (Day 2). [October 30, 2014]
 * May 15, 1985 (#S-093): Dick vs. Jan vs. Jack (Day 2). [October 31, 2014]
 * May 16, 1985 (#S-094): Helen vs. Al vs. Jan (Day 2). [November 3, 2014; last Instant Bargain is a home robot, Jay Stewart makes two cameos, and the game ends in a tie!] Sotctiebreaker.jpg
 * May 17, 1985 (#S-095): Melanie vs. MATT OTTINGER! vs. Jan (Day 3). [November 4, 2014 (also circulates from a WSYM airing); Matt went on to host WKAR's Quizbusters in 1989, and has hosted it (and a later spinoff, QB Jr.) ever since.]


 * May 20, 1985 (#S-096): Lianne vs. Jim vs. Jan (Day 4). [November 5, 2014; the fish-shaped soup...thing...Perry mocked back on #S-087 makes a return...with pizzazz! :P]
 * May 21, 1985 (#S-097): Susan vs. Dore vs. Jan (Day 5). [November 6, 2014]
 * May 22, 1985 (#S-098): Grace vs. Jonathan vs. Jan (Day 6). [November 7, 2014; Jan wins two cars!]
 * May 23, 1985 (#S-099): Tony vs. Jinni vs. Len. [November 10, 2014]
 * May 24, 1985 (#S-100/Season Finale): TIM HOLLERAN vs. Shirley vs. Len (Day 2). [November 11, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast); Jim hints at it being the end of the season.]

Season 2, Shopping (1985)
September 16 - October or November, 1985 (October 11 at the earliest, November 15 at the latest)

The only real difference between this and Season 1 is that the Money Cards reverted from blue-on-orange to red-on-yellow.


 * September 16, 1985 (#S-101/Season Premiere): Ed vs. Susan vs. TIM HOLLERAN (Day 2). [November 12, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]
 * September 17, 1985 (#S-102): Raymond vs. Melinda vs. TIM HOLLERAN (Day 3). [November 13, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]
 * September 18, 1985 (#S-103): Chip vs. Lenore vs. TIM HOLLERAN (Day 4). [November 14, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]
 * September 19, 1985 (#S-104): Robert vs. Verne vs. TIM HOLLERAN (Day 5). [November 17, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast)]
 * September 20, 1985 (#S-105): Chuck vs. Pamela vs. TIM HOLLERAN (Day 6). [November 18, 2014]


 * September 23, 1985 (#S-106): Tom vs. Susan vs. TIM HOLLERAN (Day 7). [November 19, 2014; the first Instant Bargain accidentally gets knocked over while Summer describes it! (Not that the goofy Star Wars-based presentation helped matters...)]
 * September 24, 1985 (#S-107): Pat vs. Lisa vs. TIM HOLLERAN (Day 8). [November 20, 2014 (also circulates from a USA broadcast); Tim goes for the Lot, and Kevin Nealon makes a cameo!]
 * September 25, 1985 (#S-108): Terry vs. Verna vs. Jorge. [November 21, 2014]
 * September 26, 1985 (#S-109): Rick vs. Bonita vs. Terry (Day 2). [November 24, 2014]
 * September 27, 1985 (#S-110): Scott vs. Kathe vs. Rick (Day 2). [November 25, 2014]


 * September 30, 1985 (#S-111): Robert vs. Sue vs. Rick (Day 3). [November 26, 2014]
 * October 1, 1985 (#S-112): James vs. Nancy vs. Rick (Day 4). [November 27, 2014; James wins with $104!]
 * October 2, 1985 (#S-113): Jim vs. Terry vs. James (Day 2). [December 1, 2014]
 * October 3, 1985 (#S-114): Steve vs. Sarah vs. James (Day 3). [December 2, 2014]
 * October 4, 1985 (#S-115): Neal vs. Sharon vs. James (Day 4). [December 3, 2014; Fame Game is still "pick a number".]


 * October 7, 1985 (#S-116): Mark vs. Betty vs. Neal (Day 2). [December 4, 2014]
 * October 8, 1985 (#S-117): ? vs. ? vs. Neal (Day 3). [December 5, 2014]
 * October 9, 1985 (#S-118): Players unknown. [December 8, 2014]
 * October 10, 1985 (#S-119): Players unknown. [December 9, 2014]
 * October 11, 1985 (#S-120): Players unknown. [December 10, 2014]


 * October 14, 1985 (#S-121): Players unknown. [December 11, 2014]
 * October 15, 1985 (#S-122): Players unknown. [December 12, 2014]
 * October 16, 1985 (#S-123): Players unknown. [December 15, 2014]
 * October 17, 1985 (#S-124): Players unknown. [December 16, 2014]
 * October 18, 1985 (#S-125): Players unknown. [December 17, 2014]
 * October 21, 1985 (#S-126): Players unknown. [December 18, 2014]
 * October 22, 1985 (#S-127): Players unknown. [December 19, 2014]


 * October 11-November 15, 1985 (Shopping Finale): Bill vs. Lauren vs. Brad (Champ). [Circulates from a USA broadcast; no idea where this falls (unless it either pops up online or GSN gets to it), but based on the above and below it's somewhere between #S-120 and #S-145.]
 * [As someone noted on The Game Show Forum, "we're thankful we have this show Period & excited if we hit the winners board transition." And if they don't, they're at least narrowing down when it happened.]

Season 2, Winner's Board (1985-86)
October or November, 1985 - September 12?, 1986

At this point, from what I can tell, it becomes a bit hard to distinguish between the daytime and nighttime versions. At least through early December, the nighttime show retained the "plain" 1-9 Fame Game numbers; the NBC series used the large colorful numbers throughout.

From what I can tell, only the syndicated run used the "plain" numbers, probably to make the two versions distinguishable. Aside from this and the Genesis Entertainment (nighttime)/NBC Studios (daytime) credits, they're like Wheel of Fortune in being near-identical.

On December 2, the Speed Round clock changes from the SportsType style to a larger/rounder font, possibly Helvetica Extra Bold. Sometime afterward, it changed again to a Futura-based font.

1985
 * October-November 1985 (Winner's Board debut): Lloyd vs. Susan vs. Brad (Champ). [Circulates from a USA broadcast.]


 * November 19, 1985 (#S-147): ALAN SUDENIK vs. ? vs. ?. [Not sure on the spelling of Alan's last name.]
 * November 20, 1985 (#S-148): ? vs. ? vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 2).
 * November 21, 1985 (#S-149): ? vs. ? vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 3).
 * November 22, 1985 (#S-150): ? vs. ? vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 4).
 * November 25, 1985 (#S-151): ? vs. ? vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 5).
 * November 26, 1985 (#S-152): ? vs. ? vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 6).
 * November 27, 1985 (#S-153): ? vs. ? vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 7).
 * November 28, 1985 (#S-154): Willie vs. Michele vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 8 - $34,686!). [Circulates from original broadcast, with commercials; by this point, the Fame Game board is done Press Your Luck style with a bouncing light and Money Cards revealed beforehand by Summer.]
 * November 29, 1985 (#S-155): Fletcher vs. Mary vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 9). [Circulates from original broadcast with commercials, as well as a USA broadcast. (Last episode with the SportsType-style Speed Round clock.)]

Speed Round clock changes to a larger, rounder font
 * December 2, 1985 (#S-156): Rich vs. Pauletta vs. ALAN SUDENIK (Day 10). [Circulates from a 1/16/94 USA broadcast; Alan's playing to clear the Winner's Board and win a car!]
 * December 3, 1985 (#S-157): ? vs. ? vs. Pauletta (Day 2).

1986 (ordered arbitrarily, as far as I know)
 * 1986: Melanie vs. Tim vs. Sandi. [Begins at second Instant Bargain, totals 10 minutes; big win!]


 * 1986: LISA MUNOZ vs. Ryan vs. Ann. [Circulates from original broadcast, with commercials.]
 * 1986: Cindy vs. Clay vs. LISA MUNOZ (Day 11). [Circulates from a USA broadcast; Lisa goes for the $50,000 bonus! (By this point, the Speed Round clock is using a Futura-based font.)]


 * 1986: James vs. Liz vs. Jerry. [Circulates from a USA broadcast; big car win!]


 * 1986: Howard vs. Felice vs. CURTIS WARREN. [Circulates from a USA broadcast; can anybody say "blowout"? (This and the below were taped in December 1985 and/or January 1986.)]
 * 1986: Ray vs. Nana vs. CURTIS WARREN. [Circulates from a USA broadcast; Jim switches an Instant Bargain for one contestant for a trip to San Francisco!]
 * 1986: Richard vs. Felice vs. CURTIS WARREN.
 * 1986: Zareh vs. Susan vs. CURTIS WARREN (Day 10). [Circulates from a USA broadcast; Curtis plays to clear the Winner's Board!]
 * 1986: Skip vs. Elaine vs. CURTIS WARREN (Day 11). [Circulates from a USA broadcast, albeit only the last 11 minutes; Curtis goes for the $50,000 bonus!]


 * 1986: Jasmine vs. Doug vs. Cindy. [Cindy goes for it all!]