Скачать или смотреть Behind the Scenes: Sale of the Century (1989)

Hosted by Steve Parr and Judith Kirk (now better known as Jude Dobson) with Grant Walker as announcer, Sale of the Century was a quick-wit quiz show in which contestants with a good general knowledge and a fast finger on the buzzer could win prizes valued at more than $70,000.

Recorded at Wellington's Avalon Television Studios and produced by Grundy Television (now Fremantle), the show screened five nights a week and ran on TVNZ for five years (1989 to 1993); four of which in the 7pm timeslot on TV2 (now TVNZ 2) and, later, TV One (now TVNZ 1).

In 1993, however, Sale moved from 7pm to the earlier timeslot of 5.30pm as a lead-in to the news. This was to make way for another Grundy game show, Wheel of Fortune, in the 7pm slot on One. (In fact, Wheel of Fortune had aired on TVNZ since February 1991 and during its first two years, the show aired in various early evening slots and switched between TV One and Channel 2.)

In 1994, Sale of the Century was picked up by TV3 (now Three) with Steve Parr returning as host; this time, he was joined by Julie White as co-host and John Sweetman as announcer. Unlike the original version, which had aired on TVNZ, the revived Sale was recorded at the studios of Isambard Productions (now the AIS Asquith Campus) in Auckland.

By May 1995, the show was ultimately axed as it could not compete with the TVNZ current affairs programme Holmes, which aired at 7pm over on One.

In this brief 1989 excerpt from TVNZ, Holmes reporter Mark Sainsbury spoke to Michelle, one of the contestants appearing on Sale of the Century.

Broadcast date: 31 July 1989

Special thanks to Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (TVNZ Collection) for the use of this clip.