The Dating Game

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The Dating Game
The Dating Game.jpg
Also known as The New Dating Game
Format Game show
Created by Chuck Barris
Presented by Jim Lange (1965–1980)
Elaine Joyce (1986–1987)
Jeff MacGregor (1987–1989)
Brad Sherwood (1996–1997)
Chuck Woolery (1997–1999)
Country of origin United States
Production
Running time 30 minutes with commercials
Production company(s) Chuck Barris Productions (1965–1974; 1978–1980; 1986–1987)
Barris Productions (1986–1989)
Barris Industries (1986–1989)
Distributor Station Syndication, Inc. (1973–1974)
Firestone Program Services (1978–1980)
Bel-Air Program Sales (1986–1987)
Clarion Communications (1986-1987) (ad-sales)
Barris Program Sales (1987–1989)
Columbia TriStar Television Distribution (1996–1999)
Broadcast
Original channel ABC (1965–1973)
Syndicated (1973–1974; 1978–1980; 1986–1989; 1996–2000)
Original run First Run
December 20, 1965 – July 6, 1973 (ABC Daytime)
Second Run
October 6, 1966 – January 17, 1970 (ABC primetime)
Third Run
September 10, 1973 – September 1974 (Syndication)
Fourth Run
September 4, 1978 – September 1980 (Syndication)
Fifth Run
September 15, 1986 – September 8, 1989 (Syndication)
Sixth Run
September 9, 1996 – September 1999 (Syndication)

The Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it resurfaced in several syndicated versions (1973–1974 as The New Dating Game, 1978–1980, 1986–1989 and 1996–1999; repeats of the last version appeared in the 1999–2000 season). For years it was almost always aired in tandem with another Barris production, The Newlywed Game, which premiered on ABC the following year. The show was a forerunner of a number of other shows themed in the same style.

Contents

Format [edit]

Typically, a bachelorette would question three bachelors, who were hidden from her view; at the end of the questioning period, she would choose one to go out with on a date paid for by the show. Occasionally, the roles would be reversed with a man questioning three ladies; other times, a celebrity would question three players for a date for themselves, a co-worker or a relative of theirs.

The pre-stardom Farrah Fawcett, Suzanne Somers, Lindsay Wagner, Tom Selleck and Lee Majors appeared as "contestants" on the show in the 1960s and early 1970s. Other contestants who appeared in their unknown or pre-stardom eras included The Carpenters, Jackson Bostwick, Joanna Cameron, Andy Kaufman (who went under the name Baji Kimran), Steve Martin, Burt Reynolds, John Ritter, Phil Hartman, Jennifer Granholm (Governor of Michigan from 2003–2010), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governor of California from 2003-2011), and Tom Selleck (who went on the show twice but was not chosen as a "date" either time). The future Federal Judge Alex Kozinski appeared on it and was selected as a "date".[1] Infamously, serial killer Rodney Alcala appeared on the show during his murder spree and after he'd been convicted of rape in California. Some contestants appeared even after they were fairly well known, including a young Michael Jackson, Ron Howard, Maureen McCormick, Barry Williams, Sally Field, Richard Dawson, Jay North, and Paul Lynde. One standard trademark was that at the end of each episode, the host and winning contestants would blow a kiss to the viewers.

The Dating Game was hosted by Jim Lange from its debut on ABC until the late 1970s syndicated series went off the air. The 1986 revival was originally hosted by comedian Elaine Joyce, who was replaced by Jeff MacGregor after its first season. The 1996 series was originally hosted by Brad Sherwood, who was replaced by Chuck Woolery following a return to the series' original format.

In his first autobiography, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (1988), Barris claimed that The Dating Game was a cover for his CIA activities, and was promoted by the CIA. However, his second memoir, The Game Show King: A Confession (1993), makes no mention of the CIA—or, for that matter, his previous book;[2] and a CIA spokesman has categorically denied that Barris ever worked for them in any capacity.[3]

The show's popularity in the 1960s was the inspiration for an ice cream flavor by Baskin-Robbins called Dating Game. It was a pink ice cream with diced dates and butter toasted pecans.[4]

Forty-five years after the TV show's inaugural season, a version of The Dating Game[5] was launched on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites in March 2011.[6] The game was developed by 3G Studios, under license from Sony Pictures Entertainment.[7]

Game play [edit]

Original version [edit]

Comedian Pat Paulsen makes a guest appearance in 1968.

Generally the bachelorette would ask questions written in advance on cards to each of the three hidden bachelors. The same question could be asked to multiple bachelors. This continued until time ran out. The bachelorette would make her choice based solely on the answers to her questions. Occasionally, the contestant was a bachelor who would ask questions to three bachelorettes. Certain kinds of questions were "off-limits", such as name, age, occupation, and income.

1996 [edit]

For the first season of the 1996 revival, The Dating Game used a different format. A notable change was that the prospective bachelor/bachelorette knew what the first names of his or her potential dates were at all times.

Instead of asking questions of their potential date, the bachelor/bachelorette was presented with two pun-laden statements, each pertaining to one of the potential dates. When chosen, a new statement replaced the old statement and the potential date explained the reason why that fact pertained to them. Play continued until time expired, after which the bachelor/bachelorette gave their choice.

In several weeks of episodes that aired at various times throughout the season, another format was used. This format saw the players choose a potential date based on how good they looked and another based on personality. To determine the "looks" portion, the bachelor/bachelorette observed their potential dates (another change not seen on any Dating Game series beforehand) for several seconds; the three players wore noise-cancelling headphones so they could not hear what the bachelor/bachelorette was saying about them and they identified by numbers. The statement round was used to determine the "personality" portion. After the game ended the bachelor/bachelorette chose one panelist based on looks and one based on personality, then was prompted to choose either of the two. In the case the bachelor/bachelorette chose the same person for both looks and personality, they won a cash prize of $500.


International Versions [edit]

Country Local Name Host Network Year Aired
 Australia Perfect Match Greg Evans
Cameron Daddo
Shelley Craft
Network Ten
Seven Network
1984-1989
2002
Blind Date Greg Evans Network Ten 1991
 Belgium vtm
 Brazil Namoro na TV Silvio Santos Tupi
SBT
1976
1988
 Bulgaria Lina Zlateva bTV
 Croatia RTL Televizija
 Czech Republic Prima
 Denmark TV3
 Estonia Kanal 2
ETV
 Finland Napakymppi (viihdeohjelma) Markus Similia(1985)
Kari Salmelainen(1985-2002)
Joanna Kantola(2001-2002)
MTV
Yle TV1
Yle TV2
MTV3
1985-2002
 France Tournez Manège! Évelyne Leclercq
Simone Garnier
Fabienne Égal
TF1 1985-1993
Sébastien Cauet 2009-2010
 Germany Herz ist Trumpf Stephen Lehmann Sat.1 1992-1993
 Hungary RTL Klub
 Israel Channel 2 (Keshet)
 Italy Il gioco delle coppie Marco Predolin
Corrado Tedeschi
Giorgio Mastrota and Natalia Estrada
Italia 1
Canale 5
Rete 4
1985-1995
 Latvia LTV
 Poland Randka w ciemno Jacek Kawalec
Tomasz Kammel
TVP1 1992-2005
 Slovenia Kanal A
 Turkey Saklambaç Nurseli Îdiz Show TV 1992-1996
 United Kingdom Blind Date Cilla Black ITV 1985-2003
 United States The Dating Game
The New Dating Game
Jim Lange ABC
Syndication
1965-1973
1973-1974
1978-1980
The All-New Dating Game Elaine Joyce
Jeff MacGregory
Syndication 1986-1987
1987-1989
The Dating Game Brad Sherwood
Chuck Woolery
1996-1997
1997-1999

Episode status [edit]

The ABC daytime episodes are believed to have been erased after broadcast, as was the standard practice with network daytime programs prior to the late 1970s. However at least 25 daytime episodes survive, including one with John Ritter as the bachelor from 1967. GSN aired 23 daytime shows.

The remaining versions of the show, which were made for syndication, are assumed to exist in their entirety. The 1990s syndicated version is currently airing on GameTV in Canada.

Celebrities on the show [edit]

Some of the celebrities that appeared on The Dating Game appeared as a bachelor or bachelorette before becoming famous or a special guest star include:

Musical cues [edit]

For the first few episodes at the beginning of the ABC run, live music was provided by The Regents.

Beginning in 1967, the series started using several Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass songs as music cues:

Other music cues used on the show include:

The 1980s version's music was by Milton DeLugg. Later versions featured a re-recording of the original theme by Steve Kaplan.

The Dating Game Killer [edit]

See Rodney Alcala, also known as "The Dating Game Killer".[8][9][10][11][12]

See also [edit]

External Resources [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ [1] Columbia Law
  2. ^ Adams, C. (February 7, 2003): Was Chuck Barris a Hit Man for the CIA? The Straight Dope archive Retrieved November 22, 2011
  3. ^ Stein, Joel. Time, "Lying to Tell the Truth", 13 January 2003. Accessed 2 September 2008.
  4. ^ Schwartz, David, Steve Ryan and Fred Wostbrock. "The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows, 3rd edition". New York: Checkmark Books, 1999, page 54.
  5. ^ www.thedatinggame.com
  6. ^ http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2011/03/the-dating-game-goes-interactive-virtual-and-social/1
  7. ^ http://pc.ign.com/articles/114/1145385p1.html
  8. ^ David Gardner (2010-04-01). "Rodney Alcala sentenced to death for murders of four women and girl, 12". Mail Online.  More than one of |website= and |journal= specified (help);
  9. ^ "'100 victims' of serial killer Rodney Alcala". Times Mirror. 2009-08-11.  More than one of |website= and |journal= specified (help);
  10. ^ Gardner, David (April 1, 2010). "The 'most prolific' serial killer in U.S. history is sentenced to death as police fear he could be behind 130 murders". London Daily Mail. 
  11. ^ "Serial Killer Rodney Alcalas". National Public Radio blogs. 
  12. ^ ""Dating Game" killer sentenced for 1970s murders". Reuters archive. January 7, 2013.  Unknown parameter |athor= ignored (help);
Preceded by
The Young Set
11:30 a.m.-12:00 noon EST, ABC
12/20/1965 – 3/31/1967
Succeeded by
One in a Million
Preceded by
Where the Action Is
4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EST, ABC
4/3/1967 – 7/12/68
Succeeded by
Dark Shadows
Preceded by
Baby Game
2:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. EST, ABC
7/15/1968 – 7/6/1973
Succeeded by
The Girl in My Life