Love is just a game. Or is it a game show? Let’s face it, when cupid strikes, television game shows aren’t just about trivia-answering and vowel-buying. In honor of Valentine’s Day, here’s a look at some of the most memorable TV game shows about love.
“The Dating Game”
This classic TV dating show was the brainstorm of Chuck Barris and debuted in the mid-1960’s, with host Jim Lange at the helm. It featured a bachelor or bachelorette who would blindly question three wannabe dates and choose one of them for a date. During the show’s heyday, celeb contestants like Farrah Fawcett, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Jackson appeared on the show. Unfortunately, so did a serial killer.
“The Newlywed Game”
Back in the 1960s, Bob Eubanks made this show — and the phrase “making whoopee” — famous. But the show — which pitted four sets of newly-married couples against one another for a grand prize — sometimes caused spats between its newlywed contestants. In an interview with the Archive of American Television, Eubanks talked about the secret to the show’s success, saying “I knew all the time the couples were the cake and I was the frosting.”
“Love Connection”
Chuck Woolery hosted this dating show, which debuted in 1983. This variation on “The Dating Game” showed us the aftermath of a blind date- but it was up to the audience to decide if the couple made a love connection or if the contestants would be more compatible with someone else! In an interview with Ask Men, Woolery dished that back in the day he taped five or six “Love Connection” episodes in a day, so an entire season of the show was taped in just 39 days. Talk about speed dating!
“Singled Out”
The year was 1995 and MTV’s first campy foray into the matchmaking realm featured blindfolded date “pickers” and a “pit” full of 100 prospective dates. It also featured host Chris Hardwick and a new girl on the block-as in, Jenny McCarthy, who co-hosted the show until MTV gave her a sketch comedy series of her own. According to the New York Times, McCarthy’s first days in the pit with the pool of hormone-crazed guys made her decide to “throw this right back at them” and take on a girls-rule ‘tude. And she was no Vanna White! Of the overly-crowded pit, McCarthy told Entertainment Weekly, ”I learned really quick that I had to take control. I can’t be polite; I have to say, ‘Move over here, you little jackass.”’
“Blind Date”
This syndicated dating show debuted in 1999 and was hosted by Roger Lodge. On each episode, a couple’s blind date was captured on camera, but by the time we saw the footage it was accompanied by snarky subtitles and “thought bubbles.” So who came up with all that hilarious commentary? According to People, it was Lodge himself! “I want to be the voice of the viewer and comment on what people are thinking back home,” the host said.
“Three’s A Crowd”
This short-lived Chuck Barris-produced game show dared to ask the question: Who knows a man better-his wife or his secretary? But when things got a tad too mean-spirited on this 70’s show, oh, the backlash! In his book “Bad Grass Never Dies,” Barris wrote “What I didn’t realize was how evil and heinous my creation was.” Barris pulled the controversial show and it was the beginning of the end of his television career. By the end of 1980, all of his games shows — including “The Gong Show,” “The $1.98 Beauty Show” and, yes, “The Dating Game”– were canceled. Definitely a bad romance!
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